Slumgullion Stew

Desert Oracle Radio

The episode, titled 'Slumgullion Stew,' presents a collection of diverse stories ranging from the literary legacy of Edward Abbey to the roc

Key takeaways

• Edward Abbey's 'Slumgullion Stew' serves as a metaphor for the episode's eclectic mix of topics.
• Famous rock groups like The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin frequently recorded or stayed in the Joshua Tree area during the 1970s.

Main topics

• Edward Abbey's literary work
• Rock and roll history in Joshua Tree

Notable quotes

Like any serious stew, like human society itself, a slumgullion should be stirred up frequently, or you'll get a lot of scum on top.

Conclusion

A meditative and eclectic journey through the history, biology, and te

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:05) Transmitting from the Mojave Wilderness in Joshua Tree, California. Now is the time for Desert Oracle Radio, the voice of the desert. Speaker 2 (0:13) Night has fallen on the desert. So let's settle ourselves around the campfire and maybe cook up a big cauldron of hobo stew. Slum gullion stew. Have you ever had a bowl of slum gullion stew? Speaker 2 (0:38) Or more likely, a tin cup? An empty tin can? Maybe you did somewhere along the way, along one of the freight lines, and maybe you did not even realize it. Let's hear what old Cactus Ed Abbey has to say on the topic. Slum Gully and Stew is the name of a dish popular among hobos and other knights of the open road. Speaker 2 (1:13) Into a big pot over an open fire, each man throws whatever he has to contribute. A stolen chicken, a ham bone, a can of beans, a jar of salsa, an old shoe, anything edible. Like any serious stew, like human society itself, a slum gullion should be stirred up frequently, or you'll get a lot of scum on top. Edward Abbey wrote those lines for a long out-of-print collection, something publishers used to call a reader. His collection, containing chapters and pieces from as many novels and non-fiction books, was titled Slumgullion Stew, an Edward Abbey Reader, published in 1984 by E.P. Dutton, New York City. But this episode of your favorite Friday night radio show in Joshua Tree, are there any others? Speaker 2 (2:31) We'll be more like the true hobo stew because I've got all these various topics I want to get on the show tonight. Things I've been collecting or typing here and there in these final weeks of summer. And none of them alone will fill the pot, so in they go. And for seasoning, we've got these fine soundscapes by Red Blue Black Silver. Speaker 1 (3:08) Desert Oracle Radio. This Speaker 2 (3:25) is Desert Oracle Radio from way out here where big globs of yellow granite boulders are piled upon our landscape of sand and cactus, juniper, and joshua tree. Speaker 2 (3:44) Turkey vultures circling in the sky above. I hope it's not for me this time. This strange and some say magical landscape was much appreciated by some of the glamorous rock and rollers from way back in the last century. The rock music of the 60s, meaning rock music from 60 years ago. Speaker 2 (4:21) had its headquarters in London, England and Los Angeles, California. The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, to name two of the big groups from London, were often based in L.A., while West Coast groups like the Eagles spent a lot of their time recording albums in England, London's famed Olympic Studios in the latter band's case. Speaker 2 (4:54) The cover photos from the Eagles' debut album may show the country rockers around a campfire on a Joshua Tree mountain, looking all bleary-eyed and stoned to the gills. But the actual album was produced by Glenn Johns over a couple of weeks in early 1972, when the Rolling Stones were mixing Exile on Main Street at the same Speaker 1 (5:22) studio. Speaker 2 (5:25) shortly before David Bowie produced Mott the Hoople there and recorded his own John I'm Only Dancing. By that point, in early 1972, Joshua Tree National Monument had already become a favorite hangout of the big names in rock and roll. Speaker 2 (5:49) So David Geffen's new country rock group made up of various players from the Burrito Brothers and Linda Ronstadt's touring band headed up the 62 to get their official hippie rocker desert photographs by Henry Diltz. Some of the biggest names in rock and roll made well-documented trips to the Mojave High Desert. A long list. That includes Jim Morrison, Michelle Phillips, Robert Plant, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards. But don't forget Frank Sinatra, although he was pre-rock and roll. Back when we still had some style, he and his Rat Pack buddies used to spend long, boozy weekends in Yucca Valley, of all places. Speaker 2 (6:55) with a plane load of gals flown in from Vegas, mobster style. It was on the south side. It's still up there, up by Black Rock Campground, or I should say down there, down from the 62, but up the