Skip to main content

Al compas del mundo - programa #97 - Latin punk, reggae and ska

 

It took till program #97 before I finally gave in and played some punk music. I’ve given it thought on numerous occasions but always figured my Mexican audience would be quick to change the radio dial. I shouldn’t underestimate them though. Mexico has had a significant punk culture and thirteen of those former nihilists probably work as stock brokers within 50 miles of the RadioactivaTX antenna – 89.9fm if you’re in the neighborhood (or maybe stream it, no?) And I even picked groups that actually, mostly, know how to play their instruments! By the way: Manic Hispanic rules. You can’t argue with “to be a cholo is my fate” because life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get…no, wait, that’s not even close to the truth. You grow up in South Central LA as a brown-skin man and you’re pretty much set on the path to cholo-ism. Simón! Oh, and also this: “El Rey” leading off the set is one of the all-time greatest and dearest macho Mexican tunes ever conceived (many a time I have witnessed serious feminists getting weepy and singing this tune with gusto). It’s almost a sacrilege to interpret it without mariachi backing, but Chingon (“Bad Mo’fo” in Mexican slang) bludgeons it in a very masculine way, so it works. And then there’s Jamaica in the house. I tried to mix up a keen selection of old hits (cuz I’m an old DJ) and I think it should satisfy. You don’t like it? It’s not for you? Liff up, mon! Come gwope! JH

Runlist for "Latin punk, reggae and ska" - First broadcast 10-12-2023

01 Chingon - El Rey (Mexico)

02 Manic Hispanic - I Want to Be a Cholo (Chicano)

03 Los Plugz - La Bamba (Mexico-USA)

04 Los Skarnales - Si Me Viste (Mexico-USA)

05 Voodoo Glow Skulls - El Mas Chingon (Mexico-USA)

06 Sindrome - Punk Suicida (Chile)

07 Banda Jachís - La Razón de Amarte (Spain)

08 Los Plugz - El Clavo Y La Cruz (Mexico-USA)

09 Bullwackie's All Stars -Take Time (Jamaica)

10 Prince Buster - Al Capone, Blue Beat Ska (Jamaica)

11 The Itals - Ina Dis Ya Time (Jamaica)

12 Jackie Mittoo the Skatalites - El Bang Bang (Jamaica)

13 Jah Batta – Unite (Jamaica)

14 Singing Melody - Stop Di Looting (Jamaica)

15 Elephant Man & Mister Steve - Way Dem Ago Do Now (Jamaica)

16 Alton Ellis - Dance Crasher (Jamaica)

17 Grupo Super T - West Bound D Train (Jamaica)

18 Pinchers - Taking You Home (Jamaica)

19 Andy and Joey - You're Wondering Now (Jamaica)

 

Manic Hispanic

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

British Invasion - 1960s

I wanted to declare “Kick out the jams, mo’fos!” as a signpost towards the message in this week’s Al compás del mundo radio show, but that actually came about a little later. As humanity descended ever deeper into the Cro-Magnon state, Iggy Pop and the punks claimed that honor. What we have here instead, is a post-WWII let’s shake up the political order a bit, and no, not everyone has signed up to be an unconscious consumer attitude. There’s something afoot with these lads. Not exactly revolutionary fervor, but most certainly promoting a change in the general way of things. Recalling Che Guevara’s famous quote “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, the Animals, Yardbirds, Rolling Stones et. al. pouted and preened – some more than others – in a way that hadn’t quite been done before. Youthful vigor ensued. These groups pushed the evolutionary chain of popular music a step further and we’re all better off for it.  Set list Al compás del mundo programa #183, 6-5-25 - The British Invasion, 1960s 01 Yar...

Funk and Soul

  Al compás del mundo - programa #169, 2-27-25, Funk and Soul   01 The Commodores - Brick House 02 Tower of Power - Drop It In The Slot 03 Parliament - Ride On 04 Sly & The Family Stone – Frisky 05 The Webb People – I’m Sending Vibrations 06 Ruby Delicious - Rock Steady 07 Mandrill - Git It All 08 The San Francisco TKOS – Herm 09 Ohio Players - Fire 10 Parliament - Mothership Connection (Star Child) 11 Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie 12 Chico and Buddy - A Thing Call the Jones 13 Little Ann – Possession 14 Lafayette Afro-Rock Band - Time Will Tell 15 Parliament - Ain't Nuthin' But a Jam Y'all   What did James Brown mean when he said “we’re gonna have a funky good time”? This “funky” of which he spoke, was it strictly musical (and danceable), or maybe sexual, sociable, or even political? Or maybe a little bit of each? Funk, funky, funkify, funkadelic, funkalicious…all pointing at the pleasure principle…a new dialect for the “blue...

Nuyorican boogaloo cha-cha-cha

 I’m labelling this week’s playlist as “Nuyorican” music, the lion’s share of the players from Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican ancestry.  Two notable exceptions are Joe Bataan, a Filipino-African American, and Mongo Santamaria born in Cuba. What they all have in common, however, was centered around the music scene of New York City where African American and Latino musicians forged a common ground in creating “boogaloo” dance music, mixing elements of R&B, Soul, and Latin dance rhythms. The boogaloo genre was fairly short-lived, enjoying popularity during the 1960’s before giving way to salsa, in what was largely an East Coast and Caribbean impulse. “Watermelon Man” and ”El Watusi” were early and major boogaloo hits, but truly, most of the titles included in the program were popular recordings in their day, whether cha-cha-chas like Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va”, or GFyEN’s guajira. I’ve gathered them here for an hour’s worth of revelation for those too young to have heard thi...