Rock’s Unexplored Stage Pose: Haughty, Defiant Gum-Chewing!

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May 312008
 

While watching the video that kicks off our recent Amon Düül thread, I noticed singer/guitarist Johanes Weinzirl furiously chewing gum in a haughty, defiant manner reminiscent of this guy:

About 20 seconds into the intro for “All You Need Is Love” you first see John Lennon working his gum into shape. From that point on Lennon’s gum chewing becomes as important to this live performance as his specs, his headphone adjustments, and his omniscient head nods.

Don’t think The Rutles didn’t pay attention to this detail.
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Lo-Fi Studio Magic

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May 292008
 

I really like the lo-fi studio magic of the opening of Guided By Voices‘ “Tractor Rape Chain”. I’ve never taken the time to read up on what exactly went into the song’s intro, but it sounds like they took a casual acoustic run-through or demo of the song’s opening, probably recorded on a boom box, and then cut in the full-band’s studio intro. It’s cool that the studio entrance is not quite in sync with the acoustic intro. It’s cool that the sound of the rooms in which each recording took place don’t come close to matching. It’s also cool that the studio portion of the song is not very polished, but let’s steer clear of a “What’s so cool about crappy sounding lo-fi stuff?” debate. I’ve been on both sides of that discussion, and I agree with all points of view.

If you’re not familiar with the song or haven’t heard it in some time, check it out:

Guided By Voices, “Tractor Rape Chain”

I find this lo-fi studio device much more effective than any one of Tom Petty‘s White Rabbit opening devices from his videos – at a fraction of the cost!

I’m not about to ask you for a full list, Townspeople, or entire albums, so let’s get that straight. What I seek are specific moments of studio magic in lo-fi records that you love.

Use your judgement to determine what constitutes “lo-fi,” but I’m thinking independently made records that sound obviously beneath the contemporary standards of commercially made records of their time. Don’t give me some record that an indie Tom Scholz made on his laptop that sounds as high-quality as the latest release from Madonna. It may be “indie” but it’s not lo-fi, it’s not primitive. And don’t judge primitive by any later, contemporary standards. For instance, although the studio magic on Sgt. Pepper’s is primitive by even 1972 standards, what The Beatles were doing in 1967 was pushing the boundaries of technology. I have used this GBV recording from the late-80s, I believe, because they made some magic using rudimentary tools, even for their DIY times.

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Winless Streak Comes to an End: Townsperson’s Recommendation of Amon Düül Finally Pays Off!

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May 282008
 


In a thread entitled Band You’ve Had NO Success Turning Friends Onto, Townsperson Petesecrutz bemoaned:

I have faced much difficulty in turning friends on to Amon Düül and Amon Düül II.

I believe this is the band I’d seen small, mail-order ads for in ’70s magazines like Trouser Press. Wasn’t there always something a bit pathetic about this band’s attempts at selling their music? I seem to recall them having a proto-Dungeons & Dragons luster that made critics snigger. However, as I often find while reading Comments on Rock Town Hall, I became intrigued by Petesecrutz’s very personal plight. Shortly thereafter, I figured I’d give this band another try.

I’d sampled some of their songs in the past, but they didn’t click. I can’t recall which album I started with, but this time I went on eMusic and started with something called Wolf City by version II of the band.

I sampled a number of tracks and, among others, downloaded the following:

Amon Düül II, “Jail-House-Frog”

Let’s face it, for a fan of The Doors‘ “Peace Frog”, the title was highly appealing. Before this number peters out into peaceful frog sounds and then an early Roxy Music-style jam, it’s got that slightly awkward twin-guitar attack I love on The Pretty Things‘ SF Sorrow album. I have a friend who gets mad at me for liking that album. “They can’t write a song to save their life!” he yells at me. I could care less with that twin-guitar fuzztone they get. “Jail-House-Frog” was not the revelatory slice of hippie-psych I’d hoped for, but it was worth trying some more downloads.

Amon Düül II, “Sleepwalker’s Timeless Bridge”

All right, now here’s some of the smelly, hippie, communal-living, psych-rock that I’d been hoping to hear! Many moons ago, when I dated a hardcore Deadhead girl who surprised me by owning a bunch of Gong albums among her Dead boots and the Dead Package Deal of assorted albums by The Band, Van Morrison, and Little Feat – and James Taylor’s Greatest Hits. I borrowed a stack of Gong albums, certain to find enlightenment. It was not to be. Have you ever heard that band? They’re all the in-my-face, look-at-the-trails-maaaaaan, hackey-sack kicking nonsense that turns me off about the Deadhead sideshow. Gong did not deliver, but had they delivered way back when, they might have sounded like Amon Düül II playing “Sleepwalker’s Timeless Bridge”.

For those of you who know me well, as much as I can enjoy the unintentionally funny stuff and guitar tones of such music, these two songs from Wolf City did not exactly strike paydirt, but they held promise for getting me to the next level, the Cult Admirer stage of a rock nerd’s life. The album Yeti, which I downloaded in full, might be the bridge I sought!
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