I love this semi-obscure new wave gem, perfectly conjuring a white Angeleno’s dream fantasia after falling asleep to one of the high-wattage, unregulated Mexican radio stations of the 80s. And if you’ve ever fallen asleep to the radio (or, like me, let it play in the mornings, when you’re unable to get up and shut it off) you can dig how the Mariachi sounds “invade” the song beautifully.
Between Stan Ridgway’s tics, the quaver in his voice, and the surreal imagery of the video, they’re like a West Coast version of the Talking Heads — I also love the meta-touch at the end where you see the film crew… it just makes me very nostalgic for when MTV was still weird.
I think the name “Wall of Voodoo” is a riff on Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound.” Enjoy.
– Daniel Housman is a screenwriter living in Los Angeles, and was the Music Editor of ‘The Stranger’ in Seattle from 1993-96.
