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Mexican Radio

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For the unregulated, high-wattage radio stations alluded to in the song, see Border blaster. For general information on radio in Mexico, see Radio in Mexico.
"Mexican Radio"
Single by Wall of Voodoo
from the album Call of the West
B-side"Call of the West"
ReleasedSeptember 1982
StudioHit City West (Los Angeles)
GenreNew wave[1][2]
Length4:08 (album version)
3:55 (single/music video edit)
LabelI.R.S.
Songwriter(s)Wall of Voodoo
Producer(s)Richard Mazda
Audio sample
"Wall of Voodoo — Mexican Radio"
Music video
"Mexican Radio" on YouTube

"Mexican Radio" is a song by American rock band Wall of Voodoo. The track was initially released on their second studio album Call of the West (1982).

The video for the single was regularly featured on MTV in the United States, contributing to the song's popularity.[3][4][5] The song peaked in the US at No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[6] It also reached No. 18 in Canada, No. 21 in New Zealand, No. 33 in Australia and No. 64 in the UK.[7][8][9][10]

Composition

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The song's lyrics describe listening to the broadcasts of high-wattage unregulated Mexican radio stations, known as border blasters, whose AM broadcasts are strong enough to be picked up by radio receivers in the US.[3] The song was inspired by car trips taken by Wall of Voodoo frontman Stan Ridgway and guitarist Marc Moreland on their way to rehearsals, when they would listen to Mexican broadcasts, preferring their programming to mainstream Los Angeles radio.[3] During one of the band's sessions, Moreland played them a demo tape that he had recorded of himself repeatedly singing the line "I'm on a Mexican radio" over a guitar riff and that sound clip became the starting point of the single.[3]

Writing and recording

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The lyrics for "Mexican Radio" were written by Ridgway and Moreland; the music was written by Moreland.[5]

Producer Richard Mazda and recording engineer Jess Sutcliffe, both from England, were invited to Los Angeles to record with Wall of Voodoo by Miles Copeland, founder of I.R.S. Records.[3] The songs "Mexican Radio" and "Suburban Lawns", from Wall of Voodoo's album Call of the West, were recorded with Mazda and Sutcliffe over the course of a weekend at Hit City West studios in Los Angeles.[3]

In order to emulate the sounds of AM radio, many of the song's instruments, including the synthesizers, were played through amplifiers, rather than being recorded directly through the microphones to the mixing console.[3] They recorded some of Moreland's guitar through an amplifier placed in the restroom at the back of the studio and Ridgway sang some of the vocals through a handmade bullhorn.[3] The song also includes soundbites recorded by Ridgway during a trip to Mexico, including the broadcast of a dog race that was playing over a radio in a bar that he visited.[3]

The song was recorded using a Soundcraft mixing console and one 24-track recorder along with Shure and AKG microphones.[3] The synthesizer parts were played on a Minimoog and an Oberheim-8 voice sequencer, the majority of which were recorded through Fender Twin Reverb and Vox AC30 amplifiers.[3] It is the Oberheim-8 that was used to create the sounds right at the opening of the song.[3] The instrumental track for "Mexican Radio" was created using two different drum machines: a Roland TR-808 and a Kalamazoo Rhythm Ace, an older device once owned by voice actor Daws Butler.[3]

Music video

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The video for "Mexican Radio" was featured regularly on MTV in the weeks following its release.[3][11] It was the first music video created by filmmaker and former the Bruthers frontman Frank Delia, who had been a long-time friend of Wall of Voodoo band members.[12] The video impressed the Ramones, who hired Delia to direct videos for them as a result.[12]

The video also includes bizarre imagery, including a shot of Ridgway's face surfacing from a bowl of beans.[3][13][14] Some of the footage was shot in Tijuana, Mexico at the bullfights.[12] Also, actor Carel Struycken makes a brief appearance playing the video's director.[15]

The video cost $15,000 to make and was originally shot on film.[12][16]

Critical reception

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In 1983 Jim Sullivan of The Boston Globe called "Mexican Radio" a "mildly warped tune...with irresistibly catchy melody lines," and Moira McCormick of Billboard magazine called it an "intriguingly quirky single" in 1985.[5][17] Smash Hits thought that the instrumentation resembled music from The Doors despite the synth-heavy arrangement.[18] In 2012 Rolling Stone said "it's a pretty unconventional pop song, but it's extremely catchy.[13] NPR referred to "Mexican Radio" as "such a wonderfully weird song" and "one of the most compelling, memorable sing-alongs ever" in 2020.[19]

The song gained cult status and was often played on radio stations featuring punk and new wave music.[3][17] Being the only single by Wall of Voodoo to reach the top 100 in the US, "Mexican Radio" is considered a one-hit wonder.[3][11][19]

Ridgway, who left Wall of Voodoo in 1983 to embark on a solo career, told Mix magazine in 2005: "The 'one-hit wonder' status of 'Mexican Radio' is not something to be ashamed of. Obviously, it's not all the band was about, and it's possible the light from it blinded some people from hearing other things the band did, but it exposed a lot of people to our music who probably wouldn't have heard it — and maybe because of it, after Wall of Voodoo I was lucky enough to continue to write songs and make music. If there wasn't a 'Mexican Radio,' you probably wouldn't be talking to me now."[3][14]

Track listing

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7" single

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Side A

  1. "Mexican Radio" — 3:55

Side B

  1. "Call of the West" — 6:00
  • In the United States, two different catalog numbers were shown on the seven-inch single. The first, SP-70963 on IRS label was for promotional use only. and issued without a picture sleeve.[20] The second, IR-9912 on IRS label released for both promotional and commercial use with a picture sleeve .[21]

Two Songs by Wall of Voodoo 12" single I.R.S. Sp-070407

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Side A

  1. "Mexican Radio" — 3:56

Side B

  1. "There's Nothing on This Side" — 10:08
  • Side B is actually two separate tracks. The first is an instrumental piece, which leads directly into "Mexican Radio (Limited Edition Special Dub Mix)", which is unlisted.

1989 mini CD reissue

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  1. "Mexican Radio" — 3:55
  2. "Tomorrow" — 2:43
  3. "Call of the West" — 5:35
  • Tracks 2 and 3 recorded live at Barstow Auditorium, Barstow, CA on August 18, 1982.

Charts

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Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[22] 33
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[23] 18
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 21
UK Singles (OCC)[25] 64
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 58

Covers

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The Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost covered the song on their 1987 album Into the Pandemonium. Authority Zero covered the song as well.

References

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  1. ^ Wide, Steve (September 22, 2020). "Honourable Mentions: New Wave 'One-Hit Wonders'". A Field Guide to Post-Punk and New Wave. Smith Street Books. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-925811-76-6.
  2. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 204–206. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Jackson, Blair (March 1, 2005). "Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio"". Mix. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  4. ^ "Video artists pass screen test to home market". Billboard (Special Edition). November 17, 1984. p. MV6. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 24 December 2022 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b c McCormick, Moira (November 30, 1985). "Wall of Voodoo Casts a New Spell". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 48. p. 35. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 4, 2023 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 - Week of April 30, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  7. ^ "RPM 50 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. May 28, 1983. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Hung, Steffen. "New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 311. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 590. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  11. ^ a b Martin, Philip (January 12, 2020). "CRITICAL MASS: The boy in the bubble -- and he's fine with that". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d "Delia's Remarkable Videos". LA Weekly. June 30, 1983. Retrieved February 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Frank Delia's "Mexican Radio" video for Wall of Voodoo has earned him a lot of attention. . . The Ramones were impressed. They told their manager to find out who made the video, and Delia got a call from Joey Ramone in March. . . You could say that Delia -- who had never made a rock video before "Mexican Radio," and did only then because he and the band were long-time friends. . . Delia shoots his videos on 16mm or 35mm film instead of videotape. . . Each camera shot averages just 1.8 seconds - there are 133 distinct "pictures" in the film, including footage shot in Tijuana at the bullfights.
  13. ^ a b "Where Are They Now? 1982's Biggest Pop Acts". Rolling Stone. August 8, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Menconi, David (August 8, 1989). "Ridgway's charm lies in the bizarre". Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas, United States. p. B11. Retrieved February 4, 2023 – via ProQuest. Wall of Voodoo recorded three albums of "aural nightmare music," hitting paydirt with 1982's loopy Mexican Radio single (Ridgway was the guy who surfaced from the bowl of beans in the song's classic video). . . Realizing he was on to something that wouldn't work within a band format, Ridgway went solo in 1983.
  15. ^ "Carel Struycken - Other Works". IMDb. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  16. ^ Sanjek, Russell (July 28, 1988). American Popular Music and Its Business: From 1900 to 1984. Oxford University Press. p. 640. ISBN 9780195043112. Retrieved February 4, 2023 – via Google Books. The cost of an average music video had climbed to between $35,000 and $45,000, but a superstar like Billy Joel was allowed a production budget of more than $100,000 for his "Allentown". . . Cost was evidently not an important item, but Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio" was made for just under $15,000.
  17. ^ a b Sullivan, Jim (March 30, 1983). "Wall of Voodoo casts its spell". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts, United States. p. 55. Retrieved February 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Voodoo likes silliness and seriousness, and rather enjoys mixing the two together. Ridgway cops lines from the Jackson 5's bubblegum hit "ABC" in "Call Box." In "Mexican Radio," the mildly warped tune that pushed the band out of cultdom, Voodoo put idiot delights ("I wish I was in Tijuana eating barbecue iguana") together with irresistibly catchy melody lines.
  18. ^ "Singles". Smash Hits. 17 February 1983. p. 28. Retrieved 9 November 2024 – via Ultimate Eurythmics Archives.
  19. ^ a b "Combining Film Scores And Pop Rock, Wall Of Voodoo Was Not Just A One-Hit Wonder". NPR. April 9, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  20. ^ "SP-70963 Promo Only". 45cat.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  21. ^ "IR-9912". 45cat.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  22. ^ "Wall of Voodoo – Mexican Radio". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  23. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6311." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  24. ^ "Wall of Voodoo – Mexican Radio". Top 40 Singles.
  25. ^ "Wall of Voodoo: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ "Wall of Voodoo Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
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