Rock In My World

The previous episode of Psychedelic Sunday featured The Incredible String Band, who had bowed out of their Friday night performance at Woodstock 39 years ago. In their stead, a little-known folk singer by the name of Melanie took the stage. Prior to Woodstock, she'd recorded for Columbia Records and released two singles, one of which, Beautiful People, had minor success in the Netherlands. In a radio interview with WAMC in Albany, NY, Melanie says she was invited to play at the Woodstock festival because she was in the same office building as the organizers. Of course, her career took off after that, and her song, Lay Down (Candles In The Rain), is a tribute to her Woodstock experience and all of the candle-toting hippies in the crowd.

This week's Democratic National Convention has been boring the hell out of me striking up my enthusiasm for the November election. Doesn't it just get your blood pumping, like back in the good old days of the 1968 convention in Chicago? Who needs Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin? We've got three guys with guns, drugs, and walkie talkies, who have the Feds looking into an Obama assassination plot. We've got thousands in a stadium being entertained by the likes of Stevie Wonder! It's just not that popular to put out a good old-fashioned protest song these days. Sure, there are some, but they never seem to get airplay or become hit singles. The kids are more interested in hearing about a chick kissing a girl or about David Archuleta's crush. Protest songs? We don't need no stinkin' protest songs! HAH! I'm flashing back to a fine, angry protest song from Creedence Clearwater Revival. Take that, young people!

Joe Walsh - Turn To Stone Those American girls gave brilliant performances on the gym floor in Beijing this year, even when the odds seemed stacked against them. (No way in hell that all of those Chinese girls were at least 15. Just no friggin' way.) I was immediately impressed by Nastia Liukin's elegance and fluidity, but, damn girl, maybe you could smile a little?! I don't think she cracked a grin until she triumphed in the All-around. Perhaps it's a way of psyching out her opponents or something. I don't know. I began to think of her as "Stone Face." So, here's today's flashback, from the 1972 album, Barnstorm, here's Joe Walsh with Turn To Stone, in honor of the Stone Face and her Olympic feats. (Note: I prefer this version of the song to his 1975 reworking on So What.)

The Incredible String Band - Painting Box The Incredible String Band was a British folk trio (sometimes duo), whose biggest claim to fame is that they appeared at Woodstock. Due to the downpours on Friday night, the band ditched their plans to play, and were replaced by young Melanie Safka, aka Melanie. She later wrote a big hit song about that appearance, Lay Down (Candles In The Rain.) The Incredible Strings, squeezed between Creedence and Canned Heat, finally appeared on the Woodstock stage on Saturday afternoon, but without a lot of hoopla. They never capitalized on this, and slowly faded away into oblivion. They disbanded in 1974. But here's a little gem from their critically acclaimed and oddly named album, The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion, released in 1967. Hey, maybe that could be Shrek's favorite album?!

New series here, featuring old songs every week. This week, with the Olympics in full swing and sports on our minds at the Contrast Podcast, I flashed back to this song, and how my classmates at Lancaster Catholic used to chant the chorus "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye" to taunt the losing opponents' fans, especially when the opponents were from public schools. We had God on our side, after all, so had a right to display cockiness. Go Crusaders! Here's the 1970 original, from one hit wonders, Steam. Steam - Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow Is Born Previously on Psychedelic Sunday, I featured Old Man Going from The Pretty Things' groundbreaking 1968 album, S.F. Sorrow. The album was one of the earliest rock operas, preceeding The Who's Tommy (but not surpassing it, by any means.) In true Nat fashion, I presented the songs ass backwards, as Old Man Going is the second-to-the-last song on side two of the album, and is, of course, about the ending of S.F. Sorrow's life. Today, here's the song about S.F. Sorrow's birth. I particularly love the intricately played guitar riff in the beginning of the song, and it reminds me of something, though I cannot put my finger on it at the moment. When the horns and strings come in midway through the song, it transforms into something very Sgt. Pepper-esque.

Sing Me Spanish Techno - From the 2005 release, "Twin Cinema" Mutiny, I Promise You - From "Challengers", a 2007 release The Laws Have Changed - From "Electric Version", 2003 Mass Romantic - From their 2000 debut, "Mass Romantic" Use It - From "Twin Cinema"

It's back to the sensational sixties this week, with a band I have not featured before. How could it be that I've been at these psych-rock songs for over two years and I haven't played The Troggs? When I mentioned The Troggs, did you immediately start singing, "wild thing, you make my heart sing" in your head? Busted! In 1966, that song became their highest-charting single. As a pop-lovin' kid back then, I really didn't like that song. When it played on the radio, I think I'd tune it out of my consciousness, because I wanted to hear singing, not some guy talk-singing for 2 1/2 minutes. I didn't care much for The Troggs until a little pop gem called Love Is All Around hit the airwaves in 1968. Love Is All Around is a subdued ballad with a nice, jangly guitar part, and there are lovely strings, too. And who couldn't love, "my mind's made up by the way that I feel"? Enjoy. And Happy Father's Day to all of the dads in psych land.

Lost 80's Tunes Some might argue that there's a reason these songs aren't played so much, even on classic rock radio, but I like all five of these tunes. My favorite song of the set it Zebra's Who's Behind The Door?, though, due to the whole Zep feeling Zebra established on their debut album. I just read that this album sold 75,000 copies in the first week, which was an astounding number for the times. I also love David & David's Welcome To The Boomtown, mostly because I'm a Baerwald fan. The rest of the set is fairly metal-ish, but to me that was more acceptable than the synth-pop of the times. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell the 80's were all about. Here's your five: Zebra- Who's Behind The Door? Autograph - Turn Up The Radio - I know, you always thought this was Def Lepard. David & David - Welcome To The Boomtown Triumph - Magic Power April Wine - Sign Of The Gypsy Queen

Slade - My Life Is Natural Sometimes, I like to delve into the era spawned by 60's psychedelia, the hard-rockin' early 70's, so this week I bring you: Son Of Psychedelic Sunday! Slade was a band that never quite became a household name in the US, even as glam artists such as David Bowie, T. Rex, and Sweet were embraced by many mainstream-loving fans. Glam made lots of people nervous, since ambiguous sexuality was a hallmark of the genre, and that's not something 15-year-old record-buying boys felt comfortable with back then. I mean, Alice Cooper and Deep Purple were more what the rocking boys were into, while girls, like my sister Val, were more intrigued by the glam guys. In their 4-year career, Slade racked up eleven top 5 hits in their home country (England), with five of them hitting number one. Not too shabby. They're best known

The Weepies - Antarctica - This husband/wife singer/songwriter duo will release their latest album, Hideaway, next week, but I've heard one song, and I like it quite a bit. I just love Deb Talen's voice, and I hope you will, too. She & Him - This Is Not A Test - She is actress Zooey Deschanel and he is singer/songwriter M. Ward. Together, they create a magical step back into sixties pop and country (lots more magic than Zooey's appearance in Tin Man last year.) Sarah Mac Band - Open Fire - When I first heard the song on my Paste sampler, I thought it was Lisa Loeb making some sort of comeback. Not so. The Raconteurs - Hold Up - Jack White's side project released a follow-up to their fab debut, Broken Boy Soldiers, last month. I just got around to cracking it open, and it's a gem. Consolers of The Lonely reminds me just how much I miss blues-based rock bands and how thankful I am that some of the younger guys won't give up on it. R.E.M. - Living Well Is The Best Revenge - Accelerate is the best R.E.M. r

It's back, baby! The Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago This legendary English band catapaulted the careers of three of the rock guitar gods: Clapton, Page, and Beck. This blues-steeped band hinted at psychedelia in much of their early works, and Happenings Ten Years Time Ago is a classic example of this. The song, released in October of 1966, features Page playing colead guitar with Jeff Beck. There is a brilliant fuzzy break about 2 minutes into the tune, and you can definitely pick up on some of the the future Zeppelin sound from Page's deft hands. I learned from songfacts.com that John Paul Jones played bass on the cut, too, which also hints at what is to come. And those lyrics: Happenings ten years time ago Situations we really know But the knowing is in the mind Sinking deep into the well of time Sinking deep into the well of time Deep, man, deep. Just remember that the knowing is in the mind, man. Oh no, I'm freaking myself out!!

The Bee Gees - Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You Nearly a decade before they caused perfectly normal people to gyrate under mirrored disco balls, The Bee Gees released a perfectly cool psychedelic record, and it was their debut Polydor album, Bee Gees 1st. This gem is often overlooked, simply because the band became synonymous with white suits, medallions, and Saturday Night Fever. It's worth a visit, though, because the earlier Bee Gees offerings were really good rock records. No, really. This song carries the signature Bee Gees harmonies, but there's a darkly weird chant opening the song that just creeped out my kid. Really, he yelled from the other room, "Mom, could you turn that off, it's scaring me!" (Obviously, he never saw the Gibb brothers in their white disco suits, since that would really scare the bejesus out of him.) Anyway, enjoy the trippy Bee Gees. I have no argument with their disco-era tunes, since they really did produce the cream of the crop, and I liked those songs, even ba

Not only did we have crappy weather over the weekend, here in the US, we had to set our clocks ahead and lose an hour of sleep in the wee hours of Sunday. I was just getting used to waking up with the sun peeping through my window, and now I'm back to stumbling in the dark. I need to laugh. Hopefully, this set will help: Flight Of The Conchords - Beautiful Girl (Part-Time Model) - From their Grammy-winning EP, The Distant Future. Tenacious D - Wonderboy - Just because Jack Black is one of the funniest people on the planet. Weird Al Yankovic - You're Pitiful - Come on, I can't do a funny music podcast without this guy, and I love that he is poking fun at that sappy James Blunt song. Barnes & Barnes - Fish Heads - I'm finishing off the set with two classics from my Dr. Demento years. I don't know where to find his show anymore, but I do have a couple of cds. Anyway, one of the Barnes in this band is Bill Mumy, who was also known to me as Will Robinson from the tv show Lost In Space, back in the 60

Atomic Rooster - Night Living I thought it was high time I started featuring early prog and metal in addition to psych rock. Those genres were born from the experimentation of psychedelia, so it seemed like a logical extension of my psychedelic theme, and it gives me the opportunity to shake things up from time to time. With a name like Atomic Rooster, you might get the idea that this is a psychedelic rock band anyway, sort of like Strawberry Alarm Clock. Make no mistake, this Rooster was crowing to a different tune. Atomic Rooster, formed by Vincent Crane and Carl Palmer in 1969, was one of the premier English heavy metal/prog rock bands. Crane and Palmer had previously been members of The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, who had a huge hit in 1968 with Fire. That's Crane on the badass Hammond organ part in that song. Palmer didn't stick with Rooster for long, since he went off to drumming fame with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake in their little prog outfit, and was replaced by Paul Hammond. Crane added John Du C

t's difficult to play just one cut from The Soft Machine's debut album, Volume I, since there really is no defining line from one cut to another, but I'll post Joy Of A Toy, even with the awkward, abrupt ending. This is a fine piece of jazz-infused psychedelia from a band who, along with Pink Floyd and Tomorrow, led the way in the British psychedelic scene. Although band members Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt have remained relatively obscure to US audiences, they have had long and fruitful solo recording careers. One band member most everyone would recognize is one of the early members, Andy Summers, who went on to a brilliant career in one of the most successful band of the late 70's and early 80's, The Police. Andy was only with the band for a short time, though, so it seems he was not a driving influence in their work. Joy Of A Toy is an instrumental piece that breaks up two parts of the album opener, Hope For Happiness. It's kind of light and breezy until the last 27 seconds, when the tempo picks up, the

The Velvet Underground - Venus In Furs Psychedelic Sunday has been a weekly feature in my blog for just over two years, but I didn't spotlight anything from The Velvet Underground until November of 2007. What was I smokin'? Each of the eleven songs included on that album deserves a separate post! Venus In Furs is the fourth song on The Velvet Underground & Nico, a groundbreaking 1967debut album from the band. The song was written by Lou Reed with inspiration from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's book of the same name. I've never read the book, but apparently it's about kinky stuff like bondage and sadomasochism. Mistress Nat would approve. Originally recorded by band members Lou Reed, John Cale and Sterling Morrison in their NYC loft in July 1965, the song was rearranged for the album cut, and, according to rock critic David Fricke, the final version is a "stark, Olde English-style folk lament." To be sure, the tempo is rather dirge-like, and the lyrics contain masochism references (shiny, shiny, shiny boots

Pink Floyd - See Emily Play Written by Syd Barrett and recorded in May of 1967, See Emily Play was the second single released by Pink Floyd, following Arnold Layne. I've read various accountings of the origination of this song, but according to this source, he was quoted in NME in 1974, revealing, "I was sleeping in the woods one night, after a gig we'd played somewhere, when I saw this girl appear before me. That girl is Emily." The wikipedia article claims he later admitted he made this up. Some have speculated that Emily was really Emily Young, the 16-year-old daughter of politician. She was known as "the psychedelic schoolgirl" to those at the UFO club, where Floyd were the house band. Syd was a druggie and suffered from severe mental problems, so who knows how it really came about. There is a black and white video on YouTube, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F94vHO7okZQ)which really reminds me more of something you'd have seen on The Monkees tv show. It's psychedelic, man! Enjoy some good, psyche

Tinker Taylor - Terry Reid In the late 60's, psychedelic rock reached its nadir and spawned hard rock and progressive rock. In '68, when The Yardbirds broke up, Jimmy Page was looking to expand his horizons and wanted to rock loud and hard, and was forming a new band. He offered the vocalist job to Terry Reid, who had been in a band called The Jaywalkers. Reportedly, Reid turned it down, suggesting that Page check out a guy named Robert Plant, who had been with Band Of Joy. Bad move on his part? Perhaps. He also turned down a spot in Deep Purple that was filled later by Ian Gillan. Still, the guy put out some good solo work and is still out there working. (You can find a London Times podcast online to catch up on what he's up to.) Here's Terry with a song called Tinker Taylor, from his 1968 album, Bang, Bang You're Terry Reid. This record, by the way, also features a cover of Sonny Bono's song Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down.)

To continue with the countdown: 6. All You Need Is Love - The Beatles - The album closer of 1967's Magical Mystery Tour record, with a hopeful, if naive, message. 5. Viola Lee Blues - The Grateful Dead - The only band to have two appearances in the countdown. 4. Hot Smoke And Sassafras - The Bubble Puppy - Their only hit, which made it to #14 on the pop singles chart in 1969. 3. Hole In My Shoe - Traffic - Trippy sitar music makes this one a stand-out. 2. Nantucket Sleighride - Mountain - Really, this song was tied for first with the next song, but I decided to give Vanilla Fudge the edge with the shorter song. Here is the 17-minute version of Mountain's classic jam. 1. You Keep Me Hangin' On - Vanilla Fudge - A classic slower-tempo cover of The Supremes big hit, with a funky organ part. That's it for 2007's countdown. Stay tuned for lots of jammin' hippy music all throughout 2008!