MONEY, POLITICS AND ROCK 'N' ROLL

Remember this 1992 campaign speech by the first President Bush?:

"(Bill Clinton)was in Hollywood, seeking foreign policy advice from the rock group U2. Now, understand, I have nothing against U2. You may not know this, but they tried to call me at the White House every night during their concert. But the next time we face a foreign policy crisis, I will work with John Major and Boris Yeltsin. And Bill Clinton can consult Boy George. I'll stay with the experts."

It looks like the former president's boy, George has a different idea.

And while Bush 43 is lunching with Bono in the White House, some of his fellow Republicans -- as well as some Democrats -- are using U2 concerts as a fund-raising device.

"The Irish rock band U2 is doing its best to disassociate itself from members of Congress’s plans to use the group’s 2005 world tour to raise money, but the band remains a political cash cow.

"Debt AIDs Trade Africa (DATA), an advocacy group founded by U2’s lead singer, Bono, issued a statement last week separating the band from any political activity that might take place at its concerts after some media outlets continued misreporting a story that Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and U2 had teamed up for a $1,000-a-seat concert in Philadelphia on Sunday. The stories reported that Santorum and others were buying private skyboxes and selling the seats to donors."

I dunno. I kind of liked it better when conservative politicians used to trip all over themselves to denounce the evils of rock 'n' roll.


Oh well, apparently Rush Limbaugh, whose loathing of "long-haired, dope-smoking, maggot-infested rock stars" is well articulated, hasn't jumped on the U2 bandwagon. (Of course my favorite Rush rock criticism was back in 2002. In a fine example of synchronicity, I was driving to work having just written my review of the late Joey Ramone's solo album. I turned on the radio and Rush was in a froth because The Ramones had been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Moody Blues hadn't.)

All I can say is where have you gone, Frank Zappa? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you!

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, October 23, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Headlights On by The Dirtbombs
Communist Moon by The (International) Noise Conspiracy
Little Girl by The Syndicate of Sound
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead by Warren Zevon
The Fox by Sleater-Kinney
Just Can't Please You by Detroit Cobras
Cool. Calm, Collected by The Rolling Stones
Rock and Roll by The Velvet Underground
Don't Touch Me There by The Tubes

Bo Diddley is Crazy by Bo Diddley
TV Eye by Iggy Pop
In This House That I Call Home by X
Dumb All Over by Frank Zappa
Bucket of Juice by BigUglyGuys
Moulty by The Barbarians

Karate King by Kevin Coyne & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Cream
She Is Suffering by Manic Street Preachers
Cheeseburger by Gang of 4
The River of Water by Yo La Tengo
Bold Marauder by Drywall
Voodoo Priestess by Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Summer's Almost Gone by The Doors
Don't Send Me No Flowers, I Ain't Dead Yet by The Reigning Sound
Port of Amsterdam by David Bowie
Just Like Greta by Van Morrison
The Green Fields of France by Dropkick Murphys
What Kind of Fool Am I? by Grandpaboy
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

JOHNSON BREAKS HIS BACK AGAIN

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 23, 2004

Former Gov. Gary Johnson, known for his athletic ability and attraction to both traditional and “extreme” sports, is bed bound for the next six months after breaking his back in a paragliding accident.

In a telephone interview Saturday, Johnson said he suffered his injury Oct. 13 on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

“I feel fine and I’m going to be all right,” Johnson said.

This is the second time the 52-year-old governor has broken his back. In January 2001, while still governor, he slipped on a patch of ice during a morning jog.

However, Johnson noted that injury was not as serious as his recent one. “I think I was up running again about six weeks that time,” he said. Now he is expected to be bedridden until April.

Despite his injury, Johnson said he feels lucky. The late actor Christopher Reeve, who was thrown from a horse, was paralyzed from a fall of only six feet, Johnson on noted.

Paragliding involves a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft with a self-inflating wing. The structure is similar to a hang glider, though it’s lighter and larger. Paragliders jump off hillsides to launch.

Johnson said he was with about 10 other paragliders the morning of his accident. He had been paragliding from the same spot for about two weeks, he said.

He was the first in the group to take off. “There was no wind, really,” he said. “There was no lift on take-off.”

Johnson found himself heading toward a tree. “My harnass caught in the tree and the wing, if you can imagine this, acted as a slingshot, hurling me into the ground.”

Johnson said he landed on his tailbone. “The main thing I remember is just how hard the impact was he said.

He tried to stand up but his knee gave out, Johnson said.

As it turned out, he suffered a burst fracture of his T12 vertebrae, a broken rib and a knee injury, which Johnson said, will require minor surgery.

Johnson said a helicopter had to be called to airlift him to the hospital in Maui. He returned to New Mexico on Monday.

Johnson said he’s able to walk. “I can get up and go to the bathroom,” he said. He said he can ride in a car, though he realizes that even a minor accident could be devastating to his back.

It’s been a tough year for the former governor. In September, shortly before leaving for Hawaii, he was involved in a minor car crash on I-25 north of Albuquerque. And earlier in the year he and his wife of 28 years, Dee Johnson, divorced.

“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Johnson said Saturday.

During his eight years as governor (1995 -2002), Johnson was known his athletic pursuits and thrill seeking.

At the end of his term he told reporters that his best day in office was a time he got to go hang gliding. He is a frequent competitor in the Iron Man triathlon in Hawaii. He enjoys skiing, motorcycling, bicycling, kayaking and ballooning.

He also has been known to suffer some physical mishaps. Not long after his 2001 back injury from jogging, he took a spill on a motorcycle on N.M. 14. He wasn’t injured.

A month after leaving office, Johnson broke a leg in a ski accident. However that barely slowed him down. Three months later he scaled Mount Everest.

Johnson said Saturday that he will paraglide again. “Oh yeah,” he said. “Life is live and learn.”

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, October 21, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
So What If We're Out of Tune with the Rest of the World by Marah
Lucille by Nancy Apple & Rob McNurlin
Lonesome, On'ry & Mean by Waylon Jennings

STEVE YOUNG SET
(Live in the Studio)
Little Birdie
Silverlake
Long Way to Hollywood
You're Right, I'm Left, She's Gone
Ramblin' Man

Not Another Beautiful Day by Jubal Lee Young
Oklahoma Bound by Steve Young

Dolly Parton Set
(All songs by Dolly except where noted)
Seven Bridges Road
Those Were the Days
Dumb Blonde
Silver Threads and Golden Needles by Dolly, Tammy Wynette & Loretta Lynn
Old Flames Don't Hold a Candle to You by Sally Timms
Love's Like a Butterfly
The Pain of Loving You by Dolly, Emmylou Harris & Linda Rondstadt
The Cruel War
My Tennessee Mountain Home by Maria Muldaur

Jamie II by Joe West
Some Humans Ain't Human by John Prine
Memphis Women and Chicken By Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham
In God's Eyes by Willie Nelson
If I Could Only Fly by Blaze Foley
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

THOSE ADORABLE LITTLE NAZIS

Checking out my Statcounter numbers this morning I realized that quite a few visitors to this blog in the last day or so had done searches for Prussian Blue -- that 13-year-old twin duo that sings songs of "White Power," struggling against the "Darker Races" and promoting the National Socialist agenda -- who I blogged about a few months ago.

Several more visitors came from other blogs that linked to my original Prussian Blue post.

That post received more comments than anything else I've ever blogged. Many of the comments were from the Nazi community, defending Prussian Blue as a refreshing alternative to the "degenerate Black music" fouling the morals of today's youth.

They're out there, people. They're out there.

(Unfortunately the stupid comment service I used to use here zapped all my old comments.)

But why the sudden resurge in interest in these loveable little hatemongers? Looks like ABC News just did a feature on them.

So welcome new readers. Stick around and read some of my stuff on degenerate music too.

JOE WEST IN UK

British and Scottish audiences are in for a treat. Santa Fe's Joe West is heading their way, on what he calls "A mission to spread Santa Fe poetry and country music across the world."

Says Joe, "If you have any friends in England or Scotland, please let them know of the Santa Feans that are bringing green chili to their neihborhood."

Here's the tour schedule, as sent by Joe:

Oct 24 London -The Borderline (with Chris Mills and The Havenots)

Oct 25 London -The Borderline (with Sarah Lee Guthrie/Johnny Irion and The Barker Band)

Oct 27 Southampton- Talking Heads (Note from SWT: I think that's the name of the venue, not the opening act.)

Oct 28 West Hoathly/Ardingly -The White Hart

Oct 29 Lewes -The Lansdowne Arms

Oct 30 Brighton -The Greys

Nov 2 Leicester- The Musician

Nov 3 Berwick -The Barrels Ale House

Nov 4 Aberdeen BBC Radio Scotland (2:30 show time)

Nov 4 Glasgow -The Liquid Ship-8:00PM (with Donny O'Rourke)

Nov 5 Ullapool Medicine Show Loch Broom FM 1pm

Nov 5 Ullapool -The Arch Inn

Nov 6 Inverness -Hootananny's(The Listening Room )

Nov 7 Gateshead -The Sage Arena (with Jon Dee Graham) (Note from SWT: This is one I'd love to see.)

Nov 8 Nottingham -The Maze (Forest Tavern)

Nov 9 Manchester -14 Lloyd Street

Nov 10 Swindon -The Bee-hive


If you can't make it to any of these shows, you can at least watch a fascinating video by this guy who calls himself "Dancing Butterflies."

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: STILL IN DOLLYWOOD

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 21, 2005

Dolly Parton’s Those Were the Days probably is the closest thing to an anti-war protest album you’re going to see coming from a bonafide country music icon, at least this year.

Basically this is a collection of tunes from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s -- mainly easily recognizable folk or folk-rock hits -- in which Dolly is joined by some of the the songwriters or the singers who made the songs famous as well as other guest stars. (The happy news: Most of it’s not as bad as such a project sounds like it would be.)

Many tunes here -- and I’m assuming it’s no coincidence -- are anti-war anthems. Apparently back in the ‘60s Dolly was listening Peter, Paul & Mary as well as Porter, Possum & Merle.

This wouldn’t seem so radical except for the fact that the only musical commentary on war and peace that you hear on commercial country radio is from the Toby Keith/Hank Williams Jr. blind-patriotism/America-kicks-butt variety.

There’s no way the County Music Industrial Complex is going to embrace Dolly’s peace-and-love tunes any more than they did Merle Haggard’s biting Iraq commentary “That’s the News” or Willie Nelson’s “Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth” a couple of years ago. Or any more than they embraced Earl Scruggs in the late ‘60s when he began playing anti-war rallies.

Of course, Dolly, and for that matter, Haggard and Nelson aren’t exactly tied down by the surly bonds of the C&W establishment these days. Country radio ignores them, while these entertainers continue to make fine music below Nashville radar.

Most of the anti-war tunes Dolly performs here still have power and relevance in light of the war in Iraq.

There’s Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” done here in a bluegrass/pop style with the band Nickel Creek. There’s a beautiful take on “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” featuring Dolly’s sweet harmonizing with Norah Jones and Lee Ann Womack.

She does a heartfelt, banjo-driven version of “Turn, Turn, Turn,” (Roger McGuinn’s somewhere in the mix.)

The only one that seems rather strange is “The Cruel War.” With vocal harmonies from Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski and guitar by Tony Rice, the song sounds heavenly. But the whole concept of the song is questionable. And I’m not even talking about the corny happy ending Dolly tacks on.

This song, which some say dates back to the American Civil War, seemed antiquated even back in the mid ‘60s when Peter, Paul & Mary had a hit with it.

“The Cruel War” is the story of a young woman who so hates the idea of her Johnny going off to war, she offers to disguise herself as a man to go with him.

“I’ll tie back my hair, men’s clothing I’ll put on/I’ll pass as your comrade as we march along … ”

Such a scheme seemed unlikely in the ‘60s. And now in the Iraq war, where some of the most famous soldiers -- from Jessica Lynch to Lynndie England -- are female, it’s irrelevant.

And, considering Dolly’s celebrated figure, it seems rather ridiculous. As one Dolly fan blogger, commenting on Dolly disguising herself as a man, put it, “Honey, you're gonna need a truck load of duct tape!!”

Not all the songs here deal with issues of war and peace.

Parton’s version of “Me and Bobby McGee,” done here with the songwriter, Kris Kristofferson, sounds so natural it‘s a wonder she’s never recorded it before. Same with the surprisingly vibrant take on the old chestnut “If I Were a Carpenter.” (Both writer Tim Hardin and singer Bobby Darrin are dead, so Dolly duets with Joe Nichols.)

While I never envisioned Tommy James & The Shondells’ psychedelic relic “Crimson and Clover” as a country song, Dolly makes it work with a fiddle/banjo/dobro/mandolin arrangement. Tommy James himself is along for this ride, making sure the song’s trademark tremolo guitar stays intact.

But my favorite track here is the title song. Dolly sings with Mary Hopkin , the Welsch waif who had the original hit with the song in 1968. There’s also an impressive chorus that includes Porter Wagoner, George Jones, Brenda Lee, Pam Tillis and country Cajun star Jimmie C. Newman, and instrumentalists including Sam Bush on mandolin, Ilya Toshinsky of the Russian bluegrass group Bering Strait, and a snippet of the Moscow Circus, recorded live in Dollywood.

It’s as much fun as it sounds.

On most guest-star heavy albums, the main star often is overwhelmed by the famous friends. Not so here. Overshadowing Dolly Parton is no easy task.

True, there are a couple of clunkers here. I’ve never liked John Lennon’s sappy “Imagine” and Dolly does nothing with it to change my mind. (As Elvis Costello once observed, “Wasn’t it a millionaire who said `Imagine no possessions’ …”) And as far as Yusef Islam/Cat Stevens’ “Where Do the Children Play?” goes, isn’t it time we declared a fatwa on ‘70s singer/songwriter wimps?

For the most part though, Those Were the Days, proves that these days are pretty good days for Dolly Parton.

Also Recommended:
*The Essential Dolly Parton: This two-disc set is a good retrospect for one of the most influential singers, songwriters and personalities of country music. It’s got Dolly’s greatest songs -- “Coat of Many Colors“ “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You,” -- some amazing lesser-known early 80s hits -- “Single Women” and “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You” -- and some guilty-pleasure pop sclock -- “Here You Come Again,” “Islands in the Stream” (When you talk of country kitsch, Kenny Rogers’ still the king.)

But my favorite tunes here are a pair of 1967 tracks, “Dumb Blonde” and “Just Because I’m A Woman” plus a 1969 obscurity, “My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy.” How could anyone have heard these and not realized that Dolly was soon to be a giant?

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: DELAY vs VIGIL

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 20, 2005

The campaign is still very young, but by the campaign rhetoric already arising from the Heather Wilson/Patricia Madrid showdown, one might think that the 2006 First Congressional District race is a battle between Tom DeLay and Robert Vigil.

Republican DeLay stepped down as U.S. House majority leader after being indicted in his native Texas on felony charges of money laundering and conspiracy.

Democrat Vigil was indicted in federal court on 21 charges of extortion. He has refused to step down from his post, although his lawyer told the Associated Press Wednesday that Vigil “continues to weigh his options” whether he will resign because he feels the ongoing House impeachment proceedings against him are unfair.

In declaring her candidacy last week, Madrid issued a statement that spoke of “culture of incompetence, corruption and cronyism.”

“The marriage of special interest politics and the Republican leadership of George Bush and Tom DeLay and the complicity of Heather Wilson have failed New Mexicans,” Madrid said.

Even before Madrid got into the race, state Democrats were criticizing Wilson for taking nearly $47,000 from DeLay’s political action committee Americans for a Republican Majority. Wilson has returned the $10,000 she collected from DeLay’s PAC in June, but not the $36,959 she received from the PAC between 1998 and 2003.

But Republican leaders say the corruption issue could backfire on Madrid.

Enter Robert Vigil.

Last week on the eve of Madrid’s announcement, Marta Kramer, executive director of the state Republican Party, said the kickback scandal at the state Treasurer’s Office could bode ill for the entire Democratic ticket, but particularly Madrid.

Kramer recalled a scathing 1999 audit report on Vigil’s tenure as state auditor, which, according to the state police chief, showed “strong patterns of public corruption” at the auditor’s office during Vigil’s tenure there.

Madrid later said that the audit was “not unbiased” because of the long-standing political feud between Vigil and his successor as state auditor, Domingo Martinez. No state legal action was ever taken in the 1999 audit.

“Madrid turned a blind eye to the biggest corruption scandal in the state's history by refusing to investigate the state treasurer when called upon to do so by Gov. Gary Johnson in 1999,” Kramer said. “Madrid should first work toward ending corruption and promoting accountability in New Mexico before pointing fingers at Republican elected officials in D.C.”

Political Chatter: Some of Vigil’s thoughts about state politics were captured on tape by the FBI in conversations between the treasurer and San Diego investment counselor Kent Nelson — who was wearing a wire.

In May, while driving from the Albuquerque airport to The Quarters barbecue restaurant on Yale, campaign contributions were on Vigil’s mind. The deadline for reporting contributions was only four days away.

You’ve got to report at least some of your contributions, Vigil told Nelson, “so it'll scare some of your opponents away.”

“They gonna be scared?” Nelson asked.

“No, not that scared,” Vigil said, “but I mean it's at least it makes them think twice if you don't report anything.”

Vigil explained that it was too early at that point for opponents for the 2006 race to be coming out of the woodwork, “but if you don't have any money man, you'll get 'em lined up like hot cakes. They see a report and they see you don't have any money . . . the Governor's gotta report 2.6 million.”

He was close. Richardson actually reported $2.9 million in the May campaign finance reports a few days later.

In talking about big campaign coffers frightening off potential challengers, Nelson noted that Vigil didn’t have any Republican opponent in 2002. Vigil had a theory about that.

“Well that's because they thought I wasn't gonna win,” Vigil said. “Jan Goodwin, my opponent was being supported by the Republicans thinking she was gonna win.”

Three days later Vigil filed a campaign finance report with the Secretary of State that showed he’d collected $26,205 since the last report and had a total of $127,732 in his campaign treasury.

Something tells me that if Vigil stays in the race, this amount won’t be enough to scare off opponents.

WOULD YOU CARE TO COMMENT?

If anyone gives a hoot, I've just changed the "comments" feature of this blog.

My old comments service, Haloscan recently removed all the comments odler than, I think, three months. Didn't delete them, mind you. I could get them all back if I upgrade to their paid service.

But freeloader that I am, I decided to switch to Blogger's inhouse comments feature. (THis prompted a paranoid thought: Are Blogger and the other free blog services just getting all of us us blog junkies hooked before they lower the boom and start charging us? Will there be a crime wave of bloggers ripping off car stereos to support their habits?)

The only drawback is that all the recent posts you fine readers left are now gone. So you'll just have to make more comments from this point on.

Warning: I've been plagued recently with some of those pesky SPAM comments. ("Your blog is fantastic. Check my (stupid commerical site) at (link)") So far it hasn't been difficult just to delete 'em when I see 'em. But if it gets worse I might go to the system where comment-posters have to fill in the annoying "word verification" secret code before posting. Such is the price of freedom.

Now leave me some damn comments!

UPDATE: Since changing over this morning, I've gotten several of those accursed SPAM automated comments. I'm not talking about NewMexiKen, whose blog I encourage all to visit. I'm talking about geeks from Herbalife, free video web hosting services and other stupid advertisers. Sneaky bastards tend to post their crap on older posts in your blog, so there might be some I missed. (Please report to me any you come across. And for the love of Christ, don't click on their links or buy any of their products.)

Anywho, I've made good on my threat to use "word verification." Please don't hestitiate to use it.

MESSING WITH TEXAS

Former New Mexico journalist Walt Howerton has been exiled in Austin for a few years now.

By the looks of his new blog, apparently it's starting to get to him:

Says Walt:

"I live in Texas. I came here with my wife a few years ago because she needed to be here. I love my wife, I like my house, I like the weather, I like the music. But I do not like Texans."

So there you go ...

It should be noted that Walt loves The Drive-by Truckers and Kings of Leon as much as I do.

By the way, nice hat.