And just like the spokes of a wheel you'll spin 'round with the rest
August 10, 2021 8:54 PM Subscribe
You may know Stan Ridgway from Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio,” his band’s breakout hit from 1983, in which his face appears in a pot of baked beans*. You may know Stan from his collaboration with Stewart Copeland, “Don’t Box Me In,”* on the soundtrack to the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola movie “Rumblefish.” You may know Stan from “Camouflage,” a hit outside the US, from his first solo album.
You want more links? Come on down!
Stan has been writing and making music since the 1970s, when he formed Wall of Voodoo with Marc Moreland (RIP*), Marc’s brother Bruce, Chas Grey and Joe Nanini. Wall of Voodoo recorded two albums with Stan before he went solo, “Dark Continent” and “Call of the West.” They made an amazing cover of “Ring of Fire.” They played to their biggest audiences yet at the US Festival in 1982, and also went on “American Bandstand.” They taped an episode of "The IRS Show" with UK eternal presenter Jools Holland in 1981-82.
“Call of the West” is their masterpiece, an epic mural, turning the romance of the West on its noir head.
Stan’s songwriting is steeped in film noir and pulp fiction themes: dark city streets, bars, strippers, criminals on the lam. His voice is an elastic force, part carnival barker, part crooner, blowing into the harmonica for emphasis.
“The Big Heat,” his 1985 solo debut, proclaims its love of noir in its title and title track. “Camouflage,” a poignant ghost story from the Vietnam War, charted in the UK and Europe. Other great songs from that album are “Drive She Said,” “Can’t Stop the Show,” and “Walkin’ Home Alone.” “Rio Greyhound” is a bonus track from a reissue of the album in 1993.
His second solo album, “Mosquitos” (1989), features “Goin’ Southbound,” “Mission in Life,” and “Lonely Town.”
His third solo album, “Partyball” (1991), features the single “I Wanna Be a Boss,” "The Roadblock," “The Overlords,” “Harry Truman,” and “Snaketrain.” (This album, unlike Stan's others, featured a bunch of cool mini-songs, but those don't seem to be included in any of the YT links, except the one for "Roadblock.")
Subsequent songs and albums worth investigating:
"Big Dumb Town" (from “Black Diamond [1996])
"Mission Bell" (from “Anatomy” [1999])
"Afghan Forklift" (from “Snakebite” [2004])
"Big 5-0" (from “Snakebite”)
"Day Up in the Sun" (from “Neon Mirage” [2010])
"Lenny Bruce" (a Bob Dylan cover, from Neon Mirage)
"The Drowning Man" (from “Mr. Trouble” [2012])
"Priestess of the Promised Land" (from the album of the same name [2016])
"Police Call" from 1995’s “Drywall: Work the Big Dumb Oracle” (project with his wife Pietra Wexstun and former Rain Parade drummer Ivan Knight)
* Cooked by Bob Casale from Devo
* Covered by Petra Haden, which you really need to hear
* Marc Moreland died of renal failure in 2002; he was the inspiration for Concrete Blonde’s “Joey.”
Stan has been writing and making music since the 1970s, when he formed Wall of Voodoo with Marc Moreland (RIP*), Marc’s brother Bruce, Chas Grey and Joe Nanini. Wall of Voodoo recorded two albums with Stan before he went solo, “Dark Continent” and “Call of the West.” They made an amazing cover of “Ring of Fire.” They played to their biggest audiences yet at the US Festival in 1982, and also went on “American Bandstand.” They taped an episode of "The IRS Show" with UK eternal presenter Jools Holland in 1981-82.
“Call of the West” is their masterpiece, an epic mural, turning the romance of the West on its noir head.
Stan’s songwriting is steeped in film noir and pulp fiction themes: dark city streets, bars, strippers, criminals on the lam. His voice is an elastic force, part carnival barker, part crooner, blowing into the harmonica for emphasis.
“The Big Heat,” his 1985 solo debut, proclaims its love of noir in its title and title track. “Camouflage,” a poignant ghost story from the Vietnam War, charted in the UK and Europe. Other great songs from that album are “Drive She Said,” “Can’t Stop the Show,” and “Walkin’ Home Alone.” “Rio Greyhound” is a bonus track from a reissue of the album in 1993.
His second solo album, “Mosquitos” (1989), features “Goin’ Southbound,” “Mission in Life,” and “Lonely Town.”
His third solo album, “Partyball” (1991), features the single “I Wanna Be a Boss,” "The Roadblock," “The Overlords,” “Harry Truman,” and “Snaketrain.” (This album, unlike Stan's others, featured a bunch of cool mini-songs, but those don't seem to be included in any of the YT links, except the one for "Roadblock.")
Subsequent songs and albums worth investigating:
"Big Dumb Town" (from “Black Diamond [1996])
"Mission Bell" (from “Anatomy” [1999])
"Afghan Forklift" (from “Snakebite” [2004])
"Big 5-0" (from “Snakebite”)
"Day Up in the Sun" (from “Neon Mirage” [2010])
"Lenny Bruce" (a Bob Dylan cover, from Neon Mirage)
"The Drowning Man" (from “Mr. Trouble” [2012])
"Priestess of the Promised Land" (from the album of the same name [2016])
"Police Call" from 1995’s “Drywall: Work the Big Dumb Oracle” (project with his wife Pietra Wexstun and former Rain Parade drummer Ivan Knight)
* Cooked by Bob Casale from Devo
* Covered by Petra Haden, which you really need to hear
* Marc Moreland died of renal failure in 2002; he was the inspiration for Concrete Blonde’s “Joey.”
Pretty sure there was a WoV EP before the two albums. I have it somewhere.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:05 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:05 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
There was, Mr. Yuck. I just lazily did not include it. :/
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:08 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:08 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Nothing lazy about this post. Thanks.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:12 PM on August 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:12 PM on August 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
It may be the edibles talking, but that "Ring of Fire" cover is the 8th Wonder of the World.
posted by jferg at 9:23 PM on August 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by jferg at 9:23 PM on August 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'm not surprised that Bob Casale was involved in "Mexican Radio", as there seems to be something Devo-adjacent to a lot of Ridgway's work. (That bit from the song where his face pops out of the beans was on MTV's... call sign, I guess, for a while--you'd be waiting for another video and you'd get that bit.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:23 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:23 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
and then there's those Talking Wall Of Voodoo Blues
great post by the way
posted by philip-random at 9:46 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
great post by the way
posted by philip-random at 9:46 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thanks for the post. Our band shared a rehearsal studio with WOV in mid 80's. Good times!
posted by artdrectr at 9:48 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by artdrectr at 9:48 PM on August 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Hard to cover Ring of Fire, but they make it strange and good.
posted by Windopaene at 11:11 PM on August 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 11:11 PM on August 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
I love Stan Ridgeway and his catalog has a lot to love post WOV but if you're digging deep into WOV for the first time be sure to pay attention to Mark Moreland's guitar playing. Mark was an absolute genius musician whose playing really defined the sound of that band and has never been adequately adored since.
posted by Siempre La Luna at 11:37 PM on August 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Siempre La Luna at 11:37 PM on August 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
Thanks for this post. Stan Ridgway fan here.
Ridgway performing Kurt Weill's Cannon Song. Just a perfect match for him.
posted by vacapinta at 12:28 AM on August 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
Ridgway performing Kurt Weill's Cannon Song. Just a perfect match for him.
posted by vacapinta at 12:28 AM on August 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
How did I not know the Camouflage Stan Ridgway was the same Stan Ridgway from Mexican Radio???!
posted by MartinWisse at 1:14 AM on August 11, 2021
posted by MartinWisse at 1:14 AM on August 11, 2021
Vacapinta beat me to it. His Cannon Song performance always makes me think Weill wrote the song specifically for him!
posted by wittgenstein at 1:15 AM on August 11, 2021
posted by wittgenstein at 1:15 AM on August 11, 2021
He has such a talent with writing narrative songs. Lyrics full of imagery and story.
posted by foldedfish at 6:31 AM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by foldedfish at 6:31 AM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Stan Ridgway is amazing and brilliant. I've been a fan of both Wall of Voodoo and Stan's solo work for years, and was lucky enough to see him perform live in NYC a couple years back. He's also super nice to fans. Plus, his relationship with his wife, Pietra Wexstun, is honestly a bit of relationship goals. They're the perfect musical couple.
And while this thread is deservedly all about Stan, if you're a fan of WoV, do not sleep on the albums Wall of Voodoo did with Andy Prieboy. The Prieboy-era Wall of Voodoo albums have a somewhat different sound—but Andy is an incredibly sharp songwriter and vocalist. If you come into them expecting a continuation of the Ridgway-era sound, you'll be disappointed. Take them on their own merits, and they're excellent, as is Andy's solo work. If you've ever heard Concrete Blonde's "Tomorrow Wendy", that's Andy Prieboy's lyrics.
posted by SansPoint at 6:56 AM on August 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
And while this thread is deservedly all about Stan, if you're a fan of WoV, do not sleep on the albums Wall of Voodoo did with Andy Prieboy. The Prieboy-era Wall of Voodoo albums have a somewhat different sound—but Andy is an incredibly sharp songwriter and vocalist. If you come into them expecting a continuation of the Ridgway-era sound, you'll be disappointed. Take them on their own merits, and they're excellent, as is Andy's solo work. If you've ever heard Concrete Blonde's "Tomorrow Wendy", that's Andy Prieboy's lyrics.
posted by SansPoint at 6:56 AM on August 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
Halloween Jack: There was a mutual admiration thing between WoV and DEVO for sure. Jerry Casale's vocals on "Beautiful World" were his attempt at doing a Stan Ridgway impression, and WoV opened for DEVO at their ill-fated 3-DEVO concert in 1982.
posted by SansPoint at 6:58 AM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 6:58 AM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Hard to cover Ring of Fire, but they make it strange and good.
way back when, 1982, I guess -- that's how they opened the show the time I saw them. It would've been the Call Of The West tour. I don't think I even knew Ring of Fire at the time, not being a country fan. But a friend immediately hammered me on the shoulder and said, "Oh my God! They're doing Johnny Cash." And live, it was strong, big, FILLED THE ROOM. To this day, one of the best openings to any show I've ever experienced.
Which was true of that whole show. That band owned the room. Tight and dynamic and propulsive and genuinely one for the ages. And I barely knew anything about them going in. I think I may have heard Mexican Radio once or twice in a friend's car. It's not as if it was getting played on the radio. Not in my town. I went to that show because the word of mouth was good. Which is rather how the non mainstream scene worked in those days -- word of mouth accounted for a lot.
Anyway -- they delivered. The sound was crisp. You could hear the stories being told. But they also rocked in an entirely fresh way. Machine rhythms driving western twangs with lots of long shadows thrown, as much futuristic as it was beholden to the great and haunted American past -- the call of the west indeed.
And then a few months later, I heard that Stan Ridgway had split the band. That sucked. I saw him with his new band a couple of years later and it was good but nothing close to what Wall Of Voodoo had conjured. More conventional. Lacking that dangerous edge. And it's not as if Wall Of Voodoo without Ridgway was getting close either. What a loss!
Which makes this worth a re-link (the story behind it all):
Stan Ridgway - Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues
Things started gettin' wild
With the band and me and Marc
We did that methedrine a lot
And drank that Cutty Sark
Richard Mazda came from the uk
Helped us to record in a brand new way
One weekend, Marc's song fell out
The single they still talk about
We made a video
With Frank Delia behind the lens
Labor Day in Mexico,
Lots of beans 'n drugs 'n friends
But all was gonna bust
Hey, how are chumps like us to know
We took off on that tour so long
And played and sang our radio song.
Oh-woah.
Now, it seemed like that old voodoo dog we had
Was payin' for it's fees
We lost control of our own band
To the record company
Yeah, I guess we blew it big time
Business got us bent
We played a show for fourty grand
And the manager took every cent
Every goddamn cent.
posted by philip-random at 7:02 AM on August 11, 2021 [8 favorites]
way back when, 1982, I guess -- that's how they opened the show the time I saw them. It would've been the Call Of The West tour. I don't think I even knew Ring of Fire at the time, not being a country fan. But a friend immediately hammered me on the shoulder and said, "Oh my God! They're doing Johnny Cash." And live, it was strong, big, FILLED THE ROOM. To this day, one of the best openings to any show I've ever experienced.
Which was true of that whole show. That band owned the room. Tight and dynamic and propulsive and genuinely one for the ages. And I barely knew anything about them going in. I think I may have heard Mexican Radio once or twice in a friend's car. It's not as if it was getting played on the radio. Not in my town. I went to that show because the word of mouth was good. Which is rather how the non mainstream scene worked in those days -- word of mouth accounted for a lot.
Anyway -- they delivered. The sound was crisp. You could hear the stories being told. But they also rocked in an entirely fresh way. Machine rhythms driving western twangs with lots of long shadows thrown, as much futuristic as it was beholden to the great and haunted American past -- the call of the west indeed.
And then a few months later, I heard that Stan Ridgway had split the band. That sucked. I saw him with his new band a couple of years later and it was good but nothing close to what Wall Of Voodoo had conjured. More conventional. Lacking that dangerous edge. And it's not as if Wall Of Voodoo without Ridgway was getting close either. What a loss!
Which makes this worth a re-link (the story behind it all):
Stan Ridgway - Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues
Things started gettin' wild
With the band and me and Marc
We did that methedrine a lot
And drank that Cutty Sark
Richard Mazda came from the uk
Helped us to record in a brand new way
One weekend, Marc's song fell out
The single they still talk about
We made a video
With Frank Delia behind the lens
Labor Day in Mexico,
Lots of beans 'n drugs 'n friends
But all was gonna bust
Hey, how are chumps like us to know
We took off on that tour so long
And played and sang our radio song.
Oh-woah.
Now, it seemed like that old voodoo dog we had
Was payin' for it's fees
We lost control of our own band
To the record company
Yeah, I guess we blew it big time
Business got us bent
We played a show for fourty grand
And the manager took every cent
Every goddamn cent.
posted by philip-random at 7:02 AM on August 11, 2021 [8 favorites]
I've always thought of Stan Ridgway as one of the great American songwriters -- Raymond Chandler meets new wave. WOV's "Ring of Fire" was our first dance at our wedding. And a million years ago at the Mercury Lounge in NYC, as I waited for him to come on, someone brushed by me in the crowd, heading toward the stage. As the person passed, they muttered to me, "Hey, I hear this guy's pretty good." Of course, it was Stan...
posted by AJaffe at 8:15 AM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by AJaffe at 8:15 AM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
And this is just some of the best writing I've ever read...
Harshly awakened by the sound of six rounds
Of light caliber rifle fire followed minutes
Later by the booming of nine rounds from a
Heavier rifle
But you can't close off the wilderness
He heard the snick of a rifle bolt and found
Himself peering down the muzzle of a weapon
Held by a drunken liquor store owner
"There's a conflict, " he said.
"There's a conflict between land and people
The people have to go.
They've come all the way out here to make mining
Claims, to do automobile body work, to gamble.
To take pictures, to not have to do laundry, to
Own a mini-bike, to have their own cb radios and
Air conditioning, good plumbing for sure, and to
Sell time life books and to work in a deli, to
Have some chili every morning and maybe, maybe
To own their own gas stations again and to take
Drugs and have some crazy sex, but above all,
Above all to have a fair shake, to get a piece of the
Rock and a slice of the pie and to spit out
The window of your car and not have the wind blow
It back in your face."
posted by AJaffe at 8:18 AM on August 11, 2021 [5 favorites]
Harshly awakened by the sound of six rounds
Of light caliber rifle fire followed minutes
Later by the booming of nine rounds from a
Heavier rifle
But you can't close off the wilderness
He heard the snick of a rifle bolt and found
Himself peering down the muzzle of a weapon
Held by a drunken liquor store owner
"There's a conflict, " he said.
"There's a conflict between land and people
The people have to go.
They've come all the way out here to make mining
Claims, to do automobile body work, to gamble.
To take pictures, to not have to do laundry, to
Own a mini-bike, to have their own cb radios and
Air conditioning, good plumbing for sure, and to
Sell time life books and to work in a deli, to
Have some chili every morning and maybe, maybe
To own their own gas stations again and to take
Drugs and have some crazy sex, but above all,
Above all to have a fair shake, to get a piece of the
Rock and a slice of the pie and to spit out
The window of your car and not have the wind blow
It back in your face."
posted by AJaffe at 8:18 AM on August 11, 2021 [5 favorites]
I lived in Austria in the 80’s and Stan was big there.
posted by misterpatrick at 8:38 AM on August 11, 2021
posted by misterpatrick at 8:38 AM on August 11, 2021
His Cannon Song performance always makes me think Weill wrote the song specifically for him!
Thanks so much for posting that vacapinta -- I'd never hear it in English translation. And yeah, their 'Ring Of Fire' is stupendous.
posted by Rash at 8:41 AM on August 11, 2021
Thanks so much for posting that vacapinta -- I'd never hear it in English translation. And yeah, their 'Ring Of Fire' is stupendous.
posted by Rash at 8:41 AM on August 11, 2021
I worked in a warehouse in Scotland the summer that "Camouflage" was big, and everyone would sing the chorus loudly (and badly) every time it came on the radio. Which was about four times a day.
posted by scruss at 9:21 AM on August 11, 2021
posted by scruss at 9:21 AM on August 11, 2021
This is a great thread--I didn't know about any of that sad stuff with Marc, or apparently the connection to Concrete Blonde. (I said above I knew him from "Bing Can't Walk," but I actually knew him from WoV before, it's just that "Bing" is my fave song because it's just so goddamn dark, I love it: "Bing can't walk / Bob broke both his legs". And also it mentions Tail o' the Pup.) And "Ring of Fire" was on steady rotation for me in mixtape-making at the time.
We used to have this theatre called the Showbox, located across from the main entrance to the Pike Place Market so the area was totally seedy and gross at night back then, and they used to have the most amazing acts play there for insanely cheap shows--I remember seeing 999 for 99 cents, and Tom Robinson's second band Sector 27 for $1.27, that sort of thing. I can't remember what the WoV show cost but I do remember it being incredible. My friend I saw it with was like "he's such a weird guy" and I asked him "...your point?"
posted by kitten kaboodle at 9:51 AM on August 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
We used to have this theatre called the Showbox, located across from the main entrance to the Pike Place Market so the area was totally seedy and gross at night back then, and they used to have the most amazing acts play there for insanely cheap shows--I remember seeing 999 for 99 cents, and Tom Robinson's second band Sector 27 for $1.27, that sort of thing. I can't remember what the WoV show cost but I do remember it being incredible. My friend I saw it with was like "he's such a weird guy" and I asked him "...your point?"
posted by kitten kaboodle at 9:51 AM on August 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
I've always like the stylized camp WOV had so much like DEVO but with weird meta themes about American pop culture and deep REM stylized songwriting. Such a unique musical niche for me.
posted by ShakeyJake at 10:04 AM on August 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by ShakeyJake at 10:04 AM on August 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
I've always loved that "The Big Heat" was set in the distant, dystopian future of...1992:
posted by The Tensor at 10:44 AM on August 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
A block away he wonderedEven in 1986 (I owned "The Big Heat" on cassette) that felt like a bold move.
If he'd left behind a clue
The front page of the paper
Dated 1992
He remembered when he used to be
The chairman of the board
But that was when the world was young
And long before the War
posted by The Tensor at 10:44 AM on August 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
I tracked him down when the internet was more new and sent him fan email and he replied with awkward, nearly hostile puzzlement. I hope he's been loved on more since then. He really didn't seem to know what to do with my letter and I got the impression that he thought it may have been a prank.
posted by foxtongue at 11:05 AM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by foxtongue at 11:05 AM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
In the late 80's , when I was still in my musical enlightenment period someone showed me "URGH! A Music War." Actually, I may have VCR'd it from Night Flight. Either way, "Back in Flesh" blew my mind. That bass line still pops into my head randomly.
posted by punchee at 12:12 PM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by punchee at 12:12 PM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Stan !! More than halfway toward Jack Webbʻs Dragnet voice on acid. And is there anything more succinctly American than "you canʻt tell me what to do !"
posted by Droll Lord at 1:47 PM on August 11, 2021
posted by Droll Lord at 1:47 PM on August 11, 2021
Wall of Voodoo - Back In Flesh - URGH! A Music War
posted by philip-random at 1:51 PM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 1:51 PM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Iʻm feelinʻ kinda sleepy now...
posted by Droll Lord at 1:54 PM on August 11, 2021
posted by Droll Lord at 1:54 PM on August 11, 2021
I just have to throw in Stan's most noir song ever, We Never Close.
posted by mmoncur at 3:56 PM on August 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mmoncur at 3:56 PM on August 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
So much love for this band and this post! It's a shame that so many people dismissed WoV as a one-hit-wonder on the basis of Mexican Radio, and then Stan as a one-hit-wonder on the basis of Camouflage. His work has been so consistently brilliant, both musically and lyrically. For those who are about such things, there are at least 4 Stan era WoV vinyl releases - Index Masters, Dark Continent, Wall of Voodoo and Grandma's House. Incredible musician and entertainer.
Stannard Q Ridgway indeed.
posted by tim_in_oz at 8:35 PM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Stannard Q Ridgway indeed.
posted by tim_in_oz at 8:35 PM on August 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
This piece by Greil Marcus - "The Substance of Nobody's Voice" nails his lyrical genius.
posted by tim_in_oz at 8:37 PM on August 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by tim_in_oz at 8:37 PM on August 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
But that was when the world was youngI used to play the hell out of that record when i was in college and some 30 years later, those lines still haunt me. Maybe even more so now.
And long before the War
posted by a Rrose by any other name at 9:28 AM on August 12, 2021 [2 favorites]
I love Call Of The West with all my heart. Such a perfect album. There's some amazing footage out there of them playing songs off it live.
posted by Catblack at 9:24 PM on August 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Catblack at 9:24 PM on August 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
"The Big Heat" puts me in a very specific place. I was between sophomore and junior year of college, minding the school radio station during summer break, sorting the mail, opening up and pilfering what looked interesting. There was a black and white poster of Stan, which I still possess. In preparation for a semester abroad, my boyfriend at the time made me a bunch of cassette tapes, including "The Big Heat." I treasured that one, and I still know all the words to that album. (Said bf told me years later that dubbing that tape for me helped make him a fan of Stan as well, which tickled me so much.)
I've met Stan a couple times, the first of which was when he was promoting "Partyball." I used to work at a tiny music trade in South Jersey, out in the piney woods, in a log cabin. Stan was driven out to our offices with his label rep, and my editor and I spent a long long visit with him. These days I can make passable small talk, but in my younger years, I could barely say a word to a singer/songwriter whose songs had given me such happiness. So I just listened as my editor Mike and Stan yakked it up along the lake behind the office. I still have the photos and an autographed CD liner book for "The Big Heat," in which Stan wrote simply "Love me." Done and done, Stan.
I wish so much that I could have seen Wall of Voodoo back in the day. "Mexican Radio" was one of those lightning strikes to my soul, and being stuck out in Central Oregon as a teen meant that going to a rock show--any show--was never going to happen.
P.S. The title of this FPP was *almost* a lyric from "Harry Truman": "John Wayne was always bald, and he had a woman's name."
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:03 PM on August 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
I've met Stan a couple times, the first of which was when he was promoting "Partyball." I used to work at a tiny music trade in South Jersey, out in the piney woods, in a log cabin. Stan was driven out to our offices with his label rep, and my editor and I spent a long long visit with him. These days I can make passable small talk, but in my younger years, I could barely say a word to a singer/songwriter whose songs had given me such happiness. So I just listened as my editor Mike and Stan yakked it up along the lake behind the office. I still have the photos and an autographed CD liner book for "The Big Heat," in which Stan wrote simply "Love me." Done and done, Stan.
I wish so much that I could have seen Wall of Voodoo back in the day. "Mexican Radio" was one of those lightning strikes to my soul, and being stuck out in Central Oregon as a teen meant that going to a rock show--any show--was never going to happen.
P.S. The title of this FPP was *almost* a lyric from "Harry Truman": "John Wayne was always bald, and he had a woman's name."
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:03 PM on August 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
I have some exploring to do, as apparently I've been confusing Fee Waybill from The Tubes with Stan Ridgway since I was 13.
Whoops!
posted by droplet at 8:35 PM on August 14, 2021
Whoops!
posted by droplet at 8:35 PM on August 14, 2021
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posted by kitten kaboodle at 9:02 PM on August 10, 2021 [2 favorites]