Sunday, November 06, 2005

MINUTE MAN ROCK


When my friend Margot sent me an e-mail with the subject line "Really bad music" with a link to the Sadly, No blog I just assumed that it had something to do with Prussian Blue. Both Sadly, No and I find twisted pleasure in those cute Nazi kids singing chirpy little songs about Caucasian supremacy.

But happily no, this was another example of political/musical weirdness.: Wake Up America by The Minutemen Project Band, being hawked by a group called The United American Civil Task Force. Part of the $10 you'll spend on this album -- and spend, I know you will -- go to support the UACTF and part goes to the Minutemen project.

I haven't heard it yet, so I can't honestly say whether it's truly bad music.

But judging from Sadly, No's review, it sounds like a doozy:



My personal favorites are "Boycott France," an angry anti-Gaul rap-metal ditty; "Pancho Villa Stops Here," an anti-immigrant number containing the lyrics "If you hate this country / You're gonna stop right here / We don't need your beans, we don't need your beer ..."
I think it's high time someone finally took action against those undocumented carbohydrates pouring across our border.

You can make up your own mind and listen to samples HERE.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

THROUGH THE YEARS WITH FRAN GALLEGOS

In today's New Mexican I wrote a retrospective of the career of former Santa Fe Municipal Judge Fran Gallegos, who resigned Thursday after felony charges of record tampering were filed against her.

As the paper's police and courts reporter for most of the '90s, I covered most those early controversies with Fran.

It didn't make our free Web site, so I'll publish it here.

For Jason Auslander's stories on the resignation, click HERE and HERE


A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 5, 2005

Judge Frances Gallego’s nine-plus years as municipal judge were colorful, controversial and often contentious. Here’s a brief history of her public career.

*November 1994: Gallegos, running as a Green Party candidate, gets 45 percent of the vote in running against Democrat Richard “Buzzy” Padilla for Santa Fe County magistrate judge. Though she lost, her percentage was considered remarkable in the heavily Democratic County.

*March 5, 1996: Longtime Municipal Judge Tom Fiorina, under the cloud of Judicial Standards Commission investigations, loses by about 250 votes in a four-person race to Gallegos.

*May 1996: Less than two months after taking office, Gallegos asks the City Council for a raise. By the end of the year, the council agreed, increasing her salary from $39,500 to $49,500. By the time she leaves office, her salary is $65,000.

*June 1996: Gallegos causes controversy by appearing in a newspaper advertisement for a downtown restaurant. The ad, for the now defunct Fabio’s, showed a picture of the judge with a caption declaring the lobster at Fabio’s “judiciously wonderful.”

*August 1996: Gallegos starts a program that would become a trademark of her tenure in the city court — requiring convicted drunken drivers to wear bright pink baseball caps while performing court-ordered community service work in public places. The program later is expanded into a rainbow of cap colors: green for shoplifters, blue for domestic violence offenders and brown for animal ordinance violators.

*January 1997: During a long-running dispute with city officials over court funding, Gallegos filed notice of intent to sue then-Mayor Debbie Jaramillo, the city manager and several city councilors. By the next month she dropped the idea of suing the city.

*February 1997: Gallegos asks the city to buy her a .38-caliber stainless steel Smith & Wesson Ladysmith handgun for $369.99. The city declined.

*February 1997: Hundreds of Santa Fe residents who thought they’d taken care of traffic tickets — from up to nine years before — receive court summons to failure to appear in court. She acknowledged that many of those summoned were victims of bad record keeping by her predecessor, but Gallegos initially asked those summoned to supply proof that their tickets were already adjudicated. Many ended up paying court costs for the years-old tickets. After criticism, Gallegos relented and stopped the summonses. (For full story CLICK HERE)

*May 1997: Following a spate of unfavorable news coverage, Gallegos decides to restrict the hours that members of the news media can request court records to one hour a week. She quickly retreated from this plan.

*1998: Gallegos begins an alternative sentencing Drug Court program for drunken drivers and drug abusers. The program requires meditation and acupuncture.

*Jan. 10, 1999: A friend of Gallegos, who was married to a state legislator, was arrested on drunken driving charges shortly after midnight. The man called Gallegos at home. She immediately went to the county jail and ordered him released — contradicting her own policy of requiring DWI suspects to spend at least 12 hours in jail.

*Feb. 29, 2000: At a candidate forum where opponents attacked the “pink hat” program, Gallegos answered, “...sure I got carried away.” Then she made a little curtsy and said, “But I’m ‘Girl Judge.’ That’s what we do.”

*March 7, 2000: Gallegos is re-elected to a second three-year term. She defeated Fiorina and a third candidate by a healthy margin.

*August 13, 2000: Gallegos marries Michael Trujillo in a ceremony on the Plaza. The couple later divorce.

*April 2003: Gallegos is formally reprimanded by the state Supreme Court for not living within the city limits of Santa Fe for nearly two years. She said she moved to a home south of the city limits after she separated from Trujillo in the winter of 2000.

*June 2003: Following heated criticism Gallegos stops her practice of ordering traffic offenders to attend a for-profit driving-safety course taught by her chief administrator Mary Ann Caldwell. Gallegos allowed Caldwell to use the court’s facilities and property for the class. Caldwell reportedly made $30,000 during a five-year-period for the safety course. During the height of this controversy television investigative reporter Larry Barker chases Gallegos into a court restroom, where she stayed instead of talking to Barker. She finally emerged, pushing past Barker, telling him she had a meeting to attend.

*August 2003: Gallegos gets national attention for her New Agey alternative sentencing program, in which traffic offenders can learn tai chi and Japanese tea ceremonies.
*March 2, 2004: Gallegos reelected, defeating three opponents.

*July 1, 2004: State District Judge Steve Pfeffer rules that Gallegos had not been properly advising drunken driving defendants of their legal rights.

* March 2005: The state Supreme Court disciplines Gallegos for the Caldwell traffic classes, ordering Gallegos to take a course in judicial ethics.

*May 12: Gallegos confirms she is pondering a campaign for Santa Fe mayor in 2006.

*August 2 Gallegos decides she won’t run for mayor.

*August 7: The New Mexican reveals accusations that Gallegos systematically altered records of numerous DWI cases, often inflating jail sentences and the amount of time defendants spent behind bars.

*August 12: State Judicial Standards Commission recommends Gallegos be immediately suspended for “a myriad of ethical violations.” Besides the altered records, the commission said Gallegos failed to properly instruct defendants on their options for making pleas.

*August 24: The Supreme Court suspends Gallegos for 90 days while Judicial Standards conducts further investigations.

*August 30: The City Council appoints Sonya Carrasco-Trujillo, deputy chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Diane Denish as a temporary municipal judge.

*Sept. 1: Caldwell resigns.

*Sept. 13: Carrasco-Trujillo stops “pink hat” program.

*Oct. 11: The City Council votes not to pay Gallegos’ legal bills beyond the $20,000 initially approved.

*Nov. 3: Gallegos resigns after state police file three felony counts of tampering with public records.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, November 4, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Hogs on the Highway by The Bad Livers
Pick Me Up on Your Way Down by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
The Old Man Down the Road by John Fogerty
No Place in History by Big Al Anderson
Two Step Too by Delbert McClinton
Don't Ya Tell Henry by The Band
The White Trash Song by Steve Young
Please Don't Bury Me by John Prine

River, Road or Rail by Nancy Apple & Rob McNurlin
Hurricane Season by Tom Russell Band
Joe Citizen Blues by Son Volt
The End by Marah
Doreen by The Old 97s
Party Lights by Junior Brown
Crimson and Clover by Dolly Parton
Black Sheep by Mark Weber

Keep Going by Boozoo Bajou with Tony Joe White
All You Rounders Better Lie Down by Clothesline Revival
Mother Prays Loud in Her Sleep by Flatt & Scruggs
The Waltzing Ladies by Josh Lederman & Los Diablos
Turn Row Blues by Bobby Earl Smith
Burn That Broken Bed by Iron & Wine with Calexico
Polk Salad Annie by Tony Joe White

I Don't Wanna Play House by Tammy Wynette
Weighted Down (The Prison Song) by Alexander Spence
Glasgow Girl by Rodney Crowell
Down Here Where I Am by Blaze Foley
Funny How Time Slips Away by Willie Nelson
Shine on Harvest Moon by Bobby Bare
3 Hearts Later by Marti Brom
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

Friday, November 04, 2005

LIKE A NINJA

OK, Tom over at The Donegal Express challenged his cronies in blogdom to use the phrase "like a ninja" on a blog post between now and Monday.

I'm not sure exactly why.

He probably wanted something more subtle, but I had this stupid Madonna song in my head ...
I made it through the wilderness
Somehow I made it through
Didn’t know how lost I was
Until I found you

I was beat incomplete
I’d been had, I was sad and blue
But you made me feel
Yeah, you made me feel
Shiny and new

Chorus:

Like a Ninja
Touched for the very first time
Like a Ninja
When your heart beats (after first time, with your heartbeat)
Next to mine

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: BETTYE'S BACK

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Nov. 4, 2005


The new album by soul belter Bettye LaVette, I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise reminds me of a couple of other excellent albums from recent years.

There are obvious similarities between LaVette’s latest and Solomon Burke’s 2002 CD Don’t Give Up on Me. Both were produced by roots rocker Joe Henry, and both consist primarily of vibrant covers written by better known, (primarily) rock artists. (Burke sang tunes by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello. Here LaVette covers Sinead O’Connor, Lucinda Williams, Joan Armatrading, Aimee Mann, Dolly Parton and other female composers.)

Perhaps even more comparable to LaVette’s new album is Howard Tate’s 2003 tasty “comeback” album Rediscovered. (I’ve actually become angry when I saw this CD in bargain bins at a record store a few months ago. “The fools!” I nearly screamed.) Like Tate, LaVette is an unjustly overlooked singer who should have been a huge star in the 1960s, but through a series of strange misfortunes, somehow missed the boat. I’d like to believe that there’s a parallel world somewhere in some galaxy in which both Howard and Bettye are right up there in higher reaches of the soul pantheon.

Unlike Tate, who went missing for several decades after his recording career flopped, LaVette stuck with it, her career “like a case study in the annuls of Murphys Law, full of bad luck, wrong decisions and nonstop professional disappointments,” a wise critic once wrote.

On the new CD, Henry has assembled a very capable but unassuming batch of musicians to back her up (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, no horn section.) But he wisely allows LaVette’s voice to remain front and center.

The album starts off with “I Do Not Want What I Do Not Have,” which was the title song of Sinead’s greatest album. Like the original, LaVette’s version is performed a capella. But the similarities end there. O’Connor’s version sounded like the cry of a wounded child. LaVette -- who has taken so many liberties with the melody she should get songwriter credits, sounds like a field holler, oozing with raw spiritual power.

Then the band comes in for “Joy” with a funky crunching guitar (Doyle Bramhall II) and LaVette shouting the title. This is one of Lucinda Williams’ greatest rockers. I never thought anyone would ever make it better, but somehow LaVette did.

She turns Parton’s folkish “Little Sparrow” into a voodoo-soaked blues, while “The High Road” written for LaVette by Sharon Robinson sounds like a gospel ballad worthy of Mavis Staples. But even prettier is “Just Say So,” in which LaVette is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. It sounds like a long, lost Stax demo.

The only slight disappointment here is “Down to Zero,” the song that introduced Joan Armatrading to the world in the late ‘70s. LaVette’s cover is worthwhile, but I find myself missing Armatrading’s understated moan.

The album ends with Fiona Apple’s “Sleep to Dream,” whose refrain not only gave LaVette the title for her album, but also reveals the singer’s underlying attitude: “This mind, this body, and this voice cannot be stifled by your deviant ways. … I‘ve got my own Hell to raise.” It’s not clear to whom LaVette is directing her rage. But I wouldn’t want to be the one to try to stifle this voice.

(The photo of Bettye LaVette is from Robert Mugge's Blues Divas.)

Also Recommended:

One Night Stand: Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963; Night Beat; The Best of Sam Cooke. With a new biography on the shelves (Peter Guralnick’s Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke) and these three reissues from RCA/Legacy, perhaps the time has come for a full-fledged Sam Cooke revival.

This new version of One Night Stand is the “20th anniversary edition” of an album which for reasons I will never understand wasn’t released until 1985, more than 20 years after Cooke’s death.

Before this, the only live Cooke album was the rather tame Live at the Copa, which showed the softer, smoother, more uptown side of Sam. But here, Cooke, fresh off a British tour with Little Richard is all sweat and grit in this Miami show. With a band led by R&B sax titan King Curtis (grim note: both Cooke and Curtis died as a result of homicide), Cooke rips through most of his biggest hits, spotlighting the gospel fervor that had only been hinted at in the studio versions.

One Night Stand was recorded in January 1963. About a month and a half later he went into the studio and in three nights recorded what would become Night Beat.
It’s not nearly as raw as the Harlem Square show, but no less soulful. Here he plays with a small combo, including a young Billy Preston on organ. While Cooke wrote most of his own material, Night Beat is a collection of blues songs, including some Charles Brown tunes and a snazzy takes on the Howlin’ Wolf hit “Little Red Rooster” and Mississippi Fred McDowell‘s “You Gotta Move.”

But the record starts out with a quietly urgent version of the old spiritual “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”.

The fact he was doing religious material is significant. Cooke started out as a gospel singer with the influential Soul Stirrers and his “defection” to the world of pop was considered by some as an affront to God Himself. But Cooke proved here that his gospel roots still were strong.

I like the “Best Of” album here mainly, to steal a Cooke hit title, “For Sentimental Reasons.” It was one of the first albums I ever owned in the early ‘60s. It still makes me grin when I read the hyped-up headline that was on the original back cover: “He lives in the Top Ten…”

Still there are far better retrospectives to introduce a new fan. Both Portrait of a Legend, released just two years ago and The Man and His Music (1986) have about twice as many tracks, and unlike this one, contain “A Change is Gonna Come.”

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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