El Bebeto

Who’s On the Mexican Radio? 4/10/15

This week’s two new songs present a conundrum. Do I prefer Los Recoditos’ new ballad “Me Toco Perder,” specifically the heartfelt manner in which the lead singer pronounces the word “estrellllllas,” holding himself back from the crucial high note until his vibrato bursts through like a tear-filled reservoir? Or should I direct you instead to the speedier pleasures of La Iniciativa’s “La Reina,” which has lots of stop-start precision and chewy tuba-vs.-accordion lines? Probably the latter. But there’s a third song that deserves your attention more: Ariel Camacho’s love song “Te Metiste,” debuting this week on Billboard’s Hot Latin chart but not the regional Mexican chart, which means it’s getting most of its listens from streams and/or downloads. This could still be the result of Camacho’s death bump, but I prefer to think people are seeking out this song because of its great melody played by an excellent band. Pick to click:

In other news, Julión Álvarez’s “El Amor de Su Vida” goes top 10 in both countries. Clearly I am wrong about it.

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!”, “Sugar,” and, sounding like they crashed from all that sugar, Juan Gabriel singing with Juanes.

1. “Contigo” – Calibre 50
2. “Después de Ti ¿Quién?” – La Adictiva Banda San Jose
3. “Que Tal Si Eres Tu” – Los Tigres Del Norte
4. “Perdi La Pose” – Espinoza Paz
5. “A Lo Mejor” – Banda MS
6. “Si Tuviera Que Decirlo” – Pedro Fernandez
7. “El Amor de Su Vida” – Julión Álvarez
8. “Confesion” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón
9. “No Fue Necesario” – El Bebeto
10. “Todo Tuyo” – Banda El Recodo

11. “Malditas Ganas” – Alfredo Rios El Komander
12. “Indeleble” – Banda Los Sebastianes
13. “Escuchame” – Fidel Rueda
14. “Me Importas” – Los Primos MX
15. “Que Aún Te Amo” – Pesado
16. “Ponte Las Pilas” – America Sierra
17. “Que te Quede Claro” – Saul El Jaguar
18. “Adicto a la Tristeza” – Banda La Trakalosa ft. Pancho Uresti
19. “Me Toco Perder” – Banda Los Recoditos
20. “La Reina” – La Iniciativa

¡Adios!
“Sencillamente” – Raúl y Mexia + SuenaTron
“Culpable Fui (Culpable Soy)” – Intocable

April 10, 2015 1

Who’s On the Mexican Radio? 3/27/15

Little to report this week: the only new songs in the top 20 are disappointing ballads by Julión Álvarez and Saul “El Jaguar.” One of the bright spots is #8, where norteño quintet Pesado’s “Que Aún Te Amo” lopes and soars amid all the ballads surrounding it in the top 10. (Also, I’m wondering whether I could get my hair to look like the young lead in the video. My blending skills need work.) At #9, mariachi singer Pedro Fernandez soars but doesn’t lope; rather, his beat chugs and pulses in ways that remind me of mid-’80s NRG ballads, or maybe Vangelis. And I won’t say it’s good, but Banda MS’s video for “A Lo Mejor” somehow crams an entire novela episode, including a cheap trick ending, into five minutes; I’m still trying to figure out how everyone’s related. Better than Sudoku for keeping your mind sharp!

1. “Contigo” – Calibre 50
2. “Que Tal Si Eres Tu” – Los Tigres Del Norte
3. “Después de Ti ¿Quién?” – La Adictiva Banda San Jose
4. “A Lo Mejor” – Banda MS
5. “No Fue Necesario” – El Bebeto
6. “Perdi La Pose” – Espinoza Paz
7. “Culpable Fui (Culpable Soy)” – Intocable
8. “Que Aún Te Amo” – Pesado
9. “Si Tuviera Que Decirlo” – Pedro Fernandez
10. “Confesion” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón

11. “Todo Tuyo” – Banda El Recodo
12. “Malditas Ganas” – Alfredo Rios El Komander
13. “Ponte Las Pilas” – America Sierra
14. “Me Importas” – Los Primos MX
15. “Escuchame” – Fidel Rueda
16. “Adicto a la Tristeza” – Banda La Trakalosa ft. Pancho Uresti
17. “Indeleble” – Banda Los Sebastianes
18. “El Amor de Su Vida” – Julión Álvarez
19. “Que te Quede Claro” – Saul El Jaguar
20. “Sencillamente” – Raúl y Mexia + SuenaTron

¡Adios!
“Tranquilito” – El Chapo de Sinaloa
“Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos

March 27, 2015 3

Who’s On the Mexican Radio? 3/13/15

Los Tigres’ celebration of triplets (the musical figure, not the polyzygotic phenomenon) continues at #1 in Mexico this week. There’s some activity in the lower rungs of the chart, where Arrolladora replaces one boring ballad, still a hit in El Norte, with one slightly less boring tune that sounds vaguely like Dean Martin’s “Sway.” (Only Arrolladora have the magic technique.) Banda Los Sebastianes re-enter the chart with the evanescent “Indeleble,” and El Chapo de Sinaloa appears with “Tranquilito,” for which only a turbulent “making of” video exists.

For once the US charts are more interesting! For one thing, Hot Latin boasts its fifth #1 in five weeks, with Nicky Jam & Enrique’s “El Perdon.” Last week was the late Ariel Camacho’s “El Karma,” which recedes to #10 this week following its death bump. Before that was J Balvin’s “Ay Vamos,” then Maná ft. Shakira, and before that…

This is the first time five different songs have topped the chart in as many weeks since January/February 2014, when Marc Anthony gave way to Prince Royce, then to King Romeo’s “Propuesta Indecente,” then to Enrique ft. Marco Antonio Solís, and finally to the “Odio” juggernaut. “Odio,” you’ll remember, was the last number one before our recent glorious era of “Bailando.” (“Bailando” has always been at war with “Propuesta Indecente.”) The era came to an end with Maná and Shakira’s “Mi Verdad.” During the previous set of five number ones in five weeks, back in 2012, the chart turned over more frequently; this was just prior to Billboard‘s controversial decision to incorporate both streaming data and airplay from across all genres into genre charts, and Hot Latin songs began ruling the roost for weeks on a regular basis.

New songs in the US Regional Mexican top 20 include La Séptima Banda’s “Bonito y Bello,” likable for its minor chords but otherwise meh; Los Huracanes’ “Como Tu No Hay Dos,” a slow country waltz; and the Pick to Click, La Maquinaria Norteña’s “Si Te Vuelvo a Ver,” a stomping country polka with some puro Chihuahua sax, by way of New Mexico. I want La Maquinaria Norteña’s logo on my windshield.

1. “Que Tal Si Eres Tu” – Los Tigres Del Norte
2. “Contigo” – Calibre 50
3. “Culpable Fui (Culpable Soy)” – Intocable
4. “A Lo Mejor” – Banda MS
5. “Después de Ti ¿Quién?” – La Adictiva Banda San Jose
6. “Que Aun Te Amo” – Pesado
7. “Todo Tuyo” – Banda El Recodo
8. “No Fue Necesario” – El Bebeto
9. “Malditas Ganas” – Alfredo Rios El Komander
10. “Perdi La Pose” – Espinoza Paz

11. “Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos
12. “Si Tuviera Que Decirlo” – Pedro Fernandez
13. “Sencillamente” – Raúl y Mexia + SuenaTron
14. “Ponte Las Pilas” – America Sierra
15. “Escuchame” – Fidel Rueda
16. “Me Importas” – Los Primos MX
17. “Confesion” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón
18. “Adicto a la Tristeza” – Banda La Trakalosa ft. Pancho Uresti
19. “Indeleble” – Banda Los Sebastianes
20. “Tranquilito” – El Chapo de Sinaloa

¡Adios!
“Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – Arrolladora
“El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval
“Tiene Espinas El Rosal” – Grupo Cañaveral De Humberto Pabón ft. Jenny and the Mexicats

March 12, 2015 1

Who’s On the Mexican Radio? 2/27/15

Stasis sets in on the Mexican radio chart, with the top eight songs simply shuffling among themselves. Even the lower reaches contain only three new entries this week, but all three fill important niches. In the “boring banda ballad” spot, La Adictiva Banda replaces La Original Banda. Banda la Trakalosa replaces Gerardo Ortiz in the “actually good banda ballad” spot with their high-camp “Adicto a La Tristeza,” a previous Pick to Click. And the new “fast norteño quartet song” is from songwriter to the stars America Sierra, whose “Ponte Las Pilas” replaces Diego Herrera. Herrera’s song may have been a tad better, but only because he got Banda Los Gfez to play on it.

In other news, the Los Tigres song at #1 this week sounds better every time I hear it.

There’s even less action over at Billboard, although J Balvin finally gets a #1 hit with the 25-week-old “Ay Vamos,” and Enigma Norteño enters the Regional Mexican chart with the spry “Calla Y Me Besas.” That’s three hot Latin #1s in as many weeks! I’m scratching away at my dry skin with excitement.

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!”, “Blank Space,” and the ABBA-schlager of Natalia Jiménez.

1. “Que Tal Si Eres Tu” – Los Tigres Del Norte
2. “Contigo” – Calibre 50
3. “Culpable Fui (Culpable Soy)” – Intocable
4. “Todo Tuyo” – Banda El Recodo
5. “A Lo Mejor” – Banda MS
6. “Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos
7. “Que Aun Te Amo” – Pesado
8. “Malditas Ganas” – Alfredo Rios El Komander
9. “No Fue Necesario” – El Bebeto
10. “Después de Ti ¿Quién?” – La Adictiva Banda San Jose

11. “Si Tuviera Que Decirlo” – Pedro Fernandez
12. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – Arrolladora
13. “Sencillamente” – Raúl y Mexia + SuenaTron
14. “Escuchame” – Fidel Rueda
15. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval
16. “Perdi La Pose” – Espinoza Paz
17. “Me Importas” – Los Primos MX
18. “Ponte Las Pilas” – America Sierra
19. “Adicto a la Tristeza” – Banda La Trakalosa ft. Pancho Uresti
20. “Tiene Espinas El Rosal” – Grupo Cañaveral De Humberto Pabón ft. Jenny and the Mexicats

¡Adios!
“Es Todo Un Placer” – Diego Herrera ft. Los Gfez
“Mayor De Edad” – La Original Banda el Limón
“Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortiz

February 27, 2015 1

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.

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

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

Who’s On the Mexican Radio?

These are the top 20 Popular singles in México, as measured by monitorLATINO on December 5, 2014. Things to note:

As expected, there’s more shuffling on this list than on Billboard’s U.S. Regional Mexican Songs chart. (Granted, it’s been a couple weeks since we looked at this chart.) This week we say adiós to the ubiquitous Espinoza Paz, who may soon return with his power ballad about being a decent human being. A sadder adiós to three minor hits that were crass breaths of fresh air: Los Buitres’ “La Bipolar,” “Ya No Vives En Mi” by the preternaturally nomenclaturally gifted La Bandononona, and Banda Los Sebastianes’ “Todo Lo Incluido” — it’s nothing too special as a ballad, but as a study in how to sing high harmonies, oh man.

On the other hand, we welcome Lucero, a real live female, at #20, and at #10, a Recoditos ballad I’ve called “saccharine crap” but is worth hearing just because it’s by Recoditos. Gerardo Ortiz’s bachata-biting “Eres Una Niña” is at #9 — so with Los Tigres still charting and Calibre 50’s “Qué Tiene De Malo” starting to hit in El Norte, that makes three points of overlap with the U.S. chart.

1. “Qué Tiene De Malo” – Calibre 50 ft. El Komander
2. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval
3. “Hombre Libre” – La Adictiva Banda San José
4. “Cuando Tu Me Besas” – El Bebeto
5. “Dime” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
6. “Háblame De Ti” – Banda MS
7. “Se Me Sigue Notando” – Chuy Lizarraga
8. “Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortiz
9. “Mayor De Edad” – La Original Banda el Limón
10. “Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos

11. “Somos Ajenos” – Banda El Recodo
12. “Perdoname Mi Amor” – Los Tucanes De Tijuana
13. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – Arrolladora
14. “Broche De Oro” – Banda La Trakalosa
15. “En Tu Twitter y Facebook” – Danny Guillen (As you might imagine I went for this one first, and hoo boy, is this a terrible song.)
16. “El Papel Cambio” – Alfredo Rios El Komander
17. “La Bala” – Los Tigres Del Norte
18. “Bien Servida” – Los Gfez ft. Diego Herrera
19. “No Te Vayas” – Fidel Rueda
20. “No Entiendo” – Lucero

December 5, 2014 0

Who’s On the Mexican Radio?

I live near Chicago, where we have one country station — or sometimes two, if the cloud cover and solar flares and other relevant factors (airborne toxic events?) cooperate and Milwaukee’s airwaves reach my antenna. Aside from Rick Jackson’s syndicated “Country Classics” show, I don’t trust these stations. They sound programmed by some depressing combination of Billboard and brute force, and when they reach into the past to find some roots, they almost always emerge with some shiny pop country hit from the past decade and a half. The DJs sound like they got booted over from the Hot AC channel. The first time I heard Thomas Rhett’s disco-tinged (and possibly date-rape-tinged) “Make Me Wanna,” the lady punching up the hott traxxx said, “I like that song, you know, it’s so DIFFERENT!” Well, no, not if you’ve been listening to Gretchen Wilson’s really good last album, or ’80s Ronnie Milsap, or even Big & Rich or Toby Keith or Kenny Chesney. (Or Tom Petty’s “Breakdown,” or Lou Christie’s “Lightning Strikes.”) I’m not #Savingcountrymusic or anything, but it’s nice to have a sense that your radio station understands its music and isn’t simply doing what it’s told.

Whenever I visit my grandparents south-central Missouri, they have a ton of country stations. (Also a model of Stonehenge, something called the Mule Trading Post, and a town called Bourbon. “I think that’s really water,” says Grandpa every time we’ve passed Bourbon’s water tower for the past 37 years.) As you might expect, these stations exhibit some expertise. They play the hits, yeah, but they alternate ’em with the hits of several previous decades. Like, I’m sure Bourbon pledges allegiance to the Hag. And possibly vice versa. They also play great minor songs, like Collin Raye’s “Midlife Chrysler,” that I’ve never heard up in my arid suburbia. I won’t even claim I prefer all the songs I hear in Missouri, on balance, to the songs on my citified Chicago country station. But you can tell the Missourians know what they’re talking about. (Their political ads are pleasantly infuriating, too.)

In that spirit, here are the week’s Top 20 Popular (read: norteño and banda) hits in México, as published by radioNOTAS. The only crossover with Billboard‘s top 20 Regional Mexican Songs is at #3, Los Tigres’ “La Bala.” I don’t like every song on this list, but it’s a useful corrective to the stagnant U.S. chart and it’ll be doubly useful to explain some of the differences. For instance, Calibre 50’s topping the Méxican chart with a song that criticizes the laws throughout México banning corridos. It’s a different song than their current U.S. hit. I won’t rule out hearing it up here, but as a protest song, it speaks most directly in its home country. At #6, El Bebeto, a banda leader I’ve enjoyed in the past, hits with a mariachi ballad. While it’s not uncommon to hear old mariachi on Chicago radio, something tells me a throwback like “Cuando Tu Me Besas” is more likely to become an actual hit in México. (I could be wrong about this.) I’m also heartened to see nomenclatural geniuses La Bandononona Clave Nueva in a leading role. I do wonder why boring ballads take up so much more of this chart than the U.S. one. “Dime” is the draggiest song on Julión Álvarez’s latest, though I cut him slack since he’s the best singer on the continent. We’ll continue to check in with radioNOTAS and learn stuff, even if it means learning way more about amor than is necessary or right.

#1. “Qué Tiene De Malo” – Calibre 50 ft. El Komander
#2. “Hombre Libre” – La Adictiva Banda San José
#3. “La Bala” – Los Tigres Del Norte
#4. “Se Me Sigue Notando” – Chuy Lizarraga
#5. “Háblame De Ti” – Banda MS
#6. “Cuando Tu Me Besas” – El Bebeto (his mariachi move?)
#7. “Dime” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
#8. “El Papel Cambio” – Alfredo Rios El Komander
#9. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval
#10. “En Tu Twitter y Facebook” – Danny Guillen (As you might imagine I went for this one first, and hoo boy, is this a terrible song.)

#11. “Somos Ajenos” – Banda El Recodo
#12. “No Te Vayas” – Fidel Rueda
#13. “Mayor De Edad” – La Original Banda el Limón
#14. “Bien Servida” – Los Gfez ft. Diego Herrera
#15. “Ya No Lo Vamos a Hacer” – Espinoza Paz
#16. “Perdoname Mi Amor” – Los Tucanes De Tijuana
#17. “La Bipolar” – Los Buitres De Culiacan
#18. “Ya No Vives En Mi” – La Bandononona Clave Nueva
#19. “Todo Lo Incluido” – Banda Los Sebastianes
#20. “Broche De Oro” – Banda La Trakalosa