After a day of Sunday Scary’s and a rainy Monday, today was a good day. Originally I was thinking of doing a sadder song, but after a solid day, I figured I’d keep it upbeat.
Today we’re rocking with Sublimes biggest hit, Santeria. A song that is good vibes all around and when you’re listening to it, you just can’t get down.
Now some of you may say “Sublime’s not Alt Rock”. Well, listen here bozo, Sublimes Wikipedia page says that they’re a reggae AND alt rock band so they’re getting in on this Alt Rock Autumn countdown.
Santeria hit number three on the 1997 U.S. Alternative Airplay Charts, forty third on the U.S. Radio Songs Charts, and thirty eighth on the U.S. Top 40 Charts. Unfortunately, the song didn’t chart on any of the year end charts.
The song released in 1997 as a single, but originally came out in 1996 on the Sublime album as the sixth track sandwiched right between April 29, 1992 (Miami) and Seed.
Sublimes reggae style and Spanish influence shine through with the somewhat distorted guitar that is used along with certain words that the band uses in their lyrics.
One word specifically is "Sancho". In Santeria, the bands lead singer sings about a Sancho and Heina, and in Chicano culture, a Sancho is someone who steals another mans girlfriend while a Heina is the girlfriend that is being stolen.
The whole song is about a man who gets his girl stolen and wants to kill the Sancho for stealing his Heina. Instead, he gets a new girlfriend, but he makes it pretty clear that if he ever runs into the Sancho, he’ll put him six feet under.
One of the lines that exemplifies it is when Bradley Nowell sings “If I could find that Heina and that Sancho that she's found, Well, I'd pop a cap in Sancho and I'd slap her down”. This is a common theme throughout.
“Tell Sanchito that if he knows what is good for him, He best go run and hide, Daddy's got a new .45” and “And I won't think twice to stick that barrel straight down Sancho's throat, Believe me when I say that I got something for his punk ass”. Kind of proves the point.
Santeria had a big impact in video games and films in the early to mid 2000’s. It was used in Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 3 along with Rocksmith 2014. Santeria also was in the soundtracks for movies such as Knocked Up, This Is 40, and Idle Hands.