It's A Beautiful Day - White Bird

 #It's A Beautiful Day #David LaFlamme #folk rock #psychedelic rock #jazz rock #1960s

San Francisco psychedelic folk-rock unit It's a Beautiful Day was primarily the vehicle of virtuoso violinist David LaFlamme, born April 5, 1941 in New Britain, Connecticut but raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. After beginning his musical education at age five, LaFlamme later served as a soloist with the Utah Symphony, following an army stint by settling in the Bay Area in 1962. There he immersed himself in the local underground music scene, jamming alongside the likes of Jerry Garcia and Janis Joplin; after his short-lived Electric Chamber Orchestra splintered, LaFlamme also co-founded an early incarnation of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks before assembling It's a Beautiful Day in mid-1967. The group -- which originally included LaFlamme's keyboardist wife Linda, vocalist Pattie Santos, guitarist Hal Wagenet, bassist Mitchell Holman, and drummer Val Fuentes -- issued its self-titled debut LP on Columbia in 1969, scoring their biggest hit with the haunting FM radio staple "White Bird." Linda LaFlamme left It's a Beautiful Day soon after, going on to form Titus' Mother; keyboardist Fred Webb signed on for the follow-up, 1970's Marrying Maiden, while Holman exited prior to 1971's Choice Quality Stuff, recorded with new guitarist Bill Gregory and bassist Tom Fowler. In 1973, ongoing disputes over royalties forced LaFlamme out of the group he created, and upon installing new violinist Greg Bloch, the remaining members issued It's a Beautiful Day...Today before dissolving in the wake of 1974's 1001 Nights. LaFlamme mounted a solo career in 1977 with White Bird, continuing his protracted legal tussle with ex-manager Matthew Katz for years to follow.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/its-a-beautiful-day-mn0000109012/biography

Mr. Elevator & The Brain Hotel - When the Morning Greets You With a Smile

 #Mr. Elevator & The Brain Hotel #psychedelic rock #psychedelic pop rock #neo-psychedelia #garage rock #alternative rock

Four years on from their debut album, LA Psych quintessentialists, Mr. Elevator & The Brain Hotel deliver a thoughtful and enticing experience in the 13-track work When The Morning Greets You. From a quick scan over, it is fair to say that Mr. Elevator has pulled out all the stops to deliver a wholesome spectacle. For fans of The Coral, Allah-Las, Pink Floyd, and Mystic Braves. From the start 'When The Morning Greets You with A Smile' the band are on it. Zesty vocals moving around a skippy bright drums/bass and organ groove. This song gets better with every turn with The Doors style bridge. While the chorus is vast and enrapturing, especially when the three-part harmony vocal line "And she's so fine" arrives. Again we hear a similarly skippy vibe with 'Madeline', which smiles all over the place, via the electric piano, bubbly bass, and enthusiastic drumming. The chorus has a melodic and harmonic feel not dissimilar to The Hollies mid 60's work. Beat rhythms and sugary Davey Jones vocals lead the way on the slightly distant 'Sunshine Daydream'. There is some mellotron like lines present which warp and warble cheerfully. 'Dreamer' has classic fuzz organ stomp, oompah bass and glam rock shuffle drums under a very Monkees formula, and pounding keys led groover 'Are You Hypnotized?' awakens rather than lulling, there are moments of late 70's British Two-Tone on here. The candyman-ish dull ghoulish piano 'A Lullaby' would have been an ideal sound shot for the end of last year. Leveling and pulling is the cosmic comedown Pink Floydful 'Intro' , moving into the dimly-lit 'Cosmic Bloom' a speedy Doors latin groove with grimy guitars, spacey organ flurries, under ghostly vocals.The energy intensifies via the powerhouse drums 'Fuzz Phantom', with hyped-up organ under Marc Bolan-ish whining. It has some sort of dramatised retro space crisis, think the late 60's/early 70's sci-fi TV programs. The robotic sonic expanse 'Tears Of Green' terrifies truly, like an imaginary galactic empirical marching anthem. For fans of the likes of Temples and Kula Shaker, here is a gem of a tune, mid-tempo drum beat, organs surround and drive forward, under exquisite three-part harmonies exploring the freedom mantra 'Let Me Be'. It really takes you away from life's current intense environment and the 'Let Me Be (Outro)', sees drums quick double-time march forward in a Doors style organ crescendo. The mellow dreamy, 'Ending' moves in an uncanny similarity, melodically to 'All Across The Universe', and that is fine as it revives the song's overwhelming essence.  From: https://soundblab.com/reviews/albums/17251-mr-elevator-when-the-morning-greets-you

Mark Stoermer - Blood and Guts (The Anatomy Lesson)

 #Mark Stoermer #ex-The Killers #alternative rock #indie rock #post-punk revival #psychedelic rock #pop rock #heavy metal #music video

Mark Stoermer, bassist of The Killers, has released a surreal, bloody new video for “Blood & Guts”. The video is a mini psychedelic rock opera based on the Rembrandt painting “The Anatomy Lesson” featuring Adan Jodorowsky and directed by Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger’s Charlotte Kemp Muhl, which sees Stoermer portraying a crazed conductor hell bent on destruction. “It is a theatrical journey that juxtaposes sex and death, the material and the spiritual, the sacred and the profane, the grotesque and the beautiful, the somber and the silly. It is a celebration of life in the face of our mortality, while paying tribute to the forces of creation, preservation, destruction and resurrection,” Stoermer said of the video.  
Dark Arts, Stoermer’s second solo album, comprises a mosaic of sixties-induced psychedelia, bluesy desert rock swagger, plaintive lyrical poetry, and lithe and lush cinematic orchestration. Co-produced by David Hopkins of Bombay Heavy and recorded at The Killers‘ Las Vegas headquarters Battle Born Studios and Studio at The Palms, Dark Arts weaves together a twisting and turning trip through a myriad of styles.  From: https://ventsmagazine.com/2016/10/25/mark-stoermer-releases-nsfw-blood-guts-video/

Mark Stoermer is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist for the rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded six studio albums. In addition to his work with the Killers, Stoermer has released three solo albums, Another Life in 2011, Dark Arts in 2016, and Filthy Apes and Lions in 2017. Stoermer also joined the Smashing Pumpkins to tour in support of the band's ninth studio album, Monuments to an Elegy (2014), and produced Howling Bells' third studio album The Loudest Engine (2011).
Stoermer mainly plays with a pick. He says "I love the punch and grit of a pick. I do a lot of unconscious palm muting. I love how you can instantly get that clunky tone with shorter notes. It's a great sound." He tries to play the bass as a "half percussive, half melodic instrument". Stoermer feels that "You can add to a song's melodic side without taking away from the vocals. That's my favorite kind of bass playing." His signature bass playing is featured prominently in the Killers' debut and sophomore albums. While his aggressive playing was a focal point in the Killers' first two albums, Stoermer's playing became more funk-driven in Day & Age, and much more reserved and subtle in Battle Born. His style of playing has influenced many other bands and even a genre of music in bass-driven New Wave-synth rock.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Stoermer

Tomorrow - Revolution

 

 

 #Tomorrow #Steve Howe #psychedelic rock #British psychedelia #psychedelic pop rock #1960s

Writing this from a cafe (since PG&E has shut down the power for the weekend), I head back through the decades for one of my favorite eras/genres, the late 60s British psychedelic scene.  Tomorrow weren't exactly a huge seller at the time, and are probably best remembered for (a) the killer single "My White Bicycle," a perennial Nuggets-type compilation mainstay, and (b) guitarist Steve Howe, who left afterwards to join Yes.  But the album is actually pretty great, a mix of heavier psychedelia and lighter, more twee, very British pop. Again, "Bicycle" is the keeper here, a delirious psychedelic rocker with a killer guitar hook and all manner of studio playfulness.  But it's joined by some other winners, among them the silly but amusing "Three Jolly Little Dwarfs," the even lighter but almost Ray Davies-infused "Auntie Mary's Dress Shop," the cool guitar riffs of the more complex "Claramount Lake" and "Real Life Permanent Dream," and the trippy, goofy acid rock of "Revolution" (no, not a Beatles cover).  Not to mention a pretty straight and superfluous but still decent version of "Strawberry Fields Forever" (yes, a Beatles cover). The CD version of the album (and the version that streams on Spotify) adds a bunch of bonus tracks, including a few solo tracks from singer Keith West and, most notably, the absolutely bonkers single "10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box," recorded by a couple members of the band performing as The Aquarian Age; it's one of the best (and most underappreciated) examples of psychedelic pop, right up there with Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men."  From: https://www.jitterywhiteguymusic.com/2019/10/tomorrow-tomorrow-1968.html

Saddhu Brand - Whole Earth Rhythm

 #Saddhu Brand #psychedelic folk rock #acid folk #world music #Indian classical #1970s 

This is what happens when you get four hippies back in San Francisco after a four year layover in India. Sounding strangely burnt out yet happy, the songsters of Saddhu Brand stick exclusively to traditional Indian instruments and vocals. The vocals come in two varieties: the strangely unemotional sounding female chorale vocals and the voice of one addled guru sort of fellow by the name of Peter Van Gelder (from Great Society).
In many ways, this disc makes me think of a weird transmutation of the British freak-folk scene. There's a kind of Incredible String Band vibe here, although this band has a different set of acoustic instruments and they're nowhere near as talented as the ISB. The whole affair reeks of patchouli (or let's say Nag Champa, I hate patchouli), but what we have here is for the most part a typical San Fran band thrown through a Hindu blender. "People Brittle" would easily translate to a later period Jefferson Airplane song with electric Western instruments, and "I Give You Johnee The Truth" is only one step removed from sounding like West Coast "cowboy" music like New Riders Of The Purple Sage. Just get a different singer and ditch the flute and sitar. Of course the charm of this albums is that it does have the aforementioned flute and sitar.
On the longer tracks "Babu Shoda" and "Dabi Das' Song" the band tries their hand at more authentic Indian style compositions. It's not going to stand in my way if I'm reaching for a Ravi Shankar record, but it's enjoyable enough. While they do whip up a wild dervish sort of sound on the later track, it's far muddier and less precise than something similar that the Indian masters would concoct. Whole Earth Rhythm threatens to confirm more than one cliche concerning the late 60's. If you can stomach that and enjoy Indian instrumentation, you'll probably find something to enjoy.  From: http://psychedelicobscurities.blogspot.com/2007/09/saddhu-brand-1970-whole-earth-rhythm.html

Donovan - Season of the Witch

 #Donovan #folk rock #psychedelic folk #singer-songwriter #1960s #music video #Häxan

One of the first songs to fit the "psychedelic" genre, Donovan recorded it in May 1966, shortly before his highly publicized arrest for possession of marijuana. The genesis of this song goes back to an evening at folk music notable Bert Jansch's house in north London, when fellow acoustic master John Renbourn showed Donovan a D ninth chord. From that Donovan built up a riff that, according to the memories of those present, he then played solidly for the next seven hours. "There was a feeling, even then, that all was not perfect in the Garden of Eden," he said of the song in an interview with Mojo magazine June 2011. "Dealers were moving into bohemia and hard drugs were on the fringes. The song was also prophetic. It was about the bust, although of course I couldn't know that then."
This song is ideal for long jams. The two main chords (A and D) are played during the verses, and during the chorus there are three chords (A, D and E). In Mojo magazine, January 2005, Donovan said: "Season of the Witch' continues to be a perennial influence because it allows a jam – not a 12-bar or Latin groove, but a very modern jam. Led Zeppelin used to warm up every day to it on the road during the soundcheck. It makes me very proud that I've created certain forms that other bands can get off on, to explore, be experimental, or just break the rules."
In the same Mojo interview, Donovan said: "I remember the bass line going down and Mickie saying, 'We've got a problem. The engineers are saying that they can't turn the bass up.' I said, Why? They said, 'Well, it's going into the red.' And so he said to the engineers, 'Look, you go into the red, I'm giving you permission. Go in the red! That's the bass sound I want. Very, very loud.' And they said, 'Well, we'll have to have a meeting.' So they went upstairs and had a meeting about whether the bass should go into the red. And they came down, they said, 'No, I'm sorry, the equipment can't stand it.' So Mickie Most said, 'Look, I've just made a record deal with your boss Clive Davis for $5 million and seven bands. And he's given me $1 million right now. So do you think if I phone him up, you'd give me a little bit more bass?' And they looked at each other, and immediately realized that their jobs were on the line. They said, 'OK, you've got more bass.' We got more bass the needle went into the red, the equipment didn't blow up. I guess next time they made that needle, they did that thing by just moving the red bit a bit farther to the right, like in Spinal Tap: 'My amp goes up to 11!'"
This song was covered by Al Kooper (Blood Sweat & Tears, The Blues Project) and Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash & Young) on the historically significant 1968 album Super Session. That gives us an excuse to tell a fun story: Stills was brought in midway through recording the album to replace Mike Bloomfield (Butterfield Band, Electric Flag). Now, Kooper was originally enthusiastic to play with Bloomfield, but Bloomfield had a habit of ditching at the worst possible time. So when he showed up at Al Kooper's house, Bloomfield complained of an infected toe, then proceeded to use the most expensive crystal bowl in the house to soak his toe in. A photo of this (the toe) ended up on the back cover of the Super Session album. Then Mike Bloomfield simply disappeared in the morning, leaving only a note saying that he'd had insomnia. It wouldn't even be the last time he stood up Al Kooper! In his memoir Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, Al Kooper mentions that he's been moved to cover this song after a trip to London, when he'd heard Donovan's "Season of the Witch" coming out of every shop on King's Road.  From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/donovan/season-of-the-witch

Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen’s legendary silent film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages and early modern era suffered from the same ills as psychiatric patients diagnosed with hysteria in the film's own time. Far from a dry dissertation on the topic, the film itself is a witches’ brew of the scary, the gross, and the darkly humorous. Christensen’s mix-and-match approach to genre anticipates gothic horror, documentary re-creation, and the essay film, making for an experience unlike anything else in the history of cinema.  From: https://www.criterion.com/films/352-hxan

Avey Tare - Uncle Donut

 #Avey Tare #Animal Collective #psychedelic folk #experimental #psychedelic pop #neo-psychedelia #electronic #freak folk #music video

The EP Conference of Birds/Birds in Disguise recreates five songs Avey Tare (aka Dave Portner) wrote and played live during his Eucalyptus and Cows on Hourglass Pond tours. Like the two solo discs—and indeed, like the recent work of Animal Collective — the songs alternate between tone-washed mystical auras and bouncy, dance-y raves. This bird-themed recording breaks down into two distinct sides. Conference of Birds — encompassing “Midnight Special,” “Red Light Water Show” and “Disc One”—has a euphoric air, whether in the dopplering guitar and distant voiced soundscapes of the opener (“Midnight Special”) or the gentle undulations of “Disc One,” the catchiest, most melodic song on the EP. “Red Light Water Show” splits the difference between hook and atmosphere with oscillating keyboard riffs that split the time in twos and fours and high chanting vocals that crest over a burble of noise and glitch.
The Birds in Disguise side runs incrementally more abrasively. Its exuberance is sweatier, more physical and less celebratory than the opening’s cerebral whoosh and hum. A wheezing buzz marks out dystopian time in “Enjoy the Change,” sounding a bit like the siren-y riff in ESG’s “UFO,” then eighth-banging percussion bumps up the tension. There’s a claustrophobic tautness in this cut very much at odds with “Disc One”’s dayglo colored joys. “Uncle Donut” dials up the rhythm further, with a syncopated cadence in percussion and chant; it is very much in line with the rave-y, drum-heavy experience of a live Animal Collective show.
Fans of Avey Tare, and of Animal Collective in general, will find much to like in this brief recording. If nothing else it’s more of what they do, which lots and lots of people like very much. Does it break down the barriers, explore new territory, redefine how you think of Avey Tare (assuming that you do think of him)? It does not. But it shimmers and envelops and bops in a satisfying way, and will perhaps, hold you until the next full length from Portner solo or his more famous band.  From: https://dustedmagazine.tumblr.com/post/190124837243/avey-tare-conference-of-birdsbirds-in-disguise

The Youngbloods - Darkness, Darkness

 #The Youngbloods #Jesse Colin Young #folk rock #psychedelic rock #roots rock #blues rock #West coast psychedelia #1960s

Before the ’60s wrapped up, it saw brilliant and epic releases left and right. Thus, it’s no wonder why a plethora of LPs which were just as stellar as the more popular ones, were overlooked and largely ignored. Unfortunately for The Youngbloods, their third studio effort “Elephant Mountain” is one of the underrated records of 1969. Then again, the band never actually broke into mainstream. And so even though “Elephant Mountain” only peaked at #118 on the US Billboard 200, it was their highest charting album. What started as a quartet became a trio on this LP. They started working on it following the departure of co-founder Jerry Corbitt. With the need for new material, Jesse Colin Young rose up to the challenge and penned 7 out of the 13 songs on “Elephant Mountain.” The Youngbloods were still a tight unit and this LP helped showcase their musicianship especially with the variety of tunes – from acoustic ballads to country to hard rock and even bluesy numbers. It offers an enjoyable listening experience from start to finish. Sure, it’s not without fillers but even those are fun to listen to as well. At a time when most rock acts gravitated towards dark, political, and ominous themes, “Elephant Mountain” was a breath of fresh air. The opener “Darkness, Darkness” is the clear highlight of the LP but that’s not to say the rest of the tracks aren’t just as good. Other standouts include “On Sir Francis Drake”, “Trillium”, “Sham”, and “Ride the Wind.” “Elephant Mountain” is both consistent and solid. It may have a few weak moments but overall, it’s The Youngbloods’ greatest record.  From: https://societyofrock.com/album-review-elephant-mountain-by-the-youngbloods/

Elephant Mountain, the magnetic third album by the Youngbloods, is commonly looked upon as the pinnacle of the legendary Bay Area combo's abundant eight-year career. From its spine chilling opening track--the strains of a somber Appalachian fiddle permeating "Darkness, Darkness"--the listener is inexorably sucked into psychedelic quicksand by the haunting vocals of Jesse Colin Young, whose plaintive cry to "hide the constant yearning for things that cannot be" proves mournfully irresistible. In addition to Young's songwriting masterpiece, the 1969 album also spotlights a sharp, country-rocking vocal duet ("Smug") by Young and recently-departed singer Jerry Corbitt, as well as the jazzy interplay between electric keyboard whiz Banana and the locked-in groove of drummer Joe Bauer during magical instrumental "On Sir Francis Drake." More songwriting gems loom like sacred totems on this landmark longplayer, including Young's signature ballads "Sunlight," "Quicksand" and "Ride the Wind." It's the Youngbloods at the top of their game, indelibly writing their names in the ledger of consummate San Francisco rock 'n' roll.  From: https://sundazed.com/p/1189-Youngbloods-Elephant-Mountain-CD.aspx

The Claypool Lennon Delirium - Blood And Rockets Movement I

 #The Claypool Lennon Delirium #Les Claypool #Sean Lennon #psychedelic rock #art rock #experimental rock #progressive rock #alternative rock #neo-psychedelia #ex-Primus #ex-The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger #music video

The curious tale of The Claypool Lennon Delirium
Kernel: the central or most important part of something, a homophone for colonel, and Sean Lennon’s nickname for  his creative co-conspirator, Les Claypool. “He has that colonel vibe; he’s the captain of the ship. He runs the desk on our sessions, he engineers the sessions, he’s kind of at the front of the ship. And he calls me ‘Shiner’ because it’s one syllable apart from Sean!” laughs Lennon from his snow-swept studio in upstate New York. When he speaks of Primus’ head honcho, it’s with great respect, awe and a touch of disbelief that he’s working with a musician who he’s admired for many years.
“I’d never really played in a band where someone was a legend on their instrument,” he says. “Les is on a short list of very respected bass players and I was surprised that he really wanted to start a band with me, so I did a lot of scales to get my chops up because I wanted to make sure I could hang musically with him.” When we catch up with the bespectacled multi-instrumentalist, he’s taking a break from working on a new solo album and some “exciting” top secret projects. Despite being so busy, he seems genuinely happy to finally be able to chat about The Claypool Lennon Delirium’s second full-length album, South Of Reality.
The surprise project came about in 2015, shortly after Lennon’s The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger opened for Primus. The duo’s colorful chemistry led to the release of their psychedelic debut Monolith Of Phobos the following year. A covers EP, Lime And Limpid Green, was released in 2017, just a few months ahead of Primus’ conceptual The Desaturating Seven, and hinted at some of their inspiration with renditions of The Court Of The Crimson King and Astronomy Domine. By the time they regrouped for South Of Reality, both Lennon and Claypool were brimming with ideas.
Where their debut was inspired by the soundtrack to The Monkees’ Head, album number two is a hypnotic blend of prog, psych and Sgt. Pepper's punctuated by Claypool’s complex funk-driven basslines. The pair share vocal duties and instrumentation, with Lennon further enhancing vintage elements via a Mellotron simulator and Coral electric sitar. The album’s nine satirical tracks were written and recorded over the space of two months at Claypool’s Rancho Relaxo studio in California, and are as much a journey into their eclectic musical influences as a thumb through the stranger sections of the National Enquirer. Cricket Chronicles Revisited is the thematic follow-up to Monolith’s two-part psychedelic explosion The Cricket And The Genie that explored the modern trend of over-medicating adults and children, while the lead track Blood And Rockets focuses on the strange life of occult rocket engineer Jack Parsons.
“I wanted to write a song about him and that was maybe one of the first ones I wrote for the album,” says Lennon. “He wound up helping us get to the moon but he was also part of the Ordo Templi Orientis [a religious organisation made famous by occultist Aleister Crowley]. It’s, like, this really weird story because Parsons ends up blowing himself up in an alchemical experiment. The end bit is in 5/8, which I thought was funny because a pentagram has five points. It cuts to the section when, in my mind, he’s crossing the threshold from this reality to another dimension.”
From: https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-curious-tale-of-the-claypool-lennon-delirium 

Black Pussy - I Wanna Get High

 #Black Pussy #stoner rock #psychedelic rock #garage rock #post-punk #animated music video #Malice in Wonderland

Black Pussy is a group of rock n’ roll pot-smoking fun-loving hippies that are passionate about art, creativity and the dynamic human spirit which refuses to submit. They encourage all ages and creeds to take the ride with them. For Dustin Hill, the creator and songwriter of the band, Black Pussy sounded like a fantastic name. It encapsulates exactly what the band is: a psychedelic, ’70s-influenced, hide-your-daughters-because-they’re-coming-to-town rock ‘n’ roll band that sounds like Tarantino directing a Thin Lizzy video in the low desert.
Black Pussy approaches their music style with influences across three decades of rock: the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. The result is a cohesive blend of Kyuss, Hawkwind, The Cars, Monster Magnet and Queens of the Stone Age. Their classic, upbeat and relentlessly hooky tracks embrace traditional pop structure within heavy rock and led to Hill coining the phrase “stoner-pop”. Their catchy music tends to seduce anyone, even those who wander in a club after seeing the intriguing band name on the marquis. There is no contrived contention, just fun, love and good tunes. Everyone is invited to this party.
From: https://first-avenue.com/performer/black-pussy/ 

Black Pussy draws its name from the 1970s pornographic era. An obvious objectification by the white boys of the group — white boys who relish the privilege of benefits of a pre-established patriarchy. The same patriarchy whose dominant ideology promotes women to be sexually subservient to men, denies women equal pay, denies the protection of discrimination based on sex and ownership of their reproductive health and bodies.
Last weekend Black Pussy played to an average-size crowd at Scout Bar in Clear Lake. Listeners milled about near the stage, with far less than a scattering of females in the audience. No one of African-American descent was to be seen. An opener for a mock-tribute band, Black Pussy played a short set to a muted response. Yet I couldn’t help feeling at first uncomfortable at their name, but later rage and guilt that my attendance could possibly be seen as complicity. Absolutely no, not ever. Who the fuck are these jackasses and why are they playing in my town?
I do not claim to speak for all women, nor would I ever attempt to speak on behalf of black women. But I will call bullshit when I see it, and the name Black Pussy, the members of the band and the hype they’ve created are easily one of the worst conceptions in music. Willfully ignorant and refusing to acknowledge their privilege, bands like Black Pussy will never achieve success because their notoriety is far more important than their art. Ignorant and unapologetic, they’re not unlike Mushroom Head and their painfully uneducated allegiance to the Confederate flag.
Despite societal norms forcing such antiquated messages to expire, those who hang onto them — like Black Pussy — believe in their own moral superiority or assertion of rightful speech. Yet they will actually fade into oblivion. It’s a gimmick, and a shitty one at that. These are not artists. These are not musicians. These are white men who have an agenda of perpetuating the system of oppression that already exists to suppress women and minorities. And if they really are the innocent, ignorant stoner boys they claim to be, they’ll change their fucking name and focus on improving their shitty music instead of calling dead black women their “fans."
I call total bullshit on this band. Total. Fucking. Bullshit. But, watch this — they won’t change their name and they’ll continue to gain notoriety, mock the scandalous attention and the negative press all while claiming, It’s just a name, people. Because that’s what racist, sexist bigots want you to believe.  From: https://www.houstonpress.com/music/black-pussy-worst-band-ever-7806166

Tucson-based stoner-rock/"boogie-pop" band Black Pussy—whose members, as you can see, are white men—were slated to play the Funhouse on Saturday, March 17, but that show is no longer happening. According to a February 26 post on the group's Facebook page, it was their decision to cancel. However, El Corazon boss and Funhouse co-owner Dana Sims says, "I’m not sure what they are talking about exactly. The show was cancelled by the club on Saturday. After some constructive discussions with people I love and respect both in the scene and the community at large, I felt it was the right thing to do."
Attracting much scathing criticism over the last few years for what many perceive to be their racially insensitive and objectifying name, Black Pussy have doubled down on their reasons for keeping the moniker. On their Facebook page, they deny that it derives from the original title of the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar," as some detractors have accused. In a phone interview, Black Pussy frontman Dustin Hill admits that Sims "pulled the plug" on the gig, but he made that Facebook post to stress that he doesn't "want to work with people who are racist and sexist and not inclusive. That’s what they are, so since they’re pulling the plug on us, I’m pulling the plug on them, simultaneously." When asked what exactly is racist about the Funhouse's decision, Hill says that, "The people attacking us personally about the Seattle show continuously call me ‘white’ and ‘male,’ and I shouldn’t play Seattle because I’m white and male. I think that’s some sexist and racist stuff. It’s my band name and because I’m white and male, I’m not allowed to have this band name. That’s it.
"I’m fed up with being called a Nazi and a racist and a sexist because some people don’t like my band name," he continues. "I’m none of those things. My music is none of those things. My band members are none of those things. The reality is, it’s the other side that are those things. Dana is siding with the sexists and racists." Does Hill not understand why people are upset about the name, or does he just not care about their reactions? "No, I don’t understand why people are upset with the name. The name is ambiguous, a multi-entendre. It’s art, and art is ambiguous — at least my art is. And it’s rock and roll, real basic shit. We’re just trying to have a good time. These identity politics - I don’t get it. It has nothing to do with my band."
From: https://www.thestranger.com/music/2018/02/28/25858810/why-did-dubiously-named-rock-band-black-pussys-seattle-show-get-cancelled 

The Rattles - The Witch

 #The Rattles #hard rock #psychedelic rock #progressive rock #krautrock #German #1970s

The Rattles are a German rock band formed in Hamburg in 1960. The band is most prominently known for their 1970 psychedelic hit single "The Witch." The Rattles performed in Hamburg, Germany at the same venues as The Beatles on several occasions in 1962. In 1968 they recorded their first version of "The Witch" with vocals by Henner Hoier. Their second version of "The Witch" in 1970, this time with vocals by Edna Béjarano (post-Hoier's departure), became their only international hit.
The line-up during this period was:
Edna Béjarano - vocals
Frank Mille - guitar
Zappo Lungen - bass
Herbert Bornhold - drums

I think I mention somewhere on this page that Rattles singer Edna Bejarano’s mother was Esther Bejarano, one of the last survivors of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz. There was a whole movie made about this women’s orchestra and their struggles to survive at the camp (actually, a 1980 CBS TV movie in the US) It was called “Playing For Time” and it starred Vanessa Redgrave. It is a beautiful story of pain and resilience. If you can find it on YouTube you should definitely check it out! The odd coincidence is that I saw that TV movie several times as a child with my mom. I definitely remember it! If Esther had not survived the Holocaust, we would not have Edna or (this incarnation of) the band.

From: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheRattlesEdnaBejarano/

Funkadelic - Hit It And Quit It

 #Funkadelic #George Clinton #funk #R&B #psychedelic funk #funk rock #1970s

As early as 1969, George Clinton and his “Parliament-Funkadelic Thang” took on the identities of funky aliens from outer space. Like Sun Ra and Lee “Scratch” Perry, Clinton grew up in a community where black people inhabited an other-ized zone. These artists simply took a position of marginality and turned it into their own sur-reality, tweaked with their own imaginations. By the mid-seventies, Clinton took the boundary between science fiction and social reality and tie-dyed it. Clinton mostly used Parliament as his vehicle for sci-fi themes, while Funkadelic focused on Clinton’s iconoclastic musical ideas.
Clinton had lost the rights to the names “Parliament” and “Funkadelic” in the early 80s. Subsequently his cyborg funky bunch has sporadically toured under the rubric of the P-Funk All-Stars. It is easy to forget that Parliament and Funkadelic, while sharing basically the same members, once had very different identities — from their sound, to their styles, philosophies and attitudes. When people say they love George Clinton’s music, they generally mean Parliament or the P-Funk All-Stars. Parliament had the hit records, the colorful spaceship stage shows and costumes, and the upbeat funky dance music. Funkadelic, especially in the beginning, was the lesser known, down ‘n’ dirty, lysergic-crazed, evil, inbred rock ‘n’ roll twin.
Funkadelic’s unique relationship with white rock ‘n’ roll started when they had borrowed amps from Vanilla Fudge. They were so pleased with the high volume that they immediately got their own. Like Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone, they reclaimed rock music as their own. Their crossover appeal to white audiences, while on a much smaller scale than Hendrix and Sly, was demonstrated when they graced the cover of the second issue of Creem. While they could not compete with the other two giants at their best, Funkadelic synthesized their own fusion of styles that would eventually be just as influential. Their grim inner-city blues were just as soulful as Marvin Gaye’s and Stevie Wonder’s concurrent explorations in social consciousness.
From: https://fastnbulbous.com/funkadelic-the-afro-alien-diaspora/

Turn Me On Dead Man - Cyclops

 #Turn Me On Dead Man #psychedelic rock #heavy metal #psychedelic metal #stoner metal #space rock #retro-1960s #retro-1970s 

Turn Me On Dead Man are a ‘heavydelic’ space rock band from San Francisco. combining heavy metal and psychedelia to forge a music that is both transcending and unforgettable. The songwriting plunges listeners into the heavydelic landscapes of 60’s experimentalism and 70’s bombast, creating a sound that is enthralling, imaginative, hugely entertaining, and incredibly hard rocking! The group have been creating their unique brand of lysergic-soaked rock since their inception in 2000, gigging extensively throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and garnering praise from all over their home turf and the country, spurred on by heavy rotation at the influential WFMU station in New Jersey. Alternative Tentacles founder Jello Biafra was suitably impressed by the band’s spaced-out, glammed-up, turned-up brand of audio mayhem enough to re-release their first epic record, “God Bless the Electric Freak”.
Live, Turn Me On Dead Man is a spectacle of epic proportions; a visceral sonic boom that spans the spectrum from the meanest, most gorgeous anthems of rock to the exotic ragas of modern psych, creating an explosive and diverse stage performance as energetic as it is uncommon. Simply put, Turn Me On Dead Man plays Heavy Crush Bliss Rock breaking the sound barrier on their own private Lear Jet headed straight to Hell! The bands twin guitar harmonization, melodic rhythmic switchbacks and trippy apocalypto-mystical lyricism keep California’s psychedelic rock tradition alive. In their own words: “mind melt music for the sick and twisted, heavydelic super rock for the ultimate freak outs”.  From: https://maximumvolumemusic.com/featured-band-turn-dead-man/

In September 1969, as I began ninth grade, a rumor circulated that the Beatles' Paul McCartney was dead, killed in a 1966 automobile accident and replaced by a look-alike. The clues were there in the albums, if you knew where to look. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band's "A Day in the Life," for one, recounts the accident: He blew his mind out in a car / He didn't notice that the lights had changed / A crowd of people stood and stared / They'd seen his face before / Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords. The cover of the Abbey Road album shows the Fab Four walking across a street in what looks like a funeral procession, with John in white as the preacher, Ringo in black as the pallbearer, a barefoot and out-of-step Paul as the corpse, and George in work clothes as the gravedigger. In the background is a Volkswagen Beetle whose license plate reads "28IF" - Paul's supposed age "if" he had not died. Spookiest of all were the clues embedded in songs played backward. On a cheap turntable, I moved the speed switch midway between 331/3 and 45 to disengage the motor drive, then manually turned the record backward and listened in wide-eared wonder. The eeriest is "Revolution 9" from the White Album, in which an ominously deep voice endlessly repeats: number nine ... number nine ... number nine.... Played backward you hear: turn me on, dead man ... turn me on, dead man ... turn me on, dead man.... In time, thousands of clues emerged as the rumor mill cranked up (type "Paul is dead" into Google for examples), despite John Lennon's 1970 statement to Rolling Stone that "the whole thing was made up." But made up by whom? Not the Beatles. Instead this was a fine example of the brain as a pattern-recognition machine that all too often finds nonexistent signals in the background noise of life.  From: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/turn-me-on-dead-man/

Pink Floyd - Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict

 #Pink Floyd #David Gilmour #Roger Waters #psychedelic rock #British psychedelia #progressive rock #art rock #space rock #experimental rock #blues rock #1960s #1970s

Aye, an' a bit of mackerel, settler rack and down
Ran it down by the home, and I flew
Well, I slapped me and I flopped it down in the shade
And I cried, cried, cried.

The fear a fallen down had taken, never back to raise
And then cried Mary, an' took out wi' your Claymore,
Right outta a' pocket, I ran down, down the mountainside
Back on (Battlin'?) the fiery horde that was falling around the feet.

Never! He cried, never shall ye get me alive
Ye rotten hound of the burnie crew!
Well, I snatched fer the blade an' a Claymore cut and thrust,
And I fell doon before him round his feet. Aye!

A roar he cried!
Frae the bottom of his heart
That I would nay fall but as dead,
Dead as I can by a' feet, d'ya ken?

And the wind cried Mary.

Thank you.

One of the most interesting pieces Roger Waters ever produced, Several Species has been consistently underrated. While hardly melodic or even musical, the piece embodies the experimental era of the Floyd and other such bands through its imaginative uses of 'animal' sound effects (most of them done by Roger, then sped up or slowed down) to create a multi-layered chorus, functioning very effectively as a rhythm track. The animal section, lasting about three and a half minutes, supposedly contains hidden messages which are revealed when the record is played at different speeds, such as 16, 45 and 78 rpm. The 'Pict' section, lasting only a minute, is also fascinating. At first listen, Roger's rant makes no sense whatsoever. However, repeated listening reveals a discernible monologue, distorted by a heavily affected satiric Scots accent and some nonsensical words and phrases. Some sources have claimed that this monologue was improvised live in the studio, but it seems a little more coherent and linear than something that might be made up off the top of one's head. Based on the possibly incorrect assumption that the 'lyric' was written and actually means something, an analysis of its content follows.
First, a historical note: the Picts were composed of violent, raiding tribes of both Celtic and pre-Celtic peoples who held power in ancient Caledonia (now Scotland), most notably during the time period c.300-843 AD. After this point, they became united with (and in most minds, synonymous to) the Scots. This 'poem' if you will, which almost seems to parody the style of the renowned Scots poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), tells an interesting story. The transcription above converts the heavily accented words to standard English spelling in most cases (such as 'middin stain' to 'mountainside' and 'doon' to 'down'). The 'Pict' who tells the story starts by referring to the fact that his family settled down in this (apparently) coastal area, probably to fish for mackerel (a common industry in Scotland). But now, conflict and fighting has disrupted his life, all the more so because he is a coward, and has just fled from the battle that his brethren partake in, back to his home. He slaps himself for his cowardice, drops his sword in the shade, and weeps. He is afraid of the heavy blade causing him to fall down in battle — a mistake no-one survives ('never back to raise'). But then he gathers his courage, picking up what is probably his father's Claymore ('your Claymore') and rejoins the fray with a battle cry of Mary! (probably Mary, Queen of Scots, or else the Virgin Mary, a reference to his Catholicism). He sees his friends falling dead around the feet of a particularly ferocious enemy, who screams his defiance. Our young Scotsman grabs for his blade, but his worst fears are realized — it is too heavy, and the enemy's Claymore 'cut and thrust' and he falls at the enemy's feet. The enemy cries that he will not fall and live, and the young Scotsman meets his ignoble end, leaving only the wind to echo his battle cry ('and the wind cried Mary').
The poem seems to imply that it is Scotsman against Scotsman, a situation that did occur during the reign of Mary Queen of Scots in the mid-1500s, as the Catholic supporters of the Queen warred against the Protestant opposition. The above, is however, merely one interpretation of a piece which could mean any number of things — or nothing. What is particularly humorous about this section of Several Species is the elaborate poetic set-up used in order to end with a joking reference to a lyric already made popular by Jimi Hendrix a couple of years before ('the wind cried Mary') — and have it actually make sense. Someone who sounds a bit like Dave Gilmour says 'Thank you' in a normal accent at the end — perhaps Dave was in the recording booth?   From: http://floydlyrics.blogspot.com/2010/03/several-species-of-small-furry-animals.html

Elephant Stone - Setting Sun

 #Elephant Stone #psychedelic rock #neo-psychedelia #Indian music #world music #ex-High Dials #Canadian #music video

Combining the influence of Indian classical music with the influence of British Invasion bands like the Kinks and the Beatles, Canadian neo-psychedelic outfit Elephant Stone is the brainchild of Rishi Dhir, formerly of the High Dials. The project's first album, 2009's The Seven Seas, demonstrated Dhir's knack for breezy melodies as well as his use of instruments like sitar, dilruba, and tabla in a Western rock context. Elephant Stone was operating as a trio by 2014's Three Poisons, and they made use of a children's choir on 2020's Hollow, the project's fifth album. The French-language EP Le Voyage de M. Lonely dans la Lune appeared in 2022.
Inspired by his own ongoing Indian classical music discovery, Dhir formed Elephant Stone in Montreal in 2008. With Dhir singing lead and handling nearly a dozen instruments, he recorded the project's debut album with help from several guests, including producer Jace Lasek. It arrived in May 2009 on Dhir's own Elephants on Parade label (with Fontana Distribution). The Glass Box EP followed in 2010 on Elephants on Parade and 360 Degree. The group then signed with Canada's Hidden Pony for 2013's Elephant Stone. Settling into a regular lineup of Dhir, Gabriel Lambert on guitar, and Miles Dupire-Gagnon on drums, Three Poisons arrived in 2014, also on Hidden Pony. They covered "L.A. Woman" for that year's “A Psych Tribute to the Doors.”  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elephant-stone-mn0001606201/biography

Turtle Skull - Rabbit

 #Turtle Skull #psychedelic rock #doom metal #psychedelic metal #stoner rock #stoner metal #Australian

Art As Catharsis Records are proud to announce the release of Turtle Skull’s second album, Monoliths - a texture-rich record that dances between bone-crushing lows and ethereal highs. Taking inspiration from Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Turtle Skull’s blend of warped psychedelia, shattering doom and indie-rock sensibility merges into their own brand of music dubbed ‘flower doom’. While the final product contains a faint similarity to the sounds of King Gizzard & The Lizzard Wizard, Khruangbin, or Kikagku Moyo, Monoliths is distinctively its own beast. It’s a record that heaves and soars, taking joyous compositions and steering them headfirst into a realm of fuzz and fury. ”This record is about the intimate connection we share with the Earth on which we stand. It’s about the world and your place in it. It’s about looking deep inside yourself and seeing what you find. It’s about life and death and everything in between, and most of all it’s about the pure joy of creation. We are very happy to share it with you." At the end of its runtime, Monoliths undeniably displays a much more fleshed-out realization of the doom, psych rock and indie fusion that launched the five-piece into the public eye following their self-titled release. Tipping between heavy and catchy is the strength of Monoliths - the roar of the fuzzed-out amps is counterbalanced by feather-light vocals, creating a contrast as clear and harmonious as sun and sky.  From: https://turtleskullmusic.bandcamp.com/album/monoliths

Country Joe & The Fish - The Return Of Sweet Lorraine

  #Country Joe & The Fish #psychedelic rock #folk rock #psychedelic folk rock #psychedelic blues rock #acid rock #singer-songwriter #1960s

The “CJ Fish” album was the sixth to be issued by Vanguard Records in 1970, and was the last to feature new material from the group as the only subsequent album was the historical retrospective “Life And Times of Country Joe & The Fish”, issued the following year, by which time the band had broken up and Joe McDonald had embarked on a solo career. The new album can be seen as an attempt by Vanguard to see if they could steer the group towards a more mainstream pop rock position, with production duties being handled by Tom Wilson whose credits by then already included Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. The group's earlier material had been extremely varied, ranging from blues and jug band music to folk, ballads and eastern-influenced rock, but they had gradually been cutting slightly more commercial material, some of which sat in the then-emerging country rock vein almost akin to Poco and others. This however was not a country rock album, but rather a pop rock one with a more uniform set of songs that producer Wilson was able to meld into a cohesive sounding whole.
The Fish line-up that cut the album was different from what is seen as the classic one. Gone were David Cohen, 'Chicken' Hirsh and Bruce Barthol, and now alongside Joe McDonald and Barry Melton were keyboard player Mark Kapner, bass player Doug Metzner (ex-Group Image) and drummer Greg Dewey (ex-Mad River). The album opens with Melton's very pop-oriented ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’, perhaps strangely not picked for single release at the time, and he also contributes the rockier ‘Silver And Gold’. Otherwise all the songs are from McDonald's pen, and are uniformly professional, varying from the gentle piano-led jazzy ‘Mara’ and ‘She's A Bird’ with its dreamy guitar soundscape midway through to ‘Rockin' Round The World’ which is much more upbeat and funky, as you would expect. ‘Hang On’ is an easy jog-along country-tinged song, while ‘The Baby Song’ is solidly romantic and miles from some earlier Fish material, though here is a later nod to the group's past with ‘The Return of Sweet Lorraine’. Hints of Joe's political leanings surface briefly on ‘Hey Bobby’, built on the well-trodden ‘Hang On Sloopy’ chord progressions, and the album closes with another easy mid-tempo poppy song ‘Hand Of Man’.  Before this however had come the longest track, ‘The Love Machine’, which allows much more instrumental interest. The new players, on other tracks professional but somewhat anonymous, put their heads above the parapet here with some of the invention of earlier Fish line-ups. They provide sudden keyboard interjections and solos, interesting bass runs and even a strong drum break, lifting this track as one of the most interesting and evocative of the band's history. Although quite different to much of what had gone before, this album can be seen as a solid addition to the group's canon, even though it was to be their swansong, and as such no collection should be without it.  From: https://acerecords.co.uk/c-j-fish

Gaupa - Diametrical Enchantress

 #Gaupa #doom metal #psychedelic rock #stoner metal #progressive rock #folk metal #Swedish #music video

The city of Falun in Sweden has an illustrious industrial history; originally famous for its copper mine, it performed a vital service in Sweden for centuries. In modern times it has become the unlikely home to a diverse and rich musical scene ranging from power metal titans to luscious Scandinavian folk maestros. Amongst this is the band Gaupa, a progressive stoner band that utilizes doom, folk and psychedelic influences to create beautifully celestial and enchanting songs. In Swedish ‘Gaupa’ translates as Lynx, and this often elusive and solitary wild cat is the perfect simile for this band. With their distinguishing pointed ears and white, bear-like tufts of fur on their cheeks, the lynx looks wise and magical. Gaupa are very distinctive and unique band; musical magicians that blur the lines between folk, psych and doom with intricate yet heavy riffs, their music is intensely ethereal, enchanting and earthy.  From: https://distortedsoundmag.com/album-review-myriad-gaupa/

Love - She Comes in Colors

 #Love #Arthur Lee #Bryan MacLean #psychedelic rock #garage rock #folk rock #acid rock #psychedelic pop #psychedelic folk #1960s

Love broadened their scope into psychedelia on their sophomore effort Da Capo, Arthur Lee's achingly melodic songwriting gifts reaching full flower. The six songs that comprised the first side of this album when it was first issued are a truly classic body of work, highlighted by the atomic blast of pre-punk rock "Seven & Seven Is" (their only hit single), the manic jazz tempos of "Stephanie Knows Who," and the enchanting "She Comes in Colors," perhaps Lee's best composition and reportedly the inspiration for the Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow”.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/album/da-capo-mw0000195829

Seconds into the opening track, “Stephanie Knows Who,” it’s clear that “Da Capo” represented new directions for Love and for rock. A harpsichord dances with guitar in the lovely prelude. A deep-throated sax breaks in. In the break, all of the song’s instruments collide and veer off in different directions. The resulting passage is more in tune with free jazz than psychedelic music - although this is unmistakably a hard rock song. “Da Capo” was Arthur Lee and Love’s second album, out of three made with his core group of L.A. musicians. The album was followed and overshadowed by the rock masterpiece “Forever Changes,” but the songs here are streaked with brilliance and innovation. Many musicians’ minds were blown by its collage of sounds and crazy quilt of influences, the material clearly ahead of its time. “Da Capo” is, in a sense, a more adventurous album than “Forever Changes.” In any case, these tracks are among the finest recordings of Love as musicians. (Key parts of “Forever Changes” were played by hired hands.) The band had expanded to seven players, upgraded its drummer, added woodwinds and, of all things, integrated a harpsichord. The first side of “Da Capo” is a lovely experiment in fusing sounds from rock, Latin rhythms, jazz and classical. Lee and company succeed at this without pandering, producing some of their best songs.  From: https://psychedelicsight.com/no-37-loves-da-capo/

Iron Butterfly - Are You Happy

 #Iron Butterfly #psychedelic rock #acid rock #hard rock #heavy psych #proto-prog #1960s

Reverend Lovejoy: And now, please rise for our opening hymn, uh... "In the Garden of Eden," by I. Ron Butterfly.

Homer Simpson: Hey, Marge, remember when we used to make out to this hymn?

Iron Butterfly were a psychedelic rock band and a major influence on heavy metal. They are well known for "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", the title track of their second album. The 17 minute long piece was epic, menacing and altogether awesome, and has since become a staple of numerous pop culture references thereafter. Oh yeah, and they did some other songs, too.

From: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/IronButterflyBand

 
It started out as a slurred lyric misheard by a bandmate and morphed into one of the signature songs of the psychedelic era. Iron Butterfly’s 17-minute “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” took root in the American consciousness on its release in 1968 and went on to enjoy an afterlife that spanned rock, disco and hip-hop. As The Simpsons episode where Bart tricks the church organist into playing the song shows, unexpected things can happen when you play around in the “garden of Eden”.
Iron Butterfly always wanted to do things differently. The Los Angeles quartet gave equal weight to organ, guitar, drums and bass, with no frontman, had little of the blues heritage of their peers and, as their name suggests, wanted to convey both light and heavy moods. “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” drew on Missa Luba - percussive renditions of the Latin Mass from the Democratic Republic of Congo - for the lengthy drum solos that would help make the song famous, while the organ arpeggios in the intro nod to Bach’s melodramatic Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.  From: https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/in-a-gadda.html