JACKIN' POP 2006

The first annual Idolator Jackin' Pop Critics Poll is in -- and (if anyone recalls the old Shake 'n' Bake commercials) I helped!

CLICK HERE

I don't think anything I voted for cracked the Top 20, but what the heck.

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: BING BANG BING BANG BING

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 5, 2007

Oh no! Not another newspaper story about Borat. That’s so 2006.


Well, it’s probably true that Sacha Baron Cohen’s hilarious movie about the clueless “reporter” from the great nation of Kazakhstan got more than its share of media hype.

But one aspect of the movie that didn’t get as much attention as it deserved was the music. It’s not often I leave a movie theater thinking, “I’ve got to get my hands on the soundtrack CD!” O Brother, Where Art Thou? was one case where this happened. And now there’s the Borat movie, which has a lovely companion CD called Stereophonic Musical Listenings That Have Been Origin in Moving Film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

The soundtrack is peppered with short dialogue segments and other bits from the movie.

There’s even the infamous Borat honky-tonk singalong “In My Country There Is Problem (Throw the Jew Down the Well),” which was not in the movie but has become a YouTube hit. (I believe this little performance doesn’t prove that the people in that saloon, or Americans in general, are anti-Semites as much as it proves that if you get Americans drunk enough, and keep the melody simple enough, we’ll sing along with anything.)

But the Borat shtick here is the least interesting part of this album. It’s the music itself. Before any serious, scholarly ethnomusicologist types get themselves in a tizzy, the first thing you have to know about this soundtrack is that just like the character of Borat, there’s little, if any, Kazakhstan in it. Oh, well. We Americans don’t know much about geography.

Instead, the bulk of the music on the CD is from Eastern Europe. It’s a good sampling of Gypsy music, Balkan brass bands, and a smattering of Eastern-bloc Euro-cheese. As Borat might say, “It don’t mean a thing unless it’s got that ‘Bing bang, bing bang bing.’”

The CD features a couple of brass bands I’d already checked out on Calabash Music: Macedonia’s Kocani Orkestar (pictured below right) and Fanfare Ciocarlia, a Gypsy group from eastern Romania that does a splendid (and nearly unrecognizable) cover of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild.” (Listening to the CD the first time in my car, I didn’t realize what this song was until the chorus.)


When watching the movie, I perked up when Kocani’s joyful, infectious song “Siki, Siki Baba” played. I recognized it from the concert by the band Beirut at the College of Santa Fe a few weeks before.

There are a couple of fun remix experiments. Mahala Rai Banda’s brassy “Mahalageasca” gets a jacked-up “Bucovina Dub” treatment by German DJ Shantel and “Eu Vin Acasa Cu Drag” — which longtime Borat fans know as the bingy-bangy theme to his segment on Da Ali G Show — gets a hip-hoppy version by Stefan de la Barbulesti. And some of the guiltiest pleasures are the synthy faux-Balkan sleaze from O.M.F.O. (Our Man From Odessa), who provides a couple of tasty if tacky tunes on the album.

The Borat soundtrack also features the great Macedonian singer — and Nobel Peace Prize nominee — Esma Redzepova. She’s reportedly planning to sue the film producers for using her “Chaje Shukarije,” which begins the soundtrack CD with a rousing shout. Take a number, Esma. The Borat litigation line is getting long.

And seriously, a lawsuit would be extremely shortsighted. This soundtrack provides excellent exposure for the wonderful music from the region — even if that region isn’t where it’s supposed to be.

So you want Kazakh music ...

*The Best of Urker: 10 Years Anniversary. No, this isn’t music by that weird little kid with the big glasses who had a sitcom back in the early ’90s. This is one of Kazakhstan’s most popular bands. If this is the best the country has to offer, I can see why the Borat crew decided to go with the Balkan stuff instead.

There are a few tracks here that are more than listenable. But most of it is earnestly overproduced pop that sounds like a bad Central Asian version of ABBA. The western world must have dumped all its toxic ’80s synths in this poor Third World Nation.

Surprisingly, one of the better tracks here is a patriotic number called “Moy Kazakhstan.” It’s got a cool electric-guitar riff and loud rhythm track. I don’t know what the words mean, but it would sound great in a set with Borat’s fake Kazakh national anthem.

You can listen for yourself HERE.

Recommended:

*Lon Gisland by Beirut and The Way the Wind Blows by A Hawk and a Hacksaw. Here’s a couple of good examples of domestic versions of the Balkan sound. And both of these bands have ties to this Enchanted Land.

Beirut is led by former Santa Fe kid Zach Condon. H&H is based in Albuquerque. Lon Gisland, a five-song EP, is the follow-up to Gulag Orkestar, Beirut’s astonishing debut last year. There’s even a new version of “Scenic World” from Gulag. Like the previous effort, the EP is full of trumpets, accordions, old country melodies and Condon’s melancholic vocals. “Elephant Gun,” with its ukulele intro, is my favorite track here, but the best title is “My Family’s Role in the World Revolution.”

H&H, which opened for Beirut in Santa Fe last year, is full of sweet Roma and klezmer soul. The group consists of Jeremy Barnes (formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel) on percussion (including a jingle-bells hat) and accordion and Heather Trost on violin.

They are fortified on this record by horns and other instruments on some songs (played by members of Fanfare Ciocarlia). All are irresistible. My favorites are “Fernando’s Giampari,” which sounds like the best circus band you’ve ever heard, and “God Bless the Ottoman Empire,” which begins with an oud solo followed by menacing drums and what sounds like a clarinet or alto sax.

THERE ONCE WAS A GOVERNOR FROM KHARTOUM ...

Here's from the latest press release from our globe-trotting gov.:

SANTA FE, NM – Governor Bill Richardson on Saturday will travel to
Khartoum, Sudan to meet with Sudanese officials to urge the country to fully accept the deployment of a hybrid United Nations peacekeeping force in the war-torn Darfur region. The Governor is making the trip at the request of the Save Darfur Coalition, which sent a letter to Governor Richardson urging him to make the trip. The Coalition believes Governor Richardson’s extensive diplomatic
skills and experience dealing with the Sudanese can help convince them to follow-through on their preliminary acceptance of a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force, consistent with the UN mandate. The Governor will also push for a possible cease-fire in the Darfur region.

“This is a crisis of incredible proportions- millions of lives in the Darfur region are at risk from war, disease, and malnutrition. The people of the region are desperately looking for help from the international community, especially the United States,” said (Richardson). “The US has an opportunity to use leadership and diplomacy to help, and if I can play even a small part in that effort I am ready to do it. This is a bi-partisan, humanitarian effort by both Democrats and Republicans to help find a resolution to this ongoing tragedy.”

While in Sudan, Governor Richardson will also travel to the Darfur
region to make a personal assessment and will meet with humanitarian groups.

Governor Richardson has coordinated his trip with Andrew Natsios,
Special Envoy to Sudan for the US Department of State. The Save Darfur Coalition is paying for the trip.

In September of 2006 Governor Richardson traveled to Sudan and secured the release of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New Mexico native Paul Salopek and two colleagues on humanitarian grounds. Salopek and two Chadian citizens, Suleiman Abakar Moussa, Salopeks’s interpreter, and his driver, Abdulraham Anu had entered Sudan without visas and were arrested and charged with espionage, passing information illegally, and writing “false news”.

The Governor has a long-term relationship with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir dating back to 1996. In December of that year then-Congressman Richardson successfully negotiated the release of another New Mexican, Albuquerque pilot John Early, and two Red Cross workers. The three had been held hostage for 38 days by Sudanese rebels. In that situation, President al-Bashir supported Congressman Richardson’s efforts.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: ETHICS BY EXECUTIVE ORDER?

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 4, 2007

New Mexico isn’t the only state that’s dealing with ethics reform.

In New York, new Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced in his inaugural address this week that he’s taking action to clean up his state’s executive branch by signing an executive order mandating new rules.

But while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is backing a strong ethics and campaign finance package in the next legislative session, don’t expect him to follow Spitzer’s example of imposing ethics rules by executive order, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Among Spitzer’s new rules for New York: State workers are not allowed to accept gifts of more than nominal value; former state employees are barred from lobbying their former agency for two years; state workers cannot donate money to the campaigns of the governor or lieutenant governor or to affiliated political action committees; directors of state agencies and other high-ranking state officials must resign their posts before running for state or federal public office; state officials are forbidden from appearing in advertisements paid for by state entities.

That last one reportedly was a frequent practice of Spitzer’s predecessor, George Pataki, who some say is running for president.

Appearing in “public service” announcementsalso is popular among New Mexico politicians as well. Richardson, Land Commissioner Pat Lyons, former Attorney General Patricia Madrid and former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron have all spent public money to get their faces on TV via “educational” spots.

At least one of those is rumored to be running for president.

Matt Brix, executive director of New Mexico Common Cause, a good-government advocacy group, likes what Spitzer did.

“It’s not incredible radical,” Brix said Wednesday. “Basically what he’s saying is, ‘I’m applying these rules to myself voluntarily and asking the (New York) legislature to codify these reforms into law for everyone.”

Brix said he’d like to see Richardson follow suit.

“Any step the governor would want to take, I’d welcome that immediately. The stronger he’s willing to come out on the issue, the more excited we are.”

The word from Camelot: Richardson and Spitzer are friends. Spitzer was in Santa Fe for a fundraiser at the Gerald Peters Gallery back in 2005 and stopped by Richardson’s office. “Wow! Look at this table. Where does King Arthur sit?” he said when he saw the huge marble monstrosity in Richardson’s Cabinet Room.

But that friendship doesn’t mean he’s going to follow Spitzer’s example and go the executive order route.

“Gov. Richardson is committed to enacting a comprehensive ethics reform package during the upcoming legislative session,” spokesman Jon Goldstein said in an e-mail Wednesday. “This includes the establishment of an independent ethics commission, limitations on gifts and campaign contributions and public financing for judicial candidates — all of which will require legislation to enact.

“In order to have the most impact, this reform must be comprehensively implemented across state government,” Goldstein said. “The governor, therefore, believes that a legislative solution is the best approach to this issue at this time.”

And seriously, can anyone imagine Richardson voluntarily pulling the plug on his “You drink, you drive, you lose” commercials?

Pulling the rip cord?: While almost everyone else seems to think Richardson’s entry into the presidential sweepstakes is inevitable, political commentator Chuck Todd of The National Journal in his column Wednesday said some believe he’ll be the next candidate to drop out.

Still, Todd ranked Richardson as the fifth most likely candidate to get the Democratic nomination.

Richardson, according to Todd, is behind U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, U.S. Sen. Barak Obama of Illinois, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

Vilsack?!??

Here’s Todd’s entry on Richardson:

“Among some Democratic strategists who are not yet committed to a
candidate, there’s chatter that the next candidate to follow Warner’s and Bayh’s stares into the ’08 abyss and pull the ripcord is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. At the end of the day, these folks claim, he’s a pragmatist. His résumé is gold, but the novelty factor (he’d be the first Hispanic) is getting eclipsed by Clinton and Obama. He does seem intent on giving this a try. Let’s see what the money reports show in the spring.”

Todd also says because of the front-loading of the ’08 primary/caucus schedule, “we should know who the two major-party nominees are by Feb. 5, 2008.” That happens to be the date of presidential caucuses in New Mexico and other Western states.

A New Year’s gift to reporters: Talk about a honeymoon with the press. New Attorney General Gary King surely won “Right ons!” in newsrooms across the state Tuesday when the first news release out of his office was an announcement about a workshop for local government employees and public board members on the Open Meetings Act and the Inspection of Public Records Act.

It was a nice symbolic move on King’s part — and let’s hope it will be well-attended and its lessons taken to heart by the gatekeepers of public information.

The only thing that would have been better would have been making it mandatory for all state and local officials involved in record keeping.

The workshop is scheduled 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the State Personnel Building, Leo Griego Auditorium, 2600 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe. Staff lawyers from the AG’s Civil Division and representatives of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government will conduct the workshop.

STATE GOP STAFF CHANGES

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 3, 2007

The state Republican Party has lost its executive director and communications director, but state party chairman Allen Weh said Tuesday that the staff changes have nothing to do with November’s election.

Meanwhile, Weh said he’s inclined to seek another term as party chairman — which he’s held since 2004 — though he hasn’t made a final decision. The Republican Central Committee will vote on the chairman’s position at its spring meeting.

Marta Kramer, who had been the party’s executive director since early 2005, “wanted a well-deserved break from politics,” Weh said.

“She went straight from (the Bush-Cheney campaign) into the party job,” Weh said. “She’ll be back in some political capacity, and we want her back.”

Kramer couldn’t be reached for comment.

Weh said Chris Atencio, the party’s political director, has been appointed acting executive director. He said the party will conduct a national search for Kramer’s permanent replacement.

Also leaving the state GOP is communications director Jonah Cohen.

Cohen said Tuesday that he resigned because he was hired by a private high school in Las Vegas, Nev., as chairman of its history department.

Like Weh, Cohen said his departure is amicable. “I’m grateful to Allen Weh,” he said.

“I had only intended to work (for the party) for a short time,” Cohen said.

During his tenure with the Republicans — he was there about a year — Cohen was credited with starting a blog called New Mexico For Sale, a partisan Web site that focuses on state scandals involving Democrats.

Also recently leaving the state GOP organization is former field director Storm Field, who will be working for House Republicans in the upcoming legislative session.

In the last election, the GOP saw its underfunded gubernatorial candidate John Dendahl lose to incumbent Bill Richardson by nearly 40 percentage points. The party held on to both of its congressional seats — although Albuquerque’s Heather Wilson won by just over 800 votes — and the only state office held by a Republican, Land Commissioner Pat Lyons. The party kept the same number of legislative seats, though Republicans were already outnumbered in the state House of Representatives by a 42 to 28 margin.

“We didn’t do good, but we didn’t do bad,” Weh said of the election. “If you look around the country, we did a lot better than Republicans in other states.”

FOUR MORE YEARS!

You can find my analysis of Gov. Bill Richardson's inaugural address HERE

You can find the speech itself HERE

And here's some more observations I made on the inauguration:


A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 2, 2007

The state Capitol always fills up for inaugurations.

And even though there were a few empty seats in the House chambers — understandable considering the recent weather and road conditions — the atmosphere was festive Monday at Gov. Bill Richardson’s second inauguration.

Elected officials being sworn in are joined at such events by family members, outgoing state officials, legislators from both parties, administration officials, campaign workers, job seekers, advocates of various issues, lobbyists and other miscellaneous dignitaries and curious citizens.

The governor and first lady Barbara Richardson as well as Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and her husband, Herb Denish, greeted well-wishers in the Capitol Rotunda following the ceremony.

At least two mayors were spotted there as the Richardsons and Denishes greeted friends and supporters: David Coss of Santa Fe and Kevin Jackson of Rio Rancho.

And, as usual, several former governors were on hand. Bruce King and former first lady Alice King got what seemed like the loudest and most enthusiastic responses when they were introduced before the proceedings. It was the second inauguration of the day for the Kings.

Earlier Monday, they were present in the state Senate chambers when their son Gary King was sworn in as attorney general.

Former Govs. Toney Anaya and Jerry Apodaca also attended the inauguration.

Richardson began his speech by mentioning another ex-governor, the late Jack Campbell, who served between 1963 and 1967. Quoting Campbell, Richardson said: “No greater honor can come to a man than to be elected governor of the state he loves.”

Moment of silence
Before the prayers and speeches began, master of ceremonies Johnny Cope, a businessman from Hobbs who serves on the Transportation Commission, called for a moment of silence for former first lady Dee Johnson, who died the week before Christmas. She was the former wife of former Gov. Gary Johnson.

Cope also recalled a political figure who had died since the last inauguration, former state Rep. Jack Daniels, who was Denish’s father. Referring to Daniels’ witnessing his daughter’s 2003 inauguration, Cope said, “I’ve never seen a man so proud.”

Smell of gunpowder
The most ear-opening part of the ceremony wasn’t a speech by a politician. It was the 19-gun salute after the swearing in, provided by a couple of 120 mm cannons courtesy of the state National Guard.

This part of the program took place on the west side of the Capitol. The Richardsons stood silently together as the blasts continued, the smell of gunpowder in the air.

Logos and labels
Later on Monday, a Boots ‘n Bolos inauguration ball was held at the Hilton and Eldorado hotels. A large tent across West San Francisco Street connected the two hotels.

Out of 8,000 invitations sent, 5,000 people sent back RSVPs, said Richardson re-election campaign manager Amanda Cooper. However, she said the recent snow and icy roads undoubtedly would make the number of actual attendees smaller.

Inauguration costs were covered by the Richardson and Denish campaigns. The governor’s campaign had $1.4 million left in its treasury, according to campaign finance reports filed early last month. However, the campaign still raised money specifically for the event through the month of December, Cooper said.

Logos of companies appeared in the official program.

The biggest single contributor was Univision, a national Spanish-language television network, which gave $50,000 for the inauguration, Cooper said. Univision president and chief executive officer Jerry Perenchio is a longtime Richardson supporter. He personally contributed more than $100,000 to Richardson’s re-election. His wife last year gave the campaign another $50,000.

Four years ago, Univision ran a full-page advertisement in national papers featuring a letter from Richardson urging Democratic congressional leaders to back a controversial merger between Univision and Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. The Federal Communications Commission later approved the merger.

Univision was the only “platinum” sponsor of Monday’s inauguration. There were 16 “gold” sponsors that donated between $10,000 and $25,000.

Among these were Urenco, a manufacturer of enriched uranium for nuclear power utilities; BP, an international oil company; Pfizer, a major pharmaceutical company; Public Service Company of New Mexico; Thornburg Mortgage; New Mexico Gas & Oil Association; two state Indian pueblos with casinos (Isleta and Santa Ana); and two labor unions (the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which is one of Richardson’s major labor union contributors, and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Local 412).

But you didn’t have to donate money to become a sponsor, Cooper said.

Garduños restaurants earned a “silver” sponsorship by donating some 7,500 jars of what was labeled as Bill Richardson Inauguration Salsa. Garduños produced a similar product for Richardson for the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Among other inaugural sponsors providing between $5,000 and $10,000: the Geo Group, a Florida-based company that runs private prisons used by the Corrections Department; Wells Fargo Bank; and Washington Group International, a company involved in the management of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, December 31, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

BEST OF 2006 SPECIAL
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Money Won't Change You by James Brown
Someday Baby by Bob Dylan
Good Bread Alley by Carl Hancock Rux
It Calls Me by Hazmat Modine with Huun Hunr Tu
Lookin' For a Leader by Neil Young
The Devil in Us All by Butch Hancock

Love You Still by Hundred Year Flood
Another Place I Don't Belong by Big Al Anderson
After We Shot the Grizzley by The Handsome Family
Flowers by Irma Thomas
Gunshow by Bobby Bare Jr.'s Young Criminal Starvation League
The Road to Gila Bend by Los Lobos
Flames Over Nebraska by Pere Ubu

Zoysia by The Bottle Rockets
I Feel Like Going Home by Yo La Tengo
Hangin' Johnny by Stan Ridgway
Teach Me Sweetheart by The Fiery Furnaces
That's How I Got To Memphis by Solomon Burke
Forty Dollars by The Twilight Singers
Heartaches and Grease by Ray Wylie Hubbard

The Gulag Orkestar/ Prenzlauerberg by Beirut
My Eyes/Worthless by Tony Gilkyson
Army Ants/Sea of Love by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

IN THE WINTER WE CAN BUILD A SNOWMAN

DAMIEN THE SNOWMAN
Originally uploaded by Robotclaw666.

So we did ...

I CANNOT TELL A LIE ...

If you're listening to The Santa Fe Opry right now on KSFR , you're listening to an "emergency" show I recorded a few years ago. Yes, I chickened out of driving to the station at Santa Fe Community College because of the snow and icy roads.

It's a good show, though, so I do hope you're listening. Playing some Waco Brothers as I write this.

The emergency show has run a couple of times in the past, maninly when I get tied up on a Friday night late in a session of the Legislature.

I just found the playlist for most of the first set from a 2004 show where work made me late to get to the station. Check it HERE

XXXXXX

Speaking of good music, Alan Ackoff just started a Santa Fe Music Blog. So far there's just one post -- about our mutual friend Bill Hearne. Do check it out.

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: BEST of 2006

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
December 29, 2006

It’s just a gut feeling at this point, but when compiling this list of top albums of 2006, I’m starting to think that the digital revolution in music has begun to take its toll on the album as an art form. Sure there was plenty of great music out there this year — there always is when you know where to look for it.

And yes, dear yuppies, the word is still album not CD. A CD is just the medium, while the album is a collection of songs in any medium, vinyl or not. Sorry, that’s just a pet peeve. My fear is that not only could CDs go extinct but albums as well.

An entire generation of music lovers is thinking in terms of individual downloads rather than the album. It’s as if the novel became obsolete, replaced by, well, chapters.

The truth is, nothing really stood out as “album-of-the-year” quality to me until Tom Waits released Orphans, his sprawling three-disc extravaganza. Funny thing is, this project holds together as a unified work — kind of like a three-ring circus — even though it started off as a collection of outtakes and stray songs from soundtracks, tribute albums, and other scattered projects.

So while we still have “albums,” let’s celebrate the best of them. Here are my favorites of 2006:


1. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards by Tom Waits. His songs are dispatches from an archetypal shadow land of underdog America, a place where a nation’s dreams go to die — but where a thousand more dreams are born. He bellows skid-row serenades that seemingly spring from cheap back-alley dives, hobo jungles, storefront churches, and grimy bus stations. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll say, “What the hell was that?”





2. Goodbye Guitar by Tony Gilkyson. Most solo albums by sidemen only prove that most sidemen deserve to remain sidemen. But this album proves there are major exceptions to that rule. Gilkyson — a former member of X and Lone Justice — made an album in which all 11 songs are winners. It’s solid roots rock with some stomping honky-tonkers here and a magnificent dirge of self-loathing called “My Eyes.”








3. Gulag Orkestar by Beirut. Like Gilkyson, Zach Condon is a former Santa Fe resident who slipped the surly bonds of New Mexico. While most American musicians his age are inspired by punk rock or hip-hop, Condon was set aflame by the soundtracks of Eastern European movies and the Balkan brass bands he heard while bumming around overseas. He created a unique sound with slightly off-kilter trumpets, accordion, rat-a-tat drums and — for reasons not explained — a ukulele. Not to mention his vocals, which sound far too world-weary for a 20-year-old.




4. Snake Farm by Ray Wylie Hubbard. Here’s a bluesy stomp-dance of a record, heavy on slide guitar and raunchy licks. With Hubbard’s songs of reptile ranches, God, the devil, heartaches, damnation, and redemption, it’s spiritual in its own peculiar way, almost like the Book of Revelation as interpreted by Hank Williams and Howlin’ Wolf.








5. Powder Burns by The Twilight Singers. Like Greg Dulli’s best work, the sound is big — guitars, keyboards, and drums work into crescendos — and he works his voice into inspired frenzies. Sometimes, you don’t notice that he’s been screaming until the song starts to fade.







6.Nashville by Solomon Burke. This is something of a country homecoming for Burke, who was cutting soul versions of country songs nearly a half-century ago. “That’s How I Got to Memphis,” the classic Tom T. Hall song sounds as if it was written for Burke. And on Gillian Welch’s “Valley of Tears,” he sings like a condemned man contemplating the lethal-injection table.








7. Bitter Tea by The Fiery Furnaces. While the Furnaces don’t really sound like anyone else, you could spend an afternoon trying to trace the influences. The music changes from song to song — and often several times within a song. Electronic madness bounces off an old-timey tack piano. Sugar-pie-honey-bunch Motown hooks slither below. Eleanor Friedberger’s voice seems like an earthly anchor for a ship tossed into a stormy, unpredictable musical sea.


8. Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, & Chanteys by various artists (produced by Hal Willner). How could I not include an album featuring wild and rasty tunes by Nick Cave, Richard Thompson, Lou Reed, and Stan Ridgway? It even has Pere Ubu’s David Thomas croaking “What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor?” But the most gloriously obscene and most hilarious “pirate” song here is Loudon Wainwright III’s “Good Ship Venus.”








9. I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Kick Your Ass by Yo La Tengo. Yo La happily is all over the place, strolling down some strange avenues of pop sounds. Sometimes the group sounds like Sonic Youth, sometimes closer to Fleetwood Mac. Actually Yo La reminds me of a lo-fi, punkier version of NRBQ.






10. Zoysia by The Bottle Rockets. The title is a type of grass used in suburban lawns, fittingly because the image of suburban lawns is at the metaphorical center of this album by Brian Henneman and his trusty band of blue-collar rockers. It’s a loose-knit concept album about yearning for normalcy and moderation — yearnings not normally associated with rock ’n’ roll. But in these strife-ridden times, Henneman makes it sound attractive.





Honorable Discharge
* Why I Hate Women by Pere Ubu
* Last Days of Wonder by The Handsome Family
* The Longest Meow by Bobby Bare Jr.
* Good Bread Alley by Carl Hancock Rux
* Blue Angel by Hundred Year Flood
* After the Rain by Irma Thomas
* After Hours by Big Al Anderson
* The Town and The City by Los Lobos
* Modern Times by Bob Dylan
* Bahamut by Hazmat Modine