10 Dec Matador Playlist 12/5/24
Alright, Gentle Reader(s)—full disclosure right up front: This is only a partial playlist for Ye Olde Matador Bar & Lounge. I descended the steps at the usual time this Thursday past, loaded for bear, in full anticipation of putting in an evening’s duty tending to the Euterpian/Terpsichorian/Callopian well being of the patrons of everyone’s favorite subterranean watering hole. My anticipation was tempered, however, by the knowledge that I had a 10 AM appointment of some import scheduled for Friday morning. A full night at the Mat usually means that Your Humble Narrator is rolling into bed sometime around 3:00 AM, which is not entirely optimal for 10 AM appointments of some import. I therefore resolved that, should things turn out to be on the slow side, I would consider letting discretion be the better part of valor and bail out at midnight.
Well, as it happened, things were indeed on the slow side. There was a reasonably good crowd on hand when I was setting up my gear, and they turned out to be fans of the metallic genre. The first request of the evening was ‘Hey dude, can you play some Iron Maiden?’, to which the answer was ‘Yes, indeed.’ Judas Priest, Pantera, Slayer and others were to follow, leavened with the likes of Billy Holiday, Big Star and Louis Prima. The mix might have proved to be a bit too eclectic for the bangers of head, or not, but either way they eventually packed off to wherever it is that metalheads pack off to of a chilly Thursday December evening in old Santa Fe. The rest of the evening proceeded in a generally mellow vibe—mellow enough so that I figured Katya and Dom could soldier on through without my assistance. I was in bed by 12:30, praise be on high!
For those of you who might be reading these pages in far-flung locales, I should explain that it does indeed get chilly in old Santa Fe: Yes, we are located in the desert Southwest, but at 7,000-plus feet in elevation we enjoy all four seasons, including full-on winters with blizzards, sub-freezing temps and all of the attendant joys and terrors. It is not uncommon for first time visitors to the City Indifferent to discover, much to their amazement and/or dismay, that Santa Fe’s climate is in no way, shape or form analogous to that of locales such as Phoenix of Arizona. Or even Albuquerque. Located one hour to the southwest and 2,000 feet lower in altitude, the Duke City can remain reasonably balmy when it is practically arctic up the road in Fanta Se. So, be forewarned and, should you be intending to visit, pack accordingly.
This season got off to a roaring start with a multi-day storm blanketing the city with heavy, wet snow in early November while YHN was still resident at Ink South. I was kind of sorry I missed it, what with having grown up sorely snow-deprived in New Orleans, but I’ve seen my share of winter weather over my decades in Santa Fe (as the photo at the top, looking to the northeast from Ink Southwest will attest). It has been mostly dry ever since the big snow, but it’s not even officially winter yet. We can look forward to that on December 21st when the days shall commence lengthening once again—always a blessed moment. As for today, the thermometer on my sunny front porch was showing 60 degrees this afternoon, but tonight’s low is forecast to be 17. That’s cold pretty much no matter where you are, short of Antarctica.
With that bit of housekeeping dispensed of, I offer you approximately 2 1/2 hours of Matador Playlist instead of the usual five. I guess I owe you two hours, but don’t expect me to remain spinning at the bar until 4 AM anytime soon (not that I haven’t in the past, but that was when I was still in my 40s… and the doors were closed). Despair not: This coming Thursday I shall be back in the saddle, loaded for bear once again, with no Friday morning appointments to hinder my nocturnal duties.
Click on the link—you know you want to!
Grammar of Life – Charles Bukowski
Good Times, Bad Times – Led Zeppelin
Anthrax – Gang of Four
The Trooper – Iron Maiden (request)
Strange Fruit (Tricky/Tool Remix) – Billie Holiday
TV Set – the Cramps (request)
Hell Bent for Leather – Judas Priest
Black Tie, White Noise – David Bowie
Cowboys from Hell – Pantera
September Gurls – Big Star
Highway to Hell – AC/DC
Bikini Girls with Machine Guns – the Cramps
Twist All Night – Louis Prima
Raining Blood – Slayer
Godzilla – Blue Öyster Cult
Seattle – Public Image, Ltd.
Rock n’ Roll – Motörhead
Telegram Sam – Bauhaus
Snowblind – Black Sabbath
Honky Tonkin’ – Hank Williams
Rush – Big Audio Dynamite
Body Movin’ – Beastie Boys
WUSYANAME – Tyler, the Creator (request)
Lonely is the Night – Billy Squier
Get On the Good Foot, Pt. 1 – James Brown
Come As You Are – Nirvana
Gin In My System – Big Freedia
Up On the Sun – Meat Puppets
Stir Fry – Migos
I Got Mine – the Black Keys
Hazy Shade of Winter – the Bangles
Diamond Eyes – Deftones (request)
Stagger Lee – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
$20 – boygenius
Mystery Train – Elvis Presley
Heroes – David Bowie
Can’t Get Used to Losing You – the English Beat
Hunter – Bjørk
Elliptical – the Blisters
Pedestrian at Best – Courtney Barnett
Ch-Check It Out – Beastie Boys
Police & Thieves – the Clash
Brown-Eyed Handsome Man – Chuck Berry
Save Me From What I Want – St. Vincent
Love Song – the Damned
Doll Parts – Hole
Fairytale of New York – the Pogues
Not Strong Enough – boygenius
Rocky Road to Dublin – Dropkick Murphys
Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
Concrete Jungle – Bob Marley & the Wailers
