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.