MARCO ANTONIO SOLÍS, “LA VENIA BENDITA”
Given the increasing visibility of tradition-minded ranchera, tejano, mariachi, and norteño at the top spot of the Latin chart in the mid-late 90s, Solís is just blowing with prevailing winds.
JUAN GABRIEL, “TE SIGO AMANDO”
Because telenovelas don’t aspire to Art, they can share their giddy, lurid energy with the pop craftsmen who write and sing their theme songs; and if Art takes place incidentally along the way, no one really minds.
LUIS MIGUEL, “POR DEBAJO DE LA MESA”
In which I quote James Murphy for some reason.
And then, finally, eight singles in to his all-conquering chart run — all eight of which have hit the top spot, a Latin Pop record and a pretty unassailable accomplishment no matter what chart you’re looking at — Enrique Iglesias found his sound.
Bouncy pop at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop.
Which may be indication of an “authenticity”-driven double standard applied to Latin music — after all, in Anglophone music of the period, I like the Cardigans way more than, say, Keb’ Mo’ — or maybe it’s just a numbers game.
Getting all defensive at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop.
LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE, “EL MOJADO ACAUDALADO”
For the nth time, I’m not rating these out of ten. I suspect, though, that if I was, this would be one.
Non-hyperbole at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop.
JUAN GABRIEL & ROCÍO DÚRCAL, “EL DESTINO”
Platonic love, however, doesn’t pay the pop radio bills.
Cavilling for the sake of cavilling at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop.
ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, “SOLO EN TÍ”
Enrique, no matter how hard he emotes, will never be Alison Moyet.
Unfair comparisons at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop.
LOS TEMERARIOS, “YA ME VOY PARA SIEMPRE”
(the difference is maybe not dissimilar to Alan Jackson covering George Jones)
Tag-based analysis at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop.
ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, “ENAMORADO POR PRIMERA VEZ”
By early 1997, Los Del Rio’s “Macarena” has, alas, come and gone, reaching only #12 on the Latin chart even as it hit #1 on the Hot 100; it was always more of a tourist jingle than an organic Latin hit.
Sneakily talking about other songs on today’s Bilbo’s Laptop.
MARCO ANTONIO SOLÍS, “ASÍ COMO TE CONOCÍ”
But skipping irritatedly over Solís’ third number one in a row over the same album would be a mistake: it’s the best yet.
The latest entry in the game of Marco Enrique at Bilbo’s Laptop.
ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, “TRAPECISTA”
Unfortunately, it sounds like a fifth single.
Chart history at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop.
MARCO ANTONIO SOLÍS, “RECUERDOS, TRISTEZA, Y SOLEDAD”
Even the name of this song doesn’t quite work in English: it translates as “Memories, Sadness, and Loneliness,” which — though it would be perfectly acceptable, even ideal, as a subject for an American country, r&b, folk, or pop-punk song — is a little over-the-top as a title.
Struggling to find good things to say at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop!
ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, “NO LLORES POR MÍ”
It’s the fall of 1996, and the inevitability of Enrique Iglesias’ fourth number one in the space of a year is matched only by the tidal swell and crash of the music behind his youthfully strained voice.
After a summer of not accomplishing anything hardly, not even the stuff I took the summer off to accomplish, it’s the triumphant return of Bilbo’s Laptop! Which is my listen-to-and-write-about-every-song-that-went-to-number-one-on-the-Billboard-Latin-chart blog. It’s called that because the phrase “Billboard Latin Pop” was too easy to parse, and I’m a big nerd. Anyway, this is the first song of the second decade of the chart’s existence, so if you’re curious to know what I think about a decades’ worth of songs you (maybe) haven’t heard, click through and dig around. And let me know what you think!
MARCO ANTONIO SOLÍS, “QUE PENA ME DAS”
This song, in fact, marks the end of the first decade of the Hot Latin chart, as it remained at the top of the chart through much of September, the one-year anniversary of Rocío Dúrcal’s “La Guirnalda,” the song at the top when Billboard first published the chart. If we’d heard none of the intervening songs, it would be tempting to imagine that not much had changed in a decade, but much has and there’s much more to come.
But I wanted to mark this anniversary by first, thanking everyone for reading so far with me (thanks! you’re the best!), and then asking for feedback. What works about this blog? What doesn’t? Should I post video? Would it be helpful, or maybe more conducive to triggering conversation, if I gave these songs a mark out of ten, as Tom does on Popular and Sally does on No Hard Chords? I’d love to hear what anyone besides me thinks about any of these songs in particular, or about the blog in general, whether you leave comments here, at my Tumblr, or via e-mail. Especially if you know more about the subject than I do — which isn’t hard at all, I’m winging every one of these posts.
Demanding feedback at today’s Bilbo’s Laptop!
