eMUSIC DECEMBER

* Horny As Hell by The Fuzztones. I'm a newcomer to this band, which, in various forms, has been around since the '80s. Though they started out in New York, Fuzztone frontman Rudi Protrudi and his latest incarnation of the band have been based out of Berlin in recent years.

The '08 model of Fuzztones includes a horn section (I don't think that's them pictured on the album cover) and a female chorus. I believe that King Khan & The Shrines is a major influence on this garage/soul sound.

Most the songs are Protrudi originals, though they cover a Pretty Things tune here ("Alexander," which features PT bassist Wally Waller) and a Billy Gibbons tune "99th Floor," which Billy the Beard used to play with his pre-ZZ Top band Moving Sidewalks. Probably my favorite song here is a new all-hornied-up version of an old Fuzztones song "Ward 81."

And just for the heck of it, I downloaded another Fuzztones tune, "I'm a Wolfman" from the Wicked Cool Records Halloween a-Go-Go album.


*Look Ma, No Head by The Cramps. It's been five long years since The Cramps released their last studio album (The Fiends of Dope Island), and as the Wolf Brand Chili used to say, "That's too long!"

Look Ma is a 1991 effort. In my Terrell's Tune-up review, I wrote that this album, "offers no new revelations, innovations or justification for its existence. But it still sounds great when you pop it in your tape deck going 85 mph on the Interstate."

I'll stand by that, even though I don't have a cassette player in my car any more.

As on any Cramps album, there's lotsa, lotsa trashabilly fun in here. Iggy Pop guests here on "Miniskirt Blues." Ry Cooder co-wrote "Hard-Workin' Man." There's references to cavemen, UFOs, Jayne Mansfield, Ernie Kovacks and songs like "Eyeball in My Martini," "Two Headed Sex Change" and "I Want to Get in Your Pants."

How can you not love 'em?

* Pleasure by The Ohio Players. old school funk at it;s funkiest. This is the Players' second album on Westbound, released in 1972.

Mainly these are jazzy instrumental tracks falling somewhere between Music of My Mind-era Stevie Wonder and Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis..

Their character "Granny" appears in a couple of spots (with a little barnyard humor in the tune "Rooster Poot."

And in case you forgot it was 1972, on "Introducing the Players" the band members are introduced by thier names, instruments and astrological signs.

* Stax Profiles by Rufus Thomas. He was as funny as he was funky. He was a veteran of vaudeville and a pioneering Memphis DJ. He did The Funky Chicken, The Funky Robot, and, though it's not on this otherwise excellent collection, "The Funky Penguin."

* Stocking Stuffer by The Fleshtones. A Super Rock Christmas album by The Fleshtones? That seems to be the situation. Titles include "Christmas with Bazooka Joe," "Champagne of Christmas," "Six White Bloomers," which sounds like a Yuletide tribute to AC/DC, and of course "Super Rock Santa." Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" isn't a very original choice. But I do dig the Joe Meek/Del Shannon "Runaway" organ in "Hurray for Santa Claus." (Consumer tip: "Champagne for Christmas," at least as of this writing, is available for free on the 2008 Redeye Holiday Sampler.)

Plus:
* Five Shane MacGowan & The Popes songs I didn't already have from a best-of compilation The Rare Oul' Stuff. These include some Irish standards like "Danny Boy" and "The Minstrel Boy," a lovely Christmas song called "Christmas Lullaby," a Pogue-ish rocker called "Rake at the Gates of Hell" and a cover of Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rosie." (I have that song on their Live at Montreaux 1995 DVD.)

Then I took a couple of tunes Shane sang with a band called Lancaster County Prison on their album released early this year, Every Goddamn Time. There's a banjo stomper called "Satan is Waiting" and a cover of "Long Black Veil." There's another couple of songs here with McGowan vocals, but I wasn't that impressed with the 30-second clips. Maybe someday curiosity will get the best of me and I'll download those also. Meanwhile, all these just make me thirsty for some new Shane.

*Some Christmas tunes, including "Call it Christmas" by The Supersuckers, which, along with the above mentioned Fleshtones song is free from the 2008 Redeye Holiday Sampler, "Santa's Gonna Shut 'em Down" by Untamed Youth, "Christmas 1979" and "A Poundland Christmas" by Billy Childish & The Musicians of The British Empire. Maybe next year I'll downlaod the whole Christmas 1979 album, from which these came.

* The first five tracks from Holland Shuffle, a live album by Andre Williams with a band called Green Hornet, released in 2003 by Norton Records. This is an excellent companion to the old R&B shouter's Can You Deal With It, released earlier this year on Bloodshot. I'll download the rest of these next week when my account refreshes.



And don't forget:

* The five tracks from Passover by The Black Angels that I didn't get last month. Like the first tracks I downloaded, these take listeners to a fuzz-laden aural psychedelic wonderland. If Marvel Comics ever makes a decent Dr. Strange movie, The Black Angels would provide a tremendous soundtrack.

RICHARDSON AT GEORGETOWN FUNDRAISER

Gov. Bill Richardson will be attending a Georgetown fundraiser to help retire his $150,000 presidential campaign debt, The Politico is reporting.

According to Politico, the fundraiser is being hosted by William A.K. Titleman and his wife, Maria. The couple have helped raise funds for Richardson’s campaign last year but also donated to Hillary Clinton's campaign. William Titleman also raised money for group that aired ads earlier this year in primary states harshly criticizing Barack Obama. Obama this month nominated Richardson as his Commerce secretary.

The invitation, according to The Politico lists several hosts, including Nelson Cunningham, Managing Partner of Kissinger McLarty Associates, where Richardson used to work; Andy Athy, a lobbyist for Viacom, DirecTV, U.S. Steel and Lehman Brothers, and Mike Stratton, a veteran political strategist who worked on Richardson's presidential campaign and is now works with the DCI Group, lobbyist firm.

The Politico reported that source close to Richardson said the event was planned "well-before" Richardson's appointment.

Richardson's remaining campaign debt, according to The Associated Press, is for the use of private jets belonging to The Branch law firm, state Highway Commissioner Johnny Cope and Congressman elect Harry Teague.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, December 7, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Gonzo by James Booker
I'm Not Like Everyone Else by The Rockin' Guys
Entertain by Sleater-Kinney
Last of the Small Time Playboys by The Dirty Pretty Things
Psycho Daiseys by The Hentchmen
It's Lame by Figures of Light
We Repel Each Other by The Reigning Sound
Girl Coge mi Cosar by Wau & Loa Arrrghs!!!
I Hear Sirens by The Dirtbombs

Weird and Twisted Nights by Hunter Thompson, Ralph Steadman & Mo Dean
Twisted by Paul Preston
Illuminated Cowboy by Roy & The Devil's Motorcycle
Killer Wolf by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Hotdog (Watch Me Eat) by The Detroit Cobras
I Wanna Hot Dog for My Roll by Butterbeans & Susie
My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama by Frank Zappa

Ozzie, High Times and Me by Mike Edison & The Rocket Train Delta Science Arkestra
New Rocket Train Boogie by Edison Rocket Train
I Love You by Lightning Beat Man
Break on Through by Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Blindness by The Fall
Jump the Shark by The SG Sound

Hurray for Santa Claus by The Fleshtones
In the Wilderness by Charlie Pickett
Wang Dang Doodle by P.J. Harvey
Days and Days by Concrete Blonde
Feels Like the End of the World by Firewater
Truly by Hundred Year Flood
Long Way Home by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

CHRISTMAS PODCAST 2008

Merry Christmas, all you out in podland. Here's my fourth and latest podcast with lots of my favorite musical Christmas goodies new and old.

CLICK HERE to download the podcast. (To save it, right click on the link and select "Save Target As.")

CLICK HERE to subscribe to my podcasts (there will be more in the future) and HERE to subscribe on iTunes.

You can listen to it right here, below.




My cool BIG feed player is HERE.

Here's the play list:

Little Drummer Boy by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Silent Night by Bad Religion
Santa Claus is Watching You by Ray Stevens
Eggnog by The Rockin' Guys

6 Bullets for Christmas by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Christmas with Bazooka Joe by The Fleshtones
Christmas at K-Mart by Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band
Christmas Boogie by Canned Heat & The Chipmunks
Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy by Buck Owens
Pumkinhead by Wilf Carter
Christmas in Jail by The Youngsters

Santa Claus by Thee Headcoatees
Christmas 1979 by Billy Childish & The Musicians of The British Empire
Christmas is Just Another Day by Johnny Dowd
On a Christmas Day by C.W. Stoneking
Kung Fu Christmas by Christoper Guest
Must Be Santa by Brave Combo

Blue Christmas by Stan Ridgway
Can Man Christmas by Joe West
Sawahdi by Terry Allen

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, December 5, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

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

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Leavin' Amarillo by Billy Joe Shaver
Southern Streamline by John Fogerty
Don't Ya Tell Henry by The Band
Tulsa Breakdown by Kim & The Caballeros
Your Greedy Heart by Hazel Dickens
Eat Steak by Rev. Horton Heat
Rated X by Neko Case
You and The Devil by The Electric Rag Band

Pardon Me, I've Got Someone to Kill by The Rockin' Guys
Suckin' a Big Bottle of Gin by Joe Ely
Feudin' and Fightin' by Marti Brom
I'm So Lonesome Without You by Hazeldine
Trucker From Tennessee by Link Davis
Seven Nights to Rock by Moon Mullican
Keep a Light in the Window by Cornell Hurd
Drunk Tank by The Starline Rhythm Boys
Crystal Chandeliers by Charlie Pride

Robots of Rayleen by Joe West
Belly Button Blues by Wee Hairy Beasties
Dancing With Bears by Bayou Seco
You Only Love Me For My Lunchbox by The Asylum Street Spankers
Shake It and Break It by Devil in the Woodpile
Grwoing Upside Down by The Ditty Bops
How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away by Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
Brother Drop Dead Boogie by Pee Wee King

Seen You With No Makeup by Mike Neal
The Wolfman of Del Rio by Terry Allen
My Rifle, My Pony and Me by Dean Martin & Rick Nelson
New Mexico by Rebekah Pulley
You've Never Been This Far Before by Conway Twitty
My Dumb Heart by Johnny Dilks
My Death Comes a Callin' by ThaMuseMeant
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

DENISH-GARCIA?

Here's a little Roundhouse rumor that might be worth reporting: I'm hearing that high on Diane Denish's list for a lieutenant governor is Veterans Affairs Secretary John Garcia.

Remember who appeared with Denish at that Albuquerque news conference last week right when the talk of Bill Richardson becoming Commerce secretary first broke? It was John Garcia. (Photo from that event by Kate Nash.)

Garcia supporters say that Republicans in 2010 might nominate Heather Wilson for governor, who is likely to stress veteran's issue. Garcia on the ticket could help blunt that.

Garcia is a Vietnam vet who served in the Central Highlands region in 1969 to 1970. He was deputy chief of staff for Gov. Bruce King and later was secretary of the Economic Development Department. Prior to his service in state government, Garcia was the executive director and CEO of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce.

Denish said Thursday that it's premature to be talking about her choice for lieutenant governor.

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: EDISON IS THE LIGHT

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
December 5, 2008

Mike Edison is a journalist after my own heart. Just look at his résumé. He’s been a writer, editor, and/or publisher for a rich array of publications — Screw magazine, High Times, and Wrestling’s Main Event. Dang, he’s done everything but cover the New Mexico Legislature.

And he’s a rock ’n’ roller. He collaborated with the notorious G.G. Allin. He led a fine punk/blues group called Edison Rocket Train, which, back in 2005, released a sizzling little record called Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!

A slightly mutated version of ERT, called Rocket Train Delta Science Arkestra, appears on Edison’s latest sonic adventure, I Have Fun Everywhere I Go. This is a hilarious companion piece to Edison’s autobiography, which was published earlier this year. (The book is subtitled Savage Tales of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, American Heroes, and the Most Notorious Magazines in the World.)

The album is a spoken-word affair, with Edison reading from the book over hard-driving musical backdrops produced by blues exploder Jon Spencer — an Edison crony who produced and guested on Rocket Train recordings.)

The album starts off with Edison reciting, “Number one, pornography. Number two, punk rock. Number three, drugs. That’s not a résumé. That’s a crime scene.”

This first cut, “Pornography, Part I,” is a seven-minute tale of Edison’s years at the post-Al Goldstein Screw. (He describes Goldstein, the magazine’s founder and first publisher, as a “corpulent media whore and vociferous loudmouth, so filthy ... even other pornographers avoided him like a summons server.”) As a spacey guitar and weird science-fiction blips and bleeps rage behind him, Edison brags about his proudest achievement — the issue published during the 2004 Republican National Convention.

On other tracks, Edison describes his work at other magazines. In “Talking Main Event Magazine Blues” he tells about getting involved with the World Wrestling Federation during the mid-’80s heyday of Hulk Hogan. Punctuated by distorted drums and bass, Edison explains that wrestling was even looked down upon by fans of roller derby and women-in-prison movies. But, he says, “Those of us in on the joke were having a blast.”

Though he describes promoter Vince McMahon as a “visionary on par with Columbus,” Edison naturally hates the Hulkster, who was known for “wrapping himself in red, white, and blue and proselytizing to his army of teeny-bopper fans to stay in school and stay away from drugs. Frankly, he just wasn’t my kind of people.”

Then there’s a 10-minute-plus epic called “Ozzy, High Times, and Me.” (“The next person who suggests putting Bob Marley on the cover is gonna be looking for a new job!” Edison bellows at a staff meeting, as related in the opening lines of the song.) Here he tells the story of the time he put Ozzy Osbourne on the cover of the celebrated dope rag. Sometime during the photo shoot, $1,600 worth of premium illegal and dangerous marijuana went missing. So Edison leaked the story to the New York Post, which resulted in one of the biggest-selling issues in the magazine’s history, although leaking to the paper caused Edison problems with the stoners and “corporate hippies” on the staff.

One track is actually touching. That’s “G.G. Allin Died Last Night,” Edison’s tribute to his pal, whose concerts frequently turned into brutal, violent, obscene, and unhygienic spectacles. Over the sounds of a fuzz bass and wailing harmonica, Edison intones, “Beyond the bluster and beyond the broken glass, G.G. adhered to a cogent philosophy of rock ’n’ roll. Rock ’n’ roll as creator, rock ’n’ roll as destroyer.”

Edison talks about a barbecue that was the last time he ever saw his friend. Allin offered to put Edison on the guest list for his show the next night. But Edison declined. “We’re having a nice time. It was really good to see you. Why would I want to ruin that vibe by going to one of your gigs?”

With so much stale pabulum passing for rock ’n’ roll in these troubling times, this CD is a vital reminder of the importance of danger and sleazy fun.

Also recommended:

* Gonzo: Music From the Film. Speaking of savage tales, there used to be this other writer ...

This recording consists of music and spoken-word snippets from the documentary The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, which played at The Screen in Santa Fe last summer.

Some of the tunes — Brewer & Shipley’s “One Toke Over the Line,” “Combination of the Two” by Big Brother & The Holding Company, and The Youngbloods’ hippie anthem “Get Together” — also appear on the soundtrack album for the movie version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

So the real fun on this compilation comes from the obscurities. There’s a great little jazz piece called “Gonzo,” featuring New Orleans organist James Booker. David Schwartz’s theme, “Gonzo’s Honest Run,” first sounds like a slow swamp rocker but explodes into a surf-guitar stomper. Jo Stafford’s “Haunted Heart” is inspired schlock.

But the strangest and most glorious of all is “Weird and Twisted Nights.” The track is credited to Thompson; his sidekick, cartoonist Ralph Steadman; and Mo Dean, wife of Watergate tattletale John Dean. This collaboration took place in 1979, during the shooting of the Thompson-inspired Bill Murray movie Where the Buffalo Roam. It’s a bouncy little pop tune with a Zappa-like meandering melody and lyrics like “Mangled bodies tell no tales and tell no lies.” I’m not sure who actually recorded this (the credits say it’s produced by Hal Willner); it’s lo-fi but sounds like there were professional musicians involved, especially the Clarence Clemons-like sax solo.

ON TO WASHINGTON

I've been too busy to blog much about the Richardson nomination to the Commerce Department.

Here's a story from today's paper about Richardson's previous confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate .

And here's the story from the previous day, in which he appeared at a "news conference" at Wood Gormley Elementary shortly before the story leaked that the official announcement would be on Wednesday.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: LEGISLATIVE SESSION SHAPING UP TO BE A DOOZIE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
December 4, 2008

It’s more than a month away, but this week, the first shots were fired in what is bound to be an interesting session of the state Legislature.


I’m referring of course to the pending leadership struggle in the state Senate. Democrats decided to dump incumbent Senate President Pro-tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, in favor of state Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa. Jennings riled many of his fellow Democrats by recording a campaign call for Republican Whip Leonard Lee Rawson of Las Cruces, who lost in the general election despite Jennings’ help.

But Jennings says he’ll press on and try to keep his seat by soliciting help from Republican senators — apparently unconcerned about the irony of giving the dwindling number of Republicans in the Senate such a big say following the big Democratic wins in the state in last month’s election.

Leadership battles are always fun to cover. But wait, there’s more!

In addition to the pro-tem showdown, there’s the coming changes in the executive branch. With Gov. Bill Richardson going off to the Commerce Department, many wonder whether Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who has presided over the Senate for the past six sessions, will have better luck in getting along with the Senate, which often ran afoul of Richardson.

One of my lobbyist friends this week was pondering the physical difficulty of Denish moving into the governor’s office during the middle of the session.

Nobody knows who Denish will appoint to replace her as lieutenant governor. She wouldn’t say Wednesday who that will be. And nobody knows who among Richardson’s staff will stay or go.

Another element of fun will be all the new faces in the Legislature. Democrats knocked off three Republican incumbents in the Senate and three in the House. Four Democratic lawmakers and one Republican were handed their walking papers by feisty challengers in the primary. Plus there were seven — four House members and three senators — who didn’t seek re-election, which resulted in more new faces.

One House member, Santa Fe Democrat Peter Wirth, gave up his seat so he could move over to the Senate (to replace retiring Sen. John Grubesic), newcomer Brian Egolf, also a Democrat, will replace Wirth in the House.

Some predict that a younger, more liberal, more Democratic Legislature will be more open to passing progressive social legislation such as a domestic-partnership law and abolition of the death penalty. I predicted in this column after the primary because of changes in the Senate that the Legislature might finally open conference committee meetings to the public.

Then again, with all the bad press that public campaign financing got with the Jerome Block Jr.’s state Public Regulation Commission campaign, there might be a serious bid to abolish public financing.

But topping off all the fun factors is the fact there’s no money. Because of the budget shortfalls, there’s not a whole lot of pork. In fact, we’ll be lucky to get SizzleLean.

Maybe that doesn’t really sound like fun. But it’ll lead to some interesting fights.

The age of aquarium: If you think there’s something fishy about Richardson’s appointment as secretary of commerce by president-elect Barack Obama, The Chicago Tribune’s political blog, The Swamp, spelled it out Tuesday.

Noting Richardson really wanted to be secretary of state, Frank James wrote: “Commerce doesn’t have the prestige of State. But it has very nice perks. The Commerce Secretary has one of the better physical offices in the Executive Branch, a huge space with a working fireplace and a large fish tank maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Commerce agency.”

James also says, “Commerce secretaries still travel the world, helping to drum up business for U.S. companies. So Richardson will still get to travel the world on behalf of U.S. taxpayers.”

Close shave: One of the lighter moments of Obama’s announcement of the Richardson nomination Wednesday was when a Fox News reporter asked what had happened to the governor’s beard.

Although the question was asked of Richardson, Obama responded: “I think it was a mistake for him to get rid of it. I thought that whole Western, rugged look was really working for him. For some reason, maybe because it was scratchy when he kissed his wife, he was forced to get rid of it. But we’re deeply disappointed with the loss of the beard.”

Richardson began sporting a beard after he dropped his presidential campaign in January. It was his way of “decompressing,” he said at the time. Journalists around the country had fun with it. Richardson’s appearance was compared to that of Rod Steiger as Dr. Zhivago, Wolfman Jack, a Klingon from Star Trek and Justin Timberlake. (Richardson told me that the latter was his favorite.)

The governor in late March said he’d probably shave it “in the next two months.” But the beard stayed until the day before the election. Interviewed Nov. 4, Richardson insisted the shave had nothing to do with Washington job hunting. “I just got tired of maintaining it,” he said. “I’d decided to do this a long time ago.”

CHOOO CHOOOO!

I guess this means my long-threatened train song special on The Santa Fe Opry will be Friday Dec. 12.

From the governor's office:

Governor Bill Richardson Announces Debut of New Mexico Rail Runner Express in Santa Fe

SANTA FE – Governor Bill Richardson today announced that after nearly a year-and-a-half of construction the New Mexico Rail Runner Express is ready to ride into Santa Fe. On Monday, December 15, 2008 the Governor will be joined by state, local and tribal officials, and several members of the public for the first inaugural train ride from Albuquerque into Santa Fe.

“This is a historic event that will bring long-term economic benefits to New Mexico and change the way we travel along the Middle Rio Grande Corridor,” Governor Richardson said. “During these tough economic times, the Rail Runner Express will provide thousands of commuters a much-needed savings while offering them a safe, viable and efficient transportation alternative.”

Commuter service into Santa Fe is scheduled to officially begin on Wednesday, December 17, 2008. On opening day, the South Capitol Complex Station at the State Government Complex north of Alta Vista Street and the Santa Fe Depot at the Railyard north of Paseo de Peralta, will be open to the public. Two additional stations, one at Zia Road and St. Francis Drive, and a stop in southern Santa Fe at I-25 and N.M. 599 are scheduled to open in the future.

“The Rail Runner Express will change the face of transportation in New Mexico,” said State Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught. “With initial estimates of nearly 4,500 commuters riding the train between Albuquerque and Santa Fe on a daily basis, this will not only take a lot of stress off our roads, but will also enhance safety.”

“Bringing the train to Santa Fe represents the historic culmination of five years of hard work, and a significant investment in the future of New Mexico,” says Lawrence Rael, Executive Director for the Mid-Region Council of Governments. “As a regional organization, the Council of Governments has been proud to work with the Department of Transportation to make this project a reality. This is about our children having an alternative transportation system to work, play and travel in the region for generations to come.”

The New Mexico Rail Runner Express will run on zone-based fares, with a roundtrip fare from downtown Albuquerque to downtown Santa Fe costing $8. Throughout the first three months of service Santa Fe County residents will be able to ride the train free of charge by providing proof of residency such as a driver’s license. Finalized train fares and schedules are available at www.nmrailrunner.com.

On July 14, 2006, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express began serving commuters between Albuquerque and Bernalillo. Today, the 50-mile corridor between Bernalillo and Belen averages 3,000 commuters daily and has seen more than 1.3 million riders in the last two years. The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is part of Governor Richardson’s Investment Partnership, a $1.6 billion transportation and infrastructure initiative that is improving highways in New Mexico, creating new modes of transportation like the commuter rail and creating high-wage jobs.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, November 30, 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
Thanksgiving in Reno by Too Much Joy
Road by The Rockin' Guys
Mystery Trip by The Chesterfield Kings
Wreck My Flow by The Dirtbombs
Combination of the Two by Big Brother & The Holding Company
Bad News Travels Fast by The Fuzztones
Train in Vain by The Clash
Vanity Surfing by Jesus H. Christ & The Four Hornsmen 0f the Apocalypse

Jack Ruby by Camper Van Beethoven
Wasted by Pere Ubu
Cutester Patrol by The Grandmothers
Love of My Life by Ruben & The Jets
Ain't That Just Like Me by The Astronauts
Monkey See, Monkey Do by Untamed Youth
Somebody in My Home by John Schooley & His One Man Band
Your Dice Won't Pass by Edison Rocket Train
Cheaper to Keep Her by Johnny Taylor

Inside Out Over You by Mudhoney
Two Headed Sex Change by The Cramps
Midnight in Aspen by The Fall
Manimal by The Germs
This Bad Girl by The Golden Cups
Get Out of Here by Robert Cage
Chatterbox by New York Dolls
Funky Robot by Rufus Thomas
Sal Che Tornero by The Cocks
Hot Tamales by Bobby Hatfield

Your Monster by The Shondees
Shot in the Arm by Wilco
Belly Full of Fire by Giant Sand
Chillout Tent by The Hold Steady
Beekeeper's Daughter by The Residents
Cast No Shadows by The Mekons
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

STATE SENATE DEMS CHOOSE CISNEROS

State Senate Democrats, in the last hour or so, have selected Sen. Carlos Cisneros of Questa as their nominee for Senate President Pro-tem.

Cisneros, who has been in the Senate since 1985, defeated incumbent president Pro-tem Tim Jennings of Roswell. However, Jennings told me he might seek Republican support to stay on when the full Senate votes on the position in January.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez and Whip Mary Jane Garcia were re-elected to their posts without challenge.

Jennings angered some Democrats when he defended Republican Senate Whip Leonard Lee Rawson -- and recorded a "robo call" for Rawson -- in the recent election. Rawson, of Las Cruces, was defeated by Democrat Steve Fischmann.

More in tomorrow's New Mexican.

UPDATE: Monday 12:39 AM
As promised, here's my story in Monday's paper: CLICK HERE

TOKIN' WITH LAWRENCE

I just stumbled upon this video from the Lawrence Welk Show in 1971. At the end of the video, Lawrence himself calls it "a modern spiritual."

This is not a joke! Read about it on Brewer & Shipley's Web Site.



Notice the guy's name is "Dick Dale." Not that Dick Dale!

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, November 28, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live by The Del-Lords
Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young by Faron Young
One Toke Over the Line by Brewer & Shipley
Bar Exam by The Derailers
Hadacol Boogie by James Luther Dickinson
Loudmouth Cowgirls by Kim & The Caballeros
I Ain't Never by Webb Pierce
That Mink on Her Back by Hank Penny
Sweet Kind of Love by The Pine Valley Cosmonauts

Engine Engine Number Nine by Southern Culture on the Skids
The Ballad of Roger Miller by Homer & Jethro
Guv'ment by Roger Miller
Got My Mojo Workin' by The Asylum Street Spankers
A Million Regrets by Cornell Hurd
Three Shades of Black by Hank Williams III
You'll Rue the Day by Spade Cooley
Blood on the Saddle by Tex Ritter
Pride Covered Ears by Johnny Paycheck

John Walker's Blues by Steve Earle
White Folk's Blood by House of Freaks
Worried Mind by Johnny Dowd
Single Girl, Married Girl by Levon Helm
Waiting For the Demons to Die by Boris McCutcheon & The Saltlicks
Fly Trap Liar by P.W. Long
Pure Religion by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Marvel Group by Mother Earth
If I Could Only Fly by Blaze Foley
Marching to the CIty by Bob Dylan
Truly by Hundred Year Flood
Thanksgiving by Loudon Wainwright III
Pie in the Sky by Utah Phillips & Ani DiFranco
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: GIVE IT AIRPLAY

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 28, 2008

The reason I write this column, the reason I spend way too much time tracking down music — much of which most people will never hear and don’t care about — and the reason I do my own radio shows can be blamed on a disease I suffered in early 1962 — the measles.

I missed a week of school in third grade because of this ailment. And during that week, with the help of a transistor radio about the size of a pack of cigarettes, I discovered rock ’n’ roll radio. I’d listen religiously every night and sometimes during the day, enticed by the sounds of The Shirelles, Joey Dee & The Starliters, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and so many more, wafting in like the voices of sirens over that cheap little radio, each song introduced by a disembodied voice, some wizard of sound who seemed happy and excited — sometimes a little too excited — to spin his 45s and share his magical sonic gifts.

Everybody liked TV, of course. But television was for everyone. The radio, with its waxy little earplug, seemed like my private joy. But I wasn’t alone. Millions of young people throughout the land of the free were following the pied pipers of rock ’n’ roll radio. These messengers and their medium are the subject of Airplay: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio, a documentary film by Chris Fox Gilson and Carolyn Travis, which shows during the Santa Fe Film Festival.

Alas, none of my heroes from WKY in Oklahoma are in this movie, but the film does tell the stories of many of the giants of rock radio — Rufus Thomas, Alan Freed, Cousin Brucie, Murray the K, and Wolfman Jack among them.

The basic story of Airplay, especially to longtime rock fans, is well known and oft-told: bored suburban white kids discovering black music on black radio stations and white radio getting in on the fun, with some white DJs blatantly imitating their African American counterparts. Then came Elvis, then the payola scandal. And by the time AM radio was getting corny and irrelevant in the late ’60s, along comes Tom Donahue, who pioneered “underground” free-form radio on the FM dial.

Though the tale is familiar, there’s enough tasty music and period news clips to keep Airplay lively. There’s a brief interview with Pat Boone, who downplays the element of racism in the opposition to rock. Talking about how rock ’n’ roll concerned “preachers, teachers, and legislators,” Boone says, “They thought it was going to be a terrible influence on young people not because it was black. Though that entered into it, I guess.” This is immediately followed by footage of some unnamed segregationist standing in front of a large “We Serve White Customers Only” sign, talking about setting up a “20-man committee to do away with this vulgar, animalistic rock ’n’ roll bop.”

Some of the old DJs interviewed tell wonderful stories of their youth. Dick Biondi, a Chicago radio giant who now resembles Harry Dean Stanton, tells a hilarious story of being irritated one day with his boss (“a pain in the butt, to be very honest”). Biondi described over the air what kind of car the guy drove (a gray Impala convertible) and told listeners to throw a rock through the window. One of Biondi’s fans followed through.

The strongest part of the documentary deals with payola. DJs were raked over the coals in the halls of Congress and in newspaper headlines for accepting “booze, broads, and bribes” from record promoters in exchange for airplay. The hearings were conducted by Rep. Oren Harris, who had previously tackled one of the other major devastating problems of that era — the fixing of television game shows. Payola destroyed the career of Freed as well as many other rock jocks.

The DJs speak candidly about payola. Cleveland’s Joe Finan, who lost a job over it, recalled a DJ convention in Miami in which Elvis Presley’s manager, Col. Tom Parker, brought in a hooker from Holland for the enjoyment of his favorite DJs. Philadelphia’s Jocko Henderson admits taking payola but says, “I would never take money for a record I didn’t like, ’cause if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t play it.”

No, you can’t justify payola. Still, it’s pretty loathsome to see low-paid DJs persecuted by the very same type of self-righteous hypocrites who get all huffy when you suggest that campaign contributions might influence decisions they make in office.

The weakest part of Airplay is its discussion of the decline of rock radio. You go from the rise of disco to a brief tribute to KROQ in Los Angeles to MTV (with the obligatory playing of the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star”). There’s a short nod to hip-hop; then finally comes the era of satellite radio. In fact, much of the last few minutes of Airplay almost seems like an ad for XM and Sirius, which have apparently become the latest refuge for several golden-era rock jocks, like New York’s Cousin Brucie.

But there’s no mention of college radio, which became a major “underground” force in the 1980s, attracting untold numbers of rock fans who didn’t give a flying hoot about corporate radio or MTV. There’s nothing about Internet radio or podcasting, which appeals to those of us who don’t want to shell out big bucks to pay some megacorporation for satellite radio.

The truth is, neither satellite radio nor podcasts are going to incite actual teenage riots, as Freed did in the ’50s. I just fantasize that those radio waves from those early years are still bouncing around the universe somewhere and that someday some of them will find their way into the transistor radio of some kid with the measles on some distant planet.

Airplay is showing at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, and at 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, in Tipton Hall at the College of Santa Fe, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive.

Blog Bonus: Here's a trailer for Airplay:

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: WE'RE GONNA MISS THIS GUY

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 27, 2008

It’s been nearly a week since the leaks about Gov. Bill Richardson’s being the probable secretary of commerce in the Obama administration, and I don’t think it’s really sunk into most of us what a huge change in New Mexico politics this appointment would be.

We don’t have the official word yet — and the governor, the lieutenant governor and everyone else involved are being annoyingly, if understandably coy about the situation.

(My favorite quote of the week came from a spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, asked in an Associated Press story early this week whether Denish and Richardson had discussed a transition of power: “It’s early to be talking about a transition because there hasn’t been any official announcement yet.” Holy mackerel! If there’s any truth to the Commerce leaks and they’re seriously waiting until an “official announcement” to discuss these critical matters, that’s the story.)

I guess I let myself get bothered by little stuff like that to distract myself from the obvious: Assuming the big announcement is coming, there’s going to be a giant crater in New Mexico politics where there once was Richardson.

“Put on your tennis shoes. You’ll be running to keep up,” was the advice that former Richardson staffer Butch Maki gave me shortly after Richardson was elected governor the first time in 2002.

He wasn’t joking. I realized the first week of his administration — when North Korean diplomats came to Santa Fe to discuss nuclear disarmament with the governor of New Mexico — that this wasn’t going to be like covering a regular state government.

For most of his first term, it seemed like everything he did was preparing his argument on why he should be president. I may be exaggerating a little, but in those early years, it seemed like he was having three press conferences a week, each one to announce some new “bold initiative,” and most of them beginning with remarks alluding to the historic nature of the occasion.

Some of those bold initiatives turned out to be big deals — the Rail Runner and the Spaceport, for instance.

Some seem pretty weird in retrospect. Statewide trials for Billy the Kid to see if the famous outlaw deserved a pardon? A pro football team for Albuquerque?

Then there was all the overt national political activity. In Richardson’s first few months in office, he arranged for the first debate of the 2004 Democratic candidates to take place in Albuquerque. He got himself elected chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. He twice was chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. And reporters joked the most unsafe place in the Capitol was in the hallway by the television studio if Richardson was late for an interview on CNN or Fox News. (Luckily, those times were rare. He was far more punctual for the national media than he was for us local yokels.)

I’m waxing a little nostalgic here because most of this truly was fun to cover.

There’s things I won’t miss though.

Trying to get information out of Richardson’s office was often a frustrating exercise for reporters working on a story that wasn’t part of his “message.” In recent weeks, for instance, Richardson’s office has seemed to have the attitude that it’s nobody’s business when the governor is out of state. He and some of his many press aides frequently were thinned-skinned if they didn’t like what a journalist was writing. Once last year, Richardson angrily told me I was the only one who said his performance in a recent debate had been sub-par.

I’m not the only one saying this: It’ll never be the same around here once Richardson leaves.

Interesting facts about the secretary of commerce: It’s no big secret the Commerce Department is a consolation prize for Richardson, who really wanted to be secretary of state. Some people have told me they believe this is a place-holding job for Richardson, who will move up when something else is available.

That might be true. But if history is any indication, there’s only so far a secretary of commerce can go.

Only one commerce secretary later became president. That was Herbert Hoover, who headed the department for more than several years under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge.

Another commerce secretary was a vice president. That was Henry A. Wallace, who was President Franklin Roosevelt’s veep during his third term. Roosevelt dumped Wallace from the ticket in 1944. Roosevelt appointed Wallace as commerce secretary — apparently as a consolation prize. Wallace was fired from that job in 1945 by President Harry Truman.

Richardson wouldn’t be the first Hispanic commerce secretary. That would be the current secretary, Carlos Miguel Gutierrez.

And he wouldn’t be the first Commerce Secretary Richardson. That honor goes to Elliot Richardson, who was appointed to that position by President Gerald Ford.

Elliot Richardson, however, is better known as the attorney general who resigned rather than follow President Richard Nixon’s order to fire special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox in what went on to be known as the “Saturday Night Massacre” in October 1973.

The secretary of commerce is a relatively low-key position, but some secretaries ended up in tragedies or scandals.

Ron Brown, President Bill Clinton’s first commerce secretary, died in a 1996 plane crash in Croatia, while on a trade mission.

Nixon’s first secretary of commerce, Maurice Stans, who also served as Nixon’s campaign finance chairman, was indicted in 1973 for Watergate-related charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. He was found not guilty.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, November 23, 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
Momia Twist by Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!
Acton by Los Peyotes
Miniskirt Blues by The Cramps with Iggy Pop
Boomerang by The Black Lips
I'm Hurtin' by Thee Headcoats
Ward 81 by The Fuzztones
Exploder by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Mean and Evil by The Juke Joint Pimps
Granny's Little Chicken by The Dirtbombs
Do the Watusi by Cat

November/Weapon by The Rockin' Guys
Hurt Me by Lightning Beat Man
Mr. Link Wray by The Happy Happy Jihads
Rawhide by Link Wray
Monkey Run by Johnny Dowd
Hit the Road by Scott H. Birham
Make You Say Wow by Bob Log III
Warmth of the Sun by The Beach Boys

Mad Mike/Las Vegas Grind set
A La Carte by James "Red" Hollway
Mama Ubangi Bangi by The Four Sounds
The Whip by The Creeps
Snacky Poo by The Del-Mars
Surfin' in the China Sea by The Hong Kongs
For the Birds by The Charts
Rigor Mortis by The Gravestone Four
Strollie Bun by The Blonde Bomber
Little Girl by John & Jackie
Mysterious Teenage by The Vels
Cherry Juice by Marino Choice
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by The Rhythm Kings

The Kukamong a Boogaloo by King Khan & The Shrines
Ain't It Hard by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Praise the Lord Everyone by Dante Harmon
Slinky by The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Waiting at the River by The Blind Boys of Mississippi
A Night at the House of Prayer by The Rev. Lonnie Farris
Don't You Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down by Linda Tillery & The Cultural Heritage Choir featuring Wilson Pickett & Eric Bibb
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

LAZY SUNDAY MORNING

What better time to think about that amazing meeting between two powerful forces in American entertainment: Jack Benny and The Blues Magoos. (From the Kraft Music Hall, Nov. 1, 1967, assuming the Youtube information is correct.)

Hide your ears, Jack!

RICHARDSON TO COMMERCE

So it looks as if Gov. Bill Richardson might soon be leaving the greatest job he;s ever had and going t work as Commerce secretary in the Obama administration.

Here's the stroeis that Miss Nash and I were working on Friday afternoon.

CLICK HERE and HERE and HERE.

It's just starting to sink in to me that this job is not going to be anywhere near the same if Richardson really is leaving the state.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, November 21, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Change in the Weather by John Fogerty
Sweet Sweet Girl by Warren Smith
I'll Sail My Ship Alone by Cornell Hurd with Tommy Alverson
Wake Up and Smell the Whiskey by Dean Miller
Cajun Stripper by Doug Kershaw
The Story of Mama Rosin by Mama Rosin
Girl Called Trouble by The Watzloves
That's My Rabbit, My Dog Caught It by The Walter Family

Long Hauls and Close Calls by Hank Williams III
Five Brothers by Marty Robbins
Goodbye Earle by The Dixie Chicks
The Taker by Waylon Jennings
Friday Night on a Dollar Bill by Huelyn Duvall
Black Cat by Tommy Collins
Dig Myself a Hole by Charlie Feathers
Things are Gettin' Rough All Over by Hank Penny
Squaws Along the Yukon by Hank Thompson
Don't Come Home a Drinkin' by Loretta Lynn

Everybody Wants a Cowboy by Skeeter Davis & NRBQ
Life Begins at 4 OClock by The Starline Rhythm Boys
Blue Sunshine by The Meteors
Thunder by Yuichi & The Hilltone Boys
Cowboy No. 77 by Charlie Pickett
Shout Out Loud by Eric Hisaw
Single Bar Love Song by Mike Neal
Waitin' Where She Hides by Dave Insley
Strangeness in Me by The Cramps

Lee Harvey by The Asylum Street Spankers
Whiskey Willie by Michael Hurley
I'll Be Fine When I Get Home to You by Gann Brewer
Bad Music (Is Better than No Music at All) by John Hartford
Neck of the Woods by Hundred Year Flood with Shannon McNally
Last Days of Tampa Red by Ronny Elliott
He Was a Friend of Mine by The Byrds
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: MONSTERS ON THE LOOSE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 21, 2008


Writers, DJs, and hyperactive fans who champion music that’s obscure and out of the mainstream often have the desire to lift the wild geniuses and inspired outcasts they so love out of the shadows and give them at least a modest bit of the attention and acclaim they so richly deserve.

That wasn’t the case with “Mad” Mike Metrovich, a Pittsburgh disc jockey who became a broadcast institution on WZUM (AM, of course) in the mid-’60s. Mad Mike was infamous for going to dusty, old, out-of-the-way warehouses, buying thousands of 45s for pennies on the dollar, finding the craziest R & B, the greasiest doo-wop, and the most delinquency-inducing rock ’n’ roll for his radio show and the local teen dances he played — and for scraping off the labels so other DJs and fans weren’t able to find out what he was playing.

Lucky for us that Norton Records didn’t hide the artist and song-title information on Mad Mike Monsters: A Tribute to Mad Mike Metrovich, a three-disc collection (you have to buy the CDs separately) filled with dozens of the mad one’s favorites.

Not that anyone will recognize many — or perhaps any — of the names here. Except for Johnny Otis, who has a couple of 10-second radio plugs included in this compilation, the only group I recognize is The Sonics, whose garage hit “Psycho” is the first song on Volume 1.

Otherwise, the roster of artists reflects an alternate universe — Wild Child Gipson, the Grand Prees, Baby Huey & The Babysitters, Calvin Cool, Big Danny Oliver, Big Syl Barnes, and Little Ike. And no, the Marquis Chimps weren’t the actual apes who used to appear on television back in the ’60s, and Mad Mike & The Maniacs wasn’t led by Metrovich.

Just like radio listeners in Pittsburgh in 1965, you can enjoy the yackety saxes, the Reefer Madness-style piano, the piercing guitars, and the screaming Little Richard wannabes over dozens of tasty tracks with a certain sense of wonder. Who are these anonymous maniacs producing such intense sounds? Where did this stuff come from?

Some of the song titles in the collection sound familiar. “Goo Goo Muck” by Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads is a bizarre little ditty that was later covered by The Cramps. But “Camel Walk” by The Saxons, though similar to the one done by Southern Culture on the Skids, isn’t the same tune. And “The Hunch” by Mad Mike & The Maniacs has nothing to do with Hasil Adkins.

The songs are all from the days well before political sensitivity, so there’s some ethnic stereotyping not for the easily offended — like that in “Mama Ubangi Bangi” by The Four Sounds, complete with physical descriptions of a “Watusi Lucy” and jungle animal sounds, or “Chop Suey Rock” by The Instrumentals, a saxed-out, surfy instrumental introduced by a phony saying from Confucius. There’s a similar track called “Surfin’ in the China Sea” by The Hong Kongs. Then there are “Geronimo” by The Renegades, which includes sound effects of rifle fire and Indian war cries, and “Firewater” by The Premieres, another instrumental, which has someone trying to imitate a Native American.

There are songs that will bring to mind better-known tunes. “Uncle John” by Wild Child Gipson is basically an “answer song” to Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally.” James “Red” Holloway’s “A La Carte,” with its shouts of “fried elephant lips,” “spider giblets,” and “baboon eyeballs,” sounds like a rewrite of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “Feast of the Mau Mau” and “Alligator Wine” — although I can’t say for certain whether Holloway’s song came before or after Screamin’ Jay’s.

And some songs just sound dirty. There’s “Strollie Bun” by Blonde Bomber, for instance (“Where did you get that strut?” asks the singer, who sure doesn’t sound like a blonde). Even though “Cherry Juice” by Marino Choice doesn’t contain any overt obscenities, it sounds as if it could be from a lost “party” album by Jackie Wilson. Similarly, “Snacky Poo” by The Del Mars is even more suggestive (“Some people like it, some people don’t/Some people do it, some people won’t”). This sounds like the song Otis Day & The Knights would have been playing in the juke joint in Animal House right before the guys from Delta House walked in.

Mad Mike died on Oct. 31, 2000, just hours after doing his annual Halloween show. If not for Norton Records, most of this music probably would have died along with him. Listen and be amazed.

Grind it!: For those wanting to dig deeper beneath the underbelly of rock ’n’ roll: Mad Mike’s Monsters reminds me of another collection of crazy, obscure R & B and rock. That’s the Las Vegas Grind series, which came out in the mid-’90s on the tiny Crypt label. (Faithful readers of my blog might recall that I patriotically spent part of my $600 federal income-tax rebate check on a couple of volumes of Las Vegas Grind. I’ve since bought the other two CDs.)

It’s the same type of music you’ll find on the Mad Mike CDs. (In fact, one song is in both collections — Holloway’s “A La Carte.”) Supposedly, the music in the Grind series is what live bands used to play in Las Vegas strip joints in the late ’50s and early ’60s. There’s no evidence that any of the acts on the albums actually played Vegas or at topless bars anywhere. But it sounds like they should have. Most of these tunes could serve as the soundtrack for a yet-to-be-made movie version of James Ellroy’s American Tabloid.

I found my copies, which by the way, have some of the greatest cover art in the history of recorded music, on Amazon. (Hint: there are only four CDs, parts 1, 2, 3, and ... 6! Although there apparently were LPs of parts 4 and 5, the fourth CD is Part 6. Let the mystery be.)

You know I love playing stuff like this on the radio: tune into Terrell’s Sound World, free-form weirdo radio, starting at 10 p.m. on Sunday on KSFR-FM 101.1. And don’t forget The Santa Fe Opry, the country music Nashville does not want you to hear, same time, same channel on Friday.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: MINNIE WON'T SEEK ANOTHER TERM

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 20, 2008

Minnie Gallegos, who has chaired the Santa Fe County Democratic Party for the past seven years, won’t seek re-election next year.

“I’m not quite ready to quit yet,” she told me earlier this week, “but I won’t be seeking re-election.”

She’s been county chairwoman since November 2001, after then-chairman Bill Sisneros stepped down to join Bill Richardson’s gubernatorial exploratory committee. In 2003, Gallegos was elected in her own right, becoming the first woman elected to the county party post. She won re-election in 2005 and again in 2007.

Gallegos has held the position longer than anyone else in recent history. In the seven years before Gallegos became chairwoman, the position was held by four men — Sisneros, Art Bonal, Fernando Rivera and Domingo Martinez.

In the last election there had been some grumbling from the rank-and-file about Gallegos. No major controversy. Most of the gripes seemed to be about the way Gallegos runs meetings. After covering the meeting at which she was re-elected last year, I wrote that the proceedings “reminded some attendees of the old Will Rogers quote — ‘I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.’ ” It took more than an hour that night just for all the county central committee members to get through the door, register and get their credentials.

Gallegos did have a challenger last year: party activist Ricardo Campos. But once he realized he didn’t have the votes, Campos withdrew and moved to elect Gallegos by acclamation. Campos then was elected vice chairman by acclamation. If there’s been any dissatisfaction with Gallegos since then, it has not been made public.

Having a unified party obviously didn’t hurt. As expected, Santa Fe Dems, who have a 3-to-1 registration advantage over Republicans in the county, did more than OK in the general election two weeks ago. According to unofficial returns in Santa Fe County, President-elect Barack Obama took 76.9 percent of the vote in the presidential race, and Senator-elect Tom Udall won 79.3 percent. The only countywide race in which a Democrat lost here was the Public Regulation Commission race, in which controversy-prone Jerome Block Jr. came in second to Green Party candidate Rick Lass, who got a 62.5 percent to Block’s 37.5 percent. (Block won the total vote in PRC District 3, however.)

Election trivia: A couple of incumbent Republican legislators actually beat Democratic challengers in this county by 2-to-1 margins.

State Sen. Sue Beffort Wilson beat Democrat Jason Michael Burnett here while Rep. Kathy McCoy defeated Janice Saxton. Both of these legislative districts are mostly in Bernalillo County but each contains a small pocket of precincts in the more conservative southern part of Santa Fe County.

Richardson watch: Most of the recent national chatter about our governor’s chances of being appointed U.S. secretary of state has been in the context of Richardson being a alternate to Hillary Clinton for that job.

The New York Times has been profiling potential Obama appointees in a series called “The New Team.”

Among the governor’s strong points, the profile says, “He earned a reputation as a tough and inventive negotiator, especially when dealing with America’s most entrenched adversaries, among them Iraq, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba. In the 1990s, he negotiated the release of a downed American pilot imprisoned in North Korea, some Red Cross workers held in Sudan and two American contractors detained by Saddam Hussein in Iraq. ... By most accounts, he is the country’s most influential Latino politician. Hispanic groups are pushing hard for him to become secretary of state.”

But, as it does for other Obama administration prospects, the Times notes “baggage” for Richardson. “He has no landmark achievement as a diplomat and has said, in hindsight, that he was wrong on several important issues ... and the North American Free Trade Agreement (which he helped pass). In the late 1990s, he also was secretary of the Department of Energy during the disastrous security breaches at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the widely criticized prosecution of scientist Wen Ho Lee.”

But that’s not nearly as nasty as the comment by former George H.W. Bush Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger who, when asked in an MSNBC interview about the possibility of Richardson as secretary of state, said “I don’t want to beat everybody to death, but I have very little respect for his intelligence and his knowledge of foreign affairs.”

Radio daze: After last week’s column about the elimination of Christmas lights for Human Service Department employees in an effort to save money, one state worker called to say that employees in her office were told they can’t even play radios at their desk.

I didn’t immediately mount an investigation of this. But it is true that a memo from the governor on Oct. 23 about conservation in the state workplace says, “Personal space heaters and individual appliances (refrigerators, microwaves, etc.) are no longer allowed in staff offices or cubicles.” It’s quite possible that some supervisors have interpreted “individual appliances” to include radios.

(By the way, this memo is titled “Good Governance: Tips for Conservation and Efficiency.” But these “tips” aren’t just friendly suggestions. The first paragraph makes clear the “tips” are to be implemented and enforced by all agencies.)

I suppose workers could bring in iPods — as long as they didn’t plug the devices into state computers to recharge them.

Or maybe HSD and other state employees could take a tip from the Cultural Affairs Department’s proposal to have a private foundation augment the pay of state museum curators and directors. Perhaps they could get New Mexico broadcasters to set up a foundation to help pay the state’s electric bill so that workers can play a radio now and then.

The photo of Minnie Gallegos near the top of this post is by Barb Wold, used under Creative Commons license and found on FLICKR.

UPDATE: I just corrected a spelling mistake in the "Richardson Watch" section above. As a reader pointed out, "security breeches" sounds like some sort of new uniform at LANL. That'll teach me to cut-and-paste from a rag like The New York Times.

THREE'S A CHARM: NEW PODCAST

I've just unleashed my third podcast, Terrell's Sound World Favorites, Vol. 1, more than an hour's worth of tunes I like playing on my Sunday night KSFR radio show.

CLICK HERE to download the podcast. (To save it, right click on the link and select "Save Target As.")

CLICK HERE to subscribe to my podcasts (there will be more in the future) and HERE to subscribe on iTunes.





My cool BIG feed player is HERE.

Here's the play list:

I Wanna Come Back from the World of LSD by The Fe-Fi-Four plus Two
Let Loose the Kracken by The Bald Guys
No Confidence by Simon Stokes
Red Riding Hood and The Wolf by Bunker Hill with Link Wray
96 Tears by Big Maybelle
Mi Saxophone by Al Hurricane

Folly of Youth by Pere Ubu
Police Call by Drywall
We Tried It, Try It by The Movin' Morfo Men

The Criminal Beside Me by R.L. Burnside with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Freezer Burn by Edison Rocket Train
Treat Her Right by Los Straightjackets with Mark Lindsay
What Do You Look Like? by Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers with Holly Golightly
Jungle Rock by The Fall
Devil Dance by The A-Bones

Moonbeam by King Richard & The Knights
Lord, Don't Let Me Fail by Mahalia Jackson

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, November 16, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Chantilly Lace by Jerry Lee Lewis
Here Comes Sickness by Mudhoney
Run Paint Run Run by Captain Beefheart
3E by Mars
Drunk Guy on the Train by Deadbolt
Water by The Moaners
Designed to Kill by The Contortions
Justine by The Righteous Brothers

Coocoo by Big Brother & The Holding Company
Ball and Chain by Big Mama Thorton
That's Life by Big Maybelle
Them Eyes by The Black Keys
Sting-A-Ree by Edison Rocket Train
Space Ghost Theme II by Pavement
Red Rose Tea by The Marquis Chimps
Jonestown by Concrete Blonde

I Want to Ta-Ta You Baby by Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Got a Thing on My Mind by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Live Like a Millionaire by Howard Tate
Plenty Nasty by The Diplomats of Solid Sound
Madhouse by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Tune Up by Junior Walker & The All Stars
Woodrat by King Ernest
Skinny Legs and All by Joe Tex

Jill Used to Be Normal by Jesus H. Christ & The Four Hornsmen of The Apocalypse
Hiding in My Hole by Jay Reatard
Wiked by Greg Dulli
Liked It a Lot by Charlie Pickett
When We Were Young and We Were Freaks by Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye by The Casinos
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, November 14, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

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

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
El Corrido de Emilio Naranjo by Angel Espinoza
Johnny Law by Wayne Hancock
13 Nights by Paul Burch
Kiss Me Quick and Go by The Maddox Brothers & Rose
The Grand Ol' Opry (Ain't So Grand) by Hank Williams III
100 % Pure Fool by The Derailers
Seven Nights to Rock by Cornell Hurd
Sweet Sweet Girl by Warren Smith
When a House is Not a Home by Dugg Collins

Jubilee Train/Do Re Mi/The Promised Land by Dave Alvin
Puddin' Truck by NRBQ
Overtown by Charlie Pickett
Crazy Shoes by Ronnie Dawson
Out There a Ways by The Waco Brothers
Wavin' My Heart Goodbye by The Flatlanders
One Foot in the Honky Tonk by The Starline Rhythm Boys

Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs Set
All Songs by Bob, except where noted
Mississippi (Version 2)
Red River Shore
The Lonsesome River by Bob Dylan & Ralph Stanley
Dignity (version 1)
Ain't Talkin'

How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
Don't Make Me Pregnant by Tammy Faye Starlite
Box Cars by Rosie Flores
Rosalie by Bobby Neuwirth
Where in the World by Johnny Paycheck
Grinding Wheel by Hundred Year Flood
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

R.I.P. EMILIO

Emilio Naranjo, the controversial strongman of Rio Arriba County politics for 46 years, is dead.

Some called him "the last of the patrons," although he hated that term. Some say he ruled Rio Arriba with an iron fist, especially during his time as sheriff. Others say he was one of the most generous leaders the state's ever seen.

When I interviewed back in 1984 for a Santa Fe Reporter cover story, he was clear: He helped people and he expected them to vote for him and his chosen slate in return. That was the system he knew and he made no apologies for it.

You can read my story in today's New Mexican about his life and death HERE.

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: DYLAN'S NEW BOOTS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 14, 2008


Bob Dylan has thrown away more great music than most will ever make in a lifetime. He’s been making records for more than 45 years, and he still has untold treasures to be mined.

Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 is an inspired scavenger hunt through his outtakes, demos, unreleased live recordings, soundtrack contributions, alternate versions of songs familiar and otherwise, and other obscurities from the period between 1989 and 2006. In Dylan-album terms, that’s between Oh Mercy and Modern Times.

(Although Columbia calls this Vol. 8, their numbering is screwy. Volumes one, two, and three were released as a three-disc package in 1991. But the subsequent volumes, including Tell Tale Signs, have all been single volumes of two-disc sets. And the series doesn’t include the legal version of Dylan’s most famous bootleg of all, The Basement Tapes, which Columbia released in 1975. I don’t know why, but this kind of stuff drives me nuts.)

Most of this collection is culled from the sessions for Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind (1997). There’s a song from 2001’s Love and Theft that appears twice here. I was surprised to learn that “Mississippi” was originally meant for Time Out of Mind but surfaced, in a much different version, four years later. The first take here, my favorite, opens disc one. It features Dylan backed only by the guitar of Daniel Lanois. But the second version, which opens disc two, isn’t bad. It’s got a full band, a slightly different melody, and a slow blues groove.

And don’t mistake this song for “Miss the Mississippi,” a Jimmie Rodgers classic that Dylan recorded in the early ’90s with David Bromberg (who plays guitar and produces.) This is a gorgeous little number with mandolins, fiddles, and a horn section mixed so subtly you almost think that you’re imagining it.

This is one of a handful of cover numbers included in the set. Dylan sings a jaunty take on Robert Johnson’s “32-20 Blues” (an outtake from World Gone Wrong, one of those folk-song albums Dylan made in the mid-’90s). From that same period, there’s a live solo version of an old folk tune called “The Girl on the Greenbriar Shore.” And there’s Reverend Gary Davis’ “Cocaine Blues,” recorded live in 1997 with a band that includes guitarist Larry Campbell and steel guitarist Bucky Baxter. It’s a decent rendition (with uncredited background harmonies that sound like a long-lost recording of The Band), though my favorite version is the one by Dave Van Ronk, which I first heard in the early ’70s).

One forgotten jewel uncovered here is “The Lonesome River,” which originally appeared on a duets album, Clinch Mountain Country, by bluegrass patriarch Ralph Stanley. When he and Dylan harmonize on the chorus, they sound like the world’s coolest geezers.

Then there’s a dignified version of “Dignity,” with Dylan accompanied only by a piano. The more familiar, more upbeat version with a full band (including a banjo that comes out of nowhere) was one of the greatest Dylan songs of the ’90s, even though it didn’t appear on any of his regular studio albums). But in the “piano demo” on Tell Tale Signs, the lyrics come out more. Of course, there are some lyrics on this version that most of us haven’t heard before, such as this: “Soul of a nation is under the knife/Death is standing in the doorway of life/In the next room a man fightin’ with his wife over dignity.”

There are actually two versions of “Dignity” here. The second one has a definitive rockabilly feel. It’s my least favorite of all the versions I know, but it’s still fun hearing how Dylan messes with his songs.

Some songs undergo even more radical transformations, which shouldn’t be shocking news for Dylan fans. “High Water (For Charlie Patton)” is a muscular blues stomper on Love and Theft, but the live version here is downright ominous, a rollicking battle royal between the guitars of Campbell and Freddy Koella.

Another live Love and Theft rocker is “Lonesome Day Blues.” Dylan is definitely one of the world’s most twisted blues singers, and this track helpowerful tune here is “Marchin’ to the City,” a gospelish song that builds in momentum. Augie Meyers (Sir Douglas Quintet, Texas Tornados) shines on organ.

I like some of the alternate versions better than the originals — for instance, “Everything Is Broken,” from Oh Mercy. The version here is raw swamp rock.

But one of the alternate takes on Tell Tale Signs unfortunately pales in comparison with the “official” version. The newly released “Someday Baby” sounds like an attempt to sound like a Daniel Lanois production without Lanois himself. It’s interesting, but I’ll take the sizzling blues version that was on Modern Times any day.

One surprise is how much soundtrack work Dylan has done in recent years. This collection includes songs from Gods and Generals (the eight-minute “’Cross the Green Mountain”), North Country (“Tell Ol’ Bill”), and Lucky You (“Huck’s Tune”). It’s too bad that Dylan’s roaring “Band of the Hand (It’s Hell Time Man)” from the 1986 movie Band of the Hand came out before the period covered by Tell Tale Signs. Maybe that song will be on a future volume of the Bootleg Series.

Nobody’s going to argue that 1989 to 2006 was Dylan’s greatest period. But musically speaking, it was a darn fine time for the old boy.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: HUMILATING LOSS? WHAT HUMILIATING LOSS?

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 13, 2008


If nothing else, you have to admire their fighting spirit.

Every week, the state Republican Party sends out an e-mail newsletter called The Weekly Stampede, which normally consists of party news, announcements from GOP officials, news stories about dumb things Democrats have done or said in the past week. Stuff like that.

Last week, there was a general-election stampede. But it was the Republicans who got trampled — in this state more than many others.

Barack Obama won the state’s five presidential electors by a wide enough margin that we don’t have to hear the political Right moan that ACORN had torn the fabric of democracy (or listen to the Left whine that Haliburton secretly programmed all the ballot scanners.) The GOP also lost the U.S. Senate seat held for 36 years by Pete Domenici, all three Congressional seats (including two that have been held for years by Republicans), and, assuming no last-minute vote-canvass surprises, a net loss of six seats in the state Legislature.

Nobody, not even the most cynical reporter, would have held it against the state Republican Party if they didn’t publish the Weekly Stampede after a week like that.

But they did.

Friday’s Stampede doesn’t mention anything about losing the U.S. Senate seat, U.S. House seats or any of the legislative races. No mention of any fallen GOP candidates like Steve Pearce, Darren White, Ed Tinsley, Leonard Lee Rawson or Justine Fox-Young.

Besides some routine announcements about various upcoming county party meetings, there’s no news about New Mexico Republicans at all — just three national news stories. There’s a CNN article about a study that shows “voter turnout in Tuesday’s election was the same in percentage terms as it was four years ago — or at most has risen by less than 1 percent.” There’s a piece from Politico that basically poo-poos the idea that the youth vote was a major factor in the election, as some had predicted. And there’s a Fox News report about U.S. Senate Republican leaders making overtures to U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice presidential nominee who campaigned hard for Sen. John McCain.

A small ray of light for Republicans: Nobody can deny that Lea County, down in the southeastern New Mexico oil patch, is a Republican stronghold.

Last week, according to unofficial returns, McCain beat Obama by a margin of 71.6 percent to 27.4 percent. McCain’s margin over Obama was more than 2,700 votes larger than George W. Bush’s margin over John Kerry in the county in 2004.

Indeed, in Lea County, McCain last week got more than 5,600 votes above Bush’s total in 2004.

Only trouble is, Obama got well over twice the votes Kerry did in that county four years ago. His loss to McCain there was a landslide by any measure. But it was less of a landslide than in the Bush/Kerry race, in which the Republican got about 77 percent of the vote there while the Democrat received only about 22 percent.

The Obama campaign never claimed it would take Lea or other hard-Republican counties. Their goal was to cut into the Republican advantage. That strategy seemed to pay off. For instance, in conservative Chaves County, Obama got nearly 1,500 more votes than Kerry did there in 2004, while McCain received about 1,100 fewer votes than Bush did four years ago. McCain got nearly 62 percent of the vote in Chaves, compared with Obama’s 37 percent.

Merry Christmas, turn out the lights: We might get a white Christmas, but over at the state Human Services Department, it might not be a bright Christmas.

HSD offices have been instructed by Secretary Pam Hyde to not use any blinking lights, electric candles or other plug-in decorations to bring holiday cheer to the workplace.

It’s part of the state budget squeeze, a spokeswoman for the department confirmed. It goes along with an Oct. 23 memo from Gov. Bill Richardson to state workers calling for the conservation of energy. Richardson’s memo said the energy conservation effort is part of a plan to save $2 million in state operating costs.

As one HSD manager told employees in an e-mail last month, “You will have to stick with mechanial/non-electric (decorations) or paper or other materials that do not use electricity or create a hazard. ... things like this could mean the difference between whether we can prevent additional hiring reductions.”

In other words, red and green lights could result in pink slips.

Maybe some taxpayers will feel so bad about this they’ll donate those $25 and $50 rebate checks that the state sent out a few weeks ago, back when the state budget seemed less critical, so HSD workers can enjoy some Christmas lights.

Hauntingly familiar? The Anchorage Daily News this week published an article about challenges that unsuccessful Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin will face in her state, especially if she’s going to run for president in 2012.

“For the rest of her career in Alaska, every move Palin makes will be second-guessed for ulterior motives,” reporter Tom Kizzia wrote. “Is she taking on this or that priority because it’s good for the state or because it looks good on her résumé?

“If she travels to New Hampshire to meet with Republicans, is the state paying for her long-distance calls home?” Kizzia wrote. “Who decided to put the governor’s photo on that tourism brochure? Imagine the snarkiness that will erupt if she flies off to meet industrialists in China or oil ministers in Geneva ...”

Luckily such a situation never could happen in New Mexico.

BEYOND BORDERS PLAYLIST

Monday, November 10, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!10 p.m. to midnight Mondays Mountain Time
Guest Host: Steve Terrell (subbing for Susan Ohori)
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

Babulu Music by Desi Arnaz (Weird Al remix)
Not a Crime by Gogol Bordello
Siki Siki Baba by Kocani Orkestar
Zinabu by Bunzu Sounds
Tu VeuxVeux Pas by Brigitte Bardot
Si Me Vas a Dejar by Los Tigres del Norte
Chatma by Tinarawin

Emabhanaceni by Miriam Makeba
In Your Garden Twenty Fecund Fruit Trees by Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars
Ganges a Go Go by Anandji & Kalyanji Shah
The Ugly Side of the Face by Hang in the Box
Sal Che Torneo by The Cocks
Tuvu Groove by Ondar
Traffic Policeman by Zvuki Mu
I Wanna Break Through by The Hykers
Comet Samba by Caberet Diosa

Five Long Years by Nightlosers
Fourty Four by Istanbul Blues Kumpanyasi
Telephone call From Istanbul by The Red Elvises
Innocent When You Dream by Kazik Staszewski
Yogi Man by The Skatallites
Pink Water by Ketchup Mania
Maramures Zydeco by 3 Mustaphas 3

Bat Macumba by Os Mutantes
Honey Baby by Alemayehu Eshete
Trust in Me by The Dead Brothers
Romano Dance by DJ Click vs. Mahal Rai Banda
No Puedo Amar by The Yorks
Caffe-In by Mario & Peaches
The Israelites by Desmond Dekker
Ramino Kolo by Kalesijski Zvuci
Some Say The Divil is Dead by The Wolfe Tones

Coffin for Head of State (Part 1) by Fela Kuti
Hold My Hips by Dengue Fever

Im Nin'alu by Ofra Haza
Foqt Foqt by Rachid Taha
C'est Pas la Mer a Boire by Les Negresses Vertes
Rastaman by Bunny Wailer
Terra by Caetano Veloso
We Bid You Goodnight by Joseph Spence