THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, July 31, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
I'm Coming Home by Johnny Horton
Miss Froggie by Warren Smith
Hospital Escape/Time Flies by Scott H. Biram
Sleeping With the Enemy by Simon Stokes with Texas Terri
Calling in Twisted by The Rev. Horton Heat
Lift Your Leg by Joe Ely
High on a Mountain Top by Loretta Lynn
Crazy Pritty Baby by Heavy Trash
The Hucklebuck by The Riptones
I'm a Hobo by Danny Reeves

Don't Make Promises by Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women
Shakin' All Over by Eilen Jewel
Tennesse Jed by Levon Helm
Hittin' the Bottle Again by Waylon Jennings
Don't Sweep That Dirt on Me by Buddy Shaw
Good Gracious, Gracie by The Light Crust Doughboys

Pussy Pussy Pussy by Light Crust Doughboys
Big Black Cat by R.D. Hendon & The Western Jamboree Cowboys
The Great Car Dealer War by The Drive-By Truckers
She's a Little Randy by Patterson Hood
Country Love by The Gourds
Hey! Toughen Up! by Candye Kane
Wammo's Blues by The Asylum Street Spankers

Trail of Tears by Wayne Lavallee
White Freightliner Blues by Steve Earle
Working at Working by Wayne Hancock
The Problem by Beausoleil
Hemmingway's Whiskey by Guy Clark
The Deep End by Aimee Hoyt
What You Gonna Do Leroy by Buddy & Julie Miller with Robert Plant
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: CONTINUING REUNIONS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
July 31, 2009

How do you know if a band has been around too long? How do you know whether the latest rock ’n’ roll reunion is the true rebirth of magic or just another casino-circuit wonder? As this thing called rock lurches onward through its second half-century, these questions will arise more and more.

Two recently released albums by reconstituted rock groups might provide some insight into these issues. The latest efforts by Dinosaur Jr. and the newest incarnation of the New York Dolls show the pitfalls and the potential power of rock ’n’ roll longevity.

First the good news.

My initial thought upon hearing Dinosaur Jr.’s Farm was that these guys shouldn’t really still be sounding this great. But, it looks as if the reunion of J. Mascis and Lou Barlow a couple of years ago on their big comeback album Beyond was no fluke.

Truthfully, I should have known that was the case. When I saw the resurrected Dinosaur Jr. at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago last year, they were indeed mighty and — Mascis’ gray hair notwithstanding — they blew away most of the younger musicians. The band sounded far more vital than when I saw the 1993 version of Dinosaur Jr. — then at its commercial peak — at Lollapalooza.

A little background: Dinosaur Jr. started out in the mid-’80s when Mascis and Barlow were in high school in Amherst, Massachusetts. But by the end of the decade, the boyhood chums parted ways. Barlow went on to form Sebadoh, a highly respected indie band. Mascis carried on with Dinosaur, signing with a major label and, with his Neil-Young-Is-God guitar studsmanship, rode the crest of the grunge era.

While it lasted. Both Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh eventually flamed out. Mascis tried to carry on with a band called The Fog — a trio, centered around Mascis’ stormy guitar solos, which sounded pretty similar to Dino Jr. But hardly anyone paid attention.

Then in 2007, Mascis and Barlow apparently kissed and made up. With longtime Dino drummer Murph, they recorded Beyond, which was the best thing any of them had done in years. But if anything, Farm is even better than Beyond. Not only are they sounding strong as ever, Mascis and Barlow sound as if they actually are having a great time playing with each other.

Mascis remains the dominant frontman/songwriter, penning all but two of the tunes here and taking his trademark long, feedback-laden solos. But the sound is clearly a group effort. There’s frantic joy in all the songs here. My favorites are the upbeat opening cut “Pieces” and the epic “Said the People,” which starts out slow before building to epic Dinosaur Jr. fury by the end of the nearly eight-minute track.

But if the new/old Dinosaur Jr. is an example of the positive potential of the rock reunion, the new album by the New York Dolls — ’Cause I Sez So — helps make the argument that some iconic bands shouldn’t take the chance of messing with their reputations. About halfway through my first listen to this album, a terrible realization occurred. Most of this stuff would fit in just fine on any crappy classic rock station.

Please, God, no!

Back in the early ’70s the Dolls — like The Velvet Underground and The Stooges before them — were one of the primal influences on what would later be known as punk rock. They were loud and raunchy and proudly decadent — part Rolling Stones, part Shangri-Las.

Of course, they wouldn’t last long. The title of their second album summed it up: Too Much Too Soon. That was 1974. The band crumbled not long after that. The band wouldn’t release an album of new material (One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This) for another 32 years. By that time only two original members were still alive — singer David Johansen and guitarist Syl Sylvain.

(Note for Dolls fans: If you haven’t already seen the documentary New York Doll, which concerns the later years and death of original Dolls bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane, get thee to a video store — or at least try Netflix. It’s one of the most touching rock bios I’ve ever seen.)

This is actually the third album by the latest version of the Dolls. Last year, there was Live at the Fillmore East December 28 & 29, 2007, a concert album consisting of all ’70s-era Dolls tunes except for a couple of tunes from One Day It Will Please Us. While that one was hardly an essential work, it showed the band in great form, ripping through the old “hits” with spirit and aplomb.

Unfortunately very little of that energy is evident on ’Cause I Sez So. Maybe producer Todd Rundgren — who also produced the first Dolls album — is partly to blame for this. There are just too many slow tunes, Springsteenish folk-rocky anthems, and faux-teenage ballads here.

Fortunately, there’s a handful of tracks in which you’ll find the old Dolls spirit fully intact. The title track is pretty rocking. Even better is “This Is Ridiculous,” a swampy blues with a delightfully obnoxious guitar hook. And they saved their best for last with “Exorcism of Despair.” It’s tough and snarling, fully Dolls-worthy.

But if the New York Dolls are going to continue, they’d better have an exorcism of mediocrity.

BRING ME THE HEAD OF PERE UBU

This has been going on for over a month, but I just got hip to the Pere Ubu podcasts. The fourth one was unleashed today.

Go HERE for the downloads. Below is the press release:

Chicago, IL, June 9, 2009 ­ Beginning June 16th, and then every two weeks until September 22nd, 2009, a scene from the first half of the radio play featuring the band Pere Ubu titled, "Bring Me The Head Of Ubu Roi" (Version 2), will be podcast for free download at hearpen.com. Pere Ubu¹s online-only record store, hearpen.com, is administered by Smog Veil Records.

This series of eight podcasts covers the first three acts of the six act radio play that was inspired by the songs on Pere Ubu's forthcoming Hearpen Records CD titled, Long Live Père Ubu!, (digital release via hearpen.com is available September 14, 2009). The idea to record a "radio play" was conceived as a way of managing the "silence" between songs in the concert set for the album so that the spoken word is manipulated and mixed with electronic ambience and transformed into a unique musical style of its own.

The script for the radio play, adapted by David Thomas from Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi (King Ubu), is also Version 2 of a theatrical production, featuring Pere Ubu, also called "Bring Me The Head Of Ubu Roi" that premiered in its original version at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, April 25 and 26 2008.

Embedded in the podcasts are songs from the Long Live Père Ubu! album, as well as dialog and electronic ambience. Sarah Jane Morris (ex-Communards, Happy End) performs the role of Mère Ubu, partnering Thomas who performs as the character Père Ubu. Members of the band supply the voices of other characters in the play.

Jarry's proto-Absurdist stage play (which premiered in Paris in 1896) gave the band its name, and supplied the inspiration for the songs on Long Live Père Ubu! In its day the play provoked riots in the theatre and a national scandal. A vicious and satiric re-telling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, Jarry's work lambastes do-gooder monsters and the survival of the Unfit.

Pere Ubu is David Thomas on vocals, Keith Moliné on guitar, Robert Wheeler on EML synthesizer and theremin, Michele Temple on bass and Steve Mehlman on drums.

The eight scenes to be released episodically in the form of podcasts are:
1. Act 1 Scene 1 (5:04) Release date: June 16.
2. Act 1 Scene 2 (1:16) Release date: June 30.
3. Act 1 Scene 3 (6:07) Release date: July 14.
4. Act 2 Scene 1 (4:12) Release date: July 28 5. Act 2 Scene 2a (8:13) Release date: August 11.
6. Act 2 Scene 2b (3:20) Release date: August 25.
7. Act 2 Scene 3 (4:10) Release date: Sept 8.
8. Act 3 (4:07) Release date: Sept 22.

THE MOST TWISTED ANDY KAUFMAN PERFORMANCE EVER

This made me laugh harder than any other time I saw Andy on TV.

The show is Fridays, a Saturday Night Live rip-off in the early '80s. Several months before this appearance Kaufman created a stir by breaking character and refusing to do his lines in a skit. This led to a brawl with cast and crew members. Supposedly it was all a joke.

In this appearance, a cleaned-up Andy talks about changes in his life and introduces his "fiance," Kathie Sullivan a gospel singer who was a regular on the Lawrence Welk Show.

Yes, just like his "feud" with Jerry "The King" Lawler, it was a hoax. But here Andy proves he can stay in character. (Warning: The weirdness doesn't really start until about 5 minutes into this Youtube.)

(By the way, what's a "Monolouge"?)

QUOTE OF THE DAY: BILLY CHILDISH

From a recent interview with eMusic:

"... it isn't fun if it's going along with fashion. It's got to have vim and vigour, and things that are sanctioned don't, because they are being sanctioned to nurtur… No, to n… — what is it when you cut a thing's balls off? Neuter? That's what sanctioning is. To take the life out of it, emasculate it. That chap who died last week, Michael Jackson, yeah, he was like the emasculated James Brown. And that's meant to be some kind of victory!"

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, July 26, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Blinding Sun by Mudhoney
Barricuda by The Standells
Boys are Boys and Girls are Choice by The Monks
Astral Plane by The Rockin' Guys
Rats' Revenge Part II by The Rats
Mr. Eliminator by Dick Dale
Tubby by Los Straitjackets
(Can't Stop) The Hands of Tyme by Marshmallow Overcoat
Mommy's Little Baby by Wizzard Sleeve
Put de Pot on Mary by Poontang Perkins

Yesterday's Sorrows by Chesterfield Kings
Wild Wild Lover by The Monsters
Know Your Rights by The Clash
House at Pooneil Corners by The Jefferson Airplane
Mad Mad Daddy by The Cramps
Go Man Go by The Olympics

Alright by Jesse Dee
Can't Have Enough by The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Love Attack by James Carr
Get Yo' Shit by Black Joe Louis & The Honeybears
If Ya Got Soul by Willie Magee
Killer Diller by King Khan & The Shrines
My Mumblin' Baby by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Gloria by The Cadillacs

Theme from Burnt Weenie Sandwich by The Mothers of Invention
Grown So Ugly by Captain Beefheart
Please Don't Drop the Bomb by Nathaniel Mayer
Sail On by T-Model Ford
This Is Ridiculous by The New York Dolls
Lap Dance by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion with Andre Williams
I Started a Joke by The Dirtbombs
Massachusetts by Die Zorros
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Podcast 12: THE BIG ENCHILADA: THE MONKEY WRESTLING POLKA

The Big Enchilada is back with The Monkey-Wrestling Polka!

This episode is divided into four segments. There's a set of songs from bands I've discovered through The GaragePunk Hideout. There's a barrel of monkey songs, inspired by a recent You've Got Good Taste podcast. There's a bone-crunching, loser-leave-town cage match of wrestling tunes and finally, a crazy polka party. Truly this is a milestone in Freeform Weirdo Podcasting!

CLICK HERE to download the podcast. (To save it, right click on the link and select "Save Target As.")

Or better yet, stop messing around and CLICK HERE to subscribe to my podcasts and HERE to directly subscribe on iTunes.

You can play it on the little feedplayer below:

My cool BIG feed player is HERE.

Here's the play list:

(Background: Red Rose Tea by The Marquis Chimps)

Bearded and Bored by Quan & The Chinese Takeouts

Jack Rabbit by The Strawmen

Gulls Rock by The Molting Vultures

Yumma 2 by The Fuzzy Set

(We're the) Knights of Fuzz by The Marshmallow Overcoat

Goin' Ape by The Tex Reys

(Background: Monkey Island by The Derangers)

Rockabilly Monkey Face Girl by Ross Johnson

The Monkey Song (You Made a Monkey Out of Me) by The Big Bopper

You're Bound to Look Like a Monkey by Hank Penny

Monkey's Uncle by The A-Bones

Koko Joe by Don & Dewy

(Background: Hulkster's In the House by Hulk Hogan & The Wrestling Boot Band)

Viva del Santo by Southern Culture on the Skids

Hammerlock by The Shrunken Heads

The Crusher by The Novas

Apartment Wrestling Rock 'n' Roll Girl by Lightning Beat-Man

Gorgeous George by Ronny Elliott

(Background: No Sabemos Polka by Santa Rosa Band)

The Happy Wanderer by Brave Combo

Beer, Broads and Brats by The Polkaholics

Who Stole the Kiska by Frankie Yankovic

Weiner Dog Polka by Polkacide

(Background: Ranch Hand by Desert Suns)

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, July 24, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
John Peel by Paul Burch
You Used to Live It Up by Tom Armstrong
Hot Rod King by Kris Hollis Key
Goin' Down the Road by Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Shooting Over the Head by Ray Mason
Living on the Road Again by Artie Hill & The Long Gone Daddies
I'm Just a Honky by The Ex Husbands
Juke Joint Jumping by Wayne Hancock & Hank Williams III
Can't Help It Blues by Hasil Adkins

Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue by Scott H. Biram
The Ones You Say You Love by Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys
Shake a Leg by Kim Lenz & Her Jaguars
If the Back Door Could Talk by Randy Kohrs
Downey Girl byt Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women
Beer's on the Way by Mike Neal
Window Up Above by The Blasters
Don't You See That Train by The Delmore Brothers

Wishful Thinking by Aimee Hoyt
Pretty Girl by Miss Leslie
The Willow Tree by Exene Cervenka
Quiet Desperation by John Doe
The End of Ol' Johnny by The Electric Rag Band
In New Orleans by C.W. Stone King
George Jones Talkin' Cell Phone Blues by The Drive-By Truckers
You Stole My Motorcycle by Mama Rosin

The Guitar by Guy Clark
Gasoline and Matches by Buddy & Julie Miller
Marie by Steve Earle
Weakness in a Man by Waylon Jennings
Many Happy Hangovers to You by Leona Williams
I'll Sign My Heart Away by Merle Haggard
When I Was a Cowboy by Odetta
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP:BIRAM, STRAITJACKETS & COOL CAJUN SOUNDS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
July 24, 2009

The “Dirty Old One Man Band” is back.

On his latest album, Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever, Scott H. Biram of Austin, Texas, shouldn’t disappoint his fans who expect crazed, boozy blues romps.

The album starts out with a desperate voice mail to a friend from the singer, who claims he’s being held as a prisoner at some hospital. The first actual song, “Hospital Escape,” starts out with strains of a slow church organ before Biram comes in with his trademark distorted vocals on a simmering blues with the paradoxical refrain, “Time flies when you’re going down slow.”

Overall, Biram continues to live up to the promise of the title of perhaps his greatest early tune, “Blood, Sweat, and Murder.”

On the new album, Biram goes nuts with the over-amped five-minute blues cruncher “Hard Times” (aided by John Wesley Meyers with terse organ accompaniment). On the hard-driving “The Wishing Well,” you can’t tell what he’s singing, but when you hear the police sirens come in toward the last of the song, you know some kind of trouble is afoot. And “Feel So Good,” a Big Bill Broonzy song sounds like Hound Dog Taylor on a gas-huffing high.

But there are several songs here that could almost be described as (gulp) “pretty.” That’s certainly the case with “Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue,” a sweet honky-tonker that George Jones could absolutely kill. “Draggin’ Down the Line,” featuring Biram on acoustic guitar, is a “life on the road” tune that finds the singer in a reflective mood. And though “Wildside” features a delightfully obnoxious grungy electric guitar, it can’t hide a very soulful melody.

Biram gets philosophical in the harmonica gospel tune called “Ain’t It a Shame.” Written by 1940s gospel star Elder Roma Wilson, it’s a simple call for peace, racial harmony, and getting right with God. Biram sounds sweet and sincere.

But Biram sounds more natural in the following song, “Judgment Day.” It’s a blues apocalypse with lyrical references to Jesus, Buddha, Hitler, Frankenstein, the Ku Klux Klan, and the boogie man.

This is American music at its crazy finest.

Also recommended:

* The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets. Following their excellent Rock En Espanol, Vol. 1 — which featured the masked men from Nashville backing Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, Little Willie G. of Thee Midnighters, and Big Sandy of the Fly-Right Boys on Chicano rock classics — Los Straitjackets return to their bread and butter with an impressive set of guitar instrumentals. Lead guitarist Eddie Angel and the boys carry on the tradition of Link Wray, Dick Dale, and The Ventures.

My favorite on this collection is “Teen Beast,” in which the jungle drums of Jason Smay nearly overshadow the guitars. Also steaming with bitchenicity is “Tubby,” featuring sax by “Kaiser” George Miller and some downright hairy fuzz guitar. And they get nice and garage-y in “Blow Out,” with guest fuzz-bassist Jake Guralnick.

“Catalina,” in which Angel shows his mastery of the whammy bar, might be the prettiest song Los Straitjackets have recorded since they covered “My Heart Will Go On” (yes, Céline Dion’s love theme from Titantic) a decade ago. Another suave slow dance is “Mercury,” which might remind you of ancient surfy theme songs from The Endless Summer or A Summer Place.

Cajuntopia: Old Cajuns, young Cajuns, real Cajuns, fake Cajuns. In recent months three new albums of good stompin’, screechy fiddled, accordion zingin’ Cajun music have crossed my path. Here’s a glance at those:

* Alligator Purse by BeauSoleil. Michael Doucet and band have been recording for nearly 35 years, but they still manage to sound fresh. That’s no surprise to anyone who has seen BeauSoleil’s live shows.

There’s not a weak spot on this album. BeauSoleil performs some classic bayou tunes such as “Bosco Stomp” (which Doug Kershaw fans will recognize as the melody of “Cajun Stripper”).

The group does a Cajun version of R & B on “Marie” and “I Spent All My Money Loving You” (feat the instantly recognizable Garth Hudson of The Band on organ). And even though Natalie Merchant usually sounds like an art-school waif, when she sings with Doucet on “Little Darlin’ ” she sounds outright hillbilly. (And that’s John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful on harmonica on that track.

* Homage Au Passé by The Pine Leaf Boys. Here’s evidence that Doucet and other middle-aged purveyors of Cajun music have been successful in their mission to keep the flame of this sound alive.

The Pine Leaf Boys are a youthful quintet from rural southwest Louisiana led by Wilson Savoy and Cedric Watson. They play good old Cajun dance music, sung in Cajun French. While traditional, the Pine Leafers know how to rock.

Their best songs are the up-tempo romps like “Country Playboy Special” and the zydeco-sounding — actually it almost sounds like Cajun rockabilly — “J’suis Gone Pour Me Saouler,” although the waltzes like “Newport Waltz” and the acoustic “T’es Pas la Même” sound mighty nice too.

* Brule Lentement by Mama Rosin. The cover of this CD will catch the eye of Velvet Underground fans. It looks like a red version of Warhol’s banana, which graced the cover of the Velvet’s first album. But on second glance, it’s a cayenne pepper.

This is Swiss punk Cajun from the irascible Voodoo Rhythm Records. But the punk element shouldn’t imply that the members of Mama Rosin are disrespectful to Cajun and zydeco traditions. The love they have for this music is obvious at every turn. They just play it a little faster most of the time.

Actually, I think BeauSoleil would sound pretty good playing “You Stole My Motorcycle” and it’s not even a stretch to imagine The Pine Leaf Boys doing “When the Police Came.”

BLOG BONUS:

Here's a video of Elder Roma Wilson singing "Ain't It a Shame" and other gospel clips.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, July 19, 2009
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
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 Feel So Good by Scott H. Biram
Monkey Man by Jim Dickinson
Agent Secreto by The Plugz
Daisies Up Your Butterfly by The Cramps
You Can't Sit Down by Wolfman Jack & The Wolfpack
Ride Danny Ride by Nekromantix
Going Away Baby by Paul "Wine" Jones
Tiger Man by Rufus Thomas
Wolfman Romp by The Juke Joint Pimps
They Ring the Bells for Me by Rev. Beat-Man & The Unbelievers

Excorcism of Despair by The New York York Dolls
Get Lost by Quan & The Chinese Takeouts
Psychedelic Swamp by The Fleshtones
Black Grease by The Black Angels
Mexican Caravan by The Butthole Surfers
Smashing by Shrunken Heads
It's Lame by Figures of Light
Weird by Bob Vidone & The Rhythmrockers
Twisted by Annie Ross

Burn it Down by The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Girl Gunslinger by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Land of the Freak by King Khan & The Shrines
Let's Get a Groove On by Lee Fields
Please Part 2 by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Come Together by Dr. Lonnie Smith
Damn it's Hot, Part 2 by Sharon Jones
My Wig Fell Off by Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band

Armstrong, Aldrin & Collins by The Byrds
Flying Saucer Rock 'n' Roll by Robert Gordon with Link Wray
I Dig Them Little Green Men by The Uglies & JD with 1/5
Wayfaring Stranger/Fly Me To the Moon by Giant Sand
Over It by Dinsosaur Jr.
Stay Where You Are by Sleater-Kinney
Instant Karma by John Lennon
Speedo is Back by The Cadillacs
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis