When Clem Snide began recording albums more than a decade ago in New York, the band’s clever alt-country songs often came across as an ironic take on Americana. Everyone knows you can’t do country music in the big city, and where did Israeli-born singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay get that twang from, anyway? After years of slogging through the indie-rock touring circuit, a band breakup and a move to Nashville, the reunited Clem Snide has earned the all-American desperation and heartbreak that lies in the marrow of its latest album, The Meat Of Life, out this week on 429 Records. Barzelay is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Barzelay: Lydia Mendoza is sometimes referred to as “The Queen Of Tejano Music.” I just love her voice and her lively de-tuned 12-string guitar. She started performing back in the 1930s with her family and made countless records of mostly traditional Mexican songs. This song was recorded in the 1960s, I think. Maybe it’s because I don’t quite understand the words, but her music scares me, and so I pledge to never betray you, Lydia. Nunca, con todo me Corazon, porque no soy mal hombre.
“Olvidarte Ja Mas”:
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/OlvidarteJaMas.mp3
