Dolly Parton

"9 TO 5 (1980). The greatest audience movie ever made. I saw this when it was released in 1980 in a theater in Zion - at the dusky dawn of the Reagan era. Of course, we all loved it. Singing and clapping along to Dolly’s theme song. Cheering and bursting into applause everytime one of the ladies would reach the end of their rope with Dabney Coleman. It was like a rock concert. The last time I saw it was during a Dolly Parton film festival at the @musicboxchicago in flaming liberal Chicago - and the reaction was exactly the same. As great as Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin were (and are) in the movie, I have to think this universal adoration is mostly due to Dolly - the woman the New York Times once named the only thing ‘we can all agree on’. A person of endless positivity and good cheer - but cut with street smart awareness and a winking sex appeal. She knew who she was and she could see a jerk-off asshole coming a mile away. And I’m sure she saw a LOT of them - but l’d also wager that she never wasted a whole lot of time worrying about any of them. What’s the point? And besides — nobody’s perfect. Someone sent me a text today that read ‘This country no longer deserved her anyway’. That may be true - even though a truer sentiment would be that maybe we need her now more than ever- but Dolly never would’ve tolerated that kind of cynicism and defeatism. It wasn’t in her. Or her music. And it shouldn’t be in us. R.I.P., Dolly. We will always love you."

Local H's Scott Lucas remembering Dolly Parton. There's a lovely tribute to her on the Local H podcast Lifers this week.

Sharp Dressed Bands

My sister is a costume designer who knows more about clothes than I do about music. She's responsible for most of my wardrobe that isn't band t-shirts, so the least I can do is send her a mix for her birthday.



Sharp Dressed Bands

1. Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins, "Rabbit Fur Coat"
2. Jerry Lee Lewis, "Chantilly Lace"
3. Shorty Long, "Devil with the Blue Dress On"
4. Run-D.M.C., "My Adidas"
5. Elvis Presley, "Blue Suede Shoes"
6. The Cramps, "Sunglasses After Dark"
7. Spoon, "The Fitted Shirt"
8. Bob Dylan, "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat"
9. Elvis Costello, "Green Shirt (acoustic)"
10. Charles Mingus, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"
11. David Bowie, "Fashion"
12. Paul Simon, "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"
13. Dolly Parton, "Coat of Many Colors"
14. ZZ Top, "Sharp Dressed Man"
15. James Brown, "Hot Pants"
16. The Kinks, "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"
17. Tom Waits, "Pasties and a G-String"
18. Screamin' Jay Hawkins, "Yellow Coat"
19. Prince, "Raspberry Beret"
20. Minor Threat, "Good Guys (Don't Wear White)"
21. Leonard Cohen, "Famous Blue Raincoat"
22. Mick Jagger and The Chieftains, "The Long Black Veil"
23. The Residents, "Boots"

How much do I care about my sister? Enough to submit the creepiest version of "Chantilly Lace," the loneliest "Long Black Veil" and the weirdest "Boots." Enough to pretend that I forgot about "Denim and Leather" and "Undone (The Sweater Song)." Enough to consult The A.V. Club. Enough to track down the original "Devil with the Blues Dress On." Enough to wonder if she thinks David Bowie's "Fashion" is about clothes, dancing or fascism. Enough to sandwich ZZ Top between Dolly Parton and James Brown. Enough to treat her to an Elvis Costello demo and a Tom Waits deep cut. Enough to remind her of Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

Song of the Day: Social Distortion, "Making Believe"

Like many folks who were born in the '80s, I learned about the late Kitty Wells through Social Distortion.



Social D are punk rock's Bob Seger. They've never been the best at what they do, but they're consistent, honorable road dogs with more good tunes than you remember. They're often thought of as pioneers to the Orange County punk boom, but more so they're the last of the rockabilly bands, quick to dazzle you with three chords and a story in two and a half minutes. They'll convince you that rock and country are the same thing.

That influence is on singer/songwriter Mike Ness' tattoo sleeves, most famously in Social D's hit cover of "Ring of Fire" and his solo covers album, Under the Influence. Best of all though, is "Making Believe," the D's tears of a punk rip through Wells 1955 chart-topper. It's not the first song that you'd expect a bunch of bros to SoCal bros to cover--previous interpreters include Wanda Jackson, Connie Francis, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton. But Social Distortion's cover is a reminder that these gals didn't make it big by offering an alternative to the outlaw country stylings of the Highwaymen, but by being just as iconoclastic as their Y-chromosomal peers.

"Thank you, Kitty Wells, for shakin’ up the boys club, and for all of your great music," Social D wrote on their web site this week. Thank you, Mike Ness, for enlightening me.