Verve AND Decca?!?! You're making that up.

Edit: She was in Seattle last Friday. Thanks for nothin'!

You are entirely welcome.

POP! Goes the Mariachi!!!


When I post my new music "findings," I'm often enthusiastic, rarley insistent. This time I'm both.
You have to hear this!

When I lived in Tucson, I was an emissary of a cultural institution. I was expected to attend things I was invited to, like theater, symphony, special city-wide cultural events, etc.

Tuscon holds the largest Mariachi convention each year. It's a week of workshops, performances, and lectures. Like most of those things, I went because I had to. So much of it was really awful, mediocre at best. Two-and-a-half hours of a Paul McCartney symphonic piece, GMWAS!

I was supposed to attend for the opening day meet-and-greet, the usual. The very second I heard just one band, I was dragged in. Some of those Mariachi-only players are magnificent musicians, and at a thing as big as Mariachi Week, there were tons of hot musicans and vocalists. I was blown away!

I went as many days as I could sneak away from the museum, and for as many hours as I thought I could get away with.

I realize that Mariachi isn't for everyone. It can feel a little repetetive and one-dimensional at times, like Cake. So, here they are: MARIACHI el BRONX!

They're an 8-piece outfit from LA. They write contemporary pop songs (good ones with good lyrics), that are arranged and performed full-on Mariachi--the whole schmear--percussion, guitar, guitarono, horns, accordion, strings, backing vocals... And, aside from a few Spanish choruses, they lyrics are all in English!...

"With four different lovers
And 48 roses
I need a confessional
That never closes..."

Fun stuff!

If you like Mariachi at all, you gotta get this.

Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams

Liking it more than their first album so far. Still not a real grabber, though, so we'll see how it grows on me.

Ida Maria - Katla

Just started listening. We'll see how it goes.

Listening to The Mark Poniatowski Situation this morning. Nice jazz on my Mackies while I catch up on some office stuff. Mark was a high school classmate of mine.

Marina and the Diamonds - "Radioactive"

Yay, a new song. She can dance around in my supermarket anytime.

I like the part where she's in the video.

I'm going to get me a blonde wig. I wonder what they will say at work tomorrow?

I really like it.

Now I'm listening to CSS's new album, La Liberación.