A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Almost a month ago I posted here about an e-mailed letter to the editor of The New Mexican in which reader Andrew Duran apparently was upset with a story I wrote about a local Republican Party function.

"terrell should go back where he came from.where racism is still rapant and the gop are still lynching people of color." is just one of the suggestions he shared in his thoughtful critique.

The e-mail address on the original letter at first looked like a phony because when I tried to respond to this gentleman my e-mail was returned. But I guess the crack editorial staff of The New Mexican was able to verify the author. A heavily edited version of the letter was published in today's paper under the headline Terrell the Terrible.

If you missed the original post and want to see the full unedited letter and my response, it's right at the top of my April Archives.

WEDDING DRESS

My friend Margot turned me on to this one. Funniest thing I've seen on E-bay in awhile.

CLICK HERE

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAY LIST

Sunday, May 23,2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I Had Too Much To Dream by The Electric Prunes
Letter to Memphis by The Pixies
Gandhi by Patti Smith
My GF by Chopper Sick Balls
Compared to What by Les McCann & Eddie Harris

Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Bruce Springstone
I Lost My Mind by The Angry Samoans
Rusty Cage by Soundgarden
McDonna by The Three Johns
Helldorado by Davie Allan & The Arrows
Rip Off by Johnny Dowd
Liar Liar by The Castaways
Green Door by The Cramps
The Prize by Cellophane Typewriters
A Little Red Fez by Kalesijski Zvuci

Be For Real by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
Dirty by Earth, Wind and Fire
Expansions by Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echos
I'll Be Alright by Terrance Trent D'Arby
Need a Little Taste of Love by The Isley Brothers

Chains of Love by Los Lobos
Little Head by John Hiatt
Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long by Brian Wilson
Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me) by The Four Seasons
Classic Hollywood Ending by Stan Ridgway
I Want You to Hurt Like I Do by Randy Newman
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

NICK OF AGES

Writer Nick Hornby, who is most famous for writing the book that was made into the movie High Fidelty just published a wonderful, must-read essay on the state of rock 'n' roll. He even talks about the need of us older folk (he's 47. I'm 50) for the "exhilaration and a sense of invincibility" that good rock 'n' roll brings us -- and why so much contemporary popular music is failing.

Plus he frames the whole piece with a discussion of a recent performance of Marah, which was one of my favorite acts I saw at South by Southwest this year. (Check back in this blog's March Archives.)

Hornby's piece is in the New York Times, so if you're not registered for their online edition, you'll have to register. (Do it.)

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAY LIST

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, May 21, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Host: Steve Terrell
With Co-host Dana Brownrigg

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Get Up and Go by David Bromberg
Whip the Blankets by Neko Case
Tarmac by Hazeldine
Steve's Last Ramble by Steve Earle
Garbage Head by Eric Ambel
Amazons and Coyotes by Simon Stokes
Red Dress by James McMurty

Calamity Jane by Grant Lee Phillips
Amie by Pure Prairie League
Clementine by Parlour James
Pretty Polly by Mary & Mars
My Maria by B.W. Stevenson
O, Dana by Big Star
Susan's Song by Tom House
Laura by Rolf Cahn
The Ballad of Cat Ballou by Nat King Cole & Stubby Kaye

Loretta Lynn Set
All Songs by Loretta Lynn except where noted

Van Lear Rose
You Ain't Woman Enough
Portland, Oregon Loretta with Jack White
As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone by Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
Mississippi Woman, Louisiana Man by Kate Campbell with Kevin Gordon
Have Mercy
Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be by Ernest Tubb & Loretta Lynn
Rated X by The White Stripes
The Story of My Life

Tell Me True by Grey De Lisle with Murry Hammond
Sweet Dreams by Patsy Cline
Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blues by Crystal Gayle
Break It To Me Gently by Brenda Lee
Sugaree by Graham Parker
Somewhere in Time by Los Lobos with Dave Alvin
I Wish I Was The Moon by Neko Case
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

Donuts Make My Brown Eyes Blue

My friend Dana has a friend Robin who always thought Crystal Gayle's biggest hit was called the above.

Don't feel stupid, Robin. Dana herself always thought "The Age of Aquarius" was "The Angel Aquarium."

Another friend of mine always thought the line in Michael Murphey's "Wildfire" was "And the pony she called Wildfire busted down and stalled."

What are your favorite mistaken titles and lyrics? Please use the comment function below to share.

" 'scuse me while I kiss this guy ... "

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: SWOONING FOR LORETTA!

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, May 21, 2004

I can see why some country purists might get upset about Van Lear Rose, the new album by Loretta Lynn. Produced by Jack White White of The White Stripes, many of the songs here rock seriously. Some of the tracks have about 10 times the drum sound as any previous Loretta effort. And White’s slide guitar sure can scream.

So if you’re a purist who doesn’t like to see those lines crossed, by all means stick with Loretta’s ‘60s-’70s classics. (In fact, if you’re a newcomer who came to Loretta through The White Stripes, immerse yourself in some classic Loretta as quickly as possible. You won’t be sorry.)

But as a long-time Loretta fan, I give my heartiest squeal of approval for Van Lear Rose. The lady sounds inspired here. And if, at the age of 68 or 70 or whatever she is, she wants to rock out with a bunch of young punks, more power to her.

After all, she made her name in the early days by challenging Nashville orthodoxy. She was the first female country singer who actually wrote most of her own songs. In an era when the C&W industry was looking for mainstream respectability she unabashedly kept things real with her songs about domestic discord, drinking and real-life heartache.

Not to mention the fact that her songs like “Pregnant Again” and -- especially -- “The Pill” were always getting banned on country radio back then for their “controversial” subject matter.

Besides, in the liner notes, Loretta compares Jack White to her old producer, Nashville icon Owen Bradley.

Trust her. She’s Loretta Lynn.

The singer wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album. And there’s some fine ones.

“Family Tree,” featuring some sad fiddle by hotshot stringman Dirk Powell, is a confrontation with “the other woman,” a tried and true Loretta theme we’ve heard before in songs like “Fist City” and “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man.” My favorite line in the new song: “No I didn’t come to fight/ If he was a better man I might/But I wouldn’t dirty my hands/ On trash like you …”

Likewise on “Mrs. Leroy Brown” she indulges in a revenge fantasy against bad, bad Leroy and the “big old blonde who thinks she’s a movie star” threatening to “grab her by her pony tail and sling her around and around.”

A variation on that theme is found on “Women’s Prison,” in which the narrator gets the death penalty for plugging an errant husband.

The most moving song on the album is “Miss Being Mrs.,” in which Loretta, who lost her husband of 48 years in 1996, sings frankly about the loneliness of widowhood.

The most surreal track here is “Little Red Shoes,” a spoken -word piece in which Loretta tells the story of her mother shoplifting her first pair of shoes for her over a dreamy instrumental track. Has anyone coined the genre name “Honky tonk/trip hop” yet?


The last song, “The Story of My Life,” is just that, a humorous overview of her well-known biography (slyly working in some of titles of her hits). The verse about the Coal Miner’s Daughter movie ends with , “What I wanna know is what happened to the cash.” But it’s hardly a bitter tune. “I have to say that I’ve been blessed/ Not bad for this ol’ Kentucky girl I guess.”

Not bad, indeed, Loretta.

Also recommended:

The Graceful Ghost by Grey DeLisle. This has to be one of the prettiest country albums -- actually one of the prettiest CDs of any genre -- I’ve heard in a long time.

DeLisle’s voice invites comparisons to Dolly Parton’s, both in timbre and emotional punch. And like Dolly, DeLisle is a smart songwriter and fascinating storyteller. She wrote all the tunes here except for her cover of an obscure Kitty Wells song, "This White Circle on My Finger."

The music here, provided by a small acoustic group including her husband Murry Hammond (the bass player for The Old 97s, who plays guitar and sings on this album) wisely keeps the emphasis on the singer’s voice.

There’s a Civil War feel to much of the album. Some songs sound like antebellum parlor songs. "Tell Me True," a simple love song done as a duet with her husband includes a spoken part -- done on antiquated recording equipment -- in which DeLisle reads from a Civil War love letter.

DeLisle has said in interviews that The Graceful Ghost represents her long distance courtship with Hammond. That’s sweet, but I hope it’s not literally true. There are some beautiful love songs here, but there’s plenty of tunes that, following the folk-ballad tradition, are downright tragic.

Such is the case of "Poor Katy Allen," which is about a woman lost in a shipwreck and “Black Haired Boy” -- another heart-tugging Hammond duet and another shipwreck song.

But most tragic of all is "The Maple Tree," a war ballad (I think this one’s World War II) in which a case of mistaken identity leads to horrible consequences.

If she keeps putting out records like this, I hope Grey is around as long as Loretta.

Hey Loretta! Tune in The Santa Fe Opry Friday night on KSFR, 90.7 FM, for a musical salute to the Coal Miner’s Daughter -- Loretta old and new, Loretta with Conway, Loretta with Ernest Tubb, Loretta covers and more. Show starts at 10 p.m. (and I’ll play some Grey DeLisle in there somewhere) while the Loretta segment starts right after 11 p.m.