Aural Fixations

STAN RIDGWAY
Holiday In Dirt
(New West/Ultramodern)
"I wish I was in Tijuana/Eating barbecued iguana." Stan Ridgway could have had no idea when he penned those lines twenty years ago that they would be some of the most enduring lyrics from the New Wave era. Unfortunately, "Mexican Radio," the song from which they are taken, remains most folks' only exposure to one of modern rock music's most unique and underrated talents. First as the leader of Wall Of Voodoo and, since departing that act in 1983, as a solo artist (with infrequent outings with the outfit Drywall), Ridgway has compiled a body of work that defies category, garnering a cult following while only on occasion earning much airplay ("Drive She Said," "Don't Box Me In"). You don't so much listen to a Stan Ridgway album as "watch" it, full of four-minute film noirs delivered in an adenoidal voice that oddly resembles The B-52s' Fred Schneider. It's like stumbling into some remote cantina south of the border and striking up a conversation with some mysterious Harry Dean Stanton-type with stories to tell, and on Holiday In Dirt there's no shortage of tales.

The twelve-song collection is actually B-sides and unreleased tracks that hadn't made the cut for previous releases not because they lack merit but because, according to the liner notes (which, by the way, are more clever than the music on most albums), they didn't fit. Despite this cut and paste approach, it's a surprisingly seamless set that's bookended by two different versions of "Beloved Movie Star," a lazy, loping saga of vanishing dreams, punctuated (or perhaps mocked) by wife Pietra Wexstun's flourishes on harp. (more)

Stagestruck

CENTRO-MATIC/VARNALINE
@Sons of Hermann Hall, Dallas, TX; February 15, 2002
CENTRO-MATIC/VARNALINE/CHRIS LEE
@Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Denton, TX; February 16, 2001
February 15 and 16 provided a rare opportunity to watch Varnaline wrap up their tour with two shows in the Dallas area. Varnaline is the moniker utilized by singer/songwriter Anders Parker in a solo or band context. This time around Varnaline would also consist of Denton's local favorites centro-matic, backing Parker on a tour that consisted of 17 shows in 18 days. I was eager to see what Parker would unveil with a full band, and to experience centro-matic.

The Sons of Hermann Hall, tucked away in a far corner of Dallas' Deep Ellum district, finds Parker taking the stage for a gorgeous solo electric "Mare Imbrium," from 1998's brilliant Sweet Life. It's surprising somehow to hear such a plaintive and capable voice coming from grizzled Parker in his denim jacket. "It's not supposed to be cold in Texas," he says as the members of centro-matic join him onstage.

And centro-matic work well as a surrogate Varnaline, with watercolor harmonies, dynamic thunder and overall chops. "They play their asses off. Yes, that band has four asses," Parker announces to the crowd with a laugh. In particular, Matt Pence's seismic drumming capably brings to life the mid-fi crunch of Varnaline's CDs. "Underneath the Mountain" finds the ensemble sounding tight, with Scott Danborn's electric piano fleshing out the sound and his Moog lending that dreamy drone to "Blue Flowers on the Highway" (from last year's Songs in a Northern Key). Centro-matic members sing along to themselves here and there. (more)