Friday, October 10, 2008

THE LATEST ON JEROME

Public Regulation Commission candidate Jerome Block, Jr. today delivered a response to the Secretary of State as to why he lied on a campaign finance report about public money he spent.
But the Secretary of State’s office refused to let reporters see Block’s response.

The embattled Block delivered his written response shortly before 5 p.m. However spokesmen for Secretary of State Mary Herrera said the document wouldn’t be released until Monday at the earliest because Herrera and a deputy hadn’t had the chance to review the response.

Asked why it was important for the office to review the letter before letting reporters see it, spokesman James Flores said, “We don’t want to get inundated with calls about something we haven’t seen.”

Attempts to get a copy of the response from Block were unsuccessful.

The Secretary of State's Office on Monday of this week sent the letter to Block, asking him to "clarify" why he lied about a $2,500 expenditure in public campaign funds. The office also wanted to know Block’s explanation for a Sept. 24 e-mail exchange with a Las Vegas Optic reporter, in which Block admitted lying.

Block at first said he gave the $2,500 in public funds to San Miguel County Clerk Paul Maez's band, Wyld Country, to perform at a May rally. But he changed his story last month after two band members said there was no such performance.

At stake could be the seat Block hopes to win in November. Under the state Voter Action Act, violation of the statutes mentioned in the secretary of state's letter constitute a fourth-degree felony, and -- should matter go to trial and result in a conviction -- could strip Block of his right to vote.

The law also says a candidate who violates the Voter Action Act could face a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation and could be required to pay back all campaign funds. Between the primary and general-election races, Block has received $101,000 in state money.

Read more in Saturday's New Mexican. (Will update with link)

UPDATE: 7:49 p.m. James Flores called to tell me the document will be released on Saturday.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: GORDONDON'S GOLD

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 10, 2008


It’s hardly a new phenomenon for musicians to go back and re-record their old songs for new albums. Mostly these are business ploys. A record company persuades an old pro to redo his songs and purposely make them sound as close to the original hits as possible. This way the company can market a “Greatest Hits” package without having to license the original recording from the old record company. Virgin Records did this with Roy Orbison in the 1980s.

Likewise, sometimes musicians who don’t have the rights to their own early recordings will re-record and repackage those songs themselves. John Prine did this with Souvenirs, released on his own Oh Boy label in 2000.

Gordondon!
But occasionally an aging artist will revisit his old songs as a purely artistic exercise. That seems to be the case with Recovery, the latest album by Loudon Wainwright III, which features songs from his first four albums, going back to the early 1970s.

Most of the 13 songs here were originally recorded with just Wainwright’s piercing voice and his acoustic guitar. They’ve been rearranged for this album with the help of producer (and longtime Wainwright fan) Joe Henry, who brought in the same basic band he used for Wainwright’s previous album, Strange Weirdos.

While this CD isn’t just an exercise in nostalgia for baby boomers, the songs will bring back memories for old-time Wainwright fans. Listening to it last week, I immediately recalled the first time I heard Wainwright screeching “Me and My Friend the Cat” on KUNM late one night in 1972.

The song selection is nearly impeccable. If I were compiling a “Best of Loudon: The Early Years” retrospective, just about all of these songs would be there — though I would have included “Me and My Friend the Cat” and the terrifying “Hospital Lady.”

Most of these tunes are like old friends to me — including the song “Old Friend,” which is about a man realizing that he no longer has anything in common with a buddy but the past. Fortunately that’s not the case with the songs here. Unlike some friendships, nearly all of the tunes have held up extremely well over the past four decades.

One of the most fascinating realizations in listening to these songs is how Wainwright, even though he was in his 20s when he wrote these songs, often wrote from the perspective of an old man looking back on his youth. “In Delaware when I was younger” are the first words on “School Days,” the first track on his first album (Loudon Wainwright III, 1970) and one of the songs included here.

In “New Paint,” a song about a man’s awkwardness on a date with a woman, the singer sadly declares, “If I were 16 again, I’d give my eye tooth/I’m tired and I’m hungry and I’m lookin’ for my youth.”

And of course there’s “Old Friend,” where Wainwright sings, “The good old days are good and gone now/That’s why they’re good, because they’re gone.” When he first sang this, those “good old days” couldn’t have been long gone, unless he was singing about some kid he hadn’t seen since kindergarten

While the original versions of these songs were powerful, now — sung by a 60-plus Wainwright — they are infused not only with a tangible wistfulness but also with an earned wisdom. “New Paint” in particular takes on a new sadness. Nobody really believed Wainwright in 1973 when he sang, “Sometimes I feel ugly and old” and that he was a “used-up 20th-century boy.” But now, aided by Greg Leisz’s heartache steel and Patrick Warren’s pensive piano, those lines are jolting.

“Motel Blues,” a tune about luring a girl to his room (“Chronologically I know you’re young/But when you kissed me in the club you bit my tongue”), takes on new implications. Singing it back in the ’70s, Wainwright sounded desperate when he cried, “Come up to my motel room — save my life!” But now that line sounds literal, though Wainwright sings it as if he’s resigned to the fact that the girl probably won’t succumb to his pleas.

Perhaps the most powerful track on Recovery is “Saw Your Name in the Paper.” This song was inspired by the death of Janis Jo though she’s never mentioned by name. For years I’ve suspected that it might also have been partly directed at Wainwright’s childhood friend Liza Minnelli. Maybe that’s because of the line “Your mother must be happy — they said you stole the show.”

But whether it’s about Janis, Liza, or the next American Idol winner, the song is a meditation on the dark side of fame and the fickleness of the celeb-loving public.

“Maybe you’ll get famous. Maybe you’ll get rich/It’s all right.
Don’t be afraid. Lots of us got that itch/Lots of us, we need it. We need it really bad/Lots of us are desperate. Lots of us are sad.”

And yes, as is the case with most of his tunes, the song turns out to be about Wainwright himself. It was written about the time he was being touted as a potential “new Dylan” (one of about 863 “new Dylans” of that era). Wainwright’s only partially successful quest for fame has been a frequent topic in his songs. There was “AM World,” “Two-Song Set,” “The Grammy Song, “Harry’s Wall” and of course, the title song of his 1983 album, “Fame and Wealth,” just to name a few.

The one low point on the album is the last song. I won’t call “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry” a clunker, but this is the one early Wainwright song I wouldn’t have included. I never understood its appeal, even when Johnny Cash covered it. It’s the biggest production number on Recovery — with a string quartet — but this weird little parable doesn’t hold a candle to the rest of the tunes.

But for the most part, Recovery reminds me why I first became a Wainwright cultist all those years ago and why he continues to be such a worthy artist.

Baby, it’s a public radio world: You knew I couldn’t resist doing a Loudon Wainwright III tribute on the radio. Tune in to Terrell’s Sound World, 10 p.m. Sunday on KSFR-FM 101.1 for some old, new, and in-between Loudon. The Wainwright segment starts at the 11th hour. (And don’t forget The Santa Fe Opry, 10 p.m. Friday, on KSFR.)

FOOTBALL BUDDIES NO MORE?

Gov. Bill Richardson, in an interview on NPR this morning, said he and Bill Clinton might never kiss and make up over Richardson's choice to endorse Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton.

Have I heard from President Clinton? No. It could be pretty
much a permanent fissure. But, that's politics. That's okay," Richardson said.

"I'm still very fond of the Clintons," he said.

"I've reconciled with her, but with him — he wants to keep a grudge, that's fine with me,"

Richardson said, "I move on."

Listen yourself. The link is HERE.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: LOSING THE SWING

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Octobber 1, 2008


Does it still mean a thing if New Mexico loses its swing?

In recent years, political activists, political reporters and political junkies in this enchanted land have shared a certain pride that New Mexico in recent presidential elections, despite our modest stake of five electoral votes, has been a major swing state.

Could this be changing?

It’s true, we’ve seen candidate visits: John McCain in Albuquerque on Monday, Barack Obama in EspaƱola a few weeks ago.

But according to statistics from The Wisconsin Advertising Project, a creature of the University of Wisconsin Political Science Department, neither campaign seems to be spending that much money in the battle for New Mexico airwaves, at least compared with other battleground states.

According to a WAP news release Wednesday, Obama spent $185,000 on television advertising directed at New Mexico between Sept. 28 and Saturday, while, during the same period, McCain spent $144,000. In the 15 states in which both candidates are advertising, Obama spent more in 13 states than he did in New Mexico. McCain spent more in 14 states during this period.
"My Friends ..."
Granted, you’re going to pay more for television ads in bigger states with larger populations and more TV markets than New Mexico. But states similar in size to New Mexico, such as Nevada and New Hampshire, are seeing more political ads than our state.

In 2004, WAP showed Albuquerque stations in late September and early October sold more political ad time to presidential candidates than any other market except Miami.

But this year, the Albuquerque television market, according to WAP, isn’t in the top 10 markets for either McCain or Obama. McCain’s top 10 list does include El Paso, whose television stations are watched by Southern New Mexico households. There, the Republican aired ads 474 times last week, making El Paso No. 8 in McCain’s top 10.
OBAMA IN ESPANOLA
According to the study, Albuquerque ranked 20th for total political ads last week. The campaigns, the two political parties and outside groups attacking one candidate or the other bought a total of 960 airings on Albuquerque stations.

It’s not as if they’re not paying attention to the West. The top market for political ads was Las Vegas, Nev., (a total of 2,020 spots) while No. 2 was Denver (with 2,007 spots.)

Why aren’t the campaigns spending that much for New Mexico television ads?

When asked that question in a telephone interview Wednesday, Sarah Niebler, deputy director of The Wisconsin Advertising Project, said, “I can’t speak to the strategies of the campaigns.”

But she pointed to polling figures compiled by Pollster.com. Obama is leading McCain by 6 percentage points in New Mexico, according to Pollster, which averages several polls. In Nevada, Pollster shows Obama leading by less than 2 percentage points. In both Pollster and RealClearPolitics.com, another site that averages poll numbers, New Mexico for a few weeks has been listed as “leaning Obama” while Nevada continues to be a “tossup.”

So if McCain’s numbers start improving in New Mexico, expect to see more ads from both camps.

Beware of Tony: Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza told me this week that somebody out there is calling voters, falsely claiming to be from her office and trying to get Social Security numbers.

According to Espinoza, the calls are being made by a man who identifies himself as “Tony,” telling voters their voter registrations have been denied and asking them to dial a certain telephone number to clear it up. Those who call are asked for personal information such as Social Security numbers.

First of all, Espinoza says, that number is not associated with her office. She also said her office wouldn’t ask for such information over the phone.

Finally, she said, there’s nobody named Tony who works for her. “I even checked the temporary workers we hired, and there’s no Tony, she said.

Espinoza had some good advice that law enforcement officials frequently give: Don’t give strangers personal information over the phone. That’s a good way to get your identity stolen.

E-mailing the debate: I watched Tuesday’s presidential debate at a Santa Fe Community College watch party. Luckily, I wasn’t trying to keep up with my work e-mail. During the debate, and for a few minutes after it ended, I received 38 e-mails from the Obama campaign, most of them with the subject line “Debate Reality Check.”

Before the night was done, both sides sent out e-mail news releases declaring their candidate the winner.

For some reason, the McCain camp didn’t e-mail me its version of reality checks. I suspect I’m just not on that list.

But don’t worry, guys. I think my delete finger needs medical attention.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

McCAIN'S ALBUQUERQUE SPEECH

JOHN & CINDY McCAIN

My story on the Albuquerque event can be found HERE.

Being in the SUB Ballroom at UNM today brought back memories of past events I've seen there.

The first one was a Bo Diddley concert in August 1971 -- The King Kong Memorial Tribal Stomp. (I think that was the second annual KKMTS and perhaps the last one.) I also saw The Mahavishnu Orchestra there circa 1972. I got in trouble for opening an outside door and letting a bunch of hippies in for free. However, I didn't get kicked out of the show. They just made me sit away from the door.

The last presidential candidate I saw there also was a Republican -- Rep. Pete McCloskey, a Republican peace candidate (!) who challenged Richard Nixon in 1972. (His only delegate at the GOP convention that year was from New Mexico -- my old creating writing teacher Tom Mayer.)

Sunday, October 05, 2008

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, October 5, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Dumb All Over by Frank Zappa
Waves of Fear by Lou Reed
Tapiocra Tundra by The Monkees
Surfin' Dead by The Cramps
Punk Slime by The Black Lips
Tales of Terror by Mudhoney
Hard Workin' Man by Captain Beefheart
Justine by The Righteous Brothers

Welfare Bread by King Khan & The Shrines
What Have You Done For Me Lately by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Gator Tail by Lee Dorsey
I'm Insane by T-Model Ford
Down In the Valley by Solomon Burke
Mamma Get the Hammer by Barrence Whitfield
Nasty by The Diplomats of Solid Soul

The Chase by Chaino
Strong Man Holler by Taj Mahal
For God's Sake Give Power to the People by The Chi-Lites
Satisfied Fool by Nathaniel Meyer
My Back Scratcher by Frank Frost
Jon E. Edwards Mood by Jon E. Edwards
All in the Mood by Howlin' Wolf
Pettin' and Pokin' by Louis Jordon

Today's Lesson by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Saw Your Name in the Paper by Loudon Wainwright III
The Dolphins by Richie Havens
Muck Machine by Giant Sand
The Donor by Judee Sill
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

McCAIN IN ALBUQUERQUE MONDAY

John McCain
This just in:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will be in Albuquerque Monday for a rally at the UNM Student Union Building.

This will be the first candidate visit to the state since Barack Obama appeared in Espanola a couple of weeks ago.

The doors open at 11:30 p.m. and the rally starts at 1:30 pm.

I don't have any information about what to do if you want to attend, but I'll update this post when or if I find out.

UPDATE: According to a NM MCCain spokeswoman, it's first-come/ first-serve. People can get tickets at McCain's Albuquerque headquarters at 5643 Jefferson N.E. The office will close at 9 pm today. For more information, call 505-715-4330

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, April 28, 2024 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM  Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrel...