It's almost
International Newspaper Carrier Day.
So in honor of that cherished holiday, which this year falls on Saturday Oct.
13, let's take a look at song about America's most beloved newsboy, a lad named
Jimmy Brown.
William Shakespeare wrote the original version of this song.
William Shakespeare Hays, that is. He was a songwriter born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1837. Hays wrote
it under the title of "Jimmie Brown (the Paper Boy). It had a different melody
than the one we later came to know (CLICK HERE to download a midi version). But the story is basically the same:
I'm very cold and hungry, sir, My clothes are worn and thin, I wander on from place to place, My daily bread to win; But never mind, sir, how I look, Don't sneer at me, or frown,-- I'm selling papers, for I am The newsboy, Jimmie Brown. CHORUS I sell the morning paper, sir, My name is Jimmie Brown,-- Most ev'ry body knows I am The "poor boy of the town." 2. My father was a drunkard, sir, So I've heard my mother say,-- Before he died, how oft for him I've heard her weep and pray! But I am helping mother now, I journey up and down, To sell my papers, for I am The newsboy, Jimmie Brown. (CHORUS) 3. My mother tells me ev'ry night To kneel with her and pray,-- She says if I've an honest heart, I'll be all right some day; And when she's gone to heaven, sir, To wear a starry crown, She'll wait up there to welcome home The newsboy of the town. (CHORUS)
A.P. Carter took the song, rewrote some of the lyrics, gave it a different
melody and, as was his practice, gave himself the songwriting credit. Here's the
Carter Family's version.
Bill Monroe, Mac Wiseman and others recorded "Jimmy Brown," but my favorite
bluegrass version is by Flatt & Scruggs. Lester sang, while banjo deity Earl
Scruggs proved that he's pretty darn good at flat-picking a guitar.
The song drifted overseas where Lonnie Donegan skiffled it all up.
It's a completely different song, but in 1989, Stan Ridgway recorded a song
about another news carrier. This one is older, more cynical and more
philosophical than little Jimmy Brown. And he also has crazy fantasies about
becoming a caped crusader.
Sunday, October 7, 2018 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I Walked With the Zombie by Roky Erikson & The Aliens
Her Cold Cold Heart by The Night Beats
I Suffer, I Get Tougher by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Hangman by Beat Happening
Conception of the Blues by The Goon Mat & Lord Bernardo
El Perversio by Deadbolt
Johnny Voodoo by Empress of Fur
Thunderbird ESQ by Hank Haint
Love Pours Out of My Heart by Miss Ludella Black
Nudist Colony by Kirk Hansard
DJ. Why Why Why by Bee Bee Sea
Ask the Angels by Patti Smith
Heat Wave by The Vagoos
Strangest Stranger by Salty Pajamas
Cosmic Two Step by The Barbarellatones
The Straight Life by Mudhoney
Jack the Rippers by The Revillos
Can't Help (But Wonder) by The Moonbeats
What I Like About Miami by Charlie Pickett
You Turn Me Bad by The Ar-Kaiks
Lost Memories by Sloks
You're So Sorry by The Budget Girls
Dead Man's Shoes by Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers
Long Runs the Fox by The Bonnevilles
I Ain't the One by Bobby Rush
Spiders by Harlan T. Bobo
Evil Woman by Gogo Loco
Something's Goin' On by Jessica Lee Wilkes
I Drink Too Much by Cornell Hurd
Sundown Blues by Tony Joe White
She Said She Said by Black Keys
Trouble in Mind by Johnny Dowd
Season of the Witch by Donovan
Say We'll Meet Again by Lindsey Buckingham
Please Send Me Someone to Love by The Persuasions
I Believe Her by Ramblin' Deano CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Sunday, October 7, 2018 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 8 am to 10 am Sundays Mountain Time Substitute Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org Here's the playlist :
The Crawdad Song by Doc Watson
Happy Hickey the Hobo by The Delmore Brothers
Flora by Peter, Paul and Mary
He's a Lone Ranger by Don Flemons
Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man by Carolina Chocolate Drops
Mysterious Mose by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders
Another Clown by Mose McCormack
I Hate These Songs by Dale Watson
Jesus in Pajamas by Kinky Friedman
The Feller That Looked Like Me by The Volo Bogtrotters
What's the Matter? by Memphis Jug Band
Grinnin' In Your Face by Son House
I Don't Like the Man I Am by Billy Childish & The Singing Loins
Some of Shelly's Blues by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
A Song for Blaze by Elliot Rogers
Blaze's Blues by Townes Van Zandt
Down Here Where I Am by Blaze Foley
The Rue of Ruby Whores by Michael Hurley
World So Full of Love by Rodney Crowell
When Two Worlds Collide by Flatt Lonesome
Jason Fleming by Roger Miller
Wine Spodee Odee by Kell Robertson
Fruit of the Vine by Nancy Apple
Road Map for the Blues by Butch Hancock
Happy Rolling Cowboy by Holy Modal Rounders
Goldfinger by Peter Stampfel
The Gardens by Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore
On the Jericho Road by Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis
Salty Dog by Gus Cannon
The World is Going Wrong by Mississippi Sheiks
You Can't Stop a Tattler by Washington Phillips
Big Rock Candy Mountain by Chris Thomas King
Dust Bowl Refugees by James Talley
I Hate Men by Little Carolyn Sue
Philadelphia Lawyer by The Maddox Brothers & Rose
Fixin' to Die Blues by Bukka White
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
It was 59 years ago -- actually 59 years and a day -- when CBS premiered a new drama anthology series seeped in science fiction, Kafkaesque horror, thinly disguised political and social commentary and just plain weirdness. Written and produced by Rod Serling, the series was called The Twilight Zone.
"There is a sixth dimension beyond that which is known to man," Serling told America atthe outset of the show. (This later was changed to "fifth dimension.") "It is a dimension as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, and it lies between the pit of man's fears, and the sunlight of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area that might be called, The Twilight Zone."
The show lasted five seasons on CBS, but was syndicated for years. There have been a few attempts to revive The Twilight Zone, but none were as successful as the original.
While not directly related to the show, The Twilight Zone has inspired a number of songs -- after all it is "the dimension of imagination" -- through the years. So when the aliens serve man, they should include these musical side dishes.
The Dutch group Golden Earring had a hit with this in 1982. (Though it's not nearly as bitchen as their hit from the previous decade, "Radar Love.")
In the early '70s, Dr. John, in his Night Tripper phase, had this peppy little ditty:
In 1979, The Manhattan Transfer incorporated The Twilight Zone's TV theme for this number:
Finally, here's Ministry's take on that place between the pit of man's fears, and the sunlight of his knowledge:
It's chile today, hot tamale! And these are the most red hot sounds on the Internet -- Joe "King" Carrasco, Billy Childish, Mark Sultan, Charlie Pickett, The Morlocks and much much more. So grab a bowl of chili beans at Jack's or John's or Jim's or Jean's and let this month's Big Enchilada warm up your eardrums.
Remind your loved ones that The Big Enchilada is officially listed in the iTunes store. So go subscribe, if you haven't already (and gimme a good rating and review if you're so inclined.) Thanks.
The Swamp by Sloks
No One Rides for Free by The Morlocks
Dancing on the Razor's Edge by The Cavemen
(Background Music: Chili with Honey by Danny Bell & The Bell Hops)
Sunday, September 30, 2018 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
This Year's Girl by Elvis Costello
Kill Yourself by Mudhoney
Era Axial by Hollywood Sinners
Jack Pepsi by TAD
Yeah! by The Cynics
Current Events by Joe "King" Carrasco
Kick Ass Rock by The King Brothers
Hialeah Backstretch by Charlie Pickett
Your Past's Gonna Come Back and Haunt You by Emily Kaitz
Plastic Fantastic Lover / It's No Secret by Jefferson Airplane (R.I.P. Marty Balin)
Swimsuit Issue / Youth Against Fascism by Sonic Youth
Saxophone by Bottle Rockets
What You Do by Ar-Kaics
Crystal Clear by Johnny Mafia
Easy Action by The Morlocks
Natural Ball / Gambler's Blues by Otis Rush
Monkey in My Head by Maiorano
Let's Get a Groove On by Lee Fields
Phil Spector by The Peawees
My Favourite Place by J. Church
Uum Uum Uum by The Fox Sisters BLAZE FOLEY SET Cold Cold World by Blaze Foley
Blaze Foley's 113th Wet Dream by Gurf Morlix
A Song for Blaze by Elliott Rogers
Springtime in Uganda by Blaze Foley
Blaze's Blues by Townes Van Zandt
Rainbows and Ridges by Blaze Foley
Friend of Mine by Michele May
Drunken Angel by Lucinda Williams
If I Could Only Fly by Blaze Foley CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Want to keep the party going after I sign off at midnight? Go to The Big Enchilada Podcast which has hours and hours of music like this. And there's a brand new one posted earlier tonight!
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican Sept. ,28 2018
Ben Dickey as Blaze Foley with Alia Shawkat as Sybil Rosen.
One of the sturdiest genres of cinema is the biopic — and a lucrative subgenre of the biopic in the last several decades has been the movie about celebrated popular musicians.
There have been biopics about Hank Williams (I Saw the Light in 2015 and Your Cheatin’ Heart in 1964); Billie Holiday (Lady Sings the Blues, 1972); Sid Vicious (Sid and Nancy, 1986); Buddy Holly (The Buddy Holly Story, 1978); Loretta Lynn (Coal Miner’s Daughter, 1980); NWA (Straight Outta Compton, 2015); Charlie Parker (Bird, 1988); Ritchie Valens (La Bamba, 1987); The Runaways (The Runaways, 2010); Patsy Cline (Sweet Dreams, 1985); Ray Charles (Ray, 2004); Glenn Miller (The Glenn Miller Story, 1954); Bessie Smith (Bessie, 2015); Brian Wilson (Love and Mercy, 2014); Johnny Cash (Walk the Line, 2005); and who knows how many more.
One thing all those films have in common (not counting the fact that most of them had tragic endings) was that every subject was famous in their respective fields, and well-known hit-makers of their times.
That’s not the case with singer-songwriter Michael David Fuller, aka Blaze Foley. But Foley, who died virtually penniless nearly 30 years ago, now has his own biopic. Blaze stars Ben Dickey, an actor who, at least up to now, probably is even less famous than Foley — though hopefully his future is brighter. The film opens in Santa Fe on Friday, Sept. 28.
A man called Blaze
Foley turned out to be a respected songwriter, though much of that respect came years after his death. Like so many rough-hewn geniuses, his life was a mess.
A self-destructive alcoholic, he was essentially homeless during the last months of his life, sleeping under pool tables at bars. He’d patched up old shoes — and basically everything else — with duct tape.
He was shot and killed in a drunken argument in Austin, in 1989, just a few months after his 39th birthday.
Actor-director Ethan Hawke was familiar with Foley’s story. Hawke — who starred in a 2015 biopic about jazz trumpeter Chet Baker — set out to make a film about a musician who never achieved actual fame but was true to his art, though enslaved by his demons.
Instead of thrilling scenes in which the hero fights his way through the star-making machinery, plays that big important concert, or makes that big important record and conquers the world, this movie shows the bumbling Foley screwing up every opportunity ever presented to him.
He unwittingly pushed away the one woman he really loved and hurtled toward his senseless and violent fate. There is no big important concert here — much of the film shows Foley playing somberly at an Austin dive called The Outhouse. He played there the night he was killed, capturing 24 songs in a two-hour gig before a small audience that didn’t seem to care.
No, Foley didn’t set the music industry ablaze. His biggest impact on the business side of music was bankrupting a small record company that gambled on him. One of the movie’s funniest scenes, in a dark sense, was when the three former Texas oilfield roughnecks in charge of Zephyr Records — played by Sam Rockwell, Richard Linklater, and Steve Zahn — confront a drunken Foley over his role in the company’s demise.
While Foley remains unknown to most of civilization, he caught the eyes and ears of many major players in country, alternative-country, and folk circles.
Lucinda Williams eulogized him in her song “Drunken Angel,” as Townes Van Zandt — Foley’s most famous crony — did in “Blaze’s Blues.” John Prine recorded Foley’s song “Clay Pigeons” for his 2005 album Fair & Square. Lyle Lovett sang a Blaze tune called “Election Day.” Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard recorded a 1987 duet of Foley’s greatest song “If I Could Only Fly.” And then Hag re-recorded an even more heart-wrenching cover of that song, making it the title track of his excellent 2000 comeback album.
Much of the story in Blaze is based on Living in the Woods in a Tree, the memoir of Foley’s girlfriend and muse for many of his greatest songs, Sybil Rosen (who is portrayed in the film by Alia Shawkat, best known for her role as Maeby in the TV comedy Arrested Development). Rosen (who has a cameo as her own mother in the movie) co-wrote the screenplay with Hawke.
The movie is framed by a recurring radio interview featuring an unnamed radio host played by Hawke (we only see the back of his head during these scenes) and Van Zandt, who is impressively played by Austin guitar picker Charlie Sexton.
The interviewer isn’t hip to Foley — he calls him “Blaze Folly.” Sexton’s Van Zandt corrects him and fills him in on the life of his friend — some of which, like his infamous twisted tall tale about digging up Foley’s grave to get a pawn ticket out of the dead man’s jacket — are likely more fiction than fact. But I bet Blaze would have gotten a kick out of most of the stories.
Dickey is the real star of the show. He captures Foley’s lumbering presence, his menacing scowl, his mumble, and his vulnerability underneath a thick beard and oversized cowboy hat.
And he even sounds a lot like Foley when he sings. There is an album to go along with the movie, Blaze (Original Cast Recording), featuring Dickey’s versions of Foley tunes. It’s decent, but I suggest that before you buy that, seek out Foley’s original material. Though — as the film makes clear — Foley was a flawed human, his soulful music deserves wider recognition. ◀
Blaze opens at Violet Crown Cinema on Friday, Sept. 28.
I'm very cold and hungry, sir,
