Fe fe, fi fi, fo fo fum, it's a Monster's Holiday! Halloween is here again and it's the second anniversary of The Big Enchilada! Sit back with a cold glass of your favorite blood type and enjoy the ghoulish sounds of Stud Cole, Roky Erikson, Johnny Dowd, Deadbolt, The Monsters, The Fuzztones, The Scrams, Electricoolade, The Electric Mess, The Hydeouts, Marshmallow Overcoat and so many more. Rock your rockin' bones!
(Background Music: Spooks-a-Poppin' Theme by The A-Bones)
Don't Shake Me Lucifer by Roky Erickson & The Resurectionists
I'm the Wolfman by The Fuzztones
Coffin Nails by Coffin Nails
The Zombie Stomp by Danny Ware
Breathing With the Dead by Organs
I Got the Creeps by Big John Bates
Frankenstein Meets The Beatles by Dickie Goodman
Friday, October 22, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM email me during the show!terrell@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Bloody Mary Morning by Willie Nelson
Haunted House Boogie by Happy Williams
Jukebox Fever by Jerry Lee Merritt
One Hour Mama by Maria Muldaur
I Just Fall by Reckless Kelly
Sheriff Jodie Pickins by Deadbolt
Rebel Within by Hank III
My Neighbor Burns Trash by Southern Culture on the Skids
Something I Said by Ray Condo & The Hardrock Goners
Two Bottles Of Wine by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
You Got a Long Way to Go by Ronnie Dawson
Hoboes Are My Heroes by Th' Legendary Shack Shakers
When Dorey's Behind the Door by Al Duvall
Xmas Ornament/Your Hearty Laugh by The Defibulators
This Haunted House by Eilen Jewell
Bennie Hess Boogie by Bennie Hess & His Nation Playboys
I'm Comin' Home by Johnny Horton
Hound Dog by Billy Starr
Broken Down by Joe Cassady & His West End Sound
That's When Your Heartaches Begin by Elvis Presley with The Million Dollar Quartet
Rainy Day Woman by Waylon Jennings
Hot Tamale Pete by Bob Skyles & His Skyrockets
Mohair Sam by Charlie Rich
Who Walks In When I Walk Out by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Miss Maybelle by Richard Johnston
Gloomy Sunday by Singing Sadie with Al Duvall
Barroom Girls by Doug Jeffords
This Orchid Means Goodbye by Carl Smith
Don't Take Your Love to Town by Johnny Cash
Cherokee Fiddle by Michael Martin Murphey
Walk You Home by Marlee MacLeod
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
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After all, for more than 20 years, the musicians have cultivated a goofy faux-hillbilly image — wearing funny hats, cheap sunglasses, backwoods/thrift-shop clothes — and singer/bassist Mary Huff sports a beehive that would frighten most bees. And they sing lots of funny songs about fried chicken, banana pudding, strippers, stock cars, Little Debbie pastries, tacky tiki bars, moonshine, and white-trash cultural affairs. I don’t know whether they still do this, but for a while, they were known for throwing pieces of fried chicken at their audience at live shows.
The only thing is, while they’re very funny, these North Carolinians are real musicians. As a trio (most of the time), SCOTS is a tight little outfit, playing a distinctive blend of country, rockabilly, surf, swampy R & B, garage, occasionally bluegrass, and exotica.
Huff has a voice as big as her hair (I always hope for more songs where she sings lead), and Rick Miller is a fine rock ’n’ roll guitarist. The only time I saw them live (at the late and lamented Paramount in 2001), I realized that they were playing surf music better than a lot of so-called surf bands out there.
Southern Culture’s latest effort, The Kudzu Ranch (named for the recording studio where they make the magic), is something of a return to form for the band. Their previous album, Countrypolitan Favorites, spotlighted their country side. (In fact, it was an homage to the Nashville sound of the late ’50s and early ’60s. Kudzu is far more varied.)
The opener, “Bone Dry Dirt,” is a pounding rocker with Miller playing Creedence-worthy guitar licks and drummer Dave Hartman knocking the snot out of his trap kit. One of SCOTS’ best-known songs is “Too Much Pork for Just One Fork.” They return to their own private hog heaven with the next song “Pig Pickin’,” a jumpy little rocker.
Huff sings it nice and pretty on “Highlife,” which almost sounds like a folk-rock tune. But her big moment on this record is “Bad Boys,” a lusty tribute to tattooed love boys who “need a good spanking.” Sings Huff, “I gotta get one of those!” It’s not quite as powerful as her signature song, Joanna Neel’s “Daddy Was a Preacher, But Mama Was a Go-Go Girl,” but it’s pretty snazzy.
They get mysterioso with a smoky little charmer called “Montague’s Mystery Theme.” They do a full rollicking SCOTS treatment of Neil Young’s “Are You Ready for the Country.” “Busy Road,” which concerns civilization encroaching on a backwoods home (“Lost two dogs about a month ago”), has an irresistible Bo Diddley beat. And Miller breaks out the banjo for “My Neighbor Burns Trash” (“Says I got a pack of matches and a pile of leaves/Three bags of garbage and some gasoline/Got a plastic jug and some cellophane/Burn anything that can’t run away”).
As always, there are plenty of fascinating instrumentals. “Slinky Spring Milt” sounds like a lost Duane Eddy twanger. “Jack’s Tune,” which closes the album, is slow and wistful. But the one that SCOTS fans will love the most is a surfy medley of Nirvana’s “Come as You Are” and an obscure Pink Floyd song called “Lucifer Sam.”
Is Southern Culture on the Skids a novelty act? If so, who cares? Life needs novelty. This is trash rock you won’t want to burn.
When visiting SCOTS' website, don't miss the “Home Cooking” section for some delicious recipes. Those turtle burgers look like a treat that city folks will never know.
Also recommended:
* Corn Money by The Defibulators. Before I start in on this fine debut album from this crazed country band from New York City (New York City?), brace yourself, Bridget, they’re coming to Santa Fe next week — to the Cowgirl BBQ on Wednesday, Oct. 27, to be exact. Judging by this album and a couple of videos I’ve seen, it should be a good evening.
Let me be straight. Though I’m a hillbilly fanatic, most contemporary alt-country bands bore me to tears. But I knew after hearing just a couple of tracks on The Defibs’ website that I was going to love this band.
In fact, Corn Money — which was actually released last year — is the best alt-country effort I’ve heard in years. Come to think about it, I like it even better than the Southern Culture on the Skids album reviewed above.
The Defibulators, a seven-member group, have fiddles, banjos, guitars, drums, a jew’s-harp, honking harmonicas, an upright bass, and a washboard player named Metalbelly.
Singer Erin Bru’s laconic vocals, especially on the song “Get What’s Coming,” remind me a little bit of Trailer Bride’s Melissa Swingle.
I hear a lot of various influences — or at least what I think might be influences — here. There’s a little SCOTS in the song “Go-Go Truck” and some Legendary Shack Shakers madness and a little Hank III raucousness on nearly every tune — maybe even some Reverend Peyton. The song “Xmas Ornament,” which I don’t think has anything to do with Christmas, sounds like some Handsome Family tune interpreted by the Asylum Street Spankers.
Almost every male-female vocal duo in every third-rate alt-country band in this land gets a Gram Parsons-Emmylou Harris comparison at some point by lazy writers and cheesy publicists. So I almost hesitate to use it here. But frontman Bug Jennings and Bru sound so purdy on “Your Hearty Laugh,” it reminds me of “The New Soft Shoe” by none other than Gram & Emmylou.
Check them out at the Cowgirl, 319 S. Guadalupe St., at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The cover charge is an incredible $3.
Sunday, October, 2010
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@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Blackberry Brandy by The Sinister Six
Chimp Necropsy by The Scrams
Blame it on Mom by Johnny Thunders
It's Great by Wau & Los Arrrghs!!!
Little Girl by Hollywood Sinners
Lipstick Vogue by Elvis Costello
Pump It Up by Mudhoney
Out of Focus by Blue Cheer
Maria Has a Son by Kult
Kitchenette by Grinderman
Breathing With the Dead by Organs
Rumors by Syndicate of Sound
Sub-Atomic Powerplay by Make-Overs
Fireface by The Chocolate Watchband
I Was A Teenage Kiddie Porn Star by Al Foul & the Shakes
Nothing To Do by Figures Of Light Suburban Cop by The Ruiners King Kong by Barrence Whitfield & the Savages
Around the World by Delaney Davidson
Second Dark Age by The Fall
This is the Day by Pierced Arrows
Luminol by Horror Deluxe
LSDC by Kid Congo Powers & The Pink Monkey Birds
Egyptian Maiden by The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Dickie Chalkie And Nobby by The Mekons Swamp Woman by Johnny Dowd Heard It All Before by New Mystery Girl
On Main Street by Los Lobos
Your Love by Reigning Sound
Tough Lover by Etta James
Time Is on My Side by Irma Thomas with Alan Toussaint
Lenny Bruce by Stan Ridgway
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Wild Man Boogie by Ray Batts
Seen You With No Make Up by Mike Neal
Pig Pickin' by Southern Culture on the Skids
Hey Bub by Halden Wofford & The Hi-Beams
White Trash Girl by Candye Kane
Hello Walls by Faron Young
Wings of a Dove by Ferlin Huskey
Pride by Ray Price
Corn Money by The Defibulators
Chauffeur by Rosie Flores and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts
R.I.P Solomon Burke
(All songs by Burke unless otherwise noted)
Down in the Valley
That's How I Got to Memphis
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love by Wilson Pickett
Pledging My Love
Soul Meeting by The Soul Clan (Solomon Burke, Arthur Conley, Don Covay, Ben E. King & Joe Tex)
Only a Dream
I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel to Be Free)
Diamond in Your Mind
Celebration of the Rescue of the Chilean Miners
Dark as a Dungeon by Merle Travis with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
16 Tons by Bo Diddley
Coal Tattoo by Kathy Mattea
Blackleg Miner by Steeleye Span
The Mountain by Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band
The Rescue from Moose River Gold Mine by Norman Blake
Redneck War by Ron Short
Que Creek by Buddy Miller
Big Bad John by Jimmy Dean
American Boy by Eleni Mandell
Write Me Sweetheart by Doug Jeffords
Put It Back by Billy Kaundart
Sweet Tequila Blues by Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
It's Not My Time To Go by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
In Northern New Mexico and parts of Albuqueruqe, you can tune in at KSFR, 101.1 FM on your FM dial. If you're out of state or out of range, don't go out of your mind. Find it on the Internet HERE .
With Phosphene Dream, their third full-length album, these cosmic avengers from deep in the heart of Texas offer a more varied sound than on their previous albums. The songs are shorter too. No 16- or 18-minute sonic odysseys like they had on Directions to See a Ghost and Passover.
Frontman Alex Maas sounds more confident than ever — though he still reminds me somewhat of Jim James of My Morning Jacket.
But make no mistake. As I realized the first time I ever heard The Angels — playing at a Roky Erickson Ice Cream Social during SXSW a couple of years ago — these guys play psychedelic music in the finest sense of the word.
Like Roky’s music, this is not the fairy-fey flower-power fluff that passes for psychedelic in some deluded circles. These angel-headed hipsters play intense, throbbing, hypnotic excursions to inner worlds — true to the song that gave them their name, “The Black Angel’s Death Song” by The Velvet Underground.
Something to ponder: if Erickson wanted to make an album with a young Austin band, he should have done it with The Black Angels, not Okkervil River — as he did on his last album, True Love Cast Out All Evil. That would have been a far more powerful team. (The Angels have backed Erickson in concert. Allegedly, there’s a DVD of that in the works, and you can find videos of live songs on YouTube.)
Back to Phosphene Dream — what we have here indeed is trippy. But not all trips are happy affairs. In fact, some are downright scary. And I believe there used to be a term — “bummer” — to describe chemically induced unpleasantness. The Angels have song titles like “River of Blood” and “Bad Vibrations,” which I guarantee will never be used in a Sunkist commercial. “Drink her last tear/Yeah you die for your dear/Bad vibes around her/She’s eating hearts again,” Maas sings in “Bad Vibrations.”
But no, this record is no bummer by any means. In fact, it makes me happy. Are varied than ever. There’s more attention to melody, some of which is actually catchy. And less shoegazing and more toe-tapping.
“Telephone,” which the Angels recently performed on the Late Show With David Letterman, clocks in at less than two minutes. But it’s a minute and 59 seconds worth of sheer fun — a snazzy little garage rocker with British Invasion overtones.
“Sunday Afternoon” even has a little Texas funk in it. I could easily imagine Hundred Year Flood having a go at this one. “Yellow Elevator #2” starts out with a bass line right out of The Zombies’ “Time of the Season,” and a cheesy keyboard right out of the B-52’s “Rock Lobster” somehow evolves into a Beatles vibe. The end reminds me of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy) — and all this unfolds in less than three minutes.
What is it with The Angels’ strange obsession with snipers? On their first album, Passover, they had a song called “The Sniper at Heaven’s Gate.” Phosphene Dream ends with a disturbingly happy-sounding little number called “The Sniper.”
“Phosphene” refers to seeing lights when your eyelids are closed. Close your eyes and listen to this album. See where the lights lead you..
Also recommended:
* Slovenly Records Sampler 2010 by various artists. Don’t say I never gave ya nothin’. HERE is a link to a free 55-song mp3 sampler of punk, garage, and weird noises from Slovenly Records, a Reno, Nevada, company. The only catch is that you have to sign up for its email list.
Slovenly’s not very well known as a label, and many of the acts on this sampler are not known at all. But scattered among the artists here are several impressive names from many countries.
From Great Britain there’s Billy Childish and his latest band, Musicians of the British Empire. There are Wau y Los Arrrghs!!! and Hollywood Sinners from Spain and King Automatic, the French one-man garage band. And from these United States are Black Lips and Reigning Sound.
Some of my favorite songs are tracks by bands I had never heard of. There’s a version of the Spider-Man theme (from the old cartoon show) by a Spanish band called Los Pataconas.
“Dyn-o-mite” by the now-defunct Ape City R&B, a Washington-state band influenced by the Angry Samoans, among others, is raw snot rock with echoes of long-forgotten ’60s garage groups. Electric Crush from San Antonio plays low-fi psychedelic freakout on “Clock Stands Still.”
Most of the voices you hear on the sampler are male. Among the refreshing exceptions is that of a lady known as “Helene 33” of The Okmoniks, a Tucson band (pictured below.).
Perhaps the catchiest tune here is “Your Love," the offering from Reigning Sound, led by Greg Cartwright, formerly of The Oblivians. If you listen close enough you can hear Motown in this one.
Most ridiculous is The Ridiculous Trio, an instrumental group — trombone, tuba, drums — that specializes in instrumental covers of Stooges songs. Here the threesome does “Down on the Street.” It’s lots of fun, but I don’t think Iggy did it this way.
But don’t take my word for it. Hear it yourself. And if you like rpms better than mp3s, most of these are available from Slovenly on vinyl 45s.
Solomon Burke, one of the greatest soul singers of all time died yesterday at the age of 70. He had just landed in the Netherlands, where he was scheduled to perform.
Born in Philadelphia, Burke, who also worked as a preacher, began recording in the 1950s. One of the first 45s I ever had as a kid was Burke's soul version of "Down in the Valley," an old cowboy song he turned inside out and made it into a soul testament.
In recent years he'd been making something of a comeback. He did a country album calledNashville in 2006. That featured a heartbreaking version of Tom T. hall's "That's How I Got to Memphis."
But my favorite song of his in recent years was from his 2002 album Don't Give Up on Me -- a cover of Tom Waits' "Diamond in Your Mind."
Rev. Burke left many diamonds for our minds. Below are some performances -- they look fairly recent -- of some of his soul classics.
UPDATE:
What the heck, here's Solomon with The Rolling Stones:
Sunday, October 10, 2010
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@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Psycho Train by The Sinister Six
Naked Naked Naked by The Raunch Hands
Messin' Around by The Ruiners
It Should Be Me by Billy Childish & Musicians of The British Empire
Don't Slander Me by Roky Erikson & Evil Hook Wildlife ET
Powers by The Vonz
Hellhound by The Barbarellatones
In & Out by The Black Lips
There'll Be Hot Coffee by The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Worm Tamer by Grinderman
The Walnut Tree by Movie Star Junkies
Hey Girl, Liar Liar by The Living Deadbeats
Dagger Moon by Dead Moon
The Doorway by Pierced Arrows
Monkey House by The BellRays
Red River St. by The Kill Spectors
Mellow Yellow by Big Maybelle
The Sniper by The Black Angels
Purple Merkin Power by Purple Merkins
'New' Old Blue Car by Peter Case
Ain't She Wild by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Ten of Hearts by Mark Sultan
Shut Your Mouth When You Sneeze by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Naked by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Summer Time by Hang On The Box
Planet Claire by B52s
I'll Take Care Of You by Gil Scott-Heron
Demons and Goats by Johnny Dowd
Cry Me a River by Bettye LaVette
Too Close/On My Way To Heaven by Mavis Staples
Your English by Country Teasers
Closing Time by King Automatic
Get it While You Can by Howard Tate
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
My friends Chuck and Liisa were recently in the state. (Chuck was doing events for his new book.) Years ago they turned me on a great Polish rocker Kazik and his band Kult. (Liisa used to live in Poland) It's difficult to find Kazik music in the U.S., but he's easily available on YouTube. Here's a sampling of Kult/Kazik videos.
And Kajik even did an entire album of Tom Waits covers, which I reviewed a few years ago. Here's a video of "Singapur."
Friday, October 8, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Ghost Riders in the Sky by Last Mile Ramblers
Country Boy by Rosie Flores
Guacamole by Freddy Fender with Augie Meyers
Living Hell by Thunder Road
I Feel Like Singing by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
Nothin' Shakin' by Linda Gail Lewis
See Willie Fly By by The Waco Brothers
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet by Kim Lenz & The Jaguars
Super Boogie Woogie by Jerry Irby with His Texas Ranchers
Stop Look and Listen by Patsy Cline
Jack & Jill Boogie by Wayne Raney
The Happy Camper by Rev. Horton Heat
Hot Dog by Buck Owens
Hot Dog, That Made Him Mad by Wanda Jackson
Thirty Days In The Workhouse by Peter Case
One Woman Man by George Jones with Marty Stuart
Swingin' From Your Crystal Chandeliers by The Austin Lounge Lizards
Hey Bub by Halden Wofford & The Hi Beams
Strangler In The Night by T.Tex Edwards & Out On Parole
The Fugitive by Merle Haggard
I'm a Honky Tonk Girl by Eilen Jewell
Foothill Boogie by Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys
Ain't Got Time For the Blues by Bill Kirchen with Maria Muldaur
Do You Believe (In Reincarnation)? by Cornell Hurd
No Good For Me by Waylon Jennings
Tomorrow's Just A Train Wreck Away by Joe Swank And The Zen Pirates
Reel Cajun (451 N. St. Joseph) by Beausoleil
You Made Me What I Am Today by The Watzloves
Garage Sale by Eric Hisaw
I'm Not Like Everyone Else by Chrissy Flatt
Rest Awhile by Bobby Bare
Heaven is My Home by Doug Jeffords
Don't Knock by The Staple Singers
I Belong to the Band by Mavis Staples
No Drunkard Can Enter There by The Delmore Brothers
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 8, 2010
Mavis Staples is in her 70s, and her new album, You Are Not Alone, finds her doing what she’s always done best — blurring the edges of soul, gospel, and pop music. And she sounds as strong as ever doing so.
I’m not saying that lightly. This album is truly powerful, recalling some of her most memorable moments with The Staples Singers back in the ’60s, without sounding nostalgic or self-conscious.
Staples’ fellow Chicagoite Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco produced this album. And he did as well as, if not better than, Ry Cooder on Staples’ previous studio album, We’ll Never Turn Back (an impressive collection of spirituals and civil rights-era tunes).
To his credit, Tweedy obviously wasn’t interested in making a “Mavis Meets Wilco” record — which, I’ll admit, I feared when first I heard about the partnership. He was just determined to make a good Mavis Staples record. (This is the second excellent album in recent years featuring a soul matron with an alt-country producer. The first was Bettye LaVette’s The Scene of The Crime, which was co-produced by the Drive-By-Truckers’ Patterson Hood in 2007.)
Tweedy is obviously in love with that swampy, tremolo-guitar sound that was the trademark of Mavis’ late dad, “Pops” Staples, back in The Staples Singers days. For the best introduction to this sound, don’t look to the group’s popular hits like “Respect Yourself.” Search out its gospel works. A few years ago, I found a copy of a Staples gospel collection called Uncloudy Day from the ’50s that seriously twisted my head off with Pops’ snaky guitar and those gritty vocals.
Most of my favorite songs on You Are Not Alone feature that guitar sound — provided here by a capable picker named Rick Holmstrom — and that gospel spirit.
There are three of Pops’ tunes here. “Don’t Knock” (which was also on Uncloudy Day) kicks off the record. It’s an upbeat number that does a great job of setting the mood. Another Pops song, “On My Way to Heaven” is part of a medley with a tune called “Too Close,” which closes the album. In between is the old man’s coolest contribution to this record, a hoodoo-dripping cruncher called “Downward Road.” Mavis sings lead while a chorus including Chicago songbirds Kelly Hogan and Nora O’Connor back her up.
There are some fine traditional gospel numbers that are among my favorites. Tony Joe White could have done a great version of “Creep Along Moses” — but I doubt if it would have been as great as the version by Staples and crew. “Wonderful Savior” is sung a cappella by Staples and her backup singers. This one has some truly nasty distorted guitar by Holmstrom.
And then there’s “In Christ There Is No East or West.” This is done as a lilting folk-rocker, an unusual arrangement for this album. But it’s an emotional standout — sweet-spirited, straightforward, and inviting, yet sung with Staples’ aura of knowing experience.
Staples sings several secular numbers written by well-known songwriters. There’s an obscure Randy Newman song called “Losing You,” which is slow, somber, and bluesy — it starts out with “I was a fool with my money, I lost every dime.”
Staples does a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune, John Fogerty’s “Wrote a Song for Everyone,” which, like most of The Staple Singers’ pop hits, sounds like it’s a gospel song without mentioning God, Jesus, or church. Staples goes down to New Orleans for Allen Toussaint’s “Last Train.”
And there are a couple of songs by Tweedy — the title cut and a surprisingly funky track called “Only the Lord Knows.” It’s a song about being confused and mistrustful in the modern world. “Only the Lord knows, and he ain’t you,” goes the refrain.
One of my favorite tunes here is a dandy cover of “We’re Gonna Make It,” a Little Milton soul hit from the ’60s. The lyrics are secular, but they have a poignant message about faith in times of economic hardship: “We’re gonna make it, I know we will.”
What I love about Staples is that she is unswervingly positive and inspirational without ever sounding corny or cloying — righteous, but never self-righteous. I’ve never met the woman, but I imagine she could make you feel better by just being around her. At least that’s how I feel when I listen to her music.
Also recommended:
* Joined at the Hip byPinetop Perkins& Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Staples may be over 70, but Perkins could call her “young lady.” He’s 97, (no, that’s not a typo!) and Smith is a mere lad of 74. These two blues codgers — who played in Muddy Waters’ band in the 1970s and later together in The Legendary Blues Band — can still boogie.
This record isn’t earth-shattering, but its good basic Chicago blues. Perkins is still playing piano (he was playing at the Thirsty Ear Festival a few years ago), but Smith is no longer beating the drums (his son Kenny is doing that here); he’s singing and playing harp.
Two of my favorite songs here are by the two different Sonny Boy Williamsons. There is a good version of “Eyesight to the Blind” by Sonny Boy II (Rice Miller). And there is “Cut That Out,” a lesser-known song by the lesser-known Sonny Boy, John Lee Williamson.
But the showstopper here is a gospel standard, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” written by Thomas A. Dorsey. This version is far bluesier than most of the renditions I’ve heard. But remember, Dorsey started his career as “Georgia Tom,” a blues pianist who backed Tampa Red on songs including “Tight Like That.”
For reasons best known to Perkins, “Precious Lord” ends with a quick “Jingle Bells” piano riff followed by “Shave and a Haircut.”
Thanks and a tip of the hat to John at Monkey Beat Podcast for alerting his listeners to a 55-MP3 sampler from Slovenly Records, a Reno, Nevada company.
There's cool stuff from Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!, The Black Lips, Billy Childish, The Reigning Sound, King Automatic, The Hollywood Sinners and more.
And did I mention they're free??!! All you have to do is join their mailing list.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
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@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
The Cutester Patrol by The Grandmothers
Topless by Rolls Royce & The Wheels
Sun Is On My Side by Gogol Bordello
Mickey Mouse & The Goodbye Man by Grinderman
Grindin' Man by Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
Do the Slide by The Montesas
Hulkster in Heaven by Hulk Hogan
Mo Gu by Carsick Cars
Let's Dress Up the Naked Truth by New Bomb Turks
Old Devils by Jon Langford
Before They Make Me Run by Steve Earle & The Supersuckers
Fate Has to Change by Kazik
Quiche Lorraine by B52s
Karma Chameleon by Petty Booka
Hot Pants by James Brown
Damn, It's Hot Part 2 by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Heat Wave by Martha & The Vandellas
A Question of Temperature by The Balloon Farm
Ring of Fire by Ray Charles
Hot and Nasty by Black Oak Arkansas
Burning Love by Elvis Presley
Disco Inferno by The Trammps
Timothy by The Buoys
Charlie Laine Ate My Brain by The Ruiners
Bad Vibrations by The Black Angels
Shake For Me by Howlin' Wolf
Tender Heart by Alejandro Escovedo
Where Do We Go from Here by Death
Baby You Crazy by Nick Curran and the Lowlifes
Satan Get Behind Me by Dead Men's Hollow
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
* It's Dance Time!by King Coleman. This is one I've been meaning to download for a longtime. I finally was spurred to do it after Carlton "King" Coleman died on Sept. 11 at the age of 78.
All the "hits" from the late 50s and early '60s are here -- at least they should have been hits. "The Boo Boo Song" is a strange and wonderful thing. He carries on hsi knack for fracturing nursery rhymes in "Three Soulful Mice."
There's "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" -- to which Joey Dee and The Starliters later added hot pastrami. There's Coleman's sequel "The Mashed Potato Man" and other dance craze ditties like "Do the Hully Gully," "Do the Booga-Lou" and "Let's Shimmy." He sums it all up in the title song where he commands his hypnotized legions on the dance floor to all of these and more.
Just about every one of the tracks here sounds like a party I wish I'd have gone to.
* 1950s Rock N' Roll & Rockabilly Rare Masters. Another great eMusic bargain compilation. Fifty six tracks for 12 credits. (I picked up the Hasil Adkins track "Ducken" last month. It's still one of my favorites on this album.)
These masters are rare. I only had one of them, "You Shake Me Up by Andy Anderson. (I wrote about him last year. He's a Mississippi rockabilly who used to live in Taos, N.M.)
Besides Adkins, the most recognizable names here are Freddy Fender, whose "Mean Woman" is included here, and Rudy "Tutti" Grayzell, whose "Duck Tail" should have been a universal anthem of the greasy '50s.
Then there's a guy named Creep. I've known lots of creeps, but not this one. There are two tracks by him, including "Betty Lou's Got a New Tattoo," later covered by The A-Bones. And if you're lookin' for a song to remind you of Elvis' "Trouble," you've come to the right place with Creep's tune "I'm Wise."
On this one he's singing in the Indonesian language translated lyrics of William Blake and Zohar. But this is no intellectual excercise. This stuff rocks!
The first song, "Kedalaman Air," reminds me of a frantic version of The Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" with a feral fuzztone guitar. The next one "Mani Malaikat" slows down into a swamp voodoo groove. The droning sax and fiddle remind me of "Up in Flames," the David Lynch-Angelo Badalamente song that Koko Taylor sang in Wild at Heart.
And then, the music starts to get really crazy ...
* 10 tracks from Hi De Ho Man by Cab Calloway. When I graduated from college in 1976 the only job I could find was managing a trailer park -- Vagabond Trailer Park on Cerrillos Road. Crappy job, but free rent, a block from a Lotaburger and an actual paycheck! One of the first things I did was go on a record buying binge. Some of those titles still are among my favorites -- Transformer by Lou Reed, Legalize It by Peter Tosh, How Late'll Ya Play 'Til? by David Bromberg, Radio Ethiopia by The Patti Smith Group and this one by Cab Calloway.
I know I've written this somewhere before, but I had seen Calloway in concert back in the early '60s at a Harlem Globetrotters game with my grandmother. So I was somewhat hep to the jive. But this record -- a double LP in its original release -- sealed it for me.
Through the years I picked up several of these tunes from other Calloway collections. But among the classics I downloaded now are "San Francisco Fan" -- about a golden-hearted gal who "gave her life to save her man, a man who wasn't worth a shovel full of Earth from the grave of San Francisco Fan."
And then there's Nagasaki, recorded in 1935. It's a place "where the fellers chew tobaccy/And the women wicky-wacky Woo." Sounds like a pretty swingin' town. Before we nuked it.
You got your basic "Jumpin' Jive," the scat-crazy "Abi Gezunt," a truly spooky "St. James Infirmary" and a fun workout called "15 Minute Intermission." But some of my favorites are the slow ballads like "My Gal" and "I'll Be Around." On these you get a true sense of Cab's vocal talents.
If you're new to Cab Calloway, this album is an excellent introduction. It worked for me.
* The first five tracks ofPhosphene Dream by The Black Angels. It's a psychedelic WHUMP! Austin's Black Angels are back for their third full-length album.
These guys, who I first saw at a Roky Erikson Ice Cream Social during SXSW a couple of years ago, play psychedelic music. Not your fairy-fey flower-power fluff, but intense, throbbing hypnotic excursions to other worlds. It's trippy, but not all trips are happy affairs. Some are downright scary. And thus, The Black Angels have titles like "River of Blood" and "Bad Vibrations."
The first thing a fan will notice about Phospene Dream is that the sound is far more varied than their previous albums. "Sunday Afternoon" even has a little Texas funk in it. I could easily imagine Hundred Year Flood having a go at this one. And the last half or so of "Yellow Elevator #2" even has a little Beatles vibe in it. (Think "I Want You/She's So Heavy.")
The songs are shorter too. No 16-minute odysseys like they had on their previous ones
I only had enough credits to get half of the 10 tracks, but my account refreshes next week so I can complete this trip.
Friday, September, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Moonshiner's Life by Hank III
Jason Fleming by Roger Miller
Lady Muleskinner by The Meat Purveyors
Country Girl by Dale Hawkins
Down Where the Watermelon Grows by The Volo Bogtrotters
Hoy Hoy Hoy by Wayne Hancock
Eat at Home by Tom Armstrong
Uh-Huh-Honey by Autry Inman
The Ballad of Charles Whitman by Kinky Friedman & The Texas Jewboys
Drag the Lake Charlie by Drive-By Truckers
East TX Rust by Shinyribs
God Fearing People by Th' Legendary Shack Shakers
Lonesome Side Of Town by Johnny Dilks And His Visitacion Valley Boys
It Ain't Up Here by Kell Robertson
Pill-Poppin' Country Weirdo by Halden Wofford & The Hi-Beams
Come To The Water by Possessed By Paul James
Too Drunk to Truck by Sixtyniners
Bosco Stomp by Beausoleil
Songs in Honor of Santa Fe's New Nudity Ordinance
Boobs a Lot by The Fugs
Naked Party by Ross Johnson with the Gibson Bros
Naked Man by Randy Newman
You Look Bad When You're Naked by Rosco Gordon
Buck Naked by Terry Allen
Please Don't Go Topless Mother by Troy Hess
Naked If I Want To by Moby Grape
Bounce Your Boobies by Rusty Warren
Naked Light of Day by Butch Hancock
Naked Girl Falling Down the Stairs by The Cramps
Your Name Is On My Lips by Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
Sure Feels Like Rain by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
A Little Bitty Tear by Ray Charles
Lookin' For A "Love Me" Gal by Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys
Lone Cowboy by Michael Martin Murphey
Up Above My Head by Lydia Clark
In Christ There Is No East Or West by Mavis Staples
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 1, 2010
Call this one Hank III’s “contractual obligation” album.
Rebel Within, the fifth album on Curb Records by the grandson of the sainted Hank Williams, has plenty to like, and there’s nothing really bad on it. Still, it lacks the punch of most his previous works, especially 2006’s Straight to Hell. This one has the feel of an odds ’n’ sods outtakes record.
I’m not exactly sure how a radical troublemaker like Hank III — whose heart lies in the world of hardcore punk as much if not more than in that of country music — ever got hooked up with a label like Curb in the first place. True, young Hank’s dad, Hank Williams Jr., has recorded on Curb for years. But by most reports, Hank III has long been estranged from Junior — who calls Kid Rock his “rebel son.”
Curb your enthusiasm: The company is run by Mike Curb, a political conservative and former lieutenant governor of California. He was also a musician, heading a vocal group called The Mike Curb Congregation. The MCC provided background vocals for the Sammy Davis, Jr. hit “The Candyman” and had a hit of its own with “It’s a Small World” — yes, the theme from the Disneyland ride. The Congregation also backed Hank Jr. on the pre-outlaw-country schlock hit “All For the Love of Sunshine.” Back in 1970, when he was head of MGM and Verve Records, Curb gained national notoriety for dropping 18 acts from the label, including The Velvet Underground, for suspected drug use.
It’s not surprising that a self-described hell-raiser and vocal advocate for drinkin’, druggin’, and — at least at one point a few years ago — devil worship would knock heads with someone like Mike Curb. Curb and Hank III have been involved in several lawsuits through the years. The company didn’t want to release a record by the singer’s punk band, Assjack. That’s certainly their prerogative.
But, in an example of pure music-industry evil, Curb also fought hard to keep Hank III from taking it to another label or releasing it on his own. The company even got a court order stopping the artist from selling self-burned copies of Assjack CDs at his shows.
As Hank III and The Louvin Brothers would say, “Satan is real.”
Hank III responded by selling T-shirts at his concerts emblazoned with the message "Fuck Curb!” He also refuses to sell his Curb CDs at his shows.
Back to the record: But maybe the slapdash, so-long-Curb-Records nature of Rebel Within isn’t the only the reason for the more subdued spirit of the album. Some songs here deal directly with the consequences of nonstop partying, crazy indulgence, and addiction. If Straight to Hell and Damn Right, Rebel Proud were parties, this one is the hangover.
The first song is called “Gettin’ Drunk and Fallin’ Down.” And, like other songs on the album, such as “Lost in Oklahoma” and “Drinkin’ Ain’t Hard to Do,” it’s more about fallin’ down than it is about the joys of gettin’ drunk. “It’s the kind of living that’s going to put me in the ground,” he moans. And you believe him.
In the title song Hank sings “The more I try to do right it just seems wrong/I guess that’s the curse of living out my songs.” This is an obvious reference to a line from a famous tune by his dad: “Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?”
Then there’s “#5,” a slow honky-tonker with heartbreak fiddle and sobbing steel guitar. It’s about quitting, or at least wanting to quit, heroin. “This is the last time the needle’s going in to try to set my soul free,” he sings. “I’ve done had four friends die around me/Now I realize that old number five just might be me.” (In an interview on Outlaw Radio Chicago, Hank said that in real life, he has never smoked crack or shot heroin.)
“Tore Up and Loud” is more like the Hank III of yore, both in content and in sound. It’s full of distorted vocals and psychobilly reason and ends with an obscene rant about being free (tempered by a sly “shave-and-a-haircut” banjo riff).
Indeed, don’t think Hank III has lost his sense of humor. The album ends with a wild hillbilly romp called “Drinkin’ Over Mama.” But it’s not your typical country mama song. Here mama starts drinking at the age of 61, and she gets killed “by her own crack pipe.”
It’s sure going to be interesting to see what Hank III comes up with next, now that he’s out of the Curb cage.
Also recommended
* Too Drunk to Truck by Sixtyniners. In the tradition of their Voodoo Rhythm label mates The Watzloves and Zeno Tornado, this is a European band — from the Netherlands, to be exact — that loves good old American honky-tonk music.
But like those other acts (and Hank III, for that matter), the Sixtyniners love it enough not to get too reverent about it. The title song, for instance, is a play on a classic by The Dead Kennedys. And “Livestock” is an animal party that starts out with barnyard noises.
Sixtyniners, led by singer/guitarist Michiel Hoving and drummer Claudia Hek, play some covers here — a spirited “John Hardy” sung by Hek, a stomping take on George Jones’ “The Race Is On,” and a fun “Almost Done,” a song that has appeared under various guises, such as Leadbelly’s “On a Monday” or, slightly altered, as Johnny Cash’s “I Got Stripes.” Here it’s done with a shuffling beat and cool trombone.
The band even evokes memories of Jerry Jeff Walker on “Terlingua,” the pretty tune that closes the album. And they can do some crazy blues too, like the Bo Diddley-esque “Hell” and “Play Dead,” in which the guitar sounds like a punkier version of Duane Allman.
I have spoken with the Old Man in the Cave and he has told me to invite you all to a Forbidden Cavern Fandango. From the depths of the Earth come some of the craziest sounds of R&B, rockabilly and garage madness -- and as an added bonus, you'll hear some of my favorite Japanese rock tunes.
(Background Music: Busy Body by The Jolly Green Giants)
Bulldog by King Coleman
Little Bad Wolf by The Tra-Velles
Satellite Baby by Skip Stanley
Tell Me What to Do by The Giant Robots
Visitation by Manby's Head
Sanbuca by The Bama Lamas
The Post Office Line by Dan Melchior & Das Menace
Love Blood Hound by K.C. Mojo Watson
Sunday, September 26, 2010
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@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Wilder Wilder, Faster by The Cramps
Sex Android by The Barbarellatones
Sugar Buzz by The Ruiners
Ghost Shark by Rocket From the Crypt
Who Do You Love by The Preachers
The Trip by The Rockin' Guys
Wail by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Whip the Booty by Andre Williams
Tula by Alejandro Escovedo
Falling Down Again by Buick MacKane
A Different Kind of Ugly by Sons of Hercules
Nama Bersembunyi by arrington de dionyso
Baby by Lyres
Alcohollywood by The Raunch Hands
One Hit Wonder by Texas Terri Bomb
JAPANESE ROCK SET
God Jazz Time by Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
Lingerie Shop by Tsu Shu Ma Mi Re
Ikebukuro Tiger by Guitar Wolf
Your Smiling Face is About to Break by The Amppez
Sex Cow by Teengenerate
Roller Coaster by Red Bacteria Vacuum
Watering by Detroit7
Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakomoto
Let Them Talk by Red Elvises
Ride Helldorados by Deadbolt
Almost a God by Movie Star Junkies
Magpie Song by Delaney Davidson
Sally Go Round the Roses by Holly Golightly
Don't Knock by Mavis Staples
Lucky Day by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
Friday, September, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Running Out Of Money by The Stumbleweeds
Big Bad Wolf by Clinton O'Neal & The Country Drifters
Got a Date with Sally by Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers
The Old Man From The Mountain by The Gourds
Gator Man by Queen Ida
Streamlined Mama by Buddy Jones
Gettin' Drunk and Fallin' Down by Hank III
Vacant-Lot by Deano Waco & The Meat Purveyors
The Race is On by Sixtyniners
Uncle Fudd by Dorothy Shay
Brother, Drop Dead by Redd Stewart & His Kentucky Colonels
Dead Flowers by Jerry Lee Lewis with Mick Jagger
Loco by DM Bob & The Deficits
Junkie Eyes by Kell Robertson
Diddy Boppin' And Motor Mouthin' by Clara Dean
Sweet Jennie Lee by Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel
Weakness In A Man by Waylon Jennings
The Talking Hotpants Blues by The Hickoids
Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul by Maria Muldaur
Sippin' Whiskey by Electric Rag Band
Blues in the Bottle by The Texas Shieks
I Love Onions by Susan Christie
Maverick by Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick
Keep Your Hat on Jenny by Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
Bullet In My Mind by Zeno Tornado & The Boney Google Brothers
Creep Along Moses by Mavis Staple
One Sweet Hello by Merle Haggard
Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home by Mississippi John Hurt
Pamela Brown by Leo Kottke
Together Again by Steve Jordan
Haunted Man by Amanda Pearcy
Country Bumpkin by Cal Smith
Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow by Mitch & Mickey
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
September 24, 2010
The first album by Grinderman is an intense burst of bile, anxiety, rage, obscenity, and loud, sloppy rock ’n’ roll.
It’s my favorite Nick Cave album since 1995’s Murder Ballads. The new Grinderman album, Grinderman 2, while slightly less ragged than the original, is almost as good. And I wouldn’t argue all that hard with those who say it’s even better.
Like many, I assumed that this band — named for a Memphis Slim song and basically just a stripped-down version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds — was a one-off side project for Cave. When I heard a new Grinderman album was in the works, I was afraid it would be a pale shadow of the first. Such fears were baseless.
Reviewing the first album in 2007, I wrote, “Rock ’n’ roll supposedly is a young man’s game — traditionally, some of the best of it is created by horny, sexually frustrated young guys. But with Grinderman ... Cave proves that horny, sexually frustrated middle-aged men can rock, too.”
And three years older, they still can.
Going on the premise that sometimes you can judge a book, or an album, by its cover, the artwork on both albums helps explain the difference between the two efforts. On the first album, the artwork shows a monkey clutching its private parts. The colors are distorted — the animal is green, yellow, and orange. It’s like an image buried inside some advertisement designed to subliminally get you scared and angry.
The cover of Grinderman 2 is disturbing in a different way. It’s a shot of a real wolf — his fangs clearly visible — inside what looks like an upscale home — white marble floors, off-white walls, white roses in a vase, and Roman sculptures. The wolf is in the house — maybe your house. You don’t know how it got there, but it’s there.
Indeed, the wolf stalks Cave’s lyrics on several songs here. In the opening song, “Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man,” Cave sings of himself and his unnamed brother: “I was Mickey Mouse. And he was the Big Bad Wolf!”
Later, in “Heathen Child,” Cave sings of a girl: “Sitting in the bathtub/Waiting for the Wolfman to come!” And maybe it’s my imagination, but in the instrumental break near the end of the next tune, “When My Baby Comes,” I almost think I hear a wolf howl. It’s the same with the start of the following song, “What I Know.”
The first three songs of Grinderman 2 present a classic example of saving your best for first. On “Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man,” Cave howls like Chester Burnett (aka Howlin’ Wolf) on “Smokestack Lightning.”
You can hear echoes of other songs here, too: Patti Smith’s “Gloria” and The Doors’ “When the Music’s Over,” and there’s an intentional nod to blues belter Lucille Bogan’s notorious “Shave ’Em Dry.”
“Mickey Mouse” starts out with a brief, slow guitar introduction and then explodes into full-force demon rock. A bass throbs, drums crash, and a guitar spits distorted sounds as Cave sings, “I woke up this morning/I thought what am I doing here.” His brother is raging and howling at him. There’s a “lupine girl” whose hair is on fire. And someone is “rattling the locks.” In other words, a typical weekend at Nick Cave’s house.
“Worm Tamer” rocks even harder, with a mutated Bo-Diddley-conquers-the-Martians beat. It’s full of fun innuendo and double-entendre. “Well, my baby calls me the Loch Ness Monster/Two great humps and then I’m gone.”
Then “Heathen Child” takes us right back to the nightmare world of “Mickey Mouse.” A girl is “sitting in the bathtub sucking her thumb,” though she’s fully armed as she waits for that Wolf Man.
In one verse Cave sings mockingly: “You think your great big husband will protect you. You are wrong!/You think your little wife will protect you. You are wrong. You think your children will protect you! You are wrong!/You think your government will protect you. You are wrong!”
The album slows down somewhat on the next couple of songs. But even though the music on “When My Baby Comes” is more sedate than before (at least the first half, before Cave and the boys go into a Black Angels-like psychedelic excursion, the lyrics are still full of dread and violence: “They had pistols, they had guns/They threw me on the ground as they entered into me (I was only 15!)” Cave sings, reminding old fans of his songs like “Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry.”
“What I Know” is more mellow — musically, at least. The surreal sonic backdrop sounds like a desperate radio broadcast from a distant dimension. But the rage returns on the next song, “Evil.” Over an almost metallic backdrop, Cave bellows, “O cling to me little baby in this broken dream/And let me protect you from this evil.”
“Kitchenette” is the song that most reminds me of the first Grinderman album in sound and in spirit. The wolf returns, but this time it is a Tex Avery-style cartoon wolf in the house. It’s a swaggering, damaged blues number with Cave in full Nick the Lech mode, coming on to a helpless housewife. “What’s this husband of yours ever given to you?/Oprah Winfrey on a plasma screen,” he sings. “And a brood of jug-eared buck-tooth imbeciles/The ugliest kids I’ve ever seen.”
Caution, would-be ladies’ men: the surest way to bed a married woman probably doesn’t involve insulting her children. But if she likes loud, unfettered, sleazy scary rock ’n’ roll, you might just have a chance if you play her some Grinderman.
Elvis Costello’s forthcoming album, “National Ransom,” mines a century’s worth of pop music history in both the characters, scenarios and themes in his songs, and in the atmospheric sound that producer T Bone Burnett has given the record.
So it makes perfect sense that Costello, a voracious fan of music of all styles, would want to add a vintage touch of some kind in conjunction with the album’s release come Nov. 2.
Vinyl LP version? Everyone’s doing that nowadays, so Costello is going one step beyond: He’s releasing four songs on a pair of 78 rpm discs.
Well if that ain't quaint. I think I'll just hitch up the horse and buggy and go see if they're selling it at the local dry goods store.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 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@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres Kedalaman Air by Arrington de Dionyso Happy Birthday Bitch by The Ruiners Gimme Culture by Red Bacteria Vacuum Invasion of the Surf Zombies by The Barbarellatones Mad Dog by DM Bob & The Deficits Heart of a Rat by Rocket From the Crypt The Striker by The Giant Robots Jump, Jive & Harmonize by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages The Man With The Weird Beard by Arthur Godfrey
Sunshine/Red Lips, Red Eyes, Red Stockings by The Red Elvises Come Back Lord by Rev. Beat-Man & The Unbelievers Do the Wurst by King Salami & The Cumberland 3 Leave Me Alone by Nathaniel Meyer Crazy Baby by The Blasters Jail Bait by Andre Williams & Green Hornet Hang It Up by King Coleman
Big Black Witchcraft Rock by The Cramps You Must Be a Witch by The Lollipop Shoppe Witchcraft by Elvis Presley I Put a Spell on You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins Witchcraft in the Air by Bette Lavette Devil Smile by Nekromantix Voodoo by The Combinations The Witch by The Sonics I Lost My Baby to a Satan Cult by Stephen W. Terrell
Non-Alignment pact by Pere Ubu Moving to Florida by Butthole Surfers Dream Girl by Nick Curran and the Lowlifes Bad Trip by Lee Fields White Cannibal by James Chance CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
I had a hard time deciding whether to put my interview with Kinky Friedman on this blog -- after all, I first came to love him as a songwriter/performer -- or on my political blog.
But considering that most of out conversation was about politics -- and even when I asked him about his musical career, the talk veered back into politics -- I decided to put it over there.
Kinky's scheduled to be at Monte's of Santa Fe cigar store next Sunday. He said he hasn't decided whether he's going to sing any songs.
In the interest of full disclosure -- and full ego gratification -- I should mention that back in the early '90s I opened for Kinky twice when he played in Albuquerque at the El Rey Theatre. He said he remembered that when I talked to him last week, but he probably was just being nice.
They were even better than I thought they'd be. In case you missed my Barrence Whitfield interview yesterday, the R&B belter from Boston reunited, first time in nearly a quarter century, with two original members of The Savages, Peter Greenberg, now a Taos resident, and Phil Lenker. The crowd was far smaller than it should have been (proving true what that gal told The Santa Fe Reporter this week, "My experience of nightlife in Santa Fe is, when I’m looking for something really cool, I can’t find it and, when I’ve found something really cool, I wish more people were there.") But those who were there got a good taste of what Barrence is all about.
If you live in Albuquerque, you've still got a chance. Barrence and The Savages will be at Low Spirits, 2823 Second St. N.W., 8 p.m. tonight. Don't be an idiot, just go!
