Crazy Good

Insanity and genius share a fine line, and it's possible that one breeds the other. Historically we've seen examples of brilliant men acting outrageous: Van Gogh slicing his earlobe off, Austrian actor Klaus Kinski slipping in and out of blind rage throughout his life, Lord Byron living with a bear in college, etc. On top of that, there are countless masters of some art form have taken their own lives. If suicide is not the way then often the drunken writer emerges, or the drugged-up musician rears his sweaty head. When musicians find God or sobriety it is then that their music begins to suck. Look at the turn Wilco has taken since Tweedy cleaned up or the irrelevancy of Dylan's jesus albums. The fruits of "dark phases" or "acid years" seems to be the tastiest.

Daniel Johnston

I'm not going to go into background too much because there is a documentary about Johnston that is really worth seeing.

                             

Anyway, a manicly depressed outcast from a religious family in Texas who produces some of the most earnest music possible.

                           

                           


Roky Erickson

Another mentally ill musician with a cool documentary. Erickson's mental instability was largely influenced by drugs whereas Johnston always seemed a  bit deranged. Once the stud in The 13th Floor Elevators, Erickson went off the deep end and spent years in and out of hospitals. Some of his work has been recorded from the mental hospital and some out. Like Johnston, Erickson's music focuses on good and evil, with a large part of his career seeming to be downright satanic. Below is the trailer for his film and a nice non-evil track by him.

                           

                           

HI!

Hey I'm still here, just really busy. Here are a few single track snips of what I've dug up lately.

Baby Huey- Hard Times

What a killer beat. It seems a little ahead of its time, and it's no surprise that it ended up being sampled almost 30 years later by Ghostface Killah. Baby Huey never got to see the release of his first and only album on which this track appears due to a sudden heart attack. He was like 400 pounds or something.

Brenton Woods- Oogum Boogum

                                     

I heard this track in a LRG ad and it immediately killed my hangover.  Don't know much about the artist, but I do know how wonderful this song makes me feel.

                                                                                                                                      

Kenneth Higney- Can't Love That Woman

                                       

There's a lot to say about Kenneth Higney and his bizarre release "Attic Demonstration." It's a weird, low production album with a mediocre singer and disjointed songs. All the ingredients for a bad album are here, but there's something charming going on, I think.

                                                                                                                                              

It Is So Nice

My friend Craig turned me on to this guy's lone self-titled album giving praise to his simple lyrics that he sings with so much conviction. Released in 1974, "The Om Album" as it's often called never really reached more than local recognition in the Midwest even though Lucas seemed to be talented and well connected. He was in several bands before the album, most notably a psychadelic blues band called the Spike Drivers, and was also given the wacky title of "exotic strings specialist" on several Motown albums including Psychadelic Shack by The Temptations. The first side of this album is absolutely hypnotizing. Lucas' words are sparse but his messages are delivered with so much power that they need no explanation. The second side gives way to a set of mostly instrumental breakdowns that press the importance of the record. When listening on CD the last three tracks seem out of rhythm with the rest of the album. I'm sure the experience is different when you gain that pause between sides that gives the artist freedom of new directions. I posted a few from the first side. Enjoi

Weird Weird Weird

Whoa. Jim Sullivan's story alone makes you want to listen his sole album over and over again. Look for clues, trip out or vibe on his mystery. The condensed version goes as follows: In 1969 Sullivan put out an album called UFO on a Cali micro-label called Monnie. Because of local popularity his album got around but ultimately any hope of national recognition dissolved. In 1975 a seemingly determined yet possibly discouraged Sullivan took off for Nashville, where his sister-in-law lived, in an attempt to "make it." His car and guitar made it as far as Santa Rosa, New Mexico but Sullivan himself was never seen again. Now there are several possibilties as to what occured. Some think Sullivan got drunk and had a nasty run-in with a local Italian family, the Genetti's, who were rumored to have mafia ties. More entertaining theories suggest he walked into the desert or better yet confirmed the omens in his album and was taken by aliens. Most of the information I've gathered came from this article which is worth a look. Another fun fact about Jimbo is that he had a cameo in Easy Rider!!! Dark and psychadelic yet an attempt at pop. Capitol records told him he sounded too much like their singer James Taylor. Personally, I think he's hiding out somewhere with Connie Converse.


"There is something happening that isn't too clear.
Just a little different than in previous years.
I think that happiness is getting very near.
I'm checkin out the show
with a glassy eye.
Looking at the sun dancing through the sky.
Did he come by UFO?"

Green is the Colour

For a while I didn't know Pink Floyd had this in them...tin whistle....by Roger Waters

CAN I BE SATWA?

Before I did any research on this album I could hardly tell what hemisphere it came from. The sitar enters Satwa into the realm of psychadelia while the 12 string guitar rings true romantic Latin American style. Parts of the album even remind me of the old time revivalists like John Fahey and Leo Kottke, and I suspect this was a gem they may have marveled. Lula Cortes and Lailson de Holanda Cavalcanti are the two tripped-out Brazilians who recorded this album in 1973 and unfortunately it was a one time deal. At the time of it's production and release Brazil was subject to the rule of a military dictatorship and it's speculated that because of the inevitable censorship of the regime, Satwa is a lyricless album. Although it's also possible that they were really stoned and couldn't come up with anything so they just decided to hum and chant. Apparently Cortes was some kind of hippie-god so...Make of it what you want, I find this to be some really inspiring stuff.

DVR

Dave Van Ronk never learned how to drive a car and refused to leave Greenwich Village for a long, long time. One of his most passionate followers was Dylan and yet nobody really talks about Van Ronk. The Coen brothers next film Inside Llewyn Davis is supposedly based on Van Ronk's life and presence in the 60's New York folk scene. Maybe it will give him the posthumous recognition he deserves.

His singing on "Wanderin'" is absolutely devastating here and "Candyman" is a fun threading of different folks songs.

This song is about some dink that Van Ronk knew (just kidding it's traditional).