BLOGGING THE DEBATE IN MANCHESTER

UPDATE: I went back and cleaned up most the typos here. Also I caught a couple goof-ups. Richardson said we should lean on China to help bring peace to Sudan -- not "leave on China" as I somehow typed. Also Gravel said anybody who voted for the war resolution should be disqualified. I originally said "nobody." Got tripped up on the double negative there.

8:59 PM EDT: It's over. Gonna take a spin to the Spin Room.

8:57 PM EDT: Richardson talks about improving education as his top priority in the first 100 days. Mentions New Mexico went from 49th to 29th under his watch -- possibly an attempt to nullify some of the Meet the Press talk of bad NM statistics.

8:52 PM EDT: Gravel has been far more subdued tonight. He's talking about line-item vetoes. I like it better when he says stuff like the other candidates scare him. He's coming to life a little bit saying Congress got surpluses during Bill Clinton by raiding social security.

8:47 PM EDT: Richardson brags that he's balanced five state budgets. This drives New Mexico reporters nuts! He has to balance the budget according to the state constitution. There's no option.

8:37 PM EDT : I believe the biggest applause line so far tonight was when Hillary said they should quit asking hypothetical questions. Biden is shouting to establish a no-fly zone in Darfur.
Richardson pressed on Olympic boycott. Don't need military action. But now he's going back to his campaign speech about "On the first day I'm president ..."

8:34 PM EDT: Richardson says he wouldn't use force. More UN peacekeepers, Economic sanctions. Need to lean on China. Threaten to boycott Olympics. "America should care about Africa and we don't."

8:32 PM EDT: Darfur. Here's a good Richardson question. But Biden butts in.

8:27 PM EDT: Except for the question about veteran hospitals, most of the New Hampshire citizens asking questions seem to be most concerned about foreign issues -- Iran, Pakistan. Wolf is asking Kucinich whether he'd launch a missile to kill Osama bin Laden. Sounds like a good movie. Kucinich doesn't like assassinations. Obama says he'd kill Osama.

8:22 PM EDT: Hillary has good words for "the type of diplomacy Bill Richardson did for my husband."

8:18 PM EDT: Richardson gives a good clear answer to funding veteran hospitals. Of course this is a pretty apple-pie issue.

8:15 PM EDT: In general Richardson seems more relaxed and a lot less scowly than he did in the South Carolina debate. He hasn't made any major mistakes. His main problem is that his answers seem to revert to campaign rhetoric and meander. He's not alone in this. That's a major sin of many politicians. The second problem is that he just doesn't have enough time to make an impression with all these candidates. These debates (the Republicans too) are reminding me of Santa Fe mayoral election back when we had 16 candidates.

8:10 PM EDT: They're back.

8:05 PM EDT: Break time! I need coffee.

8:00 PM EDT: A change in format is about to come. Audience members will soon start asking questions. But first Richardson is asked if oil companies are gouging. He starts out by saying NM is the clean energy state. He also wants states to have more authority to investigate price fixing. He starts talking about his "Apollo program" for clean energy. Wolf again has to cut him short.

7:54 PM EDT: Richardson says Bill Clinton should be secretary general of the United Nations. He says he'd use Clinton to be Middle East peace envoy. But didn't he say a few weeks ago he wanted James Baker for that role?


7:50 PM EDT: Cynical press dogs laugh openly when Biden says "Nobody asks whether you're gay in those holes." We're turning into Bevis & Butthead! Richardson pipes in. Makes fun of senatorial courtesy. Says he would get hate-crime, civil-union laws.

7:47 PM EDT: Hillary won't say her husband's "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy was a mistake. "It was a transitional policy." She quotes Barry Goldwater! "You don't have to be straight to shoot straight."

7:42 PM EDT: Richardson -- in New Mexico we insured every child. Got rid of junk food in the schools. Junk food in the schools? Not quite on topic. Wolf cuts him short.

7:39 PM EDT: Edwards talks about raising taxes to fund national healthcare. But he's not saying whether Richardson and Hillary are being "dishonest" for saying no tax increases are not needed.

7:35 PM EDT: Raise your hand if English should be the official language of U.S. Gravel is the only one. Obama says the question is designed to divide us. Hillary is answering now. Richardson I know would love to answer this but he can't get a word in edgewise.

7:32 PM EDT: Richardson asked about immigration, why he supports path to citizenship. He meanders a little at first. Why isn't this amnesty? Because Richardson says, it sets standards. You don't immediately get amnesty, citizenship. It takes about 13 years. But he says it separates families. Wolf is trying to cut him short.

7:27 PM EDT: Gravel says anybody who voted for the resolution should be disqualified from being president. They made a political decision and showed a lack of moral judgment. Hillary says if she knew then what she knows now ...

7:25 PM EDT: Hillary's talking again about her "sincere" vote for the war in 2002. Tries to wiggle out of answering question whether she regrets not reading the National Intelligence Assessment. Says she was fully briefed. So does Edwards. But he says he was wrong to vote for the war resolution.

7:21 PM EDT Kucinich points out that Iraq is now the Dem's war.

7:19 PM EDT: Mike Gravel points out that the Democrats in Congress supported the original war resolution.

7:18 PM EDT: Richardson on withdrawal from Iraq leading to genocide. There is a fundamental difference in his position and the others. Wolf tried to lead him back to the genocide question. He says he'd keep troops in Kuwait and move them to Afghanistan.

7:16 PM EDT : More than 15 minutes through debate and Richardson hasn't been called on.

7:14 PM EDT: Obama and Edwards getting down. Edwards criticizes Obama's hesitancy over recent vote. Obama says Edwards is a Johnny come lately to the anti-war position. Hillary reminds everyone it's Bush's war.

7:11 PM EDT: Hillary won't criticize Biden for voting for the war funding. She went on to attack the Republicans who support the war and President Bush. Sounds like she's looking ahead of the Democatic primaries.

7:03 PM EDT: "I'm Bill Richardson, the proud governor of New Mexico."

7:02 PM EDT: Wolf Blitzer says they're going to prevent candidates from getting off topic. Good luck!

6:58 PM EDT: Bad sign. Something seems to be wrong with the sound in the media room. If it ain't fixed pretty quick there's going to be hundreds of angry reporters. Someone came by and said "they're working on it." Hope he's right

6:06 PM EDT As you can see, I'm not taking or posting many photos at this point. Nothing much exciting to see in the media room.

But I did get a few yesterday, so check them out over at my FLICKR site.





5:49 PM EDT: Those wascally Wepublicans. On a table just outside the media room are a bunch of unflattering profiles of the Democratic candidates from the Republican National Committee.

These have been updated since the Carson City forum, when they wrote similar studies of the Dem contenders.

For the governor of New Mexico, the sheet is titled "Meet Bill Richardson (D-NM): A Self-Serving Washington Insider With a Controversial Record." (Back in February he was merely a "self-promoting" Washington Insider, etc.)

The new Richardson sheet concentrates on recent contradictions over Iraq, immigration, the Red Sox/Yankee rivalry, etc. (I just had lunch with a rabid Red Sox fan. I tell you, they take that stuff seriously up here.)

These GOP "Meet the Candidates" efforts is just typical partisan politics. I'm sure Richardson and the other candidates aren't too worried. However the one on Richardson did hit below the belt in one area:

They criticized his Bill Richardson salsa at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. I'd argue that anything that spreads New Mexico salsa to other parts of the country is a good thing. I'm still sore that the Secret Service confiscated mine at the convention. (CLICK HERE and scroll down toward the bottom of the post)


5:09 PM EDT




4:30 PM EDT: I'm here in the media room for the debate at Saint Anselm College. We're in a gym next door to the main event.

The last one of these dog and cattle shows I personally attended was the one in Carson City, Nev. last February. So far -- two-and-a-half hours before the debate even starts, it's easy to tell that things have intensified since then.

First of all at least a few of the candidates have gobs of supporters out in force. Joe Biden is winning the sign wars, at least on the approach from NH 114. However, driving around the neighborhood with a local friend a couple of hours ago we found pockets of Edwards supporters and one small area where several yards had Richardson signs.

As I was turning into the media parking lot (a huge area of beautiful green grass, being slowly trampled by hundreds of press-dog vehicles) a group of Obama supporters started feverishly chanting their candidate's name at me. later, walking through the rain to the press center, I heard in the distance a group of people happily chirping out the letters "H-I-L-L-A-R-Y"

Then, unlike the Carson City event, there's actual security here, complete with metal detectors. Just my luck that I wore a metal bolo tie.

I haven't done a formal count, but there seems to be about twice as many spaces for journalists than there was in Nevada. There are assigned spots for all of us and no chart or anything to help a lonely reporter find his spot. I'd assumed they'd stick the smaller publications in the back, so I started looking there. However, after searching several rows, I learned they'd actually put me somewhere north of the middle. I'm right between reporters from Newsweek and U.S. News & World report.

Now that I'm settled in, nothing's going to happen for a few hours. But keep refreshing that browser

RICHARDSON IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
June 3, 2007

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Gov. Bill Richardson spent Saturday morning with Democratic activists at a political convention, but he spent part of the afternoon personally seeking Hispanic voters in an urban neighborhood.

Richardson and his entourage — followed by a gaggle of reporters and photographers — stopped in at several local Latino-owned businesses on Union Street, speaking to supporters, potential supporters and curious neighborhood kids in English and Spanish.

“I’m running for president as an American who is Hispanic,” he told a crowd jammed into the Don Quijote restaurant. “I want to be president of the whole country.”

But one man who talked to the crowd a few minutes later said Hispanos should vote for Richardson because “he’ll take care of us.”

Hispanics are a small but growing minority in the Granite State, making up an estimated 14 percent of the population. According to some reports, the Hispanic population has grown 80 percent in the past decade.

The New Hampshire primary, scheduled for late January 2008, is the first primary in the presidential campaign.

On his walk down Union Street, Richardson was accompanied by several local politicians and political activists, including state Rep. Lily Mesa and Manchester Alderman Mike Lopez.

Although he initially said he wanted to eat some tacos at Don Quijote and shouted out an order to owner Sandra Sepulveda, his handlers hustled him out of the cafe for his short trip down the street.

He stopped at the home of a family named Zapata, knocking on the door ostensibly to ask if he could put a “Richardson for President” sign in the front yard. Apparently the family already had agreed to let him to do this. However, a next-door neighbor came out and asked the Richardson team if she could have a sign as well. The governor happily obliged.

Even before Richardson’s appearance, several of his signs dotted the street.

Richardson stopped into the Tropical Food Market, where he joked with a clerk. He also made the rounds at the Latin Style Men’s Hair Salon, talking to customers as well as the barbers.

“How much you charge for a haircut?” he asked owner Tomas Barrera, who replied, $15.
“How much for bad hair like mine?” Richardson asked. “$50?”

Barrera said he’d cut it for free if Richardson promised to have his first haircut “after you’re elected president” at Latin Style.

Richardson promised that if elected, he’d do that.

Earlier in the day, Richardson was one of several presidential candidates to speak at the New Hampshire state Democratic convention, which was held in the gymnasium of a middle school in Concord, the state capital. Several delegates and other attendees noted there was no air conditioning in the hot gym.

“I cut my speech short because I saw people were sweating,” Richardson joked with reporters following his appearance.

Apparently only “second-tier” candidates showed up for Saturday’s event. Richardson’s speech followed talks by Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd and Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Each got a resounding reception from the delegates, who were generous with their standing ovations.

A couple dozen Richardson volunteers stood at the side of the stage and cheered as Richardson spoke. They were enthusiastic, but not as loud as Dodd’s supporters, who used inflatable plastic “thunder sticks” to increase the decibels when they applauded their candidate.

Among Richardson’s supporters at the convention were Walter “Butch” Maki and his wife, Patty Maki, who parked their sleek bus — decorated with Richardson banners — across the street from Rundlett Middle School.

Butch Maki — a former Richardson congressional staff member who now lives in his native New Hampshire — is a former Santa Fe resident who still owns a large lobbying firm in New Mexico. As he held a Richardson sign to greet people walking up the driveway to the school, he said he’s mainly been working on Richardson’s campaign in recent months.

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: REUNION RIOTS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
June 1, 2007


Am I just becoming a sentimental old coot or are “reunion” albums not as crass and cheesy as they used to be? Specifically, I’m talking about amazingly enjoyable, hard-rocking new efforts by The Stooges and Dinosaur Jr.

Back in the old days, reunions by groups like The Byrds, The Animals, and Jefferson Airplane ranged between pathetic and disappointing.

The early 1990s Velvet Underground reunion had its moments, but, like your average casino-circuit oldies act, the group stuck with its old material, not attempting to come up with new songs.

The Band, minus Robbie Robertson, did three albums in the ’90s. The first one, Jericho, had a few good songs (including some old recordings by Richard Manuel, who killed himself in 1986). The next one, High on the Hog, was surprisingly weak. I seem to recall a friend sending me a tape of the last one, Jubilation, but I don’t even remember any of the songs.

Perhaps the recent trend of decent reunions was started by Mission of Burma, the Boston-based post-punk band that re-formed earlier this decade and made two albums, Onoffon and The Obliterati, both of which stand up well beside the group’s 1980s work.

Let’s look at The Stooges and Dinosaur Jr.

The Weirdness is the first full album by The Stooges since a few years ago, when Iggy Pop and the brothers Asheton buried whatever hatchets had led to the destruction of the original band back in the mid-’70s. The Stooges have done at least one tour together and recorded a few songs that appeared on Iggy’s 2003 “solo” album, Skull Ring.

Bass stud Mike Watt (The Minutemen, Firehose) takes the place of Dave Alexander, who died in 1975. Original Stooge sax maniac Steve MacKay joins the band on some cuts here (though I wouldn’t have minded if he played on all of them).

I realize I’m swimming against the critical current in praising The Weirdness. Most of the reviews I’ve seen for this album have been scathing.

“An album that hideously disgraces the band’s original work,” Pitchfork proclaims.

“Pop’s lyrics about his penis and ATMs are beyond self-parody,” The Guardian sniffs.

“This is not the sound of a band with anything on the line,” The Austin Chronicle laments.

Give me a break. This is the dadgum Stooges we’re talking about. The band rose to glory on its intensified slop and clamor and dum-dum lyrics. The Stooges has always been proudly way beyond self-parody.

“Last year I was 21/I didn't have a lot of fun,” Iggy sang in “1969,” on the group’s self-titled first album. “And now I’m gonna be 22/I say oh my and a boo-hoo.”

Oh my. Boo hoo.

These are a bunch of guys on the far side of middle age. Iggy recently turned 60, and Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton are around that age. They aren’t hungry kids anymore. And they’re not breaking any new barriers like they did in their first incarnation. They’re old guys with massive chips on their shoulders; as Jerry Lee Lewis would say, they’re “middle-age crazy, trying to prove (they) still can.”

And the geezers are relentless. Nearly every song here rocks like the studio is about to explode. Ron Asheton strangles his guitar as if he’s trying to kill it.

Sure, you can imagine them all panting for breath and almost collapsing after every song. Maybe that’s part of the weird fun of The Weirdness.

Like Nick Cave on Grinderman, Iggy sounds more lecherous than lusty. But again, that’s part of the wicked charm of this record. He might not seem as dangerous as the Iggy of old (or as Grinderman, for that matter), but his disturbing combination of arrogance and creepiness is a marvel to behold.

The climax of The Weirdness is the last song, “I’m Fried.” It builds up to a bloody, musical punch-out between Ron Asheton and MacKay. I’ve heard very little stuff from youngsters and critical darlings that matches this inspired craziness.

As for Dinosaur Jr., with his long, graying hair, J. Mascis looks like he’s turning into Dinosaur Sr. This band’s history isn’t nearly as tumultuous, much less as essential, as that of The Stooges. But, going back to the mid-’80s, it was a vital group whose sound helped shape and inspire the great grunge groups. Mascis’ blaring guitar and mumbled vocals created a roaring but vulnerable persona that summed up much of the spirit of indie rock at the time.

Even without knowing the history of these musicians, Beyond is a dynamic and timeless rock ’n’ roll record. Beyond is not only the first new Dinosaur Jr. album in a decade, it also marks the reunion of Mascis and original member Lou Barlow, who left the band in the late ’80s to form another fine band called Sebadoh. That band was either more grating and discordant than Dino Jr. or more melodic, depending on the song. (I still say Roy Orbison should return from the dead just to record “Soul and Fire,” my favorite Barlow/Sebadoh song.)

Barlow contributes a couple of songs (and lead vocals) on Beyond. Both “Back to Your Heart” and “Lightning Bulb” are strong tracks, but this is mainly Mascis’ show.

Mascis is one of the only true guitar giants of indie rock. He makes the guitar solo an honorable thing in a genre that tends to turn its nose up at guitar solos. While his style owes little or nothing to the blues, like the best blues guitarists, Mascis infuses his solos with so much emotion that everything else seems almost superfluous. This is best illustrated by the last half of the six-minute “Pick Me Up,” which is one of Dinosaur Jr.’s finest moments of any decade.

Though Mascis is the main attraction, I believe that there’s real chemistry between him and Barlow. After all, when Barlow left, each Dino album became progressively less consequential.

Until now. I hope this reunion isn’t a one-shot deal.

NEW HAMPSHIRE BOUND

I'll be in Manchester and Concord, N.H. this weekend covering Gov. Bill Richardson's latest campaign trip there.

On Sunday night, starting about 5 p.m. Mountain Time, I'll be live blogging the debate, which is being shown on CNN. You can find that here on this very blog.

I've also promised to do a call-in with The New Mexican's Web site, which plans to run the audio.

I'll probably even snap a few photos up there. Check this site, The New Mexican, and my dynamic FLICKR page.

Here's a look at Richardson's schedule this weekend:

Saturday, June 2

New Hampshire- Eastern Time
WHEN: 9 am
WHAT: House Party at the Home of Jim Stevenson
WHERE: 468 Webster Street, Manchester, NH

WHEN: 10:30 am
WHAT: New Hampshire Democratic Convention
WHERE: 144 South Street, Rundlett Middle School, Concord, NH


WHEN: 1:45 pm
WHAT: The Governor will walk Union Street with Lily Mesa, Eva Castillo,
and Sonia Parra, ending at Don Quijote Restaurant
WHERE: Start at 362 Union Street, Manchester, NH

Iowa- Central Time
WHEN: 4:30 pm
WHAT: The Governor will participate in PrideFest 2007
WHERE: Greene Square Park, Cedar Rapids, IA

WHEN: 5:30 pm
WHAT: Iowa Hall of Fame Dinner
WHERE: Crowne Plaza, Five Seasons Hotel, 350 1st Avenue NE, Cedar Rapids, IA

Sunday, June 3

New Hampshire- Eastern Time
WHEN: 7:00 pm
WHAT: CNN, WMUR and the Union Leader 2008 Democratic Presidential Debate
WHERE: St. Anselm College, Manchester, NH

WHEN: Following the debate
WHAT: Debate Watch and post-debate party
WHERE: Richardson for President NH Headquarters, 545 Hookset Rd., Manchester, NH

I won't be going to Iowa with the campaign.

And I won't be doing my radio shows this weekend either. Laurell is sitting in for the Santa Fe Opry Friday, while Dan will be doing Terrell's Sound World Sunday night. Hear them on KSFR, 90.7 FM.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: LITTLE JOY IN BLOGVILLE FOR BILL

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 31, 2007

The reviews are in, and there’s little joy in Blogville over Gov. Bill Richardson’s network-television performance Sunday on Meet the Press.

A quick survey of Google’s blog search shows overwhelming criticism about the presidential contender’s answers when asked about his initial support for the Iraq war, changing his opinion on the latest immigration bill, serving on oil-company boards, shifting positions on gun laws, his response to a dead Marine’s mother who says she’s been politically exploited and New Mexico’s embarrassing rankings in national statistics on poverty, crime and education.

Connecticut journalist Colin McEnrow, who blogs on the Hartford Courant’s Web site — and says he “kind of likes” Richardson — wrote, “I have to assume that, when they cut to a break, Richardson vomited into a waste basket. It was that bad.”

Comments on the liberal Daily Kos blog also largely were critical. One Kos commentator was “flabbergasted” by the interview, writing in all-lower-case: “he’s obviously a very bright and talented guy, but he was absolutely terrible in an hour long, one on one setting. he seemed to embody so many of the common stereotypes about dems, especially the ones about not taking firm positions. … get thee to a media trainer, bill.”

Mainstream Web media also was harsh. MSNBC’s First Read had this to say about the appearance: “If you missed Bill Richardson’s appearance on ‘Meet’ on Sunday, the campaign is probably pleased.”

Slate’s John Dickerson wrote perhaps the most blistering review, saying Richardson “self-destructed.”

“Richardson is a world-famous hostage negotiator, so it was poignant to watch him fail to rescue himself from his own hostage crisis,” he wrote. “By the end of the hour, he wasn’t answering questions so much as swatting at them. … Sometimes, he contradicted himself within just a few breaths. After explaining why he changed positions on the assault-weapons ban, he broadly asserted, ‘I don’t change my positions.’ ”

Missed opportunities: Some bloggers complained the show’s host, Tim Russert, was too rough on the governor. Some even charged the interviewer tends to go softer on Republicans.

But there were a couple of times that Russert let him slide.

For example, when he played the Richardson “interview” ad, he could have questioned why Richardson was bragging about getting a “cease-fire” in Darfur when that agreement he helped negotiate was being broken before the ink was even dry.

And when Richardson gave his standard “I had to make a living” answer when asked about serving on oil company boards, Russert could have said, “What? Henry Kissinger was paying minimum wage?” (During that period when he was on the oil company boards — between jobs as energy secretary and governor — Richardson was senior managing director of Kissinger McLarty Associates, an international consulting firm headed by the former secretary of state.)

For his part, Richardson missed a chance when he was explaining the different stories about a conversation he says took place at the funeral of a Marine killed in Iraq. (Richardson says Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin’s mother talked to him about death benefits are for those killed in action. The mom denies ever having that conversation.) The gov could have scored points with Democrats by saying, “At least I go to some of these funerals of our soldiers and Marines killed in this war — unlike a certain commander-in-chief.”


Stee-rike!: What seemed to get the most reaction, however, is the grave national issue of Richardson’s torn allegiance between the Boston Red Sox and The New York Yankees.

This not only upset fans of both teams, but those who said his statements make him look like a pandering politician.

A New Hampshire blog called No Looking Backwards railed against Richardson’s latest baseball dilemma in a post called “How to Be a Carnivore and a Vegetarian.”

But all the above is wrong: At least according to Richardson’s campaign Web site, which found some blogs that praised Richardson’s performance. One, called The Appletonian, boldly declares the governor “did pretty well.” (Bizarre! That post was up Wednesday afternoon. But by the time I posted this column on the Web it had disappeared from the site.)

Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley blogs that “Gov. Richardson was candid and direct and handled the tough questions well. He looked very Presidential.”

But Shipley might have been on an intense caffeine and sugar high: “The coffee in the green room at NBC is great and the pastries are sinful — I had too many while watching the governor’s appearance.”

More Bill TV: Richardson will surely have an easier time on his next national television appearance. C-SPAN, cable television’s public-affairs network, plans to show the Iowa Democratic Party’s Hall of Fame dinner Saturday, where Richardson and some of his rivals are scheduled to speak. That begins live at 5:30 p.m. MDT.

The next night, Richardson is to participate in a Democratic presidential candidate debate in New Hampshire on CNN, which shows here at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Adios Villaraigosa: Besides those reviews of his Meet the Press appearance, the Richardson campaign got some bad news this week when Antonio Villaraigosa, mayor of Los Angeles, endorsed U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in the California primary.

Richardson supported the Hispanic mayor’s 2005 campaign, during which New Mexico’s Democratic Party sent six staffers to Los Angeles to help with the effort. Richardson launched his campaign in Los Angeles this month, though the mayor was conspicuously absent.

“I know Bill Richardson quite well, and I think I’ll say his strength is his experience and his record, not his ethnicity,” Villaraigosa told The New York Times.

But apparently that strength wasn’t strong enough to get the endorsement.

R.I.P. LAURA ELLEN

The music in Heaven just got better this week.

Laura Ellen Hopper of KPIG Radio in Watsonville, Calif. died Monday. You can read her obit HERE.

I didn't know her well. Never met her face-to-face. But I recall how nice to me she was when my CD came out back in 1996. She not only put it on the KPIG play list for awhile, but she wrote a letter of recommendation to another station for me. And she told me not to get discouraged by stations that weren't cool enough to play the type of stuff we like.

Most importantly, I admired her work. KPIG is one of the cooler commercial stations on the face of the planet. And before she created KPIG, she co-founded KFAT, which had to be the coolest station in the Universe.

Laura Ellen will be missed.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, May 27, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
NEW: email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I Need Somebody by ? & The Mysterians
Juvenile by The Black Lips
Slip Insde This House by The 13th Floor Elevators
Can't Be So Bad by Moby Grape
Mooney by The Kilimonjaro Yak Attack
Riot on Sunset Strip by The Standells
Edith by Buick MacKane
Nest of The Cuckoo Bird by The Cramps


Bill Richardson Campaign Theme Suggestions

Mr. Big Stuff by Jean Knight
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now by Emmett Miller
Billy Boy by Jerry Lee Lewis
Built For Comfort by Howlin' Wolf
The Envoy by Warren Zevon
Bill Richardson by Angel Espinoza
I Want to Grow Up to Be a Politician by The Byrds

Time Travel Freaks by The Harry Perry Band

Echoes from Neptune/Shenandoah by The Surf Lords
Shredded Heat by Dick Dale
Let Loose the Kraken by The Bald Guys
Whittier Blvd. by Los Straitjackets
The Ghastly Stomp (Everyone's Doin') by The Ghastly Ones
Cha Wow Wow by The Hillbilly Soul Surfers
Escape Velocity by Man or Astroman?
Fish Taco by Surfacide
Ginza Lights by Satan's Pilgrims
Land of the One Percenters by The Bomboras
Black Widow by Link Wray

Let's Get Radical by Gogol Bordello
Willesden to Cricklewood by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
Red Angel Dragnet by The Clash
Another Side of This Life by The Jefferson Airplane
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, May 25, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
The Eggs of Your Chickens by The Flatlanders
Monkey Face Gene by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Artificial Flowers by Cornell Hurd Band
Join the Club by The Wacos Brothers
The Lucky and the Lonely by Randy Kohrs
I'm Gonna Take You Home and Make You Like Me by Robbie Fulks with Donna Fulks
Big Ol' White Boys by Terry Allen

Hoy Hoy by The Collins Kids
Rockin' Bandit by Ray Smith
Treat Me Right by Cliff & Barbara Thomas
Baboon Boogie by Jimmy Murphy
Split Personality by Clyde Leopard's Snearly Ranch Boys
Good Rockin' Baby by Sid King & The Five Strings
Red Hot by Billy Lee Riley
Down on the Farm by Big Al Dowling
Low Down Dog by Sleepy LaBeef
Religious Discussion (Sam Phillips & Jerry Lee Lewis)
Wild One by Jerry Lee Lewis

Jack's St. Pete Blues by Ronny Elliott
No Good For Me by Waylon Jennings
Night of the Wolves by Gary Heffern
Road Too Long by Bill Hearne's Roadhouse Revue
Weary Blues From Waitin' by The The
God's House Ringing Dark and True by The Gourds
Do You Call That A Buddy by Martin, Bogan & Armstrong

Coldwater by John Hammond
Icewater by Peter Case
Three Chords and The Truth by Ry Cooder
Goin' The Country by C.W. Stoneking
Border Radio by Dave Alvin
Wish I Could by Marlee MacLeod
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

PETE'S POLLS

My story about Sen. Pete Domenici's falling poll numbers in this morning's New Mexican can be found HERE.

Survey USA's recent poll on Domenici and Sen. Jeff Bingaman can be found HERE.

To track Survey USA's monthly polls on Domenici for the past two years, CLICK HERE

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS (AND A COOL VIDEO)

First the bad news:

Frogville John informs me there will be no Frogfest this year. That's disappointing because last year's was so much fun for the few of us who attended. But I can't blame him. You blew it, Santa Fe! (For my thoughts on last year's Frogfest CLICK HERE and HERE)

But the good news is that Frogville is hosting three concerts at Santa Fe Brewing Company this summer. The first two already are set:

JUNE 9th 6pm-1am
A CD release party for Goshen's Lioness

7 pm Hundred Year Flood
9 pm Boris & the Saltlicks
11 pm Goshen
with special MC, Joe West
$10.00 at the door

June 27th 7pm-12 am
a double CD release Party for:
ThaMuseMeant's never settle for less and Nathan's In his own worlds

ThaMusueMeant
Nathan Moore
Taarka
This will be the only New Mexico show this year for these guys. I don't have the price on this one yet.

I just spotted this video of Hundred Year Flood doing "Rich Man's War" at last year's Frogfest. It brings back memories of a great show. (If you look at the audience shot near the very last you'll find my pretty face.)

(Speaking of HYF, the group is scheduled to appear on this Sunday’s “Gotta Dance” program on KSFR 90.7 FM, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Mountain Time. You can hear a stream of the show on the KSFR site.)