Mexican Radio
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (February 2009) |
| "Mexican Radio" | |
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| Single by Wall of Voodoo | |
| from the album Call of the West | |
| B-side | "Call of the West" |
| Released | 1983 |
| Recorded | 1982 |
| Genre | Dark wave Industrial rock |
| Length | 3:55 |
| Label | IRS Records |
| Writer(s) | Wall of Voodoo |
| Producer | Richard Mazda |
"Mexican Radio" is a song written and performed by the band Wall of Voodoo, and produced by Richard Mazda. The track was initially made commercially available on their 1982 album Call of the West.
Wall of Voodoo vocalist Stan Ridgway and guitarist Marc Moreland traced the inspiration for the song to listening to high-wattage unregulated AM Mexican radio stations (among them XERF, XEG, and XERB).[citation needed]
Ridgway co-wrote with Moreland to finish the song, and added all the verse's lyrics to Moreland's chorus and guitar lick as well as the "mariachi" harmonica melody in the song's middle breakdown.
The 7" single version differs slightly from the album cut, most notably in the way Ridgway's vocals are mixed, and in the addition of a louder bass drum part in the song's chorus. The single mix is sometimes called the oleo mix, because Ridgway chants "radio, radio, oleo, radio" at the song's end, rather than "radio, radio, radio, radio" as he does on the album version.
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[edit] Charts
The song peaked at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart [1] in the U.S. while peaking at #58 in the U.K & #33 in Australia.
[edit] Cover versions
Arizona-based punk rock band Authority Zero featured a cover version on their 2004 album Andiamo with slightly modified lyrics; for instance, "They talk about the U.S. inflation" was replaced with "They talk about the Iraq invasion".
Kinky, a Mexican electronic/rock band from Monterrey Mexico has covered this song as well. They kept the upbeat rhythm of the song with their own electronic twist and added some lyrics in Spanish. This version is in their album Reina De Lujo, and their Sassy EP, and also is featured in Need for Speed Undercover.
Bruce Lash gave the song the bossa nova treatment on his 2004 album, "Prozak for Lovers II" which also includes easy-listening versions of Nirvana's "Lithium" and Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" among others.
Mike Keneally, a Frank Zappa alumnus, has played the song in live concerts with his band, Beer for Dolphins.
The intro synthesizer was sampled by the hip-hop group Cannibal Ox in the song "Iron Galaxy".
Atlanta-based band doubleDrive covered the song as a hidden track in their 1000 Yard Stare album.
Swiss metal band Celtic Frost have also covered the song. They put it as the first song on their third album Into the Pandemonium.
South Park Mexican has a somewhat different version of the song, keeping the chorus more or less intact, but writing a completely new set of verses.
The math rock band Polvo contributed a cover of the song to Tannis Root Presents: Freedom of Choice, a 1992 sampler to benefit Planned Parenthood.
A first-person rendition ("I'm a Mexican / On the radio") appears on the album Graciasland by El Vez, the "Mexican Elvis".
French band Nouvelle Vague, who specialise in bossa nova covers of New Wave tracks, performed this song live in London on November 25 2006.
Now defunct Pittsburgh, PA band Buzz Poets used to play a hybrid of "Mexican Radio" mixed with "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson.
Dutch band Gruppo Sportivo covered the song on their 1987 album "Back to 19 Mistakes".
Austin, Texas band Vallejo covered the song on their album "Stereo" in 2002.
[edit] In the media
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (May 2009) |
- Stuck in the '80s - Interview with Stan Ridgway [1]
- Sung by Kramer (Michael Richards) in the Seinfeld episode "The Reverse Peephole" as he installed a peephole in his door. A brief snippet of the Wall of Voodoo recording was later played over the Castle Rock Entertainment logo at the end of the same episode.
- Played in the 1990 movie The Natural History of Parking Lots.
- Played in the 1996 movie Box of Moon Light.
- Played in the 2000 movie Duets.
- Played in episode nine of My Name Is Earl, "Cost Dad an Election".
- Featured on the '80s soundtrack of Activision Anthology for the Playstation 2 and Playstation portable.
- Vh1's "I Love the '80s 3-D" used the track in a segment on Ripley's Believe it or Not.
- Featured on the soundtrack of the snowboard movie True Life released in September 2001 by Mack Dawg Productions.
- "Mexican Radio" was the last song played in English on Bay Area radio station 92.3 KSJO before it switched to an all Spanish format.
- Was played by the mock rock band "Addiction" on Rock of Love Girls: Charm School 2.
- It was ranked 44th on VH1's '100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s'.
[edit] References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
