27 Jul Matador Playlist 7/25/24
Another Thursday, another Matador Playlist. Even after a hiatus of four-plus years, Gentle Reader(s), it already feels so familiar. To be honest, not much has really changed. Ye Olde Matador Bar & Lounge is much as it ever was (dark, crowded, stuffy) and Katya is taking names and kicking butt behind the bar, just as in the Days of Yore. The door crew—Ian and Big Don—are new faces, but they seem like fine young men and are possessed of the sturdy gravitas that befits the position.
The primary difference is the clientele, but that’s to be expected. Last week I didn’t see a single person who was familiar to me during the course of a very busy evening. Last night Brother Cubby made a welcome appearance—thus far the only individual who has held over from the pre-Pandemic era. Now that we’re aware of one another’s continued existence we will undoubtedly undertake to serenade the multitudes with our acclaimed singalong to Billy Bragg’s ‘A New England.’ That will probably be a bit of shocker for some of the new crowd. (FYI, the image up top is the diminutive but über-buff Brother Dario handily hoisting the not-so-diminutive Brother Cubby back in June of 2018.)
Back in the early days of the Matador the joint was reliably packed with the younger Santa Fe art crowd, especially on DJ Prairie Dawg’s Tuesday night rockabilly throw-downs. This often included some of the hipsters from the nascent Meow Wolf crew. That was 18 years ago, and that batch of folks has gone on to get married, or married and divorced, or have morphed into corporate oligarchs. Some have moved away, others are still here but have kids now, or, lacking that excuse, have either stopped drinking or just don’t go out anymore. Hell, I’m pretty much there too, but, I was always on the other side of the equation. I love the Matador, but for me it was a gig more than a hang, and I’ve always been pretty serious about the gig.
The late night clientele has skewed younger and predominantly Latino and many of them want to dance to some reggaeton when they get off work from their downtown service industry jobs. Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, Shakira, Don Omar and others have therefore been finding their way into the playlists. The kids are nice and know how to tip well, so I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever. At core, however, the Matador remains a rock & roll bar, and I can’t see that ever changing.
So, here tis, Gentle Listener(s). Fire up the YouTube on the intrawebs, dose the kitty with a micro-dose of Klonopin, alert the neighbors so they don’t call the police and crank it up.
Click on the link, yo:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtijmREQAWmA5yXEjnAwIXXl5kq-k13nN
Charles Bukowski – Grammar of Life
Town Called Malice – the Jam
Heart Is A Beating Drum – the Kills
Out of Step – Minor Threat
66 – Afghan Whigs
Planet Rock – Afrika Bambaataa
Soul Craft – Bad Brains
Ashes to Ashes – David Bowie
All This and More – Dead Boys
Wasted Days & Wasted Nights – Freddy Fender
Natural’s Not In It – Gang of Four
Robot Stop – King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Traveling Riverside Blues – Led Zeppelin
Surf Beat – Lobos Negros
Paper Planes – M.I.A.
Cretin Hop – the Ramones
Cissy Strut – the Meters
Help I’m Alive – Metric
Where Eagles Dare – the Misfits
Make Love, Fuck War – Moby & Public Enemy
Cure for Pain – Morphine
Santeria – Sublime (request)
Drain You (live) – Nirvana
Fatty Fatty – Bad Manners
Red Right Hand – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
I’m Still in Love With You – Sean Paul (request)
Red Red Wine – UB40
Here Comes Your Man – the Pixies
Dress – PJ Harvey
Gasolina (DJ Buddha Remix) – Daddy Yankee (request)
You’re My Best Friend – Queen
Fight the Power – Public Enemy
Oye Mi Canto – N.O.R.E.
The Wizard – Black Sabbath
Monsters in the Parasol – Queens of the Stone Age
Because I Do – X
Release the Bats – the Birthday Party
Do You Wanna Dance – the Ramones
Undercover of the Night – the Rolling Stones
De Dia y de Noche – Los Straitjackets
I Fink You Freeky – Die Antwoord
Control Mexica – 2Mex
Itchycoo Park – the Small Faces
Ball and Chain – Social Distortion
Adios Mexico – Texas Tornados
I Wanna Be Your Dog – the Stooges
Rock & Roll High School – the Ramones
Tony’s Song – Tijuana Panthers
Tommy Gun – the Clash
Baby I Ain’t Joking – 2Mex & Awol One
Now Get Busy – Beastie Boys
All the Umbrellas in London – the Magnetic Fields (request)
Rockabilly Boogie – Johnny Burnette
What You Need – INXS
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised – Gil Scott-Heron
Pa’ Que Retozen – Tego Calderon
I Got A Right – Iggy & the Stooges
Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People (request)
Blinding Lights – the Weeknd
Godzilla – Blue Öyster Cult (request)
Mi Gente – J Balvin & Willy WIlliam
Nobody Really Cares if You Don’t Go to the Party – Courtney Barnett
Se Preparo – Ozuna
We the People – A Tribe Called Quest
New Kind of Kick – the Cramps
$20 – boygenius
Born to Kill – the Damned
Con Calma (feat. Snow) – Daddy Yankee (request)
Everything Sux – Descendents
Rat in Mi Kitchen- UB40
Balla Morena – Hector & Tito
Waiting Room – Fugazi
Curtain Call (feat. Rick Ross) – Nina Sky
Save it for Later – English Beat
Oye Como Va – Santana
Hold Me Now – Thompson Twins
Ella y Yo (feat. Don Omar) – Aventura & Don Omar
Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag, Pt. 1 – James Brown
Career Opportunities – the Clash
I Want You Back – Jackson 5
Escandalo – Vale & YENDRY
Titi me Pregunto – Bad Bunny (request)
Who Were You Thinkin’ Of – Texas Tornados
World Without Tears – Lucinda Williams
Buona Sera – Louis Prima
Happy Trails – Roy Rogers & Dale Evans
Taxi – Bryan Ferry
