OK, I'LL start it: Rolling Banda/Duranguense/Narcocorrido/Flashy Matching Suits Regional Mexican Thread

Another slain singer

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/06/29/sergio-el-shaka-vega-music-mexico-and-murder/

Sergio ‘El Shaka’ Vega: Music, Mexico and Murder
By Elijah Wald

When warlords are fighting, being a court musician can become dangerous
work. On Saturday evening a popular Mexican singer, Sergio Vega, nicknamed
“El Shaka,” was shot to death on the highway in southern Sonora, north of
Los Mochis, Sinaloa. No one has been arrested for the killing, and it is
unlikely that anyone will be, but already there is speculation that his
murder may be related to his music.

Mexican ranchera singers don’t sound like gangsta rappers: their songs are
typically in waltz or polka rhythms, and backed by perky accordions or
oompahing brass bands. But like rap, much of modern ranchera comes out of
the same areas that produce the most violent gangs and drug cartels. The
mountains of Sinaloa, on Mexico’s west coast, have been the heartland of the
drug business for almost a century thanks to plentiful crops of opium and
marijuana, and Sinaloan singers have been the most popular performers of
narcocorridos, or drug ballads.

Several have also been killed. Chalino Sánchez, the most influential corrido
composer and singer of the last 20 years, was shot to death in the state
capital of Culiacán in 1992, and in 2006 a singer named Valentín Elizalde
was killed as he left a concert in Reynosa, on the Texas border. One of
Elizalde’s songs had been used to accompany a YouTube video threatening a
border drug lord, and his murder sparked a wave of speculation that
musicians might be targeted because of their songs.

The reality is more complicated. The next well-known singer to be killed,
Sergio Gómez, led a pop band that played no drug songs, but his death was
equally linked to the incredible surge of drug-related murders that has
plagued Mexico in recent years. According to UPI, Mexican officials estimate
that there have been more than 18,000 drug-related killings in the country
since 2006. Considering those numbers, it may be that the deaths of a few
well-known musicians are just a statistical accident—as in Prohibition-era
Chicago, musicians often play in clubs or at concerts or parties sponsored
by underworld figures. Indeed, songwriters are often hired by traffickers to
write corridos on commission, telling about heroic gun battles or wily
smuggling tricks. So the fact that they are occasionally killed may have
more to do with the company they keep than with anything they are singing.

Sergio Vega’s biggest hits were mostly romantic songs, but he was well
aware of the dangers. In an ironic twist, just hours before his death he
contacted a Mexican website to deny rumors that he had been murdered. ”Of
course we are somewhat frightened, all of us who play norteño and banda
music,” he said. “I have sung some very strong lyrics, many corridos, and
one does think about it and feel a little fear… you just have to trust in
God.”

Within hours of Vega’s death, YouTube was flooded with videos of his crashed
car, showing the bullet holes in the windshield, soon followed by photos of
his funeral. The most heartfelt tribute, though, was one of his own
recordings, “Fiesta en el Cielo” (“Party in Heaven”) a song that places
recently murdered musicians in the company of revolutionary heroes like
Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata: “This is a tribute to Sergio Vega, another
guest of honor at the party in heaven” a fan has written beneath it. “Today
he is singing together with Chalino, ‘El Gallo’ Elizalde, Pedro Infante…and
so many other Mexican greats.”
Elijah Wald is a writer and musician. His books include “Narcocorrido: A
Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas,” and “How the Beatles
Destroyed Rock ‘n’ Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music.”
For more information, visit www.elijahwald.com.

Another article about him

* * *
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/7085594.html

Mexico mourns yet another slain Norteno singer
By MOLLY O'TOOLE Associated Press
June 29, 2010, 5:54AM

MEXICO CITY — Norteno singer Sergio Vega was shot dead in a northern state
that has produced many of Mexico's most notorious drug kingpins, joining a
recent string of murdered musicians - some of them famous for crooning about
the cartel lifestyle.

Unknown assailants intercepted Vega's red Cadillac on Saturday night near
Los Mochis in Sinaloa state and riddled it with more than 30 bullets,
authorities said. There were no arrests, and police have not identified any
suspects or a possible motive.

Vega, 40, was a singer of "narcocorridos" - a subgenre that updates the
folkloric "corrido" tradition of ballads about revolutionary heroes to tell
the story of, and sometimes lionize, drug traffickers.

Elijah Wald, author of the book "Narcocorrido," said Monday that such
singers often get caught up in the violent world they sing about.

"The music world has always been connected with the crime world," Wald said.
"And it is common for ranchera singers - especially if they sing corridos,
as Vega did - to be hired to play parties for people in the drug world, or
to be sponsored by drug money when they are starting out."

Sinaloa state prosecutor's spokesman Martin Gastelum said Vega was killed
while driving a wounded man to the hospital.

However the passenger, Sergio Montiel Avila, said there was just one attack.
Gunmen inside a vehicle that was following them unleashed a hail of bullets
that wounded him in the neck and caused Vega to lose control and crash, he
told El Debate newspaper.

Avila said he managed to escape the car and hide, but the assailants
"finished Mr. Vega off" with shots to the head and chest.

Ana Luisa Gomez, Vega's agent, said memorial services would be held over
several days in Sonora. A Mass was celebrated Monday.

Born in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora state, Vega moved to Phoenix in the 1980s. He
began to sing with his brothers in a group that came to be known as Los
Hermanos Vega, and later, Los Shakas del Norte. The band returned to Mexico
in 1994.

He took a break from music between 2001 and 2003 to undergo rehab for
alcohol and drug addiction.

Just hours before his murder, Vega denied rumors that he had been killed.

"It has happened to me for years now - someone tells a radio station or a
newspaper I have been killed, or suffered an accident," he told La Oreja, an
entertainment website. "And then I have to call my dear mother, who has
heart trouble, to reassure her."

Vega also said he had increased security due to killings of fellow musicians
in northern Mexico - at least seven in the recent years, according to the
BBC.

The list includes Valentin Elizalde, "El Gallo de Oro," who was shot to
death along with his manager and driver in 2006 following a performance in
Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Officials suggested
Elizalde's killing may have been linked to a violent video posted online and
set to his song "A Mis Enemigos."

In 2007, Zayda Pena of the group Zayda and the Guilty Ones was shot in a
hospital while recovering from a separate bullet wound. A day later, Sergio
Gomez of the group K-Paz de la Sierra was kidnapped after a concert at which
Vega also played. Gomez was later found strangled, with signs of having been
tortured.

"Another artist who has gone. Enough!" read one message on Vega's Facebook
page, which has turned into an online memorial wall with hundreds of
postings from grieving fans.

"Many innocent and hardworking people are dying," the message continued. It
urged President Felipe Calderon to end drug violence that has killed more
than 23,000 people since late 2006.

Sinaloa has been as affected by the violence as any other state. It is the
birthplace of Sinaloa cartel bosses Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El
Mayo" Zambada, as well as a half-dozen purported Juarez and Beltran-Leyva
cartel kingpins.

The motive behind Vega's murder is still unclear, and Wald cautioned against
jumping to the conclusion that he was targeted for his music.

"Sinaloa is a very dangerous place right now," he said. "A more realistic
way to phrase the story is that they are killing so many people that some
musicians are included."

Some slayings of singers are reputed to have been caused by jealousy over a
romantic relationship; others due to revenge or to send a message because
the singer, a friend or a relative was involved in trafficking.

"Of course, the fact that these are the common explanations doesn't mean
that they are right," Wald added. "No one who will talk to you knows the
truth, and no one who knows the truth will talk to you."

* * *
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hWWMiLUqC3ACCXrv1EQniUgCcFPQ

So who does the completely insane Regional Mexican/Norteno Novelty/Whatever version of David Seville's "The Witchdoctor" I heard on Austin radio today??? I really really need to know!

Alvin & the Chipmunks?

Here's Banda el Recodo on the Latin Grammys 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3NKeFbK-CE

didn't know there's been a separate banda thread all this time.

rarely used alas.

I probably will miss this Sunday's Los Horoscops du Durango show at East Coast in Woodbridge, VA south of W. DC. That club has a bunch of gigs there involving bands relevent to this thread.

Horoscopos

Horoscopos! Did you hear their album from this year? I, sadly, did not.

But I just listened to Diana Reyes again tonight, and Amame Besame is still great. Probably my second favorite album of the year, after Cathedral. So bright, so many good tunes. Here's my review (from <a href="http://joshlanghoff.blogspot.com/search/label/latin%20music";>blog</a>):

Diana Reyes
Amame, Besame
(EMI Latin)

Diana Reyes has been making good albums for years, but Ámame, Bésame (“Love Me, Kiss Me”) is an explosion of color and energy like nothing else in her catalogue. It’s also a breakthrough for duranguense, the Chicago-based techno-polka style that five years ago threatened to take over regional Mexican radio. Back then, Reyes pulled one of the most effective genre switcheroos in Latin pop history, when she left her native norteño music for duranguense. Reyes was so confident about this career move, she titled her first album in the new genre La Reina del Pasito Duranguense (“The Queen of the Duranguense Dance Step”). Just to make certain nobody argued, she sang the hell out of her songs and grew her fingernails to a frightening length.

Duranguense’s impact has since cooled, thanks to scene infighting and the fickle winds of public taste. Maybe that’s why Ámame, Bésame alternates its polkas with more pop-wise techno cumbias, in the tradition of A.B. Quintanilla’s Kumbia All-Starz. Reyes even covers a couple songs by Quintanilla’s late sister, Selena, and works with his production associate, Luigi Giraldo. Giraldo has assembled a crack band for his songs, and his arrangements really sparkle. When you hear how the accordion switches from outlining the melody to playing riffs, or how the strategically placed laser FX chirp away in the background, you can tell how much care he’s lavished on this music.

Of course, such sonic tchotchkes are par for the course with most pop music. Reyes’s stunning achievement is that she now gets that same bold, detailed sound with her duranguense producers. If Reyes’s previous four duranguense albums were good, they also sounded a little thinner, as though they were made on a much lower budget. Indeed, that’s been the case with lots of duranguense music. For this album Reyes’s Chicago producers, the Orwellian-sounding “The Team, Inc.”, have really amped up the energy. The polkas are faster and louder. Where Reyes’s backing band once sounded anonymous, they now clatter away on tambora and provide wild electronic tuba fills. With their madcap woodwind lines and beat changes, these polkas resemble Carl Stalling’s orchestra performing Europop songs during Oktoberfest. Which isn’t to say it’s ALL louder--the background keyboards that once popped garishly out of the mix have been replaced by softer, subtler synths. What it all adds up to is increased professionalism and, I assume, a higher recording budget courtesy EMI, Reyes’s new label.

Here’s what hasn’t changed: Reyes still sings the hell out of her songs. Whether she’s singing songs written specifically for her, or covering Selena or Lupita d’Alessio (a balladeer and telenovela actress), Reyes delivers each tune with enough full-throated conviction to completely command her arrangements. Her clear tone and phrasing keep her free from syrupy melodrama, but her voice is laced with a magical huskiness that hints at some hidden pain or experience. You sense she knows more than she’s willing to reveal in the song. In the sinister “Ten Mucho Cuidado” (“Be Very Careful”), which sounds like sped-up Ace of Base + accordion, Reyes switches from quick, matter-of-fact tongue twisting to a soaring world weariness. Her song-picking ability is uncannily good, but this woman would sound great even if someone made her sing an album of Ariel Pink covers.

Thankfully it hasn’t come to that. This is the best-sounding duranguense--or, I guess, semi-duranguense--album I’ve heard. It’s bursting with catchy pop songs and full arrangements that allow them to flourish. Ámame, Bésame ends with a polka version of the title track, replete with a whistle doubling the melody, haphazard organ fills, electronic squelches, and what sounds like EVERY OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENT that The Team, Inc. could dig out of their Memory Hole. It’s as though they realized that, after revolutionizing the sound of the duranguense genre, they should send us out with as big a bang as possible. Explosion accomplished.

Y this:

Los Titanes de Durango
Los Locos del Corrido
(Disa)

Picture Cream. Now imagine that Eric Clapton plays accordion. He has to cover all the same parts--fills and riffs and power chords and whatnot--only he plays accordion. Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker are still around, only now they're named Agustin and Jose. And Clapton has a brother! He plays a 12-string that he tunes an octave down. Doesn't add a whole lot to the power trio texture, but, you know, he's cool and he's Clapton's brother. Anyway, Clapton--now rechristened Sergio--writes and sings all the songs. They're like Cream songs if Cream had only one slow song, and if most of the others were spritely waltzes, and everything was recorded really dry and clean and sung in Spanish. (They're not really like Cream songs.) And now imagine that Arizona governor Jan Br3w3r wakes up in the desert to find that she's missing a kidney; someone replaced it with a baggie full of cocaine. Ms. Br3w3r starts to hallucinate in the desert heat--OR DOES SHE?? She gets into a fight with the Statue of Liberty on Gl3nn B3ck's TV show, and the Statue of Liberty bares her noble fangs and rips the baggie out of Br3w3r's abdomen in front of a live audience. Pandemonium ensues, and a Latino March on Washington. (Gl3nn B3ck is so moved by the whole experience that he quits his media jobs and joins the Catholic Workers.) (For no apparent reason, Jeff Beck does the same.) At the March, the transmogrified Cream, rechristened Los Titanes de Durango, play a long set bursting with giddy triumph, and the crowd listens for hours, barely even noticing when the band start repeating songs. That's sort of like this CD.

! where is that review from

oh, that's you - nice

Doesn't Dr. Phil write for newspapers and such under his duranguese name of J*sh something or other?

Ok, I confess, I just learned that "Duranguese" means "from Durango" as in that northern Mexican semi-rural mountainous region, and that many Duranguese bands are Chicago-based. Including Los Horoscopos du Durango whom I missed at the East Coast club in Woodbridge, VA last night. And whose cd with their female members prominently displaying some of their assets, I have not yet purchased from target where I saw it. Los Creadorez, also from Chicago will be at East Coast Monday December 20th. They do a few cumbias as well as polkas, rancheras and more.

I'm not wowed by Los Creadorez, who are an offshoot of one of the first duranguese groups. They're good at what they do, but maybe the problem is me and not them.

I've only written for a newspaper about duranguense this one time, back in '05. (Submitted an EMP proposal this year, but didn't make it in.) Haven't kept up on this stuff as well as I should, but Creadorez is an offshoot of Montez, and they may still be embroiled in a legal battle over the name "Montez". Similar is the legal battle currently going on over the "Alacranes" name; the judge in that case is also presiding over the continuing saga of Rod Blagojevich in our fair city, so last I heard the fate of the "Alacranes" name was kind of on the back burner. If Creadorez are anything like Montez, I can imagine the problem is them -- Montez are technically adept, but everything goes down a little too easy and nothing really sticks out of their music, whereas a band like Alacranes is more playful, with more inventive arrangements.

http://www.holamun2.com/news/versus-montez-de-durango-vs-creadorez-del-pasito-duranguense

The Horoscopos singers, sisters, are indeed blatantly hot. The band belongs to their father, who's been running it since the '70s. They came aboard when he decided to make the leap to duranguense. I guess Dad knows what it takes to sell records.

I just learned that "Duranguese" means "from Durango" as in that northern Mexican semi-rural mountainous region, and that many Duranguese bands are Chicago-based

yeah i love that it's ... indigenous mexican-american? music.

Yes. Chicago and the Los Angeles area seem to be the headquarters. Here's an old article by another Josh who's been writing about this stuff for the NY Times (another piece by him is linked upthread)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/arts/music/14kun.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all

The Creadorez videos get lots of youtube watchers. There's one with a pizza delivery guy who can't get the upscale hot gal; another with a guy carrying a large stuffed animal, flowers, and a box of chocolates and driving an suv around (suburban Chicago?) who is also striking out with an upscale hot gal...

FINAL – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES – January 13, 2011 – Telemundo’s mun2, the second most watched Hispanic cable network among Persons 18-34, announced its new reality series “I Love Jenni” today at NBC Universal’s 2011 TCA Press Tour. “Access Hollywood’s” Shaun Robinson joined as moderator during the press conference, where she interviewed Executive Producer and Star of the reality series, Jenni Rivera and unveiled a sneak peek of “I Love Jenni,” which is slated to premiere March, 2011. The presentation was held at The Langham Hotel in Pasadena, California. Visit mun2.tv/ilovepress for a sneak peek of “I Love Jenni.”

“As mun2 continues to celebrate our uniquely American stories, we couldn’t be prouder to showcase Jenni Rivera’s life,” said Flavio Morales, SVP of Programming and Production for mun2. “Thousands of people around the world have fallen in love with Jenni Rivera and we know you will too.”

“As Producer of our last show on mun2, it was gratifying to see that viewers tuned in,” said Jenni Rivera. “In season two, “I Love Jenni” turns the focus on my complicated career and family, and how we live in both worlds. Fans will get a behind the scenes look at mi vida loca, and all the different personalities in the Rivera family. This is going to be one fun ride.”

“I Love Jenni” is a uniquely American reality series that welcomes viewers to the world of the Rivera family, with Jenni Rivera as our guide. The 13-episode show will offer an inside look at the life of Jenni the superstar, the proud mother of five, the grandmother, the entrepreneur, the media-maven, and now the newlywed, having recently married MLB LA Dodger pitcher and two-time All-Star player Esteban Loaiza.

Jenni Rivera partnered with mun2 in 2010 as Co-Executive Producer of the reality show, “Jenni Rivera Presents Chiquis and Raq-C,” which scored record ratings for the network. Nearly four million (Persons 2+) total viewers tuned in to the reality show during its first season on air and the season finale delivered an impressive 222,000 (Persons 2+) total viewers, 124,000 (Persons 18-34), and 141,000 (Persons 18-49) on average, making it the network's highest rated original reality series. “Jenni Rivera Presents Chiquis and Raq-C” scored over 7 million page views on mun2.tv and, in the last six months, 1.2 million unique visitors have requested Jenni Rivera content.

Jenni Rivera is the most prominent female recording artist in regional Mexican music, the top-selling Latin music genre in the U.S. She is a multi-gold, platinum and double platinum award-winning artist whose record-breaking streaks include being the first Latin artist to sell out the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles two nights in a row.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/nyregion/12bands.html

Mexican norteno music on the NY subways

I love the flashy matching suits so much.

i think this thread needs more pictures

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61K5FF4DS0L.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_P-biL5cjMpM/SZ7vAWX5JcI/AAAAAAAAAMY/-l6Z5WvrtyE/s400/LosTigresDelNorte-320x240-12542.jpg

http://img.blogdeblogs.com/miusyk/uploads/2010/12/lostigresdelnorte.jpg

Awesome

sweet article

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/136459983/first-listen-los-tigres-del-norte-and-friends

Los Tigres new album with a zillion guests including Residente of Calle 13 streaming

pointy shoe thing in the guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2011/may/16/pointy-boots-craze-matehuala-mexico

The Leningrad Cowboys from Finland must be proud

Grupo Exterminador are coming to the DC area. Anyone like them? I haven't searched for their music online yet.

Come back Dr. Phil and Matt-Haikunym. We need folks who know these genres...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/education/tuba-thefts-plague-california-schools.html?ref=music

“But banda has really grown,” Mr. Campos said. “It’s like a new, cool trend with young people. It’s now cool to have a live band with a tuba, or to be a tuba player.”

As a result, sousaphones have made work in bandas more lucrative. A banda can make at least $3,000 for a night’s work at a wedding or quinceañera, said J. D. Salas, who teaches tuba at Steven F. Austin State University in Texas.

And the tuba player, who is often the leader of the group, usually gets the largest share.

amazing i love that

Emphasizing tuba is a really good way for them to keep their music from being co-opted

I don't see this posted already:

5 norteno musicians, 4 others killed in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A masked man opened fire on a band playing popular norteno music Saturday in a Chihuahua city dance hall, killing five musicians, four customers and injuring 10 others.

Chihuahua prosecutors spokesman Carlos Gonzalez said the attack appeared to target members of the La Quinta Banda group but the motive behind the early morning shooting wasn't clear. The suspect, a short man wearing a gray sweatshirt, fired about 40 times with a high-caliber weapon in the Far West disco.

Among the dead was an off-duty police officer, Gonzalez said.

Norteno singers in Mexico have been targeted before, apparently for getting involved with drug cartels, which pay them to compose narcocorridos, or ballads that glorify drug lords.

In 2010, popular norteno singer Sergio Vega was shot dead as he road in his red Cadillac in Sinaloa, a state that has produced many of Mexico's most notorious drug kingpins. Another Norteno singer killed was Valentin Elizalde, "El Gallo de Oro," who was shot to death along with his manager and driver in 2006 following a performance in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas.

La Quinta Banda was well-known in the city of Chihuahua, but not nearly as popular as Elizalde or Vega.

Its MySpace account showcases songs mostly about love and parties.

Photos from local newspapers showed the bloody bodies of the band members lying next to their instruments on stage. Four people were killed in another shooting at the same dance hall in August 2009.

People who answered cell phones listed for La Quinta Banda identified themselves as relatives of the musicians but didn't want to give their names.

The band had reduced its workload, while sometimes playing at extravagant parties in ranches, because of increased drug violence in the northern state.

Also on Saturday, federal police announced the capture of a leader of one armed gang hired by the world's most powerful drug lord Joaquin Guzman, also known as El Chapo.

Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, 33, is the suspected leader of Gente Nueva, an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel mainly based in the border city of Ciudad Juarez. Federal police agents arrested Torres with his bodyguard Friday in the central Mexican city of Leon.

Federal police anti-drug chief Ramon Pequeno said Torres is accused of being the mastermind behind a September 2009 massacre at a rehab center where 18 people were killed.

Torres has an arrest warrant in El Paso, Texas, on drug trafficking charges, Pequeno said.

wow that tuba raid story is awesome! too bad about the murders, though.

I missed AK-7 (Mexican banda) Saturday night at El Boqueron II, in Rockville, MD outside Washington DC. Have not seen any reviews for it (and have not checked tweets).

http://www.negrophonic.com/2012/mexican-drug-ballads-marathon-time/

Man, sad news: Jenni Rivera's died in a plane crash:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2012/12/jenni_rivera_plane_missing.php

Terrible news - a huge loss to the genre. I interviewed her back in 2010.

Yeah, that's really bad. She seemed like such a life force, and I feel for her poor family. "Jenni" was easily one of my favorite albums last decade, and "Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida" wasn't too far behind.

So sad.

Gustavo Arellano's obituary and celebration:

http://www.ocweekly.com/2012-12-13/news/jenni-rivera-la-diva-de-banda-plane-crash/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/mainstream-medias-ignorance-of-jenni-rivera-raises-image-of-parallel-americas/2012/12/11/af858792-43d4-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.html

Washington Post article mentions Arellano and notes that the Washington Post and many other Enlish language locations never covered Rivera while she was alive (and selling out the Staples Center in Los Angeles). I stumbled across a long story on Rivera and her death on tv on Entertainment Tonight. They suddenly loved her backstory and what might have been (planned English language tv show, etc). There was a nice NY Times obit.

More about the crash coming out makes it seem that the plane owner is a REAL shady motherfucker.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jenni-rivera-plane-20121213,0,6099563,full.story

That stinks.

I saw on TPM someone saying "don't ever ride on a private plane if you;re a musician"; presumably referencing Buddy Holly and whomever.

In happier news, Singles Jukebox talked up Roberto Tapia's #1 Regional/#2 Latin hit "Mirando al Cielo" thanks to me, though I wasn't real happy with my blurb. And then on tumblr J0nathan B0gart gave a nuanced account of how reg Mex does and does not equal country music.

Bogart: http://jonathanbogart.tumblr.com/post/37818259528/screwrocknroll-thesinglesjukebox-amnesty

Jukebox: http://thesinglesjukebox.tumblr.com/post/37776519564/amnesty-2012-roberto-tapia-mirando-al-cielo#notes

I reviewed Tapia's 2008 and 2009 albums for AMG, but kinda lost track of him after that. Maybe I should revisit.

Latin Grammy Banda album nominees. The show is on November 21st

Banda Album

"Las Vueltas De La Vida" — Banda Carnaval

"El Free" — Banda Los Recoditos

"2012 Fin y Principio De Una Era" — Cuisillos

"Pá La Raza" — El Dasa

"Muchas Gracias" — La Adictiva Banda De San José Mesillas

"La Original y Sus Boleros De Amor" — La Original Banda El Limón De Salvador Lizárraga

Should probably go see Montez de Durango tonight, but I'm tired

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/los-tigres-del-norte-sing-the-real-stuff-at-immigration-rally/2013/10/08/c3a26a84-304f-11e3-bbed-a8a60c601153_story.html

Jose Perez Leon is such a devastating song.

http://www.npr.org/2013/11/26/247162901/ak-47s-accordions-and-angels-of-death-narcocorridos-hit-the-big-screen

movie doc

That female banda band Los Horoscopos du Darango are back in my part of the world Friday...

I happened upon Los Horoscopos at Taste of Chicago, in 2011 I think. They were really good -- the set was half banda half duranguense, but the banda had some snazzy moves when they weren't playing. Nonstop energy and musicianship.

In other news, the EMP Pop Conference schedule is up, and I'll be presenting with Mr. Kun and Ms. Buendía on this panel, hooray:
Movements
Buendía, “How to Make It in the Americas: The Workings of An Independent Transnational Music Community”
Kun, “I Know All the Borders, Roads, Rivers and Canals: Mobility, Movements, and the Making of ‘Regional Mexican’ Music”
Langhoff, “Pronounced ‘Jai-Fi’: California Norteño, the Word “Hyphy,” and the Story of a Movement”

It's Saturday afternoon April 26, if anyone's going.

My favorite norteno album so far this year is Los Buitres' TERRITORIO BUITRE, but that's not saying a whole lot. About half the songs flip between quartet and banda, and those are the best songs. There's also a couple decent Espinoza Paz numbers and a few that are middling to boring, notably their attempt at an accordion-driven power ballad. I'm still happy to listen all the way through, though. "Mejor Soltero" and "Noche de Lokera" are especially good. They're a weird band -- they alternate between seeming really ambitious and phoning it in.

PopCon schedule: http://www.empmuseum.org/programs-plus-education/programs/pop-conference.aspx?t=schedule#Tabs

Cool

the set was half banda half duranguense, but the banda had some snazzy moves when they weren't playing. Nonstop energy and musicianship.

May I confess to still not always knowing the difference between these two styles and norteno, as well. Can you explain them?

May I confess to still not always knowing the difference between these two styles and norteno, as well. Can you explain them?

Duranguense: too fast half the time; also, ultra-cheesy keyboards
Banda: fucking clarinets
Norteño: THE BEST, because the most stripped-down (guitar, bass, drums, accordion, maybe saxophone)

new blog (early self promotion): http://nortenoblog.wordpress.com/

Humorist's breakdown is basically right on, though he's bothered by clarinets more than I am. A banda's a big band, 16 members or so, with brass, clarinets, and often percussion. Norteño usually refers to a smaller band, with drums, bajo sexto, bass or tuba, and accordion. There is also a repertoire of norteño songs, which bandas often play. Some bandas and norteño groups have close relationships, notably Banda Carnaval and Calibre 50, which share some songwriting credits. Current pop songwriters like Luciano Luna and Espinoza Paz write songs for both types of ensembles.

Duranguense's its own thing and is mostly over at this point. If I remember correctly, its Grammy category was "banda." It's a little like a synth-based approximation of banda, though still mostly acoustic instruments -- the synths take lead lines and oompahs. The lead lines are indeed ultra cheesy; the best artists either buried them in the mix (Diana Reyes) or played up the demented aspects of the music (Banda Lamento Show).

looks good

Hey guyz this thread still exists

From Dr. Phil's blog (minus the links):

These were the top Regional Mexican songs of December 18, 1999, as reported by Billboard. Some things to note:

Los Angeles Azules continue to intrigue.

Several of these bands — El Recodo, Primavera, Los Tigres — released music in 2014. All of them sound pretty much the same today as they did 15 years ago.

Ah, the sound of traditional dance music.

Am now checking out La Nueva Rebelion.

Hey, thanks for reading! Here's the NorteñoBlog Top 10-ish lists. PopMatters ran the same lists with Haikunym adding a blurb for Regulo Caro's album. I would also like to complain that out of 10 Latin albums and 10 Latin songs, Billboard's year-end best-of found space for exactly one norteño artist, Regulo Caro. It's a good song, though -- "Soltero Disponible."

The Singles Jukebox covers La Nueva Rebelión: http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=14673

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/arts/music/ariel-camacho-dies-at-22-lead-singer-of-los-plebes-del-rancho.html?action=click&contentCollection=Music®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=article

Young Mexican norteno and narcocorrido singer

Singer/accordion player Alfredo Olivas shot six times at a show in Chihuahua; 3 people arrested; multiple concerts postponed, obviously.

crazy down there at times

DOMINGO 22 DE MARZO

MONTEZ DE DURANGO
Y AUTORIDAD DE LA SIERRA

EN CONCIERTO!

100 Damas entran Gratis hasta las 10:30pm

Here's NorteñoBlog's top singles of 2015, first quarter, and the accompanying Youtube playlist.

Plus more violence: Javier Rosas, who I was just starting to like, got shot in a scenario that sounds more cartel-related than Olivas's situation. That may still be hearsay, though. (Billboard also reports that "on March 15, Rogelio "El Chicken" Contreras Rivera, of the band Kumbiamberos RS, was kidnapped and killed while playing at a bar in Monterrey," which is terrible.) Of course, Gerardo Ortiz bounced back from a similar shooting incident to become the face of the genre. It reminds me of kids liking 50 Cent for his "authenticity" when he first came out -- I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining that? -- though Ortiz is a way better artist than 50 ever was, and Rosas might be also.

Fascinating article on the banda scene in New York.

Nice. Lots of details.

I am reading a book of essays about regional Mexican music and migration (Musica sin fronteras: ensayos sobre migracion, musica, e identidad) and am learning so much about regional Mexican music. It's really interesting and is making me stop every half page to google something. <3 (also it's in Spanish so I am learning a lot of new musical vocabulary)

Your Spanish is better than mine

http://wiserwithage.com/2019/11/14/grandmother-81-releases-debut-album-with-grandson-and-is-nominated-by-latin-grammys-for-best-norteno-album/?fbclid=IwAR3350j9AgliMsx6XyH2LdLubSon4hvXaF6ZKSZkmq84SqN7cXRA5C9Lpqk

Grandma Norteno album with grandson and his band nominated for Latin Grammys

construction workers next door to my place are blaring their music loud. Shazam says they have played yesterday songs including Betillo Guerrero "Por Clave el 13" and norteno band Los Tucanes de Tijuana

Peso Pluma on Why Being the First Regional Mexican Artist in Spotify’s RADAR Program Is ‘Big for the Country, the Genre and the Industry’ https://t.co/ooHfqTNca7

— billboard latin (@billboardlatin) May 22, 2023

Haven’t figured out why Peso Pluma is getting crossover attention that prior regional Mexican musicians didn’t get

Peso Pluma is playing a huge outdoor arena near DC in August

Also mentioned in this other thread

natanael cano and corridos tumbados