Spooky Spanish Tunes for Day of the Dead

The radio show Alt.Latino has put together a playlist of scary Spanish tunes.

UPDATE, Oct. 31st, 2017: For some non-Spanish tunes, check out this Spotify Halloween playlist from NorthJersey.com that includes classic (though overplayed) songs such as Monster Mash, Thriller, etc. If you want some less conventional Halloween music, see "10 Songs that Actually Give Us Chills" from San Francisco radio station KQED.

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UPDATE, Oct. 31st, 2014: L.A. radio station KCRW has put together a Dia de los Muertos/Halloween Playlist that you can stream on Spotify or listen to on YouTube. It includes spooky tracks from Kinky, Ozomatli, Los Carniceros Del Norte, and more. Enjoy!

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A few years back I did a post pointing out a great podcast of spooky Spanish-language pop songs appropriate for Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) parties or commemorations. That podcast was an episode of Ritmo Latino, the great show of Spanish-language music that, sadly, later came to a close.

However, the public radio show Alt.Latino has an article this week with videos for 11 scary Spanish songs for Day of the Dead (and descriptions of some spooky stories from Spanish-speaking countries). The article is called "¡Que Miedo! Terrifying Tales And Scary Songs From Latin America."

Granted, clicking on each video to see it isn't as easy as just playing the continuous music of a podcast. But you can always create a playlist on YouTube (or Spotify, Rdio, or other streaming service) of these songs. (You can also stream or download the show's podcast, which includes clips of each of the songs as well as introductions and discussions of the songs, at the link above.)

Here are the songs in Alt.Latino's playlist of spooky Spanish tunes for Day of the Dead (which is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd):

"La Bruja" by Tien-Huicani
"Witch" by Dani Shivers
"El Fantasma" by Tijuana No
"Tango de Pecado" by Calle 13
"Diablo" by Davila 666
"Lobo Hombre en Paris" by La Union
"Diablo" by Gobia
"Monster" by Guarco
"Calaveras y Diablitos" by Fabulosos Cadillacs
"Llorona" by Chavela Vargas
"Yo Soy la Muerte" by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico

Some videos are spooky, others are funny or silly, but they should help set the mood for your Halloween, All Saints Day, or Day of the Dead commemorations.

Free MP3 Album of New Latin Music: Aterciopelados, Juana Molina, and More

If you're a fan of rock en Espanol or any kind of new Latin music, you'll want to get this new free sampler from Nacional Records. For a limited time, Amazon.com is offering "Nacional Records Sampler 2009: The New Sounds Of Latin Music". It features 21 tracks by some of the foremost new Latin artists, including some of my favorites such as Aterciopelados and Hello Seahorse! Also on the album are Mexican Institute of Sound, Juana Molina (who has gotten a lot of media attention in the U.S. in 2009), Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Señor Coconut, Manu Chao, and others.

Track listing:
1. CJ by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
2. Bandera by Aterciopelados
3. Yo Digo Baila by Mexican Institute of Sound
4. If You Want It by Pacha Massive
5. Brooklyn Cumbia by Uproot Andy
6. Shake It Up by Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich+Fussible
7. Cosita Rica by Bomba Estereo
8. Help Me Feat. Francisca Valenzuela by Latin Bitman
9. Trocintro (Extended Version) by King Coya
10. Puerta De Oro (Con Pablo Lescano) by Fidel Nadal
11. Mate by Todos Tus Muertos
12. Happy Everywhere by The Pinker Tones
13. Bestia (Julieta Venegas Remix) by Hello Seahorse!
14. Amar Y Vivir by Tonino Carotone
15. La Vida Es Llena De Cables by Señor Coconut
16. Llama by Monareta
17. Chicken Wing Ft. The Demigodz [Explicit] by Eric Bobo
18. Encadenado by Gonzalo Yañez
19. Insensible by Juana Molina
20. Esta Vez (Album Version) by Sara Valenzuela
21. Clandestino by Manu Chao

It's a nice collection that reminds me of one of my favorite podcasts, Ritmo Latino, which close up shop earlier this year. (Fortunately, the podcast's creator and host Neil Hohmann has a Ritmo Latino Facebook page that offers news and updates on Latin music, including live performances, new albums, and details on freebies (such as this sampler)).

Amazon.com doesn't say how long the Nacional Records sampler will be available for free, but I downloaded it more than a week ago and it's still free as of Saturday, November 28th.

Podcasts for Valentine's Day

OK, I'm late in posting music for Valentine's Day, but these two podcasts are great for any time. First you can stream or download CBC Radio 3's second-annual Make-Out Podcast, featuring songs about love, longing, and lust from Canadian indie artists like Basia Bulat, Broken Social Scene, and more. And host Grant Lawrence adds his own acerbic twist to the proceedings, along with an assortment of odd photos you can see if you're using an iPod or computer that allows you to view photos.

For some Latin love music, check out the Valentine's Day edition of the Rimo Latino podcast. It's got love songs in all kinds of Latin genres, from orchestral to rock en Espanol, fro artists including the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Selena, Mosquitos, and Julieta Venegas.

Happy Valentine's Day, enjoy the music, and don't eat too many chocolates.

Spooky Spanish Pop Music for the Day of the Dead and Halloween

UPDATE, Oct. 31st, 2014: L.A. radio station KCRW has put together a Dia de los Muertos/Halloween Playlist that you can stream on Spotify or listen to on YouTube. It includes spooky tracks from Kinky, Ozomatli, Los Carniceros Del Norte, and more. Enjoy!

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If you're marking Halloween or the Spanish occasion Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), you might want some tasty Spanish-language pop and rock music to accompany the festivities.

Ritmo Latino, the self-styled "booty-shaking" podcast that offers a fun variety of Spanish-language tunes, has once against put together a collection of tunes for Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. Some are spooky and Halloween-themed; others touch on the Day of the Dead or just have a supernatural feel.

[UPDATE: Sadly, the Ritmo Latino podcast is no more, and the Day of the Dead music files are no longer on the Internet. However, the radio program Alt-Latino has an article with 11 scary Spanish songs for Day of the Dead (and descriptions of some spooky stories).]

Here's the Ritmo Latino playlist, if you want to track down the songs and create your own playlist:

• Upground, "Suerte de Mi Muerte"
• Grupo Fantasma, "Chocolate"
• Maria Daniela y Su Sonido Lasser, "Miedo"
• Los Peyotes, "El Humo Te Hace Mal"
• Misterio, "Vampirella"
• Conjunto Jardin, "La Brujaæ
• Rodrigo y Gabriela, "Diablo Rojo"
• La Bruja, "Brujeriaæ

Have fun, dance along, and don't eat too much candy corn.

Free tunes: some great music podcasts

With all the hubbub about music being downloaded illegally from the Internet, podcasting has opened up a great way for artists, radio stations, and record companies to share their music legally. And since commercial radio is so bland and repetitive, podcasts have become the best way for me to discover new (and not-so-new) music.

I'm hoping artists and labels keep participating in podcasting. It's a good deal for them, since it has enticed me to buy the recordings and concert tickets of many artists I wouldn't have heard of otherwise. Here are some of my favorite music podcasts, covering different types of music. All can be found in Apple's iTunes.

KCRW.com: This public radio station from Santa Monica, California offers several music podcasts. The Morning Becomes Eclectic podcast presents live in-studio performance from the station's acclaimed show of the same name. Two sets of music enveloped by conversation. There have been performances from everyone from indie rockers to alt-country bands, from Spanish-language pop bands to electronica artists.

KCRW also features a Today's Top Tune podcast that features one song daily.

CBC Radio 3: Who'd have thought so much of today's innovative rock and pop music would come out of Canada? This one-hour (give or take) podcast from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation features full-length versions of songs from rock, pop, folk, and hip-hop artists from the well known to the unknown.

The Roadhouse: An hour of "the finest blues you've never heard"–old-style, contemporary, and everthing in between–comes your way in this podcast from Iowa City, Iowa. Host Tony Steidler-Dennison knows his stuff and plays a wide range of blues styles and artists. And with his deep voice and informal approach you'll feel like you're sitting next to a buddy on a barstool in a honky-tonk with a great blues jukebox.

Ritmo Latino: Like The Roadhouse, this podcast covers all styles and genres of its chosen form–Latin music, in this case. The host, an American living in Micronesia, spins tunes ranging from old-school music from Tito Puente and Carmen Miranda to modern Spanish-language rock and pop stars including Mana, Cafe Tacuba, and Shakira to reggaeton superstars Daddy Yankee.

The Tartanpodcast: Host Mark Hunter claims that Scotland is one of the leading centers of great music in Europe and, after listening to a few shows, it's hard to disagree with him. Singer-songwriters, pop bands, rock outfits, and more are all featured here, and while Hunter doesn't work in the music business, he nevertheless has a good ear for talented musicians.

All Songs Considered: Despite the clunky name, this podcast from National Public Radio offers a great wealth of pop and rock music in several forms. The weekly ASC podcast covers songs from about a half-dozen artists with snippets of each tune (you can hear full versions at the show's Web site). What I really enjoy are the archived live concerts that ASC Webcasts monthly from a Washington, D.C., also at the show's Web home. You can hear the full concerts from artists such as Sleater-Kinney, The New Pornographers, Toots and the Maytals, James Brown, and many more. For some you can even download the entire concert in MP3 form; the others you can stream to your computer.

Radio Without Borders: From radio station KUT in Austin, Texas comes this podcast of live performances from their studios, with one song each from several different artists. As you'd expect from its location, the program leans toward country, alt-country, and singer-songerwriter genres. It's often interesting to hear a song you know performed in a more stripped-down, live acoustic environment.

Indiefeed: This podcast gives you a free tune each day, along with a bit of introduction about the artist. Indiefeed has channels for alternative/modern rock, Americana/roots/folk, blues, electronic, and hip-hop music. Includes tunes from up-and-coming artists as well as established ones.