Screamin' Dean: The Techno Remix

Even some Howard Dean supporters think this is funny.

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Terrell's Tuneup: Does a Heart Well

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 23, 2004

The government should require a warning sticker on the soundtrack of Francis Ford Coppola’s One From the Heart: “Caution, men shouldn’t listen to Track 11 (“Take Me Home”) if you’re drinking bargain bourbon because the woman you love just ripped out your heart and stomped on it.

Don’t ask. I just know.

And now the One From the Heart soundtrack is coming back to potentially haunt a whole new generation of lovesick listeners snared by the deceptively low-key jazz/blues musings by Tom Waits and his unlikely partner Crystal Gayle.

Yes, that Crystal Gayle. Loretta Lynn’s little sister. Waits, who wrote all the songs, chose her because he liked her late ‘70s country crossover hit “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” (And because he couldn’t get his first choice for the project, Bette Midler.)

The album -- with a couple of interesting if inconsequential bonus cuts -- is being re-released and should be in the stores Tuesday, coinciding with the DVD release of the movie, which stars Terry Garr and Frederic Forrest -- though I’d argue the real stars are Waits’ songs.

This is lounge music -- stand-up bass, smoky guitar, understated blue piano, brushy drums, a sputtering trumpet, a sax that’s hard to tell from a siren, sometimes even lush strings. But it’s lounge music with a bite. I’ve always thought it was Waits’ most overlooked treasures.

One From the Heart was originally released in 1982, the year before Waits blasted into strange dimensions with the Beefheart meets Brecht splendor that was Swordfishtrombones. The two records sound decades apart. Only the “Instrumental Montage” and the ominous tymps on One From the Heart hint at the inspired weirdness just ahead.

The songs generally follow the plot of the movie, which basically concerns the break-up and reconciliation of Garr and Forrest and the heartaches and attempted rebounds in between.

Thus there are Waits solo tunes, Gayle solos and duets. And whether he’s singing or Gayle, Waits makes sure that the songs ache.

Gayle never sounded so stark on her own records as she did on “Old Boyfriends,” where she croons over Dennis Budimir’s pensive guitar.

And she never sounded as emotional as she did on “Take Me Home,” the bittersweet reconciliation number. “I’m so sorry that I broke your heart ..,” she sings with enough emotion to break any heart within hearing range.

Though Waits back in the early ‘80s was known for his funny songs probably more than his love ballads, there’s only one humorous tune here -- “Picking Up After You.” Here Waits and Gayle trade barbs back and forth. The best line is Tom’s offering an important household hint: “I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again/don’t defrost the ice box with a ball point pen.”

Two decades later and this soundtrack has aged magnificently. Take it home, take it to heart.

Also Recommended:

Piosenki Toma Waitsa by Kazik Staszewski. There’s been a handful of Tom Waits tribute albums in recent years -- a couple of not surprisingly limp “various artists” compilations and a surprisingly good blues treatment by John Hammond called Wicked Grin.

But this growling Waits romp by Polish rock star Staszewski beats all.

It sounds surprisingly natural hearing a gutteral voice spitting out Waits tunes in a strange tongue as slightly out-of-tune horns blow and a meandering, abrasive guitar wanders in the background.

Waits fans usually hear the master’s music through a blues/jazz filter.
But also detectable, especially in his music of the past 20 years or so, are Old Country flavors -- Bertold Brecht fingerprints and Eastern European DNA. You can hear it in songs like “Cemetery Polka,” “Innocent When You Dream,” “Underground” and “I’ll Be Gone,” and the entire album Blood Money, which Waits wrote as a soundtrack for a theater production of the tragic Woyzeck a play about a Polish soldier by German poet George Buchner in 1837.

This is the ground Staszewski ploughed for this album. There are three Blood Money songs as well as the others mentioned above. (Actually there are more covers of Rain Dogs songs than anything else.)

Staszewski’s affinity for Waits’ music has been apparent at least since his band Kult’s album Tata Kazika. The album didn’t include any Waits covers (they were songs written by Staszewski‘s father). But Waits’ Grand Weeper/Grim Reaper spirit hovered above just about every tune.

Waits himself would surely approve of Kazik’s arrangements -- the Marc Ribot-like guitars, the clunky percussion, the Starvation Army horns.

But these songs aren’t exactly faithful reproductions. One of my favorites is the 8-minute version of “The Neighborhood,” which starts off with stray guitar grumblings soon joined by a greasy sax. The song threatens to break into a ska, until it slows down into a dirge and Kazik starts singing.

While this album should be required listening for devoted Waits fans, it’s hard to find in these United States. (I’m lucky enough to have a buddy with a Polish girlfriend.)

It’s on the web site for the record company. (Luna Records also has a Nick Cave live album I hadn’t seen before.) But unless you’re familiar with the Polish language and currency this could be difficult.

But you can order it from D&Z House of books, 5714 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60634. Their website’s in Polish, but the money’s in American ($15.95).

(For more on Kazik click here )

Roundhouse Round-up: In a Word, the Speech Was Dramatic

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 22, 2004

Gov. Bill Richardson's public-relations army rarely misses an opportunity to use words like "bold," "innovative," "groundbreaking" and "historic" in his speeches and press releases.

But after Richardson's hourlong, 13-page State of the State address on Tuesday, there's a new word to rival those others.

"Dramatic."

A computer search shows he used this word five times in the speech.

He mentioned dramatic school reform in which teachers got a dramatic salary increase.

There was a dramatic transportation-investment program during the special session.

He wants to "dramatically increase" penalties for killing or injuring someone while driving drunk.

And toward the end of his speech, the governor said, "Together, we can continue the dramatic progress we have made."

One of the few places he didn't use "dramatic" was when he was talking about the increase in movies being shot in the state.

By contrast, Richardson used "bold" only once. And in a dramatic departure from the past, he didn't once say "innovative," "groundbreaking" or "historic."

Nobody's sweetheart now: Old hippies will remember counterculture icon Wavy Gravy's ongoing shtick about "Nobody For President." (Who brought us world peace? Who lowered gas prices? Who kicked special interests out of government? Nobody!)

Gravy's favorite candidate is on the ballot for the upcoming Feb. 3 Democratic presidential-preference caucus. That's right, Democrats can vote for "Nobody" under his (or her?) alias, "Uncommitted." It's right at the bottom of the ballot, for Democrats who want to vote "None of the Above."

So one could argue that Nobody is somebody in New Mexico.

If enough people vote for uncommitted, the party will send delegates to the national Democratic Convention in Boston who are not pledged to any particular candidate.

By the way, Wavy Gravy's "Nobody" campaign is documented here.

Hold that call: Nobody apparently called New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who complained in her Sunday piece that candidate Howard Dean stiffed her on a promised telephone interview last week.

Maybe the former Vermont governor got too busy talking to the editorial board of The Santa Fe New Mexican. He did call this paper Friday as his aides had promised.

What's a meta for?: The local Democratic activist group called Forum 2004 plans a unique program for its meeting next week. Colleen Burke and Mary Charlotte Domandi (who hosts KSFR-FM's Radio Cafe show on weekday mornings) will talk about "Political Metaphors and the Language of Politics."

According to Forum 2004, the two will discuss "why liberals must become conscious and strategic in their use of language -- and how conservatives have taken ownership of the language of winning."

The meeting is 7 p.m. Monday at the LaFarge Library, 1730 Llano St.

This might look familiar

Some other reporters pointed this out to me today.

(New Mexico Legislature: One day down, 29 left to go ...)

TSW Play List

Terrell's Sound World
Sunday, January 18, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Pipeline by Anthrax
Advanced Romance by Frank Zappa with Capt. Beefheart
Bat Chain Puller by Capt. Beefheart
Bob by Primus
Axcerpt by The Mekons

Medication by Gregg Turner & The Mistaken
I Think of Demons by Roky Erikson
Me and The Devil Blues by Dead Meadow
Bless You by The Devil Dogs
Crackpot by L7
Wish That I Was Dead by The Dwarves
Private Hell by Iggy Pop
Execution Day by The New Pornographers
Don't Clip Your Wings by Frank Black & The Catholics
Tell the King the Killer's Here by Ronny Elliott

Not Tonight by Al Green
Have You Seen Her by The Chi-lites
Nutbush City Limits by Ike & Tina Turner
Lost and Paranoid by The Soul of John Black
Love Hater by Outkast
Big Road Blues by Corey Harris
Pretty Thing by Bo Diddley
Real Emotions by Los Lonely Boys

New Orleans is Sinking by The Tragically Hip
We Belong Together by Rickie Lee Jones
Yesterday is Here by Kazik Staszewski
I Beg Your Pardon by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Santa Fe Opry Play List

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, Jan. 16, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Ronnie and Neil by Drive-By Truckers
Venus by Southern Culture on the Skids
Parallel Bars by Robbie Fulks with Kelly Willis
I Push Right Over by Rosie Flores
Your Old Love Letters by Bobby Flores
The Shiek of Araby by The Last Mile Ramblers
Reno Blues by Merle Haggard with Willie Nelson
Mr. Blue by David Bromberg

One More Time by Bill Hearne
They Call the Wind Mariah by The Buckerettes
It's My Way by The Sundowners
Another Lonely Heart by Eleni Mandell
What Are We Waiting For by The Yayhoos
Hey Hey by Graham Lindsey
Burn Burn Burn by Ronnie Elliott
You Pulled Me Down by Ben Atkins

Make Love to Yur Horse by Julien Aklei
Tennessee Stud by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Doc Watson
Chestnut Mare by The Byrds
Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan by Tammy Faye Starlite
I'm Going Home by Sacred Heart Singers at Liberty Church
Dear Mama by Acie Cargill

The Month of January by Chipper Thompson
Gypsy Songman by Jerry Jeff Walker
Step Off Your Cloud by Kell Robertson
Old Rivers by Walter Brennan
Meadowlake by Nels Andrews
Farther Along by Hayseed with Emmylou Harris
Feel Like Going Home by Charlie Rich
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Terrell's Tuneup: Unstoppable Soul

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 16, 2004

Is there some kind of “soul revival” gurgling underground. There were actually two good old-school soul albums released in 2003 by venerated masters of the genre -- Rediscovered by Howard Tate and I Can’t Stop by Al Green.

Green was the last great star of pure Southern soul music. His mid ‘70s glory years came at a time when soul music of the ‘60s was evolving into the more lush Philadelphia Sound of Gamble and Huff, the harder edge of funk and the emotionally bankrupt but commercially explosive idiocy that was disco.

Green arose several years after the Greatest Generation of soulsters -- two decades or more after pioneers like Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. And he was different from Most of the giants of the genre. He didn’t have the raw urgency of Otis, the wickedness of Pickett, the craziness of James Brown, the world weary wisdom of Curtis Mayfield or the suaveness of Marvin Gaye.

But there’s no doubt that Green belongs in this distinguished. His records were among the best stuff on the radio back in the post-Beatles/pre-punk lost years of the early and mid ‘70s. There was a sweetness and sincerity -- as well as sexiness -- in Green’s tenor -- not to mention unforgettable melodies and simple hook-laden arrangements.

Like a Black Roy Orbison, (whose “O Pretty Woman” he convincingly covered) Al Green sang for the lonely. Songs like “Tired of Being Alone” and “Let’s Stay Together” were pleas so full of both hope and despair you didn’t know how anyone could ignore them.

Green’s career in popular music ended about the time that America’s airwaves were in the deepest throes of the disco scare

It’s been nearly a quarter century since Al Green recorded secular music. Like a Sam Cooke in reverse, Green went from pop to gospel.

And no that wasn’t prompted by that tragic and bizarre 1974 night when a former girlfriend broke into his house, poured boiling grits on Green (who was in the bathtub at the time) then shot and killed herself.

Green’s decision to quit secular music came five years later, after he fell off the stage at a Cincinnati concert.

Since then Green has devoted his life and his art to the Lord for almost all this time. Folks who have attended Green’s church in Memphis, Tenn. say that services there are higher energy than just about any rock ‘n’ roll show you can name.

Until late last year, there’s only been one new secular album, the obscure Love is Reality (which escaped mass attention and admittedly flew under my own radar.)

But I Can’t Stop is the first secular Al Green album in more than 25 years produced by Willie Mitchell, the man responsible for all the classic Green records and co-writing some of Green‘s greatest songs. (Mitchell did produce a Green gospel records in 1985)

On my first couple of listens have to admit I was somewhat disappointed in I Can’t Stop. It sounded good. Green’s voice hasn’t suffered in the passing of time and Mitchell still is a master at good clean arrangements. But none of the songs seemed to come anywhere close to Green’s greatest hits.

However, the more I listen to it, the more this new record rings true. True, there’s no “Let’s Stay Together” here, but I could listen to I Can’t Stop all day.

There’s the strutting beat of “Play to Win,” with Green moaning and squealing as a horn section recreates the horny glory of the Stax/Volt years. There’s a sweet ballad called “Rainin’ in My Heart” whose secret star is the swirling organ of Robert Clayborne. There’s a six-minute blues song Robert Cray probably wishes he had written called “My Problem is You,”

The album ends with a tune called “Too Many.” It’s an upbeat track that sounds influenced by New Orleans maestro Allen Toussaint. But the happy “Life is a Carnival” melody is deceptive. Here Green sings the most troubled lyrics on the album:

“Too many things in my head/Too many ghosts in my bed … I got too many things to do/I got too many things that ain’t true/I got too many and that’s wrong for you.”

For the sake of the Rev. Al Green’s church, I wouldn’t want to encourage him to turn his back on the world of the gospel. But I do hope Green makes more journeys into the secular.

Also recommended:

*Mississippi to Mali by Corey Harris. This album should be a companion piece to Feel Like Going Home, Martin Scorsese’s contribution to his recent PBS documentary series The Blues.

Harris basically was the center of that film. Scorsese showed Harris talking with old Mississippi bluesmen, including the master of fife-and-drum music Otha Turner. It also showed Harris traveling to Africa, talking to and jamming with African musicians such as Ali Farka Toure of Mali.

Toure is on this album. And on Turner would have been, but he died shortly before the scheduled recording session.

The most satisfying songs here probably are the fife-and-drum songs like “Station Blues” and “Back Atcha,” which Harris recorded with Turner’s granddaughter Shardee Thomas.

My favorite cuts with Toure are the covers of Skip James Songs “Special Rider Blues” and “Cypress Grove”) where the African plays a najarka (one-string violin). Also haunting is the slow, John Lee Hooker-like “Rokie,” which features a repeated blues guitar riff and clacking percussion by Souleyman Kane.

However some of the lengthier Toure cuts like the 6-minute “Tamala,” start to drag.

While Harris’ roots journey here is interesting, his own experiments in fusing blues and African (and other) sounds -- his last album Downhome Sophisticate, for instance -- is more rewarding.