Monterrey Playlist

Eric and I depart for Monterrey at 4 AM tomorrow, and after a 4-hour drive, a 3-hour bus ride and whatever fun awaits us at the border, will arrive there (God-willing). We'll be staying at a Holiday Inn near the center of the city, and will be shown around by Eric's friend San Juanita. We'll go to the futbol game between Tigres Monterrey and Club America Saturday night, then go to church early Sunday morning before returning to Texas. What follows here is a playlist that may tell the story of what we can expect on this little safari...

1) Matador, Willie Nelson - A flamenco instrumental from Willie Nelson's Spirit album. It will be bookended by another at the end.

2) Vertigo, U2 - There's nothing like a U2 song to get your blood flowing at 4 in the morning, especially one where Bono counts "1, 2, 3, 14" in Spanish...

3) Three Lions (Football's Coming Home), Halbzeit-Allstars - A bittersweet futbol anthem about possessing the continual hope for England to win the World Cup, despite repeated heartbreaking losses in the tournament. England is still waiting for their "Now I can die in peace" moment as sports fans - as I may have mentioned in this space once or twice, Texas got theirs last January 4th...

4) Country Road, James Taylor - As the South Texas miles roll away...

5) Pancho and Lefty, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard - An interesting cover of a Townes van Zandt song that presumably is a duet between Merle and Willie. I say "presumably" because Merle only sings on the last verse. My working theory is that Merle was so drunk that the single verse was as much as they were able to get out of him...

6) Seven Spanish Angels, Willie Nelson and Ray Charles - Another duet ballad featuring Willie (and certainly not the last - see below). I put this one in here because I know there is a possibility that I may fall in love with a beautiful Mexican girl and subsequently get involved in a gunfight with the bad guys. If this happens, know I'll go out guns-a-blazin'...

7) Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy), Big and Rich - Eric and I expect this to be playing as we walk the streets of Monterrey. If Two Foot Fred joins us, so much the better...

8) Hips Don't Lie, Shakira and Wyclef Jean - This is the World Cup mix. Consider this prep for dancing the night away in Monterrey...

9) What is Love, Haddaway - More preparation for dancing the night away in Monterrey. I wonder what this song would sound like with a flute chorus playing it...

10) Desperado, The Eagles - The most secretly awful song from a not-so-secretly awful band. The anthem of men in their mid-50's contemplating the meaning of their shallow existence while sitting in lawn chairs drinking Corona.

11) Afternoon Delight, Will Ferrell - Keeping the 70's theme going. Oh, and Ferrell - Scoreboard!

12) Beer, the Asylum Street Spankers - A local Austin Band that my friend Kostya and I saw at Saxon Pub a few years back (at the urging of Erica Fry). I love beer, and anticipate drinking it quite often this weekend, if for no other reason than because it will be safer than the water...

13) Sweet Caroline (live), Neil Diamond - Based on this rendition, I'm guessing Neil likes beer too...

(Check out this darkly humorous take on Neil Diamond by Will Ferrell - I was disappointed this didn't make the DVD that SNL put out...)

14) To All the Girls I've Loved Before, Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias - I dedicate this song to the hundreds of girls who will inevitably fall in love with Eric and I during our time in Mexico...

15) Auld Lang Syne, Salsa Celtica - As we put our journey to Mexico behind us, I hope we remember it fondly. It's literally impossible not to be in a good mood after listening to this Latin version of the New Year's song...

16) Claudia's Song, Unforgiven Soundtrack - As we travel north on US 281, back across the spare South Texas plains, I think another quiet, contemplative flamenco piece is in order...

I will return with pictures Sunday...