Tuesday, August 07, 2007

RICHARDSON AT THE DEBATE

At the NH State Democratic Convention

My analysis piece on Richardson's debate performance at the AFL-CIO forum tonight is already up at the New Mexican site.

You can find it HERE .

The campaign, of course, issued a statement touting Richardson as the strongest candidate. I assume all the other campaigns did that too.

The e-mail includes a quote from Richardson's answer to the Iraq veteran who lost his job at Maytag.(See my live blog post below, the 6:01 pm entry, and the analysis piece.) But it leaves out that non-sequiter about OSHA.

I quoted him saying, “I would ensure what you have in the future is job protection, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) protection. ...” (I did record this from the TV)

But the e-mail has a reference to OSHA elsewhere, where I didn't hear it.

"As President I will get rid of all of the union-busting attorneys in the Department of Labor and at the Occupational Health and Safety Administration."

In fairness there was loud applause after he said "Department of Labor," so maybe the rest of the sentence got muffled.

By the way, the photo on this post is not from the Soldier Field debate. I took it in Concord, N.H. a couple of months ago.

LIVE BLOGGING THE AFL-CIO DEBATE

3:23 pm MDT: Yup, I'll be trying this live blog thing again in about an hour and a half. The Democratic candidates are in Chicago for the AFL-CIO (or as Archie Bunker used to call it, the UFO-CIA) forum, which starts at 5 p.m. Mountain Time. But no need to watch the TV when you can follow all the fun right here.

I said that the Dem candidates are all there. That's not quite true. Turns out Mike Gravel wasn't invited. He has some opinions on that, which you can find HERE.

One good thing about most the debates so far this cycle is that the various sponsors have done away with those tedious opening statements by candidates. Most of them always sounded canned. But if you miss them, MSNBC has canned some for you . The pre-recorded opening statements by the participating candidates are HERE.

5:02 pm MDT: It's starting. Richardson was first to be introduced. I wonder if it'll be another 20 minutes before he gets a question.

5:05 pm MDT: AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says "Think of this as a big job interview." Could that be a good omen for our gov?

5:09 pm MDT: This debate is OUTSIDE -- Soldier Field in Chicago. Both Hillary and Obama have pandered to Bears fans.

5:11 pm MDT: No question for Bill yet. I wonder if he'll say he's a fan of both the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.

5:14 pm MDT: Edwards just gave an indirect slap at Hillary over accepting lobbyist money. Looks like Richardson will once again be the last to get a question.

5:17 pm MDT: Kucinich gets big applause when he says to get out of NAFTA and WTO.

5:18 pm MDT: Richardson asked about selling toll roads to private companies. "No, privatization is not the answer here." He gets a big hand when he says he'll be proud to take union financial support. Calls for investing in power grids and highways. Talks about bringing "new infrastructure."

5:23 pm MDT: Scrap NAFTA? Richardson says from now on no agreements with countries that have child labor and don't allow collective bargaining. He also says on his first day he'll fire all the union-busting lawyers in the government. I thought that was the day he's ending the war in Iraq. Busy day.

5:29 pm MDT: Hillary says she's noticed other candidates are "using my name." She's not here to attack Democrats, she said. She gets big reaction when she says she's stood up for 15 years to the right-wing attack machine and come out stronger.

5:31 MDT: Richardson says China is a 'strategic competitor" and says we should pressure China to get better on human rights and to do something about Darfur.

5:33 pm MDT: The Dems seem to hate China nearly as much as the GOP hates the Mexicans.

5:34 pm MDT: MSNBC is doing commercials?

5:37 pm MDT: Richardson is asked what if Al Qaeda takes over Iraq after we withdraw. He insists the real peacekeeping can begin after the withdrawal.

5:41 pm MDT: Biden slaps Obama saying those of us who want to invade Pakistan will end up sending our troops back to Iraq.

5:49 pm MDT: Obama says it's "amusing" that some of those who voted for the war are now criticizing him for wanting to be on the "right battlefield" in the war on terror.

5:50 pm MDT: Hillary reminds everyone that Pakistan has nukes.

5:53 pm MDT: Good emotional 3-way debate between Obama, Hillary and Dodd on Pakistan/Iraq issues. Interrupted for another commercial. Did Lincoln Douglas debates have commercials?

5:55 pm MDT: The widow of a West Virginia miner killed last year gets to ask the first question. Of course it's about mining safety. Biden gives a short answer but goes back to a Pakistan question. Gets booed.

6:01 pm MDT: Richardson gets question from Iraq vet who came home to find his factory closed and job gone. He says he was just in Newton, Iowa, the guy's hometown. Richardson promises he'll protect the pensions and then promises OSHA protection????? Also health benefits for vets. He plugs his "Hero's Health Card." Never answers the question about closing factories.

6:02 pm MDT: An emotional question from a guy who can't afford healthcare for his wife. The crowd, including the questioner applaud Edwards for saying workers deserve the same benefits as the bosses and that he'd establish universal health care.

6:11 pm MDT: Edwards argues with Biden about how many picket lines he's walked. Edwards says lots.

6:13 pm MDT: Edwards gets applause when he bashes scabs. How about goons and ginks and company finks?

6:16 pm MDT: I'm liking this debate better than others. Keith O is letting the candidates actually scrap with each other. And the union members have are asking good hard-edged questions, many based on hard living. Beats the hell out of snowmen and bad folksingers.

6:17 pm MDT: And the union audience is nice and rowdy. Another commercial.

6:20 pm MDT: The Lightning Round!: Richardson: Big applause: "My vice president would not be Dick Cheney." Any of the other candidates would make a good VP, he says.

6:24 pm MDT: The difference between trial lawyers and lobbyists: According to Edwards, lobbyists are paid to rig the rules against us. If trial lawyers gave money to jury, it would be called bribery, but when lobbyist give to politicians ...

6:27 pm MDT: Would Obama honor Barry Bonds at the White House? Sports should be something kids should look up to. Praises Hank Aaron. Dodges the question.

6:32 pm MDT: Richardson want to bring country together in a bi-partisan way. Heal the divisions of the Iraq war. The question was "Does it bother you the 2012 race will start right after you take office." For the record, Richardson said yes, it would bother him before he went into his "let's get together" rap.

6:33 pm MDT: Hillary says she's going to tell people to "bring your brooms" to Washington to "clean it up." Bring your brooms. Insert cheap witch joke.

6:35 pm MDT: Kucinich says he the Seabiscuit of this race. He told me the same thing in 2003.

6:36 pm MDT: That's it. Gotta write some stuff for the paper. I might come back later to fix some typos.

Monday, August 06, 2007

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, August 5, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and out new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I Wanna Come Back from the World of LSD by The Fe Fi Four plus Two
Jungle Rock by The Fall
Ubangi Stomp by Jerry Lee Lewis
El Nino by ZeeRok
Harem in Tuscany by Gogol Bordello
Shaking All Over by Lolita #18
Signifying Blues by Bo Diddley with Jerome Green
Big Screen Lover by The Hentchmen

LEE HAZLEWOOD TRIBUTE

Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood
Sand by OP8
A Cheat by The Blue Hawaiians
The Fool by Richard Thompson
These Boots Were Made For Walking by Johnny Thunders & Wayne Kramer
Lady Bird by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood
T.O.M. (The Old Man) by Lee Hazlewood

His Girl by The Budos Band
Truck Turner (Main Title) by Isaac Hayes
Are You Man Enough by The Four Tops
Wars of Armageddon by Funkadelic
Munaye by Mulatu Astatqe
Killin' It by The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker

Welcome to My Mind by Duggie Ward
Help Me Somebody by Brian Eno & David Byrne
There Is Power in The Blues by James Blood Ulmer
Chelsea Hotel No.2 by Rufus Wainwright
So Long Marianne by Leonard Cohen
Let Him Try by April March
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Saturday, August 04, 2007

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, August 3, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and our new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Spivey by The Gourds
They Were Kings by Heavy Trash with The Sadies
Long Legged Girl With the Short Dress On by Elvis Presley
Miss Maybelle by John Schooley
In Honky Tonk Shadows by The Waco Brothers
Down in the Bayou by The Watzloves
Never Going Back (to Nashville) by Cornell Hurd
The Winner by Bobby Bare
The Car Hank Died In by The Austin Lounge Lizards

Committed to Parkview/The Rubber Room by Porter Wagoner
If I Lose my Mind by Dolly Parton
Pyscho by Jack Kittell
Crazy by Willie Nelson
I've Always Been Crazy by Waylon Jennings with Travis Tritt
No Earthly Good by Billy Joe Shaver with Kris Kristofferson
Matthew 24 (Is Knocking at the Door) by Johnny Cash

Riverstone by Hundred Year Flood
Mama's House by Leanne Atherton
Bowling Green by Neko Case
Circadian Rhythm by Son Volt
I Threw Away the Rose by Johnny Bush & Justin Trevino
Single Girl by Rose Maddox
You Always Keep Me in Hot Water by Carolina Cotton with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

Separation Blues by Maria Muldaur with Bonnie Raitt.
I See the Want To in Your Eyes by Gary Stewart
Face to the Wall by Bill Hearne's Roadhouse Revue
Are You Lonesome Tonight by Shawn Camp & Billy Burnette
Dark Hollow by David Bromberg
Just Hangin' On by Peter Case
After We Shot the Grizzley by The Handsome Family
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

Friday, August 03, 2007

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: PORTER & DOLLY

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


Porter Wagoner hasn’t had a bona fide country hit in decades. And it’s doubtful that any songs from his new album, Wagonmaster, will get any significant airplay on commercial country radio.

But fans of country music should love this record, whether they’re longtime Porter fans, baby boomers who would get stoned and watch the rhinestoned Porter sing with Dolly Parton on his syndicated TV show, or alternative-country fans looking for authenticity. Even “hip” irony seekers who love to laugh at song titles like “Satan’s River” and corny recitations over whining steel guitars should like it.

Cynics might say this is just another comeback album by some aging, faded star produced by an adoring younger fan (in this case, respected country picker/singer/songwriter Marty Stuart) trying to duplicate what Rick Rubin did with Johnny Cash or what Joe Henry did with Solomon Burke. (This album is on the Anti label, on which Merle Haggard released his wonderful “comeback” album, If I Could Only Fly, a few years ago.) Maybe so. But who cares? Both Porter and Marty shine here.

Though he turns 80 this month and his voice isn’t what it used to be, Porter sings with an easy confidence. Meanwhile, Stuart’s arrangements — featuring lots of tasty steel and fiddle and no trace of Nashville overkill — give the record a timeless quality.

There are some straight-out honky-tonkers here. One of my favorites is a sawdust shuffler called “Be a Little Quieter,” the lament of a man imagining angry late-night visits from a past love. “Last night I heard you walking in the hallway/And your footsteps sounded like a marching band.” Then there’s “A Fool Like Me,” which would have been perfect on a Gram Parsons album.

“The Agony of Waiting” and “A Place to Hang My Hat” are outright country weepers. If you can’t feel the pain in the slow, mournful “The Late Love of Mine,” you must be numb. It’s got an early Willie Nelson feel to it (think “Opportunity to Cry” or “Something to Think About”). “Who Knows Right From Wrong” sounds like a belated sequel to Porter’s old classic “A Satisfied Mind.”

But the kind of song that suits Porter best is the story song. There are several on Wagonmaster.

“Albert Erving” is the tale of a lonely quasi-hermit from Wagoner’s youth. “Albert never held a woman or child/ You could see that loneliness had drove him wild.” My only complaint is that Porter’s spoken introduction — which takes up about two minutes in this three-minute song — basically tells the whole story. He should have just sung it.

The spoken-word recitation “Brother Harold Dee” is the story of a ne’er-do-well backwoods beatnik who ends up as a tent preacher, making his family proud. Even better is “My Many Hurried Southern Trips,” which Porter co-wrote with Parton. It’s the tale of a bus driver who seems to know the life stories of all his passengers — unwed mothers, ex-cons, soldiers. “And the folks that ride got a reason to ride,” the narrator sings.

But the center of gravity of this album is “Committed to Parkview,” written for Wagoner by none other than Johnny Cash. Porter explains humbly in the spoken introduction that, while he’s been “a guest in a lot of great places in my lifetime,” he also was a “guest” at a psychiatric institution called Park View.

This isn’t the first time Wagoner has tackled this sad chapter in his life. One of the strangest things ever to come from Music Row is Wagoner’s 1972 song “The Rubber Room,” a stark musical memory of his Park View stay.

In “Committed to Parkview,” the narrator mainly concentrates on his fellow “guests.” It’s in Nashville, so there are lots of would-be singers and even the ex-drummer for some unnamed “superstar.”

“There’s a girl who cries above me, loud enough to wake the dead/They don’t know what she has taken that has scrambled up her head.” Porter sings with sympathy and relief that he’s been lucky all these years to avoid going back.

The hidden bonus songs are true treats of this album. Stuart convinced Porter to recite part of his old hit “Men With Broken Hearts” and, best of all, to sing Hank Williams’ “(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle.” It’s pure hillbilly soul, a suitable final word for an album full of hillbilly soul.

Also recommended:


*Coat of Many Colors, My Tennessee Mountain Home, and Jolene by Dolly Parton. Parton made some wonderful music with Wagoner in the ’60s and early ’70s, but these three albums, recently rereleased by Legacy, show there was way too much talent in the little gal from Locust Ridge, Tenn., to keep her under the thumb of any other musician — even a giant like Wagoner.

Parton, of course, became a megastar, a caricature, and a punch line for those who couldn’t see beyond her bustline. And, sadly, her music began to suffer by the late ’70s as she seemingly left behind the bluegrass-informed sound represented on these albums.

But these three CDs, originally released between 1971 and 1974, show her at the peak of her songwriting. At her best — and these three albums might be her best — Parton’s songs are sentimental, sexy, and smart.

Most of the songs that made her reputation are here, including the title songs of the records plus “I Will Always Love You” (on Jolene). But there are lesser-known jewels too.

And though Wagoner frequently is portrayed as the villain trying to hold Parton back, one of the coolest tunes on Coat of Many Colors is a Bizarro World Wagoner song called “If I Lose My Mind,” which concerns the estranged wife of an abusive swinger. “He done things to me I couldn’t understand/He made me watch him love another woman/And he tried to make me love another man. ... I couldn’t stand his torture any longer/I was afraid of what I’d do if I stayed there.”

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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