NorteñoBlog

In his “Regional Ramblings” column at the McAllen, TX, Monitor, Eduardo Martinez names his five favorite regional Mexican covers of gringo songs. I could take or leave Conjunto Bernal’s cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “One Day at a Time,” but his other picks are gold:

“Desde Ayer,” Oscar Hernandez’s stuttering-accordion take on “Yesterday”;

“Ya Te Olvide,” where Servando Ramos takes the melody from Radiohead’s “Creep” but adds new lyrics and bounce. Come to think of it, most of The Bends would work well as heartbroken duranguense;

obvious Pick to Click “Rueda de Fuego,” where Mingo Saldivar rocks Johnny Cash with a spellbinding opening accordion solo. As Anthony pointed out, “Ring of Fire” was faux-mariachi so this is a terrific act of post-colonial reclamation. As Martinez pointed out, it’s better than Johnny Cash’s version;

and last (and possibly least), Los Hermanos Ayala’s “Guerra de la Galaxias,” an accordioned take on the Star Wars theme that you can’t unhear.

I’d add to the list Rogelio Martínez’s Shania Twain cover “Y Sigues Siendo Tu,” which we’ve discussed, and also Los 6 de Durango doing ’60s rockers Los Apson doing the Drifters in “Fue en un Cafe,” a word-changey take on “Under the Boardwalk.” My music teacher wife heard the beginning of Los Apson and admired the crazy güiro.

Eduardo Martinez’s column is well worth checking out — I didn’t know, for instance, that Roland was making digital accordions and that lots of new accordionists neglect their left hand. (Shame shame, says piano player me.) Regional Ramblings at The Monitor!