If I could hire a house band for Wacky Wednesday, it would be The B52s, that Athens, Ga. "New Wave" group that embodied wackiness, tackiness and infectious fun.
Yesterday, Feb. 28th was the 60th birthday of Cindy Wilson, who along with Kate Pierson were the B52s' lovely and lovable female front women.
So here is a little tribute to the lady, some songs in which she sang or shared lead vocals.
I'd dance with you, Cindy!
Fish? Candy? I'll take it
This one's a lesser-known tune, sung by Cindy and Kate, about the joys of counterfeiting.
This month The Big Enchilada gets inside your head and refuses to leave. Featuring deep rocking tunes by The Angry Samoans, King Salami, Mark Sultan, Bloodshot Bill, The Count Five, Black Joe Lewis and more! Let the music shut your mouth and open your mind.
Sunday, Feb. 26, 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
There's No Business Like Show Business by Ethel Merman
Movies are a Mother to Me by Loudon Wainwright III
New Age by The Velvet Underground
Act Naturally by Ringo Starr with Buck Owens
Western Movies by The Olympics
Celluloid Heroes by The Kinks
Beloved Movie Star by Stan Ridgway
Run Through the Jungle by Link Wray
Bad America by The Gun Club
Double Kross by Grandpa Death Experience
Jumpers by Sleater-Kinney
Gawker Delay by The Hentchmen
Stutterin' Sue by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
Treat Her Right by Los Straitjackets starring Markm Lindsay
Can't Get Your Lovin' by The Count 5
Get Straight by Lynx Lynx
Everything's Gonna Be the Same by Weird Omen
Baby What's Wrong by The Cynics
The Torture Never Stops by Frank Zappa
Love Enchanted by Daniel Johnston
Maroon by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Trying Hard Not to Know by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Pledging My Love by Swamp Dogg
Light My Fire by Jackie Wilson
The Comedians by Roy Orbison
The House Where Nobody Lives by King Ernest
Take it With Me by Tom Waits CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, Feb. 24 , 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
A Hangover Ago by Dale Watson & Ray Benson
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere by The Byrds
You Can Have the Crown by Sturgill Simpson
First and Last Blues by Big Sandy & The Flyright Boys
Lay You Down by Nikki Lane
I Ain't Givin' Up Notin' by Ben Hewitt
Tennessee Women's Prison by Wanda Jackson
Medication by The Saucer Men
Can't Hardly Stand it by Charlie Feathers
Crazy Blues by J.P. Richardson
The Nail by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Detour by Cyndi Lauper with Emmylou Harris
Shakin' the Blues by Gail Davies & Robbie Fulks
I'm the Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised by Johnny Paycheck
Someone to Give My Love to by Big Al Anderson
Possum Ran Over My Grave by Jesse Dayton
My Gal by Jim Kweskin Jug Band
Tub Gut Stomp and Red-Eyed Soul by Shinyribs
I Don't Care by Webb Pierce
There Stands the Glass by Ted Hawkins
Heebie Jeebie Blues Number by Webb Pierce & Willie Nelson
Back Street Affair by Webb Pierce
Wouldya Wanna / 13 Roses by Beth Lee & The Breakups
Parachute by Chris Stapleton
Working on Building by The Meat Purveyors
Mental Cruely by John Prine & Kacey Musgraves
(Out on the Street) Junk is Still King by Gary Heffern
Do They Dream of Hell in Heaven by Terry Allen
True Religion by Scott H. Biram
Let Your Light Shine by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Old Man Souls by Possessed by Paul James
Waltz Across Texas by Leon Russell
She Was No Good for Me by Waylon Jennings CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
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A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican Feb. 24, 2017 Black Joe Lewisis back with a funky vengeance. More than three years had passed since his previous album, the underrated Electric Slave, when the Austin-based rock ’n’ souler and his band the Honeybears this month released a groove-infused collection of tunes called Backlash.
It had been so long since the last one, I was beginning to wonder whether Lewis — who just a few years ago was driving a delivery truck for a seafood business — had gone back to the fish biz. Fortunately not.
The first difference between this record and his last one that Black Joe fans are bound to notice is that while Electric Slave leaned heavy on hard rock and blues, Backlash shows the band’s funkier side. His horn section, which always been present, is more prominent than ever. In fact, I’m not the first to notice certain similarities between the Honeybears and the Dap-Kings, the late Sharon Jones’ band. In fact, Lewis’ song “Sexual Tension” would have made for a wonderful duet between Jones and neo-soul giant Lee Fields. “Nature’s Natural” could almost pass as a Charles Bradley tune, while the slow-burning “Wasted” is a minor-key howl from the dark night of the soul. A flute that appears about halfway through the song adds a jazzy touch.
But don’t think that anyone’s trying to hide Lewis’ rock chops. There are plenty of guitar-centric rockers here, such as “Prison” (in which Lewis shouts, “I don’t mind being locked up!”). Likewise, “Shadow People” and the frantic “Freakin’ Out” show that Lewis and crew haven’t turned their backs on those punk influences that marked their early work.
And speaking of freaking out, Lewis flirts with psychedelia with the spacey six-minute album closer, “Maroon,” featuring a tasty trumpet solo and some fine guitar from Lewis. But the most impressive song here is the other six-minute song on the album, “Lips of a Loser.” In this one, the horns interweave with ’70s-style strings to dominate the first half of the track. But then, Lewis comes in with a fiery guitar solo that’s downright jaw-dropping.
It’s heartening to know that musicians like these are out there blurring lines between musical borders and making good-time music that thrills.
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears are scheduled to play The Launchpad in Albuquerque on March 29. Also recommended:
* Goin’ Back to Wurstville by King Salami & The Cumberland 3. In terms of the wurst, these guys are the best. This hopped-up, high-energy London-based band has been around for more than a decade, but despite my overly optimistic prediction a few years ago when reviewing their previous album, they never really have made a huge splash in the good old U.S.A. That’s our loss, my fellow Americans. With Salami and the Cumberlands’ seamless bend of garage-rock, ’50s and ’60s R&B, and occasionally a little instrumental surf music, few bands match their sound in terms of pure fun.
Wurstville is only their third actual album in all these years — the previous ones being Cooking Up a Party in 2013 and Fourteen Blazin’ Bangers in 2010. But between albums, Salami and the boys are a singles-producing machine.
And just like the days of yesteryear in rock ’n’ roll history, most of the songs from the singles end up on the albums. Some of the best songs on Wurstville are in that category, including “Tiger in My Tank” (a hard thumper that sounds like some missing Fleshtones song). “Camel Hop,” with its appropriately tacky faux Mideastern guitar riffs, is only slightly less politically incorrect than the tacky pseudo-Japanese guitar riff and gong in the instrumental “King Ghidorah.”
And speaking of politically incorrect, my favorite Wurstville song at the moment is “She Was a Mau Mau.” The title character sounds more related to the cartoonish cannibals of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “Feast of the Mau Mau” than the actual anti-colonialist Kenyan rebels from the 1950s. And despite the historical inaccuracies, this is a crazy little stomper complete with jungle noises and an irresistibly nasty guitar hook.
* Live in Paris by Sleater-Kinney. One of the most successful and satisfying rock ’n’ roll comeback stories in recent years was the 2015 return of Sleater-Kinney. Their album, No Cities to Love was nothing short of a triumph, and their show in Albuquerque that year was even better. And, judging from this new album, their concert in Paris was dadgum good as well.
To be honest, I was hoping that the group’s follow-up to No Cities would have been a studio album of new material. These troubled times demand intelligent and exciting music. But I guess the comeback reunion wasn’t a permanent thing. Oh well, no complaints here. I guess this is the next best thing.
The song selection leans heavy on No Cities, kicking off with a fully charged version of “Price Tag” and equally strong versions of the bouncy but intense “A New Wave,” “Surface Envy,” and the title song. They perform several tracks from The Woods, the group’s last album before the decade-long hiatus, and there also are some classic S-K tunes like “Dig Me Out,” “Start Together,” and “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone.”
But there is only one tune, “Oh!,” from my favorite Sleater-Kinney album, 2002’s One Beat. I wish they would have done “Step Aside,” the best song from that album, instead.
But that’s just the grousing of a picky critic. Those who are already fans will appreciate this live album. And newcomers will have a useful starting point.
