essential psych? knowledge wanted!!!

[SoulOnIce]

First is lyrical,
as in lyrics speaking on psychedelic subjects, be it describing a dream or
the effects of LSD or at least a surreal approach to the subject at hand.
.

Aligator Lizzards in The Air??????????!! ESSENTIAL PSYCH!!!!!!!

Honestly, I invite/deserve to have my rant picked apart -
I don't feel comfortable making "rules" or claiming superior
knowledge of things, and felt a bit toolish while I was typing it...
but still, I'm honestly confused by what people consider "psych"
and at least wanted to give my impression of what the term should
involve. I'm really just curious what people think makes something "psych"
and wasn't too hung up on the "essential" aspect, which I think is
kind of a pointless qualifier to begin with.

 

[GenePontecorvo]

Honestly, I invite/deserve to have my rant picked apart -
I don't feel comfortable making "rules" or claiming superior
knowledge of things, and felt a bit toolish while I was typing it...
but still, I'm honestly confused by what people consider "psych"
and at least wanted to give my impression of what the term should
involve. I'm really just curious what people think makes something "psych"
and wasn't too hung up on the "essential" aspect, which I think is
kind of a pointless qualifier to begin with.

It's just a good adjective. "Psychedelic" that is. Seems most people apply the GENRE TAG psych to the American and British rock of the mid to late sixties that had the trappings (physical aesthetics of presentation and appearance) of that era...the PSYCHEDELIC era. That's cool. Bt the ADJECTIVE psychedelic applies to so much more music. Ash Ra Temple's first album. Fuck me if the tunes on there aren't psychedelic. I'll be damned if Get Up With It or even Live Evil doesn't put me in a stoned place if I zone out to them. I just think you can have an LP that is filed in soul or jazz or classic rock or "krautrock" that SOUNDS psychedelic.

But anyway. I can get down w/ what you laid down to SoI. Whatever works. It's fun to debate the limits of genre names, but a drag to get hung up on it. (Not accusing anyone just saying.)

 

[GenePontecorvo]

this thread is confusing

out of curiosity, as a beginner in the genre, what do you think of the tracklist of my mix? i consider it proggy-psych.
Well first off, quite enjoy the mix. And thanks for putting out the tracklist.

Seems like you've pulled from many genres but all of the tracks have that psychedelic feeling. McDonald and Giles is definitely prog. Manfred Mann has been known to straddle classification lines. (no ayo?)

 

[wooshie]

My studio is next to a lawyers office run by an elderly jewish man named Melvyn, I play all sorts of records and make beats and what not and whenever I run into Melvyn he says things like "Why did the music stop! I was enjoying that..." and whenever i'm like "Oh, you like hip hop?" or "you like wild guitar solos?" He'll always reply "I like GOOD music".

 

[hammertime]

call these whatever you want, they are good:

and props to whoever mentioned "Oar". Everyone should own that album.

 

[GenePontecorvo]

call these whatever you want, they are good:

and props to whoever mentioned "Oar". Everyone should own that album.

What's the one w/ the soldier dood on the cover?

 

[wooshie]

the first 3 Os Mutantes LPs....now, some folks might feel that these LPs are overrated, but I do not. Psychedelic in every sense...the sound, the arrangements, the songwriting, studio processes...the whole kit and kaboodle...I assume the lyrics are but I dont know Portugese.

 

[bull_ox]

Dear soulstrut,

I really didn't know that "Psych" was confused with tropicalia and progrock until this thread. Now, I know why most prices suck. Thanks.

- spidey

"spidey":

There is plenty of tropicalia that is EXPLICITLY psychedelic, its one of the hallmarks of the scene

As for prog, there is some grey area (esp in the late 60s when psych is transforming into prog) but I do hear folks conflating the genres here

For those that consider Krautrock prog though- I think the best of it is sonically and inspirationally MUCH closer to psych than prog... which is why I like it

 

[bull_ox]

Human Beinz.
And not to be a drag, but I wouldn't call less than half of the aformentioned psych.

Thats funny, cuz everything I've heard from the Beinz is either R&B or frat rock! (good stuff for sure though)

 

[wooshie]

Human Beinz.
And not to be a drag, but I wouldn't call less than half of the aformentioned psych.

Thats funny, cuz everything I've heard from the Beinz is either R&B or frat rock! (good stuff for sure though)
Everyone has their own opinion on what physc is supposed to be and can be very precious about it. I find myself saying things have "Physc undertones" IE: "This is like garage rock with physc undertones". That way you don't offend anyone and you get your point across. HA

 

[hammertime]

and props to whoever mentioned "Oar". Everyone should own that album.

One of these isn't showing up. What's the one w/ the soldier dood on the cover?

Ash Ra Tempel- S/T, and German Oak.

 

[Swayze]

Magical Power Mako - "Andromeda"
3 Hur-el - "canim kurban"
Archie Whitewater - "Seacoast"
Bayete - "Dont need nobody"

 

[phono13]

Damn all this psych talk made me pull out the shrooms last night. Tripping out, listening to records and making a dub track that actually turned out pretty well. Didn't fall asleep until 8 this morning. Damn I'm busted now.

Pulled out this one in the process:

Thanks! I liked this. I would call this psych.

 

[youngEINSTEIN]

zappa good! psych with doo-wop undertones.
peace, stein. . .

 

[pickwick33]

Human Beinz.
And not to be a drag, but I wouldn't call less than half of the aformentioned psych.

Thats funny, cuz everything I've heard from the Beinz is either R&B or frat rock! (good stuff for sure though)
Going by the two or three 45's I have, they went "psych" early on...matter of fact, just a few scant months after their big garage hit, "Nobody But Me." If I were to play those singles in sequential order, you could hear the heaviness creeping in.

 

[pickwick33]

I know you're joking, but I'm actually not out of touch
with jiggy hip hop nugget psych, or calling it such, as
long as it's psych. I'm just not understanding how any record
released from 1965-infinity that features long hair on the cover
or a chick in gogo boots is now considered psych.

'Specially since 1965 would have been slightly early for psych-as-we-know-it anyway. But I agree with the statement. Everybody has their own definition, and I hate to play Music Nazi, but I remember I did a double-take on a soul-collector friend of mine when he referred to the Fifth Dimension as "psychedelic." All together now: ?????

But on here, I get confused and a little bummed out by people naming country rock
and soul/beat albums as "psych" even though they have nothing psychedelic
about them beyond a trippy cover font or maybe one 23 second fuzz break on
one track.

Therefore, I can accept a folk album played in a fairly conventional
manner but with lyrics exploring the land of mushrooms the singer tripped
through in a waking dream as psych, or a pop album that sings about Jeanie
leaving him at the drive-in last night but with a backwards guitar solo
and reverberated vocals as psych, but calling some straight-ahead folk rock
album psych just because it was released in 1967 does nothing but confuse me.

In some cases, I understand why these musics are lumped together...because they appealed to the same progressive FM radio audience. I'm sure that back in 1967-68, some of the same hippies who bought Circus Maximus probably bought Buffy Sainte-Marie or even John Fahey as well. But, as Soul On Ice just implied, the loose definitions have to stop somewhere.

 

[The_Hook_Up]

I didnt really feel that German Oak LP...ended up selling mine. I cant hang with amateur recordings bathed in reverb....

as far as the "oar" LP, I still kick myself for not taking this "producer's" OG copy...if I had known he was gonna fuck up our album AND rip us off for a bunch of $$$, I woulda taken that shit along with a bunch of other ILL OG LPs the dude had...fucker. Great LP!

 

[SPlDEY]

"spidey":

There is plenty of tropicalia that is EXPLICITLY psychedelic, its one of the hallmarks of the scene

As for prog, there is some grey area (esp in the late 60s when psych is transforming into prog) but I do hear folks conflating the genres here

For those that consider Krautrock prog though- I think the best of it is sonically and inspirationally MUCH closer to psych than prog... which is why I like it

Tropical + psychedelia = Tropicalia well yeah, i get it. Personally a little fuzz guitar doesn't qualify psychedelic to me. Alot of Brazillian Lp's even bossa standards are confused with PSYCH!!! This is what I was referring to.

As for prog, and kraut and psych. Genres are stupid as fuck. Genres are only a quick classification system. Not a price guide. That was the point of my post "DigDug".

Elis regina and Can have a lot in common.

- spidey

 

[djtopcat]

I personally prefer heavy psych, with lots of plate reverb beefy drums,fuzz guitar etc, quite a few of these are expensive as fuck if you can find og copies at all.

1)Fraction-Moon Blood- Bonkers Christian psych rock, fuzz galore
2)Morgen- 1969 st NYC fuzz monster!
3)D.R. Hooker- Christian psych fuzz insanity
4)Damnation of Adam Blessing- 1969 UA
5)Gun-st
6)CA Quintet
7)JD Blackfoot-Ultimate Prophecy
8)Lincoln St. Exit
9)Blue Mountain Eagle
10)Salem Mass-Witch Burning- Montana or Utah private press
11)Dragonfly- NEED!
12)Josefus- Texas bangers I prefer over 13th F.E's

trippy sounding
1)United States of America
2)Fifty Foot Hose-cauldron
3)JK & Co-Suddenly One Summer
4)Coven- that evil reaps souls lp with the naked chick being sacrificed
5)The Ghost
6)Ultimate Spinach
7)Mighty Baby
8)Arzachel

I consider these essential and not too hard to find or pricey
1)Sir Lord Baltimore-Kingdom Come
2)Blue Cheer-all of the lps
3)All the Electric Prunes lps
4)The Seeds
5)Moby Grape
6)Linn County
7)Coldwater Army
8)Blues Magoos
9)Electric Flag
10)Granicus- more like Cleveland's Led Zeppelin.