This is as good of a Wacky Wednesday as any to celebrate the music of one of my offbeat heros, John Trubee.
He was born in Rapid City, South Dakota about 60 years ago. Raised in New Jersey, Trubee has lived for at least a couple of decades in California. He's a one-of a kind musician / songwriter / prankster.
Usually backed by a revolving-door group called The Ugly Janitors of America, Trubee plays wild funk, skewed pop, crazy noise -- and sometimes even pretty acoustic music.
As writer Charlie Swanson wrote in a 2015 feature in Bohemian.com:
If Trubee had become a filmmaker, he might draw a comparison to horror director and American Movie documentary subject Mark Borchardt. Had he taken the author's route, he might be another Charles Bukowski. As it is, Trubee is a music man, and his dark, profane and subversively hilarious songs have offended the conservative and mystified even the most progressive listeners for 30 years.
Trubee described his approach to his music in the notes for Forgotten Afternoon, a 2015 acoustic album he recorded with singer Laurie Amat:
Once I record my songs, I no longer hear them in my head, and new songs supersede them to continue to drive me crazy. I strongly regret not possessing the time and resources to more frequently record my multitude of song ideas. This is the terrible struggle of my life--somehow getting all this music out of my head before I am dead while I am continually enervated and depleted from my full-time workaday job routine
Chances are you've never heard of Trubee. He's not the kind of guy who naturally cozies up with the music industry. I don't think he'd compromise his artistic principles if you stuck a gun to his head.
But enough of my blather. Let's get to the assortment of Trubee tunes I've assembled below. If you like what you hear check out Trubee's Bandcamp page and buy some of his work.
Let's start out with a funky one, "Cram The Plastic Down My Throat" in which Trubee reveals that "The CIA invented LSD to blow out the brains of idiots like you ... Goddam the Trilateral Commission, goddamn the Russians, goddamn the CIA ... They want to kill us .."
Here's a live performance of a song called "You Idiot I Don't Believe You"
On this one, Trubee observes that "Many Whores Copulate for Money"
Here's a tender little ditty called "Field of Corpses."
Besides music, Trubee also does surreal phone pranks
Finally, here's one you've heard many times on The Santa Fe Opry. I'm pretty sure there is a federal statute requiring anything published about John Trubee has to include "Blind Man's Penis." This is not quite a hit, but definitely his best known song. It's a song poem. which means Trubee wrote the lyrics and paid some fee for a company to write the melody and record it. The singer is Ramsey Kearney, a monster of song poem vocals.
Sunday, August 20, 2017 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
Do the Clam by The Cramps
My Baby left Me by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Reconsider Baby by Elvis Presley
Leave My Kitten Alone by Detroit Cobras
Ice Cream for Crow by Captain Beefheart
The Point is Overflowing by Left Lane Cruiser
Incubus by The Howlin' Max Messer Show
Hey There Stranger by The Compressions
Gun Slinger by Bo Diddley
Lost All Day by Dinosaur Jr
All the Goods Gone by The Ghost Wolves
Whole Hearts Desire by Bloodshot Bill
Undertaker by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Eh by Dot Wiggin Band
Sputnik by Roky Erikson & The Aliens
Turn My Head by The Molting Vultures
Johnny Hit and Run Paulene by X
Waiting for Alberto by The Monochrome Set
Mr. Pitiful by Otis Redding
96 Tears by Aretha Frankin
Girl You Captivate Me by Question Mark & The Mysterians
Shortnin' Bread Rock by Etta James
Rat City by Jack Oblivian
Robot Blues by The Oblivians
My Confession by The Gears
We Know by Black Lips
I'm Insane by T-Model Ford
Dog Breath in the Year of the Plague by The Mothers of Invention
1848 Now! by The Mekons
Masterpiece by Jon Langford & Four Lost Souls
All My Lovin' by The Beatles
Old Swan by Mark Lanegan
Lord I've Been Changed by Tom Waits CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, August 18, 2017 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
The Crawdad Song by The Meat Purveyors
I'll Fix Your Flat Tire, Merle by Pure Prairie League
This Old Man by Tommy Miles & The Milestones
Fuzzy Little Hippie Girl by Great American Taxi
There Stands the Glass by Webb Pierce
No One Likes Me / Demons in Your Head by The Imperial Rooster
Drinkin' Ain't Hard to Do by Hank III
Thrown from a Train by Gay Sportscasters with Evan Johns
God Looked Around by Ray Wylie Hubbard
Red Brick Wall by The Waco Brothers
TJ by Hickoids
Straight and Narrow by The Whiskey Charmers
Burn the Place to the Ground by Dinosaur Truckers
Money is the Meat int the Coconut by David Rawlings
I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven by Tex Ritter
It Ain't Necessarily So by Asylum Street Spankers
When That Helicopter Comes by The Handsome Family
What's Your Mama's Name, Child by Tanya Tucker
Working Man's Tools by Lara Hope & The Ark Tones
Love is a Dangerous Thing by Blonde Boy Grunt & The Groans
Wheels by Flying Burrito Brothers
Kangaroo Blues by Cliff Bruner's Texas Wanderers
Honky Tonk Queen by Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley
Turtles All the Way Down by Sturgill Simpson
The New Lee Highway Blues by David Bromberg
Zoysia by Bottle Rockets
There Will Be Nights When I'm Lonely by Possessed by Paul James
Sadly Beautiful by Glen Campbell
Katy Kay by Robbie Fulks
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Like the Santa Fe Opry Facebook page Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list
What more is left to be said about Elvis? I'm just going to post a bunch of my favorite songs, ones you don't hear every day, from various stages of his career.
... but it's never too late to celebrate the former wrestling champ's undisputed contributions to the world of song.
Hogan, born Terry Bollea, turned 64 on Friday Aug. 11.
Happy birthday, Hulkster.
Here are some of the top tunes from his cherished and influential 1995 albumHulk Rules, I like the first review on the Amazon page by critic Crazy Mofo.:
I dedicate these songs to my Hulkamaniac cronies Chuck and Scott who love Hulk Rules nearly as much as I do. Keep training, taking your vitamins and saying your prayers, boys!
Let's start with this anthem.
This next one, "I Want to Be a Hulkamaniac," shows Hogan's mad skills as a rapper.
If you can listen to this one all the way through without weeping openly, you're a tougher Hulkamaniac than me.
Finally, as a bonus, here's Hogan's official entrance song, "Real American."
If you like this, you might enjoy these other wrestling music posts:
Sunday, August 13, 2017 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
This Land is Your Land by Sharon Jones
All You Fascists by Billy Bragg & Wilco
Nazi Punks Fuck Off by Dead Kennedys
New Blue Mercedes by Drywall
Statue of Liberty by New Bomb Turks
America the Beautiful by The Dictators
Mighty Man by James Leg
Strange Days by The Darts
See That Girl by Lynx Lynx
Dream Dream Dream / Remember by The Mekons
The Curse by Chivalrous Amoekons
Get Happy by Simon Stokes
He's Frank (Slight Return) by The Monochrome Set
Lucid Nightmare by The Black Lips
High Maintenance by Left Lane Cruiser
This is Hi-Fi by Mission of Burma
I'm A No-Count by Ty Wagner
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark by The Sonics
Never Enough Girls by The Sloths
Riot on Sunset Strip by The Standells
Life on the Dole by The Molting Vultures
Muscle Man by Ty Segall
What Happens When You Turn the Devil Down by The Mystery Lights
He Did It by Detroit Cobras
Jammed Entrance by Thee Oh Sees
Reasonable World by The Blind Shake
When You're Smiling / Sheik of Araby Medley Louis Prima
Can't Seem to Make You Mine by The Seeds
Copernicus by Afghan Whigs
More Rooms by William Bell
Swamp Woman by Johnny Dowd
No Stars by Rebekah Del Rio CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, August 11, 2017 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Lead Me Astray by Jayke Orvis
Bad Example by Pistol Annies
Tunafish Every Day by Southern Culture on the Skids
Dangerous Times by The Imperial Rooster
Freddy Lopez by Joe West
Poor Old Heartsick Me by The Knitters
Them Stems by Chris Stapleton
Rainbow Stew by Jason Ringenberg
This Will Bring You Back by Carolina Peanut Boys
Mamas Don't Let Your Cowboys Grow Up to Be Babies by Dale Watson
I Wish You Knew by Dale Watson & Ray Benson
That Truck by Texas Rubies
Busy City by Rhonda Vincent
Church Fire by Eagle Rock Gospel Singers
You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter) by Ashley Monroe & Blake Shelton
Big Zombie by The Mekons
The Sad Milkman by Sally Timms
Elevator by Whiskey Charmers
Dr. Bartender by Lara Hope & The Ark Tones
Reckless by Eilen Jewell
I Feel So Good by Dave & Phil Alvin
All of My Dreams by Panama Red
You Got the Light by Bobby Bare
Walkin' in LA by Steve Earle with Johnny Bush
May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose by Little Jimmy Dickens
Weakness by Margo Price
Get Rhythm by Little Richard
Midnight Train by David Rawlings
You're Dreaming by The Cactus Blossoms
Fare You Well My Little Annie Darling by Bonnie Prince Billy & Nathan Salsburg
Single Girl by Sandy Posey
Strong Armed Robbery by Emi Sunshine
Dancing With the Women at the Bar by Whiskeytown
Rainbows and Ridges by Blaze Foley CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Like the Santa Fe Opry Facebook page Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican Aug 11, 2017
When The Mekons first emerged as a young, brash, ragtag, loose-knit art-school punk-rock band in Leeds, U.K. in those golden late ’70s, I bet nobody who heard or saw them — or even the band members themselves — ever envisioned that in 2017, hundreds of people from many nations would answer the band’s call to “destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late,” and gather in rural England to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary at a three-day music festival.
But that’s what just happened. And I was there.
Where were you?
The Mekonville festival took place from July 28 to July 30 in Suffolk, northeast of London. The bill featured The Mekons — both the current musicians (a lineup that has been relatively stable since the mid-1980s) and the original 1977 crew — as well as various bands involving Mekons members (Jon Langford’s Men of Gwent was a highlight), solo spots by Mekons Sally Timms and Rico Bell, as well as friends, family (4DGs, which is made up of Mekons singer Tom Greenhalgh’s young children), and assorted allies of the group.
About 90 percent of the people I know gave me blank stares when I told them I was going to England for a Mekons festival. That’s not surprising. The group has never had a really big hit. They haven’t even been on a major label in a quarter century or so. How many bands these days have eight members — including three or four lead singers — and feature fiddle, accordion, and oud?
The Mekons sprang out of the punk world, but they went on to incorporate elements of folk and country music, reggae, and other sounds. Whether they are playing an original rocker, some mutated sea shanty, or a Hank Williams song, The Mekons don’t sound much like anyone else.
Langford shines!
The 2017 Mekons played a set on each day of the festival. Their magical Friday night performance spotlighted the band’s (relatively) best-known songs like “I Have Been to Heaven and Back,” “Beaten and Broken,” “Millionaire” and, of course, their hard-driving battle cry, “Memphis, Egypt” (“The battles we fought were long and hard, just not to be consumed by rock ’n’ roll”), which they played during all three of their sets.
The band did a couple of newer songs the first night, including “Simone on the Beach,” sung by Timms, one of the more rocking songs from their latest album Existentialism (for my money, the best Mekons album of this century so far), along with their latest single, a slow, dreamy “How Many Stars Are Out Tonight,” which features Greenhalgh on lead vocals and his kids singing backup on the choruses.
This set could have been marred by the sound problems, as the amps for some of the instruments went off several times. But the band just made a joke of it and plowed through like pros.
Saturday afternoon’s performance, which took place on the festival’s smaller second stage, had been billed as an acoustic set, but wasn’t anything close to an “unplugged” show. As one band friend explained: “They just used smaller amps.”
With the exception of “Memphis, Egypt” there were no repeats from Friday’s set list. The best songs here included Timms’ signature “Ghosts of American Astronauts,” “The Olde Trip to Jerusalem” — one of the group’s most intense latter-day rockers — “Sometimes I Feel Like Fletcher Christian,” performed in a mariachi-influenced style, and the rowdy “Big Zombie,” in which Bell’s accordion drives the almost Cajun-sounding tune.
But the highest-energy number was a take-no-prisoners version of “Where Were You?” in which The Mekons were joined on stage by their road manager, emcee, and sometimes singer Mitch Flacko.
Chalkie wails!
Later that night on the main stage there was a punk set by the original 1977 Mekons. Langford (switching from guitar to drums) and Greenhalgh were joined by singers Andy Corrigan and Mark “Chalkie” White, guitarist Kevin Lycett, and bassist Ros Allen (who had her back turned away from the audience during virtually the whole show).
I knew this was going to be good, but I had no idea that these guys would be this good. They ripped through their early songs such as “32 Weeks,” “Never Been in a Riot,” and, once again, “Where Were You,” this time with lead vocals by Chalkie and Langford pounding his drums as if he were auditioning for a spot with The Surfaris.
The grand finale Sunday afternoon started off with the current Mekons, but eventually they were joined on stage by the original Mekons and later by Bonnie Prince Billy, aka Will Oldham (a longtime devotee, who on Saturday night performed a solo set of songs written or inspired by the Mekons) for songs including “Curse” and “Beaten and Broken.”
Following a couple of country covers (“Help Me Make It Through the Night” and Hank Williams’ “Lost Highway”), Mekons past and present as well as other musicians who had performed at the festival took to the stage for one final rousing, messy, ridiculous “Where Were You?” with Mitch and Chalkie sharing lead vocals.
The Grand Finale
As a wise critic wrote just a couple of years ago, “It never fails to frustrate me that no matter how I’ve tried to spread the word about this wonderful musical collective of visionaries, rebels, and oddballs — and how writers far more talented and influential than I have tried to do the same — The Mekons’ audience never seems to rise beyond the level of small-but-rabid cult.”
Personally, I guzzled the spiked Kool-Aid served up by The Mekons years ago. And I took an even bigger gulp at the festival in Suffolk. I’m proud to be a member of this crazed congregation. And it was a true joy to be a citizen of Mekonville.
Mekonville Video
First here's Jon Langford's Men of Gwent
Here's the 1977 Mekons with "Where Were You?"
And what the heck, here's the entire final Sunday set with Mekons old and new, assorted friends and who knows who. (Thanks, Norbert Knape.)
Back in 1846 on this very day, President James J. Polk signed into law the Smithsonian Institution Act, which established this nation's national museum.
Congress chartered the Smithsonian Institution This came after James Smithson, a British chemist and mineralogist (and the bastard son of an English duke), donated $500,000 to the U.S. for this purpose.
James Smithson wrote a draft of his Last Will and Testament in 1826 in London, only three years before he died. He died on June 27, 1829, in Genoa, Italy, [and] was buried in a British cemetery. The will left his estate to his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, and stated that if his nephew died without an heir, the money would go "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge ...." After his nephew died without an heir [in 1835], Smithson's estate did come to the United States and a debate began about what this new institution would be.
Strangely, Smithson had never set foot in the U.S.
Did he feel his gift would have more impact on a young nation with only a few major educational and research institutions? Did he hope to immortalize himself in the United States in reaction to opportunities denied him in Britain by his illegitimacy? (Smithson once wrote, "On my father's side I am a Northumberland, on my mother's I am related to kings, but this avails me not.") Was he inspired by the tenets of many scientific societies of his day that held that civilization could achieve perfection through increased knowledge and public education?
To honor the Smithsonian here is an array of music videos from the Smithsonian's own record label, Smithsonian Folkways. (The Folkways label was created in 1948 by Moses Asch, a Polish-born recording engineer and folk music enthusiast. The Smithsonian acquired the label in 1987)
Let's keep this music -- and the spirit of The Smithsonian -- going!
Here's a shout song from McIntosh County Georgia.
Dave Van Ronk recorded several albums for Folkways.
Here's a little polka from Flaco Jimenez & Max Baca.
The Seldom Scene cover a John Fogerty song about Elvis.
And finally, Valerie June sings a Lead Belly classic.
On this day in 1974, President Richard M. Nixon left the White House in the face of near certain impeachment.
But by the late '80s, a merry band of rock 'n' rollers from Donaldsonville, Louisiana had begun a noble, if tongue-in-cheek, attempt to rehabilitate Nixon's image. Led by a firefighter named Kirk Paul Landry, aka "Kirk the Jerk Springstone," The Dick Nixons The Dick Nixons sang songs glorifying the 37th president.
The group in 1992 released an album called Paint the White House Black, which was produced by none other than Memphis titan Jim Dickinson. It was on Triple X Records (home of the Angry Samoans!)
Unfortunately The Dick Nixons failed to get their hero re-elected president in 1988 or 1992. But they had fun trying.
There is not much information about The Dick Nixons online and only a scattering of YouTube videos, some of which are below.
But Landry, who died in 2009 at the age of 51, was an interesting character. Besides his work in The Dick Nixons, he was a "founding moron" responsible for an event called The Shemp Festival in Donaldsonville in the 1980s, which, according to a local press account, "reaped national attention with the largest pie fight in the southern Unites States."
Sadly, Landry's career suffered a bizarre Nixonian twist. He rose to the rank as Donaldsonville's fire chief in 1992 and served in that position until 2004 when he was arrested for falsifying records. He was convicted in 2007, two years before his death.
Prosecutors said he altered fire reports to the insurance association to get a lower and better fire insurance rating for Donaldsonville. He "doubled his manpower on the fire reports he changed and added firetrucks that were not at the scene of the fires," prosecutors said. Landry’s lawyers argued that he "had no intent to defraud anybody" and that he only followed the advice of a Fire Department rating consultant hired by the city of to help get a lower and better fire rating.
He was sentenced to a year in prison but the judge suspended the sentence. Landry appealed the conviction, but a Louisiana appeals court affirmed the verdict and sentence about three months before Landry died,
Here are some songs by The Dick Nixons to commemorate this historical day.
This one's the very first Dick Nixons song I ever heard.
And here's the first part of a 1988 Dick Nixons television interview.
And here's a whole concert by the Dick Nixons on SoundCloud
Sunday, August 6, 2017 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
Johnny Voodoo by Empress of Fur
Bad Man by Oblivians
Fire in the Western World by Dead Moon
Never Felt Like This by King Khan & BBQ Show
You Can't Judge a Book by The Plimsouls
Right on You by Benjamin Booker
Rebel Intution by The Black Lips
Psychotic Reaction by The Cramps
So Much by Count Five
The Rocky to Dublin by The Young Dubliners
Donegal Express by Shane MacGowan & The Popes
The Bride Wore Black by Flogging Molly
Kicked to the Curb by Dropkick Murphys
The Captain's Dead b y Paddy & The Rats
Forty Deuce by Black 47
Jon Langford gets his kicks at Mekonville
Sweet Molly Malone by Brenton Wood
Mekonville Set
If I Was a Mekon by Too Much Joy
Simone on the Beach by The Mekons
Ballad of Soloman Jones by Jon Langford's Men of Gwent
Sugar Coated by Striplight
Compass by Esper Scout
I'm Gonna Do Well by Calva Louise
Metanoia by Churchwood
An Incident Off St. Kitts by Mini Mekons with Robbie Fulks
The Devil's Music by The Three Johns
Mystery by Jon Langford's Four Lost Souls
The Curse by Chivalrous Amoekons
Summer's Almost Gone by The Doors
Since I Don't Have You by The Skyliners
Tom Jones Levitation by C, Farley, P. Malone & The Chicken Cross Mail Vice Quire CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, August 4, 2017 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Hard Travelin' by Simon Stokes
Big Zombie by Chivalrous Amoekons
Point of No Return by Lonesome Bob
Memphis, Egypt by The Larkins
Wild and Blue by The Mekons
One Hand Loose by Charlie Feathers
Dirty Little Blues by The Whiskey Charmers
Do You Call That a Buddy by Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons with Phil Wiggins
Dirty Mouth Flo by Robbie Fulks
The End / Demons in Your Head by The Imperial Rooster
Fast, Cheap or Well Done by Laura Hope & The Ark Tones
Eatin' Crow and Drinkin' Sand by Jesse Dayton
If Mama Coulda Seen Me by Steve Earle
Carve That Possum by Southern Culture on the Skids
Mountain Boys Have Fun with Mountain Girls by Spade Cooley
Ambulance by Shinyribs
Omaha by The Gourds
Foolish Heart by Nikki Lane
No More Crying the Blues by The Cactus Blossoms
Her Hair is a Mess by Big Sandy & The Fly-Rite Boys
Quit Hollerin' at Me by John Prine
High Sheriff of Calhoun Parrish by Tony Joe White
Elvis Presley Blues by Tom Jones
I Just Lost My Mind by Rex Hobart & The Misery Boys
Godzilla vs King Kong by Boris McCutcheon
The Terrible Operation by Jorma Kaukonen
Linda on My Mind by Conway Twitty
You've Never Been This Far Before by Freakwater
You Got the Light by Bobby Bare
First Girl I Loved by John Hartford CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Like the Santa Fe Opry Facebook page Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican Aug. 4, 2017 Young, dumb and snotty is nothing to be ashamed of in the punk rock racket. There’s a lot you can do with it. And The Black Lipsplay that card better than most – though they’ve been around long enough that the “young” part of that equation doesn’t quite fit as it used to.
But on their new album – their eighth! -- Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art?, the Lips show that young, dumb and snotty is just a part of the band’s weird charm. Produced by Sean Ono Lennon, Satan’s Graffiti is a crazed pogo-stick hop through the cosmos. I’ve liked just about all Black Lips albums, but to these ears, this is their best since their 2007 live-in-Tijuana record, Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo.
The album starts on a deceptive note, a strange, disturbingly mellow little instrumental called “Overture: Sunday Mourning,” featuring a sweet, sleazy sax by new Lips member Zumi Rosow. But that quickly fades to make way for a galloping rocker called “Occidental Front.” When singer Cole Alexander come on with the first verse, the melody sounds vaguely familiar, Is it Dock Boggs’ rasty old “Country Blues”? or is it that mean-eyed murder ballad “Wild Bill Jones,” turbo-charged with electric guitars? Listen close and you’ll hear Yoko Ono her bad self screaming in the background.
Virtually every track is a new adventure. “Can’t Hold On,” is a decent hard rocker, though the last minute or so slows down, becoming a New Orleans jazz funeral dirge. “Squatting in Heaven” begins with a bouncy rhythm and repeating guitar line – or is that Rosow’s sax? -- that could be the sonic equivalent of an insect sting before settling in as riff-heavy blues-rock rumble. “Rebel Intuition” is mutated rockabilly, “Lucid Nightmare” is tribal psychedelic punk while “In My Mind There Is a Dream” could be Portishead re-imagined as garage rock.
And there is even a cover of an early Beatles song, “It Won’t Be Long,” which evokes visions of The Black Lips performing at some Hamburg dive bar with toilet seats around their necks for drunken sailors and off-duty strippers.
By far, the most startling tune on Satan’s Graffiti is a pretty little love song called “Crystal Night.” There is no mention of Nazis or religious persecution, but it couldn’t be clearer that this is about Kristallnacht, 'the night of broken glass," (Nov. 9-10, 1938) in which storm troopers and German civilians attacked Jewish homes and businesses. The Lips sing, “Where do they take you? / Where have you gone? … We never said goodbye / Now you’re sent to die / On crystal night …”
Some reviewers have criticized The Black Lips for their everything-but-the-kitchen-sink craziness displayed on this album, the jarring shifts in styles and atmospheres from song to song. But I find it refreshing. In the end, -- Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art? finds coherence in its incoherence, hitting all kinds of targets with its scattergun approach.
Santa Fe Traditional Music Festival Returns: First of all, I think some disclosure is in order. This
is journalism and they make us have ethics and stuff. So here is my personal connection to this festival:
Back in 1985 (or maybe it was 1986?), when this event was known as the Santa Fe Fiddle and Banjo Contest, some buddies and me decided to form a bluegrass band in the parking lot on the day of the festival. (I think it was just one day back then.)
Calling ourselves “Smilin’ Ted and The Bluegrass Bird Beings,” we rehearsed two songs – bluegrass versions of Johnny Horton’s “North to Alaska” and my own “Cook Yer Enchiladas.”
And, much to my surprise – and to the chagrin of some serious bluegrass artistes who had entered – we won first prize in the Professional Bluegrass Band Division! Not including myself, there were some seriously talented instrumentalists in the Bird Being lineup. But I honestly think what won us the trophy was my daughter, who was four or five at the time, who danced as our “go-go girl.”
But that’s neither here nor there. The news is that the Santa Fe Traditional Music Festival is back in the Santa Fe area again, August 25, 26 and 27 at Camp Stoney, 7855 Old Santa Fe Trail.
Actually, it’s sort of complicated. Last year Southwest Pickers, the non-profit group that’s run the show for years moved the festival up to Red River, (where their Southwest Pickers Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival will take place Sept. 14-17).
The August festival at Camp Stoney is sponsored by a new group the Santa Fe Friends of Traditional Music and Outside In Productions – the same folks who bring us Santa Fe Bandstand every summer.
Whoever is in charge, the line-up looks fantastic. There will be a reunion of Elliott’s Ramblers, led by former New Mexican Elliott Rogers. Also appearing are some of the state’s finest old-timey, bluegrass and other traditional bands: Bayou Seco, Higher Ground, Lone Pinon, The Adobe Brothers, The Fast Peso String Band, Round Mountain, Mariachi Buenaventura and others.
Rumors of a Smilin’ Ted reunion however, are nothing but irresponsible speculation.
Tickets are $45 for all three days, though you also can buy tickets for single days. For the complete schedule and ticket information see check the website..
Therefore Wacky Wednesday and Throwback Thursday won't be appearing here this week or next. I have a Terrell's Tune-up already in the can so that may or may not be appearing here Friday.
Sunday, July , 2017 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
Granny's Little Chicken by The Dirtbombs
Who Will Save Rock 'n' Roll by The Dictators
He Sure Could Hypnotize by The A-Bones
Boom Badda Do Ba Dabba by PowerSolo
Romance by Wild Flag
The Mad Daddy by The Cramps
Diddy Wah Diddy by The Sonics
Still Rollin' by Left Lane Cruiser
I Like My Baby's Pudding by Wynonie Harris
Walk Out by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Whettin' My Knife by The Ghost Wolves
I'm Not a Sissy by The Fleshtones
Shiver by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
Heat Wave by The Vagoos
Dial Up Doll by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Formula X by Boss Hog
Drop In and Go by The Molting Vultures
Eddie Are You Kidding by Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
That Old Black Magic by Louis Prima with Keely Smith
Memphis Egypt by The Mekons
Onion by The Mekons
Where Were You by The Mekons
Poor Valley Radio by Jon Langford's Four Lost Souls
Beaten and Broken by The Mekons
Hainted by Churchwood
The Bride Wore Black by Flogging Molly
Shake by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Crystal Night by The Black Lips
Howling Wolf Blues by Johnny Dowd
Pinky's Dream by David Lynch with Karen O
Strawberries Mean Love by Strawberry Alarm Clock
Carrickfergus by Van Morrison & The Chieftains
Lucky Day by Tom Waits CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, July 21, 2017 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Big Iron by Marty Robbins
Ladies Love Outlaws by Waylon Jennings
The Guns of Jericho by Flogging Molly
Monarch Butterfly by Jason Eklund
Jason Eklund
JASON EKLUND Live
Honey Bee
Goin' to Town
Party in My Car by Blonde Boy Grunt & The Groans
The Devil Can't Come in Your House by Jason Eklund (Live)
Cool and Dark Inside by Kell Robertson
Dying Crap Shooter's Blues by Blind Willie McTell
Ditty Wah Ditty by Ry Cooder
Wherever You Are by Chris Darrow
Country Side by Jason Eklund
Shake It Up by Boris McCutcheon
Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian by Those Darlins
The Troubles by The Roches
I Thought He Was Dead by Jon Langford's Four Lost Souls
Our Land by Terry Allen
Change Your Ways or Die by The Cactus Blossoms
The Girl That Broke My Heart by Chris Isaak
The Nail by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Here Comes That Rainbow Again by Leo Kottke CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Like the Santa Fe Opry Facebook page Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list
Leapin' lizards, it's a new Big Enchilada episode! Featuring some of the world's greatest lizard bands including The Jesus Lizard, The Flying Lizards, The Lot Lizards! The Iron Lizards, The Thunder Lizards ... and more!
By the time Ryland P. Cooder released his first solo album, Ry Cooder, in 1970, he'd already built an impressive resume doing session work with Captain Beefheart (!), Paul Revere & The Raiders, Randy Newman, Gordon Lightfoot, Little Feat, Taj Mahal (they'd played together in a short-lived but influential group called The Rising Sons when Cooder was a teenager) and The Rolling Stones. That's Ry's mandolin on "Love in Vain" and his slide guitar on "Sister Morphine."
While Cooder's reputation was made by his impressive instrumental prowess, those 1970s solo albums -- my favorites being Into the Purple Valley, Paradise and Lunch and Chicken Skin Music -- established him as a musician with an incredible knack for finding obscure gems from the world of blues, jazz, folk, hillbilly, gospel and soul music, putting his own stamp on them and making them relevant for modern audiences. Cooder introduced anyone with ears to hear to so many artists and songs we might otherwise have missed, we really owe him.
Here's a small sampling of the songs Cooder taught us
Here's "Jesus on the Mainline," which appeared on Paradise and Lunch. I'm not sure whether the 1959 Alan Lomax field recording version by James Shorty and Viola James with a Mississippi church congregation is the first recording of this song. But it's a good one.
Ry Cooder knows what "Diddy Wah Diddy" means. So did Blind Blake back in the late 1920s.
Cooder was one of, if not the first, contemporary artists to recognize the genius of the mysterious traveling preacher Washington Phillips
For Into the Purple Valley (1972), Cooder recorded "FDR in Trinidad," which originally was recorded as "Roosevelt in Trinidad" by calypso star Atilla the Hun (Raymond Quevedo). Cooder's pal and sometimes musical collaborator Van Dyke Parks recorded this song for his own 1972 album Discover America.
Cooder played "Girls from Texas" as a country tune. But originally it was a soul song by Jimmy Lewis
I was surprised to learn that the original version of Blind Alfred Reed's "Always Lift him Up" was a relatively upbeat song. Cooder did it on Chicken Skin Music as a moving dirge.
Here are links to some past Throwback Thursdays in this vein you might enjoy
Remember when cartoons were dark, surreal, sometimes terrifying and almost always funny ... in glorious black and white?
Chances are the ones you remember that match this description were probably the work of Max Fleischer, the Austrian-born animation master who was born on this day in 1883.
Happy birthday Max. Here's a musical tribute to you.
Fleischer, who created Betty Boop as well as the first Popeye cartoons, basically was the anti-Disney. With his brother Dave Fleischer directing many of his classic works, Max never was as successful as Uncle Walt, but for most of us believers in the subversive power of old cartoons, Max Fleischer is the mad king.
His work was psychedelic -- years before the invention of LSD. They were full of multi-layered gags, obscure, throwaway pop culture references and, best of all, sexual innuendo.
"... the Fleischer universe was populated by individuals straight out of the diverse immigrant culture that surround that studio in New York City. Wise guys and con men, obese hippos and `gangsta' gorillas, tattooed sailors and a sexy bitch named Betty ... These were the denizens of Fleischer's world."
And another element that contributed greatly to the crazy energy of Fleischer's cartoons was the music, especially the jazz of the era. For instance, untold numbers of youngsters and probably a lot of oldsters were first introduced to the music of Cab Calloway.
Here is one of those in which Cab sings "Old Man of the Mountain" (and a little "Minnie the Moocher")
This is an early (1930) short called "Swing You Sinners" featuring popular crooner Billy Murray on vocals.
Fleischer produced a series of live action / cartoon combinations centered around music. Here's a singing cowboy tune, "Twilight on the Trail" featuring Louise Massey and their band The Westerners (following some cowpoke jive by one of Massey's brothers.) Don't forget to follow the bouncing ball to sing along
Rudy Vallee appears in "Betty Coed" (1931) featuring the title character, who I suspect is a proto-Boop.
And finally here's Irene Bordoni singing "Just a Gigolo" in this 1932 cartoon with Betty Boop.
Sunday, July 16, 2017 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
Bloody Mary by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Station lost power right as I began the second song. Rest of the show cancelled.
Friday, July 14, 2017 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Clown Collector by The Cactus Brothers
Heartbroke by Sunny Sweeney
I've Always Been Crazy by Carlene Carter
Forget About Tomorrow Today by Dale Watson & Ray Benson
One Last Question by Jason & The Scorchers
Fixin' to Die by Steve Earle
Done Gone Crazy by Ray Condo & The Ricochets
Drinkin' with My Friends by Honky Tonk Hustlas
King Kong vs. Godzilla by Boris McCutcheon
Two Weeks Late by Ashley Monroe
I Think I'll Just Sit Here and Drink by Merle Haggard
High Class Girl from the Country by Zephaniah Ohora
Mean Mama Blues by Ernest Tubb
Mournin' Blues by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Stealin' Stealin' by Rapheal Saadiq
You're the Reason by Nancy Apple
Last One Standing by Ronny Elliott BILLY THE KID SET
Billy the Kid by Woody Guthrie
Billy 1 by Los Lobos
Me and Billy the Kid by Joe Ely
Billy the Kid by Charlie Daniels
Dancing With the Ghost of William Bonney by Bone Orchard
Billy the Kid by Chris LeDoux
Billy the Kid by Riders in the Sky
Billy the Kid by Ry Cooder
Billy 7 by Bob Dylan
Watching th River Go By by John Hartford
Up to No Good Livin' by Chris Stapleton
Please Don't by Lauria
The Future's Not What It Used to Be by Gary Heffern
Here Comes That Rainbow Again by Leo Kottke CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Like the Santa Fe Opry Facebook page Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican July 14, 2017 Singer-songwriterBoris McCutcheon is one of the original members of the local legion of superheroes who make up the Frogville Records stable. He was born in Massachusetts, but he’s lasted many winters in Northern New Mexico. In fact, he’s the only musician I know who’s ever been a mayordomo of an acequia.
But the important thing is that McCutcheon just keeps growing as a songwriter. His new album — I’m Here. Let Me In. — is his first since 2013’s Might Crash, and there’s not a dud on this record. It’s my favorite since 2005’s Cactusman Versus the Blue Demon. Most of McCutcheon’s albums in recent years have been credited to Boris & The Salt Licks. But this one, McCutcheon says, is a solo project, even though The Salt Licks appear on a couple of live songs and individual Salt Licks play on other songs, as do various Santa Fe stalwarts.
Among the best tracks are the upbeat “It’s Her Turn Now,” featuring the fabulous Salt Licks (guitarist Brett Davis, bassist Susan Hyde Holmes, Kevin Zoernig on keyboards, and Paul Groetzinger on drums). And this is followed by a pretty country song called “A Week Before the Fourth of July.” I think I was hooked in the first verse, when McCutcheon sings of eating tacos on the open road.
Another standout is the bluesy “Lazy With You,” in which Boris praises the virtues of sloth. A strong harmonica by Greg Williams and banjo by Alex McMahon give the song a Tom Waits feel. Meanwhile, the slow dirge-like “Poor Tired Hands” is a stark portrait of a guy who might benefit from a little laziness.
In a slow hillbilly waltz called “Godzilla vs. King Kong,” McCutcheon sings of domestic strife. As you might assume by the title, the lyrics are full of humor, but it’s bittersweet humor. With the deceptively pretty melody, you can’t help but feel for the unhappy couple. One verse goes, “Oh how did I wind up with a warrior princess?/She knows how to fight and kick my ass/There’s a storm in her eyes and she don’t know what she wants/She’s askin’ questions and getting’ no response.”
Keep listening to this album and you could end up with a storm in your ears.
Boris McCutcheon’s CD release party for I’m Here. Let Me In. is 8 p.m. Friday, July 14, at Meow Wolf, 1352 Rufina St. Tickets are $12 at the door ($10 in advance from www.meowwolf.com). The opening act is none other than Tony Gilkyson, a former local yokel who went on to play in such groups as X, Lone Justice, and Chuck E. Weiss’ God Damn Liars.
Also recommended:
* Countryachi by John Wagner. Wagner is not only known as a country singer and songwriter, but he has also owned and operated an Albuquerque recording studio for many years. As the title implies, the songs on this album are country songs, sung by Wagner, with added mariachi horns and strings. A couple of groups — Mariachi Tenampa (an Albuquerque group that has recorded at least one album of their own at Wagner’s studio) and Mariachi Los Vaqueros — lend their talents to the project.
The idea isn’t completely new. After all, back in the early ’60s, one of Johnny Cash’s biggest hits, “Ring of Fire,” featured mariachi horns. Basically, the horns and strings, when added tastefully, provide a tangy embellishment on a good three-chord song.
The songs on this album include two early classics by Belen-based country singer Mose McCormack, a long-time Wagner crony. If New Mexico had a songwriter hall of fame, McCormack’s “Beans and Make Believe” (the title song of Moses’ 1976 debut album) and “New Mexico Blues” would both deserve a prominent place there. Wagner also includes a couple of mariachi’d-up songs by the late great Lewie Wickham, who was half of an Albuquerque duet with his recently deceased brother Hank Wickham (“Border Town Blues” and “Yesterday Took Wings”), along with several originals, including “He’s Sorry” (which contains a Kristofferson-worthy first line: “He said he was sorry this morning for his sorry excuses last night”) and my favorite, “It’s Not Right,” a sad (like-to-be) cheatin’ song.
* When I’m an Angel by Lauria. It was 20 years ago when long, tall Laurianne Fiorentino, then fairly new to Santa Fe, released her first album, The Match, a set of 15 songs recorded live at the Santuario de Guadalupe. Two decades and several albums later, Fiorentino — now recording under the name of Lauria — still possesses her rich, sultry alto and songwriting chops, as this new record shows.
Lauria is at her best on bluesy, jazzy songs like the opening track, “Homeland,” which features a cool mandolin by Tristan Scroggins as well as Asher Barreras on bass; “Please Don’t,” with trumpet by JQ Whitcomb; and “Simple as the Sun,” a song that originally appeared on The Match. The melody is similar to a song I used to sing back in my Methodist Youth Fellowship days: “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.”
Also worthy is “All Night Rain,” an aching seven-minute country song that doesn’t actually have a steel guitar in it, though it’s easy to imagine one. And defying genre pigeonholing is the song “Drop,” a spoken-word piece in which Lauria, reciting lines like “I’m a melted drop of matter, a tear that never fell/When darkness comes to get me, you can find me in the well,” is backed only by drummer Joel Fadness, some uncredited voice, and her own harmonica honking.
* Songs for Donald by Jim Terr. Failing parodist songwriter from Las Vegas, N.M. attacks the president of the United States of America — who won the election in a landslide — with unfunny, unfair, unpatriotic songs. #sad
I’m trying to help you here, Jim. If you could get Trump to attack you on Twitter, that would boost your GoFundMe project for this album (www.gofundme.com/DonnieTrunkCD) and sell a jillion copies.
Video Time
Here's Boris McCutcheon doing "Poor Tired Hands."
John Wagner plays "New Mexico Blues" with Mariachi Tenampa and special guest appearance by Mose McCormack
You're going to run to the rock, the rock was a meltin' Run to the sea, the sea was a boilin' Run to the moon, the moon was a bleedin' Run to the Lord, Lord won't you hide me?
It's one of the most frightening spirituals ever sung on American soil: "Sinner Man."
It's about a sinner trying to escape from the hands of an angry God. "Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to /
All on that day?" But everywhere he goes, everything is -- literally, I guess -- going to Hell.
I suppose the song is ancient. Certainly the terrifying theology behind it is.
The earliest version I can find is a song included in a 1911 collection of songs,The Most Popular Plantation Songs, compiled by Gilbert Clifford Noble (co-founder of Barnes & Noble. The lyrics are somewhat different, but the same idea is there:
Oh! sinner, Oh! sinner man... Oh! sinner, Oh! which way are you going? Oh! come back, sinner, and don't go there, Which way are you going? For hell is deep and dark despair, Oh! which way are you going?
The theme of a sinner running from the wrath of God has appeared in many songs. In 1954, a gospel group called The Sensational Nightingales recorded a tune called "On the Judgement Day," which basically is "Sinner Man," and apparently has been renamed "Sinner Man" in later releases.
A couple of years later, swing man Les Baxter recorded his take on "Sinner Man" (with vocals by Will Holt.)
The Weavers introduced "Sinner Man" to the folk music world.
Down in Jamaica in 1966 The Wailers recorded a proto-reggae version of "Sinner Man." A decade later, Wailer Peter Tosh turned the song into "Downpresser Man."
But it was Nina Simone who, in the early '60s, brought new fire into "Sinner Man" in a 10-minute, piano-driven version.
Here are a couple of 21st Century "Sinner Man" takes. In 2002, The Colorado goth-country 16 Horsepower put their own peculiar stamp on the song.
And Black Diamond Heavies recorded a powerful version in 2008.
But my favorite "Sinner Man" is the two-part romp recorded by R&B mutant Esquerita in the mid '60s but not released until 2012. It's definitely based on the Nina Simone version, though it's even wilder. Here's Part Two. Hang on and run to the rock!
