ANOTHER DEM DEBATE

Gov. Bill Richardson got more air time than usual in tonight's CNN Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas. That's according to the Chris Dodd Talk Clock. Looks like Dodd will be remembered as the official timekeeper of the 2008 primary campaign.)

However, during his extended time, the governor threw out a lot of stats and claims that might not pass close scrutiny. Lucky for him, the national media, concentrating as usual on the front-runners, didn't seem to pick up on it.

But then there's that nitpicky local media ...

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: NOT-SO FIERY FURNACES

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

Why are so many of my favorite musical acts releasing disappointing albums this year? Wilco, P.J. Harvey, The New Pornographers, and now The Fiery Furnaces.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of siblings Eleanor and Matt Friedberger and have defended the Furnaces even when other critics slammed them. What is it about the duo’s Widow City that makes it hard for me to sink into? It’s not the crazy, disjointed, abruptly changing rhythms — heck, I’m a fan of Frank Zappa, Mr. Bungle, and Fishbone. It’s not the inscrutable tales and oddball lyrics — I was intrigued by the first song, “The Philadelphia Grand Jury,” in which Eleanor sings about being set up by the judicial system on charges we’re never quite sure of. All we know is “more crooked sons of bitches you can’t ever have come across.”

And I appreciate Eleanor’s shout out to the Land of Enchantment — “so said the birth chart I sent away to New Mexico for. It was made by a special commission of Navajo basketball coaches and blonde ladies” — at the end of “Automatic Husband.” About time someone acknowledged the mystic nature of Native American coaches.

Then there’s Eleanor’s fascinating recurring theme of spousal abuse. Back on the pair’s album EP, there was the brilliant “Single Again,” in which she sang of a husband who “beat me, he banged me/He swore he would hang me.” Last year’s Bitter Tea had a character whose husband’s family is plotting against her: “My mother-in-law was standing by the stove/hissing like a snake, hissing like a snake/ ... She gave orders to spill my blood.”

Here on Widow City, after a couple of tunes that seem to suggest the death of her character’s husband, there’s a song called “The Old Hag is Sleeping,” in which Eleanor sings, “My baby’s angry, he’s always so angry/He smiles only when he can give me abuse.”

But somehow the CD doesn’t live up to the promise of “The Philadelphia Grand Jury.” The songs do seem to be loosely connected thematically, but the story line, if indeed there is one, quickly becomes incomprehensible.

A couple of years ago, reviewing the Furnaces’ Rehearsing My Choir — the album that featured Eleanor and Matt Friedberger’s grandma Olga on lead vocals — I referred to “the secret language that family members share.” It seems here they are speaking that “secret language” in an increasingly thicker brogue.

This wouldn’t bother me so much if the music were more interesting. But most of the songs here sound as if the Furnaces are tired and repeating themselves. The most noticeable new element is several spots on the album that sound like second-rate Flaming Lips outtakes. Listen to “Wicker Whatnots” and try not to think of the last couple of Lips studio records.

To be fair, a couple of tunes late in the album made my ears perk up. “Cabaret of the Seven Devils” starts out with some powerful drums, then tells the story of an evil duke. But then, how could you go wrong with a song called “Cabaret of the Seven Devils”? This song is followed by “Pricked in the Heart,” which features an eerie flute that reminds me of British psychedelia like the Incredible String Band and “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

But all in all, The Fiery Furnaces seem short on fire this time around.

Recommended:
*Rise Above by The Dirty Projectors. Straight to the point: this is one of the strangest new albums I’ve heard in a long time. It’s a remake of songs from Black Flag’s 1981 album Damaged, considered a classic of California punk rock.

But Rise Above is not your typical “tribute” album. Instead of slavishly reverent recreations of Black Flag songs, Dave Longstreth (the main Projector) filters Black Flag tunes through his own private universe. It doesn’t sound close to what normal mortals consider punk rock — except when Longstreth’s voice turns from a creepy croon to a grating scream during otherwise pretty musical passages.

The first song, “What I See,” sounds like Morrissey fronting Ween, except where did those happy African guitars come from? The song that makes me laugh out loud is “Police Story.” Black Flag played it as an angry blast of protest against cops hassling kids. But the Projectors, while leaving in all the profanity, rearrange it as a brooding lament. Longstreth sounds genuinely sad as he sings, “They hate us, we hate them.” With its acoustic guitar and trumpet, it could almost be an American Music Club tune — except Mark Eitzel never sounded half as deranged.

My only complaint is that my favorite Damaged song, “T.V. Party,” isn’t here. Maybe the Projectors are saving it for a warped remake of the Repo Man soundtrack.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GOVERNOR

Bill Richardson is 60 years old today.

I was reminded of this by an e-mail from Barbara Richardson (via the Richardson campaign) with the subject line "Don't Tell Bill."

Does this mean I'm burning a source by posting this?

I wonder what might pop out of his cake at the CNN debate in Las Vegas tonight? (That's 6 pm Mountain Time, folks.)

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: A WEB OF ATTACKS

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

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez managed to get all the way through his “online town hall” this week without mentioning his U.S. Senate Democratic primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, but Chávez in recent days hasn’t been shy about bashing Udall in national media interviews.

Meanwhile, though state Republicans have chastised Udall for being the favorite of “out-of-state liberal bloggers,” it’s Chávez, not Heather Wilson or Steve Pearce, who has felt the sting of at least one pro-Udall blogger from outside this enchanted land.

In an interview Saturday with Politico, a political Web site, Chávez referred to Udall’s “lackluster record in the House.”

“The race is about only one thing,” Chávez said, “(the) fact that Washington has failed to deliver for New Mexico. I’m the only candidate with a record of strong leadership on getting things done. … There will certainly be a contrast.”

This is similar to what Chávez told Roll Call, a Washington, D.C., publication, last week. “This will not be a sweet primary. It just won’t,” he said. “The contrast in records between me and the Congressman won’t situate him well for the general election.”

The mild-mannered Udall has yet to fire back. (And, technically, he hasn’t formally announced yet.) But some of his defenders in the blogosphere certainly have.

Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of the popular left-wing Daily Kos, fired with both barrels Monday. “Everyone wants Chávez out of the primary, suggesting he run for one of the House seats opened up by this Senate race,” Zúniga said. “Me, I’d rather see Chávez’ career destroyed by Udall in this primary once and for all. The last thing we need is his corrupt ass in Washington in the House, stinking up the Democratic brand and making Latinos look bad.

“So I hope he’s stupid enough to stay in the Senate race. I’ll have fun seeing him go down in flames.”

Chávez is right about at least one thing. It’s not going to be a sweet primary.

Chat room chatter: Those who watched and participated in Chávez’s Web chat seemed to enjoy it. A few reported technical difficulties. My feed only froze up completely once, though there were a few stray moments where the sound faded momentarily.

My biggest distraction was trying to listen to Chávez while keeping an eye on the chaotic but often entertaining chat room buzz to the side of the video screen, reproduced here as it appeared on the screen.

“Why does Texas buy water from NM? Now thats the question … ” one participant wrote.

“Texans are a very thirsty people … ” another replied.

“so are we,” said a third chatter.

“maybe texans will pay your ticket?” quipped on participant, referring to an earlier post from someone sarcastically asking Chávez to pay his $300 ticket from one of the controversial red-light cameras in Albuquerque.

I might have been following such an exchange when Chávez apparently made a veiled reference to a controversial Udall vote to reduce the budgets of the national laboratories in the state. I didn’t catch it, but the chatters picked it up.

“Note the shot at Udall,” a participant wrote. “ ‘who would have thought’ any member of congress would vote to cut lab funding …”

“udall voted to cut lab funding?” another chatter responded.

“yep”

“dang what was he thinking???”

Even though it’s distracting, I hope Chávez keeps the chat room in his future town halls, and other candidates, who are bound to pick up on this idea, keep it too.

Yippie yi yay!: I was beginning to think the state had forgotten about the memorial sponsored by Rep. Gloria Vaughn, R-Alamogordo, to hold an official state cowboy song competition. But no, the cowboys won’t be forgotten.

A news release from the state Music Commission said the competition officially kicks off tonight during the opening ceremonies of the Western Music Association’s International Festival in Albuquerque at the Marriott hotel on Louisiana N.E. near Interstate 40.

Those wanting to enter a cowboy song for consideration should send compact discs or tapes, along with proof of copyright, to the New Mexico Music Commission, P.O. Box 1450, Santa Fe, NM 87504.

The entry deadline is Nov. 14, 2008. The commission will announce the winner in December 2008. The winning song will be submitted for a final showdown at the state Legislature in January 2009.

R.I.P. LANNIS LOYD

I've known Lannis for more than 35 years, though we weren't that close. His suicide last week shocked and saddened me. You can read my obit of him HERE .

The first time I met Lannis I was still in high school. My English teacher, his mom LaVera Loyd, brought her long-haired rock 'n' roller son to class to teach a lesson on the history of rock 'n' roll! Mrs. Loyd was a pretty traditional teacher and not any kind of flower child herself. But I always thought she was pretty cool for doing that. First time I heard Led Zepplin was when Lannis played "Whole Lotta Love" in my English class that day. I thought he was pretty cool too.

Years later, Lannis led my favorite local band The Ozone Express, a great little country-rock band with two fine female vocalists -- Christine Albert and Donna Pence. I used to go to the old Turf Club in Santa Fe almost every Saturday night. Lannis would end every show with Commander Cody's "Lost in the Ozone Again."

In writing the obit yesterday, I got to talk to another Santa Fe musician of that era, Jamie Brown, better known these days as Junior Brown. (In the early '70s, The Last Mile Ramblers, which indluded Jamie, was New Mexico's premier country rock band, but by the mid '70s, they had broken up and Ozone had risen.) He too remembers Lannis fondly.

And thanks to George Adelo, Mike Montiel and especially Lori Loyd Gallegos for their help with the obit too. And thanks to Al Faaet for that great picture of Lannis playing with The Georgie Angel Blues Band at the Santa Fe Music Festival last summer.

What can I say, Lannis? You fucked up big time! People loved you. And we always will. We all just wish you'd known it.

I'd forgotten until I was Googling around for Lannis this week that he had a Soundclick page.
If you'd like to hear some of his tunes CLICK HERE.

George Adelo says he and some other friends are setting up a fund in Lannis' name for Santa Fe musicians in need. Lannis was not in financial trouble, but as we all know, some local musicians do have such problems.

You can help defray Lannis' funeral expenses by donating to a fund at the Community Bank (where he worked as a vice president.)

Please don't forget the celebration of Lannis' life Friday Nov. 23 at the Santa Fe Brewing Company.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, November 11, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and our new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
You Dress Up For Armageddon by The Hives
I Remember You by Deadbolt
Mystery Trip by The Chesterfield Kings
Ain't That Her by The Remains
Doin' the Shout by John Lee Hooker
Justine by The Righteous Brothers
Gruby Jak Elvis by by T. Love
Flower Punk by The Mothers of Invention
Life of Pain by Black Flag
What I See by The Dirty Projectors

Kicks and Chicks by The Zipps
I'm Bigger than You by The Mummies
I Met Roky Erikson by Daniel Johnston & Jad Fair
Don't Slander Me by Roky Erikson
Deep in The Woods by The Birthday Party
When My Love Comes Down by Grinderman
Action by Electriccoolade
Nobody Gets Me Down by T-Model Ford

Let Them Knock by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Hey Sallie Mae (Get Off My Feet) by Lee Fields
Come on In by The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Everybody is a Star by Fishbone
I'm So Proud by The Isley Brothers
B-A-B-Y by Carla Thomas
Talking Old Soldiers by Bettye LaVette

VETERAN'S DAY SET
Veteran's Day by Tom Russell
Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen
Sam Stone by Swamp Dogg
Western Hero by Neil Young
Navajo Code Talker by Vincent Craig
The Green Fields of France by The Dropkick Murphys
Soldier's Things by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

TOM AND HEATHER SHARE A STAGE

U.S. Reps. Tom Udall and Heather Wilson shared a stage today at the Veteran's Day celebration in Santa Fe. Both were smart enough not to talk about the Senate race or other partisan matters during the ceremony.

Udall told me afterward that he'll be making a formal announcement sometime during Congress' Thanksgiving break. He said he might be announcing his campaign team sometime this week.

Wilson wouldn't talk about Udall's entry into the race -- or who she'd rather run against, Udall or Marty Chavez.

I dragged my son to the event. He took a picture of his dad in action: