JOSE, CAN YOU SEE?

Looks like the President of the United States, exercising his role as music-critic-in-chief, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding "Nuestro Himno," the new Spanish-language version of the national anthem.

But here's the question nobody is asking:

When Jimi Hendrix wrote the dang song, did he mean for it to be sung in Spanish?

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, April 28, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Back from the Shadows Again by The Firesign Theatre
America First by Merle Haggard
Keep on Truckin' by Hot Tuna
The Song is Still Slipping Away by Shooter Jennings
Rolling Stone From Texas by Old 97s
Harder Than Your Husband by Frank Zappa with Jimmy Carl Black
Red Staggerwing by Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
The Ballad of Jessie Jane by Alice Cooper
Trailer Park Liberal by Joe West

Tesla's Hotel Room by The Handsome Family
Looking For Love by Alejandro Escovedo
Old Dan Tucker by Bruce Springsteen
Rider in The Rain by Reckless Kelly & Joe Ely
Green and Cold by Raising Cane
Unoriginal by Hundred Year Flood
(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle Blow by Townes Van Zandt

A Man of God by Trilobite
Run by Eric Hisaw
Baby Do Right By Me by Danny Santos
(I Am Your) Destroyer by Gary Heffern
You Only Kiss Me When We Say Goodbye by Cornell Hurd
It's No Secret by Mose McCormack
Cold Dark Taverns by Jim Terr
Prayin' Hands by Elliott Rogers
Maryanne, Good Time Gal by Kell Robertson

Standin' in the Need of Prayer by Bethleham & Eggs
Maybe You Heard by Todd Snider
Power, Lust and Money by Bob Neuwirth
That Old Time Feeling by Guy Clark
Amsterdam by Jon Dee Graham
Space City by Drive-By Truckers
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

HOW "ONE-DAY" STORIES LIVE ON

I wrote a sidebar for Andy Lenderman's story in today's New Mexican concerning Jan Goodwin's testimony at the Robert Vigil trial Thursday. My piece deals with the likely political fallout of that testimony.


A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
April 28, 2006

Testimony in former state Treasurer Robert Vigil’s corruption trial Thursday that state finance officials wrote a letter four years ago asking Attorney General Patricia Madrid to investigate possible wrongdoing in Vigil’s office is a “one-day story for the average reader,” a prominent New Mexico pollster says.


But such a story is likely to enjoy a longer second life in the form of unceasing campaign ads directed against Democrat Madrid’s bid to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, pollster Brian Sanderoff added in an interview Thursday.


“We know it’s going to be a negative, nasty campaign on the part of both sides, given the history of recent elections in the First Congressional District,” Sanderoff said. “Political opponents normally try to capitalize on the perceived weaknesses of their opponents.”

Jan Goodwin, who was director of the Board of Finance in 2002, testified Thursday that she wrote a letter to Madrid on behalf of the board, calling for an investigation of an apparent violation of the state’s procurement code.

The alleged violation was related to the hiring of California investment adviser Kent Nelson — a key figure in the alleged kickback scheme that ultimately resulted in 28 federal charges against Vigil and the guilty plea of a previous former treasurer, Michael Montoya.

“A letter makes a great graphic in a negative TV ad,” Sanderoff said.

However, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said Madrid never received the letter and called the document Goodwin testified about a “draft.”

But well before Goodwin’s testimony, state Republicans persistently have been accusing Madrid of turning a blind eye to corruption in state government for years.

On Sept. 22 — less than a week after Vigil and Montoya were charged — the state GOP issued a news release criticizing Madrid for not investigating the Treasurer’s Office. That basic statement has been repeated by the GOP ever since.

Marta Kramer, executive director of the state GOP, said Thursday that Madrid’s failure to investigate the Treasurer’s Office will certainly be the thrust of campaign ads this season.


“The Republicans will continue to expose the conflicts of interest and the record of Patsy Madrid,” Kramer said. “It’s our job to point out her record. She didn’t have the will to investigate her friends and colleagues.”

Publicly, the Madrid campaign claims such allegations will have no affect on the campaign. “The attorney general has worked with the federal prosecutors,” campaign spokeswoman Heather Brewer said. “She indicted one of the key people in the scandal, Angelo Garcia.”

Shortly before Vigil and Montoya were charged, Garcia was indicted in state court in a fraud case alleging he and two partners cheated elderly people out of more than $900,000 in an alleged real-estate scam. Garcia, who has admitted to being a middleman in the alleged Montoya/Vigil kickback scheme, has pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to testify against Vigil.

The Madrid campaign has steadfastly blasted Wilson for taking campaign contributions from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who stepped down after being indicted in Texas on charges of conspiracy to violate election laws.

Since her first election in 1998, Wilson received nearly $47,000 from DeLay’s political-action committee. Last year, she returned the $10,000 she’d collected from DeLay’s political-action committee in June — but not the $36,959 she received from the PAC between 1998 and 2003. Wilson campaign officials have said she won’t return that money.

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: The 88 and Mbconn

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
April 28, 2006

Not long ago I was in my car with The New Pornographers’ first album, Mass Romantic, in the CD player. When it finished, I decided to pop in something I’d never heard of before from my new CD pile — Over and Over, by The 88.

When the first song, “Hide Another Mistake,” came on, for a moment I thought I’d made a mistake. I didn’t recognize the song, but I wondered: Could I have left the New Pornographers CD in the player? I’ve done dumber things before while trying to change CDs in the middle of traffic. (Or even away from my car. Ask any frequent listener of my radio shows.)

But no, this was indeed the right disc.

Like the Pornographers, this Los Angeles band, led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Keith Slettedahl, plays upbeat, hoppy-poppy, infectious rock — at least on their best songs. I probably should have known by the mod, à go-go, New Wavy album cover, which pictures a miniskirted model in sunglasses relaxing with oversized headphones in a red plastic Jetsons-style recliner.

Besides the Pornographers, you can hear echoes of The Kinks, T-Rex, perhaps The Beatles, and even a little Mott the Hoople in the mix.

One of the best tunes here is “Nobody Cares,” which features a prominent honky-tonk piano by Adam Merrin. Slettedahl has a hint of a yodel in his voice as he sings the refrain, “Nobody cares what you’ve been through and nobody cares how much you do and nobody cares what kind of drugs you’re on.”

It was only after listening to Over and Over a couple of times that I learned one of the songs, “Coming Home,” was being used in a commercial for Target discount stores. In these corporate times, this seems to be a major way that new bands are being introduced. (Remember The Shins and McDonald’s?)

I’ve yet to see the commercial, and I’m not sick of it yet, so “Coming Home” sounds great to me right now. It’s bouncy, extremely hummable — and bound to move a lot of patio furniture.

The 88 stumbles when it tries to go acoustic on “You Belong to Me” or slow and goopy on “Jesus Is Good,” where they sound like they’re making a halfhearted effort to evoke The Band.

The main trouble with this record is that Slettedahl and crew don’t seem to be able to keep the energy they lay down on the first several songs. Over and Over starts to sag in the middle. When they’re up, The 88 is a lot of fun. However, this album is burdened with too many forgettable tunes.

The 88 plays Monday, May 1, at the Launchpad, 618 Central Ave. S.W., in Albuquerque. Admission is $7. I don’t think they’re selling advance tickets at Target.


Also Noted:
From Black to Purple by Mbconn, This is one of the strangest, most weirdly satisfying CDs to cross my path in some time.

All I really know about the self-described “psychedelic noise rock artist” Mbconn is that his real name is Alex Loesche, he lives in Chicago, and he likes old Guns ’n’ Roses — though he’s glad that Nirvana usurped their popularity and that his music doesn’t sound much like either band.

An e-mail press release for the CD says, “After scoring a screenplay someone had left behind in a bar, spending years trying to start a band and not being able to find the right musicians, Mbconn decided to just record the album himself.”

From Black to Purple sounds like a soundtrack for a movie that could never be as good as its soundtrack.

The album has a homemade — but not sloppy — feel about it. I imagine a kid with an electric guitar and various other instruments locked in a bedroom and creating a dark universe of guitar, synths, and drums.

But despite the sonic darkness, there are light moments. When Mbconn sings, his lyrics are stream-of-consciousness, almost childlike verse that reminds me of Daniel Johnston (though his voice is closer to Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis).

“From the bottle to the door/I poked holes in their folklore,” he drawls in the first song, “Thursday Night Crowd.” Later in the song, he sings about a woman who is “hoping all the rich guys will stare/’cause every time she stands up she’s showing off her underwear.”

Most of the songs are opuses that are at least six minutes long. There’s one almost pretty, three-minute piece called “The Breather,” and one raging 27-minute “hidden track” — “Troubadour’s Blues” — that doesn’t really hide very well.

This album might be challenging for some. I don’t foresee any of these songs being used in a television commercial. But it’s very listenable, the kind of music I like for driving at night on long, lonesome road trips.

(Check out Mbconn’s Web site . You can download several songs there, including “Troubadour’s Blues.”)

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: FLY THE FRIENDLY SKIES OF PAYDAY LOANS

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
April 27, 2006

Did the payday-loan industry pay for another trip for the governor that the media haven’t reported yet?


According to the Democratic Governors Association’s most recent contribution-and-expenditure report, filed earlier this month, Advance America, the nation’s largest payday-loan company, made an in-kind travel contribution valued at $2,352 to the DGA on Feb. 5.

The next day, Richardson — who is chairman of the DGA — gave the keynote address at the Emergency Issues Conference at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, the governor’s office said in a news release.

From there, Richardson traveled to Washington to participate in a news conference with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to discuss how President Bush’s budget proposals affects their states.

The governor’s office said at the time that the DGA was paying for Richardson’s trip.
The DGA’s report, which is filed with the Internal Revenue Service, didn’t list any other travel expenses or contributions for those days.

In a copyrighted story three weeks ago, the Albuquerque Journal reported that Advance America last year made at least six in-kind travel contributions totaling nearly $17,000 to the DGA. At least some of the dates of the earlier contributions coincide with Richardson travel.


In early February, the state Legislature, then in session, was considering a Richardson-backed payday-loan bill that some critics — including consumer advocates and Attorney General Patricia Madrid — criticized as being industry friendly.

The bill died on the Senate floor as the result of a threatened filibuster.

Advance America operates at least 10 offices in New Mexico, though none in Santa Fe.

On Feb. 24, Advance America contributed another $10,000 to the Democratic Governors Association, bringing its total for the year so far to $12,352.

Efforts to reach Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley were unsuccessful.

Speaking of trips to Washington: Times have changed in our nation’s capital since the last time I was there.

I went to Washington, D.C., last weekend for a friend’s wedding. One of the first things I saw in the airport after landing was a souvenir store that prominently displayed a bunch of funny products aimed directly at the president of these United States.

The store, called America! (motto: “Products for the Patriotic Soul”), had T-shirts and bumper stickers featuring the famous open-mouthed face from Edvard Munch’s The Scream with the message “Bush. 3 More Years!”

Other anti-Bush products there greeted the visitors: T-shirts saying “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Kerry” and “I Can’t Wait For 2008.”

No, that last one didn’t show the smiling face of Gov. Bill Richardson, who adopted that ominous message for a graphic featuring his likeness used in recent mass e-mails for the Democratic Governors Association.


Up by the cash register, impulse shoppers can buy politically charged candy in colorful tins. There’s Indictmints, ($3.99 for a 4-ounce tin) that feature a picture of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s indicted former chief of staff; U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who is facing charges stemming from a 2002 state legislative race; Karl Rove, President Bush’s top political adviser who made his fifth appearance Wednesday before a CIA-leak grand jury; and Cheney sitting in a cell in prison stripes. And there’s also National Embarassmints (same price) showing the prez with a bag of money in one hand, a Bible in the other and a pistol at his side. (I guess they were out of Impeachmints, which are advertised on the store’s Web site.)

All this in an airport named for Ronald Reagan.

In fairness, the online catalog for America! shows a more even-handed inventory. For instance, there are bumper stickers that say. “Run, Hillary, Run (For use on front bumper only).” They just weren’t quite as eye-catching as the anti-Bush souvenirs.

This store contrasted sharply with any D.C. souvenir stand I saw on my previous visit. Back in the summer of 2002 — less than a year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — the button and bumper-sticker trade was far more subdued. About the only souvenir I bought then was a refrigerator magnet featuring the Bush twins.

Tainted bucks: Last week, this column reported the rush by many politicians to give to charity their campaign contributions from Guy Riordan, whose name came up last week in testimony at the trial of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil.

Former Treasurer Michael Montoya, who has pleaded guilty to a count of extortion, said under oath that Riordan — an investor/broker/game-park operator/Richardson buddy — paid him kickbacks, sometimes in restroom stalls. Riordan’s lawyer denies it, and Riordan hasn’t been charged with any crime.

I still haven’t heard from Gary King, who is running for attorney general. King, running for Congress in 2004, received $500 from Riordan. King hasn’t responded to phone calls.

Terry Brunner, campaign manager for U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said last week the senator probably wouldn’t return a $1,000 Riordan contribution from 1994.

And Eric Serna — who has a lot of recent problems of his own — told a reporter Wednesday that he “might consider” giving up the $250 he got from Riordan for his 1997 Congressional race. “I don’t even recall receiving it,” he said.

Serna currently is on administrative leave as state insurance commissioner while the attorney general investigates his dealings with Century Bank.

Reporter David Miles contributed to this column.

CATCHING UP WITH THE GOV.

Wonkette, earlier this week, was not impressed with Amanda Cooper's insisting that there was no talk about her boss Bill Richardson's 2008 plans during a recent meeting with high-level political consultants. (Check the bottom of last week's Roundhouse Roundup.)

The weird part is the fantasy about Richardson's announcement. Read it yourself HERE.

Tijuana, here we come!


XXXXXX

I was going to put this in last week's column, but I ran out of space.

Kate Nash had a piece in the Albuquerque Tribune last week about that Bill Richardson story in the Denver Post that reported the governor speeding again.


Here's the official denial from the governor's office:

"I was following the governor's vehicle, and I don't believe we were speeding," (spokesman Gilbert Gallegos)said. "We certainly weren't going 90 miles an hour."

This gave me a feeling of deja voodoo.

Here's a quote from a column of mine last year when a freelance photographer I was working with couldn't keep up with the gov's SUV.

Richardson spokesman Billy Sparks denied the governor was going that fast. “I was in the car behind him, and we didn’t go over 70,” he said.

What can you say? I guess it's good to have loyal people behind you.

THANKS FOR THE MEME-ORIES

Julia, bless her twisted little heart, sent me another one of these damned meme things. Here goes ...

Four jobs I've had:
1. Reporter (New Mexican, Journal North, Santa Fe Reporter)
2. Musician/entertainer
3. Substitute teacher
4. Manager: Vagabond Trailer Court

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. O Brother Where Art Thou
2. This is Spinal Tap
3. Repo Man
4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Four places I've lived:
1. Santa Fe
2. Albuquerque
3. Oklahoma City
4. Brush Ranch, N.M.

Four TV shows I love:
1. The Daily Show
2. The Colbert Report
3. The Sopranos
4. Deadwood

Four concerts I'm glad I went to:
1. Tom Waits in Austin, 1999
2. Butch Hancock under a tarp in a thunderstorn on a rafting trip on the Rio Grande 1995
3. Roger Miller at Springlake Amusement Park, Oklahoma City 1965
4. The Waco Brothers at the Yard Dog Gallery in Austin
(during South by Southwest, various years between 1997-2006)

Four places I've vacationed:
1. Washington, D.C. (just got back!)
2. Southern California (mainly L.A. and San Diego)
3. Denver
4. San Blas, Mexico

Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Chile rellenos at Guadalajara Grill
2. "Family Style" dinner at The Salt Lick near Austin, Texas
3. Rice vermicelli with shrimp and grilled pork, May Cafe, Albuquerque
4. Bacon cheeseburger at Five Guys in Washington, D.C. (recent discovery)

Four sites I visit daily:
1. Google News
2. Salon.com
3. Yahoo NoDepression Alt Country board
4. All the major New Mexico political blogs

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Actually, I'm pretty happy to be home right now

Four things I love about my town
1. Friends and family
2. Culture stuff
3. Food
4. Running into old high school friends at the supermarket. (Shout out to Paul Armijo)

Four bloggers I'm tagging:
OK, here's the deal. I'll be a good sport and answer this, but I'm BREAKING THE CHAIN -- I'm not inflicting this on anyone else. If anyone reads this and wants to answer the questions on your blog -- have at it. Otherwise ...

I don't know if I'm tempting the old chain letter curse -- I could end up like that unfortunate Army major in the Phillippines and end up with monkey demons in my pantry, chemtrails in my skies and a bad case of anal warts -- but what the hell. The Bozo Buck stops here, as a great man said.

BACK HOME!

Just got back from our nation's Capitol, where I went to the wedding of Chuck of Liisa. Loads of fun, though I didn't take a laptop, so I'm behind on blogging, etc.

There should be a lot of new photos on my FLICKR account in the next couple of days, so check in.

And here's Laurell's playlists for my radio shows this weekend. (THANKS LAURELL!!)


Friday, April 14, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Guest Host: Laurell Reynolds

Wayne Hancock-Thunderstorms and Neon Signs
New Lost City Ramblers- Little Maggie
Jamie Hartford Band- Who Cut Your Heart Out?
Allman Brothers- Midnight Rider
Buffy Sainte Marie-Rolling Log Blues
Neko Case-John Saw That Number
George Jones and Tammy Wynette-Golden Ring
Merle Haggard-Bottle Let Me Down
June Carter Cash-He's Solid Gone

David Crosby-Cowboy Movie
Kris Kristofferson-For The Good Times
Gordon Lightfoot-Somewhere USA
Bingo-Red Apple Juice
Holy Modal Rounders-If You'll Be My Girl
REM-Witchita Lineman (live)
The Louvin Brothers-If Could Only Win Your Love

Joe West-Jam Bands In Colorado
John Denver-I Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado
Judy Collins-Daddy You've Been On My Mind
James Taylor-Carolina In My Mind
Cordelia's Dad-Old Virginia
Neil Young-Long May You Run
Emmy Lou Harris- Today I Started Loving You Again
Kitty Wells-Making Believe
Gillian Welch-Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor

Michael Hurly-The Tea Song
Geechie Wiley-Last Kind Word Blues
Dock Boggs-Country Blues
Lee Sexton-Pretty Polly
Clarence Ashley-Little Sadie
John W. Summers-Fine Times At Our House
Holy Modal Rounders-Dance In Slow Motion


Terrell's Sound World
Sunday, April 16, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Guest Host: Laurell Reynolds

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Patti Smith Group-Because the Night
MC5-American Ruse
Janis Joplin-The Cuckoo
Love-7 and 7 Is
Jimi Hendrix-Highway Child
Robin Trower-Little Bit Of Sympathy
Morphine- Thursday
I'm Free Now
Dramatic Theme- Pink Floyd

Frank Zappa-My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
Peaches En Regalia
What's The Ugliest Part of Your Body
GTO's-Wouldn't It Be Sad If There Were No Cones?
Syd Barrett-Love You
Eric Burdon And The Animals -San Francisco Nights
The Byrds-I Knew I'd Want You
It's A Beautiful Day- Wasted Union Blues
Edwin Star- A Girl Like You
Captain Beefheart-Zig Zag Wanderer

The Fugs W/ The Rounders-I Couldn't Get High
CIA Man
GTO's-The Original GTO's
Sinead O'Connor-I Want Your Hands On Me
Peter Gabriel-I Have The Touch
Siouxie And The Banshee's-Melt
Mazzy Star-Fade Into You
Jane's Addiction-Of Course

Olivia Newton-John-Magic
ABBA-Knowing Me, Knowing You
Funkadelic-Can You Get To That
John Lennon & Yoko Ono-Watching the Wheels
Laura Love- Mahbootay
The Doors-Freedom Exists
-End Of the Night
Scott Joplin- A Real Slow Drag
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: A TRUCKERS BLESSING

A version of this appeared in The Santa Fe New MexicanApril 21, 2006

Everybody’s favorite Southern rockers (well, at least mine), The Drive-By Truckers, for the last several albums have created kudzu-covered musical landscapes populated by Southern characters both famous — Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Wallace, Buford Pusser — and small-time farmers, gamblers, unknown stockcar racers, bootleggers, local losers. While singing with pride about the “Southern Thing” and gleefully playing with and adding to the region’s mythology, any pride or sentimentality about Southern living you might detect in a Truckers song is countered by grim realism. Poverty, ignorance, corruption, and racism hang like Spanish moss in the Truckers’ songbook.

However, on the Truckers’ new CD, A Blessing and a Curse, the band, lyrically at least, seems to have crossed the Mason-Dixon line.

No, the sound hasn’t drastically changed. They’ve still got their three-guitar, three-singer, three-songwriter front line (Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell). They still play it loud and, when called for, can play it awful purty. And they’re still following the advice of Isbell’s dad in the song “Outfit” (“Don’t sing in no fake British accent.”)

But the pure Southern themes from the previous albums are missing. The songs on A Blessing and a Curse are more universal, not pinned to any geography. Less grits, but no less gritty. The Truckers still sing of debauchery, despair, decay, and domestic misery. But heck, even Yankees experience these things.

Of course it would be impossible to completely de-Dixify these guys. Cooley’s deep Alabama drawl, for instance, is still a powerful force.

And even when they’re rocking their hardest, the music is still soaked in Allman/Skynyrd roar with blues and country undercurrents. And ain’t that what we love about the South?As always, the Truckers have filled their album with terrific songs. As the album starts, right in the middle of an ugly lover’s spat in Hood’s song “Feb. 14,” a listener almost feels like he’s got to duck to avoid being hit by a flying object.

“Flowers flying cross the room/Vases smashed against the floor. Said I’d rather be alone/Take your chocolates and go home.”

This is followed by a Stones-y Cooley song called “Gravity’s Gone.” It’s about a soul gone adrift in the champagne/cocaine world of rock ’n’ roll excess.

That world grows even more desperate on Hood’s “Aftermath USA,” which has a similar Exile on Main Street feel — and is sung with a similar wicked grin. The narrator wakes up to find his home — and by implication, his world — in shambles.

“There were beer bottles in the kitchen/And broken glass on the floor … Crystal meth in the bathtub/Blood splattered in my sink/Laying around in the aftermath/It’s all worse than you think.”

In addition to these rockers, A Blessing and a Curse contains some of the prettiest songs the Truckers have ever recorded.

“Little Bonnie,” written and sung by Hood, is the story of a child who dies and the guilt her father feels.

“My grandma said she would keep her in the mornings/A swollen angel who never would complain/She’d read her stories about little girls and princesses/Whose daddies don’t feel punished for what heaven takes away.”

The melody of Cooley’s “Space City,” played quietly on an acoustic guitar, is devastating in its sad beauty. But not nearly as devastating as the story it tells.

The song is about a man grieving at the grave of a lost love with a heart full of regrets at the way he treated her.

“My hands are as good to me as they’ve ever been/And I ain’t ashamed of anything my hands ever did/But sometimes the words I used were as hard as my fist/She had the strength of a man and the heart of a child I guess.”
Blessing ends with a song in which Hood gets very serious, talking to a troubled friend. A spacey Jerry Garcia-like steel guitar (actually it’s former Trucker John Neff) plays in the background as Hood says, “I was 27 when I figured out that blowing my brains out wasn’t the answer.” (Ah, that magic age of 27. Remember Kurt Cobain’s mother’s reaction when her son committed suicide at that age? “I told him not to join that stupid club,” she said, referring to Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison, all of whom were 27 when they died.)

“So I decided maybe I should find a way to make this world work out for me, No, it’s a wonderful world, if you can put aside the sadness/And hang on to every ounce of beauty upon you/Better take the time to know it, there ain’t no way around it/If you feel anything at all.”

The last verse concludes with Hood declaring, “It’s great to be alive,” but the refrain of the song warns, “Gonna be a world of hurt/Gonna be a world of hurt/Gonna be a world of hurt …”

I just love this damned band. It’s great to be alive!

Concerts: The Drive-By Truckers appear with Son Volt and former Meat Puppet Curt Kirkwood at El Rey Theater, 622 Central Ave. S.W., in Albuquerque, on April 30. Tickets are $25 in advance, available at Bookworks and Natural Sound in Albuquerque, online at www.abqmusic.com, Tickets Santa Fe and by phone from the Lensic Box Office at 988-1234. It’s $30 at the door.

Unfortunately the Truckers won’t be at Son Volt’s Santa Fe show the night before. But The Handsome Family will be. Plus, it’s at the ever-bitchen Club Alegría on Agua Fría Road. Tickets are $23 and available through Tickets Santa Fe.

WHO IS HEATHER BREWER?

Careful readers of this blog (thank God we don't have too many of those) might have noticed some strange gibberish in the original version of this morning's Roundhouse Roundup. (The post right below this one.)

In the paragraph about Patricia Madrid, in which her campaign spokeswoman Heather Brewer talked about Madrid donating the money she'd received from Guy Riordan to the Humane Society, there appeared the words "Who is Heather Brewer?"

It was an "invisible" editor's note that I'd picked up in cutting and pasting my column.

Heather Brewer, (whoever she is), caught it and called me up to good naturedly razz me about it. But thanks to her, I found another editor's note, which I promptly removed from the blog.

And no, none of these showed up in print.

The joys of blogging ...