NorteñoBlog

The Billboard charts are boring this week, so please excuse the following disjointed rant…

As NorteñoBlog suggested last post, the Grammys’ approach to Mexican music is fairly ridiculous. The Grammys themselves are ridiculous — although if we forget that they’re supposed to be rewarding the best music, and instead see them as the dying public gasps of an increasingly irrelevant trade organization, with Neil Portnow facing down exciting existential dilemmas around every corner like Sarah journeying through the Labyrinth… well, I dunno if that helps.

AND YET. For many musicians, especially the ones who don’t make much money, the Grammys are not ridiculous. Or maybe not merely ridiculous, but also useful. Take ranchera lifer Aida Cuevas, who won the Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano), against a field of men, for her independently released Arrieros Somos – Sesiones Acústicas. Cuevas used her untelevised Grammy moment to flaunt her charro outfit and to urge Mexican women to speak out against sexual harassment. I won’t pretend to enjoy this particular album of hers, but if we accept that both the Grammy awards and the Blog have slightly less aesthetic authority than one of those plastic duck bobbing contests at a carnival, my opinion doesn’t matter. Cuevas is a talented singer who releases her own music and received a podium. She made the most of her moment. The Mexican music world needs to let in more people like her.

So do the airwaves. If you study last week’s Regional Mexican airplay list, below, you’ll see Chiquis Rivera has dropped off, to be replaced by another token woman: Becky G, whose decidedly non-regional ode to older men, “Mayores,” somehow became the 40th most-played song on regional stations. (This week — not shown due to Blog laziness — she moves up to #22.)

Look, I know studying musicians’ chart positions is a ridiculous exercise. The charts rarely have anything to do with aesthetic quality, and observing the cultural hegemony of “Despacito” is only interesting for a day or so. But the charts do reflect who’s getting paid, and a complete absence of women tells you something unflattering about the values of the industry’s gatekeepers. What will it take to get actual norteño singers like Victoria “La Mala” or Laura Denisse onto the radio — or to get Diana Reyes or Los Horoscopos or Alicia Villarreal back on the radio?

While the Blog organizes a call-in campaign, let’s look at whose new songs are getting played. Radio station billboard anchor Gerardo Ortiz and whirling fount of Terpsichore Marco Flores have brought their VALE LA PENA Mexican hits to El Norte. Los Cardenales de Nuevo León and Los Huracanes del Norte head up the geriatric “beloved by Becky G” contingent with some straight-down-the-middle accordion lopes.

Best of all: Somehow the Blog hasn’t yet noted “Que Me Amas,” a sweet love song from noted eyeliner-and-metal-t-shirt models Siggno. The song starts with “We Will Rock You”-style stadium stomping and distorted guitar, before switching to a midtempo accordion groove that splits the difference between backbeat and polka. You’ve heard Intocable pull this same trick, but Siggno does it better, becuase they keep switching back and forth. The accordion solo and closing drum fusillade are also jarringly good, enough to kick Siggno into coveted Pick to Click status:

And finally, the Blog would be remiss to not point out DJ Kass and his pesky viral hit “Scooby-Doo Pa! Pa!”, according to the Daily Mail the new “Harlem Shake” our nation deserves.

These are the top 50 Hot Latin Songs and top 40 Regional Mexican Songs, courtesy Billboard, as published February 3.

1. “Despacito” – Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber (54 weeks!)
2. “Mi Gente” – J. Balvin & Willy William (30 weeks!)
3. “Echame La Culpa” – Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato
4. “La Modelo” – Ozuna x Cardi B
5. “Corazon” – Maluma X Nego do Borel
6. “Mayores” – Becky G ft. Bad Bunny (28 weeks!) (#40 RegMex!)
7. “Criminal” – Natti Natasha x Ozuna
8. “Krippy Kush” – Farruko, Bad Bunny & Rvssian
9. “El Baño” – Enrique Iglesias ft. Bad Bunny
10. “Machika” – J Balvin x Jeon x Anitta

11. “Sensualidad” – DJ Luian & Mambo Kingz Presentan: Bad Bunny, J Balvin & Prince Royce
12. “Perro Fiel” – Shakira ft. Nicky Jam
13. “Dura” – Daddy Yankee
14. “Downtown” – Anitta & J Balvin
15. “El Farsante” – Ozuna (26 weeks!)
16. “El Color de Tus Ojos” – Banda MS (#7 RegMex)
17. “Robarte Un Beso” – Carlos Vives & Sebastian Yatra (26 weeks!)
18. “Siguelo Bailando” – Ozuna
19. “Se Preparo” – Ozuna
20. “Amor, Amor, Amor” – Jennifer Lopez Featuring Wisin

21. “Todo Comienza En La Disco” – Wisin Featuring Yandel & Daddy Yankee
22. “Como Antes” – Yandel ft. Wisin
23. “Entre Beso y Beso” – La Arrolladora Banda (#1 RegMex)
24. “Dejala Que Vuelva” – Piso 21 Featuring Manuel Turizo
25. “Amantes de Una Noche” – Natti Natasha x Bad Bunny
26. “No Te Pido Mucho” – Alta Consigna (#2 RegMex)
27. “Vuelve” – Daddy Yankee & Bad Bunny
28. “Me Dejé Llevar” – Christian Nodal (#3 RegMex)
29. “Solita” – Almighty, Ozuna, Bad Bunny & Wisin
30. “Casate Conmigo” – Silvestre Dangond x Nicky Jam

31. “Loco Enamorado” – Remmy Valenzuela (#10 RegMex)
32. “Loco Enamorado” – Abraham Mateo, Farruko & Christian Daniel
33. “Quiero Repetir” – Ozuna Featuring J Balvin
34. “Rafa Caro” – T3R Elemento (#38 RegMex)
35. “No Me Hubiera Enamorado” – Cornelio Vega y Su Dinastia (#4 RegMex)
36. “Mamita” – CNCO
37. “Chambea (Wooo!)” – Bad Bunny
38. “Fire Up” – T3r Elemento (#36 RegMex)
39. “En Vida” – Banda Los Sebastianes (#6 RegMex)
40. “La Formula” – De La Ghetto, Daddy Yankee, Ozuna & Chris Jeday

41. “En Definitiva” – Alfredo Olivas
42. “Queria Que Lloraras” – Ulices Chaidez y Sus Plebes (#8 RegMex)
43. “Scooby Doo Pa! Pa!” – DJ Kass
44. “Sutra” – Sebastian Yatra ft. Dalmata
45. “Como Vuelvo A Enamorarte” – Regulo Caro (#11 RegMex)
46. “Como No Adorarla” – Banda Carnaval (#13 RegMex)
47. “Mi Vida Eres Tu” – Virlan Garcia (#9 RegMex)
48. “Corona de Rosas” – Kevin Ortiz ft. Ulices Chaidez (#19 RegMex)
49. “Es Tarde” – Juanes
50. “Palma Salazar” – Gerardo Ortiz (#25 RegMex)

¡Adios!
“Escapate Conmigo” – Wisin ft. Ozuna (40 weeks!)
“Felices Los 4” – Maluma (36 weeks!)
“Que Va” – Alex Sensation + Ozuna
“Si Tu La Ves” – Nicky Jam ft. Wisin
“3 A.M” – Jesse & Joy ft. Gente de Zona
“Bella y Sensual” – Romeo Santos ft. Nicky Jam & Daddy Yankee
“Ropa Interior” – Justin Quiles
“Choka Choka” – Chayanne Featuring Ozuna

—————–

5. “Corrido de Juanito” – Calibre 50

12. “Lo Más Seguro” – Jorge Medina
14. “La Suerte” – Los Plebes del Rancho de Ariel Camacho
15. “Simple y Práctico” – Espinoza Paz
16. “El Corrido del Nano” – El Fantasma
17. “Caso Perdido” – La Maquinaria Norteña
18. “Ni Diablo Ni Santo” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
19. “El Problema” – Alfredo Olivas
20. “No Voy a Detenerte” – Pesado

21. “Esta Es Tu Canción” – La Adictiva Banda San Jose de Mesillas
22. “Vete” – Geru y Su Legión 7
23. “Secuelas de Amor” – Chayín Rubio
24. “El Aroma de Tu Piel” – Gerardo Ortiz
26. “Que Me Amas” – Siggno
27. “Pude Haber Sido Yo” – Edwin Luna y La Trakalosa
28. “Me Está Doliendo El Alma” – La Original Banda el Limón
29. “Como Los Vaqueros” – Lenin Ramirez Featuring Ulices Chaidez
30. “Mi Todo (Por Fijarme En Tu Belleza)” – Jesús Ojeda y Sus Parientes

31. “Diez Minutos Mas” – Los Huracanes del Norte
32. “Casitas de Cojoyo” – Kanales
33. “Zapateado Endemoniado” – Marco Flores y La Jerez
34. “Batallandole” – Enigma Norteña ft. La Séptima Banda
35. “Qué Caro Estoy Pagando” – La Adictiva Banda
37. “Claro Que Duele” – Los Invasores de Nuevo Leon
38. “Me Derrumbé A Tus Pies” – La Fiera de Ojinaga Featuring La Energía Norteña
39. “Complemento Perfecto” – Cardenales de Nuevo León

¡Adios!
“Te Perdono” – Intocable (#8 RegMex)
“Si No Estas Tu” – Banda La Misma Tierra
“La Receta” – Los Rieleros del Norte
“Ya No Sera En Tu Boca” – Nano Machado
“Vas a Volver” – Chiquis Rivera
“El Taxista” – La Energía Norteña
“Se Vinieron Los Problemas” – Noel Torres