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Kinky’s Kosmic Kountry

By Don Jacobson

To a jaded Minnesotan who lived through the administration of one dubious-celebrity-turned-governor, the candidacy of Kinky Friedman for the Texas governor’s mansion doesn’t quite hold the same irresistible allure as it appears to have to the rest of the country. I saw what happened in St. Paul with Jesse Ventura and I’m not sure I’d wish that on Texas, even though that place is one heckuva political cesspool that could do with more Jewish cowboys and fewer corporate Nazis in office. But still, if you judge strictly on underlying talent, Kinky has it all over Jesse. Despite his reputation as a musical satirist a la Frank Zappa, two new albums show Friedman is more than just a joke – his “cosmic country” songwriting from the 1970s and later reveals that just like Zappa, there’s meat on them funnybones.

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Posted on October 23, 2006

Lounge Axis of Evil

By Don Jacobson

A couple things got me thinking about good ol’ Lounge Ax today: the closing of CBGB in New York and the re-opening of the Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue as a glittery new hangout for the CSI actor guy. CBGB’s closing, of course, is a replay of that dismal day nearly seven years ago when Lounge Ax gave up the ghost as Jon Langford belted out a few choice Johnny Cash covers on its beloved cramped stage, while the Biograph is right across the street from Lounge Ax’s former space, now occupied by a trendy martini bar with pristine white walls.

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Posted on October 17, 2006

Howdylicious!

By Don Jacobson

Out in the suburban expanse of Southern California is a little lady named Wanda who’ll steer you right when it comes to the best roots music in sight: she’s running a great, Internet-streamed radio show that Minnie Pearl could yodel from one end of the O.C. to the other.

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Posted on October 9, 2006