Banda El Recodo

Who’s On the Mexican Radio? 2/15/15

Two picks to click this week, the first of which probably shouldn’t count. Down at #19, Grupo Cañaveral De Humberto Pabón played one of their turn-of-the-millennium cumbias, “Tiene Espinas El Rosal,” in concert. They brought out the little Spanish/Mexican indie band Jenny and the Mexicats to sing it with them. It turns out I’m a sucker for both turn-of-the-millennium cumbias and Jenny and the Mexicats, who are classified in Allmusic as “Jazz Blues” because, um, Jenny plays the trumpet? No no. A cursory listen tells me they’re cumbia rockers, and I totally slept on their 2014 album. Confused by this sudden mixture of guilt, cumbia-suckertude, and wanting to sing “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” in the shower, I direct you to their live video and Jenny’s excellent trumpet intonation.

REAL pick to click is Diego Herrera’s (ft. Los Gfez) “Es Todo Un Placer”, one of those norteño quartet-meets-banda mashups the NorteñoBlog loves. You could do worse than subscribing to Remex’s Youtube channel.

I like Fidel Rueda’s “Escuchame” a touch less, but it has the advantage of being short. It also has some really tight brass charts packed into what’s essentially a midtempo norteño quartet waltz.

Picks to run far away include El Bebeto’s second boring ballad in a row, although he returns to banda from his brief mariachi nap; Espinoza Paz’s brief mariachi nap; and Los Primos MX’s insufferable sax ballad. My displeasure has a theme.

These are the Top 20 “Popular” songs in Mexico, as measured by radioNOTAS. Don’t confuse “Popular” with the “General” list, which contains many of the same songs but also “Uptown Funk!” and the ABBA-schlager of Natalia Jiménez.

1. “Contigo” – Calibre 50
2. “Que Tal Si Eres Tu” – Los Tigres Del Norte
3. “Todo Tuyo” – Banda El Recodo
4. “Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos
5. “Culpable Fui (Culpable Soy)” – Intocable
6. “Malditas Ganas” – Alfredo Rios El Komander
7. “Que Aun Te Amo” – Pesado
8. “A Lo Mejor” – Banda MS
9. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – Arrolladora
10. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval

11. “Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortiz
12. “Sencillamente” – Raúl y Mexia + SuenaTron
13. “Mayor De Edad” – La Original Banda el Limón
14. “No Fue Necesario” – El Bebeto
15. “Si Tuviera Que Decirlo” – Pedro Fernandez
16. “Perdi La Pose” – Espinoza Paz
17. “Escuchame” – Fidel Rueda
18. “Me Importas” – Los Primos MX
19. “Tiene Espinas El Rosal” – Grupo Cañaveral De Humberto Pabón ft. Jenny and the Mexicats
20. “Es Todo Un Placer” – Diego Herrera ft. Los Gfez

¡Adios!
“El Pajarito” – Marco Flores y La Número 1 Banda Jerez
“Nos Acostumbramos” – Los Horoscopos de Durango
“En La Sierra y La Ciudad La China” – La Adictiva Banda San Jose
“Debajo Del Sombrero” – Leandro Ríos ft. Pancho Uresti de Banda Tierra Sagrada
“Broche De Oro” – Banda La Trakalosa
“Cuando Tu Me Besas” – El Bebeto
“Dime” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda

February 15, 2015 2

Desfile de Éxitos 2/7/15

Compared to how inert they’ve been, the charts are packed with action this week, almost as full as they’re packed with Romeo Santos. (To say nothing of Romeo’s leather pants!) The upper echelons are still barely moving, though. Weirdly enough, Banda MS has two sucky ballads in the Hot Latin top 10, which measures radio play, sales, and streams, but no songs in the Regional Mexican top 20, an airplay chart. The principles of detection point to a couple possibilities:

Possibility #1. Regional Mexican radio is cooling on Banda MS’s sucky ballads but said ballads still receive lots of support from sales (no data available) and streams (video #8 has 37 million views in three months, and video #9 has 101 million in eight months). This might mean Banda MS receives support from a broader fanbase than other regional Mexican artists, or it might just mean DJs are getting tired of the sucky ballads but fans aren’t. The websites of Chicago’s two regional Mexican stations sort of support this theory, since neither lists Banda MS’s sucky ballads among their top 10 songs. That’s a limited sample size, though, and the top 10 at WOJO “Qué Buena” bears little relation to current Billboard hits.

Possibility #2. Billboard uses a different set of stations to compile the Hot Latin chart than it does the Regional Mexican chart. Without knowing what those stations are, it’s hard to figure out what this might mean. Is it possible Banda MS are getting played on more general Latin stations, or even on Latin pop stations?

The Hot Latin top 10 does have one mover and shaker, although it moved and shook there already about a month ago. Bienvenido (DE NUEVO) to the newly bevideoed “Yo También” by King Romeo, may he live on this chart forever. And because it wouldn’t be fair for one man to clog up the top 10 with four songs that’ve been kicking around for at least half a year, we bid a fond adiós to “Odio,” El Rey’s duet with El Drake. But don’t worry! Romeo’s also down at #25 with a new one, “Hilito.”

Also farewell to J. Balvin’s “6 AM,” Victor Manuelle’s electro-salsa “Que Suenen Los Tambores,” Juan Luis Guerra’s song about besos, Banda Tierra Sagrada’s “Soy Un Desmadre,” and “Al Estilo Mafia” by the nomenclaturally gifted Saul “El Jaguar” ft. La Bandononona Clave Nueva de Max Peraza. In a move as inevitable as a broken heart, Julión Álvarez’s “Dime” graduates from the regional Mexican chart to #17 Hot Latin. Fresh faced Jonatan Sanchez, Gerencia 360’s attempt to grab some of that Luis Coronel money, enters the Regional Mexican chart with “Mi Primera Vez.” I won’t attempt to tell you whether new songs by Chuy Lizarraga, Los Tucanes, and Banda Carnaval are actually NEW.

These are the top 25 Hot Latin Songs and top 20 Regional Mexican Songs, courtesy Billboard, as published Feb. 7.

1. “Bailando” – Enrique ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente de Zona, & the word “contigo” (45 WEEKS OLD)
2. “Ay Vamos” – J Balvin
3. “Propuesta Indecente” – Romeo Santos (79 WEEKS OLD)
4. “Yo También” – Romeo Santos ft. Marc Anthony
5. “Eres Mia” – Romeo Santos (46 WEEKS OLD)
6. “Travesuras” – Nicky Jam
7. “Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortíz (#1 RegMex)
8. “Hablame de Ti” – Banda MS (snoooooozzzzzz)
9. “No Me Pidas Perdon” – Banda MS
10. “Y Asi Fue” – Julión Álvarez (#13 RegMex) (Is this man the best banda singer around right now? Or should we forget the qualifier?)

11. “Qué Tiene De Malo” – Calibre 50 ft. El Komander (#7 RegMex)
12. “Levantando Polvadera” – Voz De Mando (#2 RegMex)
13. “Soltero Disponible” – Regulo Caro (#3 RegMex)
14. “Mi Princesa” – Remmy Valenzuela (#4 RegMex)
15. “Soledad” – Don Omar
16. “Lejos De Aqui” – Farruko
17. “Dime” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda (#14 RegMex)
18. “Piensas (Dile La Verdad)” – Pitbull ft. Gente de Zona
19. “El Karma” – Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes Del Rancho (#10 RegMex)
20. “Javier El de Los Llanos” – Calibre 50 (#6 RegMex)

21. “Mi Vuelvo Un Cobarde” – Christian Daniel
22. “Quédate Con Ella” – Natalia Jiménez (Sleek! Horns + electrobeats!)
23. “Mi Vecinita” – Plan B
24. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón (#5 RegMex) (Oh dear, this is not good. Not just sap — meandering sap.)
25. “Hilito” – Romeo Santos

—————–

8. “Eres Tú” – Proyecto X
9. “Entonces Que Somos” – Banda El Recodo (A nada Luciano Luna ballad off Recodo’s 2013 album, now turned into a dramatic short film.)

11. “Hasta Que Salga El Sol” – Banda Los Recoditos
12. “La Bala” – Los Tigres Del Norte
15. “No Te Vayas” – Fidel Rueda
16. “La Indicada” – Kevin Ortíz
17. “Perdoname Mi Amor” – Los Tucanes de Tijuana
18. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval
19. “Mi Primera Vez” – Jonatan Sánchez
20. “Se Me Sigue Notando” – Chuy Lizarraga y Su Banda Tierra Sinaloense

January 30, 2015 0

Who’s On the Mexican Radio? 1/23/15

Once again the Mexican radio chart tosses away songs faster than Marco Flores and his band can change their dance moves. (Mind the baritone player popping out from behind the congas!) Adiós, Pesado. Farewell, Lucero. Chuy Lizarraga, we hardly knew you. Los Tucanes, romantic ballads are not your forte. And in a couple cases, we simply exchange one skull-numbingly lush ballad for another: meet the new MS and Recodo, same as the old ones. (On the other hand, it looks like Recodo’s got a new album out soon, and science assures us it will not suck.)

As when a forest fire clears the way for delicate saplings, we’ve got a bunch of new songs. The pick to click is “Malditas Ganas” by Alfredo Rios El Komander, in the midst of undergoing a “The Rock”-to-“Dwayne Johnson”-style name change. Los Tigres is in the top 10 with the second delightful single from their 2014 album. In what may be a fluke, Intocable’s charting with a loathsome power ballad off their 2013 album. The balladry’s more powerful with mariachi singer (and new La Voz Kids host) Pedro Fernandez, at #20 with the pretty “Si Tuviera Que Decirlo.” Finally, the brothers Raúl y Mexia Hernández present an entity called SuenaTron, which I’m pretty sure blasted Godzilla with a giant nuclear accordion in the last movie. Here they blast us with “Sencillamente,” pop-rock so straight up I’m not sure what it’s doing on this chart, aside from the accordion.

These are Mexico’s top 20 Popular songs as charted by RadioNotas. Don’t confuse “Popular” with the “General” list, which contains most of the same songs along with “Uptown Funk!”, Calvin Harris’s “Blame,” and Pedro Fernandez’s cohost Natalia Jimenez, among others.

1. “Contigo” – Calibre 50
2. “Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortiz
3. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval
4. “Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos
5. “Dime” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
6. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – Arrolladora
7. “Que Tal Si Eres Tu” – Los Tigres Del Norte
8. “Mayor De Edad” – La Original Banda el Limón
9. “Cuando Tu Me Besas” – El Bebeto
10. “Todo Tuyo” – Banda El Recodo

11. “Malditas Ganas” – Alfredo Rios El Komander
12. “Broche De Oro” – Banda La Trakalosa
13. “Debajo Del Sombrero” – Leandro Ríos ft. Pancho Uresti de Banda Tierra Sagrada
14. “A Lo Mejor” – Banda MS
15. “Culpable Fui (Culpable Soy)” – Intocable
16. “En La Sierra y La Ciudad La China” – La Adictiva Banda San Jose
17. “Sencillamente” – Raúl y Mexia + SuenaTron
18. “Nos Acostumbramos” – Los Horoscopos de Durango
19. “El Pajarito” – Marco Flores y La Número 1 Banda Jerez
20. “Si Tuviera Que Decirlo” – Pedro Fernandez

January 23, 2015 3

Desfile De Éxitos 1/24/15

If it’s possible, the Hot Latin top 10 is getting even more stagnant. A month ago, nine of the top 10 songs were the same as they are now, and four of them were by Romeo Santos. As of two weeks ago, Gerardo Ortiz’s “Eres Una Niña” had replaced one of Romeo’s. No such excitement this week: all 10 songs are the same as they were two weeks ago. The #1 song has been on the chart for 43 weeks. The most recent of King Romeo’s three top 10 hits has been on the chart 44 weeks, and the longest an astounding 77 weeks. “Bailando” has always been at war with “Propuesta Indecente.”

As the farmer said to his dead cow while watching the sorghum grow, not much happening anywhere this week. On Hot Latin we say “adiós” to Yandel’s “Plakito”; on Regional Mexican, Banda Carnaval’s “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” loses the game of musical chairs. They’re replaced by Farruko’s “Lejos De Aqui” and Fidel Rueda’s “No Te Vayas,” respectively. (In case I haven’t mentioned it, the current picks to click are Victor Manuelle’s electro-salsa “Que Suenen Los Tambores,” #13, and Natalia Jiménez’s electro-mariachi “Quédate Con Ella,” #17. They’re slightly outside our scope, but good songs are good songs.)

In his great Pitchfork piece “I Know You Got Soul,” Chris Molanphy explains what’s behind this stasis:

In October 2012, [Billboard] announced an overhaul to its R&B/Hip-Hop, Country, and Latin Songs charts, all incorporating digital sales and streaming for the first time. The modernization of these genre charts was long overdue, but Billboard threw out the baby with the bathwater. Or, you might say, drowned the baby in too much bathwater: Now, digital sales from any source, any buyer (read: pop fans) would be factored into each chart. Worse, in order to achieve sales and radio parity, Billboard also incorporated airplay across all radio formats into the genre charts; so airplay from Top 40 or adult-contemporary stations of, say, an R&B song would now count for the R&B chart, of a country song would count for the country chart, and so forth. In essence, Billboard would now use the exact same data set for these genre charts that it uses for the Hot 100, and simply trim the charts back to whatever songs the magazine determined fit that genre — each chart became a mini–Hot 100.

This certainly explains the longevity of “Bailando,” whose Top 40 spins bolster its Hot Latin dominance. And indeed, “Bailando” is only the latest in a line of #1 hogs:

On Latin Songs, the steady turnover of hits atop the chart slowed down instantly, as a crossover hit that paired reggaetón stars Wisin y Yandel with Chris Brown and T-Pain vaulted to No. 1 and settled in for a months-long run.

I can’t explain the slow turnover among Regional Mexican Songs, though; or why the Mexican charts seem to turn over quicker.

These are the top 25 Hot Latin Songs and top 20 Regional Mexican Songs, courtesy Billboard, as published Jan. 24.

1. “Bailando” – Enrique ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente de Zona, & the word “contigo”
2. “Ay Vamos” – J Balvin
3. “Propuesta Indecente” – Romeo Santos (I just wanna point out this song is 77 WEEKS OLD.)
4. “Travesuras” – Nicky Jam
5. “Eres Mia” – Romeo Santos
6. “6 AM” – J Balvin ft. Farruko
7. “Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortíz (#1 RegMex)
8. “Y Asi Fue” – Julión Álvarez (#4 RegMex) (Is this man the best banda singer around right now? Or should we forget the qualifier?)
9. “Odio” – Romeo Santos ft. Drake
10. “No Me Pidas Perdon” – Banda MS (#10 Reg Mex)

11. “Qué Tiene De Malo” – Calibre 50 ft. El Komander (#12 RegMex)
12. “Hablame de Ti” – Banda MS (snoooooozzzzzz)
13. “Que Suenen Los Tambores” – Victor Manuelle
14. “Javier El de Los Llanos” – Calibre 50 (#3 RegMex)
15. “Levantando Polvadera” – Voz De Mando (#2 RegMex)
16. “Mi Princesa” – Remmy Valenzuela (#6 RegMex)
17. “Quédate Con Ella” – Natalia Jiménez (Sleek! Horns + electrobeats!)
18. “Hasta Que Salga el Sol” – Banda Los Recoditos (#8 RegMex)
19. “Mi Vecinita” – Plan B
20. “Tus Besos” – Juan Luis Guerra 440

21. “Lejos De Aqui” – Farruko
22. “Soltero Disponible” – Regulo Caro (#7 RegMex)
23. “El Karma” – Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes Del Rancho (#11 RegMex)
24. “Soledad” – Don Omar
25. “La Bala” – Los Tigres Del Norte (#5 RegMex)

—————–

9. “Eres Tú” – Proyecto X

13. “Zapatillas Ferragamo” – Meño Lugo
14. “Entonces Que Somos” – Banda El Recodo (A nada Luciano Luna ballad off Recodo’s 2013 album, now turned into a dramatic short film.)
15. “Soy Un Desmadre” – Banda Tierra Sagrada ft. Marco Flores y La #1 Banda Jerez
16. “Dime” – Julión Álvarez
17. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón (Oh dear, this is not good. Not just sap — meandering sap.)
18. “La Indicada” – Kevin Ortíz
19. “No Te Vayas” – Fidel Rueda
20. “Al Estilo Mafia” – Saul El Jaguar ft. La Bandononona Clave Nueva de Max Peraza

January 17, 2015 0

Who’s On the Mexican Radio? 1/10/15

In which Mexican radio churns through songs somewhat faster than the U.S.

In the month since I last posted this chart, seven songs have departed, including Calibre 50/El Komander’s #1 “Qué Tiene De Malo,” Los Tigres’ “La Bala” (both still big in El Norte), and the execrable “En Tu Twitter Y Facebook.” Two months ago, when I first posted this chart, eight of the 20 songs were the same, which seems like healthy turnover. Contrast that with the U.S. Hot Latin chart, where more than half the songs — 15 or 16 of 25 (I ran out of fingers) — are the same as they were two months ago. I mean, the only new song in the Hot Latin top 10 is “Eres Una Niña.” That’s two months with nine of ten songs permanently ensconced! “Bailando” has always been at war with “Propuesta Indecente.” Even among the roiling top Regional Mexican Songs list, 12 of 20 songs are still there after two months, the reverse of the Mexican chart. Why so much less turnover in the U.S.? Um… stay tuned.

These are the top 20 Popular songs of the week in México, as measured by radionotas. The General top 20 contains basically the same top 10, plus “Uptown Funk,” “Animals,” Calvin Harris, and some Spanish-language pop in its lower reaches. The pick to click, snuck in among all these ballads — and santo cielo, there’s a lot of ballads — is Marco Flores’s blazing “El Pajarito.” The man is a dancing machine.

1. “Contigo” – Calibre 50
2. “Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortiz
3. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval
4. “Dime” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
5. “Cuando Tu Me Besas” – El Bebeto
6. “Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos
7. “Mayor De Edad” – La Original Banda el Limón
8. “Háblame De Ti” – Banda MS
9. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – Arrolladora
10. “Broche De Oro” – Banda La Trakalosa

11. “Somos Ajenos” – Banda El Recodo
12. “Nos Acostumbramos” – Los Horoscopos de Durango
13. “Debajo Del Sombrero” – Leandro Ríos ft. Pancho Uresti de Banda Tierra Sagrada
14. “En La Sierra y La Ciudad La China” – La Adictiva Banda San Jose
15. “El Pajarito” – Marco Flores y La Número 1 Banda Jerez
16. “Perdoname Mi Amor” – Los Tucanes De Tijuana
17. “Se Me Sigue Notando” – Chuy Lizarraga
18. “Tan Bonita” – Pasado ft. Raul Hernandez
19. “No Entiendo” – Lucero
20. “Asi Te Quiero Yo” – Banda Tierra Sagrada

January 12, 2015 1

Archivos de 2000

Chart geeks know the story of “Macarena”‘s long climb to number one on Billboard‘s Hot 100 — this song was giving people’s cuerpos alegria for a record-breaking 33 weeks (the chafing!) before it hit the top spot, and it had to undergo remix to get there. But things move even slower on the genre charts. Chris Young’s ode to the “Voices” in his head was on the Hot Country Songs chart for almost a year, 51 weeks, before it hit #1 in 2011. And among all the Latin charts, the longest climb to #1 — 43 weeks — took place in 2000-01 on Regional Mexican Songs, with a banda cover of Shania Twain.

When Chicago’s WOJO changed its format to regional Mexican on September 25, 2000, Rogelio Martínez’s “Y Sigues Siendo Tu” was moving up at #5, but it still had more than three months to go before it’d reach the top. (It peaked at #8 on the overall Hot Latin chart, and I’m pretty sure I remember hearing it on Latin pop radio at the time, rare for banda songs.) Musically it’s really good, though you should always keep in mind that I’m a rockist gringo whose musical wheelhouse revolves around hair metal. There are some momentum-killing horn blares in the verses, but the momentum is still undeniable, and the banda achieves it by simulating a slow backbeat with the horns. The tuba is the kick drum, the soft trumpet stabs are the snare, and though they’re helped out by a subtle drum kit, the horns do most of the rhythmic work. This remains an excellent technique for bandas who want to play power ballads, as when Banda Rancho Viejo plays an Espinoza Paz song. The composite brass rhythm basically comes out sounding like “We Will Rock You.”

Springing from Wednesday’s post, these were Billboard‘s top regional Mexican songs in the issue dated Sept. 23, 2000. Besides Martínez/Twain, the pick to click is probably Límite’s “Por Encima De Todo,” a minor key Tejano cumbia with a good accordion solo and sharp singing from Alicia Villarreal.

1. “En Cada Gota de Mi Sangre” – Conjunto Primavera (#12 Hot Latin)
2. “Yo Se Que Te Acordaras” – Banda El Recodo (#13 Hot Latin)
3. “De Paisano A Paisano” – Los Tigres Del Norte (#15 Hot Latin)
4. “Eras Todo Para Mi” – Los Temerarios (#16 Hot Latin)
5. “Y Sigues Siendo Tu” – Rogelio Martinez (#10 Hot Latin)
6. “Secreto De Amor” – Joan Sebastian (#4 Hot Latin)
7. “Pa’ Que Son Pasiones” – Tiranos Del Norte (#20 Hot Latin)
8. “Por Encima De Todo” – Límite (#22 Hot Latin)
9. “Te Soñé” – El Coyote y Su Banda Tierra Santa (#23 Hot Latin) (These two words they swear to you!)
10. “A Ella” – El Poder Del Norte (#25 Hot Latin)
11. “No Puedo Olvidar Tu Voz” – El Coyote y Su Banda Tierra Santa (#27 Hot Latin)
12. “Sin Ti No Se Vivir” – Los Angeles Azules (#29 Hot Latin)
13. “Tu Y Las Nubes” – Lupillo Rivera (#30 Hot Latin)
14. “El Liston de Tu Pelo” – Los Angeles Azules
15. “Mentirosa” – Los Rieleros Del Norte (#33 Hot Latin)

… and, in at #40 on Hot Latin, it’s “Los Dos Zacatecanos” by Banda Machos.

January 9, 2015 2

Desfile De Éxitos 1/10/15

These are the top 25 Hot Latin Songs and top 20 Regional Mexican Songs, courtesy Billboard, as published Jan. 10. Things to note:

The ~~New Year’s hangover~~ chart count for “Propuesta Indecente” increases to 75 weeks. While the Hot Latin top 10 seems etched in stone, 11-25 is more lively, thanks to musical rudeness if not the pace of chart turnover.

It’s been three weeks since we last checked these charts. (¡Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año!) On Hot Latin we say “adiós” to Ricky Martin’s song of the same name, along with songs by Luis Fonsi and Romeo Santos. (Weep not; Santos still has three others in the top 10.) In Regional Mexican, we bid farewell to Jorge Valenzuela, Los Huracanes, La Maquinaria Norteña, and La Adictiva Banda. But hey! — we sometimes like Banda El Recodo, Arrolladora, and Banda Carnaval, and they’re all here with new tunes of varying likability. So is Julión Álvarez, who’s always welcome, even if he’s brought the most boring song (“Dime”) off his latest album as a hostess gift. “It’s already been a hit in México,” he assures us, trying to impress.

Last week while we were reveling, Gerardo Ortiz’s supple bachata + banda ballad “Eres Una Niña” hit #1 on the Regional Mexican chart. This week it falls to Voz De Mando, but we can still revel. Especially since I finally listened to Remmy Valenzuela’s #18 ballad “Mi Princesa,” and it’s pretty good — cut from the ’50s doo-wop school of romance and sung with high drama. Valenzuela, you’ll remember, is a young fleet-fingered corridista, but he cleans up nice for his princesa.

Finally, Regulo Caro’s irresistible blast of smarm “Soltero Disponible” moves up to Hot Latin at #21. Its opulent, tongue-in-cheek video is sort of like Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” only with more breast bling. “Soltero” was notably the only norteño/banda song to make Leila Cobo’s list of the Best Latin Songs of 2014, which we’ll puzzle over later. (Her albums list contains zero regional Mexican, albeit lots of albums I haven’t heard.)

1. “Bailando” – Enrique ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente de Zona, & the word “contigo”
2. “Propuesta Indecente” – Romeo Santos (I just wanna point out this song is 75 WEEKS OLD, and that maybe someone’s chart methodology needs tweaking.)
3. “Ay Vamos” – J Balvin
4. “Travesuras” – Nicky Jam
5. “Eres Mia” – Romeo Santos
6. “6 AM” – J Balvin ft. Farruko
7. “Odio” – Romeo Santos ft. Drake
8. “Y Asi Fue” – Julión Álvarez (#5 RegMex) (Is this man the best banda singer around right now? Or should we forget the qualifier?)
9. “Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortíz (#2 RegMex)
10. “No Me Pidas Perdon” – Banda MS (#14 Reg Mex)

11. “Qué Tiene De Malo” – Calibre 50 ft. El Komander (#9 RegMex)
12. “Levantando Polvadera” – Voz De Mando (#1 RegMex)
13. “Javier El de Los Llanos” – Calibre 50 (#3 RegMex)
14. “Que Suenen Los Tambores” – Victor Manuelle
15. “Hasta Que Salga el Sol” – Banda Los Recoditos (#10 RegMex)
16. “El Karma” – Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes Del Rancho (#7 RegMex)
17. “La Bala” – Los Tigres Del Norte (#4 RegMex)
18. “Mi Princesa” – Remmy Valenzuela (#6 RegMex)
19. “Tus Besos” – Juan Luis Guerra 440
20. “Quédate Con Ella” – Natalia Jiménez (Sleek! Horns + electrobeats!)

21. “Soltero Disponible” – Regulo Caro (#8 RegMex)
22. “Hablame de Ti” – Banda MS (snoooooozzzzzz)
23. “Mi Vecinita” – Plan B
24. “Plakito” – Yandel ft. El General Gadiel
25. “Soledad” – Don Omar

—————–

11. “Entonces Que Somos” – Banda El Recodo (A nada Luciano Luna ballad off Recodo’s 2013 album, now turned into a dramatic short film.)
12. “Eres Tú” – Proyecto X
13. “Zapatillas Ferragamo” – Meño Lugo
15. “Soy Un Desmadre” – Banda Tierra Sagrada ft. Marco Flores y La #1 Banda Jerez
16. “La Indicada” – Kevin Ortíz
17. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval (What a courtly bunch of hombres.)
18. “Al Estilo Mafia” – Saul El Jaguar ft. La Bandononona Clave Nueva de Max Peraza
19. “Dime” – Julión Álvarez
20. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón (Oh dear, this is not good. Not just sap — meandering sap.)

January 2, 2015 2

Archivos de 1999

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.

The attempt to pinpoint when banda pop became today’s banda pop continues. I’m still looking for a swanky swinging midtempo backbeat ballad with doo-wop chord changes played by an entirely brass band. In the meantime, Recodo’s “Te Ofrezco Un Corazón” could’ve been released yesterday, but it’s more what Billboard would call “mainstream banda,” as in this excerpt from the March 3, 2001 issue:

The group’s somewhat avantgarde approach to music can be attributed to Don Cruz, the man who made vocals a staple of the band and who back in 1985 even dared to use a keyboard (not a banda instrument) on one of the group’s live albums.

A typical El Recodo album mixes genres. Y Llegaste Tu, for example, includes merengues and ballads, but the title track is more mainstream banda (in contrast to “Deja,” which is a ballad, says Moreno).

“We’re a typical banda sinaloense [a band from Sinaloa, Mexico, featuring brass instruments and percussion] that’s evolved,” says Alfonso. “We’ve tried to put on a more modern show and at the same time preserve a sound older followers can identify with. We want to offer a first-rate show that’s very Mexican.”

1. “Te Ofrezco Un Corazón” – Banda El Recodo
2. “Te Quiero Mucho” – Los Rieleros Del Norte
3. “El Liston De Tu Pelo” – Los Angeles Azules
4. “No Le Ruegues” – Conjunto Primavera
5. “Con Quien Estarás” – Banda Arkangel R-15
6. “Mi Gusto Es” – Ezequiel Peña
7. “Sonador Eterno” – Intocable
8. “Dos Gotas De Agua” – Banda Maguey
9. “Perdoname” – Pepe Aguilar
10. “Paraiso Terrenal” – Priscila Y Sus Balas De Plata
11. “No Compro Amores” – Banda Machos
12. “Alma Rebelde” – Limite
13. “Eternamente” – Vicente Fernández
14. “Con La Soga Al Cuello” – Los Tigres Del Norte
15. “Basura” – Los Mismos