TERRELL'S TUNEUP: BEST OF 2009

Last week I wrote about my favorite albums of the decade. Here’s my favorite of the past year.

* Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears. This Austin, Texas outfit doesn’t see soul music as some fragile museum exhibit — it’s a funk/punk Saturday night fish fry that never ends. The horn section is loud, the guitar has a bite, and the organist sounds as if he has been force-fed a steady diet of Jimmy Smith and The Animals. And Lewis shouts like Wilson Pickett’s long-lost grandson.

* Dracula Boots by Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds. Brian Tristan, the El Monte, California, native better known as Kid Congo Powers, has been a member of The Cramps as well as of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and The Gun Club. With The Pink Monkey Birds, his M.O. is reciting strange tales over insane psychedelic guitar. Sometimes there’s New Wave-y keyboards adding some science-fiction zing to the mix. There’s a song about Santa Fe’s favorite ghost La Llorona, two songs about Santa Claus, and a cover of a funny Thee Midnighters tune.

* Not Now! by The A-Bones. This band of New Yorkers — led by the first couple of Norton Records, Billy Miller and Miriam Linna — sounds like those anonymous combos playing at sinister nightclubs or hopped-up youth dance parties in black-and-white teen-exploitation movies. A little dangerous, a little sleazy, but ultimately inviting because they’re so much fun.

* Viper of Melody by Wayne Hancock. Wayne the Train is perhaps the greatest living purveyor of ’50s-style roadhouse honky-tonk. With a tip of the hat to western swing and a sly wink at rockabilly, Hancock is retro to be sure. But he never sounds hokey. My favorite song here is a murder ballad, “Your Love and His Blood,” which contains a should-be-classic line: “The next time we’re together, you’ll be on the witness stand.”

* Raw, Raw, Rough by Barrence Whitfield. His first solo album since 1995 is full of early rock ’n’ roll/crazed R & B spirit. Barry probably gets sick of Little Richard comparisons, but in many ways such talk is well deserved. He also can sound almost pretty — in an Otis Redding kind of pretty.

* Invisible Girl by The King Khan & BBQ Show. There’s a big element of stripped-down blues bashers like Flat Duo Jets and White Stripes in KK & BBQ. But what distinguishes this dynamic duo is its anchor in raw doo-wop. The basic sound, therefore, is punk-rock roar, embellished by some Ruben & The Jets/Sha Na Na/rama-lama-ding-dong silliness but frequently based on some seriously gorgeous melodies and occasional sweet harmonies.

* Ruins of Berlin by Dex Romweber Duo. Speaking of Flat Duo Jets, founder Romweber was back this year with a new duo, this time with his sister Sara. Some songs sound like Flat Duo Jets Mach II. But other tracks feature guest musicians including a bevy of female guest vocalists, such as Exene Cervenka, Neko Case, and Chan Marshall. Try not thinking of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet while listening to Marshall singing “Love Letters” with the Duo.

* Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective. My one concession to “modern” rock and my one favorite you’ll probably find on most those real rock critics’ list. Some of this music sounds like an advanced civilization of space creatures who worship Brian Wilson. One of my favorite songs of the year is the sweet, euphoric and irresistible “My Girls.”

* The Fine Print (A Collection of Oddities and Rarities 2003-2008) by Drive-By Truckers. I find this collection of outtakes, alternate versions, cover songs, and other previously unreleased tracks fresher than the Truckers’ past couple of studio albums. The strongest cut is Patterson Hood’s slow burner called “The Great Car Dealer War,” about a guy paid to torch vehicles at a car lot. The best lyrics: “I don’t ask questions, I don’t assume/I just take a long hard look when I walk into a room.”

* High, Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project by Loudon Wainwright III. Wainwright plays lots of songs associated with Poole — a hard-living, ramblin’, gamblin’, singing moonshiner — as well as some original tunes about the influential singer. It’s hard to find anything as cosmically kooky this year as Wainwright’s version of Poole’s “I’m the Man Who Rode the Mule Around the World.”

Honorable Discharges

* Haymaker! by The Gourds
* Blue Black Hair by The Del Moroccos
* Before Obscurity: The Bushflow Tapes by Tin Huey
* Tangled Tales by Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
* Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women

Best Live Album/DVD Set:

*Live From Axis Mundi by Gogol Bordello

Best Oldies Compilation:

* I Still Hate CDs by Various Artists

YEAR-END TIDBITS

I just got off the phone with my old musical crony and ex-Angry Samoan Gregg Turner, who has arranged a night of music, fun and weirdness at the Aztec Cafe, Saturday Jan. 9 (Richard Nixon's birthday!)

It'll be Gregg, Lenny Hoffman and me -- a loose-knit goon revue we once called The Hatchet-Wielding Jews, as per this 2004 David Alfaya poster seen here -- and perhaps some special guests, singing our songs and whatnot, about 7:30 p.m. until 11 p.m.

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Last week in Terrell's Tuneup, I looked back on my favorite albums of the decade and tomorrow I'll present my favorites of the past year. (Check this blog later tonight).

But Jessica Cassyl Carr of The Weekly Alibi in Albuquerque asked me (and others) to look into the future and what we'd like to see happen in music in the next decade. You can find my words of wisdom -- along with those of The Handsome Family's Brett Sparks and Jeremy Barnes of A Hawk and a Hacksaw -- HERE.

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And finally, be on the lookout for the next episode of The Big Enchilada Podcast, coming very soon.

You can subscribe to my free monthly (or so) podcast HERE.

Happy New Year, everyone!

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, December 27, 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
Long Green by Barrence Whitfield
I Found a Peanut by Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds
I Hear Sirens by The Dirtbombs
Geraldine/The Lover's Curse by The A-Bones
Baby Doll by The Del Moroccos
What a Way to Die by The Pleasure Seekers
Amazons & Coyotes/No Confidence by Simon Stokes
Viper of Melody by Wayne Hancock

Three Hairs and You're Mine by King Khan & His Shrines
Anala by The King Khan & BBQ Show
Big Booty Woman by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Sui Bong by Dengue Fever
Alcohol by Gogol Bordello
Tex-Mex Mile/My Name is Jorge by The Gourds

People Who Died Set
People Who Died by The Jim Carrol Band
It's a Hard Life by The Seeds (for Sky Saxon)
Flat Foot Flewzy by NRBQ (for Steve Ferguson)
Hadacol Boogie by James Luther Dickinson
I'm Wise by Eddie Bo
Red Hot by Billy Lee Riley
Bikini Girls with Machine Guns by The Cramps (for Lux Interior)
Swelters by Vic Chestnut

My Girls by Animal Collective
Nashville Radio by Jon Langford
Bold Marauder by Drywall
Little Pony & The Great Big Horse by Drive-By Truckers
My Heart is the Bums on the Street by Marah
Donut and a Dream by Tony Gilkyson
Girls by Eleni Mandell
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

HERE THEY GO AGAIN

I don't know who this "Roundtable" is. Seems pretty square to me.

I'm talking about Tom Sharpe's story in today's New Mexican about the panel of downtown merchants and others wanting to move some events off the Plaza.

Here's the part that made me pig-bitin' mad:

On Monday, the roundtable mulled over the idea of meeting early next year with leaders of the eight major annual Plaza events — plus Outside In, the organization that sponsors free music on the Santa Fe Plaza Bandstand during the summer — to see if some of the events might be moved to the Santa Fe Railyard, the Santa Fe Community Convention Center or other venues.

(Merchant H.C.) Potter said the first question they should be asked is, "Is it necessary to have your event on the Plaza?"

I'm prejudiced here, because I usually catch several Santa Fe Bandstand shows during the summer and I love seeing the Plaza come alive with activity at night. The crowd usually is predominantly local, but you see lots of tourists enjoying themselves in the crowd as well. (The above photo was taken at The Gourds' July 2008 show.)

Of course, I'm just a local and not the type who drops big cash bucks in the galleries and boutiques, so who cares what I like, right?

This issue of what should and shouldn't be allowed on the Plaza has been around since at least the early '80s when I started my career as a journalist. The truth is, some -- not all -- downtown merchants just wish locals would stay away.

When I was covering City Hall for the Journal North in the mid-80s, one of the burning issues of the day was the scourge of street musicians and food vendors in the downtown area, which according to some of the merchants of the day were gauche and offensive in the eyes of the nice people who spent money in the galleries. Not only that, these musicians and street sellers were unfair competition for the tourist dollar, some shopkeeps contended.

"Gee, I'd like to buy that $5,000 painting, but I just spent all my money on a hotdog and a tip for a guy singing Dylan songs ... "

A few years later, working for The New Mexican, I covered a concerned merchants gripe session at City Hall about the very topic of "too much activity" on the Plaza. One newly-shop owner stood up and said he wished they'd get rid of Fiesta, or at least hold it somewhere other than downtown. This guy called me the next day aghast that I'd quoted him. Some of my readers apparently were upset about the idea of moving Fiesta and called him up and told him so.

If they get serious about moving the Bandstand series, I hope local music fans do the same.

And with city elections coming up, maybe we should get some bumper stickers saying "I like Santa Fe Bandstand AND I VOTE!"

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: BEST OF THE DECADE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
December 25, 2009

Political satirist Andy Borowitz recently wrote, "As the decade draws to a close, a new poll shows that a majority of Americans are holding out hope that the 10 years just past turn out to be a dream sequence from which they will soon awake."

That pretty much sums it up. But here are 10 albums that made this lousy decade a little more bearable. A few are out of print, but you can find them around.

* Honky by Simon Stokes. Rough, crunching, blues-infected biker rock and outlaw country from a tough old leather-faced geezer with a scratchy voice and a dirty mind. Stokes laughs at himself and his romantic follies in the hilarious rocker "No Confidence." Even better is a blazing crime tale, "Johnny Gillette," concerning bald cops and a serial killer. Stokes did a duet album with Timothy Leary and produced Russell Means' album The Radical. He co-wrote "Miniskirt Blues," which was recorded by The Cramps with Iggy Pop. But he's never sounded stronger than he does on Honky.

* Three Hairs and You're Mine by King Khan & His Shrines. The mighty Khan — a foulmouthed Canadian guitar picker of East Indian heritage who lives in Germany — seemed to be everywhere this year, with his partner Mark "BBQ" Sultan and the garage supergroup The Almighty Defenders. But my favorite aspect of Khan's career is when he plays with The Shrines, a full-fledged psychedelic soul band, complete with horn section. There's punk and garage-rock influences in the grooves, even a flicker of speed metal. But make no mistake, this band has soul! And this 2001 Voodoo Rhythm release is the best of his Shrines albums.

* Barbecue Babylon by Drywall. The world of this album is apocalyptic, and Stan Ridgway makes a great carnival barker at the gates of Armageddon. A desperate spirit has settled over the land. Thievery and murder abound, and the government has gone even more insane than the populace. Life is cheap. Love is tawdry. Paranoia thrives. And Drywall makes it sound like fun.

* Goodbye Guitar by Tony Gilkyson. Most solo albums by sidemen only prove that sidemen belong on the side. But this proves there are major exceptions to that rule. Gilkyson — a former Santa Fe resident who served time in the Los Angeles bands X and Lone Justice — made an album of solid roots rock and a magnificent dirge of self-loathing called "My Eyes."

* We Have You Surrounded by The Dirtbombs. I guess I like a dose of apocalyptic paranoia in my music. It reigns supreme in The Dirtbombs' 2008 offering. On nearly every song, singer/guitarist Mick Collins seems to be looking over his shoulder and not liking what he sees. The end is near, and everyone's out to wreck his flow. With a lineup that includes two bassists and two drummers, The Dirtbombs are one of the many Detroit bands of the 1990s that didn't become famous when The White Stripes rose to glory.

* Cow Fish Fowl or Pig by The Gourds. Pure exuberant hillbilly funk with vocals that sound as if the town drunk had hopped on a honky-tonk stage and led the band into bold new dimensions. The stomping jugless-jug-band (well, Kev Russell sings about jugs) sound of "Ants on the Melon (With Due Regards to Virginia Adair)" remains my favorite Gourds song.

* Escape From the Dragon House by Dengue Fever. Dengue is an Orange County garage/psychedelic/surf rock band (with sax and Farfisa organ!) fronted by Cambodia-born Ch'hom Nimol and dedicated to reviving the wild, wonderful, lost Cambodian pop that was virtually destroyed by the Khmer Rouge. They mix in a little Ethiopian soul music, which was also suppressed by evil Commies in the '70s.

* All the Fame of Lofty Deeds by Jon Langford. This is the best Waco Brothers album that wasn't really by The Waco Brothers. It does, however, feature Langford, the evil genius behind The Wacos (and charter member of The Mekons.) Here he tackles a favorite Langford theme — the travails and temptations of country singers in post-war America. The story is a bittersweet distillation of everything that makes America attractive and everything that makes it repulsive.

* Miracle of Five by Eleni Mandell. Mandell has just about the sexiest voice in showbiz today, and her 2007 album drives home this point. This is contemporary torch music with subtle touches of film noir. It makes great background music for reading Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, or even James Ellroy.

* Kids in Philly by Marah. These Philly kids were roots conscious without a trace of retro, and so spirited — even when they sang of winos in the alley and murder in the streets, Marah had a jarring aura of optimism. And though they were much too young to have experienced the Vietnam War, their jaw-dropping "Round Eye Blues," a veteran's grim memories of the war, mixed up with images from rock 'n' soul lyrics, cut to the marrow. Marah never again matched this album from 2000.

No SF OPRY on Friday

Because it's Christmas Day, there will be no Santa Fe Opry on Friday. Same goes for New Year's Day. The Opry will return full blast on Jan.8

On the other hand, Terrell's Sound World will air as scheduled this Sunday and Jan. 3.

If you really need a fix of the Music Nashville Does Not Want You to Hear, you might have to resort to some episodes of The Big Enchilada Podcast.

Try the recent Hillbilly Heaven ....

or More Santa Fe Opry Favorites, or Santa Fe Opry Favorites Vol 2 or Santa Fe Opry Favorites Vol. 1.

Merry Christmas to all!

PARDON THE NEPOTISM

But my son Anton and his band Outtagear are going to be interviewed on KSFR at 9 p.m. Mountain Time

That's 101.1 FM in northern New Mexico. Or on the Web HERE

UPDATE: I corrected the time! 

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, December 20, 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

THE STEVE TERRELL CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by Los Straightjackets

Santa Doesn't Cop Out on Dope by Sonic Youth

A Poundland Christmas by Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians of the British Empire

Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy by Buck Owens
Hey Santa Claus by The Chesterfield Kings
Santa Claus by Thee Headcoatees
Christmas Boogie by Canned Heat with The Chipmunks
Winter Weather by Squirrel Nut Zippers

The Jesus Song by The Persuasions

Six Bullets for Christmas by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies

Egg Nog by The Rockin' Guys

Lone Star Christmas by Jerry Faires

Lucy's Tiger Den by Terry Allen

Merry Christmas Elvis by Michelle Cody

Must Be Santa by Brave Combo
Shake Hands With Santa Claus by Louis Prima

Dark Christmas by The Dex Romweber Duo

Gloria by Elastica

We Three Kings by Mojo Nixon & The Toadliquors

The Friendly Beasts by Sunshone Still

Even Squeaky Fromme Loves Christmas by Rev. Glen Armstrong

Mrs. Claus' Kimono by Drive-By Truckers

Christmas is For the Birds by Conway Twitty & Twitty Bird

Christmas is Paradise by Mary Gauthier

Let's But the X Back in Xmas by Candye Kane & Country Dick Montana

Santa Drives a Hot Rod by The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Yulesville by Ed "Kooky" Burns

Santa Claus is Watching You by Ray Stevens

Happy Birthday, Jesus by Little Cindy

White Christmas by Otis Redding

Lonely Christmas Call by George Jones

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon

Silent Night/What Christmas Means by Dion

Oh Holy Night by Brian Wilson

Christmas Every Day (Maybe It'll Help) by Giant Sand

Star of Wonder by The Roches

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, December 18, 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
Move it on Over by The Maddox Brothers & Rose
Living With the Animals by Mother Earth
Hard Luck and Old Dogs by Nancy Apple
There Goes the Bride by The Derailers
A Mess o Blues by The Starline Rhythm Boys
A Fool Such as I by John Doe & The Sadies
Down by The Riverside by The Million Dollar Quartet
My Boy Elvis by Janis Martin
This Cat's in the Doghouse by Rosie Flores & The Pine Valley Cosmonats

Whoop and Holler by Ray Wylie Hubbard
Brimstone Rock by 16 Horsepower
The Hammer Came Down by House of Freaks
I Know I Got Religion by Angola Vocal Group
How Dark My Shadow's Grown by The Bad Livers
Just Like Geronimo by The Dashboard Saviors
Santa Bring My Baby Back by The Rev. Horton Heat
Old Toy Trains by Roger Miller

Ants on the Melon by The Gourds
Pissin' in the Wind by Simon Stokes with Texas Terri
The Fame of Lofty Deeds by Jon Langford
Moonglow, Lamp Low by Eleni Mandell
Round-Eye Blues by Marah
My Eyes by Tony Gilkyson
Like a Rolling Stone by Drive-By Truckers

Santa Can't Stay by Dwight Yoakam
Artificial Flowers by Cornell Hurd
Hanging Dog by Jacques & The Shakey Boys
Satin Sheets by Jeannie Pruett
I Push Right Over by Robbie Fulks
You've Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley by Luther Dickson & The Sons of Mudboy
Don't Let the Devil Ride by Clarence Fountain & Sam Butler
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: ROSIE'S GONE ROCKIN'

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
December 18, 2009
In the realm of rockabilly and rocking country, one major underappreciated voice is that of Rosie Flores. Though she’s never enjoyed much fame of her own, Flores — who’s spent most of her life between Texas and California — did a lot to resurrect the careers of rockabilly pioneers Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin. Flores convinced both to come out of retirement to help out on her album Rockabilly Filly back in 1995.

And Flores’ version of “Red Red Robin,” which appeared on a Bloodshot Records children’s album a few years ago, is not only the greatest version of that song I’ve ever heard, but it’s also the definitive song of spring.

It’s been too many years since sweet Rosie has graced us with an album of new material. Except for a Christmas record and a live album, her new one, Girl of the Century, is her first since 2001’s Speed of Sound. She’s got one fine band behind her — The Pine Valley Cosmonauts, led by Jon Langford (The Mekons, The Waco Brothers) and featuring Jon Rice on pedal steel, fiddle, and other stringed instruments and Tom Ray on stand-up bass.

There’s some solid rockabilly here with Johnny Cash’s “Get Rhythm,” “This Little Girl’s Gone Rockin’,” and “This Cat’s in the Doghouse.” Flores sings a couple of Langford tunes — “Halfway Home” and “Last Song” — both of which sound like the type of ballads The Waco Brothers favor when they do slower songs.

But my favorite track is “Who’s Gonna Take Your Garbage Out,” a duet with Langford that was originally recorded by Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn. There’s some classic hillbilly humor here. The best line is “Callin’ a man like you a husband is just like callin’ old wild cat a pet.”

Another classy Flores/Langford duet is “Little Bells,” a song written by alt-country honky-tonker Paul Burch (from his recent album Still Your Man). It’s the type of tune Ray Price would have killed back in his early days.

The album ends with the title song, a slow tune featuring a Spanish guitar. As far as slow ones go, I vastly prefer the sexy, jazzy “Dark Enough at Midnight.”
Also recommended:

* Honey Moon by The Handsome Family This latest album by The Handsome Family, released earlier this year, is actually a theme album. As the title implies, the theme is love.

It’s basically Brett and Rennie Sparks’ anniversary gift to themselves, as they have been married 20 years. It’s not that they haven’t tackled the subject of love in the past — just never in such a concentrated form and never so sincerely. As Brett’s baritone strains for the high notes in the refrain of “My Friend” and in “The Loneliness of Magnets,” he sounds as if he’s embodying the lovesick blues.

The Handsomes — who have lived in Albuquerque for the past several years and have played here a couple of times (including a Plaza Bandstand gig in 2007) — are known for dark and twisted tunes (lyrics all by Rennie) that feature mythological motifs often wrapped in mundane, modern imagery.

The Honey Moon tunes are lighter in spirit but no less poetic than their songs on previous albums. Take the first verse of “A Thousand Diamond Rings”:

“A smashed windshield, the dust of a pickup truck/ Shining with silver secrets in the Albuquerque sun/The light makes jewels of pawn shops and drive-through banks/Wrinkled faces staring out of the laundromat/;And even the broken glass in the street/Shines like a thousand diamond rings.”

But don’t worry, Handsome fans. The sweet weirdness of Mr. and Mrs. Sparks hasn’t vanished. It’s not all sweetness and light on this Honeymoon.

For one thing, this album is full of bugs. There’s a “cloud of honey bees” in “Down in the Winding Corn Maze.” And “June Bugs” is a slow country waltz full of huggy, kissy lyrics in which springtime and reawakening love are symbolized by June bugs and hawk moths returning to the yard.

But the greatest bug song of all is “Darling, My Darling,” which is sung from the perspective of a lusty male insect willing to give all to the gnawing fangs of a female insect lover.

Now that’s true love!

* Shine by Nancy Apple. This Memphis country singer hasn’t done an album with a full band in several years. With this one — recorded at Sun Studio in her hometown and produced by Keith Sykes — she’s back with a vengeance.

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The album starts out with a Ronny Elliott song, the slow, pretty “Creole Boy With a Spanish Guitar.” But just when you think this is going to be a strictly mellow affair, Apple slaps you in the back of the head with “Voodoo Woman,” a bluesy romp featuring a wild harmonica (by Robert “Nighthawk” Tooms).

Another wild ride is “Rockin’ Granny,” a song for Apple’s friend Cordell Jackson, a crazy rocker during her lifetime. (True story: Apple was in New Mexico, appearing on my radio show The Santa Fe Opry, the day she got word of Jackson’s death in 2004. She had to cut her trip short, returning to Memphis to sing at Jackson’s funeral.)

A couple of my favorite Apple songs are on this CD. “Cathead Biscuits and Gravy,” which first appeared on a duet album with singer-songwriter Rob McNurlin, gets a full country-band treatment here, with McNurlin sharing the vocals. The album ends with “Moonlight Over Memphis,” a soulful ballad that Apple wrote, inspired by moonlight over the Jémez Mountains on one of her trips to New Mexico.

* Hear songs from these albums on The Santa Fe Opry: 10 p.m. Friday on KSFR-FM 101.1 and streaming live HERE. And don’t forget Terrell’s Sound World, same time, same station on Sunday.

* Christmas Enchilada: Red and green podcast featuring some of my favorite Christmas songs, available for free HERE.


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