TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, March 12, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I'm Finding it Harder to Be a Gentleman by The White Stripes
Slaves & Bulldozers by Soundgarden
My Cat's Name is Maceo by Jane's Addiction
What I Want by This Bike is a Pipe Bomb
Milk by Kings of Leon
Praise God by Johnny Dowd
OK/No Way by Mission of Burma
Oh My Darling Clementine by The American Indians

Armed Love by The International Noise Conspiracy
Cosmic Highway by Les Claypool's Frog Brigade
Bubba's Truck by Key
Days of Rain by Bob Mould
Movie Star by The Grabs

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling by Frank Patterson
Thousands Are Sailing by The Pogues
Forty Deuce by Black 47
Come Out Ye Black and Tans by The Wolfe Tones
The Women of Ireland/The Morning Dew by The Chieftains
Molly Malone by Sinead O'Connor
The Dirty Glass by The Dropkick Murphys

Tura Lura Lural by The Band with Van Morrison
Black Velvet Band by The Irish Rovers
Whiskey in the Jar by The Dubliners
Rambling Irishman by The Oyster Band
Carrickfergus by Van Morrison & The Chieftains
There Were Roses by Maloney, Keane & O'Connell
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

DRAWN & QUARTERED

Gov. Bill Richardson, as reported by my colleague Dave Miles, is calling on New Mexicans to suggest design ideas for the state quarter, to be minted in 2007.

"From pueblo potters to Santa Fe painters, we know how to create amazing images," Richardson said. ... his preferred design would be something similar to the state's float in the Rose Bowl parade this past January, which featured an adobe-style church, chile ristras, Indians and Buffalo Soldiers,"

Don't forget the flamenco dancers ...

I liked this line in Dave's article:

Although the governor appeared on the float, he said he would not want to have his mug grace New Mexico's quarter.

Of course, Richardson originally said he wouldn't ride on the Rose Bowl float.

This state quarter business reminded me of an article in Slate back in 2002, one headlined "The State Quarters: Why are they so ugly?"

Most of the designs, usually chosen by a state commission appointed by the governor, are boring, timid, and cluttered—evidence of all that can go wrong when art is created by committee. They are also surprisingly revealing about the peculiar, parochial ways that states view themselves. ...

The quarters fall into three main categories: the single icon, the kitschy collage, and the tableau (or the good, the bad, and the ugly). The five collage quarters resemble '50s souvenir plates.

My money is on a collage-style quarter for New Mexico.

Though Richardson cautioned against trying to cram too many icons on a tiny quarter, I'm betting on unabashed clutter.

Many will want to include representations of the three largest cultures in New Mexico -- which most likely means a conquistador, an Eagle Dancer and a cowboy. Albuquerque probably will lobby hard for a hot-air balloon -- which might have to share the sky with a Virgin Galactic spaceship. The Zia symbol's got to be in there somewhere, and to symbolize Los Alamos, an atom symbol (that's so much more tasteful than a mushroom cloud). And don't forget the roadrunner, the yucca, maybe a Georgia O'Keeffe datura flower, and how about some bats flying out of Carlsbad Caverns?

If it was up to me, I'd keep it simple -- and a little surreal. Maybe a fat koshare eating a watermelon with a jackalope at his feet.

If you've got your own ideas, CLICK HERE for the official for information on how to submit it.

Remember, the deadline is May 12.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, March 10, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
You Are My Sunshine by Ray Charles
Aftermath U.S.A. by The Drive-By Truckers
Ghosts of Hallelujah by The Gourds
Back to Black by Terry Allen
Wild Things by Scott Miller
Oklahoma Bound by Joe West
Seeds and Candy by Boris & The Saltlicks
Caves of Burgundy by Tribolite

Naked Light of Day by Jesse Taylor with The Flatlanders
Drugstore Rock 'n' Roll by Janis Martin
Wasted My Time by Eric Hisaw
Politics of the Dead by Hundred Year Flood
The Song of a Hundred Toads by The Handsome Family
Don't Be Afraid of the Neocons by Norman & Nancy Blake
He's Coming to Us Dead by Ralph Stanley
Big Time Annie's Square/I'd Rather Be Gone by Merle Haggard

Big Al Anderson Set
Love Make a Fool of Me by Big Al
It Was an Accident by NRBQ
Under the Hood by Big Al
Movin' Into the Light by Big Al
A Better Word For Love by NRBQ
Ridin' in My Car by NRBQ
Trip Around the Sun by Big Al with Kim Richey

Pastor Absent on Vacation by Porter Wagoner
Blowin' in the Wind by Dolly Parton
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere by The Mekons
Faded Love by The Pine Valley Cosmonauts with Anna Fermin
Pilgrim's Progress by Kris Kristofferson
Carmelita by Danny Santos
Lift Him Up, That's All by Washington Phillips
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: BIG AL SPEAKS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
March 10, 2006

Quitting NRBQ was “the second-best thing I ever did,” said guitarist/singer/songwriter “Big Al” Anderson.


This only begs the question: what was the best thing he ever did?

“Being in it.”

Anderson’s career with NRBQ — that eclectic, eccentric, highly influential though commercially underachieving band whose full name, New Rhythm and Blues Quartet, hardly does it justice — spanned 22 years and a dozen or so albums.

In recent years Anderson has earned his living as a songwriter, penning tunes for Carlene Carter, George Jones, Vince Gill, the Allman Brothers, the Mavericks, Patty Loveless, Jimmy Buffett, Trisha Yearwood, LeAnn Rimes, and others.

He’s also a noted sideman, playing guitar in recordings by Jerry Lee Lewis and the Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson).

Now he’s stepping into the spotlight again. Sony Legacy has licensed and just released his solo album After Hours.

No sweat: “Big Al” isn’t as big as he used to be. Though still towering well over 6 feet tall, he’s slimmed down considerably since he was known as “300 Pounds of Twangin’ Steel and Sex Appeal.”

He’s a part-time Santa Fe resident, splitting his time between Nashville, Tenn., and his La Tierra home, where he moved with his wife, Maryanne Hill, four years ago.

“I love it here,” Anderson said in a recent lunchtime interview at Tia Sophia’s. “I don’t interact with people much.”

He first came to Santa Fe one summer night in the 1980s when NRBQ played Club West. “It was 90 degrees, and I wasn’t sweating,” he recalled.

About six years ago, Anderson said, country singer Hal Ketchum, who was living in Tesuque, invited him to come out and write some songs. Later he came to Santa Fe to write songs with another country artist, Jeffrey Steele.

“I was shopping at Albertsons and saw a real-estate book,” Anderson recalled. “I went out to look at one house, and 40 houses later, I moved here from Connecticut.”

Red Roof Inn & the Waffle House: Anderson was born in Windsor, Conn., in 1947. His first successful band was called the Wildweeds, who were signed with Vanguard Records in the mid-’60s. He joined NRBQ in 1971, but he already had been a fan of the band. His predecessor, Steve Ferguson, is the best guitarist the group ever had, and their 1969 first album is still their best, Anderson insists.

“I learned all about music,” he said. “Anything went. You had to learn about everything.” NRBQ is famous for mixing basic American roots music with highly crafted pop, modern jazz, children’s music, and just about anything else that popped into band members’ heads. “It had its own set of walls, but the room was a lot bigger than anyone else’s, that’s for sure,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s contributions were immeasurable. “Ridin’ in My Car,” perhaps the loveliest automobile song this side of Brian Wilson, was his, as were the neo-rockabilly “It Comes to Me Naturally” and the wickedly funny “It Was an Accident,” just to name a few.

But he called it quits after a gig at Tramps in New York. “It was New Year’s, so don’t know if I quit in ’93 or ’94,” he said. “It was actually a split with no words,” he recalled. “I just told Joey [Spampinato, NRBQ’s bassist] that I’d probably split. There was nothing really wrong. It just stopped growing for me.”

Touring life became tedious for him. “The Red Roof, the Waffle House ... ” he said, referring to fixtures of the rock ’n’ roll road-warrior lifestyle. He also spoke not so fondly about his normal preshow intake of “half a gram of cocaine and half a quart” of booze back in the daze.

Not long before he quit, Anderson got a taste of songwriting success outside the band. “Every Little Thing” by former Tesuque resident Carlene Carter was co-written by Anderson.

Solo Al: Since leaving NRBQ, Anderson has released two solo albums, 1996’s roadhouse romp Pay Before You Pump and, eight years later, the quieter, more reflective After Hours.

I initially compared After Hours to the latter-day work of Charlie Rich — the slow, jazzy “Love Make a Fool of Me” and “Two Survivors” would have fit in fine on Rich’s Pictures and Paintings, as would “Better Word for Love,” a song Anderson previously recorded with NRBQ.

Then there’s “Just Another Place I Don’t Belong,” which sounds like the lovechild of Nick Lowe and Stax stalwart Dan Penn. “In My Dreams” has verses that sound like Western swing, though the chorus, with its NRBQ-y jazz chords, suggests greater depths. And “Blues About You Baby,” co-written with Delbert McClinton, shows Anderson hasn’t forgotten good old roots rock.

Originally this was a self-released effort, for sale only on Anderson’s Web site. “I think I sold 500 or 600 and gave away about 1,000 copies,” he said. “I lost interest in hustling.”

Eventually the album got the attention of Sony/BMG honchos, who, hopefully, will hustle the CD for him.

A place where there is no music: An interview in Massachusetts’ Daily Hampshire Gazette late last year noted that “when he is in Santa Fe he isn’t part of a music scene. ‘It’s good to be in a place where there is no music when I’m done with makin’ it,’ said Anderson.”

“Well, it’s not like Nashville,” he said when I asked about the comment.

Anderson said he’s been thinking about bringing a little music to Santa Fe, perhaps flying in some of his songwriting partners to the city for shows. But one gets the idea that this town is a place for rest and getting away from it all for Anderson.

And while he’s gearing up for some publicity gigs for After Hours, including a showcase at South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas, next week, Anderson seems to prefer his life as a behind-the-scenes songwriter.

That might preclude any further work with NRBQ. While he played at the group’s 35th anniversary in 2004, when asked if he’d play a 40th reunion, Anderson said, “That’s a good question.”

It was one he didn’t answer.

Big Al on the radio: Hear my favorite “Big Al” songs from his solo albums and with NRBQ tonight, March 10, on The Santa Fe Opry on KSFR, 90.7 FM. The show starts at 10 p.m. and the “Big Al” show will start at 11 p.m.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: PLAGUE OF ZOMBIES

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
March 9, 2006

A news release from the Governor’s Office on Wednesday promised “a plague of zombies,” “ferocious monsters”, murder, mayhem, “creepy events” and “Living Hell.”

No, Gov. Bill Richardson wasn’t announcing a special session of the Legislature.

This was an announcement of four low-budget horror/suspense films to be shot in New Mexico this spring and summer.

The movies are part of a package by a Hollywood company called Odd Lot Entertainment — actually, according to Variety, a subsidiary of Odd Lot called Dark Lot will produce these films.

Each one has a budget of about $3.5 million, according to Richardson’s film-industry point man, Eric Witt. The productions, he said, will employ about 400 New Mexicans.

The state Investment Council already has agreed to give interest-free loans for two of these films. Each will get $3.4 million from the state.

The four cinematic jewels announced Wednesday are:

* Wanted: Undead or Alive: This is a good old cowboys ‘n’ zombies flick. In the synopsis provided by the Fourth Floor, “When Wild West misfits Elmer Winslow and Luke Budd rob the corrupt sheriff of a dusty Western town, they have no idea a plague of zombies is sweeping the country. In a bizarre turn of events, Geronimo’s sultry niece may hold the key to their survival.” According to the horror-movie Web site Bloody-Disgusting.com, this will be a comedy. The dusty Western town will be played by Bonanza Creek Ranch south of Santa Fe.

* Living Hell: “Mild-mannered schoolteacher Frank Sears is mystified by the bizarre tattoo his mother gave him as a child — right before she committed suicide. Desperate to unlock its meaning, Frank’s quest leads him to a top secret Cold War military project where he unwittingly unleashes an unstoppable organism.” (Boy, I misread that word the first time!) This will be shot at Santa Fe’s old main-prison facility and in and around Belen.

* Zero Dark Thirty: “When Andy, a U.S. Army soldier, returns from active duty in the Middle East, his once-tranquil hometown is racked by a string of strange and violent events.” This will be filmed at the old prison and in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

* Buried Alive: “A gang of sorority buddies play a prank by leaving fellow college students in an abandoned hunting cabin. Creepy events unfold and the local groundskeeper winds up dead.” The filming location hasn’t been determined, Witt said.

Asked whether the “sorority buddies” reference was a mistake, Witt had a two-word reply: “Brokeback Zombies.”

Pork for Peace: There will be zombies in the summer and peaceniks in the fall.

Richardson on Wednesday announced that he’d vetoed nearly $270 million in spending. But one thing that apparently did survive was $300,000 earmarked in the capital-outlay bill for a world-peace conference in Santa Fe next September.

The conference money was sponsored by Sen. Shannon Robinson, the “Bull Moose” Democrat from Albuquerque, who last year secured another $120,000 for the conference.

Clarissa Duran, director of volunteers for the September conference, said Wednesday that there will be a meeting next week for those wanting to volunteer. That will begin at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the State Archives and Records Building on Camino Carlos Rey. Duran’s number is 929-3825.


Wings of Justice: Richardson is the latest recipient of the “Wings of Justice” award from Buzzflash.com, a liberal Web site. Richardson’s support and signing of the “paper-ballots” bill — which will require paper-ballot voting machines to be used in every county in the state — won him the weekly award.

The centrist governor joins other recent winners, which include many left-wing icons like the late Rosa Parks, newspaper columnist Molly Ivins, peace activist Daniel Ellsberg, Democracy Now host Amy Goodman and David Letterman.

David Letterman?

The late-night talk-show host won his wings by telling Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly, “to his face, that 60 percent of what he says is crap.”

Name that anonymous source: The irreverent political blog Wonkette on Tuesday invited its readers to name the anonymous Democratic governor who was quoted in The Washington Post criticizing national Democratic Party strategy.

The Post quote:

“They want to coordinate. They want to collaborate. That’s all good,” said one Democratic governor who declined to be identified in order to talk candidly about a closed-door meeting. “The question is: Coordinate or collaborate on what? People need to know not just what we’re against but what we’re for. That’s the kind of message the governors are interested in developing at the national level.”

The blogster concluded, “to the extent that there’s ever a correct response, it sounds like the answer to today’s quiz was ‘Bill Richardson.’ ”

Richardson, who has made similar on-the-record statements in the past, on Wednesday denied he was the unnamed source.

One Wonkette reader described Richardson as “a gabby ex-Clinton Administration cabinet member who’s still probably on the Rolodex of a lot of reporters in this town. ...

Until a few months back, Richardson was making the rounds in D.C., trying to build up support for a 2008 White House bid but revelations that he really, really exaggerated the bit in his bio about being a baseball player appear to have sunk that.”

Tell that to the citizens of New Hampshire celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with the governor of New Mexico next week.

Another reader said, “I’m thinking it’s Bill Richardson, strictly based on my gut reaction that the person in question sounds completely exasperated, which is Bill’s default setting. Also, I can totally hear him saying ‘that’s all good.’ He probably tries to impress the youngsters on his staff by using ‘hip’ lingo, like ‘it’s all good’ and ‘I’m down with that.’ And more practically, he’s going to try and run in 2008 as an outsider, against the Democratic party. Yeah, good luck with that.”

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, March 5, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
It's Not Unusual by Tom Jones
Unwed Mother by Johnny Dowd
Green-Eyed Lady by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Shoot Doris Day by Super Fury Animals
The Worm by Audioslave
Tangled Up in Plaid by Queens of the Stone Age
Weather Box by Mission of Burma
Best Thing by Bob Mould
Closer by Richard Cheese

If You Could Hear My Mother Pray by The Staple Singers
Get Right Church by The Rev. Gary Davis
I Know I've Been Changed by John Hammond, Jr. with Tom Waits
The Bush is Burning by Corey Harris
Done Got Old by Buddy Guy
Love Bones by Johnnie Taylor
Runaway Child Runnin' Wild by The Temptations
Love Letters Straight From Your Heart by Kitty Lester

OSCARS SET
Act Naturally by Buck Owens & Ringo Starr
It'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out by Concrete Blonde
Tinsel Town Rebellion by Frank Zappa
Tiffany Anastasia Lowe by June Carter Cash
Martin Scorcese by King Missile
Celluloid Heroes by The Kinks
My Beloved Movie Star by Stan Ridgway

Tutti Fruiti by Kultur Shock
Out of What by Frank London's Klezmer Brass All Stars
It's the Day of Atonement 2001 by Dayna Kurtz
Trouble Ahead by The Grabs
Did Everybody Just Get Old by Graham Parker & The Figgs
A Loving Tribute to My City by Mark Eitzel
A Better Word for Love by Big Al Anderson
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

ALONG CAME JONES

I was nearly a no-show last night for No-Show Jones.

Nobody's fault but mine. I'd never been to Isletta Pueblo Casino before and I didn't realize it was off the Broadway exit off I-25. I figured it was further south ... so I ended up in Los Lunas. Then I turned around, turned off at the Isletta Pueblo exit and ended up on South Coors, exploring the rural splendor of the Albuquerque's South Valley. By the time we got the casino, Jones had been onstage for about 30 minutes.

Yes, I'm an idiot.

George Jones in his prime probably had the best voice in country music -- male or female, living or dead.

But last night there were signs that the magnificent soul-piercing instrument is going. He seemed hoarse and he wasn't making all the high notes and sometimes he seemed flat.

Still, a fading Possum is more soulful than 98 percent of the competition. He did wonderful versions of "A Picture of Me Without You" "Golden Ring" and, of course, "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

His version of "Who's Going to Fill Their Shoes" would have been more moving had the audience not applauded wildly almost every time another picture of a dead country star flashed on the screen behind the band.

I enjoyed "The Blues Man," a song written by Hank Williams, Jr. that's on his latest album. (He duets with Dolly Parton on the record. Last night Dolly's part was filled by his tour singer Sherri Copeland, who stood in for Tammy on "Golden Ring.")

I was even more impressed with "50,000 Names," a song about the Vietnam memorial wall. I like this nearly as much as Iris DeMent's "There's a Wall in Washington." I was hoping that Jones would follow "50,000 Names" with "Wild Irish Rose," which is about the death of a homeless Vietnam vet.

He sang a bunch of his hits. "The Window Up Above" started out nicely, but after the verse, it became apparent that this was just part of a medley with "The Grand Tour" and (I think ... don't hold me to this) "Walk Through This World With Me." He also did a too-short version of "White Lightning."

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk with George about our business deal he was proposing a couple of months ago.


XXXXX

Since I went to the concert, I had Laurell sit in for The Santa Fe Opry last night. She was nice enough to e-mail me her play list:

Buck Owens- Buckaroo

Iris Dement- Wasteland of the Free
I'll Take My Sorrow Straight
Emmylou Harris- Heaven Only Knows
Jeannie Sealy- Don't Touch Me
Sir Douglas Quintet- Texas Me
Nuevo Laredo
Merle Haggard-It's Not Love But It's Not Bad
Somewhere Between
John Prine- I Guess They Ought To Name a Drink After You
Loretta Lynn- Honky Tonk Girl
Townes Van Zandt- Waitin' Around To Die
John Hartford- Turn Your Radio On
Hank Williams- Lovesick Blues
Rose Maddox and Vern Williams- Let Those Brown Eyes Smile at Me
Grateful Dead- Operator
Allman Brothers- Ain't Wastin' Time No More
Bob Dylan- You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
Country Pie
Carl Smith-Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way

John Anderson- Seminole Wind
Kate and Anna McGarrigle- Goin' Back To Harlan
Heart Like a Wheel
America- A Horse With No Name
Cowboy-Pretty Friend
Bread- Make It With You
Eagles- Most Of Us Are Sad
Linda Ronstadt- Birds

Neil Young- Love Is a Rose
Emperor Of Wyoming
Michael Hurley-Lean On Me
Johnny Cash- The Beast In Me
Thirteen
George Jones- He Stopped Loving Her Today
Roy Orbison- Love Hurts
Randy Scruggs- Both Sides Now

Comin' Down- Meat Puppets

THIS BIKE ISN'T REALLY A PIPE BOMB

I actually saw this band with my daughter and a friend of hers at CBGBs when we went to New York in the late '90s.

Seems that the campus cops at Ohio University got a little jumpy when they saw a bicycle with a sticker for the Florida group This Bike is a Pipe Bomb.

My favorite line in the news account below is the college dean who "urged students to be more careful when showing support for the band ..."

I'll play a song by them on Sunday's Sound World.

Between this and the terrorist Morrissey getting questioned by The FBI, these are difficult times.

From the Associated Press:

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — A sticker on a bicycle that said "this bike is a pipe bomb" caused a scare Thursday at Ohio University that shut down four buildings before authorities learned the message was the name of a punk rock band, a university spokesman said.

The sticker on the bike chained outside the university-owned Oasis restaurant near the center of campus attracted the attention of a police officer about 5:30 a.m., spokesman Jack Jeffery said.

Police blocked streets around the restaurant and the Columbus police bomb squad came from about 65 miles away.

The bomb experts hit the bike with a high-pressure spray of water, then pried it apart with a hydraulic device normally used to rescue accident victims trapped in cars, acting Athens Fire Chief Ken Gilbraith said. Once they had it open, they saw there was no bomb.

The buildings, including some classroom facilities, were reopened after a couple hours.

Dean of Students Terry Hogan urged students to be more careful when showing support for the band from Pensacola, Fla.

University police interviewed the bike's owner then released him, Jeffery said. Police are still investigating.

An e-mail seeking comment was sent to Plan-It-X Records, listed on a Web site for the band as its record label. The label does not have a published phone number.

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: HILLBILLY PROTEST

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
March 3, 2006

Norman and Nancy Blake do what they do best on their latest album, Back Home in Sulphur Springs -- simple but irresistible interpretations of old-time rural Southern tunes.

There are songs about ramblin' and jail, sentimental reflections on happy little homes and the fair, sad-eyed sweethearts that singers always tend to leave there, even a couple of shipwreck ballads.

And Chattanooga-born Norman Blake is still one of the finest old-time country pickers operating today. His arsenal -- including guitar, dobro, mandolin, and fiddle -- has the voice of a hillbilly sage. When he sings, you can almost imagine him personally witnessing the past 200 years of southern history.

But there's an edge to this album, a hard-nosed reminder that while the Blakes might exalt the little cabin home and sunny Southern mornings, they are truly citizens of 21st-century America.

It's first apparent in the third track, "He's Coming to Us Dead," the story of a father whose son is killed in a war. The grief-stricken old man warns the soldiers who help unload the casket: "He broke his poor old mother's heart, her sayings all came true/She said this is the way that he'd come back when he joined the boys in blue."

Although the scene obviously is relevant today, the quaint trappings of the train and the telegraph office give away the fact that the song dates back -- at least -- to the late 1920s.

The credits on this album say the song is "traditional." However, many people credit "He's Coming to Us Dead" to G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter, "first wave" country stars who recorded it in the late '20s.

"He's Coming to Us Dead" is making a "comeback" of sorts. The 1966 version by folkie faves The New Lost City Ramblers appears on the recently released Classic Railroad Songs on the Smithsonian Folkways label. The liner notes for that CD say the song originally was published in 1899 by Gussie Davis, a black songwriter who also is credited for "Goodnight Irene."

What's remarkable about the song is that there are no words about patriotism, heroism, or duty to your country -- just death and grief and broken hearts.

But in case there's any question about where the Blakes' politics lie, you can find the answer in the CD's "hidden" track, a protest song called "Don't Be Afraid of the Neocons," which names names, points fingers, and generally goes far beyond the Dixie Chicks in criticizing the Bush administration -- singing about Iraq, Cindy Sheehan, Hurricane Katrina, and Dick Cheney's underground bunker. But the outrage in the lyrics is leavened by Norman's gentle hillbilly humor.

"Now Georgie Bush he is the man/He landed in Afghanistan. 'We'll get Osama,' was his crack/And now we're stranded in Iraq...."

There's even a verse about the president's fondness for Saudi royalty: "Now Georgie, he is kind and meek/He kissed the king upon the cheek/They walked the garden hand in hand/While the oil and blood dripped on the sand."

"Neocons" reminds me of those historical ballads still sung today about the Garfield assassination or the sinking of the Titanic -- not to mention the fine Irish tradition of antiwar songs.

The chorus appeals to a traditional backwoods loathing of government that predates any person or event in the song: "Don't send your money to Washington/to fight a war that's never done/Don't play their games, don't be their pawns/and don't be afraid of the neocons." This protest only strengthens Nancy's sweet mandolin version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

And come to think of it, what's with those shipwreck songs? There's not one but two on this album. "The Mermaid" is a traditional song with a theme going back to Homer (no, not of Homer and Jethro). "The Empress of Ireland," written by Patty Bryan, is about a tragedy that occurred on the St. Lawrence River in the spring of 1914, when the Empress of Ireland collided with a Norwegian ship, the Storstad. More than 1,000 died.

In the American folk tradition, shipwreck songs are often allegories for divine retribution against vain and corrupt societies. "God moves on the water!" went the chorus of one popular Titanic ballad.

Do I sense a subtle metaphor at work here?

Also recommended

* Old Time Black Southern String Band Music by Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas. This is nothing but party music -- well, at least the way they used to have parties in the rural South in the days before stereos.

Recorded back in 1960 by folklorist Harry Oster, Cage and Thomas were part-time Louisiana musicians who earned extra cash by playing for dances, parties, and sometimes even church services. Both men died in the 1970s.

Amazingly, this is the first time most of these tracks have been released.

Cage played fiddle while Thomas played guitar. Both sang -- sometimes in unison, sometimes practically tripping over each other. The result is a rough, spontaneous, good-time sound that makes a listener wish he'd been invited to some of those parties.

There are some familiar songs here: "Since I Laid My Burden Down" (sometimes called "Glory Glory"), "Ain't Gonna Rain No More," Misspi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move," and "Careless Love," one of those great American tunes that's been traded back and forth between the races so much that its genealogy doesn't even matter.

Other notable songs are "Rock Me Mama" (featuring Cage's finest fiddle work on the album), "The Dirty Dozens" (the "shake-your-yas-yas-yas" lyrics at that time were considered risqué), and "The Piano Blues," which is 100 percent pianoless.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
March 2, 2006

What do you do when you’re the governor and you’ve already filled the executive branch’s 647 exempt positions, but you’ve still got friends, political supporters and their relatives who need work?

According to a report by KRQE Channel 13 investigative reporter Larry Barker, when you’re Gov. Bill Richardson, you just create new jobs “out of thin air.”

So what’s the big deal? Didn’t Richardson promise to create lots of new jobs?

“The practice is so common that state agencies have coined a name for it,” Barker said. “When the governor sends a new hire down to claim a job that doesn’t exist, they call it ‘a gift from the North.’”

Under state policy, departments can hire temporary exempt employees for periods for no more than three months. The governor must approve any extension of that period.

But, Barker said, there’s no evidence that Richardson ever approved extensions for these “temporary” employees. According to the report, the extensions were done informally with no paper trail.

One state senator calls the practice “illegal.” The administration denies any wrongdoing.
Whatever the case, it’s bound to be an issue in the upcoming campaign. Even before Barker had run his report Wednesday night, the state Republican Party was sending mass e-mails touting the segment “on Bill Richardson and his abject cronyism.”

That "C word" is popping up more frequently in GOP statements about the governor. Of course, state Democrats have been using the same word to try to link U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson to the Washington, D.C., lobbyist scandals.

The gift catalog: Among those “gifts from the North” featured in Barker’s report:

* Ed Stapleton, husband of House Majority Whip Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-Albuquerque, makes $40,000 annually as a racing clerk at the state Racing Commission. The racing-clerk position actually was occupied by another employee. That person got to keep her job, but she only makes $26,000 a year.

* Steve Gallegos, a former Albuquerque city councilor and Bernalillo County commissioner, was paid $83,000 to be legislative liaison for the state Transportation Department. Gallegos resigned this week to run in the Democratic primary for the seat now held by incumbent Public Regulation Commissioner Lynda Lovejoy, who cannot seek re-election.

* Randy Romero, brother of former ambassador and Richardson ally Ed Romero, gets paid $62,000 for a “temporary” exempt job at the Labor Department.

* Former state Rep. Bennie Aragon — who is the uncle of former state Senate powerhouse Manny Aragon — is paid more than $55,000 as “special projects coordinator” for Expo New Mexico (formerly known as the State Fair).

* Democratic political consultant Harry Pavlides got a $42,000 secretarial job at Expo New Mexico.

* After Richardson appointed Sharon Maloof — part of the influential Maloof family — to be deputy tourism secretary, he created a $74,000 position for another deputy secretary to handle the budget and administration of the department.

The way it works: State Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, said on camera the practice is illegal. McSorley estimated as many as 65 jobs were created by the administration in this manner.

“This is not the way government should work, but unfortunately, this is the way it has worked,” McSorley said.

Former Gov. Gary Johnson told Barker he never made such hires during his administration.

“I would just suggest that today you got a whole new layer of upper-level bureaucrats that are getting in the way of state employees doing their jobs,” Johnson said. “Which is significant. This is not insignificant.”

Richardson’s chief of staff defended the practice. “They are clearly qualified for the jobs they are doing in these agencies,” Dave Contarino told Barker. “If there are misclassifications that do not accurately reflect those jobs, then we will have to deal with that. But they are working every day doing the jobs that their Cabinet secretary (has) tasked for them under the governor’s direction.”

We thought he was primping: Last week The Drudge Report offered a sneak preview of a new political book, Strategery by Bill Sammon. The book quotes Bush political guru Karl Rove predicting that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will capture the 2008 Democratic nomination for president but will lose in the general election.

According to Drudge, Rove says “the ‘hard-driving’ Clinton will easily vanquish Democratic primary rivals like Richardson and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, who are merely ‘preening for the vice presidential slot.’ ”

Correction notice: This column originally said that Steve Gallegos would run against incumbent PRC member Lynda Lovejoy. Actually Lovejoy can't seek re-eelction because she's serving her second term.