The Sad Bear

June 8, 2009

The quest for pure sanity

Recently, it has become possible for man to chemically alter his mental state and thus alter his point of view (that is, his own basic relation with the outside world which determines how he stores his information). He can restructure his thinking and change his language so that his thoughts bear more relation to his life and his problems, therefore approaching them more sanely.

It is this quest for pure sanity that forms the basis of the songs on this album.
-quote from the liner notes of Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators

Have I posted this before? I don't remember. It's the only video evidence I could find of this band on YouTube. I just bought The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators the other day. It was eight dollars used. It's a freaky record.

Not freaky as in the stupid, vague sense of "oh man, that's freaky good." I mean that, literally, "You're Gonna Miss Me" is the sunniest song on the album. You'll have to poke around YouTube for some other audio-only recordings, but I think I now know from where the Black Angels got their material.

It gets somewhat "happier" when the bonus tracks begin. And by "happier" I mean, more bad ass. Look at the list of covers: "Everybody (Needs Somebody to Love)," "You Really Got Me" (which is, in all honesty, a minute and a half of song followed four and a half of crazy soloing), "Roll Over Beethoven," "The Word" and "Gloria." And then a song called "We Sell Soul". Which is obviously awesome.

It's not unlike the Flaming Lips album In A Priest Driven Ambulance. It came out in 1990 and was before even "She Don't Use Jelly." I feel like I'm the only one who's ever heard it. "Unconsciously Screamin'" anyone? Anyone?

Labels: Flaming Lips, music, psychedelia, rock'n'roll

by JHitts at 9:03 PM |