Nov
1
2014
Viva Mexico Part 1
By David Byrne
I was asked to compile a playlist of some of my favorite Mexican music for a proposed public art exhibition in Mexico City. It turned out I had quite a bit of music on my computer—enough for 6 hours of no repeats! So, as these monthly streaming "radio" playlists usually last about 3 hours, I divided it in half. Here is part one.
There is no sequential order or order of preference. There are songs from records that are 20 years old and some that just came out a few months ago. Most are pop songs—I stayed away from classical or folkloric recordings, though there is lot of great stuff there as well. What excites me is that many of these artists have found ways to incorporate their Mexican musical heritage and culture into what might be called the global pop form. The stuff doesn't sound like imitations of North American or UK alt-rock—though there are plenty of groups I didn't include that do sound a bit like someone else. These ones sound like nothing but themselves.
Nov
1
2014
Viva Mexico Part 1
By David Byrne