TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, November 21, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Now Webcasting
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays MDT
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
My Little Problem by The Replacements with Johnette Napolitano
Have You No Pride by The Donnas
Man by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Aba Cadaver by The Hives
Fell in Love With a Girl by The White Stripes
Rape Me by Nirvana
Living Life by The Eels
Hombre Secreto by The Plugz
Nimrod's Son by Frank Black & 2 Pale Boys
Insignificance by The Mekons
Hang Fire by The Rolling Stones

California Tuffy by The Geraldine Fibbers
Broken English by Marianne Faithful
Abattoir Blues by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Green Eyed by The Fall
The World's a Mess, It's in My Kiss by X
I Want To Be Loved by You by Helen Kane

Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair by The Twilight Singers
My Curse by The Afghan Whigs with Marcy Mays
Tilted by Sugar
Evil by Interpol
Marquee Moon by Television

Nobody Laughs When They Leave by The Residents
Into the Sun by Stan Ridgway
Dead and Lovely by Tom Waits
All That's Left to Say Is Goodbye by NRBQ
The Days of Wine and Booze by The Minus 5
Blue Clouds by Mercury Rev
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

SANCHEZ NEW MAJORITY LEADER

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Nov. 21, 2004

State Senate Democrats on Saturday chose Sen. Michael Sanchez of Belen to be their majority floor leader.

Also during a party caucus in Albuquerque, the Democrat lawmakers endorsed Sen. Ben Altamirano of Silver City to be the new president pro tem of the Senate. While this gives Altamirano‘s chances a good boost, the president pro-tem is voted on by the full Senate -- not just Democrats -- in January.

The two top positions in the Senate opened up following the resignation of prior Majority Leader Manny Aragon and the decision of current president pro tem Richard Romero to not seek re-election.

Sanchez, a lawyer by profession, has been the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee for several years.

He is the brother of Raymond Sanchez, who was speaker of the House for 16 years until he was defeated for re-election in 2000.

In a secret ballot Michael Sanchez defeated several candidates vying for the job, which had belonged to Sen. Manny Aragon. Aragon resigned from the Senate this year after being named president of New Mexico Highlands University.

Sanchez said he's "excited that the caucus is together." He said he spoke with the two senators who ran for the majority leader post -- Phil Griego of San Jose and Carlos Cisneros of Taos -- and all agreed to work together.

"I'll be working with the governor and every legislator," Sanchez said. "I believe this is a new beginning in the Senate."

Contracted after the vote, Griego said he wasn’t upset.

“I’m still a senator,” he said. “I still have a voice and a responsibility to my constituents.”

Griego had campaigned aggressively for the position for several months. One of his selling points was what he called his “access to the Fourth floor” -- in other words his good working relationship with Gov. Bill Richardson.

Richardson has stayed officially neutral in the leadership contests. But some senators believe that Altamirano and Griego were Richardson’s preferred candidates for the posts.

Altamirano, who has been in the Senate since 1971, is the senator with the most seniority. He has served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee for several years.

Republican Joe Carraro of Albuquerque also is running for the pro tem job. Democrats outnumber Republicans 24-18 in the Senate, though Carraro claims he can convince enough Democrats to vote for him to win.

Sanchez, however, said he believes Democrats will unite behind Altamirano. "I believe our caucus will name the next president pro tem, he said.

Two other Democrats were seeking the pro tem post, including Senators Tim Jennings of Roswell and Dede Feldman of Albuquerque.

The Democratic senators agreed not to disclose the vote count in any of the races a senator, who asked not to be identified said.

In another leadership race, two Democrats tied for the position of majority whip. These were Senators Linda Lopez of Albuquerque and Mary Jane Garcia of Dona Ana, who currently holds that position.

Senate Democrats will hold another caucus meeting Monday to vote again for whip. Sanchez said one possibility would be to have "co-whips."

Sen. Lidio Rainaldi of Gallup was elected caucus leader.

Senate Republicans are scheduled to meet today though neither Minority Floor Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales or Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson of Las Cruces are expected to have any challengers.

House Democrats and Republicans will both caucus on Monday, Both Majority Leader Danice Picraux, D-Albuquerque and Minority Floor Leader Ted Hobbs, R-Albuquerque, have challengers.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, November 19, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Now Webcasting:
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays MDT
Host: Steve Terrell
Co-host Laurell Reynolds

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Lower 48 by The Gourds
Daddy's Cup by Drive-By Truckers
Believe It's True by Goshen
(Interview with filmmaker Lexie Shabel, Grant Hayunga of Goshen and Bill Palmer of Hundred Year Floor, concerning Lexie's new movie VFWbya.)
Come On by Hundred Year Flood
El Presidente by Goshen
Love and Lust by Hundred Year Flood
Mike the Can Man by Joe West
Matty Groves by ThaMuseMeant
I Am A Lonesome Fugitive by Roy Buchanan
Soul of a Man by Mother Earth

I Don't Like That Mirror by Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys
I've Got That Old Time Religion In My Heart by Iris Dement
One Piece at a Time by Michelle Shocked
Sometimes When I Get To Thinking by Buffy Saint Marie
You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma by David Frizzel & Shelly West
Agony Train by The Legendary Shack Shakers
I Sure Miss You by Gene Vincent
Truck Drivin Son Of A Gun by Dave Dudley
Lost To A Geisha Girl by Skeeter Davis

Loretta by Neko Case
Women's Prison by Loretta Lynn
I Still Miss Someone by Dolly Parton
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry by Hank Williams
Someday by Blaze Foley
A Couple More Years by Willie Nelson
The Wurlitzer Prize by Waylon Jennings
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: IT'S TWILIGHT TIME

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 19, 2004

She Loves You, the new album by The Twilight Singers is Greg Dulli’s latest joy ride -- in the Blue Velvet meaning of that phrase -- into the dark side of love and desire.

With roaring guitars and his own scratchy Romeo-is-bleeding voice -- aided on several tunes here by the magic baritone growl of his former roomie and ex-Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan -- Dulli belts out songs of betrayal, anger and resignation.

This is a covers album. Dulli’s familiar with the concept. With his old band, The Afghan Whigs, he released an EP of soul covers called Uptown Avondale, which, with versions of “Come See About Me,” “Band of Gold,” “True Love Travels Down a Gravel Road,” etc., showed common if not obvious threads between Dulli’s Cincinnati grunge and sweet soul music.

But this album is more ambitious, with Dulli covering a wider range of sources: Coltrane to Fleetwood Mac; Marvin Gaye to Bjork; Gershwin to Hope Sandoval. (But no, The fab moptops’ famous yeah-yeah-yeah song won’t be found here.)

Amazingly Dulli makes each of these songs his own. She Loves You comes off like a scrapbook of a bruised relationship.

Dulli sounds like a lovelorn prowler as he earnestly sings the lyrics of Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love,” just barely rising above the din of guitars, piano and Jon Skibic’s screaming lap steel.

He sounds as if he’s been up all night as he rages through Lindsay Buckingham’s “What Makes You Think You’re the One.” Over a guitar riff (heavy on the digital delay) and ominous piano chords, Dulli’s voice sounds somewhat, well, dulled, especially compared with Buckingham’s piercing vocals on the original Fleetwood version. But Dulli’s is the voice of a man obsessed. While Buckingham’s original was a snide putdown, Dulli’s is the song of a battered boxer about to throw his last desperate punch.

Not many rock ’n’ rollers have attempted Billie Holiday’s bizarre and horrifying protest song “Strange Fruit.” But Dulli, enraged with the news of a 21st Century lynching in Georgia and inspired by The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” pulls it off with authority.

It’s much better than the puzzling version of Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” another tune that most rockers wouldn’t attempt. Jazz purists are bound to hate this track, though if you don’t listen to it as a Coltrane song, it’s a sweet, dreamy and addictive track.

Dulli’s duet with Lanegan on Skip James’ “Hard Time Killing Floor” (fans of O Brother Where Art Thou? should remember this tune being sung by Chris Thomas King) captures the eerie side of the blues. This is done with just a dobro and acoustic guitar accompaniment.

When Dulli and Lanegan sing, “You say you got money/You better be sho’/These hard times will kill you/They’ll drag you down slow,” they sound like they know what they’re talking about.

Perhaps the most emotionally satisfying song here is the Twilight stormy version of “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair.” It’s an old folk song. It starts out slow with Dulli strumming a guitar. But soon bass, drums and an almost Latin sounding piano come in. By the end of the first verse you hear an electric guitar rumbling. And by the second verse, Dulli is howling. And when he bellows, “I love the ground on which she stands,” he sounds like someone who knows the feeling isn’t mutual, but is helpless to feel otherwise.

This would have been the perfect ending for the album. However, a short but intense version of “Summertime” follows. It’s neither as cool and graceful as Sam Cooke’s version or as crazed and powerful as Janis Joplin’s, but it fits in with the rest of She Loves You.

This isn’t Dulli’s best effort. It’s not in the same league as The Whigs’ Gentlemen or 1965, or even The Twilight Singer’s Blackberry Belle. But there’s not a weak song on She Loves You.

Also Noted:

*Antics by Interpool. I’m a newcomer to this New York band. It’s hard to read a review of their work without stumbling over comparisons to Joy Division and even The Smiths. And it’s true they’ve got a lot of the dark energy of the former and some of the guitar chops of the later.

But I also hear a little bit of the Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers here -- the surly guitars, that Lurch Addams organ that starts off “Next Exit,” the album’s first song. (Stretch it out a little bit and add a power drill and you’ve got the intro to the Whigs’ Black Love.)

Interpol singer Paul Banks doesn’t sound like rough ‘n’ raspy Greg Dulli. Banks sounds more like singers from British ‘80s bands like The Psychedelic Furs or Depeche Mode.

No doubt they make some interesting music. (My favorite spot on the album is the song “Take You on a Cruise” when it slows down and the bass part sounds like Brian Wilson’s on Pet Sounds.) But in the end, there’s not many memorable tracks on this album.

Remember the VFW: Goshen’s Grant Hayunga and Bill Palmer of Hundred Year Flood will perform live on The Santa Fe Opry, 10 p.m tonight on KSFR, 90.7 FM. (Hear it live, streaming on the web. CLICK HERE.)

Both bands are part of an upcoming documentary called VFWbya, which tells the story of the short-lived music scene at the VFW hall on Montezuma Street. The film, by Lexie Shabel, will debut at the Santa Fe Film Festival , 8:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, 1615 B Paseo de Peralta. Immediately following the screening Goshen and Hundred Year Flood will play at The Paramount. Cost is $6, though if you show your stub from the screening you get a dollar off.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP BATTLES

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Nov. 18, 2004

There's so many legislators running for some leadership position, it's hard to keep track without a printed program.

Case in point: When I dialed a wrong number Wednesday trying to call a senator who had been considering a run for Senate president Pro-tem (Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas) I got hold of another lawmaker who's running for House majority whip (Rep. Joe Campos, Santa Rosa).

Thanks to the departures of former Senate President pro-tem Richard Romero and former Senate Majority Floor Leader Manny Aragon, there will be new leadership in the state Senate.

And over on the House side, Democratic Floor Leader Danice Picraux and her Republican counterpart Ted Hobbs (both of Albuquerque) are still around, but both are being challenged by members of their own caucuses.

Here's a run-down on who's running for what:

Senate President pro-tem: This post, currently held by Romero, who lost his Congressional race against U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson this month, has attracted several candidates.

Some observers think Sen. Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City has the best shot. Altamirano, who has been in the Senate since 1971, has the most seniority of all state senators. For the past few year's he's been chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Some say he's the favorite of Gov. Bill Richardson.

Sen. Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, describes his bid as a longshot. He was majority floor leader for several years until late 2001 when he was overthrown in a coup by Aragon (who earlier that year had been ousted from the pro-tem job by Romero). Jennings is fourth in seniority in the Senate.

Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque has said she is running for the pro-tem position, as is Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque.

And though he is a Republican, and would need some Democrats for him to win, Sen. Joe Carraro of Albuquerque is in the running. He said Wednesday he thinks he can pull off as many as seven Democrats.

Because the president pro-tem is elected by the full Senate on the first day of the session - and not the individual party caucuses - the idea of a coalition is a possibility. It happened in 2001 when Romero joined with a handful of renegade Democrats and all 18 Senate Republicans to defeat Aragon.

Some have speculated that Jennings, a conservative Democrat, could pull off a similar trick this time.

Jennings downplayed such a scenario in an interview Wednesday.

"I'm a loyal Democrat," he said. "You look at my history and I never joined with any coalition in the past."

But he didn't completely shut the door. "It's a non-partisan post," he said. "Of course I would welcome any Republican support."

Asked whether he'd support whatever candidate is endorsed by the Senate Democratic caucus, which meets in Albuquerque Saturday, Jennings said, "It depends on who the candidate is."

Senate Majority Floor Leader: Could Phil Griego be the next Manny Aragon? Griego's fellow senators say the Democrat from San Jose is running the most aggressive campaign of any of the contenders.

But there are other contenders. Sen. Michael Sanchez, D-Belen and Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Taos also reportedly are running for the job that opened up when Aragon accepted the job of president of New Mexico Highlands University.

Neither Sanchez nor Cisneros could be reached for comment Wednesday.

Griego recently sent letters to fellow Democratic senators saying that he's the most qualified partly because of a close relationship with House Speaker Ben Lujan and his "access to the Fourth Floor."

"Of the three people running, I have the best working relationship with the governor," Griego said this week.

Lujan on Wednesday confirmed he does have a good relationship with Griego. "But I think I could work well with whoever they elect," he said.

Richardson said recently he won't get involved in the leadership contests. Some have expressed skepticism about that.

House Majority Floor Leader: Rep. Danice Picraux, D-Albuquerque, has held this position since 2001. But now she has at least one and perhaps two challengers.

Rep. John Heaton, D-Carlsbad, confirmed Wednesday that he's running. And Lujan said that Rep. Ken Martinez, D-Grants, also will try to unseat Picraux. (Martinez couldn't be reached for comment.)

Lujan said he's staying neutral in this and other House leadership contests.

"Danice has done a good job," he said. "She's totally dedicated."

But Lujan said he could work with whoever the House Democrats choose when they caucus on Monday.

House Minority Floor Leader: The Republicans also could change leaders. Rep. Ted Hobbs of Albuquerque said he thinks he has enough votes to stay on as leader.

But Rep. Brian Moore, R-Clayton, who has been campaigning for the job since April, also expressed confidence that he has enough support.

Meanwhile, Rep. Larry Larranaga of Albuquerque confirmed on Wednesday that he's considering a stab for Hobbs' post. But he said he hasn't quite decided.

House Republicans meet in caucus on Monday.

Senate GOP: Senate Democrats and both parties in the House also have contested races for their respective whips.

The only caucus that apparently doesn't have any leadership battles ahead is the Senate Republicans. Senate Republican Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales said Wednesday, "I think we're safe. But there might be a few provisional ballots lying around somewhere."

He'll know for sure on Sunday, when the Senate Republicans meet.

AIR AMERICA COMES TO SANTA FE

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 16, 2004

Conservative Republicans might control the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court, but the right-wing dominance of a local talk-radio station is about to end as the unabashedly liberal Air America network readies to start broadcasting at KTRC 1260 AM in Santa Fe.


“Santa Fe is a natural for us,” said Jon Sinton, president of Air America, in a telephone interview Monday. “We’re very excited.”

Air America, which broadcasts on more than 40 stations and two satellite networks, features shows hosted by left-of-center entertainers such as comedians Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, Chuck D and Steve Earle as well as liberal commentators such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Malloy and Randi Rhodes.

The network was supposed to begin airing on KTRC on Monday, but technical difficulties with satellite equipment delayed the debut until today or Wednesday, Sinton said.

KTRC, which is owned by the AGM radio group, for years broadcast left-leaning programs from the I.E. America Network, which was affiliated with the United Auto Workers union.

However, I.E. America shut down early this year. KTRC kept one of the old I.E. America shows, The Thom Hartmann Radio Program, but added ultra-conservative talk shows such as Worldnet Daily Radio Active.

Last spring, a Texas radio company announced that it would bring Air America to Santa Fe. However, those plans fell through. “I don’t know what happened to those guys,” Sinton said.

More recently Air America picked up an Albuquerque station, KABQ 1350 AM. Reception of that station in Santa Fe is not good, however.

KTRC’s deal with Air America has been in the works for several months, Sinton said. One AGM employee said, “It took awhile to convince (AGM) that this was not the right market for conservative talk.”

In Santa Fe County, Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-to-1. Democrat John Kerry got more than 70 percent of the vote against President Bush earlier this month. The last Republican presidential candidate to carry this county was Richard Nixon in 1972.

“We’re on in liberal communities like Ann Arbor, Mich.; Madison, Wis.; and Portland, Ore.,” Sinton said. “But our most stimulating debut was in San Diego, which is a very conservative city.”

According to the Web site for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Arbitron ratings in September showed that KLSD AM, which broadcasts Air America, was the No. 1 station with listeners between the ages of 25 and 54.

Despite the new left turn of KTRC, Al Franken and company will have to share the station with a prominent conservative talk-show host for a few weeks.

Because of contractual obligations, Michael Reagan, the son of the late former President Ronald Reagan, will continue to broadcast his show week nights on KTRC.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, November 14, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Now Webcasting
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays MDT
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Sample and Hold by Neil Young
Computer Age by Sonic Youth
Had a Dad by Jane's Addiction
Mad Mock Goth by The Fall
Days and Days by Concrete Blonde
When I Was Young by Eric Burdon & The Animals

Masters of War by Eddie Vedder & Mike McCready
Empire of the Senseless by The Mekons
I'm So Afraid by Fleetwood Mac
Velouria by Frank Black & 2 Pale Boys

Too Tough to Die by The Twilight Singers
Flip Your Wig by Husker Du
Evil by Interpol
Ain't No Sunshine/Lonely Avenue by Isaac Hayes
Do the Primal Thing by NRBQ

Stop the Train by Mother Earth
Step Into the Light by Mavis Staples
I'm in Love by Nathaniel Mayer
Coon on the Moon by Howlin' Wolf
Only the Lonely by The Motels
Film of the Movie by The Minus 5
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis