Friday, January 07, 2011

RADIO HURRICANE

Al Hurricane, the Godfather of New Mexico Music -- and who was featured in the latest New Mexico Blue Book -- will perform live at Albuquerque's KiMo theater, 8 p.m. Feb. 16.

And if you can't make it to the theater, you can listen to it live on the radio,  KANW 89.1.

You can read my 1998 profile of Al HERE (scroll down)

Thursday, January 06, 2011

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: TWISTED DELIGHTS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 7, 2011


The cover says it all. Right beside a sepia photo of a kid in a cowboy outfit, there’s a list of subjects that are covered on the first volume of a strange series of musical compilations called Twisted Tales From the Vinyl Wastelands: 

“Cowboys. Indians. Prison. Alcohol. Children. Aliens. Midgets!” There’s also a warning: “Singing Children & Other Musical Crimes.”

Yep, my kind of music.

And indeed, in Twisted Tales you’ll find story songs, answer songs to popular hits of the day, and novelty songs. There are topical songs ripped from the headlines of the time and politically incorrect songs — some probably racist, or at least shockingly unenlightened. The tracks are full of sex.

But there are usually tragic consequences attached to lovemaking. It’s the same with liquor and drugs or being a hippie.

Each CD contains about 30 songs. The lion’s share of the artists are obscure — Dude Martin, Duke Mitchell, and Johnny Wildcard. However, there are a smattering of tunes by artists whose names you might recognize: Homer and Jethro, Faron Young, Benny Joy, Lee Hazlewood, and Freddie Hart — Spike Jones even makes an appearance on Volume 7.

Most of the tracks seem to come from the ’50s and ’60s, though some are from the ’70s and beyond.

You can’t find these at most places where CDs are sold. They are not on Amazon or iTunes or even eMusic. There’s no website for Trailer Park Records and no mailing address on the CDs themselves. But you can find them through the magic of eBay or on the British site  No Hits Records. Here’s a look at all eight:

*  Volume 1: Hog Tied & Country Fried. This is a wonderful introduction to the Twisted world. The promised aliens are here, starting with “The Martian Band” by Scottie Stoneman (Martians playing the autoharp?). There’s some sexist joy at the expense of women’s lib in Benny Johnson’s “Burn Your Bra,” while Kirk Hansard visits a “Nudist Colony.” Tommy Scott & Scotty Lee cast out devils with “Exorcism.” Hank Penny examines racism in “The Strong Black  Man” (which owes a debt to Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John”).

And yes, there are singing children: Duane Williams, who chirps a weird tune called “The Devil Made Me Do It,” and Bill Moss Jr., who recites “When Teddy Bear Took His Last Ride,” a maudlin answer song to Red Sovine’s even more maudlin truck-driver hit.


*  Volume 2: Demented Rock & Roll. These are long forgotten — if indeed ever known — records from rock’s infanthood. There are singing frogs and dancing pigs and even one for the Alamogordo chimps in “Missile Monkey.” There are also some questionable tunes about people from foreign lands, like “Tokyo Queen” by The Charlie Bop Trio and, even worse, “Chinese Rock ’n’ Roll” by Bobby Gregory. But at least one of the songs about Mexicans, “Pancho Rock,” is done by an actual Mexican American, the great Lalo Guerrero.

* Volume 3: Beatin’ on the Bars. Here we get crime songs and prison laments, a major subgenre of real country music. I’m not sure why executed California murderer Caryl Chessman struck such a chord with country musicians. He’s the title character of a song by a guy called “Country” Johnny Mathis and the inspiration for Jimmy Minor’s “Death Row.” But the most twisted tale here is Horace Heller’s “Ed’s Place,” a first-person confession of a double homicide of passion (“I didn’t mean to kill her. ... But I meant to kill him!”).


*  Volume 4: Hippie in a Blunder.
Hippies had a lot of the country worried in the late ’60s, with all their protesting, long hair, drugs, and love-ins. The title song by Johnny Bucket makes fun of hippies’ appearance and stupidity, but I prefer Smokey Harless’ “A Place for Them Called Hell,” because he’s not just bemused by the longhairs, he’s pig-bitin’ mad.

There are lots of drug songs on this collection — psychedelic cautionary tales, such as ”LSD” by Wendell Austin, and reefer- madness tunes like “Marijuana, the Devil’s Flower” by Johnny Price.

*  Volume 5: Last Kiss of the Drunken Driver. If you’re a fan of “Teen Angel,” “Tell Laura I Love Her,” and all those classic teenage-death songs of the ’50s and early ’60s, this volume is for you. It’s full of fiery car crashes and other tragedies. Most are unintentionally hilarious in their earnestness. But there’s black humor too, such as Jimmy Cross’ “I Want My Baby Back” and Louie Innis’ “Suicide.”


*   Volume 6: Strange Happenings in the Boonies. More from the hillbilly Bizarro World. The aliens are back with “Swamp Gas” by The Space Walkers. “The Devil, My Conscious, and I” by Billy Barton features the craziest devil voice you’ve ever heard. “Sitar-Pickin’ Man” by Bobby Zehm is about a Calcutta cowboy and features an electric sitar.

And “Teddy Bear” is back. There’s a cover of the original Sovine hit by Hank Hill — yes, that Hank Hill — and “Teddy Bear’s Epitaph” by John Texas Rocker. Sovine himself shows up with “The Hero,” a tearful tribute to John Wayne.

*  Volume 7: Elvis Reese’s Peanut Butter & Banana Creme. This one’s all over the place. Al Hendrix sings about his after-shave. Bad impersonators of U.S. Sens. Robert Kennedy and Everett Dirksen sing a duet on Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow.” Wendy Powers makes strange noises on “Auctioneer Lover.” Billy Ledbetter’s “Stealing Hubcaps” sounds like a juvenile-delinquent version of Amos & Andy.

There are more songs with Asian stereotypes here — “Rockin’ China Doll” by Gene Ross, “Japanese Skokiaan” by Spike Jones, and “Cholly Oop,” which is offensive to Chinese people as well as to cavemen.


*  Volume 8: Please Don’t Go Topless, Mother. The title song is by another kiddy singer, Troy Hess. He’s ashamed of his mom’s job as a topless go-go dancer. A singer called Filthy McNasty does “Ice Man,” full of dumb double- entendres. Russ “Big Daddy” Blackwell tells a bad-seed story of a killer kiddy in “The Little Monster.”

But the most disturbing song is Cousin Zeke’s “Lover Man Minus Sex Appeal.” Let’s just say he looses his sex appeal in a surprising way.

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Twisted Enchilada: My latest episode of The Big Enchilada podcast includes a 20-minute sampler of songs from Twisted Tales From the Vinyl Wastelands. And I’ll play some Twisted songs Friday night on The Santa Fe Opry, KSFR-FM 101.1, starting at 10 p.m.

When First I Came to MTV

I'm not one for '80s nostalgia. And it's been decades since I actually sat down and watched anything on MTV. (I am aware that there's very little music on the Music Network anymore.)

But back in 1982 or '83, when I first got cable t.v., MTV was brand new and for awhile there I was addicted. I don't know how many hours I spent watching all those weird old videos with my daughter, who was just a toddler then. (The Greg Kihn video below used to scare the crap out of her!)

Most this music seems strange to me nowdays -- all those horrible synths and drum machines. Still, there's something blissfully dumb about that sound that brings back happy memories. I guess that is nostalgia.

I'm not sure what set me off on looking up all those old videos. Maybe it was hearing "White Wedding" on the radio a couple of nights ago. Maybe it was hearing The Floors do Kihn's "The Break Up Song" at Corazon Saturday night. Maybe I was blinded by science and didn't even know it.

Who knows, who cares? Here's my Top 10 Favorite MTV videos of the early '80s






















Monday, January 03, 2011

eMusic January

* New Hope for the Wretched/Metal Priestess by The Plasmatics. I recently rented a DVD of the late Tom Snyder's Tomorrow Show interviews with "punk and New Wave" groups -- which also includes the performances of the bands and musicians, In fact, it includes the entire shows. The Rev. Rex Humbard, the world's first televangelist  was a guest on the show the night that Wendy O. Williams and the boys blew up a car in the NBC studios while performing the song "Masterplan.". The good Rev.was surprisingly mellow about the band. Less tolerant preachers would have condemned them as porn-rock demons from Hell.

And, oh yeah, they played music -- basically a metal edged punk rock -- or punk-edged metal. Undoubtedly they were more impressive live -- with all their explosives and chainsaws and Wendy wearing nothing on her breasts but band-aids, etc.-- than in the studio.

Still, The Plasmatics are a lot of fun on record.   I like "Monkey Suit," which reminds me a little of "The Electric Prunes' "Get Me to the World on Time" and "Black Leather Monster." And this album, which includes their 1980 album and a 1981 EP (Metal Priestess)  includes several live tracks, including "Sex Junkie," "Squirm" and "Masterplan," which unfortunately isn't the Tomorrow Show version.

* '50s Rockabilly Hellraisers. Here's another impressive rockabilly obscurities bargain from a mysterious re-issue label called Rock-A-Billy. Just a few months ago, I got another one from eMusic -- 1950s Rock N' Roll & Rockabilly Rare Masters.

That one had 56 tracks. Hellraisers has 70, for a mere $5.99. Sure, I already had a handful of these, but still, what a bargain!

Some of my favorites here include "Switchblade Sam" by Jeff Daniels, which tells a tale tale involving Stagger Lee and Charlie Brown (The Coasters' hero not the Peanuts character. I assume); "Boppin' Wig Wam Willie" by Ray Scott (Are these cartoonish  1950s depictions of Native Americans actually racist or innocent fun. Talk amongst yourselves); "Move Over Buddy," a space travel novelty by Billy Jack Hale a no-wonder-you-never-hear-this-on-the-radio rocker, "Quicksand Love" by Macy Skipper, which features the immortal line, "I'm like an elevator, I'm goin' down all the time." YIKES!

There also are hree tunes by Mississippi rockabilly Andy Anderson, who lived a few years in New Mexico, including "Johnny Valentine," "Tough Tough, Tough," and "You Shake Me Up."



* The 31 tracks I didn't get last month from  A Night On The Town With The Rat Pack. The sound quality's not great, but that's easily overlooked by pure entertainment quality

Back when I was a kid in the '60s, I considered music like this to be somewhat of a guilty pleasure. This was your parent's music. So here's a lesson for today's youth: Wipe your nose, junior. Your parents probably are a lot hipper than you thought.


Plus:

* Nine tracks from Cameo Parkway 1957-1967. I heard The Dovells' "You Can't Sit Down" for the first time in years in a supermarket a few days ago and I was shocked and ashamed that it wasn't in my collection. I looked it up on eMusic and found this four-disc treasure trove.

Cameo-Parkway was a Philadelphia label best known for hitmakers Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker -- neither of whom I'm particularly wild about. But they also were home to Dee Dee Sharpe and The Orlons, two acts that twisted my head off as a youngster. In fact, in the early '60s, before Motown dominated the soul-pop market, Cameo-Parkway was the true "sound of young America." (And by the mid '60s, it also was the home to ? & The Mysterians -- though I already have all three of the songs on this collection.)

The Orlons always created a musical party that sounded like a lot more fun than most parties I've ever been to. "So Much in Love" by The Tymes still is one of of the most soulful doo-wop songs I've ever heard. And Dee Dee's "Gravy on My Mashed Potatoes" sounds as if it's based on a double entendre that I still can't quite figure out.

Among the other tunes I picked up are selections by Screamin' Lord Sutch ("She's Fallen in Love With the Monster Man"), Johnny Maestro ("I'll Be True," apparently from that period between The Crests and The Brooklyn Bridge) and Don Covay ("The Popeye Waddle," apparently a dance craze that never quite caught on.) And there's a great R&B version of Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'" by a group called Billy Abbott & The Jewels. I'll be coming back for more here.

* Three tracks from Soundway Records Presents The Sound of Siam : Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz and Molam from Thailand 1964 - 1975. I'll write in detail about this next month when I pick up the rest of the tracks. Let's just say for now that this is a step or two beyond the wild and wonderful Thai Beat a Go-Go series, two volumes of which I downloaded on eMusic years ago. And, judging from what I've heard, it's worthy of Soundway's collections of African funk and psychedelia I've loved in recent years.

And for the holidaze ...

* "Christmas in Las Vegas" and "Jingle Bells" by Richard Cheese. (Both from Silent Nightclub) and "Christmas Lights" by Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians of the British Empire (from Christmas 1979 I'm slowly acquiring the whole album.)

Sunday, January 02, 2011

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 2, 2011
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 Would Die 4 You by The Rockin' Guys
I Ran With A Zombie by The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies
Ramblin' Rose by The MC5
Keep On Rubbing by Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
Go Ahead and Burn by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Test Tube Babies by The Plasmatics
Let the Good Times Roll by The Sonics
Whistlebait Baby by LoveStruck 
Shortnin' Bread by The Ready Men

Licking the Frog by Manby's Head
Scotch and Water and You by Monkeyshines
I Worn by Body For So Long by T-Model Ford & GravelRoad
You Can't Sit Down by The Dovells
Knabonga by Kilimanjaro Yak Attack
Just to Hold You by Mark Sultan
So Much In Love by Tymes
The People Hater by Jerry & Brad

TERRELL'S TUNEUP TOP 10 2010 SET
Buried Alive/ Down To Earth by Pierced Arrows
Under The Marble Faun/Almost A God by Movie Star Junkies
Birthday Boy/Get Downtown by Drive By Truckers
Whoop and Holler/Every Day is the Day of the Dead by Ray Wylie Hubbard 
Back in Hell/Dirty Dozen by Delaney Davidson 
Me And The Devil/I'll Take Care Of You by Gil Scott-Heron 
Thirty Days in the Workhouse by Peter Case
Worm Chaser by Grinderman 
Hobos Are My Heroes/Night Ride by Legendary Shack Shakers
Baby You Crazy/Dream Girl by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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