WACKY WEDNESDAY: Great Moments in Rock 'n' Roll Oratory

Allow me to get a little self-indulgent on this Wacky Wednesday.

I have to give a speech in Albuquerque today. I won an award from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. It's the first time in awhile that I've had to give an actual speech, so I thought I'd study some classic oratory from the world of rock 'n' roll.

The first example that came to mind was the short but strange speech by Bob Dylan when he won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1991 Grammy Awards. Jack Nicholson introduced him.



Then there was Mike Love's inspirational words when The Beach Boys were inducted into The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. After talking about the beauty of harmony, he rips into Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Diana Ross and Bruce Springsteen. Love later explained that he hadn't meditated that morning (His section starts at the 3:50 mark.)



I actually do admire the following speech by Frank Zappa. It wasn't an awards show -- it was a Congressional hearing on the dangers of dirty lyrics in rock songs. Frank stood up for liberty and against the "sinister kind of toilet training program" being advocated by Tipper Gore and her minions.



(If you want to see the rest of Zappa's testimony -- with questions from hostile senators -- Part 2 can be found HERE , Part 3 HERE and Part 4 HERE)

Zappa greets John Denver at U.S. Senate Porn Rock hearings 1985 

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

 

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org


Here's the playlist

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres

Matchbox by Jerry Lee Lewis

Like a Bad Girl Should by The Cramps

Tracking the Dog by Meet Your Death

St. Michael Shuffle by James Leg

Hank Turns Blue by Folk Devils

Geraldine by The A-Bones

Full Grown Boogie by Frigg a Go-Go

Please Judge by Roky Erikson with Okerville River

Pablo Picasso by Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers 

Never Enough Girls by The Sloths 

The Other Side by Motobunny

Real Wild Child by Deke Dickerson & The Trashmen

Go Away by The Plague

Magical Colors by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

The Thin Man by Archie & The Bunkers

Where Do You Roam by Dex Romweber

Bessie's Blues by John Coltrane (for John Greenspan)

Hardcore Jollies by Funkadelic

Gelatinous Cube by Thee Oh Sees

High and Dry by Whiskeydick

What Happens When You Turn the Devil Down by The Mystery Lights

I Fuck Alone by The Grannies

New Structures by Nots

Last Laugh by Johnny Dowd

Everybody Knows by Concrete Blonde

Got a Little Secret by Leonard Cohen 

They Took You Away by Gregg Turner

Free Money by Patti Smith

I Don't Want the Night to End by Phoebe Snow

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, Sept. 30, 2016
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

Swamp Fox by Southern Culture on the Skids

Jump in the River by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Shot a Bird, Hit Me a Stump by Pete Krebs & Danny Barnes

Hold the Phone by Hank Penny

What a Woman Wants by Rhonda Vincent

Lampshade On by The Dustbowl Revival

Inside View by Dale Watson

Small Bouquet of Roses by Wayne Hancock

Little Community Church House by The Boys from Indiana

Satan's Jeweled Crown by The Louvin Brothers

 

John D. Loudermilk Tribute

Break my Mind by The Flying Burrito Brothers

I Wish It Were Me by Homer Henderson

Bad News by Johnny Cash

Tobacco Road by Southern Culture on the Skids

Sittin' in the Balcony by Eddie Cochran

 

Heartaches by the Number by Willie Nelson

Don't Stay Away 'Til Loves Grows Cold by Brennen Leigh

Pigsville by The Waco Brothers

 

Death Penalty Set

Sing Me Back Home by Merle Haggard

The Green Green Grass of Home by Kelly Hogan

They're Hanging Me Tonight by Marty Robbins

Turn it On, Turn it On, Turn it On by Tom T. Hall

Tom Dooley by Bobby Bare

Karla Faye by Audrey Auld

Sam Hall by Tex Ritter

Me and Rose Connelly by Rachel Brooke

Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair by David Bromberg

 

Lay My Lily Down by Bob Weir

Sweet Mama by Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur

He Calls That Religion by Maria Muldaur

I Threw Your Picture Away by Miss Leslie & Her Juke Joint Band

What Good Can Drinkin' Do by Martha Fields

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

 

THROWBACK THURSDAY: 81 Years of Jerry Lee Lewis

It's The Killer's birthday.

What else you need?









Hey, that's not a piano!

WACKY WEDNESDAY: Happy Birthday Moon Zappa

Happy birthday to Ms. Moon Unit Zappa, author, actor and the eldest daughter of Frank Zappa.

She turns 48 today.

Fans of Frank Zappa had known of her years before she became a household name in the early 1980s. (Usually she was mentioned in conversations among fans that provoked reactions like "He named his kids what????")

Then in 1982 Moon became famous at the age of 14 because of a wild novelty song called "Valley Girl" in which little Moon ripped to shreds the empty-headed chatter of her San Fernando Valley peers. But to the consternation of Zappa -- and his daughter-- across this glorious land teenage knuckleheads assumed the Zappas were celebrating Valley girl culture, not mercilessly mocking it.

Here's a Solid Gold lip-sync version of the song by Moon with dancing girls (and no Frank.)



But those of us who watched the interviews it was clear that even as a teen, Moon had a similar deadpan, irreverent wit as her dad.

Here they are on Late Night With David Letterman. Letterman basically begins the interview asking "You named your kids what????"



"Valley Girl" wasn't her only song though. Here she is with brother Dweezil on a song she co-wrote with Steve Vai called "My Mother is a Space Cadet."



Moon still has her understated humor and story-telling talent. Here's a recent appearance on Back Fence PDX where she talks about her quest to lose her virginity. It starts out funny, but ends up being a bittersweet, poignant tale.

Moon Zappa at Back Fence PDX: MAINSTAGE from Back Fence PDX on Vimeo.

Finally, here is a Hawaiian (!) parody of "Valley Girl" by a band called Da Mokettes & the Incredible Q Band. It's called "Palolo Valley Girl."


From WFMU's late lamented Beware the Blog:

What better than a novelty record than a novelty record of a novelty record and that is what we have here. Some Hawaiians lead by Will Moku take Frank & Moon Unit Zappa's Valley Girl and infuse it with some local lingo and slap some local geography on it and ta-da Palolo Valley Girl. Did a little digging around and found some info that makes some sense of this record. Will Moku was a popular dejay (real name William Saragosa, died in 2004 at the age of 47) and guitarist. He had a 13 year run at KQMQ, where he came up with Palolo Valley Girls. Surround yourself with enough novelty records and pretty soon you figure out that most of them are done by disc jockeys. And that is really all I have to say.

You can listen when you CLICK HERE

But this only begs the question: Why didn't anyone in New Mexico write a spoof called "Espanola Valley Girls"?