Month: December 2006

Present Sounds

Post author By Chris Herrington
Post date December 28, 2006

After twelve months and hundreds of records devoured, we asked our music critics what 2006 sounded like. Here are their reports:

Chris Herrington:

1. Fishscale — Ghostface Killah (Def Jam): This epic album from the Wu-Tang Clan’s greatest MC artist comes at you in movements. In the first third, Ghostface proves he can spin gripping drug-trade yarns better than any new jack while never once trying to convince you he didn’t long ago rise above that world. The middle third is pure show-off: Luther Ingram-sampling endorsement of child abuse Ghost remembers as good parenting, Willie Hutch-driven battle of the sexes, explosive Pete Rock-produced rave-up. The final third he goes all “Old Jeezy” on us, bringing deep-soul wisdom and moral center to a newly resurgent subgenre (coke-trade rap) desperately in need of it. Throughout, you get a dense collection of grimy crime stories, offbeat boasts and exhortations (“Y’all be nice to the crackheads!”), soaring ’70s soul samples, random bursts of reality (our hero opens one song kicked back at the crib watching Larry King Live), and extravagant production that splits the difference between Bomb Squad and Kanye West. If you’re not a pretty serious hip-hop fan, you might struggle to find a point of entry. If you are a pretty serious hip-hop fan, you can get lost in it. Thirteen years after the debut of the posse classic Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers and 10 years too late, here’s the best Wu-Tang album since the first one.

2. Boys and Girls in America — The Hold Steady (Vagrant): “You’re pretty good with words, but words won’t save your life,” a woman advises poet John Berryman on the album-opening “Stuck Between Stations,” but songwriter supreme Craig Finn might be singing that line to himself. On Boys and Girls in America, Finn rachets down the verbosity that dominated previous records and gives more conventional song structures (and more conventional singing) a spin. The band also trades in their previous dense conceptualism for something breezier: a theme album about romance amid the kind of messed-up teenage lives chronicled on last year’s Separation Sunday. The result is as observant, compassionate, and subtly funny as rock-and-roll gets. Don’t be surprised that America’s greatest rock band is such a subterranean sensation: With rare exceptions, it’s been that way as long as there have been American rock bands.

3. One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This — The New York Dolls (Roadrunner): In a world rapidly turning into an ashtray, David Johansen sees superfluous beauty everywhere, including in the form of the 56-year-old high-heels-and-mascara-wearing man in the mirror. Down to two original members of the classic gutter-glam ’70s band and missing the careening guitar of the late Johnny Thunders, the New Yorks Dolls nevertheless concocted the greatest rock-band comeback album ever, bringing the band’s long-latent spirit of generosity fully to the surface. Where so many codgers making comebacks get hosannas for death records, this is a life record: mortal and eternal all at once. Oh, and my 2-year-old and I both insist “Dance Like a Monkey” is the song of the year.

4. Rather Ripped — Sonic Youth (Geffen): The most durable American rock band ever, Sonic Youth has been making music for nearly 25 years and with a career arc all their own — from free-formish noise to mainstreamish alt-rock to expansive urban-pastoral art jams. And as blasphemous as it may sound to longtime diehards, I’m not sure this outrageously tuneful little gem (studio full-length #14, if you’re counting) isn’t their best album. The prettiest, most bracing guitar album I’ve heard since 2002’s Specialist in All Styles, by Senegalese comeback band Orchestra Baobob.

5. The Devil You Know — Todd Snider (Hip-0): Though he saddles it with a bad song about a worse president, ex-Memphian Snider’s The Devil You Know is the “political” record of the year, a series of bone-deep and defiantly funny character sketches from the wrong side of “a war goin’ on that the poor can’t win.” And those songs are bookended by two personal testaments: In the first, he greets death with a shrug and a smile. On the last, he channels John Hurt with his guitar, tips his hat to hip-hop, tells a great corny joke, and responds to polarizing times with a hymn to uncertainty.

6. Pick a Bigger Weapon — The Coup (Epitaph): This doesn’t peak as high as Party Music, the previous album from this West Coast Marxist hip-hop duo, but it’s more consistent, with an elastic groove that matches the funny, fearless worldview: a desire not just to end the war and close the income gap but to spur a revolution you can laugh, love, and fuck to. Entirely typical verse: “Our pay is unstable and under the table/We like free speech but we love free cable!”

7. FutureSex/LoveSounds — Justin Timberlake (Jive): Epic, weird, luxuriant, sexy — it’s almost blue-eyed D’Angelo and pretty easily the best solo male R&B album since that MIA artist’s 2000 Voodoo. In terms of combining art and commerce — the record of the year.

8. Modern Times — Bob Dylan (Columbia): A beneficiary of the reflexive hype that anything Dylan-related gets these days, the assured Modern Times falls as short of the playfully visionary “Love & Theft” as it rises above the mildly overrated Time Out of Mind.

9. Over the Mountain, Across the Valley, and Back to the Stars — Jennifer O’Connor (Matador): This New York singer-songwriter’s smart, concrete, and evocative lyrics are the kind of plainspoken song-poetry I can get with; her slices-of-life about driving home from the airport after dropping off a lover or missing her sister the kind of commonplaces you relate to even without a lover or sister of your own. And though there’s sadness here, O’Connor never wallows in it.

10. Be Your Own Pet — Be Your Own Pet (Ecstatic Peace): On this 15-songs-in-33-minutes romper-room rush of a debut, 19-year-old Jemina Pearl’s voice-control goes haywire, with high-pitched woops erupting mid-lyric. Her teen band operates the opposite way: The songs usually start with a sound and spirit reminiscent of the way Who songs ended — as instrument-crashing finales — but hooks reach out through the clamor to pull the songs together. In conjunction with an endearing blend of snark and sincerity, the result to-tal-ly rocks.

Honorable Mention: Hell Hath No Fury — Clipse (Star Track/Arista); I Am Not Afraid of You and I Can Beat Your Ass — Yo La Tengo (Matador); Rabbit Fur Coat — Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins (Team Love); Standing in the Way of Control — The Gossip (KRS); Game Theory — The Roots (Def Jam); The Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living — The Streets (Vice/Atlantic); Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not — Arctic Monkeys (Domino); Crazy Itch Radio — Basement Jaxx (Astralwerks); Murray’s Revenge — Murs (Record Collection); Taking the Long Way — Dixie Chicks (Columbia).

Top 10 Singles: “Check On It” — Beyoncé; “Kick, Push” — Lupe Fiasco; “The Long Way Around”– Dixie Chicks; “Crazy” — Gnarls Barkley; “My Love” — Justin Timberlake; “Ring the Alarm” — Beyoncé; “Your Man” — Josh Turner; “Cheated Hearts” — Yeah Yeah Yeahs; “Goin’ Down” — Yung Joc; “Tim McGraw” — Taylor Swift.

Stephen Deusner:

1. Boys and Girls in America — The Hold Steady (Vagrant): This is the short-story collection after the best-selling novel: Craig Finn dumps the drug-epic storyline in favor of small song-length chunks of street narrative, with no loss of impact or quality. Amazingly for an indie band, the Hold Steady are completely unashamed to rock you, which explains why they amped up the Springsteen power chords and wrote “Chillout Tent” as Grease for hipsters. Dave Pirner never had it so good.

2. Everything All the Time — Band of Horses (Sub Pop): Following the collapse of Carissa’s Wierd, Ben Bridwell regrouped with Band of Horses and made the album that the upcoming Shins record will no doubt get compared to. Unfavorably. “The Funeral” in particular is an indie guitar anthem that manages to be more epic than the Arcade Fire and more intimate than Damien Rice.

3. FutureSex/LoveSounds — Justin Timberlake (Jive): The local boy’s album wasn’t hot because it reimagined Timberlake as the white, male Missy Elliott but because it reimagined boy-band pop as a loose pickup game where Three 6 Mafia’s nonchalant cameo sounds like they were just in the neighborhood and where the homoerotic flirting between Timberlake and producer Timbaland goes un-commented upon.

4. The Greatest — Cat Power (Matador): Chan Marshall returned to Memphis to record her seventh album, plus she cleaned up her act: She scheduled a new tour after nervously canceling early shows, allegedly stopped drinking, shilled for Lagerfeld, and showed she could be pretty funny. Her big year, though, was just a backdrop for The Greatest, which plugged into local history to create a new genre: indie soul.

5. Return to Cookie Mountain — TV on the Radio (Interscope): Too much New York boho/indie music never looks beyond the five boroughs, expecting the fly-overs to come to their streets. But TV on the Radio’s second full-length, which draws on doo-wop, jazz, hip-hop, ’90s indie rock, and psychedelia, captures the current life-during-wartime unease of dissident patriots across the country and admirably tries to take in the horrors of Katrina in “Wash.” In other words, Brooklyn’s too small for them.

Honorable Mention: El Perro del Mar — El Perro del Mar (Memphis Industries/Control Group); Writer’s Block — Peter Bjorn and John (Wichita/V2); Are We Not Horses? — Rock Plaza Central (self-released); Silent Shout — The Knife (Mute); Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar — Vapnet (Hybris).

Werner Trieschmann:

1. Rather Ripped — Sonic Youth (Geffen): Those of us fiercely devoted to the more mature, latter-day Sonic Youth have been rewarded with consistently good albums starting at Washing Machine and going forward. Rather Ripped, however, is a great album, a revelatory rock-and-roll artifact from the thrilling beginning (“Reena”) to the moody end (“Or”). Their guitars have never sounded better, and Kim Gordon, who usually contributes a clangy wad of tuneless noise, is out in front of “Turquoise Boy,” the prettiest song in the entire SY catalog.

2. Use These Spoons — Heypenny (self-released): Ben Elkins lives in Nashville and works as producer and performer on the margins of the indie-rock world. His debut CD under the moniker of Heypenny was one of the most overlooked of 2006. The clever and dreamy indie pop recalls Sufjan Stevens — only Elkins has a better voice.

3. Take the Long Way — Dixie Chicks (Columbia): I don’t care about the politics or the supposed move away from country or continued lack of radio play. The heart of this gorgeous album beats with domestic dramas that are, incredibly, no less compelling because the Dixie Chicks are enormous stars. Also, Natalie Maines just happens to be the best singer on the planet.

4. White Trash with Money — Toby Keith (UMG): Hey, Toby Keith on the same list as the Dixie Chicks? Huh? Sorry, put away your haterade for this artist who happens to be at the top of his game even if the majority of American music critics would rather bathe in acid than listen to his work. Nobody in country was celebrating the working stiff with as much wit, flair, and, yes, warmth.

5. We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions — Bruce Springsteen (Sony) and 3121 — Prince (Universal): Two ’80s heroes return with records that build upon (in Prince’s case) and divert from (in Springsteen’s case) the signature sound that brought them riches and fame. Springsteen found his inner folkie (even if his huge backing band made a big supporting racket) and Prince kept making his own brand of weird funk.

Honorable Mention: No Rope — Chris Knight (Drifter’s Church); Let Me Wear Your Coat — Ho-Hum (Max Recordings); Boys and Girls in America — The Hold Steady (Vagrant); If You’re Going Through Hell — Rodney Atkins (Curb); FutureSex/Love Sounds — Justin Timberlake (Jive).

Andrew Earles:

1. Silver — Jesu (Hydrahead): To be kind, once I turned 20 or so, Godflesh wasn’t exactly “to my taste.” Justin K. Broadrick’s calling card from 1988 until 2002 (after leaving Napalm Death at age 16) was a long stretch of misfires with occasional greatness, which his latest project, Jesu, completely shames. Early Swans meets My Bloody Valentine meets perfect pop, and even though those three things have been around for a while, it’s never been done like this.

2. Pink — Boris (Southern Lord): Another case of bombast meets shoe-gazer rock. It’s odd that a band this brutal and heavy gets the amount of favorable press that Boris racked up in 2006, and for a reference point, they are far more unbridled and discordant than other heavy and brutal bands that get a lot of positive press, like Mastodon.

3. The Obliterati — Misson of Burma (Matador): The comeback album that’s better than the actual comeback album (they released the reunion On/Off in 2004), The Obliterati erases all other angular guitar rock, most of which is made by people half Mission of Burma’s age.

4. The Night Ripper — Girl Talk (Illegal Art): Party music made from 100 percent illegal samples. So dense that the craft and result is very similar to the traditional construction of pop music. Catchiest album of the year, hands down.

5. Since There Were Circles (reissue) — Bon Lind (RPM Records UK): An import at domestic price (check Amazon), Since There Were Circles was Bob Lind’s “lost” album from 1972, released and swept under the rug before Lind retired from music. This differs greatly from Lind’s two 1966 baroque folk-rock albums (those are essential as well) in that it carries a Buffalo Springfield country-rock vibe common to the time period. Features a guest performance by Gene Clark and Doug Dillard that no one seemed to know existed. It’s worth spending days or weeks obtaining this for the title track alone.

Honorable Mention: You in Reverse — Built to Spill (Warner Bros.); Don’t Fear the Reaper — Witchery (Century Media); Instinct: Decay — Nachtmystium (Southern Lord); Thunder Down Under — Hot Snakes (Swami); Ticket Crystals — Bardo Pond (ATP Recordings).

Best reissues

Andria Lisle:

1. Fonotone Records 1956-1969 — Various Artists (Dust-To-Digital): The limited-edition bottle opener, dozen-plus color postcards, and 160-page book are cool, but what truly makes this five-disc box set unique is the track listing: 131 songs hand-picked by musicologist Joe Bussard, including hollers, rags, and jug-band numbers which rival Harry Smith’s vision for the legacy of American folk music.

2. Rockin’ Bones: 1950s Punk and Rockabilly — Various Artists (Rhino): From its pulp-fiction packaging to the sheer rarity of some of these tracks, this raucously raw four-disc set connects the dots between household names (and hometown heroes) like Presley and Perkins to lesser-known but just as fervent cats and kittens such as Jackie Gotroe, Barbara Pittman, Elroy Dietzel, and Pat Cupp.

3. What It Is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves (1967-1977) — Various Artists (Rhino): Pure American pop culture — presented as the flipside to Rockin’ Bones — this is nearly 100 tracks culled from the Warner Bros. vaults, including monster tunes from Rufus Thomas and the Mighty Hannibal, Baby Huey, and Howard Tate. Unless you’re a serious DJ, forgo the record collecting and buy this box set.

4. Nashville Rebel — Waylon Jennings (Sony Legacy) and Live at San Quentin — Johnny Cash (Sony Legacy): The original outlaws of country music, comprehensively and stylishly presented. Jennings gets a career-spanning four-disc box which encompasses his early attempt at Nashville stardom and his rise to glory with hits such as “Highwayman” and “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way.” Cash’s ’69 jail recordings are newly scrutinized, analyzed, and dissected, with songs that once landed on the cutting-room floor deservedly restored to the set list.

5. There Is a Season — The Byrds (Sony Legacy) and The Complete Reprise Sessions — Gram Parsons (Rhino Records): From inception to swan song, 99 songs mined from the McGuinn/Clark/Hillman/Crosby catalog, illustrating not only the rise and fall of one of California’s best bands but the evolution of folk rock in general. Special kudos for including both sides of the Elektra Records single by the Beefeaters, a precursor to the Byrds. Cue this one up before playing Parsons’ solo oeuvre, lovingly restored and augmented with outtakes and rare audio interviews, and rediscover Americana once again.

Tags album, Review

News The Fly-By

The 7 Deadly Sins of Memphis

Post author By Flyer Staff
Post date December 28, 2006

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

If it was the year of anything, it was of Memphis — and Memphians — behaving badly. The feds continue to shock and awe the city with charges of political corruption. The November elections — with the mudslinging, the surprise confrontations, and the endless advertisements — brought out the worst in everybody (but especially members of the Ford family).

With Memphis seemingly heading towards H, E, double hockeysticks in a handbasket, the Flyer thought it might be appropriate to look back at the year and its Seven Deadly Sins (and three not so deadly ones).

Though they won’t actually kill you, the Seven Deadly Sins are said to be fatal to spiritual progress and are almost impossible to remember all at once. Pride is the excessive belief in oneself and is sometimes called Vanity. Envy is the desire for other people’s property, station in life, or abilities. Lust is easy; it has to do with carnal cravings. Sloth is laziness. Greed is the desire for material things. Gluttony is somewhat similar, but is the desire to consume more than one requires. And Wrath is unbridled anger. Anything sound familiar?

Lust

Area Strip Clubs Studied & Busted

Greg Cravens

It was what some might call a two-fer-one dance. During the same week that law enforcement raided Platinum Plus and Tunica Cabaret & Resort for drugs and prostitution, a city/county consultant released a report that said Memphis strip clubs were some of the nastiest in the country. We’re talking simulated sex, oral penetration, and all sorts of goings-on between dancers and patrons, and dancers and dancers.

What with all the exposure of this activity — not to mention the activity itself — the city is getting a reputation as the Bangkok of the South.

Ron Meroney

Before entering a guilty plea to charges that he raped a 4-year-old Maryland girl 30 years ago, the former Good Morning Memphis host told reporters he was truly thankful for God’s “presence” and that he wanted to move on.

He didn’t say where, exactly, he wanted to move on to, but there’s good news for fans of the cheerfully telegenic perv: Thanks to the national sex-offender registry, he’ll be easy enough to find. Eventually.

Greed

Tennessee Waltz Defendants

How could we choose just one? Michael Hooks Sr., a former county commissioner, pleaded guilty this year to taking bribes of over $24,000 — some of it in the bathroom of brothel-turned-bar Earnestine & Hazel’s. Hooks’ son, Michael Hooks Jr., is still awaiting trial, having been accused of conspiring to defraud the Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office of more than $60,000. Former state senator Kathryn Bowers pleaded not guilty to taking over $11,000 and is awaiting trial. Former state senator Roscoe Dixon was sentenced to over five years in prison for his conviction on bribery and extortion charges. And former state senator John Ford, who already pleaded not guilty earlier in the year to charges that he took $55,000 to influence legislation, was indicted again this month for $800,000 in illegal payments from state contractors.

Harold Ford Sr.

What do you call a retired U.S. congressman with a palatial home in sunny Florida, a successful lobbying firm, one son in the U.S. House and another son in the U.S. Senate? Well, it doesn’t really matter what you call that super-connected S.O.B., so long as you call him, because that’s the S.O.B. who can get things done. There’s just one itsy-bitsy problem: Come 2007, the man who would be that man — Harold Ford Sr. — doesn’t have a son in the House or in the Senate, and there’s only one reason for that: greed.

Harold Ford Jr. wasn’t exactly qualified to be a congressman. He had no significant professional experience prior to becoming a legislator, only some diplomas and the Ford family name. But Junior, who moved to D.C. back when Clinton could still enjoy the occasional PB&J, was, at the very least, a bright, media-savvy charmer with an uncanny ability to deflect every slimy gobbet of his family’s notorious conduct. That wasn’t the case with Jake, Junior’s unlettered little brother, whose independent run for Congress became the volatile punchline to an ill-tempered joke (please see “Wrath“). Jake’s run pitted the historically Democratic Ford family against the party that has supported them for decades, exacerbating Junior’s few but significant political miscalculations like the now-infamous Wilson Air affair. Sure, Junior may have won the 9th District, the theoretical heart of his campaign. But that’s also where his momentum died. By election eve, Harold Sr. had clearly and ominously taken on the role of stage manager for all of his campaigning sons, and in the parlance of modern media analysis, that’s only one “free association” away from “puppeteer.”

Sloth

Greg Cravens

The City Administration

When the Mid-South Fair decided to shutter Libertyland and sell off most of its assets — including the Grand Carousel and the Zippin Pippin — the city of Memphis administration didn’t bat an eye. If it weren’t for grass-roots advocates from Save Libertyland — which researched the ownership of the park’s two most famous attractions and then lobbied both the City Council and the County Commission to claim them — the Grand Carousel would have been sold, either as a whole ride or in pieces.

And even when confronted by evidence suggesting it owned the Pippin, the city decided not to pursue its interest in the roller coaster and allowed the Mid-South Fair to auction the ride. It now belongs to an amusement park in North Carolina, and Save Libertyland is still working to keep it in Memphis.

Ophelia Ford

The other Ms. O didn’t bother to show up for many campaign events or debates during the election season, hoping instead that her family name alone would carry her to Nashville. And it seems like being a no-show might have even helped her case as she soundly beat challenger Terry Roland. And, as far as we know, she didn’t even have to bring any dead people to the polls.

Envy

Joe Cooper

Greg Cravens

Is Joe Cooper the Gollum of the Caddy Shack? He knows what it’s like to touch the precious, but the tricksy precious burned his handses and made him do bad thingses. After a corruption bust while on the County Commission (then called the County Court), poor Joe had to spend some down time in the dirty, hurtful hoosegow. It was a crushing blow to young Cooper, then a Republican running as the party’s conservative alternative.

Afterwards, he became another person: a Democrat with his eyes on the prize. And lo, in the last age of the Democratic primary, households in the 5th District were flooded with foreboding pro-Cooper robocalls accusing candidate Steve Mulroy of dark, unethical behaviors. It’s not ironic but fitting that Cooper-the-influence-merchant curried political favor by guiding elected officials through the murky swamp of automotive finance, helping them into Escalades and other fancy slabs: items well suited to the status of a civic leader, even if they couldn’t ordinarily afford such a luxury. And, as every fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy knows, when Gollum recognizes that he’s going down into the fiery pit of Mt. Doom, he’s going to take a little piece of somebody with him. Such is the nature of the precious.

Wrath

Jake Ford

Greg Cravens

There are various theories as to the maximum best way to run for office. Trust Jake Ford to illustrate the maximum worst way. The candidate for Congress kept an edge on and made consistent efforts both to intimidate members of the media and to threaten suspected non-supporters, resulting in quantities of mace and undercover security at other candidates’ headquarters, just in case.

Memphis Cops

David Bland, an 81-year-old man, legally blind and nearly deaf, was waiting for MIFA to deliver his “Meals on Wheels” when he got some visitors he wasn’t expecting.

Three police officers, responding to a neighbor’s complaint about loud music, barged into Bland’s apartment, and when he gave his usual response to MIFA of “Bring it on,” the officers did. Later saying they feared for their safety, the officers used a chemical agent on the elderly gentleman and ultimately broke his arm during the arrest. Though internal affairs investigated the situation, the officers were not charged with any wrongdoing.

Gluttony

Rickey Peete

Greg Cravens

No, we’re not referring to anyone’s midsection. We don’t know how or what Peete eats, but we do know he’s a glutton for punishment.

In November, he was charged with bribery after allegedly taking $12,000 from Cadillac-salesman-turned-FBI-informant Joe Cooper (see “Envy”) in exchange for votes on a billboard proposal.

Of course, he’s innocent until proven guilty, but one would think a man with his past would try to be more careful. Peete was sent to prison after a 1989 conviction stemming from Peete’s acceptance of $1,000 from a developer/FBI informant in a land-use case.

Peete served 30 months and then returned to the City Council in 1995 after his constituents voted him back into office (sounds like they’re gluttons for punishment, too) where he eventually became the chair of the planning and zoning committee.

Chubby City

Okay, now we are referring to midsections. For the second year in a row, Memphis found itself on Men’s Fitness magazine’s Top 10 Fattest Cities in America.

Though perhaps not a shock in the land of barbecue and fried chicken, it’s still a little embarrassing. Cities were graded on the number of public parks, residents’ access to health care, local air quality, and the number of fast-food restaurants. The good news: Memphis moved down two slots, from number 4 in 2005 to number six in 2006.

Pride

Edmund Ford

Let’s say it looks like you’ve made a horrible mistake, something so bad that it’s embarrassing your colleagues and forcing your clients to question your ethics. When your boss finds out, she asks you if you should be suspended or fired. You say no and head back to work as if nothing ever happened.

Even someone with a very healthy ego might feel a little uncomfortable. But apparently Edmund Ford’s ego is better than healthy. After being arrested on bribery charges, Ford has not only kept coming to council meetings but participated in votes not to censure himself and not to ask himself to resign.

The City Council’s motion to censure failed with a 6-6 tie vote, meaning that if Ford hadn’t voted, the censure would have passed. We’re not sure about the council’s rules on such matters, but it seems like that’s a conflict of interest. Perhaps Ford should have recused himself from voting on his own reprimand. Then again, if he was prone to doing the right thing, he might not be in this mess in the first place.

And Memphis’ special “sins” …

Irony

Homeland Security: Bugged

Sure, irony isn’t quite one of the Seven Deadly Sins, but when Homeland Security, the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorism, gets bugged, well, someone had to be doing something wrong.

First, Fox 13 News said it had obtained about 17 hours of audio tape from inside the office. A quick inspection of the Homeland Security office found two bugs hidden behind the ceiling tiles. A former employee was initially thought to be the source of the bugs, but he later said he taped his conversations with a handheld cassette recorder. What with the president’s secret wire-tap program, we thought Homeland Security was the agency that did bugging … Surely they didn’t bug themselves?

Corporate Larceny

The Payment-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes

(PILOT) Program

Maybe it’s not technically stealing if you give something away. But when the cash-strapped city and county is giving out over $40 million in tax breaks a year under the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) program, we think the companies getting them should feel a little guilty.

Memphis and Shelby County used the PILOT program to lure businesses to the area and thus spur economic development. After a study said the program lacked oversight and corporate compliance, local government bodies approved changes that would increase supervision, limit it to companies that pay higher wages and offer medical benefits to employees, and require that 75 percent of employees live in Shelby County.

Arsony

Memphis Burning

Greg Cravens

Maybe it’s just us, but it seemed like a year when everything was going up in smoke. The Pro-Serve agricultural chemical plant in South Memphis caught fire twice during the month of August. Both fires were three-alarm blazes fed by pesticides at the plant. Along with various smaller apartment fires throughout the year, Highland Towers suffered a three-alarm fire in October, resulting in $1.7 million in damages and one fatality.

Also in early October, downtown residents awakened to find the city ablaze, as a fire at the First United Methodist Church spread to the Court Square annex building, the Lincoln American Tower, and the Lowenstein Building. A month later, another downtown building, being renovated on Madison, caught fire.

Hmm, surely all these fires don’t have anything to do with our other sins … or do they?

Tags Seven Deadly Sins

Opinion

A Down and Dirty Year

Post author By John Branston
Post date December 28, 2006

There are ordinary sleazy years, and then there was Memphis 2006.

Between high-profile investigations of political corruption, drug dealers, and strip clubs, there was enough blue material to offend — or satisfy — just about everyone. And most of it was set out in graphic detail in trials, tapes, indictments, and affidavits of men and women behaving badly. It was like having Ludacris, Johnny Knoxville, and Borat over for drinks at Kathy Griffin’s and turning on a tape recorder.

In fairness, not all of this happened in 2006. Some of it happened last year or the year before and just became public this year. Let’s just say that Memphis, recognized this year as one of America’s most violent and least healthy cities, has a leg up on more laurels in 2007. Test your knowledge with this little news quiz.

When Rickey Peete said “That’s a good picture” to Joe Cooper, he was talking about: A) the “4K” Joe was writing on a piece of paper; B) Jackass; C) Jackass Number Two.

“Another shocking aspect of Tunica Cabaret’s criminality is the role of management in the perpetration and obfuscation of the crimes,” said a criminal affidavit. Most unspeakably shocking, however, was: A) the sex show featuring a daisy chain of naked girls on the dance floor; B) the guns and drugs in plain view; C) the food service.

“Nobody brings me funny stuff.” So said: A) Willie Herenton; B) Roscoe Dixon; C) Flyer editor Bruce VanWyngarden.

“I did not feel strong enough about it to fight about it.” Who said it? A) a MATA official explaining revisions to the FedExForum garage; B) Joe Frazier before getting in the ring with Willie Herenton; C) Herenton after realizing Frazier was drunk.

“‘Can you get us a contract with the state of Tennessee?’ I said, ‘Well, shit, we may have to just create some law.'” This comes from A) Andrew Jackson’s biography; B) the state constitution; C) Tim Willis posing as a representative of E-Cycle Management.

“Joe ain’t the big juice. The big juice is Lois DeBerry, John Ford, Roscoe, and Kathryn Bowers. That’s your heavy hitters right there.” Juiceless Joe would be A) Joe Cooper; B) Joe Towns; C) Joe Frazier.

The statement “You don’t come out of the Senate with 17, yo shit don’t fly” is: A) what Barry Myers told E-Cycle Management; B) written on John Ford’s old business card; C) so true.

Who got in big trouble for repeatedly saying “nigger”? A) government witness Barry Myers; B) domestic terrorist and white racist Van Crocker; C) comedian Michael Richards.

Watusi, Don Juan, and Sticky areA) nicknames of men indicted last week on federal gun charges; B) real names in obituaries in The Commercial Appeal;C) guys who hang with Lavender, Trinity, and Kitten at Platinum Plus.

“Free popcorn and tacos at the bar” is: A) a secret warning that undercover cops are raiding strip clubs; B) the holiday special at Huey’s; C) seven words you will never hear at FedExForum.

When he said “I’ll drum up seven or make somebody walk out,” Edmund Ford meant seven: A) City Council members; B) dead bodies for his struggling mortuary; C) years of prison time if convicted.

“They were all smoking marijuana in the kitchen of the Tunica Cabaret, where Vega and Youngblood were cooking food for customers.” This sworn statement should alarm: A) the DEA; B) the vice squad; C) the health department.

Who said, “I have done this world wide, and this is the wildest I have ever seen,” and “That’s the best show I’ve ever seen in my life”? A) an MPD officer working undercover at a strip club; B) a Grizzlies fan; C) a reporter who covers the City Council.

Before he said “Throw me one of them stacks, man,” Roscoe Dixon was: A) watching a 400-pound wrestler on television; B) calculating the odds that Tim Willis was working for the FBI;C) concocting his alibi.

Happy &***@#!! New Year.

Tags news quiz

Cover Feature News

Breaking with Tradition

Post author By Greg Akers
Post date December 28, 2006

Come all you sheiks, and lovers, too,Listen to what I’m tellin’ you;
I took a resolution New Year’s Day,Never to give nothin’ away!
— Ethel Waters, “Bring Me Your Greenbacks”

For millions of earth’s citizens, the changing of years is a time to critique the past, to fiddle with one’s formula and come up with a new plan of action and, on January 1st, declare to the world, “I resolve to … !”

Well, screw those people. I say New Year’s resolutions are for suckers who don’t have the intestinal fortitude to self-edit on any day of the year that isn’t January 1st. And let’s not kid ourselves: January Firsters never keep their resolutions anyway. Just like Bono said: “Nothing changes on New Year’s day.”

But New Year’s Eve embraces our human failings and rewards those who don’t kid themselves. It’s the Dionysian celebration of all that is good and sincere about not making resolutions. It’s a parade of vices; even if your only vice is not getting to bed at a reasonable hour, you’re already guilty. It’s the indulging in behaviors that polite society says should be given up or performed in moderation the next day.

So this New Year’s Eve, resolve to give up resolutions. Luckily, there’s plenty of folks in the Mid-South prepared to help you do so. Here’s a primer on some of the highlights of the evening. For a complete list of events, check this issue’s calendar and After Dark sections.

Sibella

Good luck, be safe, and be resolved.

I resolve to drink in moderation.

New Year’s Eve means it’s time to party like it’s your last night on earth. For most people that means alcohol, and lots of it. These clubs, bars, and other establishments are prepared to help you toast the New Year with the adult beverage of your choice. (Beware, however, tricksy libations that go by the name of “hunch punch” or “hooch.” They don’t play fair.)

Beale Street

The biggest party of the evening, at least in terms of humans per square feet, will be on Beale. The cobblestone street will be packed. It has to be seen to be believed and is highly recommended if you really, really don’t mind touching strangers. Eighty-five thousand attendees are expected this year, and among the goings-on outside are fireworks and live music at Handy Park. The strip of clubs and bars will be bursting at the seams, too. With good reason: great music and mucho licor will be flowing inside.

Beale Street.

Southland Park Gaming & Racing

Midnight comes at the same time in Arkansas as it does in Memphis, so don’t feel shy to get your Pig Sooie freak on in West Memphis and enjoy some gaming and live music from local rockabilly faves the Dempseys.

1550 N. Ingram, West Memphis, AR, 870-467-6182.

Jillian’s

Starting at 7 p.m., Jillian’s has as much going on as just about anybody in the city. DJ Abos will be on hand, and there’s live music, too; there’s a multi-course dinner with guaranteed seating; there’s a bottle of champagne per couple (and a toast at midnight); there’s a balloon drop with thousands in cash and prizes; there’s party favors and a $10 game card; there’s admission into the dance club Atlas; and then there’s the chance to start 2007 off particularly well with the $25,000 cash giveaway. All this and more is included in the $45 admission.

150 Peabody Place, 543-8800.

The Peabody

The Peabody has teamed with FM100 to throw a “New Year’s Eve Bash” at the grand dame of Southern hotels. Live music will play on three stages, with Cowboy Mouth in the Grand Ballroom, Rusty Lemon in the Continental Ballroom, and the John Felix Trio in the Corner Bar. Festivities take place from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., with entertainment commencing at 8 p.m. $45/person at the door.

149 Union, 529-4000.

I resolve to not overeat.

Every obesity study released in 2006 says Memphis is one of the fattest cities in the U.S. Well, when you’ve got food as great as we do, why not? This New Year’s Eve, overeat like it’s 1999.

North Mississippi Allstars

Boscos Squared

Boscos has cooked up some great food specials for New Year’s Eve celebrants to go with their always-fabulous regular menu and their handcrafted beers. Amy and the Tramps perform, too, beginning at 8:30 p.m. Reservations recommended.

2120 Madison, 432-2222 .www.boscosbeer.com

New Year’s Eve Brunch at The Peabody

Peabody chefs serve the final brunch of the year in the Continental Ballroom. Reservations required. Brunch, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. $35.95 adults/$15.95 children ages 5 to 12.

The Peabody, 149 Union, 529-3668.

Capriccio Grill

A four-course dinner at Capriccio is a perfect beginning to the evening’s festivities. Reservations required. Dinner, 5-10 p.m. $89.95/person.

The Peabody, 149 Union, 529-4199.

Chez Philippe

It’s never too late to have your best meal of the year: Chef Reinaldo Alfonso helps you end the year on a high note with a five-course dinner at his French-Asian restaurant. Dinner includes a wristband admission to The Peabody’s New Year’s Eve party. Reservations required. Dinner, 6-10 p.m. $125/person.

The Peabody, 149 Union, 529-4188.

Grill 83

“Wood-smoked,” “aged,” “Vermouth-roasted,” and “truffled” are just a few of the adjectives describing the four-course offerings from Grill 83. Reservations recommended. Dinner, 5:30-11 p.m. $80/person.

83 Madison, 333-1224 .www.madisonhotelmemphis.com/Events

MO’s Memphis Originals

Okay, there is one resolution for 2007 you should make: Eat all 12 of MO’s new burgers that will be introduced during the year. You can begin with the Blues Burger, unveiled this New Year’s Eve. There’ll be live music at MO’s, too: all-girl group Sibella from 8 to 10 p.m. and bluesman Dave Crowder from 10 p.m. to midnight. (The Blues Burger will be introduced during Crowder’s set.) Doors open at 5 p.m.

3521 Walker, 324-7892 www.memphisoriginals.com

TJ Mulligan’s

There’s no belly like a belly full of steak, and TJ Mulligan’s gives you several options to fill your gut this New Year’s Eve. TJ Mulligan’s-Pinch has a steak-and-potato special for $10.95, party favors, a champagne toast at midnight, and live music by 3-Way; no cover charge. TJ Mulligan’s-Quince has steak and shrimp for $15.99, party favors, and live music by Blue Gauge; $5 cover. At TJ Mulligan’s-Cordova, use the midnight champagne toast to cleanse your palate for the 1:30 a.m. breakfast buffet. $10 gets you everything from party favors to bacon. Roxanne Lemmon to perform; $10 cover includes buffet.

TJ Mulligan’s-Pinch, 382 N. Main,523-1453.

TJ Mulligan’s-Quince, 6635 Quince, Ste. 101, 753-8056.

TJ Mulligan’s-Cordova, 8071 Trinity, Ste. 1, 756-4480.

Dan McGuinness-Spottswood

Dan McGuinness hops on board the red-meat wagon too, with a steak-dinner special, party favors, a champagne toast at midnight, and live music by Transitt; $10 cover.

4698 Spottswood, 761-3711.

River Oaks Restaurant

The River Oaks menu will have you at Arkansas caviar, but the four courses also include delectable scallops, salmon roulade, Muscovy duck breast with Oregon truffles, lobster, Rock shrimp, and much, much more. Reservations recommended.

5871 Poplar, 683-9305.

I resolve to not listen to loud music.

Nothing takes away the hearing quicker than listening to some really loud music. Wouldn’t have it any other way. In addition to all of the other great acts playing around town New Year’s Eve, here’s a few more that promise to rock your ears off.

The Orpheum

The Bluff City Ball is arguably the premier event of the night. The Orpheum is gonna be shaking, with blues from the North Mississippi Allstars, Memphis faves Lucero, Cory Branan, and Drew Holcomb. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $45.

203 S. Main, 525-7800.

Rock Shows

Perennially great venues for live music, the Hi-Tone Café and Young Avenue Deli will not disappoint this New Year’s Eve. The Hi-Tone sees the return of the Reigning Sound to Memphis in a blast of garage-rock energy. The line starts behind me. Young Avenue Deli has a pair of the best groups going right now: The Secret Service and River City Tanlines. Each group has 2006 releases charted high in the Flyer‘s year-end local-music review (See p. 26). Put the two bands together, and they might have to call the state militia.

The Hi-Tone Café, 1913 Poplar, 278-TONE.

Young Avenue Deli, 2119 Young, 278-0034.

I resolve to carefully manage my money.

Life is a gamble. Of course, nowhere is that fact more acute than at a casino. But with the glut of great entertainment, food, and gaming this New Year’s Eve, the real gamble may be in passing up on Tunica.

Grand Casino Resort

All month long, the Grand has had a gingerbread village on display, including a nine-foot-tall golden castle. No, this isn’t some sort of Fear and Loathing in Tunica, this is just how things are done in the casino wonderland: bigger and better. More please! At the Grand’s LB Steakhouse, Chef James Hoyt has created a menu that includes roasted pheasant pot pie, sautéed salmon with a lemon dill beurre blanc sauce, and a mixed-berry cheesecake. The casino also will have champagne toasts and a balloon drop at midnight.

3615 Old Hwy. 61 N., Robinsonville, MS, 662-363-2788.

Horseshoe Casino & Hotel

The Horseshoe has one of those gingerbread villages too; theirs features a detailed model of the casino. I’ve never wanted to eat a casino so badly. At Horseshoe’s Village Square Buffet, $24.95 will get you duck with wild rice, rosemary roasted leg of lamb, and stuffed trout, among other delectables. This all-you-can-eatery goes from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Chimes at midnight set off a balloon drop, with champagne toasts all around.

1021 Casino Center Dr., Robinsonville, MS, 800-303-SHOE.

Hollywood

For that couple looking to end 2006 with a bang, Hollywood has your bet covered. They’re offering a four-course dinner for two with champagne at Fairbanks Steakhouse for $125/couple. There’s also free entertainment in the Safari Bar Lounge with Andy Childs beginning at 9 p.m. More champagne, party favors, and a balloon drop at midnight on the casino floor round out the late-night/early-morning revelries.

150 Casino Strip Resort Blvd., Robinsonville, MS, 662-357-7700.

I resolve to act my age.

New Year’s Eve of course isn’t just for twenty- and thirtysomethings. It’s for kids of all ages. This December 31st, ignore your birth year, whatever it may be, and take advantage of the great fun these folks offer.

Children’s Museum of Memphis

Get a jump on the New Year’s celebration a day early with a countdown to noon in the Times Square exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Memphis. Festivities include a magic show, karaoke, balloon animals, face painting, and more. New Year’s events included with museum admission. Programs begin at 10 a.m., Saturday, December 30th.

2525 Central, 320-3170. www.cmom.com

Memphis Zoo

Kids ring in the New Year at this Zoo Snooze slumber party. Ages 6 to 12 only. Kids get up close and personal with animals, tour part of the zoo on a moonlight safari, and, of course, count down to 2007. $50 members/$60 nonmembers. 6:30 p.m.-10 a.m.

2000 Prentiss Place, 276-WILD.

Playhouse on the Square

You never have to grow up at Playhouse on the Square: Festivities kick off at 5:30 p.m. with food and drink, activities, and a special performance of Peter Pan beginning at 6:30 p.m. $35 adults/$20 children.

51 S. Cooper, 726-4656.

I resolve to kick back and take it easy.

Now’s no time to relax. Lazing is what you do in August when it’s too hot for ambulation. But New Year’s Eve is for cutting the rug, shaking your tailfeather, and waving your hands in the air like you just don’t care.

Irish New Year’s Eves

I feel a Riverdance coming on. Don’t fight it: Kick up your heels at Dan McGuinness’ Wicked Irish Dance Party and enjoy the party favors and champagne toast at midnight, too. Or, at Celtic Crossing, enjoy a multi-course meal, champagne, live music with the Bob Salley Band, and a dance party later with a DJ. It all commences at 7 p.m. Reservations recommended. $35/person.

Dan McGuinness-Peabody Place, 150 Peabody Place, Ste. 115, 527-8500.

Celtic Crossing, 903 S. Cooper, 274-5151.

Woodland Hills Country Club

Adult singles can have themselves a semi-formal-dressed good time, nosh on hors d’oeuvres, and jam to some great live music at this New Year’s Eve party and dance. $25/person.

10000 Woodland Hills Dr., Cordova, 754-2000.

Memphis Symphony Orchestra

I may have saved the best for last with this event, put on by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and held at the Cannon Center. It all kicks off at 8 p.m. as professional dancers instruct attendees on the ins and outs of waltzing. Next is a concert with the full symphony keeping with Old World traditions of music for New Year’s. Soprano Joanna Mongiardo sings. Next is a double string quartet performing as everyone waltzes, be they beginners or seasoned vets. There’ll be a flowing chocolate fountain — my favorite kind — and a champagne toast at midnight, Eastern Time. That’s right, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra wants to help you beat the Beale Street throng and escape back home, or to the next party, by recognizing the Times Square ball drop. The whole event promises to be the most romantic thing going on in Memphis for the next 45 days, so put on your waltzing shoes.

Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 N. Main, 537-2522.

Take a deep breath: The night’s over. Be safe getting home. Drink lots of clear, nonalcoholic liquids. Curl up in a fetal position and pray that that other thing Bono said is true: “All is quiet on New Year’s Day.”

Tags New Years, resolutions

Opinion The Last Word

The Rant

Post author By Tim Sampson
Post date December 28, 2006

Close your eyes and imagine you are living in a tent city in Iraq or on the Gulf Coast. You haven’t seen a television

news broadcast in a long time. You think people might be worried about you and concerned that you are still living in a tent, but you can’t be sure. All of a sudden, a television appears. You

anxiously await the news about the war being over or someone finally making your insurance company pay you for the home you lost in Hurricane Katrina. Surely, since this is the good old U. S. of A., someone is on your side and watching out for you. You wait and you wait and you wait, until you finally realize … Donald Trump let Miss USA Tara Conner keep her crown! Yessir! For several hours you get to watch the news about this. The tearful beauty queen who got caught running around New York City allegedly drinking the night away illegally, snorting coke, making out with a Miss Teen USA, and humping it up with some of the Big Apple’s finest men. There’s the press conference where “The Donald” tells her she’s not fired. There are cameras and news people everywhere. All stations are fixated on it. The debate rages. Some think she should be de-crowned. Some think she should be given a second chance. Race even comes into play because the runner-up is African-American and would have assumed the role as the reigning beauty queen if the Donald had said to Conner, “You’re fired!” in that cute way he does on his reality television show. Some think if the races had been reversed, so would have the Donald’s decision. The debate escalates as the news is announced that the party-girl beauty queen, who is supposed to be an example to all young women in America her age because she won a beauty pageant, is going to enter drug and alcohol rehab. Whoa! The media are now in a full-fledged frenzy, wondering if this is just another celebrity going in to dry out because her behavior wasn’t up to par. Is this another Mel Gibson trying to sell his movies by repenting in rehab for saying nasty things about Jews? Is this another Representative Mark Foley crying in his nonalcoholic beer about sending inappropriate e-mails to young male pages? Is this another Lindsay Lohan joining AA and trying to keep her career (at whatever it is she does) from going down the toilet? Should the beauty queen be given a second chance because she is from a little town in Kentucky and she bit off more of the Big Apple than she could chew? Is she still “finding herself” at 20? Heavens! What will become of her? Will she get the right kind of help that young women from small towns in Kentucky need when they snort too much cocaine and kiss other women ’cause the big city done made ’em get the big head? That’s what the women in the beauty shop in Conner’s home town were talking about when the network swiftly dispatched a reporter down there to get the town’s sentiment on tape so you, yes you in your tent on the Gulf Coast with no home, can keep up to date on this! Now aren’t you glad you finally got that television? And we wonder why the rest of the world thinks America is nuts. This being the last Rant of 2006, I just wanted to make sure that everyone is staying in the know about the important things in life. You know, beauty queens and all. I just hope she doesn’t try to marry that Miss Teen USA she was making out with, because then we would have to have more raging debate about Gay Beauty Queen Marriage! Although, come to think of it, that might not be bad. It certainly couldn’t be any worse than the debate has already been. Unless, of course, Mary Cheney wants to marry the woman with whom she is having a baby and her dad “The Dick” gets involved. I see big things for 2007. Keep your eyes and ears open!

Music Record Reviews

The Year in Memphis Music

Post author By Chris Herrington
Post date December 28, 2006

In the form of Cat Power’s The Greatest — recorded in Memphis with local musicians — and semi-local-boy Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds, Memphis could lay at least partial claim to two of the biggest records of the year — an underground sensation and a pop smash. But those two mega-events only lead a pack of true-blue local releases and great moments from Memphis music in 2006. We asked our four regular local-music writers to pick out the highlights. Here’s what we came up with:

Top 15 Local Records

1. The Service Is Spectacular — The Secret Service (Peabody Records): If titles such as “Camaro” and “Workin’ Too Hard” aren’t proof enough, the aural signifiers on this debut album are clear: the drummer counting it off at the top, blues-boogie guitar riffs cranked to 11, the bass player rumbling like a big rig down the interstate, vocals fueled by exaggerated swagger. These are the four corners of a world where durable but mediocre ’70s hard rock (think Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is given loving, confident reconstruction. It might sound easy, but it only works with a band that has the chops and sensibility to pull it off, and this one does. Though there are many reasons to like the Secret Service, the band’s function as a platform for Steve Selvidge to go apeshit with his guitar is all you really need.

— Chris Herrington

2. Flip Side Kid — Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers (Sympathy for the Record Industry): From the chugging chords that open “Flipside Kid” to the snarling, swinging lyrics of “I Want You,” Jack Yarber, aka Jack Oblivian, lays down yet another incredible rock record. “I don’t care what they say,” he growls on “Golden Age,” playing both guitar and drums and pushing “record” on the four-track himself, proving that real rock-and-rollers don’t need many creature comforts to survive. Aided by the remarkable revolving cast of characters who make up the Tearjerkers, Yarber makes music because he’s gotta do it, and he writes and plays in a feverish, hell-bent style.

— Andria Lisle

3. Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers — Lucero (Liberty & Lament/EastWest): On this sixth studio album, Memphis’ most durable rock band debuts a sound big enough to fill the arenas they don’t yet play: The drums boom; the guitar riffs reach for the rafters; and, in an unexpected twist for what has for years been a four-piece guitar-bass-drums band, rock-and-roll piano comes rising out of the mix (this last courtesy of local sideman/session ace Rick Steff, whose addition as a “fifth” Lucero member turned out to be a masterstroke). The resulting clarity and command of this record surpasses everything else in the band’s rich and by-now-bulging catalog. — CH

4. I’m Your Negative — River City Tanlines (Dirtnap): Over the last decade, singer and guitar player Alicja Trout has exchanged the sleek black S&M style she cultivated with revisionist new-wavers the Clears for a more casual, less manicured look while becoming the most versatile and prolific female performer in the great-big-boy’s club of Memphis rock-and-roll. With I’m Your Negative, she’s done that which is nearly impossible: making a nuanced studio recording that loses very little of the sweaty garage-punk energy that made the band’s previous recordings so much fun. “Looking for a Line” is a viciously addictive ditty, and it never hurts having John “Bubba” Bonds and Terrence Bishop, Memphis’ tightest rock-and-roll rhythm section, keeping your time. — Chris Davis

5. 12 Songs — Cory Branan (MADJACK): Some songs on this long, long-delayed second album from the Memphis-bred, now Arkansas-based Branan predate his 2001 debut, The Hell You Say (“Tall Green Grass,” “The Prettiest Waitress in Memphis”). But it’s great to finally have them on a disc that marks a welcome return of the finest songwriter in recent Memphis music. — CH

6. Gonerfest 2: Electric Boogaloo CD/DVD — Various Artists (Goner Records): A sprawling, four-day garage-rock festival gloriously captured for the ages: This is Electric Goneroo. Expect (and get) great performances from the Reigning Sound, Reatards, King Louie Bankston, Persuaders, Final Solutions, and more, plus drunks, blood, chicks, and hot dogs galore. — AL

7. Makeshift #4 — Various Artists (Makeshift): Practically an institution within an institution, the local indie-rock sampler Makeshift #4 no doubt benefited from the label’s exponentially higher profile this year, but it remains one of Memphis’ greatest acts of musical humanitarianism — a document of our rich underground musical landscape that shows the rest of the world that we are not a three-genre town.

— Andrew Earles

8. Aristocrunk — Lord T & Eloise (Young Ave. Records): Comedy rap is not a bad word (or two words), especially when it’s this funny. Lord T & Eloise have pulled a musical coup in that their absurdist “aristocrunk” is both clever and wildly popular not to mention constructed with a precision and catchiness that has everyone from casual show-goers to open-minded hip-hop heads nodding in the name of good times. When two guys in powdered wigs rap about class separation in the 1800s and manage to sell out the Hi-Tone for their debut gig, someone’s doing something right. — AE

Clarence Henry

9. Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger — James Luther Dickinson (Memphis International): The formal audacity of Dickinson’s vision of “roots music” and his penchant for unearthing obscure songwriting gems is no great surprise. What makes Jungle Jim special is the easy intimacy Dickinson coaxes out of a “family band” that includes his sons, Paul Taylor, Amy LaVere, Jim Spake, and others. Recorded on the quick at Dickinson’s north Mississippi home studio, the result is a record bursting with music and humor and humanity. — CH

10. Oxytocin — Snowglobe (Makeshift): Snowglobe have made the full transition from Memphis’ token Neutral Milk Hotel into a band that’s able to stand tall on a unique template of psychedelic pop that could, based on chops and hooks, erase most of the faceless dreck clogging up the indie-rock world nationally. Memphis should be proud to have a band far superior to the sycophantically elevated, NPR-ready tedium made by the Decemberists or current-day Flaming Lips. — AE

11. In the Meantime … — Viva L’American Death Ray Music (New York Night Train): Once upon a time, Viva L’American Death Ray Music was a much bigger band with a much shorter name. And even when they bit, they were still pretty cool. But time has passed. The name is longer, the band smaller, the sound is tick tight, and In the Meantime delivers everything you could want from a band that should really consider calling itself the Reader’s Digest Complete History of Modern Rock, Condensed. Once you’ve heard “Same Suit, Different Tie,” you’ll know exactly what I mean. — CD

12. Light Up the Bomb — 8Ball (8Ways Entertainment): It’s Orange Mound, y’all: The M Gang’s all here for 8Ball’s latest solo effort, a Montana Trax-produced blend of gangsta rap and party grooves that threatens to upstage Ridin’ High, the long-awaited release by 8Ball & MJG, due next spring. — AL

13. Crook By Da Book: The Fed Story — Project Pat (Hypnotize Minds/Columbia): Six little words — “I ain’t goin’ back to jail” — are all you need to know about this joint, the latest from Juicy J’s older brother, Patrick Houston. Mixing urban nursery rhymes over a rapid-fire snare beat, ex-con Project Pat is back on top and as full of braggadocio as ever. — AL

Justin Timberlake

14. Evil Army — Evil Army (Get Revenge): In the late ’80s, crossover thrash was one of the more enjoyable and exhilarating offshoots of underground metal. Hardcore grew some hair and the Accused, Hirax, and mid-period D.R.I. happened. Evil Army took this influence, along with early Metallica, Megadeth, and the Misfits, and spat out a circa-2006 update that’s no throwback but perhaps the next band after Epoch of Unlight to put Memphis on the metal map. — AE

15. Residential Llama — Walkie Talkie (Makeshift): Memphis’ Walkie Talkie released Residential Llama, a beautifully crafted collection of wickedly clever pop songs, only to discover there’s another band nobody’s ever heard of named Walkie Talkie — and they’re awfully territorial about their name. To avoid conflict, our Walkie Talkie is reluctantly going with the name Two-Way Radio. But whatever you call the band, Residential Llama is a collection of lush microsymphonies filled with authentic wit and serious whimsy. — CD

Personal Bests

Chris Herrington:

1. Clarence Henry at Ponderosa Stomp: The great New Orleans R&B singer (best known for his 1956 hit “Ain’t Got No Home”) was a colossal charmer during his set on the final night of this relocated-from-New Orleans roots festival.

2. The Drive-By Truckers at the New Daisy: Fifteen years ago, Truckers Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley lived in Memphis, struggling to make their way in the music biz. Five years ago, I saw them test out material from their yet-to-be-released Southern Rock Opera in front of about 15 people at the Hi-Tone Café. So it was a triumphant night for Hood and Cooley when they packed the Daisy this year, a venue Hood worked at during his Memphis stint, dedicating a song to “Big Star, the Grifters, Lucero, and the Memphis tradition of rock-and-roll.”

3. “Lived in Bars”: Since “mopey, damaged singer-songwriter” is just about my least favorite pop subgenre, I wasn’t about to go gaga over the Cat Power record, local connection or not. But the single “Lived in Bars” is lovely, with a dreamy melody and a graceful performance from the Memphis Rhythm Band. And the low-tech, Robert Gordon-directed video, shot at quintessential Midtown dive the Lamplighter, is also entrancing.

4. Justin Timberlake at the New Daisy: The new King of Pop gave local fans a convincing live preview of his then-yet-to-be-released sophomore solo gem, FutureSex/LoveSounds.

Cat Power

5. Da Hater: Jason Harris, Whitehaven High School teacher and football coach and member of local hip-hop groups Kontrast and Iron Mic Coalition, went undercover this year as Da Hater, picking apart gangsta rappers, picking on his bandmates, and even dissing his own mother on an all-but-unavailable solo debut. The best — and certainly funniest — local record this year that no one heard.

Chris Davis:

1. Tom Waits at The Orpheum: “Singapore,” “Invitation to the Blues,” “House Where Nobody Lives.” Really, that speaks for itself.

2. Eddie Bond at Ponderosa Stomp: Long ago, I’d given up hope that I would ever see a good Eddie Bond show, but after his set at the Gibson, I’m convinced there are only two things standing between the flip-flopping daddy and a major comeback: Deke Dickerson & the Eccophonics aren’t his full-time rhythm section and Travis Wammack isn’t his regular guitar player. Yes, there were better shows at the Stomp (Syl Johnson, anybody?), but for sheer shock value, Eddie’s was extra special.

3. Jim Dickinson’s cover of “Truck Driving Man”: I suppose I expected an album titled Jungle Jim & the Voodoo Tiger to sound more like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins than Willie & Family Live, not that I’m complaining. Actually I am. Dickinson’s latest starts as strong as anything he’s ever done, the rest is merely good. But his cover of “Truck Driving Man” is so smooth, breezy, and totally free. We wouldn’t need truck drivers if New Orleans and Bakersfield were actually as close together as they sound in Jungle Jim’s interpretation of this honky-tonk classic.

4. Gonerfest on DVD: I officially became old this year because I really, really, really wanted to go to Gonerfest, but I really, really, really didn’t have time for the hangover. Thanks to Chris “Live from Memphis” Reyes and his helpers, I can now get rocked at home, whenever I want, with an ice-cold Geritol.

5. Becc & Hank’s “I Hear a Call”: Generally speaking, the album Trailer Park Lovin’ was a little too “outside the trailer park looking in” for my taste, but “I Hear a Call” is an angelic, existential dose of lonesome country gospel and, for what it’s worth, the most beautifully sung song of this year.

Andria Lisle:

1. Ponderosa Stomp: I’ve attended every Ponderosa Stomp since its inception; never did I figure on less than a six-hour drive to the party. Yet in 2006, the Stomp was in temporary exile in Memphis, with everyone from Scotty Moore, Travis Wammack, and Jerry “the King” Lawler to WEVL and chef Karen Carrier helping the New Orleans contingency feel at home. William Bell was incendiary, Clarence “Frogman” Henry unforgettable. If you missed it, you truly missed out.

2. Cat Power: With the help of Teenie Hodges, Rick Steff, Doug Easley, Susan Marshall, and others, Cat Power got back on her feet in Memphis, recording The Greatest at Ardent and returning — after losing a few of her nine lives — to make a music video at the Lamplighter with Robert Gordon and shoot a concert at Young Avenue Deli for cable-TV broadcast.

3. Gonerfest 3: Live eels, foreign garage-rock bands, and stellar performances from River City Tanlines, Rockin’ Enocky, and Viva L’American Death Ray Music — the guys at Goner Records know how to take a nothing weekend and make it seem so worthwhile.

4. Memphis Manatee video (YouTube): Manny the Manatee might be dead, but thanks to this absolutely genius music video created by Joe Sills, his memory will live forever. Local news footage cobbled together with images of Manny partying with Three 6 Mafia, checking out Graceland, and hangin’ with Grizz, all unwinding over a soaring power-pop anthem by Blue October, will make you wonder what might’ve happened had Manny survived. It’ll also have you laughing your ass off. Enjoy.

5. Hernando’s Hideaway: Some of the greatest nights of my life were spent in this South Memphis honky tonk, dancing to Bubba Feathers or tunes on the jukebox. Imagine my horror, then, when I pulled up to Hernando’s a few months back and discovered the business shuttered and the building repainted. R.I.P. to one of the city’s greatest treasures, lost in 2006.

Andrew Earles:1. Dinosaur Jr. at Young Avenue Deli: Being the superfan that I am, it’s odd that I was too lazy or broke to travel when the first round of Dinosaur Jr. original-lineup reunion shows was traversing the States. When the band finally hit Memphis in April, the performance lived up to earlier reports and exceeded expectations with an energy and mind-shattering volume that was simply unbelievable for a band whose heyday was in the late ’80s.

2. Big Business/Torche at the Hi-Tone: Another absurdly loud and rocking show, though far fewer people saw this one. The two fellows in Big Business are now two-fifths of the Melvins; as this incarnation, they are a bass and drums duo that will reestablish any lost faith in the power of the two-piece. And Torche make extremely catchy avant-metal out of the Melvins blueprint and, as such, are probably the loudest pop band in the world.

3. Backyard Shows: A couple successful shows at Two Chicks and a Broom/Light Years Vintage and lots of shows at multiple locations for the kid-friendly Rock & Romp series: Was 2006 the return of the backyard show? I sure hope so. Since Memphis no longer has a proper winter, we certainly have the weather for it. Laid-back, cheap alcohol, sonics unencumbered by troublesome “acoustics,” no smoke clogging up the room, and the ground softer than a club floor in case you need to fall down or become involved in a drunken brawl: There’s no more enjoyable road to passing out at 8 p.m.

4. Chopper Girl/Al Kapone/Lord T & Eloise (various performances): There were a lot of hip-hop shows with large crossover audiences this year. This is probably a far-removed result of Hustle & Flow, but harmony is to be enjoyed and applauded.

5. Film Music: The growing prevalence of local music in the Indie Memphis Film Festival, especially more underground examples like Brent Shrewsbury’s (silly but fun) Evil Army video.

Sports Sports Feature

Memphis Spanks Lamar, 87-62

Post author By John Branston
Post date December 28, 2006

(AP) Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points and seven rebounds, and the University of Memphis overcame a slow first half to beat Lamar 87-62 Thursday night.

Douglas-Roberts, the Tigers’ leading scorer, shot 9-of-16 from the field and was one of five players to score in double figures for Memphis.

The Tigers (10-3) built their lead to 22 midway through the second half and coasted to their fourth win in the last five. The Cardinals shot just 31 percent.

Robert Dozier scored 13 points and Kareem Cooper finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for Memphis. Jeremy Hunt also had 12 points and Joey Dorsey added 11.

James Davis, the Cardinals’ bulky 7-foot-1 center and leading scorer at 17.2 points a game, led Lamar (5-8) with 20 points. Currye Todd added 13.

The game was a showdown between teacher and pupil. Lamar first-year coach Steve Roccaforte was an assistant on the Memphis staff under John Calipari from 2001-03.

Film Features Film/TV

Dreamy

Post author By Chris Herrington
Post date December 28, 2006

In a great early scene in Dreamgirls, a film adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, a minor Detroit R&B singer named James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy) comes backstage to meet his newly hired back-up singers for the night, a teen trio called the Dreamettes who have just been discovered by used-car-salesman/music hustler Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) at a local amateur night. Early has been complaining to Taylor and his manager Marty Madison (Danny Glover) that he always works with two girls, but his protest dissolves mid-sentence when he catches a glimpse of the Dreamettes and gets visions of what kind of trouble he could get into on tour with these girls.

Moments later, the eager Dreamettes stand around the piano as Early teaches them one of his songs, taking turns singing the back-up part: Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose) with a lovely high-pitched flutter; Deana (Beyoncé Knowles) with smooth assurance; Effie (Jennifer Hudson) with gospel-schooled power. As Early turns in delight back to Marty and Curtis, director Bill Condon cuts on action to Early and the Dreamettes on stage, performing the song in full roar.

It’s a great, cinematic moment that rockets the Broadway material into a new medium and sweeps up a film audience sure to be helpless in the face of its charms. Later in Dreamgirls — long after Effie has been booted from the group and the Dreamettes have become the mega-selling Deena & the Dreams — Condon uses the same device in a surely intentional rhyme. This time it’s Effie, after years in the wilderness, trying to sell herself to the uninterested owner of a struggling nightclub during an audition. As Effie’s performance gains power and the nightclub owner’s interest picks up, Condon transforms the scene into a packed nighttime performance at the same bar.

These moments are so strong that you have to wonder why Condon couldn’t keep it up. Condon (Gods & Monsters, Kinsey) wrote the screenplay for the Oscar-winning Chicago but takes on both screenwriting and directing roles here. Dreamgirls is the superior film musical, but Condon’s direction is uneven enough that Dreamgirls is ultimately a very good movie that gives you the sense it could have been a great one.

The movie has a compelling story — a roman à clef about Berry Gordy’s Motown and the Supremes that is also a broader look at a period of incredibly rich transition in African-American pop music, from R&B “race records” to integrationist soul to ’70s message music to disco and funk and even a hint of hip-hop. The casting is terrific, with powerhouse performances from Murphy and Hudson obscuring solid work from Foxx and Knowles. And the music is at least halfway there.

But Dreamgirls is often too beholden to its Broadway origins instead of taking the raw material from the stage and converting it fully into a movie. The first appearance of the Dreams at Harlem’s Apollo Theater eschews verisimilitude to go crazy Broadway-style, with a three-tiered stage of flashing lights and a phalanx of balletic male back-up dancers. (At the Apollo? In the early-to-mid ’60s?) An awkward montage about using payola to help cross records over to white stations that has Foxx and his cohorts dancing (and singing) in the streets just falls flat. And, presumably because of its Broadway origins (I assume this holds for a stage musical I’ve never seen), Dreamgirls doesn’t seem to have a good sense of its own musical strengths.

The film’s finest scene might be during Effie’s first solo showcase, when she’s practicing a song (the chorus refrain is “You’re the perfect man for me/I love you I do”) along with her songwriter brother and backing band at Taylor’s studio. Hudson’s performance — both vocal and the way she acts though song — is simply awesome. And the song is terrific — it actually sounds like a lost ’60s Motown soul staple. And yet, later in the film, when Effie’s brother tells her he’s finally written a hit for her (“One Night”), the more “serious” and melodramatic composition is maybe the worst song in the movie.

But these flaws never threaten to sink a movie with such enormous charms. Former American Idol contestant Hudson is simply stunning in her film debut as the proud diva Effie. Especially in the early scenes, Hudson is about the most dynamic presence seen on the big screen all year.

When we first see her, leading her group at an amateur show through the high-stepping soul number “Move,” Hudson devours the stage, her gospel-fueled performance more musical than theatrical, convincingly situating Effie as a deep-soul powerhouse in the mode of an Aretha Franklin or Etta James.

Stepping offstage and into the face of Taylor, who offers the girls a shot backing up Early, Deena and Lorrell squeal in delight, but Effie’s eyes flair as she snorts with regal obliviousness, “I don’t do back-up.” I think I might have gasped in audible delight at Hudson’s regal obliviousness and lack of actorly affect.

But as great as Hudson is, she gets stiff competition from Murphy, who brings some autobiography to this performance as a chitlin-circuit vet struggling to maintain relevance in the face of cultural shifts. Murphy’s performance caricatures early on are vibrant and funny in the spirit of his early work on Saturday Night Live, but this yields to a deeper characterization over time (watch Murphy winning his Oscar when Early responds to bad news by matter of factly taking out his heroin stash in front of terrified onlookers) without losing the character’s crucial role as comic relief.

By comparison, Foxx and Beyoncé (modeled closely after Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and supreme Supreme Diana Ross) seem rather ordinary, but both rise to the occasion at crucial moments.

Foxx plays his character so close to the vest that his performance dangerously borders on non-acting much of the time, but he flashes deadly casual coldness when his business is threatened. And as Deena — who, with her model’s beauty, sleeker body, lighter skin, and more manageable (and malleable) personality, is tapped to usurp Effie as group leader despite (or, as we learn, perhaps partly because of) her weaker voice — Beyoncé proves her weaker, more demure performance is indeed acting — not reality — by killing her anthemic showcase song late in the movie.

Ultimately, Dreamgirls comes across as something like Ray (R&B history, Jamie Foxx) meets Chicago (Broadway adaptation, Bill Condon), but it’s better than either. Flaws and all, it’s the best Hollywood musical in a long, long time.

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Tags Dreamgirls, film, Review

Opinion Viewpoint

The Color of Corruption

Post author By Jackson Baker
Post date December 28, 2006

When asked by The Commercial Appeal about the recent arrests of councilmen Rickey Peete and Edmund Ford for accepting bribes to advance a zoning proposal, Rhodes College professor Marcus Pohlmann went far beyond the usual blather about crime being bad and law enforcement being good and articulated out loud something that had been the subject of ample muttering on the street: Were blacks being targeted preferentially?

Oh, NOOOO! came a chorus of response from official sources. Justice is color-blind.

Well, is it?

Oldsters among us may recall that, a year or so before the Watergate burglary brought down President Richard Nixon, the coastal newspapers of record (the Post of Washington and the Times papers of New York and L.A.) were working overtime trying to demonstrate an illegally cozy arrangement between Nixon’s reelection committee and the city of San Diego, then under consideration as a convention site.

This was high finance, mind you, and though the papers’ heavy hitters did their best to make the millions of dollars’ worth of complicated quid pro quos intelligible, finally the public at large yawned, and the issue of presidential corruption was shelved, until … Bingo! A burglary at the Watergate Hotel. Second-story men. Skullduggery under cover of night. Now we’re talking!

The moral of the story? To facilitate the administration of justice, crimes ideally need to be basic and easily understandable to the lay-mind. Clinton got in serious trouble for screwing around and lying about it. “Is” was “is.” And that’s all there was to it.

Fade to the Enron scandal, in which respected executives eventually were brought to justice for a bogus accounting system that for a decade and more bilked billions from their employees and the public and whole states. Only after the company was forced into bankruptcy and somebody belatedly blew a whistle did Enron’s complicated schemes unravel and incur serious prosecutorial interest.

Closer to home is the now-revealed scheme under which a $6 million federal/state grant to build a public transportation facility was converted into a for-profit parking garage to enrich the Memphis Grizzlies’ management company.

No doubt that giveaway was part of the bait to attract the NBA team to our city; no doubt the parties — both in and out of public office — who approved the ploy understood it as such. The argument can even be made that this particular sleight of hand benefited the greater community.

It’s still a deception and, more than arguably, a swindle. And the sum involved is vastly more consequential that the chump change that councilmen Peete and Ford are accused of holding out their hands for. But legal action on the matter will require an exhaustive (and exhausting) search of mounds of records, and the close perusal of endless documents, and deposition upon deposition from the government and civic and entrepreneurial figures involved.

It wasn’t a sting, see. No cameras were involved, no pre-arranged ipso facto evidence, no simple — and visible — passage of money from hand to hand.

It was otherwise — and ever will be otherwise — with the likes of Peete and Ford and, for that matter, the Tennessee Waltz indictees. Nothing sophisticated and layered under level after level of bureaucratic process and contractual nuance. Just, “give me the money, and I’ll do what you want done.”

Political graft at this level is basically blue-collar crime committed by people wearing white collars. Just as on the chessboard, it’s the pawns that get picked off so as to facilitate the trickier — and more sweeping — moves of the other, intricately endowed pieces.

By definition, the kind of easy-do, easy-see showcase crime that in the last couple of years has netted so many greedy figures in public life is going to be committed disproportionately by people from more modest upbringings and circumstances. Yes, that means relatively more African Americans.

But you may take it on faith that there is a fairly teeming caste of scofflaws — disproportionately Caucasian and operating at a loftier, more cautious, yet far more remunerative level — who are so far undiscovered, or at least unindicted.

It may well be that the infinitely more difficult task of bringing these lawbreakers to justice is the next thing up on the local law-enforcement agenda.

But don’t hold your breath.

Jackson Baker is a Flyer senior editor.

Tags corruption, Politics