JSngry Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Yeah, Tejano as I've heard it for the last 20 years or so is accordion-based and polka-centric, although a lot of bands "class it up" quite a bit musically. But it's dance music, first and foremost, so the beat is pretty non-changeable. And the drum machines and generically programmed synths of today's Tejano drain all the soul out of it, at lest from this Gringo's POV (PINCHE CABRON!). But I'll tell you what, in the right setting, it's a magic music for as long as the spell lasts. I used to have a girlfriend (this was in the pre LTB Days Dark of the Last Century) who was a friend of Santiago Jimenez, the guy who virtually invented the style (I think it was then called "Norteno", or "Northern", to reflect it's north-of-the-border origins), and father of Flaco Jimenez, a great accordionist who's had a little bit of crossover fame here and there over the years. Anyway, we had occasion to visit Santiago in San Antonio one weekend and stayed at his house. He was a very kind, humble-yet-dignified man, and he spoke freely about how he came up with the style when I asked him. Seems that as a youth, he was working as a laborer in the Hill Country area of Texas, the population of which is comprised of a large number of people with German and Slavic ancestry. He would attend their social functions, again in the capacity of a laborer, and hear all the polka music and see the spirited dancing that accompanied it. He fell in love with that music and the festiveness associated with it, and soon learned to play it himself, first for the Germanic folks, but eventually adopting it for his own Spanish-language songs. His fellow Mexican-American laborers became enamored of the new fusion themselves, and pretty soon, the style was the "in thing", so to speak in that part of the country. It spread through the Southwestern Mexican-American community over the years, eventually making it back into Mexico. The man truly spearheaded a musical revolution, and it wa an honor to be in his presence and partake of his and his wife's gracious hospitality. Although officially retired from music, Santiago did still play every Saturday night at a local restaurant, a family-ran place that you'd not know about if you weren't from the neighborhood. The clientele was mostly older (Santiago himself was well into his 70s himself then), and the trendy young folks were nowhere to be found. The band was just Santiago on vocals and accordion, a HORRIBLY out-of-tune- electric bassist (the I-V basslines of the songs were almost I-bV, a TRULY surrealistic sound...) and a drummer who probably could play that one beat and probably nothing more. But when they started to play, the people began to dance, not with the showiness of people who were there to be seen and to have a "PARTY!!!!", but with the lightness and heartfelt joy of people who had been doing this all their lives - going out on a Saturday night to "shake off the dust of everyday life" (apologies to Art Blakey), and to feel free for a few hours in a way that we all probably need to. There were smiles and laughter everywhere, all night. It was an intoxicating evening, seeing all these people flowing gracefully and naturally to the music, hearing this old man with the horrible band reach back and belt out songs from the soul and rip out some licks that came straight from the heart. There was a GLOW on his face the entire evening, a look that I recognized as being the feel of completeness that any musician gets when they are able to do exactly what they want for a crowd that is with them all the way. Yet again, I felt honored and blessed. So yeah, put me down in the camp that has a distaste for the prepackaged freeze-dired nothingness that so much of Tejano (no -so much of ALL "popular" music) has become. But I'm here to tell you that at it's roots is a joy and a soul that is as real as that of any music. It's a "folk" music, and like any other "folk" music, the closer it stays to the folk from whence it springs (and further away from the "business" that seeks to package it to sell it right back to those same people, people who already have it, just not as dressed up, a "business" ran in wual parts by promoters eager to make a quick buck and musicans who are earger to make ANY kind of a buck, and are willing to sell whatever they possess in order to do so), the truer and more powerful it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Flaco Jimenez! I met Flaco with Freddy Fender about 5 years ago at a concert in town. It was kind of a festival with a relaxed setting. Flaco and Freddy took a liking to my (then) sister-in-law, so after the show they came over to say hello. We ended up drinking some beers with them across the street. It was a blast. I picked up the check. Fuckin' Flaco and Freddy, two cheap bastards! B-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 You met the old Freddie. The young one would probably have more, uh, fun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Along with the bank thing, what gets me is all the sphintoids who stand in line at the Post Office kvetching about how slow the service is, how lazy the desk help is, blahblahblah, and then when THEY get up to the counter, it's with a package that's not already prepared, or a letter that's not sealed and addressed, SOMETHING that requires the postal workers to spend all their time doing what these dumbasses should have already done at the house. If you're not part of the solution... In the same category are people who are in a long line at the grocery store and wait until their purchase is fully totalled out before even beginning to reach into their pocket or purse for their checkbook, credit card, whatever. I guess it's asking too much of them to spend all that time in line doing something besides practicing their thumbus rectumus... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 You're standing in the video store, reading the back of a DVD case...when some asshole strolls up and grabs the movie that goes with it right in front of your nose. DEATH! Record store clerks who revel in torturing you on Tuesdays by not putting the new releases out in time. You ask them for such and such title, then they spend 20 minutes digging through boxes behind the counter and then have to enter it into inventory before they can ring it up. ARGH Anyone that works at a Carnival. Chicks that are wearing next to nothing and then give you the evil eye if you even glance below their chin. Sorry...you flaunt it and I gonna look! Being stuck behind a loaded dump truck on a mountain road where you can't pass...and you're going 15 miles an hour while being hit by dirt pellets. Getting strange looks from people when I wear my Thelonious Monk t-shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Being stuck behind a loaded dump truck on a mountain road where you can't pass...and you're going 15 miles an hour while being hit by dirt pellets. Getting strange looks from people when I wear my Thelonious Monk t-shirt. Why do I sense that the some of the same people might be responsible for both acts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Freddy Fender! Freddy (Baldemar Huerta) also lives here in Corpus. He used to drive around in a funny looking little car, a mini 50's-era sedan. Haven't seen him in that in a while though. I used to enjoy the Texas Tornados - a fun Tex-Mex supergroup he was in with Flaco, Doug Sahm, and Augie Meyers (the last two from the Sir Douglas Quintet). "Hey Baby Que Paso" and "Who were you thinkin' of" are still alot of fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 (edited) I think you might be onto something Jim! Of course it has NOTHING to do with the fact that I live in West Virginia. Edited August 20, 2004 by Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainyDay Posted August 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 What's the difference between Banda & Tejano? Isn't Tejano more like a rock and country blend with some ethnic Mexican texturing? Doesn't this new band Los Lonely Boys play a sort of Tejano-style music? Isn't Tejano the musical style that Selena used? Banda is distinguished by the accordian-like instrument. It does sound very much like polka music. I'm a teensy bit out of my musical depth (or shallowness) here. I'm with Jim on the tejano thing. Tejano is mainly accordion based, at least here. It's either that, or ballads. Los Lonely Boys is definitely not Tejano music. They're from Texas and they're Hispanic, but it's rock. Selena, who is buried not too far from my home, was Tejano. But she was attempting to cross over into the Top 40/pop market just before she was murdered, and that stuff wasn't Tejano. More like Madonna-lite. What I've read about Los Lonely Boys says their music is flavored eith Tejano and Conjunto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Chicks that are wearing next to nothing and then give you the evil eye if you even glance below their chin. Sorry...you flaunt it and I gonna look! DAMN STRAIGHT!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainyDay Posted August 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 JSngry: Great story. The grocery store thing makes me nuts too. Especially when they keep leaving their cart for you to push forward while they continue to shop while waiting in line. Or the person with a full cart who gets in the 20 items or less line. I was in Safeway once and a woman told this guy he had too many items for the quick check line and he went off on her telling her it was none of her business what was in his cart. Ah, yes. Another pet peeve, when someone is DEAD WRONG and then wants to jump in your face when you call them on it. Hello? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Speaking of grocery stores... what about the person who loads their groceries into their car and then leaves the cart rammed up against the car next to them even though the "cart corral" is less than 5 feet away (basically in the adjacent parking space)? That drives my wife and I nuts! WALK YOUR FAT ASS OVER THERE AND PUT THE DAMN CART AWAY SO IT DOESN'T HIT MY CAR! Once my wife saw a woman do this and my wife said, "You know, the cart corral is right there," pointing to the spot less than 3 steps away. The woman just said, "I know," got in her massive SUV and left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 In the same category are people who are in a long line at the grocery store and wait until their purchase is fully totalled out before even beginning to reach into their pocket or purse for their checkbook, credit card, whatever. I guess it's asking too much of them to spend all that time in line doing something besides practicing their thumbus rectumus... Oh yes! Then the cashier asks....."do you have a super saver card?" Customer: "Well, no I don't" Cashier: "Would you like one?" Customer: "Yes I would" Cashier: "All you have to do is fill out this form...." Customer: "That's easy it's no longer than a home mortgage credit application". Cashier: "Thank you Mr. Sangery, you saved twelve cents today". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 The word "transition" is NOT a verb! Hello! I hear this on the TV news constantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrome Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 The word "transition" is NOT a verb! Hello! I hear this on the TV news constantly. I'm a writer/editor for a big corporation, and we get this stuff from execs all the time ... and have to publish it this way. A great example is the "word" learnings to refer to stuff that's been learned through research, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Then the cashier asks....."do you have a super saver card?" Customer: "Well, no I don't" Cashier: "Would you like one?" Customer: "Yes I would" Cashier: "All you have to do is fill out this form...." Customer: "That's easy it's no longer than a home mortgage credit application". Cashier: "Thank you Mr. Sangery, you saved twelve cents today". Something similar to this happens at the public library all the time. This family brings a pile of books to the counter, start to get checked out, and THEN mention they don’t have a library card. The family then proceeds to request a card for EVERY member of their family, requiring separate applications for each family member. This would be okay if the librarian would ask that the family step to the side while completing their applications. Unfortunately, the librarian will sit there and wait for each application to be completed. It is not unusual to wait almost half-an-hour to check out a book because of these folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainyDay Posted August 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 In the same category are people who are in a long line at the grocery store and wait until their purchase is fully totalled out before even beginning to reach into their pocket or purse for their checkbook, credit card, whatever. I guess it's asking too much of them to spend all that time in line doing something besides practicing their thumbus rectumus... Oh yes! Then the cashier asks....."do you have a super saver card?" Customer: "Well, no I don't" Cashier: "Would you like one?" Customer: "Yes I would" Cashier: "All you have to do is fill out this form...." Customer: "That's easy it's no longer than a home mortgage credit application". Cashier: "Thank you Mr. Sangery, you saved twelve cents today". Oh, please. At Safeway, you can plug in your telephone number if you don't have your card with you. So first they look for the card, then try to remember their telephone number, or they can borrow YOUR card so I get credit for the next free deli sandwich (which I don't eat) and they get to save money, and hold up everyone even longer. But what about ATM machines? Can we please have some standardization here? At Trader Joe's, you have to punch in three more "okays" than at Safeway and I invaribly forget to punch in the last okay and everyone, including me, is staring at the ceiling and going "what's the holdup NOW?" Every bit of this techno stuff works differently. Albertson's punches in the amount of cash back for you. Safeway makes you work for your cash back. And why isn't there a standard design for auto seat belts? Why is getting into a different car and buckling up the search for the holy grail? And getting unbuckled is like an escape from Alcatraz? Man, why is life so complicated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 People who are so impressed by their own fine taste and discrimination that they think it gives them the right to patronise those who don't share it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 People who are so impressed by their own fine taste and discrimination that they think it gives them the right to patronise those who don't share it. XTC fans being the lone exception, of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 In the same category are people who are in a long line at the grocery store and wait until their purchase is fully totalled out before even beginning to reach into their pocket or purse for their checkbook, credit card, whatever. I guess it's asking too much of them to spend all that time in line doing something besides practicing their thumbus rectumus... Along the same line, people who return items at the return desk in a store, stand in line, wait until they get to the counter and THEN start digging for their receipt, which of course is stuck in their purse along with all the other receipts they've collected for the last six months... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainyDay Posted August 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Original documents for copy machines and faxes should all face in the same direction, not down for faxing and up for copying. Or is up for faxing and down for copying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 (edited) People who are so impressed by their own fine taste and discrimination that they think it gives them the right to patronise those who don't share it. XTC fans being the lone exception, of course! Not at all! Being a fan of XTC, Sam Rivers, Willie Clancy, Palestrina, John Cage or anybody else is great. Condemning the taste of others for Diana Krall, Jamie Cullum, Madonna or Westlife because of that taste is somethinng else! Edited August 20, 2004 by Bev Stapleton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleM Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 I can't stand the term "Pay it Forward", or the term "decadent" to describe desserts. Actually most cliches get on my nerves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainyDay Posted August 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Condemning the taste of others for Diana Krall, Jamie Cullum, Madonna or Westlife because of that taste is somethinng else! That Jamie Cullum kid is very cool. Very nice sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 Speaking of the grocery store, how about incompetent baggers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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