Being forced to stay indoors and “socially distanced” very naturally leads us to reassess our personal playlists. Couple that with Easter and Passover, and we’re definitely in the midst of a reflective, thankful and collaborative state of mind. In a nod to the state of the times, Billboard’s Latin editors will be sharing their personal quarantine playlists with readers through April 17. Pamela Bustios, senior manager, Latin charts, shares hers below.
As multiple songs land on my hands — well, my inbox — on a daily basis, and others become a collection of favorites from personal research, my secluded time has been soundtracked by an assortment of tunes, dwindling for the most part on contemporaries and unearthing some nifty oldies by great composers, singer-songwriters and a few artists who have left us recently.
It’s a cocktail of sounds dwelling permanently in my head, and each and every one gets a proper welcoming as they sneakily visit me every morning. Some of the oldies that have given color to my days and nights: Miles Davis’ experimental “Bitches Brew,” which captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s; the 27-minute 1975 jewel “Un Hada, Un Cisne” by Sui Generis, one of Argentina’s legendary ensembles; The Jam’s 1982 song “Running on the Spot,” whose lyrics could’ve easily been written today; the delightfully witty tune by John Prine “That’s The Way That the World Goes Round” (a recommendation by an industry friend); Perun Los Shapis’ chicha anthem “El Aguajal” (the swamp); losing myself “in a cool damp night” with Jeff Buckley’s multi-octave vocals in “Lilac Wine”; and even Leonard Cohen’s 1967 “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye,” which David Gilmour and family sang acoustically recently as part of Polly Samson’s A Theatre for Dreamers Live (skip over to 32:20 or watch the full episode, it’s quite amusing).
A few current ones made the cut, though, as they paired effortlessly with the ambiance: the hopeful-yet-gloomy “Summertime” by country crooner Orville Peck (another recommendation by an industry colleague), the live acoustic visceral “Nadie Te Va a Pensar en Ti Mejor Que Yo” (nobody will think of you better than I) by Mexico’s Ed Maverick, and this recent find by 19-year-old Mexican-American artist Ambar Lucid “The Garden Song (outro),” a pleasing tune laden with fairylike charm and contemplation.
From Bill Withers to Sui Generis, from The Jam to 2Pac, click play, disconnect and connect with this rollercoaster of sounds:
