Jam of the day, psychedelia compilations, and vinyl conventions: D.R. Hooker / "Forge Your Own Chains"

Artist: D.R. Hooker
Album: The Truth
Song: "Forge Your Own Chains"
Released: 1972
Label: On Records [original] / Subliminal Sounds [reissue]


A friend of mine had a vinyl copy of Forge Your Own Chains: Psychedelic Ballads and Dirges 1968-1974 and played it on at least one occasion while we were hanging out at his place and in the right frame of mind for this album. Oh man, is it heavenly. A double LP compilation, with songs from Korean psychedelic guitarist Shin Joong Hyun, Nigerian rock band Ofege, a Temptations cover by a group of American soldiers who won a "Battle of the Bands" contest while stationed in Germany, and this here tune and namesake for the album by an underground Connecticut folk-rocker named D.R. Hooker. I've since gone on and bought a vinyl copy myself and highly recommend you do the same.

D.R. Hooker has a solid J.C. look about him, as you can see on the cover art for The Truth, his 1972 debut LP. He released another LP 7 years later, and another one in the late 1980s, but I've yet to track those down. I stumbled upon a reissue of this album on vinyl (via the Subliminal Sounds label) at the 7th (semi-)annual Pittsburgh Record Fest at Belvedere's a month ago. The event was pretty big, filling the huge back room of Belvedere's with tables and sellers and people milling about. I got there with some friends on the later end of the evening, and probably missed out on some great scores because of that, but it felt like I didn't see a whole lot of stuff that "grabbed" me. This record was the only one I picked up that made me say, "I have to have this." I made some other finds, but this was my favorite by far.

Here's the jam that got this whole story started. It's a catchy little ditty in the middle of the LP, piecing together a tambourine beat and stuttery drums with D.R. Hooker's smooth voice and a cool bass line, plus some awesome jazzy punches of brass. It's really, really … cool. Suave.

D.R. Hooker / "Forge Your Own Chains"



"One more cigarette to clear your head
Today you're living, tomorrow you're dead"

Some other links about D.R. Hooker I found: Buried Treasure / 99 Krap Rec / The Truth

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I'm always on the lookout for other sweet compilation albums, after experiencing the greatness of this one. This also led me to buy an album of Shin Joon Hyung tunes called Beautiful Rivers & Mountains and it is similarly outstanding and highly recommended. Do you know of any other compilations like this that you'd recommend? LET ME KNOW!

Shin Jung Hyun (ft. Jang Hyun) / "Twilight"

The Song Remains the Same-ish: The Apples In Stereo vs. Big Eyes

[This is a "series" that lets me point out when two songs sound really similar or something about one song reminds me strongly of another one, or something like that. Its frequency obviously depends on me finding these similarities, so who knows when it will happen again.]

Artist:	The Apples In Stereo	/	Big Eyes
Song:	"She's Telling Lies"	/	"Now That You Aren't Mine"
Album:	Velocity of Sound	/	Hard Life
Label:	Elephant 6	/	Don Giovanni
Released:	October 8, 2002	/	August 23, 2011

This same-ish similarity snuck up on me. I've been listening to a lot of The Apples In Stereo lately because I went and saw The Olivia Tremor Control a few weeks ago and it was fucking amazing. I sat front and center, it was an awesome theatre, the band sounded great, they played for a long time, and I was incredibly lucky and went backstage to interview Will Cullen Hart after the show, also chatting briefly with Bill Doss and John Fernandes in the process. But that's really beside the point; I just wanted to mention it :-) Since then, I've had a renewed interest in all that is Elephant 6 and have been listening to a lot of albums from Beulah, of Montreal, OTC, NMH, and so on. I renewed my devotion for Robert Schneider and The Apples and, particularly, my affinity for Velocity of Sound, their emo-punk album. It is surprisingly good. Seriously.

Earlier tonight, I was listening to a new LP, from a newish band named Big Eyes, entitled Hard Life. I was enjoying the pop-punk ride, with quick and catchy guitar-heavy numbers, but then I got to track 10: "Now That You Aren't Mine". The opening guitar line reminded me of something … I couldn't quite place it just yet, so I played the first minute of the song again. I listened to the first verse and noted how it matched the guitar melody in pitch. Then I played it again. And once more. And then it hit me. This melody is almost exactly the same as the beginning of a random bonus track tune from Velocity of Sound! Playing the two songs back to back now, I recognize that the connection is a little stretched—the tempos are different, the guitar scuzz layers are different, the intro/ending of the melodies are different—but hey, this series isn't about finding identical songs, right? It's just about pointing out similarities, and I believe I've found two songs whose guitar riffs sound remarkably similar. (It's a little odd that the song titles are slant rhymes, too, isn't it?) What's weirder to me is that I was able to recall this Apples In Stereo tune just from this random guitar riff, considering it's a non-standard-issue bonus track. Luckily, I've listened to this album four or five times over the last three weeks, and that I was pointed to this Big Eyes album earlier today via a message board I frequently read. Huzzah, serendipitous coincidences!

So, see for yourself! Do they sound alike? Am I making shit up? Tell me! (Seriously, tell me …)

The Apples In Stereo / "She's Telling Lies (Bryce's Mix)" / Velocity of Sound [Elephant 6, 2002]

 
Big Eyes / "Now That You're Not Mine" / Hard Life [Don Giovanni, 2011]

 

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By the by, this Big Eyes LP is awesome pop-punk. Check it aht. Also The Apples In Stereo are one of my fave bands of all time. VoS is good, Her Wallpaper Reverie is great, and Fun Trick Noisemaker is a fucking masterpiece.

Big Eyes on the web: Blog / Bandcamp / Facebook / Twitter
Buy Hard Life: Don Giovanni Records / Insound / Amazon / iTunes / eMusic

The Apples In Stereo on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Buy Velocity of Sound: Amazon / iTunes / eMusic

Jam of the day: Ultimate Spinach / "Ballad Of The Hip Death Goddess"

Psychedelia epitomized, that is the name of the game for Ultimate Spinach. This Boston band put out three LPs in the late 1960s, full of awesome psychedelic rock gems. You might hear a few strains of their songs and write them off as too "typical" or something; they really do make in-your-face druggy jams, which isn't exactly inventive, but these jams are such perfect examples of this style, and who are we to not give them credit and laudation for epitomizing an epic style of rock music? Ultimate Spinach songs are generally languid yet mind-expanding instrumental adventures, with some female/male vocals peppered in, and they are endlessly listenable. They make you want to turn on the lava lamp, slouch into the couch, and drop out, and this is strongly encouraged, but not necessary. They have some poppier psych-rockers, like "Funny Freak Parade" and "Dove In Hawk's Clothing", but Ultimate Spinach should be recognized for their powerfully evocative jams. This song, "Ballad Of The Hip Death Goddess", is the example I've chosen, but don't let that stop you from exploring their catalog.

The reason I bring this song up now is because of a couple of random occurrences related to this song from a couple weeks ago. I just had to share. First off, though, I should say that I found this band also randomly, on the internet (via eMusic, I believe) and really dug the two albums of theirs I heard, Ultimate Spinach and Behold & See. I listened to those mp3s quite frequently for a while, and when I saw a used vinyl copy of Behold & See at Red Onion Records in D.C. over New Year's this year, I had to buy it. I spun it a number of times right after buying it, but kinda forgot about it until recently. Comedian Andy Kindler tweeted some random hashtag stuff about #BadCoffeeShopNames, which morphed somehow into #badbandnames and #comedianbands and #confusingbandnames and #badcomedyclubnames and so on. Silly stuff, but that's the Twitter-verse for ya! Anyhow, Andy sent out this tweet that mentioned Ultimate Spinach as a #badbandname and I "politely disagreed while not really disagreeing but merely qualifiying the claim" by saying this back to him, and he deemed it worthy of a retweet. Huzzah! And it was about this jam I'm featuring now, in particular. Double huzzah huzzah! Thus far in my short Twitter life, I've been retweeted by Todd Barry and Andy Kindler, both funny comedians and Home Movies voice actors! Now I just gotta track down Brendon Small, Ron Lynch, Jon Benjamin, Laura Silverman, Mitch Hedberg, . . . uh oh.

Anyway, the other coincidence with this song involves a compilation album I just bought (on eMusic, even, whaddyaknow?) last week. I had been looking through the Dungen catalog (trying to research/listen to write a New Classic on Ta Det Lugnt) and saw they had an instrumental version of "Satt Att Se" on a compilaton album, called A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding In Your Mind. I saw this album had a gigantic amount of music for a cheap price, and was intrigued by ... well, the title. I downloaded the whole thing and listened through most of it in one inspired and lethargic sitting. It was great for that mood. And somewhere in the middle, I heard Ultimate Spinach come on! How could I mistake those opening chiming bells, so melancholy yet enticing, for anything else? In a way, the tune is kinda formulaic—repetitive bass groove, reverby vochals, ethereal lyrical themes, tinges of feedback on the lengthy guitar solo—but this song is so much more than the sum of its constituent parts. It's about a mood, a sense of existence, and powerful emotions. It's evocative, it's scary, it's groovy, it's psychedlic, baby. Check it out.



See the glazed eyes
Touch the dead skin
Feel the cold lips
And know the warmth of the hip death goddess

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On an only slightly related note, the guy who put the compilation together (and whose band, the Amorphous Androgynous, also has a couple songs on the compilation, strangely enough) seems to be really ... interesting. While reading about the band I stumbled on this video of his featuring a crazy religious lady at Speakers' Corner in London. If you've never been there, and you're in London, you have to see it. Somehow, the northeast corner of Hyde Park has been designated as the spot where anyone can just show up and start shouting at the world. It's weirdly fascinating.

Cover jams: Raveonettes & Black Angels / "Aly, Walk With Me"; Wooden Shjips & LCD Soundsystem / "Drunk Girls"

I'm presenting two jams here, one of them a strict cover version by neo-pyschedelic rock-jam band Wooden Shjips of neo-electronic/dance-rock band LCD Soundsystem's upbeat single "Drunk Girls", and one of them a live version of neo-pscyh-synth-tronic rock band The Raveonette's song "Aly, Walk With Me" played by the band and members of the neo-psychedelic rock-pop band The Black Angels. So yeah, that's a lot of genre labeling and bending, but the truth of the matter is that I sincerely enjoy all 4 of these bands; specifically, The Black Angels put out one of my absolute fave LPs in 2010, I've been a Raveonettes fan for a while thanks to eMusic and a Wooden Shjips fan for a while thanks to random interwebz connectionz and an LCD Soundsystem fan-ish for a little while thanks to their last album (the rest? meh, I say). So yeah, I'm saying "So, yeah" again; also, I'm reiterating the fact that these are great bands.

This version of "Aly, Walk With Me" was performed at the Austin (Texas) Psych Fest in 2010. If there is a festival that I would love to attend, it's this one. Fuck Coachella and Pitchfork and Primavera and all that jazz; this shit is right up my alley. And here are two of my favorite bands performing, together, one of my favorite songs. Awesome. Here's the live "cover" version

and here's the original version.

(Bonus track! Here's an acoustic version by the band, posted by my friend Rumi on my Facebook wall tonight, and part of the inspiration for this post.)

And now, let's consider LCD Soundsystem and Wooden Shjips. The latter is an awesomely-psychedelic, guitar-heavy rock band, and I love 'em. And you know all about the former, and if not, just Google 'em. Here's the Wooden Shjips version

and here's the orginal. ("Embedding disabled by request", says YouTube. Says who? The band? YouTube? Google? Big Brother? WTF?)
So certainly, the video of the LCD S version is better, as in, it exists, but don't let that detract from the WS version, which absolutely fucking rocks the ghee-tarr.

So there ya have it. Enjoy these jams. And for the future, please share your jams with me, covers or otherwise. I like 'em all.

Vinyl find: 1910 Fruitgum Company / "Indian Giver" b/w "Pow Wow"

(Check out the first post in this series for the back story.)

Artist: 1910 Fruitgum Company
Album: "Indian Giver" b/w "Pow Wow" 45 RPM 7" single
Label: Buddah Records
Released: January 1969


I'm still slowly combing through this massive box of 45s I got from Jerry's, trying to pick out the good stuff. It's tough to do, because I haven't heard of many of these bands and I'm somewhat afraid of passing on a hidden gem, like this one. I'd never heard the name 1910 Fruitgum Company before, but this bubblegum psych-pop band (how apt) was active and popular in the late 1960s, released three separate Top 5 Billboard singles that achieved gold status, and opened for the Beach Boys on a 10-day tour. Crazy. Not only that, the A-side of this single (one of those gold records), "Indian Giver", was covered by The Ramones and included on the compilation Ramones Mania. Finally, and strangely, two of the band's original members have reunited (along with ex-members of bands like The Lovin' Spoonful and The Buckinghams) and have been touring the US for the last four years or so, as well as selling rerecorded versions of past 1960s hits, such as their own originals. Still crazy.



Anyhow, let's examine the music here. I can completely see how "Indian Giver" was a successful single when it was put out in January of 1969. It's upbeat and poppy, channeling the deservedly-popular and enjoyable melodic guitar, keyboard and vocal elements of standard pop songs of the era and sprinkling a touch of psychedelia on top. Never mind the vaguely racist title and lyrics (see bottom of the page here) about a once smitten but now jilted lover, this is an immensely catchy pop song and clocking in at a mere 2:30 with a repeated-chorus fadeout, it was perfect for radio play.



What's crazy is that this record sold over 1 million copies, even with this wacky-as-fuck B-side. It's an "ode to Howdy Doody" recorded backwards!? The 45 itself doesn't even indicate which side is A/B so I actually put this side on first since "Pow Wow" sounds more like the title of a lead single and I was shocked to hear these alienating vocal sounds emanating from my headphones. Embedded above is the original recording and embedded below is the reversed, intelligible version. I don't know anything about Howdy Doody, nor can I vouch for the record-it-backwards technique, so I'll leave you with those and let you draw your own conclusions/confusions. Please comment with any insight you might have; I'm clueless here. (Although I did take the time to transcribe the reversed lyrics below. Maybe that will help.)




"Indian Giver" lyrics:

I can still remember, it wasn't long ago
Things you used to tell me, you said I had to know
You told me that you loved me and that you always would
Then I said "I love you", you said that that was good
Girl you made a promise, said you'd never want me to go
Ohhh no

Indian giver, Indian giver, you took your love away from me
Indian giver, Indian giver, took back the love you gave to me

Baby I was feeling the way I wanna feel
You had me believing the love we had was real
Things we did together, you said they'd never end
Now until forever, oh yeah, that's what you said
Girl when I was down, I knew that you would always be there
Ohhh yeah

Indian giver, Indian giver, you took your love away from me
Indian giver, Indian giver, took back the love you gave to me

*fadeout*


"Pow Wow" lyrics: (*** = I can't tell what the fuck they're saying)

There was a TV show, was on a while ago
I really loved it so, it was my favorite show
Each night at 5 o'clock, the TV set I'd watch
Then I would see the sign, it's Howdy Doody time

Bring back Howdy Doody, oh I would give my very last dime
Bring back Howdy Doody, I got to see it one more time

*** Flub-a-dub and Big Chief Thunderthud
And the Princess King, Summerfall Winterspring
Can't forget Dilly Dally or Mr. Bluster, too
The *** was swell and so was Carabell

Bring back Howdy Doody, oh I would give my very last dime
Bring back Howdy Doody, I got to see it one more time

The on one gloomy day, happiness went away
To everyone's despair, the show went off the air
The world is not the same and it will never be
Until someone will bring back Howdy Doody

Bring back Howdy Doody, oh I would give my very last dime
Yeah, bring back Howdy Doody, I got to see it one more time
Bring it back now
Bring back Howdy Doody, I would give my very last dime (I miss you Flubadub)
Bring back Howdy Doody, I got to see it one more time

Jam of the day: "Lucidity"

Artist: Tame Impala
Song: "Lucidity"
Album: InnerSpeaker
Released: May 21, 2010
Label: Modular Records

I've been listening to this album fairly frequently since finally downloading it on eMusic a couple weeks ago. I've put it on to fall asleep to occasionally, and I played it a couple times on the bus on the way to NYC last weekend. It's addictive, with the super-fuzzy guitar riffs and cymbal-heavy percussion and ethereal vocal effects that make the whole thing sound like you're hearing it through a drug-induced haze. Fantastic. I like music that can evoke moods or states of mind that are so close to the real thing you can't even tell the difference.

The video for this song premiered today. It features an initial shot of the band playing the song but then the camera shoots off in a rocket and floats and spins around for the remainder of the song before finally plummeting to earth and being discovered by a nearby bird. Cool idea, great execution.

Some old, some new: Dungen

I like Dungen. They've introduced me to what's goin' on at the forefront of neo-psychedelia and freak-folk and traditional-Swedelandia and such, and they've taught me a few choice phrases in Swedish. For instance, dungen=grove, ta det lugnt=take it easy, and skit i allt=fuck all. Yeah, that's right, if you ask me what the cool hang-out is in Stockholm, I can tell you it's at "the grove", but then when you don't know how to get there I can tell you to just "take it easy", and then when you get all indignant and berate me in front of my peers I can say "fuck all" and walk away. Hellz yah, I told you.

So, anyway, Dungen has a new album out today, Tuesday September 14, 2010. I first discovered their fantabulous self-titled EP on eMusic and kept discovering from there: Ta Det Lugnt (bought on eMusic), Tio Bitar (bought on vinyl at Wicked Discs on Craig St. in Pittsburgh), 4 (bought on eMusic). It's all great. Incredible instrumentation, awesome arrangements, everything euphonious and then some. Check out this super interview with lead man Gustav Ejstes to get a better sense of their style and musical influences, including traditional Swedish folk and his father's violin music.

Their new album, Skit I Allt is released via Mexican Summer in the US and Subliminal Sounds elsewhere. You can stream it for a limited time on Spinner's new releases page. I encourage you to check out their back catalog. I'm digging the new one, and the previous stuff is even better.

Dungen: MySpace, website
"Panda" music video
"Panda" live on Conan O'Brien
"Stadsvandringar" music video

Noteworthy album: the Roots of Chicha

The Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru
Various Artists (Los Mirlos, Juaneco y Su Combo, Los Hijos del Sol, Los Destellos, Los Diablos Rojos, Eusebio y Su Banjo)
Barbès Records, 2007
I found this album on eMusic sometime last week and picked it up from the Carnegie Library yesterday. It is fantastic. The record label has a descriptive write-up of the music's historical development, and here are some samples:


Yes, that is a version of Beethoven's "Für Elise". (Looks like most of the 17 album tracks are on youtube if you seek them out.)