swingkid
New Member
Anybody got any of these records?
Monty, I'm looking at you!
"A Top 10 of Deranged Psychedelic Classics
by Brian Campbell of Clinic
Often when people would describe a record to me as psychedelic, I'd rush out and buy it only to end up severely disappointed, listening to a tame, non-strange load of shit with-- if I was lucky-- token phasing in the middle eight. This is a list of exceptions which more than live up to the promise of classic psychedelia.
The Caretakers of Deception: "Cutting Grass"
A garbled rant about a failed relationship. This takes the form of the boyfriend hacking down his ex, in the name of love's caretaker. Sounds roughly rock 'n' roll for its intro but then forgets about genres altogether.
Calico Wall: "Flight Reaction"
From Minneapolis 1967, a song with severe paranoia and endless cut-ups. Machine gun artillery, explosions and Second World War propaganda speeches build into a psychotic nightmare. Also, amazingly, a great pop record.
Decades: "On Sunset"
If possible, the weirdest of these ten selections. A riff played on what sounds like harvest machinery descends into hopeless scat vocalising. There's nothing else resembling conventional melody, only brief stabs of brass backed by moving tram sounds. From West Hollywood, August 1966.
The Greek Fountains: "Tales on a Grecian Urn"
The Greek Fountains change timing roughly every 20 seconds-- although uniquely with each band member changing to their own preferred timing. The guitarist attempts a "Blueberry Hill" riff over a ballad rhythm whilst the song is constantly interrupted by wailing klaxons. Not noticing the transitions doesn't seem to have been the point.
Dave Diamond & The Higher Elevation: "The Diamond Mine"
A hit of "bubbly fudge mines and one eyed cufflinks" from Colorado, June 1967. The song is done as a DJ talk-down, which cuts across a demented garage racket. This urges the listener to question every second they've existed on earth.
The Sunday Funnies: "A Pindaric Ode"
From New Mexico, incoherent mumblings of lying on grass verges, unable to move after too much quality LSD, magnificently supported by people who thought they were making pop music. The song eventually all funnels backwards, just to underline its chart credentials.
The 13th Floor Elevators: "Kingdom of Heaven"
Although now gaining wider acceptance through "You're Gonna Miss Me" etc, this is a lot darker. A supreme dirge on the quest for enlightenment. Elephant-styled backing vocals punctuate a need to get out of this world. Everything they recorded was essential but this is beyond the pale. Austin 1966.
The Melotones:: "I Walked with a Bugs Bunny Bendy Toy"
From Liverpool 1985 on Probe Plus Records. A distraught garage flashback clinging to a damaged childhood. The Muppetesque vocals constantly remind us that adult life is no better. The best record of the 1980s.
The Monocles: "The Spider and the Fly"
Again from Colorado 1967, this is more murderous psychodrama than a song, taking its filmic cue from the 50s sci-fi of The Fly. Shrieks of "Help Me!" and "Stop it, you're hurting me" repeat and repeat over the dance floor caveman rhythms. Reassuringly, the band members all drove to gigs in hearses. The Moving Sidewalks: "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
Talking a gleeful hatchet to the "Fab Four" (their description, not mine!), this turns the cutesy bubblegum teen theme inside out, making it sound like a warped Steppenwolf, but with the humour actually intended. "
Monty, I'm looking at you!
"A Top 10 of Deranged Psychedelic Classics
by Brian Campbell of Clinic
Often when people would describe a record to me as psychedelic, I'd rush out and buy it only to end up severely disappointed, listening to a tame, non-strange load of shit with-- if I was lucky-- token phasing in the middle eight. This is a list of exceptions which more than live up to the promise of classic psychedelia.
The Caretakers of Deception: "Cutting Grass"
A garbled rant about a failed relationship. This takes the form of the boyfriend hacking down his ex, in the name of love's caretaker. Sounds roughly rock 'n' roll for its intro but then forgets about genres altogether.
Calico Wall: "Flight Reaction"
From Minneapolis 1967, a song with severe paranoia and endless cut-ups. Machine gun artillery, explosions and Second World War propaganda speeches build into a psychotic nightmare. Also, amazingly, a great pop record.
Decades: "On Sunset"
If possible, the weirdest of these ten selections. A riff played on what sounds like harvest machinery descends into hopeless scat vocalising. There's nothing else resembling conventional melody, only brief stabs of brass backed by moving tram sounds. From West Hollywood, August 1966.
The Greek Fountains: "Tales on a Grecian Urn"
The Greek Fountains change timing roughly every 20 seconds-- although uniquely with each band member changing to their own preferred timing. The guitarist attempts a "Blueberry Hill" riff over a ballad rhythm whilst the song is constantly interrupted by wailing klaxons. Not noticing the transitions doesn't seem to have been the point.
Dave Diamond & The Higher Elevation: "The Diamond Mine"
A hit of "bubbly fudge mines and one eyed cufflinks" from Colorado, June 1967. The song is done as a DJ talk-down, which cuts across a demented garage racket. This urges the listener to question every second they've existed on earth.
The Sunday Funnies: "A Pindaric Ode"
From New Mexico, incoherent mumblings of lying on grass verges, unable to move after too much quality LSD, magnificently supported by people who thought they were making pop music. The song eventually all funnels backwards, just to underline its chart credentials.
The 13th Floor Elevators: "Kingdom of Heaven"
Although now gaining wider acceptance through "You're Gonna Miss Me" etc, this is a lot darker. A supreme dirge on the quest for enlightenment. Elephant-styled backing vocals punctuate a need to get out of this world. Everything they recorded was essential but this is beyond the pale. Austin 1966.
The Melotones:: "I Walked with a Bugs Bunny Bendy Toy"
From Liverpool 1985 on Probe Plus Records. A distraught garage flashback clinging to a damaged childhood. The Muppetesque vocals constantly remind us that adult life is no better. The best record of the 1980s.
The Monocles: "The Spider and the Fly"
Again from Colorado 1967, this is more murderous psychodrama than a song, taking its filmic cue from the 50s sci-fi of The Fly. Shrieks of "Help Me!" and "Stop it, you're hurting me" repeat and repeat over the dance floor caveman rhythms. Reassuringly, the band members all drove to gigs in hearses. The Moving Sidewalks: "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
Talking a gleeful hatchet to the "Fab Four" (their description, not mine!), this turns the cutesy bubblegum teen theme inside out, making it sound like a warped Steppenwolf, but with the humour actually intended. "
