TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, February 11, 2007
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
Sheila Na-Gig by P.J. Harvey
Go to Hell on Judgement Day by The Immortal Lee County Killers
Artschool Girl by King Automatic
Drug Train by The Cramps
Riot Van by The Arctic Monkeys
Lucky Few by Los Infernos
Valentine by Concrete Blonde
Red Riding Hood & The Wolf by Bunker Hill with Link Wray
Private Detectice by Gene Vincent

Waves of Fear by Lou Reed
The Place Where People Meet by Kustomized
Spread Your Love by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
The Slim by Sugar
Flames Up by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Sweet Spots by The Fiery Furnaces
Monster Rock by The Monsters
That's Life by Frank Sinatra

Spillane by John Zorn

In My Homeland, the Great Shuilar by Tyva Kyzy
The Good Egg by Carl Stalling
Love and Hesitation by Otis Taylor
Bring it On Home by Chris Whitley & The Bastard Club
Beautiful Child by Camper Van Beethoven
New Skin by Celebration
Loving You by Elvis Presley
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, February 9, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Act Naturally by The Beatles
Muswell Hillbilly by Southern Culture on the Skids
Evening Gown by Jerry Lee Lewis with Mick Jagger & Ronnie Wood
The Kids are Allright by Joe Goldmark
Best Friends of Mine by Waylon Jennings
Blues Plus Booze (Means I Lose) by Randy Kohrs
Delilah by Jon Langford & Sally Timms
Detective Song by Brent Hoodenpyle & The Loners

The Memory of Your Smile by Ralph Stanley & Maria Muldaur
I Ain't Gonna Marry by The Jim Kweskin Jug Band
Moonshiner by Uncle Tupelo
Sugar Coated Love by The Watzloves
Rock Billy Boogy by Johnny Burnette
Tear it Up by 1/4 Mile Combo
Green Green Grass of Home by Kelly Hogan

ELENI MANDELL SET

Moonglow, Lamp Low
American Boy
Don't Touch Me
Dear Friend
I'm Your Girl
Too Bad About You
Miracle of Five

Backstreet Affair by Van Morrison
Smoke Smoke Smoke by Doc & Merle Watson
Someday We'll Back by Merle Haggard
When Did You Stop Lovin' Me by George Jones
It Makes No Difference by My Morning Jacket
I Believe in You by Don Williams
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: MIRACLE OF MANDELL

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
February 9, 2007

I think I’ve written before that Eleni Mandell has just about the sexiest voice in showbiz today. Her new album, Miracle of Five, drives home this point. In fact, in my book, the new record shows Mandell to be the Julie London of her generation. She’d do a great “Cry Me a River,” and if London were still alive, I bet she’d be recording sensual songs by Eleni like the jazzy “Beautiful” and the wistful “Girls.”

Mandell’s last couple of solo albums, Afternoon and Country Love Songs, presented a more alt-country sound (especially the latter). Some songs here — most notably “Dear Friend” — retain shadows of twang. Nels Cline, best known for his experimental work and his contributions to Wilco and the Geraldine Fibbers, plays lap steel, dobro, banjo, and other instruments here.

But Miracle of Five is contemporary torch music with subtle touches of noir. The Los Angeles singer makes great background music for reading Raymond Chandler or Ross MacDonald or even James Ellroy.

Some of the songs — like the opening “Moonglow, Lamp Low” and “Perfect Stranger,” featuring Jeff Turmes’ menacing sax — sound a little like early jazznik Tom Waits records, except that Mandell’s voice is as sultry as Waits’ is raspy. Mandell and Waits have a mutual friend in Chuck E. Weiss, whom Mandell has described as a friend and mentor. (And Mandell did a drop-dead-gorgeous version of Waits’ “Muriel” on a Waits tribute album a few years ago.)

Not only is this a fine showcase for Mandell’s voice, but Miracle of Five contains some of her most memorable songs. The title song, which seems to deal with some type of numerology of the heart, is a lilting tune that features both banjo and vibes (from longtime Mandell collaborator D.J. Bonebrake of X). Maybe it’s because this whole album stimulates my dirty mind, but when Mandell purrs “kiss me every day/The miracle of six,” it sounds like she’s singing “the miracle of sex.”

“Make-Out King,” an atmospheric waltz featuring double-tracked vocals and squiggly electronic noises that complement the melody, is about falling in lust with someone you realize is ultimately no good for you.

“The make-out king/Is in my bed/And I’m so tired I think I’m a junkie/His hair is curly/He drinks like nobody knows where he’s going/And nobody cares what he’s saying.”

Mandell gets mysterious with “My Twin,” a minor-key, bluesy tune featuring a sad horn section and nasty roller-rink organ backing morbid lyrics like, “Why did that train derail?/201 victims killed/Was my twin among the dead?/Was my twin expected to live?”

But I think my favorite here is “Girls,” another one with Bonebrake on vibes. The verses are about a potential new love. “I wonder how you look when you sleep/Do you still dream about girls from your street/Do you still dream about girls from high school?/Do you still dream about girls, girls, girls?” But on the bridge, she turns on herself: “I am the marble the color of candy/I’ll make you money whenever you’re gambling/I am the dice you roll in the alley/I am the pennies that come in handy.”

In a just world, this album would make Mandell a star. Just world or not, I say the lady’s a contender.

Mini Eleni-thon: Tonight on The Santa Fe Opry I’ll do a 30-minute Eleni Mandell set, including songs from Miracle of Five and several other albums. The show starts at 10 p.m. Sunday, and the Mandell set will start shortly after 11 p.m. on KSFR-FM 90.7. And don’t forget Terrell’s Sound World, same time, same channel, on Sunday night.

Also recommended:
*The Peel Sessions 1991-2004 by PJ Harvey. The CD booklet for this album, released last fall, includes a note from Polly Jean Harvey celebrating John Peel, the late British radio host who, from the psychedelic era until his death in 2004, promoted great music and often broadcast live-in-the-studio performances by artists ranging from Donovan to Dinosaur Jr., Fleetwood Mac to Fugazi.

“John’s opinions mattered to me,” Harvey writes. “More than I would ever care to admit for fear of embarrassment on both sides, but I sought his approval always. It mattered. Every Peel session I did, I did for him.”

I’m sure Peel would have approved of the performances on this album. This is PJ at her bare-bones best. Hearing these ferocious versions of her early tunes like “Oh My Lover,” “Victory,” and “Sheela-Na-Gig” is a vivid reminder of what made me love Harvey in the first place. On these early songs — recorded in 1991, months before the release of her debut album, Dry — she’s backed only by bass and drums.

That’s also the case with her cover of the Willie Dixon classic “Wang Dang Doodle,” one of the highlights of this collection. Harvey doesn’t try to out-Koko Koko Taylor (who does the classic version of the song) here. In fact, she starts out in a high, little-girl voice. But by the chorus, her vocals are just on the verge of a scream. By the song’s end that voice is full of sex and glory.

But the true standout here is a 1996 version of “Snake,” in which Harvey’s only sideman is John Parrish on guitar and keyboards. The first verse has Harvey chanting the lyrics, getting angrier and louder with each word and leading up to a chorus of inhuman howls. Just like the original, it’s less than two minutes long, which probably is a good thing. That type of intensity shouldn’t go on for much longer.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: GOV. SLOW ON THE DRAW FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
February 8, 2007

Did Gov. Bill Richardson avoid a potential flip-flop?

Last year, the governor expressed strong support for a bill that would allow people with certain serious medical conditions to use marijuana to treat their symptoms. Better than that, Richardson actually put medical marijuana on his call, which was necessary for it to be considered during a 30-day budget session.

Last week, when the Senate Public Affairs Committee heard the medical marijuana bill (Senate Bill 238), there was no word from the governor on how he stood. As reported in this paper, “during the hearing, Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham and Human Services Secretary Pamela Hyde sat in silence. Last year, in the same hearing, they endorsed it.”

A Health Department spokesman said afterward, “We neither support nor oppose the bill” because his agency isn’t carrying it — even though the bill calls upon the Health Department to establish procedures and license medial marijuana growers.

New Mexican reporter Diana Del Mauro tried unsuccessfully to get a comment from a Governor’s Office spokesman.

On Monday, when the bill went to the Senate Judiciary Committee, I also tried to get a comment from the Governor’s Office to no avail.

Could it be that Richardson’s presidential candidacy was making him think twice about medical marijuana?

As it eventually turned out, no.

The next day, spokesman Gilbert Gallegos e-mailed me saying, “The Governor continues to support a medical marijuana bill with property safeguards, and he will work to get it passed.”

Then on Wednesday, the Governor’s Office sent out a news release quoting Richardson saying, “I will work with legislators to get it passed this session to provide this option for New Mexicans suffering from debilitating diseases.”

This quickly was followed by e-mails from advocates.

“We are grateful that the governor continues to support the bill and has pledged to work with the Legislature to ensure its passage,” wrote Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico. “Gov. Richardson recognizes that this is a medical issue and that the strength of this bill lies in its safeguards to prevent potential abuse.”

So why the delay of several days?

“It just took me awhile to double-check, since this was not part of our legislative agenda,” Gallegos said Wednesday.

The Senate passed the bill 34-7 on Wednesday night.

Showdown in Carson City: The 2006 election has been over for three months now. Debate season for the 2008 election is about to get under way.

The first forum for the 2008 Nevada presidential caucus is scheduled for Feb. 21 in Carson City, Nev. Before this week, only second-tier candidates had accepted the invitation. These include Richardson, Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel.

But earlier this week, the Associated Press reported, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s office confirmed she also would attend the event sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

So far, no word from Sen. Barak Obama or former Sen. John Edwards, the wire service said.
Nevada’s caucus is scheduled for Jan. 19, 2008, right between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary.

The Nevada contest is extremely important to Richardson, who attended some political functions in that state late last month.

Ducks Deluxe: One of my favorite parts of the great five-hour cockfighting debate in the Senate on Wednesday was an exchange between Sens. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, and Phil Griego, D-San Jose.

Smith, who favors the cockfighting ban, remarked: “They’re not always fighting the chickens. Sometimes they’re gambling some dollars.”

Griego, who is opposed to the ban, said people who run cockfighting pits have assured him there are signs posted that say “Betting is illegal.”

Smith: “There’s signs along the highway posting the speed limit as 55 or 60, but there’s not a lot of compliance.”

Griego: “Do they bet on the duck races in Deming?”

Smith: “You bet they do.”

No word yet on a bill to ban the duck races.

JIM TERR IS A BASTARD!

Or at least he plays one on stage.

Here's an e-mail Terr sent me today:

I'm performing in one of the "Benchwarmers" plays (9 short plays in one program) in Santa Fe next two weekends, specifically the title role in "Bastard!"). I've seen all the plays and think they're fantastic -- well worth seeing even apart from the fact that they showcase great local writers and actors.

The play I'm in has a "split cast"; I and my partner will be performing this Friday and Sunday, Feb 9, 11, and all 4 shows next weekend, Feb. 15, 16, 17 & 18. (Sundays are matinees, "pay-what-you-wish.")

(There's some "adult" content).

Complete information HERE