On The Spine - I am not in this picture. But I should be
Today marks the last time I will make the trek up to Binghamton University in anticipation for either Fall/Spring semester. I have reached the Spring semester of my senior year of college. In May I will adorn green and white and graduate with a BA in English – Rhetoric – Creative Writing – whatever other English specification you want to pack into my degree. I am excited to enter the “real world.” I may be continuing my education at a Graduate level in hopes of achieving a masters in journalism. Or I may immediately enter the work force and become a member of the working population. For now, I will enjoy my last semester of college.
Since today is the last time I will be heading up to Binghamton after winter (or summer) break, it also is the last time that I will feature “Going Up The Country” by Canned Heat paired with my farewell Long Island post. This classic, that was made iconic by the Woodstock movie, is not only a Woodstock anthem, but also an ode to my departure to the north country. Upstate New York…where the water tastes like wine?
The Canned Heat recording from Woodstock also makes the perfect driving song. In it you can hear Bob Hite say that he really needs to pee but there is nowhere to go. A problem when you are driving up deserted 17 as well. So, for good luck on my final trip, here is Canned Heat with “Going Up The Country.”
July is perhaps best known by the eclectic group of UK 60’s psychedelic album collectors. Do not let this specific title draw you away from this post. If you are a fan of psychedelic music, modern or original, this post should be of interest to you. I will reserve “Journey to the Center of the Mind” posts to explorations into the eccentric world of psychedelic music. Occasionally blogger Peter Mosur will join us on our trip down mind-bending, kaleidoscopic lane. Today we will explore a single released by July in 1968 and the coinciding album that has garnered much attention even in its mediocrity.
July came out of a verdant psychedelic scene in Britain. Hallucinogenic music still maintained its cult popularity and bands were still experimenting with different sounds. July was the product of a merger between two separated bands. In the early 1960s a band named the Dreamers began playing pop music. The band changed its name to The Tomcats because of Freddie and the Dreamers and also changed their genre to blues/rock. In 1965 the band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Tom Newman, bassist Alan James, guitarist Peter Cook and drummer Chris Jackson. And, in typical band fashion, this incarnation of The Tomcats broke up in 1965.
Also exploring the London music scene was a band named Second Thoughts. They also broke up in 1965. Second Thoughts were an R&B band that featured conga player, flautist and keyboardist Jon Field, guitarist Tony Duhig, singer Patrick Campbell-Lyons future Thunderclap Newman vocalist and keyboardist Speedy Keen. Keen wrote Thunderclap Newman’s one-hit-wonder “Something in the Air.” Also, just for those who are interested, Thunderclap Newman was created by the Who’s Pete Townshend to showcase Keen’s songwriting (which produced one huge hit). Keen was the Who’s chauffeur. The music business is all about connections.
Anyway, the two bands combined forces and a new Tomcats line-up was created with Newman on vocals, Duhig on guitar, Field on flute/keyboard, James on bass and Jackson on drums. Newman and former Tomcats member Peter Cook began writing more psychedelic music for the Tomcats and in 1968 the band changed its name to July. They were picked up by Spencer Davis (of his group) and produced by watched most attentively by Tommy Scott on their 1968 eponymous release off Major Minor Records Limited. Those who have the record understand that joke. I actually have the CD.
The band broke up in 1969 after their singles and album flopped. Newman actually went on to produce Mike Oldfield’s work. But their legend lives on.
July is overall a mediocre psychedelic album. But, the first two tracks on side one are exceptional pieces of psychedelic music. “My Clown” and “Dandelion Seeds” were released as a single in 1968. Today, 43 years later, this single is widely regarded as one of the best psychedelic singles ever released. No. I am not kidding. This London-based psychedelic band managed to slip through the cracks of obscurity and are now finally being recognized. Let’s explore these two songs.
The track immediately sends us into the normal psychedelic repetition. I just love the track manipulation that is a constant in psychedelic pieces of that era. You also can spot some classic British elements of psychedelic music in that it maintains solid pop harmonies. The chorus is wonderful. The voices are precise and melodic. The song shifts into hard psychedelia at around the 1:25 mark. It is there that we hear a guitar solo. We can also hear vocal manipulation which is interesting and well done. Perhaps my favorite part of the song is the conclusion. The voice echoes and then falls into some conga and distorted flute.
“Dandelion Seeds” is immediately different. This is what makes this single so great. What you hear immediately is rhythmic and distorted blues. The verse follows this progression with awesome mind-melting lyrics. Then at 50 seconds the verse becomes almost poppy and effervescent. It’s cool. You can really hear the R&B influences. Then something odd happens. At 2:30 the song changes completely. It becomes drawn out with keyboards and almost seems like a scene out of a psychedelic movie. It has a soundtrack feel to it. But, in the background (almost like a nightmare) is the originally beat of the song which replaces the odd sound and we come back again. The song ends with a guitar solo (no backing).
*I have a theory that all music is somewhat related. All artists have some connection (whether it be inspiration, concert, producer, etc.) with other artists which have connections with other artists. It may be confusing but it is most likely true. The iPod allows for all of this music to be randomly dispersed or, in iPod terms, shuffled. Six Degrees of Your iPod is an easy game to play. Go to your iPod (or other musical device) and play one song. Do not use that song. Then, after you make sure your iPod is set to random, skip to the next song. Starting with that song post six songs on the comments and attempt to connect the first and sixth song. If I am right, you will be able to find a connection between the first and sixth. And, that is exactly what I am going to try to do. Let’s play the musical version of the Kevin Bacon classic.*
Kaleidoscope – not to confused with the UK psychedelic band with the same name – was a psychedelic folk band that operated between 1966-1970, releasing singles on Epic Records and then fading off into the abyss with many other talented bands like them. The band won their recording contract with Epic Records because of their stringed prowess. The group certainly knew how to play their strings. They also could play practically any genre of music. Seriously. Rock, blues, folk, jazz, middle-eastern; you name it they’d play it. This is evident in the song featured today. “Minnie the Moocher” is a jazz song first recorded by Cab Calloway (an influence on the group). It is based, both musically and lyrically, on Frankie Jaxon’s 1927 “Willie the Weeper.” Calloway’s version is famous for his call and response scatting, which Kaleidoscope attempts to imitate in their version (below).
6.) “Journey to the Center of the Mind” by The Amboy Dukes
“Journey to the Center of the Mind” is the pinnacle of The Amboy Dukes’ success. The song is a psychedelic-rock masterpiece. In 1968, the song was released as track 1 on side two of Journey to the Center of the Mind. The album is a solid piece of conventional late 60’s psychedelic music. The Amboy Dukes are most famous for launching the career of guitarist Ted Nugent.
The Connection
I think this is going to be an easy one. The last few times I have played Six Degrees I have been stuck with next to impossible connections. Today I get to play around with two American psychedelic bands that were playing music during the same years. The only difference is the type of psychedelic music. Kaleidoscope were playing psych folk in LA and The Amboy Dukes were playing hard psychedelic rock in Michigan.
This is actually too simple. I can take a shortcut on this one and immediately connect the record label. Kaleidoscope released their music on Epic Records and Ted Nugent, after dropping the Amboy Dukes band name in 1975, went to Epic Records. So, yes, at different times members of each band played under the umbrella of Epic Records. But come on, that’s too easy.
I have to choose something much more complex. Kaleidoscope’s band leader was David Lindley, who became a famous studio musician (mainly because of his proficiency playing a ton of musicians). His long list of collaborations includes one with Rod Stewart who had at one point of his career (before joining Faces) considered joining a supergroup named Cactus with Jeff Beck and others. Instead of joining Cactus he joined Ronnie Wood in Faces. Cactus did form eventually and it consisted of the Vanilla Fudge rhythm section, Jim McCarty of Mitch Ryder‘s Detroit Wheels and singer Rusty Day, who came from a short stint with The Amboy Dukes.
There you have it. I’m looking forward to your games below!
Rodolfo Vazquez loves the Beatles. Well, I love the Beatles. Let me reword that sentence. Rodolfo Vazquez has an obsession with the Beatles. The 53-year-old accountant from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been in love with the Beatles since acquiring Rubber Soul when he was 10 years old. He has worked since then to amass the biggest Beatles memorabilia collection in the world. The Guinness World Records marked it as the biggest collection in 2001, when he had already amassed 5,612 items in the attic of his home. The collection has reached over 8,500 items and Vazquez wisely decided to move most of it into a bigger space.
The Beatles museum in Buenos Aires opened on January 3 and has already allowed Vazquez to share his wealth of Beatles’ gadgets and gizmos with 2,000 people. So, what does he have?
Here is a short list of stuff. Vazquez has acquired a brick from the Cavern Club, Beatles’ wig, toys, pictures, concert programs, and even a box of condoms with the name of John Lennon and Yoko Ono (yeah that is really disturbing).
What does the man with everything want more of in the Beatles’ world?
“What I am missing is to shake hands with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, hug them and chat with them a little bit,” he said in an interview with AP.
“It is what would complete me and I would be the happiest collector on earth.”
Ever wonder what the classic “Jurassic Park” theme song would sound like if you slowed it down 90 percent. No? Well neither did I until I stumbled on a Gawker post that answered the question of what happens when you slow the “Jurassic Park” theme song down by 90 percent. Here is what it sounds like.
It’s heavenly. If this version of “Jurassic Park” narrated my life, or any movie, it would be narrating one of the most epic and long scenes of amazing success, like the entrance through the Pearly Gates.
One commenter, JEMathews on Gawker wrote, “The human mind likes hearing resolved cadences, and slowing a piece of music down removes the context you’re used to hearing it in (like the fact that it’s really a terrible Bieber tune or a trite movie theme) and makes even the simplest chord resolutions seem like genius.”
He is absolutely right. Music is powerful, especially when you slow it down.
Perhaps no exclamation explains Reznor’s Golden Globe win more so than “Holy Sh*t.” That is exactly what he tweeted after winning the award for his joint score for “The Social Network.” He wrote the score with Atticus Ross.
On the red carpet, Reznor explained to the New York Times that he was there to support the film. He also spoke of the Grammy Awards, which he never has attended even though he has won Grammy awards for his work with Nine Inch Nails.
He said, “Not to be disrespectful, but the weight of a Grammy feels much less important than the film side of this. The music business has very much done everything it can to lessen the weight and importance of music as art.”
Reznor is a smart dude. The Grammy awards have done an excellent job promoting poor, washed down, terrible mainstream music. Rarely do talented performers like Reznor pick up substantial awards. Reznor and Nine Inch Nails have won the award for “Best Metal Performance” twice which is seriously like honorable mention in summer camp Olympics.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at the nominees for the Grammy awards.
Back in November Gorillaz beckoned their fans to submit drawings for a new cartoon character they would add to their animated band. Do you know how hard it is to snatch up a new band member out of the cartoon realm. It’s much harder than simply drawing someone up. Gorillaz gave a broad description as to the appearance of the Evangelist, the new character. Basically, they said he was the opposite of the saturnine, gas mask wearing Boogieman character who has already appeared in some videos (see Stylo).
So, Gorillaz listeners took the call and over 5,000 submitted what they thought the Evangelist should look like. I would have just sent in a photo of Billy Graham. After sifting through submissions, Daman Albarn and Jamie Hewlett decided on a drawing by a user named Jirouta. Hewlett redrew it and this, my friends, is the Evangelist:
Ha...Doesn't look like the harbinger of right-winged christian theology
Well…that’s terrifying. Jirouta gets a framed, signed print of the photo in a gift pack (pretty awesome deal) and Gorillaz has their new cartoon member. He looks like what would happen if you dunked Benson from Regular how into the ocean…a radioactive ocean.
Crosby Still and Nash have parted ways with producer Rick Rubin and Columbia records after planning on releasing an album of cover songs. It seems that the folk band lost patience with the producer, who was working to complete other projects before delving into the CSN covers album.
CSN had previously stated that Rubin was quite picky in his song choices. In an interview with Spinner, David Crosby said, “We write down a list of songs we think are potentials, learn them, make up our version, and sing them for him. He’ll like maybe one out of eight, so we go back to the drawing board and learn another eight or 10. It’s a very slow process.”
I haven’t heard anything about CSN releasing this album independently or on a different label. Until then enjoy CSN performing “Ruby Tuesday.”
According to a study from The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital — The Neuro at McGill University, scientific pleasure can be released by listening to music. The study, released in the Nature Neuroscience journal, proves that listening to music releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked with pleasure. You see, music is not just murdering our hearing.
The report was released in article from yesterday’s Science Daily.
“The team at The Neuro measured dopamine release in response to music that elicited “chills,” changes in skin conductance, heart rate, breathing, and temperature that were correlated with pleasurability ratings of the music. A novel combination of PET and fMRI brain imaging techniques, revealed that dopamine release is greater for pleasurable versus neutral music, and that levels of release are correlated with the extent of emotional arousal and pleasurability ratings.”
Hooray for science. The article is an interesting read and certainly proves that music is a vital part of human nature. I mean we did not need a genius to tell us that music is pleasurable, but it does help to have the scientific proof!
The Music Court 