Wednesday, September 30, 2015
WACKY WEDNESDAY: Happy Blasphemy Day
Today, in case you didn't know, is International Blasphemy Rights Day.
And my boss still wants me to go to work.
But this is serious. This little-known holiday is a tradition that goes back all the way to 2009. It originated with the Center for Inquiry's Campaign for Free Expression. According to the group's website, the day was created "to show solidarity with those who challenge oppressive laws and social prohibitions against free expression, to support the right to challenge prevailing religious beliefs without fear of violence, arrest, or persecution."
Blasphemy Rights Day is observed every September 30, the website says, "to commemorate the publishing of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons, which angered religious believers around the world, many of whom expressed their disapproval with violent protests, riots, and in some cases, murder."
Yes in many parts of the world you can be jailed, executed or disappeared just by expressing ideas the ruling religion deems blasphemous.
Places ruled by Islamic fundamentalists is one example. And just a few years ago, Pussy Riot showed that blasphemy can land you in prison in Russia.
So I'm proud to be an American, to live in a land where you can blaspheme til you're blue and, even though you'll probably piss off a lot of believers, and maybe even get beat up by righteously outraged, usually your life and liberty won't be threatened.
In honor of the day here are three of my favorite examples of good old American blasphemy.
And, no, John Lennon's "Imagine" isn't one of them. First of all, he technically wasn't an American. But most of all, to commit a kind of blasphemy myself, the song just sucks. So many times I've heard it sung or quoted so solemnly by self-righteous hippies, I'd rather listen to Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
Actually, I'd rather listen to these tunes.
Let's start with Cab Calloway. Back in the mid '60s, when I was in grade school in Oklahoma City, I saw Cab Calloway in person. He played with a small combo during the half time at a Harlem Globetrotters game. I had no idea who he was, but my grandmother, who took me to the game, was hep to that Hi-Di-Ho jive. I loved it, but I was stunned when Cab sang "It Ain't Necessarily So," a song from Porgy & Bess.It basically twisted my youthful Okie head off.
I didn't come from a religious family. We were not churchgoers. My grandmother used to delight in pointing out contradictions in the Bible. The extent of my grandfather's religious teachings was that Jesus loved the little children.
But in conservative Oklahoma most of my friends did go to church, and religion seemed to be everywhere. So when this crazy dude in a zoot suit sang "the things you are liable to read in the Bible, it ain't necessarily so ..." and poked fun at various Bible stories, it opened my eyes. And when Calloway went into his crazy scat singing, it sounded like wild demonic chants beckoning the listeners to follow him into an exciting and probably dangerous new world.
Here's a version of an older Calloway blaspheming away.
Sometimes I think Randy Newman in his prime was the closest thing to Mark Twain that My Generation ever had. That was because of wickedly subversive songs like this.
And here is Robbie Fulks exploring similar terrain. To me he never sounded like he was mocking any religious ideas with this song. He's always sung it with a certain sadness in his voice. And the melody is so pretty, it sounds like the Devil himself wrote it to lead good Christians to the fires.
So have a blasph on Blasphemy Day.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
A Devine, Bovine New Hillbilly Episode of The Big Enchilada Podcast
(Background Music: Cowbell Polka by Spade Cooley)
Let's Jump a Train by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Caca de Vaca by Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns
Jump in the River by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
Marijuana, the Devil's Flower by Mr. Sunshine
Pappa's on the Housetop by Dave & Phil Alvin
Fuck Off by Audrey Auld
(Background Music: Buckaroo by The Byrds)
New Mexico set
April by The Imperial Rooster
It Wasn't You by Slackeye Slim
$2,000 Navajo Rug by Joe West & The Sinners
Hillbilly Town by Mose McCormack
Falling Off the World by Chipper Thompson
Looking for Someone to Kill by Kell Robertson
(Background Music: Osage City by Milo de Venus)
My Favorite Record by Asylum Street Spankers
Christ Almighty by Legendary Shack Shakers
Slippin' and Slidin' and Fightin' by Joey Delton
Hotrod Shotgun Boogie by Tillman Franks & His Rainbow Boys
If I Could Only Win Your Love by Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen
Cow Cow Boogie by Wayne Hancock
Play it here:
Sunday, September 27, 2015
TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST
Sunday, September 27, 2015
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(at)ksfr.org
Here's the playlist
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
New Blue Mercedes by Drywall
American Wedding by Gogol Bordello
The Lowlife by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes
Hanged Man by Churchwood
Love Comes in Spurts by Richard Hell & The Voidoids
In Your Grave by King Khan & The Shrines
Happy Hodaddy by The Astronauts
Dames, Booze, Chains and Boots by The Cramps
Bad Little Woman by The Shadows of Night
Empty Space by Holly Golightly
House of the Rising Sun by Nina Simone
Psychedelic Afro Shop by Orlando Julius
Oya Ka Jojo by Les Volcans de La Capitol
96 Tears by Big Maybelle
Too Many Bills, Not Enough Thrills by Figures of Light
52 Girls by The B52s
Here's a Heart by Lyres with Stiv Bators
Run Shithead, Run by Mudhoney
Black September by Dead Moon
Icecream for Crow by Captain Beefheart
Pornography Part 1 by Mike Edison & The Rocket Train Delta Science Arkestra
Hold My Hips by Dengue Fever
Get Get It by Alex Maiorano & The Black Tales
Black Isn't Black by The Black Angels
Blackheart Man by Bunny Wailer
The Blues Don't Knock by Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band
That Feel by Tom Waits with Keith Richards
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
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Friday, September 25, 2015
THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST
Friday, September 25, 2015
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Two Hoops and a Holler by Jean Shepard
Hillbilly Truckdrivin' Man by Bill Kirchen
Big Lotsa Love by The Bottle Rockets
Marijuana the Devil's Flower by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
Marijuana the Devil Flower by Johnny Price
Cold by Legendary Shack Shakers
In New Orleans (Rising Sun Blues) by Dave & Phil Alvin
2 Drinks on an Empty Stomach by Lonesome Bob
Love Bug Crawl by Jimmy Edwards
Insane by Katie Lee
Pistol Packin' Mama by Red Allen & Frank Wakefield
Alcohol and Pills by Fred Eaglesmith
Still Sober After All These Beers by The Banditos
You're the Reason by Nancy Apple
Mona Lisa by James Hand
From Hell to Paradise by The Mavericks
The Ballad of Maverick by Geoege Thorogood & The Destroyers
3 Coyotes Howlin' by Joe Ely
I Want Some Lovin' Baby by Jimmy & Duane
Daddy Was a Preacher But Mama Was a Go Go Girl by Southern Culture on the Skids
Truck Drivin' Son of a Gun by Dave Dudley
Drinking Problem by Audrey Auld
Funky Tonk by Moby Grape
I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water by Buck Owens
Invisible Stripes by Eddie Noak
Boys Will Be Boys by The Gear Daddies
Pot Roast and Kisses by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
He Calls That Religion by Maria Muldaur
Gone Back to Whorin' by Roger Alan Wade
Whispering Pines by Johnny Horton
Funny Face by Kate Campbell
The Selfishness in Man by George Jones
Am I That Easy to Forget by Bobby Bare
I Know You Are There by The Handsome Family
Come Fly Away by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
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Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list
Thursday, September 24, 2015
TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Double Shot of Holly Golightly
September 25, 2015
The original Holly Golightly was created by Truman Capote. She was the protagonist of his 1958 novel Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Capote described her as “an American geisha.”
But the Holly Golightly I’m writing about is neither a geisha nor an American — though for the past several years she’s been living in the U.S. of A. This Holly Golightly is a singer who comes from England. And, yes, that is her real name, at least two-thirds of her real name. She was born Holly Golightly Smith in 1966. Her mother reportedly was reading Breakfast at Tiffany’s around the time of Holly’s birth and liked the name.
This Holly Golightly happens to be one of the most underrated rock ’n’ roll singers currently plying the trade. And she’s got not one but two new albums – Slowtown Now!, a solo album, and Coulda Shoulda Woulda, under the banner of Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs. Both are solid musical delights full of tasty tunes and Golightly’s wicked wit and attitude.
A little Holly history: In the early ’90s, Golightly’s boyfriend was the drummer of Thee Headcoats, which was the musical vehicle of British garage poet/rock crank Billy Childish. She became an original member of Thee Headcoatees, a garage-rock girl group originally formed to back the boys, but which grew into a force of its own, recording several albums full of spunk and fire.
Golightly remained a member of the band until around 1999. But a few years before that, she started recording her own solo albums. Golightly moved to the U.S. not long after she shifted musical gears in 2007 and began recording bare-boned funky-clunky country bluesy records with her partner “Lawyer Dave” Drake under the name Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs. While a few steps removed from Thee Headcoatees’ garage sound, those rootsy albums represent some of her finest work. All of her albums since then have been Brokeoffs albums, until Slowtown Now!
For Slowtown, her first solo album in 11 years, Golightly went back to London to record. And she recorded it for her old label Damaged Goods (which has released a major chunk of Childish’s catalog) with an actual band assembled for the album, featuring a couple of guitarists, a drummer, and a standup bassist. The overall sound draws from the various influences that have propelled Golightly — rockabilly, ’60s girl-group sounds, blues, smoky jazz, and more.
It starts off with a slow-burning swamp-a-billy tune called “Seven Wonders” with a seductive voodoo beat and sweet, grating guitar. This is followed by “Fool Fool Fool (Look in the Mirror),” featuring a retro fuzz-guitar hook. The only tune here that’s not a Golightly original, this song was done in the mid-’60s by a Chicago soul singer named Barbara Acklin (who probably is best known for co-writing The Chi-Lite’s hit “Have You Seen Her”). With its soft trombone and sexy, understated vocals by Golightly, “Frozen in Time” could almost pass as an old Burt Bacharach production, something you might hear in an Austin Powers movie soundtrack.
Golightly hasn’t forgotten how to rock. The sassy “As You Go Down” (featuring some fine bass from Matt Radford) is rooted in rockabilly and, of all the songs here, probably sounds closest to her pre-Brokeoffs albums. That’s followed by the downright garagey “You Stopped My Heart” with some more snazzy fuzztone guitar. “Forevermore” reminded me of the recent Deke Dickerson/Los Straitjackets collaboration (Deke Dickerson Sings the Great Instrumental Hits) because the melody is so similar to the old surf hit “Apache.”
While there is so much to admire on Slowtown Now!, both in the performance and the production, between Golighty’s new albums, I have to say I like the raucous new Brokeoffs’ effort the best.
Coulda Shoulda Woulda, which is scheduled for release on Oct. 16, is a big sloppy homemade American mess. Of course, I mean that in the best possible way. From the opening cut, “Heaven Buy and Buy,” a rocking faux-gospel indictment of religious hypocrisy (including an invitation to the devil to perform an obscene act), this album is packed with crazy fun.
The rootsy tango “Apartment 34” is a character sketch of some bad white-trash neighbors who “do their cooking in the bathtub” and have a thing for old Camaros; “Lonesome Grave” is a spooky, fire-and-brimstone fiddle-and-banjo workout; “Little Mule” has some nice nasty guitar hooks; “Karate” is a funky dance song, though fans of Thee Headcoatees will surely see the link to “My Boyfriend’s Learning Karate”; and “Jump in the River” is Lawyer Dave’s big moment, taking Leadbelly’s great notion and turning it into a sardonic declaration of salvation.
Holly and Dave always come up with great cockeyed cover songs. Their best remains Mac Davis’ “Hard to Be Humble” (from their 2012 album Sunday Run Me Over). But in the same demented stratosphere is this album’s “Marijuana, the Devil’s Flower,” a vintage country-western anti-drug song by someone called Mr. Sunshine. The chorus goes “Marijuana, the devil’s flower, if you use it, You’ll be a slave/Marijuana’s gonna bring you sorrow/It will send you to your grave.”
(By the way, there were at least two country songs with a similar title. Another, which I found on a volume of the fabulous Twisted Tales From the Vinyl Wastelands series, was “Marijuana, the Devil Flower” by a Johnny Cash copycat named Johnny Price.)
Coulda Shoulda Woulda ends with a Christmas song — actually, an anti-Christmas song — called “Christmas Is a Lie.” This won’t be played at any big stores while you do your Yuletide shopping. But it would be cool if it were.
God bless us every one, Holly Golightly!
Videos!
Here's an official one from Slowtown Now!
And here is a live Brokeoffs classic from a few years ago
THROWBACK THURSDAY: A House in New Orleans
The House of the Rising Sun |
And it's a bed and breakfast in Algiers Point.
No kidding. And according to the website of The Rising Sun, owners Kevin Herridge and Wendy Portier, who have operated the business since 1999, aren't shy about promoting their B&B with the famous song that started out as a lament about a whore house ... unless it was a lament about some correctional facility.
Herridge and Portier acknowledge that their business is not the original House of the Rising Sun. And it probably hasn't been the ruin of many a poor girl. (Or boy.)
"There is a house on St. Louis Street ... in the French Quarter, whose owners claim to be the original House of the Rising Sun brothel, purportedly ran by a Madam named Marianne LeSoleil LEVANT (French for Rising Sun) between 1862 and 1874." the site says.
Also there was a Rising Sun Hotel on Conti Street, but it burned down in 1822. But various other businesses called "Rising Sun" in the French Quarter subsequently rose and fell in the 1800s. There's a good chance that none of these were the "real" House of the Rising Sun. It easily could be a fictitious place.
"Rising Sun has been performed by a huge variety of folk, blues, hillbilly, rock 'n' roll and who knows-what-else artists for more than 80 years, and undoubtedly longer. Here are a few:
Like most people my age, I came to the song via the huge hit by The Animals in 1964. Just a couple of years before, Bob Dylan sang an acoustic version on his first album. He'd learned it from Dave Van Ronk.
Alan Lomax recorded a young girl named Georgia Turner in eastern Kentucky singing it in 1937.
Only problem is, Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster recorded a commercial version three years before.
Nina Simone did an wild gospel-fired version. (An earlier version of this post mistakenly said this version is on her 1962 Nina at the Village Gate album. It's not.)
In 1970 a Detroit band had a hit with a psychedelic version.
The most recent version to grab my attention is a jaunty little number called "In New Orleans (Rising Sun Blues)" on Dave & Phil Alvin's new album Lost Time.
So if you want to spend some time in sin and misery, check out my Spotify playlist below. It includes versions from Joan Baez to Jello Biafra, not to mention covers by Billy Lee Riley, Lead Belly, Roy Acuff, a garage-rock version by The Barbarians, a doo-wop take by Jerry Lawson, some funky Chambers Brothers, and more Enjoy.
For more deep dives into songs, check out The Stephen W. Terrell Web Log Songbook
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
WACKY WEDNESDAY: Musical Chimps
Except a bunch of musical chimps.
Let's start with a classic early TV ad for Red Rose Tea starring The Marquis Chimps
This Post cereal commercial isn't nearly as cool as "Red Rose Tea." But it's still chimps.
In the '70s, Lancelot Link & The Evolution Revolution was the hippest chimp band going.
But let's go back to an earlier era of tlevision when the Nairobi Trio played The Ernie Kovacs Show. Technically, they were gorillas, but I think they fit in here.
THROWBACK THURSDAY: Come for the Shame, Stay for the Scandal
Earlier this week I saw Mississippi bluesman Cedrick Burnside play at the Tumbleroot here in Santa Fe. As I suspected, Burnsi...
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