Ranchero / La Banda Musica

One of the things in Mexico I continue to be amused by is some of their Ranchero / La Banda music which is the equivalent of our country music. It all sounds almost exactly alike.

What really got me tickled was watching the content of some of the videos. Every time, it is a group of guys set up like a rock band featuring matching clothing, big cowboy hats, machismo mustaches, an accordian, a tuba, a nylon-string guitar, and a drummer. It all looks and sounds hoaky, but the video content reminded me a lot of R&B and rap videos. Many of them would feature beautiful women talking to or arguing with (think lovers' quarrel) with the dudes in the band, and I was constantly wondering how much they had to pay her to even get within speaking distance of them. It's just funny watching a homely-looking guy with a big hat and a cheesy mustache speaking to someone who is quite obviously a hired model. Other videos featured scenes as if the band members were crime lords, Scarface, or something. I had many laughs.

Of all, though, the silliest song I came across was by Fidel Rueda called Los Patos. I don't know what all it's about, but I know it's mostly about ducks. I have no idea why. Be sure to get the chorus "cua cua cua cua cua cua cua," which is the Spanish sound that a duck makes.

It depresses me that someone actually spent money to produce both the song and the video. Please take time to watch it. It's breathtaking. And it gets stuck in your head.



Seeing this makes me wonder if I should pick back up my guitar and try to become the savior of modern music. But then again, as long as Radiohead is around, I will have hope for the future.