Matador Playlist(s) 9/10/15, 9/17/15 & 10/1/15

09 Oct Matador Playlist(s) 9/10/15, 9/17/15 & 10/1/15

Posted at 00:32h in Music, Playlist by inkyinkinc

Texas, baby. It’s there, it’s big, it’s not going anywhere, and, if you’re driving to New Orleans from New Mexico, there ain’t no way around it. Of course, you actually could go around it but that would require either a sea worthy sailing vessel or a profound preference for the scenic pleasures of Oklahoma (I’ve long thought that the highway sign marking the Oklahoma state line should read ‘Welcome to Oklahoma—It’s Not Texas!!‘). Being possessed of neither a sailing vessel of any degree of worthiness nor the patience for an Oklahoma detour, I decided to address the situation full on for my first ever driving trip from Santa Fe to my hometown. The Inky Prius was washed, recharged with fresh oil, pumped full of high octane Chevron petrol, and on a bright Saturday morning of mid-September in the Year of Our Lord 2015, off I went into the great semi-unknown.

My chosen route was allegedly somewhat more direct than other options but part of the attraction for me was that it included a number of places that I’d never previously been to: Ft. Sumner, Clovis, Muleshoe, Lubbock, Littlefield, Sweetwater, and Opelousas among them. Ft. Sumner is, of course, Billy the Kid territory. Interesting thing about Ft. Sumner is that there appears to be a sort of Yojimbo/Fistful of Dollars scene going on there: Signage indicates that there are two Billy the Kid museums and two Billy the Kid gravesites available for visitation. Not being certain as to which one was the authentic article (if such a creature does in fact exist) and not wanting to get caught in the midst of a latter day Lincoln County tourism war I kept on rolling. Clovis is, of course, notable for Norman Petty’s recording studio and the significant role it played in the early days of rock n’ roll. Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings and Bobby Fuller all recorded there in their nascent careers but, sadly for Clovis, chose to settle permanently elsewhere. Cannon Air Force Base is in close proximity and, after passing through semi-nonexistent little burgs like Taiban and St. Vrain the benefits of having a major military outpost in the neighborhood are readily apparent. The outskirts of Clovis near Cannon AFB are like a bit of military/industrial suburbia installed somewhat improbably in the middle of almost-nowhere.

Crossing over into Texas, Muleshoe is apparently of no particular note other than its über (not Uber) groovy name, ripe with imaginary cinematic portent. Littlefield proudly proclaims itself as the birthplace of Waylon Jennings and there is apparently a Jennings home available for public perusal. Sweetwater is the heart of Texas wind turbine country and the monstrous things are more plentiful than trees in this endless stretch of semiarid steppe. The town is also home to the appropriately named Windham wrestling dynasty, consisting of dad Robert (who wrassled under the moniker Blackjack Mulligan) and his two sons Kendall and Barry Windham. Their home seems not to be available for public perusal and the uninvited might well be subject to a Flying Clothesline Gutbuster or some other such WWF-style smackdown. Discretion is advised. Lubbock is another town that boasts a rich musical heritage, being or having been home to the likes of Buddy Holly, Mac Davis, Joe Ely, Delbert McClinton, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, current Santa Fe resident Terry Allen, Lloyd and Natalie Maines (the latter of Dixie Chicks fame), and Norm Carl Odam—better known as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. Now, even as a native New Orleanian, I’ve got to admit that ain’t half bad.

Pride of Lubbock, the Legendary Stardust Cowboy hisself.

By the time you merge onto I-20 towards Abilene you’re on your way out of west Texas proper and into the more midwestern-y portion of the state. Texas is big enough to sustain a rather schizophrenic variety of internal identities. Lubbock and Amarillo undoubtedly identify as western towns while the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropalooza has a more of a middle-American thang going on. Folks in the Houston end of the equation seem to lean in the direction of a more southern vibe. The identity of the region from El Paso on down to Brownsville is largely determined by that whole crazy border scene (at least until President Trump builds his Wall) and Austin is pretty much obsessed with being Austin—ergo, not all those other places. Perhaps they’ll work it all out someday and get back to us… or just secede from the Union. Either one will do.

So… other than watching them what should I do?

Gentle Readers, you should be proud to know that Your Humble Narrator bit the Texas bullet and traversed the width of the Lone Star State and the the diagonal length of the Pelican State all in one go. It wasn’t exactly intentional but after I gained Shreveport it seemed inevitable. I did it and lived to tell the tale and now I don’t ever have to do it again. The return trip was much less interesting and I don’t see myself darkening the doorstep of the Houston metropolitan region again anytime soon (‘anytime soon’ = ‘never’). The best parts of the homeward-bound journey were the rattlesnake-infested rest stops and the sunset west of Amarillo (see photo at top) through a forest of wind turbines doing their weirdly-alien-yet-somehow-majestic wind turbine thing. Texas, baby. Okay, I can deal with it… but why did they have to put it there?

Matador Playlist 9/10/15

Grammar of Life – Charles Bukowski
Hurdy Gurdy Man – Donovan
Rock Lobster – B-52’s (request-for the Bear)
The Descent – Bob Mould
Johnny Are You Gay? – the Hillbilly Moon Explosion
D-I-V-O-R-C-E – Tammy Wynette
Paranoid – Black Sabbath
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others – the Smiths
I Put A Spell On You – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
Anything, Anything – Dramarama
Sideways Eight – Echo & the Bunnymen
Cactus – David Bowie
Petition the Lord with Prayer – the Doors
Dead Rats, Dead Cats – the Doors
Break On Through – the Doors
Friday I’m In Love – Yo la Tengo
Cop Cars – the Exploited
Crying – Rob Orbison
Away From the Numbers – the Jam
Funky Drummer – James Brown
Hello Walls – Faron Young
Enola Gay – the Hillbilly Moon Explosion
I Can See From Far Away – Gang of Four
They’ve Got A Bomb – Crass
Wiggle Stick – Reverend Horton Heat
Other Side of This Life – Jefferson Airplane
Motel Room in My Bed – X
The Losing End – Neil Young
Hardlight – Pegboy
Under My Thumb – the Rolling Stones
The Kelly Affair – Be Your Own Pet
Your Time Is Gonna Come – Led Zeppelin
Orgasm Addict – Buzzcocks
Rock Steady – Aretha Franklin
I’m Gonna Dry My Tears – the Hillbilly Moon Explosion
Things We Said Today – the Beatles
The Last High – Dandy Warhols
Sparks – Beach House
Ivo – Cocteau Twins
The Underdog – Spoon
No Dice – Beirut
Are ‘Friends’ Electric – Gary Numan
All The Way from Memphis – Mott the Hoople
Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People
Misty Mountain Hop – Led Zeppelin
In Step – Girl Talk
The Man Who Sold the World – Nirvana
I Fink U Freeky – Die Antwoord
Vicious – Lou Reed
Who Drank My Beer While I Was in the Rear – Dave Bartholomew
Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment – the Ramones
Caldonia – James Brown
Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now – the Smiths
Let It Be Me – Social Distortion
The Modern World – the Jam
Apocryphon – the Sword
Here We Are (Chancer) – Silversun Pickups
Precious – the Pretenders
Don’t Stop the Dance – Bryan Ferry
The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown) – Fleetwood Mac
The Love You Save – the Jackson Five
Yume No Ukiyo Ni Saitemina – Momoiro Clover Z & Kiss
Contract on the World Love Jam – Public Enemy
Shameless (feat. Bryan Ferry) – Groove Armada
Soul Love – David Bowie
Hit and Run – T.S.O.L.
Baba O’Riley – the Who
Only Happy When It Rains – Garbage
Bohemian Like You – the Dandy Warhols
1979 – Smashing Pumpkins
The Last of the Famous International Playboys – Morrissey
Lithium – Nirvana
Useless – Depeche Mode
Jolene – Dolly Parton
The Act We Act – Sugar
Memo From Turner – the Rolling Stones
Hot Rod Lincoln – Commander Cody & his Lost Planet Airmen
Waiting for the Siren’s Call – New Order
Lupine Ossuary – Thee Oh Sees
World Without Tears – Lucinda Williams
Buona Sera – Louis Prima
Happy Trails – Roy Rogers & Dale Evans (feat. Trigger on Par-Sentient Egglephone)
Taxi – Bryan Ferry