TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, February 18, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Oh My Lover by P.J. Harvey
Here Comes the Summer by The Fiery Furnaces
New Health Rock by TV on the Radio
Sweet Georgia Brown by Captain Beefheart
Mannish Boy by The Electric Mudkats, Chuck D, Common
Some Kinda Nut by Link Wray & The Moon Men
Tonight by Celebration
Ayak Shalym (My Bowl of Tea) by Tyva Kyzy

True Believers/House of Voodoo by Half Japanese
Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong, But ... by The Arctic Monkeys
Vampiring Again by Califone
Our Faces Split the Coasts in Half by Broken Social Scene
Moon, I'm Coming Home by Pere Ubu
Little Betty by Otis Taylor

Surfin' in Harlem by Swamp Dogg
Rock 'n' Roll Murder by The Leaving Trains
The Commie Hoedown by Rotondi
Shanty Pig by Mary's Danish
Crazy Queen by Zvuki Mu
Peter's Trip by The Electric Flag
The Boilerman by Mike Watt

Forbidden Fruit by John Zorn & The Kronos Quartet
from Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet by Gavin Bryars with Tom Waits

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, February 16, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Pick Me Up on Your Way Down by Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard & Ray Price
Run Back to Him by Brent Hoodenpyle & The Loners
Rose Garden by Southern Culture on the Skids
Accidently on Purpose by Johnny Paycheck
Let's Flirt by Cornell Hurd with Connie Hancock
Memphis by Carl Newman
Rolling Stone by Neko Case
Byrd from West Virginia by I See Hawks in L.A.
Cumberland Gap by Sen. Robert Byrd

Wallflower by David Bromberg
Down in the Bayou by The Watzloves
Down in a Hole by Audrey Auld Mezera
Let's Waste Another Evening by Josh Lederman & Los Infernos
Working Man by Bill Kirchen
Sunglasses After Dark by Dwight Pullen
Jimmy Parker by Ed Pettersen
Crazy Old World by Ukuleleman

BLACK HISTORY MONTH SET
Is Anyone Goin' to San Antone? by Charlie Pride
I Can't Help It If I'm Still in Love With You by The Holmes Brothers with Roseanne Cash
She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye by Swamp Dogg
Six Days on the Road by Taj Mahal
A Cigarette, A Bottle and a Jukebox by Big Al Dowling
Buffalo Soldiers by Allan Harris
Wasbash Cannonball by Blind Willie McTell
When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

Funny How Time Slips Away by Al Green & Lyle Lovette
John Law Burned Down the Liquor Store by Chris Thomas King
Tallacatcha by Alvin Youngblood Hart
Busted by Andres Williams & The Sadies
Out on the Western Plains by Lead Belly
Jambalya by Professor Longhair with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Don't Let Her Know by Ray Charles
Will the Circle be Unbroken? by Mavis Staples
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: MY ADVENTURES IN LALA LAND

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
February 16, 2007


It was just what I needed — another way to spend money on music from the worldwide interwebs.

Back in September, I signed up on Lala.com, an online service for trading used CDs — and a pretty cool little music club.

As a bona fide used-bin bloodhound for the last 15 years or so, I’ve been able to get my hands on some CDs I’ve wanted for years that you just don’t see at used-record shops in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

Basically it costs $1.75 per CD. You set up a “have” list and a “want” list and wait for someone to request CDs you have and send you those you want. The company provides postage-paid envelopes and plastic “clamshell” cases.

Since joining, I’ve received almost 60 CDs and sent out about the same number. Some of the ones I received I later sent out again. I’ve heard rumors that some people copy songs onto their computers or iPods from the CDs they get, then trade them. There is a comically unenforceable Lala.com rule forbidding this.

I have yet to receive an unplayable CD — knock on wood — though I’ve had to clean a couple. I’m waiting for four CDs to arrive: two Mike Watt solo albums, an out-of-print Irma Thomas twofer called Safe With Me/Live at the Kingfish, and Wild, Cool & Swingin’, a Julie London compilation.

My first month was the most active one. I spent $38.50 for 22 CDs. Since then, I’ve averaged a little more than $16 a month. I’ve found that I have to constantly add to the CDs I’m willing to part with as well as the ones I want.There are now 171 CDs on my “want” list. (Doesn’t anyone want to part with Surfin’ in Harlem by Swamp Dogg or The Electric Prunes’ Stockholm 67?)

I’ve only got 22 I want to get rid of, which means I probably ought to start going through my collection with an eye on thinning it out.

There are a few rules. You can choose to receive CDs only with art. If you choose this option, those sending CDs to you are required to send the front booklet. (Most also will send you the back-cover art even though it’s not required.) And you’re not allowed to send promotional CDs, which make up a good chunk of a music critic’s collection.

Some of my Lala plunder consists of obscure albums I reviewed in the early days of this column (the late ’80s and early ’90s) that I originally had on cassette tape.

These include:

*There Goes the Wondertruck by Mary’s Danish. This was a fun little Los Angeles band featuring two female singers; it was “the next big thing” for about 14 seconds back then.

*Preaching and Confessing by Rotondi. They were a kind of polka-rock (accordion and sax) band though not as crazy (or as tight) as Brave Combo or The Polkaholics. My favorite song here is “The Commie Hoedown,” a salute to the fall of communism and the end of the Reagan administration.

*Reading, Writing and Arithmetic by The Sundays. The mellow, haunting, almost-folkish British duo featured a singer named Harriet Wheeler. The Sundays became popular in the early 1990s.

*Zvuki Mu. This was the self-titled album by a Russian band that could only be described as the Soviet Captain Beefheart.

*Loser Illusion Pt. 0 by The Leaving Trains. This was a six-song EP on the influential SST label. Five of the songs are run-of-the-mill punk rock. The standout is the epic conspiracy rocker “Rock ’n’ Roll Murder,” which cleverly mixes elements of Patti Smith’s “Rock ’n’ Roll Nigger” with Richard and Linda Thompson’s “Did She Jump or Was She Pushed.” (Which many recognize as a tribute to the late Sandy Denny.) Karen Carpenter was murdered, the Trains claim, “But she was one of them.” And Peter Tosh was murdered, they say: “He even made it look like a murder to cover up a murder!”

Other obscurities I’ve found on Lala.com:

*Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet by Gavin Bryars. This is a haunting piece of music that I can’t play frequently. It’s a repetitive work based on a tape loop of a homeless man singing this sweet little hymn, originally recorded for a documentary by a Bryars filmmaker crony. As the hymn plays over and over again, different instruments — string quartet, full orchestra, etc. — come and go. One lengthy track features Tom Waits. At first it seemed maddeningly monotonous, but a few minutes into the music the melody becomes like a mantra and, if you let yourself flow with it, an emotional experience. The little tramp becomes a Stan Laurel/Buddha spirit who will live in your heart.

*The Trip by The Electric Flag. This is the soundtrack for the 1967 Roger Corman hippie-exploitation flick starring Peter Fonda. I was somewhat disappointed with this CD. Somehow this music (by a band that included guitarist Mike Bloomfield and drummer Buddy Miles) didn’t sound nearly as psychedelic as the music I heard on the DVD of The Trip I recently rented from Netflix (and I wasn’t tripping when I watched the movie). Maybe it just sounds better while watching tacky LSD special effects.

*A Tribute to Robert Altman’s Nashville. This was put together by alt-country singer Carolyn Mark and features songs by Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, and others. Some of these tunes, especially Mark’s version of Ronee Blakley’s “Idaho Home,” make me realize that some songs from this movie should have been country hits and Blakley should have been a star.

*Spillane by John Zorn. This is strange and wonderful music by Zorn and friends. The first song is Zorn’s avant-garde take on crime jazz, a 25-minute musical collage. The next two songs feature bluesman Albert King, who plays guitar on both and narrates a weird little story on “Two-Lane Highway: Hico Killer — Long Mile to Houston.” Then there’s “Forbidden Fruit,” a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: MUSIC FOR THE ROUNDHOUSE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
February 15, 2007

There’s a bill moving through the Legislature — House Bill 406, sponsored by House Republican Whip Dan Foley of Roswell — that would give The University of New Mexico $8 million to broadcast legislative sessions.

It’s not exactly a radical idea. Forty other states have live Web-casting of their legislatures while 27 states televise their legislatures on public television.

But it’ll take more than $8 million to get people to actually watch our lawmakers in action. The Legislature is going to have to be jazzed up a little with good production values. And that includes music.

I propose each issue facing the Legislature should have its own theme music.

Some are obvious. For instance, anytime there’s any bill relating in any way to the proposed spaceport, the proper theme song would be the original television Star Trek theme. And whenever the House or Senate faces a smoking-ban bill and other tobacco legislation, they’d play “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette” by Tex Williams.

A couple of years ago, I wrote an entire column about death-penalty songs. (Steve Earle’s “Ellis Unit One” and Merle Haggard’s “Sing Me Back Home” led that list.) Similarly there’s a plethora of railroad tunes for any bill having to do with the Rail Runner. (“Daddy What’s a Train?” by Utah Phillips would be my nomination.)

Here are some other suggestions:

Cockfighting: “Gallo de Cielo” by Joe Ely (written by Tom Russell). If cockfighting is really so bad, how could such a great song come out of it? This is the ballad of a young Mexican named Carlos Zaragoza who steals a champion fighting rooster and goes to the U.S. seeking his fortune by gambling on that gallo. I’ve heard the song probably 500 times, but I still listen intently as Gallo de Cielo fights his last battle against a black rooster named Zorro.

Defense of Marriage: “The Ceremony” by George Jones & Tammy Wynette. This was a slow, solemn and not intentionally funny number, complete with someone playing a minister conducting a wedding ceremony for George and Tammy as they pledge their eternal one-man/one-woman love. Cynics and wise guys, of course, might point out that both Jones and Wynette were married multiple times.

Minimum Wage: “Minimum Wage” by The BusBoys. This New Wave band was briefly popular in the early ’80s. The song is from the perspective of someone who works for minimum wage.

Film industry bills: “Celluloid Heroes” by The Kinks. This song observes, “Everybody’s a dreamer, everybody’s a star/Everybody’s in show biz, no matter who you are.” And it has some wise advice for would-be stars, which would include politicians: “You who are successful, be always on your guard/Success walks hand and hand with failure/Along Hollywood Boulevard.”

Conference Committees: What else but the late Charlie Rich’s big crossover song, “Behind Closed Doors.”

Of course, individuals could have their own theme music. Sen. Joe Carraro, R-Albuquerque, beat me to the punch earlier this year when he played the Tone Loc classic “Funky Cold Medina” in honor of his fellow Republican, Sen. Steve Komadina of Corrales.

A natural theme for Gov. Bill Richardson would be Jean Knight’s old soul hit “Mr. Big Stuff.” House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, could be introduced by The Everly Brothers’ “That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine.” Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, has a ready-made theme song in “Mimi” by French crooner Maurice Chevalier.

Got any more? E-mail me at sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.

The Western candidate: Richardson, in national interviews about his presidential candidacy, has made a point of identifying himself as a Western governor with “Western values.” The West, as he’s noted, is fertile ground for the Democratic Party to grow.

But the latest polls from the New Hampshire-based American Research Group shows that Democrats in Western states have yet to embrace Richardson as a favorite son.

According to the polls released Wednesday, Richardson is doing best in Arizona, where he has the support of 4 percent of Democrats. In Utah, he’s at 1 percent while in Oklahoma, which is sort of like a Western state, he has 2 percent.

Alabama is not a Western state, but Richardson polled at 1 percent there, according to ARG.

Each of the polls were based on telephone interviews with 600 likely voters between Feb. 8 and 13. The margin of error is 4 percent.

So you want to influence the Legislature: A coalition of three advocacy groups Friday will be training citizens on how to deal with the Legislature. The groups are the Family Justice Campaign (a project of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that includes several labor and advocacy groups), the New Mexico Human Needs Coordinating Council and Student Social Work Advocates.

Some of the groups will be conducting training sessions at First Christian Church and St. John’s United Methodist Church. There’s a scheduled rally on the east side of the Capitol at 11 p.m. Friday followed by a news conference at 1:30 p.m. For more information, call Julie Roberts at 983-3277.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, February 11, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Sheila Na-Gig by P.J. Harvey
Go to Hell on Judgement Day by The Immortal Lee County Killers
Artschool Girl by King Automatic
Drug Train by The Cramps
Riot Van by The Arctic Monkeys
Lucky Few by Los Infernos
Valentine by Concrete Blonde
Red Riding Hood & The Wolf by Bunker Hill with Link Wray
Private Detectice by Gene Vincent

Waves of Fear by Lou Reed
The Place Where People Meet by Kustomized
Spread Your Love by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
The Slim by Sugar
Flames Up by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Sweet Spots by The Fiery Furnaces
Monster Rock by The Monsters
That's Life by Frank Sinatra

Spillane by John Zorn

In My Homeland, the Great Shuilar by Tyva Kyzy
The Good Egg by Carl Stalling
Love and Hesitation by Otis Taylor
Bring it On Home by Chris Whitley & The Bastard Club
Beautiful Child by Camper Van Beethoven
New Skin by Celebration
Loving You by Elvis Presley
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, February 9, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Act Naturally by The Beatles
Muswell Hillbilly by Southern Culture on the Skids
Evening Gown by Jerry Lee Lewis with Mick Jagger & Ronnie Wood
The Kids are Allright by Joe Goldmark
Best Friends of Mine by Waylon Jennings
Blues Plus Booze (Means I Lose) by Randy Kohrs
Delilah by Jon Langford & Sally Timms
Detective Song by Brent Hoodenpyle & The Loners

The Memory of Your Smile by Ralph Stanley & Maria Muldaur
I Ain't Gonna Marry by The Jim Kweskin Jug Band
Moonshiner by Uncle Tupelo
Sugar Coated Love by The Watzloves
Rock Billy Boogy by Johnny Burnette
Tear it Up by 1/4 Mile Combo
Green Green Grass of Home by Kelly Hogan

ELENI MANDELL SET

Moonglow, Lamp Low
American Boy
Don't Touch Me
Dear Friend
I'm Your Girl
Too Bad About You
Miracle of Five

Backstreet Affair by Van Morrison
Smoke Smoke Smoke by Doc & Merle Watson
Someday We'll Back by Merle Haggard
When Did You Stop Lovin' Me by George Jones
It Makes No Difference by My Morning Jacket
I Believe in You by Don Williams
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: MIRACLE OF MANDELL

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
February 9, 2007

I think I’ve written before that Eleni Mandell has just about the sexiest voice in showbiz today. Her new album, Miracle of Five, drives home this point. In fact, in my book, the new record shows Mandell to be the Julie London of her generation. She’d do a great “Cry Me a River,” and if London were still alive, I bet she’d be recording sensual songs by Eleni like the jazzy “Beautiful” and the wistful “Girls.”

Mandell’s last couple of solo albums, Afternoon and Country Love Songs, presented a more alt-country sound (especially the latter). Some songs here — most notably “Dear Friend” — retain shadows of twang. Nels Cline, best known for his experimental work and his contributions to Wilco and the Geraldine Fibbers, plays lap steel, dobro, banjo, and other instruments here.

But Miracle of Five is contemporary torch music with subtle touches of noir. The Los Angeles singer makes great background music for reading Raymond Chandler or Ross MacDonald or even James Ellroy.

Some of the songs — like the opening “Moonglow, Lamp Low” and “Perfect Stranger,” featuring Jeff Turmes’ menacing sax — sound a little like early jazznik Tom Waits records, except that Mandell’s voice is as sultry as Waits’ is raspy. Mandell and Waits have a mutual friend in Chuck E. Weiss, whom Mandell has described as a friend and mentor. (And Mandell did a drop-dead-gorgeous version of Waits’ “Muriel” on a Waits tribute album a few years ago.)

Not only is this a fine showcase for Mandell’s voice, but Miracle of Five contains some of her most memorable songs. The title song, which seems to deal with some type of numerology of the heart, is a lilting tune that features both banjo and vibes (from longtime Mandell collaborator D.J. Bonebrake of X). Maybe it’s because this whole album stimulates my dirty mind, but when Mandell purrs “kiss me every day/The miracle of six,” it sounds like she’s singing “the miracle of sex.”

“Make-Out King,” an atmospheric waltz featuring double-tracked vocals and squiggly electronic noises that complement the melody, is about falling in lust with someone you realize is ultimately no good for you.

“The make-out king/Is in my bed/And I’m so tired I think I’m a junkie/His hair is curly/He drinks like nobody knows where he’s going/And nobody cares what he’s saying.”

Mandell gets mysterious with “My Twin,” a minor-key, bluesy tune featuring a sad horn section and nasty roller-rink organ backing morbid lyrics like, “Why did that train derail?/201 victims killed/Was my twin among the dead?/Was my twin expected to live?”

But I think my favorite here is “Girls,” another one with Bonebrake on vibes. The verses are about a potential new love. “I wonder how you look when you sleep/Do you still dream about girls from your street/Do you still dream about girls from high school?/Do you still dream about girls, girls, girls?” But on the bridge, she turns on herself: “I am the marble the color of candy/I’ll make you money whenever you’re gambling/I am the dice you roll in the alley/I am the pennies that come in handy.”

In a just world, this album would make Mandell a star. Just world or not, I say the lady’s a contender.

Mini Eleni-thon: Tonight on The Santa Fe Opry I’ll do a 30-minute Eleni Mandell set, including songs from Miracle of Five and several other albums. The show starts at 10 p.m. Sunday, and the Mandell set will start shortly after 11 p.m. on KSFR-FM 90.7. And don’t forget Terrell’s Sound World, same time, same channel, on Sunday night.

Also recommended:
*The Peel Sessions 1991-2004 by PJ Harvey. The CD booklet for this album, released last fall, includes a note from Polly Jean Harvey celebrating John Peel, the late British radio host who, from the psychedelic era until his death in 2004, promoted great music and often broadcast live-in-the-studio performances by artists ranging from Donovan to Dinosaur Jr., Fleetwood Mac to Fugazi.

“John’s opinions mattered to me,” Harvey writes. “More than I would ever care to admit for fear of embarrassment on both sides, but I sought his approval always. It mattered. Every Peel session I did, I did for him.”

I’m sure Peel would have approved of the performances on this album. This is PJ at her bare-bones best. Hearing these ferocious versions of her early tunes like “Oh My Lover,” “Victory,” and “Sheela-Na-Gig” is a vivid reminder of what made me love Harvey in the first place. On these early songs — recorded in 1991, months before the release of her debut album, Dry — she’s backed only by bass and drums.

That’s also the case with her cover of the Willie Dixon classic “Wang Dang Doodle,” one of the highlights of this collection. Harvey doesn’t try to out-Koko Koko Taylor (who does the classic version of the song) here. In fact, she starts out in a high, little-girl voice. But by the chorus, her vocals are just on the verge of a scream. By the song’s end that voice is full of sex and glory.

But the true standout here is a 1996 version of “Snake,” in which Harvey’s only sideman is John Parrish on guitar and keyboards. The first verse has Harvey chanting the lyrics, getting angrier and louder with each word and leading up to a chorus of inhuman howls. Just like the original, it’s less than two minutes long, which probably is a good thing. That type of intensity shouldn’t go on for much longer.