Wednesday, October 31, 2018
WACKY WEDNESDAY: Doomed Children of the Monster Mash
Boo!
Halloween fell on Wacky Wednesday this year.
I took that as an omen, so today I treat you to some tacky and obscure Halloween novelty songs.
Let's start off with rockabilly royal Billy Lee Riley. Billy was a monster in his own right. Why he felt compelled to record this "Monster Mash" rip-off is way beyond me.
Bob McFadden and Dor recorded a cult classic called "I'm a Mummy." It was so inspired, in it's own stupid way, that it was covered by The Fall.
Here's a lesser-known monster tune by McFadden
I've already written about my undying -- or undead -- love for Dickie Goodman's "Frankenstein Meets The Beatles." Here's another Dickie monster classic.
Skipping ahead to the early '90s, here's some candy corn from M.C. Hammer
Want more Halloween rock? Check out my latest Big Enchilada podcast!
Sunday, October 28, 2018
TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST
Sunday, October 28, 2018
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Monster by Fred Scheider
Frankenstein Meets the Beatles by Dickie Goodman
Sisters of the Moon by Fleetwood Mac
SOB by Full Speed Veronica
Psycho by The Swamp Rats
Edgar Allan Poe by Lou Reed
The Swamp by Sloks
A Good Problem by He Who Cannot Be Named
Goddamn USA by Trixie & The Trainwrecks
Don't Bring Me Down by The Animals
Hearse With a Curse by Mr. Gasser & The Weirdos
Dead Moon Night by Dead Moon
It's Her Eyes by The Ar-Kaics
Zombie Outbreak by Alien Space Kitchen
Bo Meets the Monster by Bo Diddley
I Came From Hell by The Monsters
I Think of Demons by Roky Erikson
R.I.P. Tony Joe White
All songs by TJW except where noted
Bad Mouthin'
Polk Salad Annie by Elvis Presley
Undercover Agent for the Blues
Who You Gonna Hoodoo Now?
Willie and Laura Mae Jones by Bettye Swann
Run With the Bulls
Even Trolls Love Rock 'n' Roll
Rainy Night in Georgia by Otis Rush
Polk Salad Annie
Murder in the Graveyard by Screaming Lord Sutch
Feast of the Mau Mau by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Ghost by Harlan T. Bobo
American Tune by Paul Simon
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Like the Terrell's Sound World Facebook page
Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE
Friday, October 26, 2018
TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: Harlan T. Bobbo's Latest
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Oct. 26, 2018
Harlan T. Bobo isn’t exactly a household name — unless you’re a dedicated devotee of the underground rock scene in Memphis. And he seems to consciously choose to cling to his anonymity. Though the singer says he’s legally changed his name to the one you see on his records, like Leon Redbone, he keeps his birth name secret. He’s been known to wear masks at his performances and in general doesn’t seem to have a naked thirst for big-time success and stardom.
But he’s good, and his sporadically released records are well worth seeking out. A great place to start is his latest, A History of Violence, which is his first album since 2010’s Sucker and his best so far.
While there are several stark, moody acoustic songs here, most of the strongest tracks are the ones in which Bobo and his stripped-down band of Memphis mafiosos rage and roar as if they are fighting off demons from a madman’s dreams. These include “Spiders,” “Paula,” and “Town” (yes, he uses one-word song titles), which starts off with Bobo singing, “God damn this town” and proceeds to get even angrier.
Like his first album, Too Much Love, this one is considered a break-up album. It comes in the wake of his divorce. That would put it in the same stratosphere as romance-on-the-rocks records like Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks; Phases and Stages by Willie Nelson; Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear; Sinead O’Connor’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got; Back to Black by Amy Winehouse; and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. (I don’t care what anyone says, a ripping version of “Go Your Own Way” by Bobo and combo would have sounded great on this album.) Maybe even Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours.
However, Bobo claims it’s not really a break-up album at all. In an interview in Memphis Flyer a few months ago, he said, “The fact is, the record has very little to do my marriage. A couple songs are about that, but the rest of it is addressing something that’s disturbed me since childhood, and it’s that aggression wins, you know? It wins out on top of consideration for people, diplomacy, because all those things are very boring compared to the visceral excitation of aggression and violence,” referring to the southern French city of Perpignan, where he lives these days with his young son. “And the place I live in now, it’s not violent like anything in America, but it’s very aggressive. And the way people raise their children and treat each other is really disturbing to me,” he said.
Still, it’s hard not to think that the emotional strain of divorce doesn’t seep into these songs, which are packed with frustration, desperation, and loneliness. Some of the hardest rocking tunes are obviously dark fantasies of wanton violence. There’s “Nadine,” a tragic tale of a cabaret singer, and “Paula,” in which a musical crime spree ends with a disturbing vision of the narrator swinging from the gallows after being dragged through the town by angry citizens.
It’s not the most fierce rocker on the album. One of the most powerful tunes here is the brooding, slow-burning “Ghost,” which invites comparisons with Nick Cave. It’s one of the obvious break-up songs here. The most heart-wrenching verse is a scene from a marriage in which the singer recalls some tensions sprouting from a day at some carnival: “You remember that fish you won at the fair/You said I fed it too much, I said you didn’t feed it enough/Either way, the damned thing died.” But immediately after that bad memory, Bobo’s attention turns away from the fish and toward a child. “That boy’s gonna suffer, and Lord, he’s suffered enough/He’ll make someone suffer from all he’s learned from love ...”
A History of Violence is not easy listening by any stretch. But unless you’re a cold, dead fish, it’s a rewarding listen for the stout of heart and deserves a wider audience.
Also recommended:
3 Cheers to Nothing by Trixie & TheTrainwrecks. Trinity Sarratt is a California-born singer who moved to Berlin. There she began performing in a number of bands, even doing a stint as a one-person group called Trixie Trainwreck No-Man Band. With the aid of harmonica blower called Charlie Hangdog, she assembled a group, The Trainwrecks, and recorded this album of what their label Voodoo Rhythm Records accurately calls “overdriven-long-gone-broken-hearted-country-blues-trash numbers from the wrong side of the tracks.”
But it’s the kind of trash I like.
Made up mostly of original tunes, Trixie romps through rough-edged bluesy tunes like “Daddy’s Gone,” “Poor and Broke,” and “Commuter Blues.” She invokes the ghost of Jimmie Rodgers on “Yodelin’ Bayonne Blues” (with the best use of a slide whistle since The Hoosier Hotshots) and does a sweet cover of one of my favorite Hank Williams songs, “Lonesome Whistle.”
There’s an instrumental called “Everybody Goes to Heaven,” though the words in the title appear in the next track, “End of Nowhere.” (Neither is the Mose Allison classic.)
Big Halloween podcast: It’s the dynamic 10th anniversary of the Big Enchilada podcast, as well as my annual Halloween episode. You’ll hear horrifying sounds from the likes of Thee Oh Sees, Black Joe Lewis, The Fuzztones, The Compulsive Gamblers, Ronnie Dawson, and New Mexico’s own Alien Space Kitchen.
Also this week, check out Terrell’s Sound World, my local radio show on KSFR, 101.1 FM, or ksfr.org, where you’ll hear a lot of spooky tunes in honor of this sacred holiday season. (And you'll also hear a tribute to the late Tony Joe White.) The show starts at 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28.
Here are some videos:
Meet Nadine
A Ghost for Halloween
And here's some Trixie ...
Oct. 26, 2018
Harlan T. Bobo isn’t exactly a household name — unless you’re a dedicated devotee of the underground rock scene in Memphis. And he seems to consciously choose to cling to his anonymity. Though the singer says he’s legally changed his name to the one you see on his records, like Leon Redbone, he keeps his birth name secret. He’s been known to wear masks at his performances and in general doesn’t seem to have a naked thirst for big-time success and stardom.
But he’s good, and his sporadically released records are well worth seeking out. A great place to start is his latest, A History of Violence, which is his first album since 2010’s Sucker and his best so far.
While there are several stark, moody acoustic songs here, most of the strongest tracks are the ones in which Bobo and his stripped-down band of Memphis mafiosos rage and roar as if they are fighting off demons from a madman’s dreams. These include “Spiders,” “Paula,” and “Town” (yes, he uses one-word song titles), which starts off with Bobo singing, “God damn this town” and proceeds to get even angrier.
Like his first album, Too Much Love, this one is considered a break-up album. It comes in the wake of his divorce. That would put it in the same stratosphere as romance-on-the-rocks records like Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks; Phases and Stages by Willie Nelson; Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear; Sinead O’Connor’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got; Back to Black by Amy Winehouse; and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. (I don’t care what anyone says, a ripping version of “Go Your Own Way” by Bobo and combo would have sounded great on this album.) Maybe even Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours.
They call me MISTER Bobo! |
However, Bobo claims it’s not really a break-up album at all. In an interview in Memphis Flyer a few months ago, he said, “The fact is, the record has very little to do my marriage. A couple songs are about that, but the rest of it is addressing something that’s disturbed me since childhood, and it’s that aggression wins, you know? It wins out on top of consideration for people, diplomacy, because all those things are very boring compared to the visceral excitation of aggression and violence,” referring to the southern French city of Perpignan, where he lives these days with his young son. “And the place I live in now, it’s not violent like anything in America, but it’s very aggressive. And the way people raise their children and treat each other is really disturbing to me,” he said.
Still, it’s hard not to think that the emotional strain of divorce doesn’t seep into these songs, which are packed with frustration, desperation, and loneliness. Some of the hardest rocking tunes are obviously dark fantasies of wanton violence. There’s “Nadine,” a tragic tale of a cabaret singer, and “Paula,” in which a musical crime spree ends with a disturbing vision of the narrator swinging from the gallows after being dragged through the town by angry citizens.
It’s not the most fierce rocker on the album. One of the most powerful tunes here is the brooding, slow-burning “Ghost,” which invites comparisons with Nick Cave. It’s one of the obvious break-up songs here. The most heart-wrenching verse is a scene from a marriage in which the singer recalls some tensions sprouting from a day at some carnival: “You remember that fish you won at the fair/You said I fed it too much, I said you didn’t feed it enough/Either way, the damned thing died.” But immediately after that bad memory, Bobo’s attention turns away from the fish and toward a child. “That boy’s gonna suffer, and Lord, he’s suffered enough/He’ll make someone suffer from all he’s learned from love ...”
A History of Violence is not easy listening by any stretch. But unless you’re a cold, dead fish, it’s a rewarding listen for the stout of heart and deserves a wider audience.
Also recommended:
3 Cheers to Nothing by Trixie & TheTrainwrecks. Trinity Sarratt is a California-born singer who moved to Berlin. There she began performing in a number of bands, even doing a stint as a one-person group called Trixie Trainwreck No-Man Band. With the aid of harmonica blower called Charlie Hangdog, she assembled a group, The Trainwrecks, and recorded this album of what their label Voodoo Rhythm Records accurately calls “overdriven-long-gone-broken-hearted-country-blues-trash numbers from the wrong side of the tracks.”
But it’s the kind of trash I like.
Made up mostly of original tunes, Trixie romps through rough-edged bluesy tunes like “Daddy’s Gone,” “Poor and Broke,” and “Commuter Blues.” She invokes the ghost of Jimmie Rodgers on “Yodelin’ Bayonne Blues” (with the best use of a slide whistle since The Hoosier Hotshots) and does a sweet cover of one of my favorite Hank Williams songs, “Lonesome Whistle.”
There’s an instrumental called “Everybody Goes to Heaven,” though the words in the title appear in the next track, “End of Nowhere.” (Neither is the Mose Allison classic.)
Big Halloween podcast: It’s the dynamic 10th anniversary of the Big Enchilada podcast, as well as my annual Halloween episode. You’ll hear horrifying sounds from the likes of Thee Oh Sees, Black Joe Lewis, The Fuzztones, The Compulsive Gamblers, Ronnie Dawson, and New Mexico’s own Alien Space Kitchen.
Also this week, check out Terrell’s Sound World, my local radio show on KSFR, 101.1 FM, or ksfr.org, where you’ll hear a lot of spooky tunes in honor of this sacred holiday season. (And you'll also hear a tribute to the late Tony Joe White.) The show starts at 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28.
Here are some videos:
Meet Nadine
A Ghost for Halloween
And here's some Trixie ...
Thursday, October 25, 2018
THROWBACK THURSDAY: A Christmas Song Better Suited for Halloween
Lawson family portrait, taken about a week before Charlie killed all but one of them. |
On Christmas Day, 1929, a western North Carolina tobacco farmer named Charlie Lawson woke up, engaged in some father-and-son bonding in the form of some varmint hunting.
Then when son Arthur went into town to buy more ammunition, Charlie went back to his house and shot and killed his wife and his six youngest children. Before Arthur got back. Charlie had gone back to the woods and killed himself.
It's that most wonderful time of the year ...
The Lawson family massacre was discussed in a recent episode of the true crime / comedy podcast My Favorite Murder -- in their typically irreverent and hilarious fashion. To the credit of co-hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, they credit my favorite true-crime podcast, Criminal with Phoebe Judge, which covered this bloody Xmas massacre a few years ago.
I'm not going to go into the gruesome details of the crime. Listen to Karen & Georgia and / or Phoebe for that. (Plus it's all over Google. Try THIS for starters.)
The reason I'm posting about the killings -- and a big reason people are still talking about it after nearly 90 years -- is because of a song.
Just months after the killings. singer Walter "Kid" Smith and fiddler Posey Rorer, in a group called The Carolina Buddies, recorded a hillbilly waltz they'd basically ripped from the headlines. And this is it:
Never mind that Karen & Georgia poked vicious fun at the recording, the song was a big hit for Columbia Records. And through the years, all sorts of folk, country and bluegrass artists have kept it alive. Here's a version by The Stanley Brothers.
Fast forward to the turn of this century and Dave Alvin covered it -- using the original lyrics but a different melody, on his Public Domain album. Alvin talked about the song with author Paul Slade:
"Most murder ballads tend to be about one person killing another, or maybe one person killing two other people. In this case, it's a whole family. There's usually an innocent in a murder ballad, but this was an innocent family. And there's little justification given for it. It's left to the listener to decide. Was it economics? Was it insanity? Why did this guy kill his family? So that mystery gives it some power.
"It's the murder of innocent children, which is pretty intense. And then it has that final verse, which is kind of sentimentally sweet but at the same time gives the whole scene some kind of redemption."
Here's Dave's version.
This more one is by an Ohio band called Sport Fishing USA from their 2012 album Live at the Pool. The words and music are different but the story basically is the same.
Finally here's the spooked-out version Phoebe used on Criminal. It's by Elephant Micah (aka Joseph O'Connel)l, a singer/songwriter from Indiana.
"They all were buried in a crowded grave / while the angels watched
above / "Come home, come home, my little ones / to a land of peace and love". |
Sunday, October 21, 2018
TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST
Sunday, October 21, 2018
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Pet Semetary by The Ramones
I Was a Teenage Werewolf by The Cramps
Me and The Devil by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Haunted House by Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs
Hooky Wooky by Lou Reed
The Wolf by The Bloodhounds
Father and Son by Oizone
High Tide Killer by The Morlocks
Elephant Man by Meet Your Death
Negro Gato by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
Daddy's Gone by Trixie & The Trainwrecks
Big Cluckin' Mistake by MFC Chicken
Burn, Baby, Burn by Stud Cole
I Smoke Dope by The Gears
Two Girls (One Bar) by Pere Ubu
Leave the Ghost at Home by Troy Gregory
Falling Star by The Velquins
Do the Freddie by Freddie & The Dreamers
Kim Deal by Johnny Mafia
Gigantic by The Pixies
Some Conversations You Just Don't Need to Have by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
No Vacancy by The Ar-Kaics
Gangsters by The Dustaphonics
The Witch by Syndicate of Sound
So Long Johnny by Charlie Pickett
Walking Through My Hell by The Peawees
Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are by Period Pains
Baron Samedi by The Dead Brothers
Nikki Hoeky by P.J. Proby
Tease It to Jesus by Miss Celine Lee
Storied by Harlan T. Bobo
Candy by Iggy Pop with Kate Pierson
Wayfaring Stranger by Raw Death
Last Day of Our Acquaintance by Sinead O'Connor
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Like the Terrell's Sound World Facebook page
Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
WACKY WEDNESDAY: A Musical Tribute to Dennis Hof
Dennis Hof, brothel owner / GOP legislative speaks at a campaign rally hours before he died. That's porn star Ron Jeremy backing him on harmonica. |
Dennis Hof, legal brothel owner, HBO Cathouse star and Republican legislative candidate in Nevada, was found dead at one of his establishments called the Love Ranch Tuesday.
Hof, 72, had been partying with friends like Ron Jeremy (who found Hof's lifeless corpse) and former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss after a campaign rally attended by anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and disgraced (but pardoned) Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Fox News host Tucker Carlson had called into the event to express his support for Hof's candidacy.
His supporters didn't seem concerned that Hof was accused just last month of raping a woman and previous accused of other sexual misconduct by several ex-employees at his brothels. Somewhere in the Great Beyond, former New Mexico state Sen. Eddie Barboa is shaking his head and saying, "I was born 40 years too early."
Anyway, here's a little musical tribute to Mr. Hof, a set of songs about the business he so loved.
First this gem from 1990 by a group called HWA (Hoez With Attitudes)
Here's one by singer Cliff Ferre, who despite the weird accent here, was an American
Nevada's not the only place with legal brothels, as Dave Van Ronk knew.
Of course, the ultimate whorehouse song is House of the Rising Sun. I did a deep dive into that song, which you can see HERE
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
10 Rockin' Years of The Big Enchilada!
Welcome to the 10th anniversary of The Big Enchilada!!!!! And just like my very first podcast back in October 2008, it's another Halloween show. So brace yourself, Bridget, it's a twitchy, witchy, blood-suckin', flesh-eatin' nightmare of an episode and there's not a ghost of a chance that you won't love it.
Remind your loved ones that The Big Enchilada is officially listed in the iTunes store. So go subscribe, if you haven't already (and gimme a good rating and review if you're so inclined.) Thanks.
SUBSCRIBE TO ALL RADIO MUTATION PODCASTS |
Here's the playlist:
(Background Music: Halloween Hell by The Goldstars)
Happy Halloween by The Fuzztones
All My Friends are Zombies by The Priscillas
Leave The Ghost at Home by Troy Gregory & The Sights
I Drink Blood by Rocket from the Crypt
I Came From Hell by The Monsters
Ghost Riders by Ronnie Dawson
(Background Music: Ghost Surfer by The Surf Lords)
Zombie Outbreak by Alien Space Kitchen
Ghost on the Highway by Trailer Bride
Cuidad Muerto by Los Eskeletos
Zombified by Southern Culture on the Skids
Runnin' from the Ghost of Your Past by Stevie Tombstone
The Ghost With the Most by Almighty Defenders
(Background Music: Ghost Train by Stompin' Riff Raffs
Ghost in the Trees by Thee Oh Sees
My Love is a Monster by Compulsive Gamblers
Spooks by Ghost Bikini
Vampire by Black Joe Lewis
(Background Music: Night of the Werewolf by Lee Kristofferson)
Play it below:
(Background Music: Halloween Hell by The Goldstars)
Happy Halloween by The Fuzztones
All My Friends are Zombies by The Priscillas
Leave The Ghost at Home by Troy Gregory & The Sights
I Drink Blood by Rocket from the Crypt
I Came From Hell by The Monsters
Ghost Riders by Ronnie Dawson
(Background Music: Ghost Surfer by The Surf Lords)
Zombie Outbreak by Alien Space Kitchen
Ghost on the Highway by Trailer Bride
Cuidad Muerto by Los Eskeletos
Zombified by Southern Culture on the Skids
Runnin' from the Ghost of Your Past by Stevie Tombstone
The Ghost With the Most by Almighty Defenders
(Background Music: Ghost Train by Stompin' Riff Raffs
Ghost in the Trees by Thee Oh Sees
My Love is a Monster by Compulsive Gamblers
Spooks by Ghost Bikini
Vampire by Black Joe Lewis
(Background Music: Night of the Werewolf by Lee Kristofferson)
Play it below:
Support Radio Mutation on Patreon
Sunday, October 14, 2018
TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST
Sunday, October 14, 2018
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Dancing All Around the World by The Fleshtones
Blood Vision by Jay Reatard
A Fix on You by Dead Moon
Flesh Eating Cocaine Blues by Daddy Long Legs
Hush Hush by The Plimsouls
Geraldine by The A-Bones
No Thanks by King Brothers
Distemper by The Ar-Kaics
I Never Told You by Reverend Beat-Man & Izobel Garcia
I Want it Back by Jonah Gold & His Silver Apples
The Trip of Kambo by O Lendario Chucrobillyman
Another She by Arvidson & Butterfly
The Noose That Snapped by Demented Are Go
Handshake Drugs by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Get the Family Together by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Single Again by Fiery Furnaces
Wimp by Jean Caffeine
Where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy? |
DAMAGED GOODS SET
Every Bit of Me by Thee Headcoats
Davy Crockett by Thee Headcoatees
Jack the Ripper by The Revillos
Are You a Wally by The Spartan Dreggs
Punk Rock Enough For Me by CTMF
All My Friends are Zombies by The Priscillas
Ain't No Rock 'n' Roll Rookie by Johnny Moped
Love Pours Out of My Heart by Miss Ludella Black
Walk a Mile by Holly Golightly
I Don't Like the Man That I Am by Billy Childish & The Singing Loins
Archive from 1959 by The Buff Medways
I Had a Dream by Charlie Pickett
Dusty Bibles and Silver Spoons by The Bloodhounds
Waltzing in the Moonlight by Country Joe & The Fish
From Her to Eternity by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Say We'll Meet Again by Lindsey Buckingham
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Like the Terrell's Sound World Facebook page
Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE
Thursday, October 11, 2018
TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: In praise of Damaged Goods
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Oct. 12, 2018
Steven John Hamper — or is it William Charlie Hamper? — of Chatham, England, aka Billy Childish, sometimes records under the name of “Wild Billy Chyldish” and other variations of his pseudonym.
He's a painter, a photographer, a poet, and — let’s go full Kristofferson here — a picker and a prophet and a prolific pusher of a do-it-yourself aesthetic of rock ’n’ roll that is informed by punk, garage, blues, folk, and probably other influences that lesser mortals have yet to uncover.
This infamously curmudgeonly contrarian has been responsible for a crazy number of bands since the mid-’70s, including The Pop Rivets, Thee Milkshakes, Thee Mighty Caesars, The Delmonas, Thee Headcoats (which spawned the all-girl group Thee Headcoatees), The Buff Medways, The Chatham Singers, The Musicians of the British Empire, The Spartan Dreggs, and, most recently CTMF — unless he’s started a new group since I began writing this.
As could be expected, this fifty-eight-year-old artist — who says he’s made more than 150 albums, never using a producer — has recorded on a long list of independent record companies including Sub Pop, Sympathy for the Record Industry, K Records, Amphetamine Reptile, Get Hip, and his own Hangman label.
But when I think of Billy Childish, the first label I think of is Damaged Goods, the British label started 30 years ago by a guy called Ian Damaged (who’s married to a lady named Alison Wonderland). And now, that wondrous label is releasing a two-disc, 37-song 30th anniversary compilation called Damaged Goods 1988-2018, described by the DG media machine as “a selection of top tracks, deep cuts, lost gems, and personal favourites.”
No, Damaged Goods and Billy Childish are not synonymous. DG started out as a punk-rock reissue label, and Childish didn’t start recording for them until 1991 (initially with Thee Headcoats, which served as his major music vehicle through most of the ’90s).
And Childish probably isn’t as well known with the general public as the Manic Street Preachers, who went on to major labels after their 1990 debut on Damaged Goods, New Art Riot E.P. (The title track is included here, but, frankly, it’s not all that impressive.)
But Damaged Goods began managing Billy’s back catalog a few years ago, and I’d argue that even though he was a little late to the party, he quickly became the soul of the label. I’m not comparing Ian Damaged to Sam Phillips, but trying to discuss Damaged Goods without Billy Childish is like trying to talk about Sun Records without mentioning Elvis Presley.
Besides, Childish is all over this collection.
He’s responsible for a quarter of the tracks on the first disc. Following a cool blast of punk by a guy called Johnny Moped called “Ain’t No Rock ’n’ Roll Rookie,” Thee Headcoats barge in with a tune of classic Childish self-loathing called “Every Bit of Me.” Childish, who has frequently talked publicly about being molested at the age of nine by a “friend” of his family, roars in this song about that defining incident: “He was forty years old inside my jeans/I was nine years old and feeling unclean/He told it’s a secret to keep to myself/I wanted to hate him but I hated myself/with every bit of me, every bit of me ...”
In another Childish song in this compilation, “I Don’t Like the Man That I Am,” recorded with the folk-punk group The Singing Loins, Childish works a similar introspective theme. Backed only by banjo, acoustic guitar, and bass drum, he sings, “I don’t love you ’cause I don’t like the man I am.”
There’s another autobiographical tune, a fierce rocker called “Archive From 1959” (that’s the year he was born) by The Buff Medways, and some weird noodling from Childish and his crony, fellow artist-poet-singer Sexton Ming called “Sing Shed Sing” (a minute and 16 seconds of spoken word over what sounds like a toy organ and chimes). I also like “Are You a Wally?” by The Spartan Dreggs, though I have no idea what Childish is singing about here. (Could it be that I’m a Wally?)
But the best song on the whole collection is “Punk Rock Enough for Me,” by Childish’s CTMF — and don’t ask me what that alphabet soup of a band name stands for. The song is basically a list of musicians, writers, artists, and some inanimate objects, like a cup of tea — all of which Billy considers to be punk rock — sung over a tune that sounds like a hard-edged version of Them’s “Gloria.”
Among this esteemed company are Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix (in Beatle boots), Bo Diddley, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Billie Holiday, Nikolai Gogol, and Buddy Holly. And I almost did the Freddie when Childish included the ’60s British band Freddie and The Dreamers. This tune is a dandy put-down of punk-rock purity.
Besides Childish himself, Damaged Goods 1988-2018 includes what might be the most popular song by the lovely and talented Headcoatees, the cool, wacky “Davy Crockett,” which has a melody similar to Don and Dewey’s “Farmer John.”
Even better are some lesser-known songs by former Headcoatees who went on to solo careers. There’s the soulful “Love Pours Out of My Heart” by Miss Ludella Black (I can imagine Sally Timms of The Mekons singing this one) and a couple from the ever-delightful Holly Golightly, who sings a bluesy, sultry “Walk a Mile,” as well as a song with The Brokeoffs, “Just Around the Bend.”
Speaking of girl groups, the best non-Childish tracks on the compilation are by female bands or singers. Thee Dagger Debs sound like a tougher Bay City Rollers on the catchy “Ain’t Worth the Time.” The Period Pains do a tune called “Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are?),” while Betty and The Werewolves toast a pop star from a previous era, “David Cassidy.” And speaking of werewolves, The Priscillas have a great spook-rock tune called “All My Friends Are Zombies” just in time for Halloween.
With the music biz imploding and transforming at a near-deadly pace, it’s refreshing to see that a determined independent label like Damaged Goods can last three decades. Here’s to 30 more years for this wonderful company.
Let's see some videos:
Here's some live Billy & The Buffs
Thee Headcoatees were the queens of the wild frontier
I don't think I'm a Wally, but how can I be sure?
And as a special treat, here is my Spotify playlist of various Billy Childish bands, offshoots and related artists.
Oct. 12, 2018
Which way ya goin', Billy? |
He's a painter, a photographer, a poet, and — let’s go full Kristofferson here — a picker and a prophet and a prolific pusher of a do-it-yourself aesthetic of rock ’n’ roll that is informed by punk, garage, blues, folk, and probably other influences that lesser mortals have yet to uncover.
This infamously curmudgeonly contrarian has been responsible for a crazy number of bands since the mid-’70s, including The Pop Rivets, Thee Milkshakes, Thee Mighty Caesars, The Delmonas, Thee Headcoats (which spawned the all-girl group Thee Headcoatees), The Buff Medways, The Chatham Singers, The Musicians of the British Empire, The Spartan Dreggs, and, most recently CTMF — unless he’s started a new group since I began writing this.
As could be expected, this fifty-eight-year-old artist — who says he’s made more than 150 albums, never using a producer — has recorded on a long list of independent record companies including Sub Pop, Sympathy for the Record Industry, K Records, Amphetamine Reptile, Get Hip, and his own Hangman label.
But when I think of Billy Childish, the first label I think of is Damaged Goods, the British label started 30 years ago by a guy called Ian Damaged (who’s married to a lady named Alison Wonderland). And now, that wondrous label is releasing a two-disc, 37-song 30th anniversary compilation called Damaged Goods 1988-2018, described by the DG media machine as “a selection of top tracks, deep cuts, lost gems, and personal favourites.”
No, Damaged Goods and Billy Childish are not synonymous. DG started out as a punk-rock reissue label, and Childish didn’t start recording for them until 1991 (initially with Thee Headcoats, which served as his major music vehicle through most of the ’90s).
And Childish probably isn’t as well known with the general public as the Manic Street Preachers, who went on to major labels after their 1990 debut on Damaged Goods, New Art Riot E.P. (The title track is included here, but, frankly, it’s not all that impressive.)
But Damaged Goods began managing Billy’s back catalog a few years ago, and I’d argue that even though he was a little late to the party, he quickly became the soul of the label. I’m not comparing Ian Damaged to Sam Phillips, but trying to discuss Damaged Goods without Billy Childish is like trying to talk about Sun Records without mentioning Elvis Presley.
Besides, Childish is all over this collection.
He’s responsible for a quarter of the tracks on the first disc. Following a cool blast of punk by a guy called Johnny Moped called “Ain’t No Rock ’n’ Roll Rookie,” Thee Headcoats barge in with a tune of classic Childish self-loathing called “Every Bit of Me.” Childish, who has frequently talked publicly about being molested at the age of nine by a “friend” of his family, roars in this song about that defining incident: “He was forty years old inside my jeans/I was nine years old and feeling unclean/He told it’s a secret to keep to myself/I wanted to hate him but I hated myself/with every bit of me, every bit of me ...”
In another Childish song in this compilation, “I Don’t Like the Man That I Am,” recorded with the folk-punk group The Singing Loins, Childish works a similar introspective theme. Backed only by banjo, acoustic guitar, and bass drum, he sings, “I don’t love you ’cause I don’t like the man I am.”
There’s another autobiographical tune, a fierce rocker called “Archive From 1959” (that’s the year he was born) by The Buff Medways, and some weird noodling from Childish and his crony, fellow artist-poet-singer Sexton Ming called “Sing Shed Sing” (a minute and 16 seconds of spoken word over what sounds like a toy organ and chimes). I also like “Are You a Wally?” by The Spartan Dreggs, though I have no idea what Childish is singing about here. (Could it be that I’m a Wally?)
But the best song on the whole collection is “Punk Rock Enough for Me,” by Childish’s CTMF — and don’t ask me what that alphabet soup of a band name stands for. The song is basically a list of musicians, writers, artists, and some inanimate objects, like a cup of tea — all of which Billy considers to be punk rock — sung over a tune that sounds like a hard-edged version of Them’s “Gloria.”
Among this esteemed company are Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix (in Beatle boots), Bo Diddley, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Billie Holiday, Nikolai Gogol, and Buddy Holly. And I almost did the Freddie when Childish included the ’60s British band Freddie and The Dreamers. This tune is a dandy put-down of punk-rock purity.
Besides Childish himself, Damaged Goods 1988-2018 includes what might be the most popular song by the lovely and talented Headcoatees, the cool, wacky “Davy Crockett,” which has a melody similar to Don and Dewey’s “Farmer John.”
Even better are some lesser-known songs by former Headcoatees who went on to solo careers. There’s the soulful “Love Pours Out of My Heart” by Miss Ludella Black (I can imagine Sally Timms of The Mekons singing this one) and a couple from the ever-delightful Holly Golightly, who sings a bluesy, sultry “Walk a Mile,” as well as a song with The Brokeoffs, “Just Around the Bend.”
Speaking of girl groups, the best non-Childish tracks on the compilation are by female bands or singers. Thee Dagger Debs sound like a tougher Bay City Rollers on the catchy “Ain’t Worth the Time.” The Period Pains do a tune called “Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are?),” while Betty and The Werewolves toast a pop star from a previous era, “David Cassidy.” And speaking of werewolves, The Priscillas have a great spook-rock tune called “All My Friends Are Zombies” just in time for Halloween.
With the music biz imploding and transforming at a near-deadly pace, it’s refreshing to see that a determined independent label like Damaged Goods can last three decades. Here’s to 30 more years for this wonderful company.
Let's see some videos:
Here's some live Billy & The Buffs
Thee Headcoatees were the queens of the wild frontier
I don't think I'm a Wally, but how can I be sure?
And as a special treat, here is my Spotify playlist of various Billy Childish bands, offshoots and related artists.
THROWBACK THURSDAY: Jimmy Brown the Newsboy, It's Almost Your Day!
It's almost International Newspaper Carrier Day. So in honor of that cherished holiday, which this year falls on Saturday Oct. 13, let's take a look at song about America's most beloved newsboy, a lad named Jimmy Brown.
William Shakespeare wrote the original version of this song. William Shakespeare Hays, that is. He was a songwriter born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1837. Hays wrote it under the title of "Jimmie Brown (the Paper Boy). It had a different melody than the one we later came to know (CLICK HERE to download a midi version). But the story is basically the same:
I'm very cold and hungry, sir,
My clothes are worn and thin,
I wander on from place to place,
My daily bread to win;
But never mind, sir, how I look,
Don't sneer at me, or frown,--
I'm selling papers, for I am
The newsboy, Jimmie Brown.
CHORUS
I sell the morning paper, sir,
My name is Jimmie Brown,--
Most ev'ry body knows I am
The "poor boy of the town."
2.
My father was a drunkard, sir,
So I've heard my mother say,--
Before he died, how oft for him
I've heard her weep and pray!
But I am helping mother now,
I journey up and down,
To sell my papers, for I am
The newsboy, Jimmie Brown.
(CHORUS)
3.
My mother tells me ev'ry night
To kneel with her and pray,--
She says if I've an honest heart,
I'll be all right some day;
And when she's gone to heaven, sir,
To wear a starry crown,
She'll wait up there to welcome home
The newsboy of the town.
(CHORUS)
A.P. Carter took the song, rewrote some of the lyrics, gave it a different melody and, as was his practice, gave himself the songwriting credit. Here's the Carter Family's version.
Bill Monroe, Mac Wiseman and others recorded "Jimmy Brown," but my favorite bluegrass version is by Flatt & Scruggs. Lester sang, while banjo deity Earl Scruggs proved that he's pretty darn good at flat-picking a guitar.
The song drifted overseas where Lonnie Donegan skiffled it all up.
It's a completely different song, but in 1989, Stan Ridgway recorded a song about another news carrier. This one is older, more cynical and more philosophical than little Jimmy Brown. And he also has crazy fantasies about becoming a caped crusader.
Sunday, October 07, 2018
TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST
Sunday, October 7, 2018
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I Walked With the Zombie by Roky Erikson & The Aliens
Her Cold Cold Heart by The Night Beats
I Suffer, I Get Tougher by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Hangman by Beat Happening
Conception of the Blues by The Goon Mat & Lord Bernardo
El Perversio by Deadbolt
Johnny Voodoo by Empress of Fur
Thunderbird ESQ by Hank Haint
Love Pours Out of My Heart by Miss Ludella Black
Nudist Colony by Kirk Hansard
DJ. Why Why Why by Bee Bee Sea
Ask the Angels by Patti Smith
Heat Wave by The Vagoos
Strangest Stranger by Salty Pajamas
Cosmic Two Step by The Barbarellatones
The Straight Life by Mudhoney
Jack the Rippers by The Revillos
Can't Help (But Wonder) by The Moonbeats
What I Like About Miami by Charlie Pickett
You Turn Me Bad by The Ar-Kaiks
Lost Memories by Sloks
You're So Sorry by The Budget Girls
Dead Man's Shoes by Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers
Long Runs the Fox by The Bonnevilles
I Ain't the One by Bobby Rush
Spiders by Harlan T. Bobo
Evil Woman by Gogo Loco
Something's Goin' On by Jessica Lee Wilkes
I Drink Too Much by Cornell Hurd
Sundown Blues by Tony Joe White
She Said She Said by Black Keys
Trouble in Mind by Johnny Dowd
Season of the Witch by Donovan
Say We'll Meet Again by Lindsey Buckingham
Please Send Me Someone to Love by The Persuasions
I Believe Her by Ramblin' Deano
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Like the Terrell's Sound World Facebook page
Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight?
Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this.
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast CLICK HERE
FOLK REMEDY PLAYLIST
Sunday, October 7, 2018
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
8 am to 10 am Sundays Mountain Time
Substitute Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's the playlist :
The Crawdad Song by Doc Watson
Happy Hickey the Hobo by The Delmore Brothers
Flora by Peter, Paul and Mary
He's a Lone Ranger by Don Flemons
Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man by Carolina Chocolate Drops
Mysterious Mose by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders
Another Clown by Mose McCormack
I Hate These Songs by Dale Watson
Jesus in Pajamas by Kinky Friedman
The Feller That Looked Like Me by The Volo Bogtrotters
What's the Matter? by Memphis Jug Band
Grinnin' In Your Face by Son House
I Don't Like the Man I Am by Billy Childish & The Singing Loins
Some of Shelly's Blues by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
A Song for Blaze by Elliot Rogers
Blaze's Blues by Townes Van Zandt
Down Here Where I Am by Blaze Foley
The Rue of Ruby Whores by Michael Hurley
World So Full of Love by Rodney Crowell
When Two Worlds Collide by Flatt Lonesome
Jason Fleming by Roger Miller
Wine Spodee Odee by Kell Robertson
Fruit of the Vine by Nancy Apple
Road Map for the Blues by Butch Hancock
Happy Rolling Cowboy by Holy Modal Rounders
Goldfinger by Peter Stampfel
The Gardens by Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore
On the Jericho Road by Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis
Salty Dog by Gus Cannon
The World is Going Wrong by Mississippi Sheiks
You Can't Stop a Tattler by Washington Phillips
Big Rock Candy Mountain by Chris Thomas King
Dust Bowl Refugees by James Talley
I Hate Men by Little Carolyn Sue
Philadelphia Lawyer by The Maddox Brothers & Rose
Fixin' to Die Blues by Bukka White
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
Wednesday, October 03, 2018
WACKY WEDNESDAY: It's Twilight Time
It was 59 years ago -- actually 59 years and a day -- when CBS premiered a new drama anthology series seeped in science fiction, Kafkaesque horror, thinly disguised political and social commentary and just plain weirdness. Written and produced by Rod Serling, the series was called The Twilight Zone.
"There is a sixth dimension beyond that which is known to man," Serling told America atthe outset of the show. (This later was changed to "fifth dimension.") "It is a dimension as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, and it lies between the pit of man's fears, and the sunlight of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area that might be called, The Twilight Zone."
The show lasted five seasons on CBS, but was syndicated for years. There have been a few attempts to revive The Twilight Zone, but none were as successful as the original.
While not directly related to the show, The Twilight Zone has inspired a number of songs -- after all it is "the dimension of imagination" -- through the years. So when the aliens serve man, they should include these musical side dishes.
The Dutch group Golden Earring had a hit with this in 1982. (Though it's not nearly as bitchen as their hit from the previous decade, "Radar Love.")
In the early '70s, Dr. John, in his Night Tripper phase, had this peppy little ditty:
In 1979, The Manhattan Transfer incorporated The Twilight Zone's TV theme for this number:
Finally, here's Ministry's take on that place between the pit of man's fears, and the sunlight of his knowledge:
Monday, October 01, 2018
Here's the New Big Enchilada Podcast Episode
It's chile today, hot tamale! And these are the most red hot sounds on the Internet -- Joe "King" Carrasco, Billy Childish, Mark Sultan, Charlie Pickett, The Morlocks and much much more. So grab a bowl of chili beans at Jack's or John's or Jim's or Jean's and let this month's Big Enchilada warm up your eardrums.
Remind your loved ones that The Big Enchilada is officially listed in the iTunes store. So go subscribe, if you haven't already (and gimme a good rating and review if you're so inclined.) Thanks.
SUBSCRIBE TO ALL RADIO MUTATION PODCASTS |
Here's the playlist:
(Background Music: Congo Mando & The Chili Peppers)
Current Events by Joe "King" Carrasco
Punk Rock Enough for Me by CTMF
Kick Ass Rock by The King Brothers
Travelust Revisited by Charlie Pickett
What You Do by The Ar-Kaics
Little Girl by John & Jackie
(Background Music: Taco Wagon by Man or Astroman?)
Invisible People by Marshmallow Overcoat
Just a Sign by Maiorano
Coffin Nails by Mark Sultan
You're So Sorry by The Budget Girls
The Bear by Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Satan Gave Me a Taco by Beck
(Background Music: Chili Beans by Felix & His Guitar)
Til My Mojo Works by The Peawees
Coffee Grounds by The Moonbeats
No One Rides for Free by The Morlocks
Dancing on the Razor's Edge by The Cavemen
(Background Music: Chili with Honey by Danny Bell & The Bell Hops)
Play it below:
Support Radio Mutation on Patreon
(Background Music: Congo Mando & The Chili Peppers)
Current Events by Joe "King" Carrasco
Punk Rock Enough for Me by CTMF
Kick Ass Rock by The King Brothers
Travelust Revisited by Charlie Pickett
What You Do by The Ar-Kaics
Little Girl by John & Jackie
(Background Music: Taco Wagon by Man or Astroman?)
Invisible People by Marshmallow Overcoat
Just a Sign by Maiorano
Coffin Nails by Mark Sultan
You're So Sorry by The Budget Girls
The Bear by Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Satan Gave Me a Taco by Beck
(Background Music: Chili Beans by Felix & His Guitar)
Til My Mojo Works by The Peawees
Coffee Grounds by The Moonbeats
Crystal Clear by Johnny Mafia
The Swamp by SloksNo One Rides for Free by The Morlocks
Dancing on the Razor's Edge by The Cavemen
(Background Music: Chili with Honey by Danny Bell & The Bell Hops)
Play it below:
Support Radio Mutation on Patreon
Subscribe to:
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TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST
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