With this episode of the Turn Me On, Dead Man podcast I’m back to recent garage/psych releases. Opening this set is “Earth on the Verge of Destruction” by The Uplifting Bell Ends, which put me in mind of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
00:00 TMODM – Intro 00:53 The Uplifting Bell Ends – Earth on the Verge of Destruction 04:36 TMODM – Such Power Exists? 04:57 Ringo Deathstarr – Tambourine Girl 09:34 White Hills – A Picture Unto the World 18:39 TMODM – KL93 19:01 Clavicule – Asshole 23:18 Satorinaut – Atropine II 32:54 Caroline Reza – Heart Healing 34:16 TMODM – The Robot’s on the Loose 34:46 Trip Hill – Improvisation 1 38:35 Shroom Eater – Intro/The Illusion 45:34 TMODM – Get That Message to Gort 45:59 The Writhing Squares – Sonic Control 51:57 Dope Smoker – Severn 58:12 TMODM – Gort Run Amok
This show is a departure from the usual recent garage rock and paychedelic releases because this episode is entirely made up of parodies done in character. The title of this episode is “These Go To 11” and that, of course, comes from the mock documentary This Is Spinal Tap, a parody heavy metal band. Some of the parodies in this episode are genre parodies, but most are parodies of artists doing unexpected covers.
Bruce Springstone – (Meet The) Flintstones – Bruce Springsteen sings the theme song of the Flintstones
Gary Panter & Jay Cotton – God Save The Queen – Alvin & The Chipmunks sing the Sex Pistols
Dylan Hears a Who – Green Eggs and Ham – Bob Dylan sings Dr. Suess
Mac Sabbath – Pair-a-Buns – Ronald McDonald and the McDonaldland characters sing Black Sabbath
Dread Zeppelin – Black Dog – Reggae Led Zeppelin sung by Elvis
The Beatnix – Stairway To Heaven – “Stairway to Heaven” as sung by Beatlemania-era Beatles
Peter Sellers – She Loves You – Dr. Strangelove sings the Beatles
Beatallica – Ktulu (He’s So Heavy) – Metallica sings the Beatles
The Zombeatles – Brain – Zombies sing the Beatles
The Rutles – Cheese and Onions – A Rutles song so close to the Beatles that it was credited to the Beatles on a bootleg
The Barron Knights – Call Up The Groups – The Barron Knights Parody the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Searchers, Freddie and the Dreamers and the Dave Clark Five in 1964
Flight of the Conchords – Bowie – The Flight of the Conchords pay homage to David Bowie
Richard Cheese – Another Brick in the Wall – Another Brick in the Wall done as a lounge song
MC Hawking – The Mighty Stephen Hawking – Stephen Hawking as a gangsta rapper
Okilly Dokilly – White Wine Spritzer – Death metal performed by (several) Ned Flanders
The Jimi Homeless Experience – Are You Homeless? – Jimi Hendrix advocates for the homeless
Spinal Tap – (Listen to the) Flower People – Spinal Tap as a 1960s folk rock band
Robin Williams – Elmer Fudd Sings Bruce Springsteen
While the music of this episode of Turn Me On, Dead Man is recent garage rock and psychedelic releases, 2020.10 Bad Apples is also a tribute to the demonstrations that have been going on the last several days in response to the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police. While it would be easy to assume that this event will not change anything, the public outcry has gone well beyond the usual response to events like this. Only time will tell if this represents any sort of turning point.
2020 continues to be a great year for garage rock and psychedelia. I did short interviews with most of the artists featured in this episode. I wanted to know how they were getting along in these strange times. Their responses are below.
00:00 TMODM – Intro 02:19 The Reverberations – Palm Reader 05:30 Lanes – 俳優 [Actor] 08:45 Dayshifters – Greg’s Song 12:51 Turtle Skull – Rabbit 16:50 Psychic Idols – Sheel of the Wizen 21:07 ToneTeeth – Liquid Lady 24:04 Holy Monitor – This Desert Land 27:57 Heavy Trip – Mind Leaf 35:57 Los Pebbles – One of These Days 39:45 The Silk RailRoad – 8 Sided Pyramid 48:44 Snakes Don’t Belong In Alaska – ทะเลทราย [Desert] 64:45 TMODM – Outro
I went out of order with the numbering of these podcasts because I wanted to revisit the “Bigger than Jesus” controversy that caused such a stir in 1966, and I thought Number 9 was appropriate for that. All of the tracks in this episode of Turn Me On, Dead Man were released in June, 2020 (or right at the end of May in the case of Fontanarosa), but we’re still fighting the same culture wars that emerged in the 1960s. Amid all the insanity of 2020, musically our current year continues to be an absorbing and exciting one.
00:00 TMODM – Intro 01:37 Fontanarosa – Dawn 03:40 Korto – Tempor 07:30 Shibumi Loop – Waiting for the Bus 12:38 Tia Carrera – Layback 19:50 The Daisy Heaves – Land of Nod 24:30 Ty Segall & Cory Hanson – She’s a Beam 29:35 Anthroprophh – Too Old 32:52 Centre El Muusa – Szolnok 38:54 Comacozer – Sun of Hyperion 57:53 TMODM – Outro
The COVID-19 pandemic goes on and we are all trying to come to terms with the new normal. This episode of the Turn Me On, Dead Man podcast opens and closes with tracks from the Burger Records compilation Quarantunes: Songs From Self-Isolation. Burger Records organized this ambitious undertaking to support its artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The label is covering all the costs and all proceeds from Quarantunes will go directly to the artists. There’s also a track from another COVID-19 benefit album, CosmoPraesidium compilation by Eiderdown Records. All proceeds from this compilation will go to food banks in Washington state, California, and New York.
COVID-19 comes out in other ways in this podcast. Kikagaku Moyo released a track earlier this month called “Ouchi Time” (“Home Time”) that I take to be a response to stay-at-home orders. Other bands, like the Watchmakers, Flowers Must Die and CCR Headcleaner used this opportunity to release recordings from years past. I asked the artists how they were faring through this time, and I got some varied responses.
Like 2020.07, this podcast features audio from Apocalypse Now. This time we hear from Dennis Hopper’s unnamed character.
00:00 TMODM – Intro 00:52 Exploding Flowers – (There’s No Arms Around) The Isolationist 02:45 The Watchmakers – Illumination 07:10 The Haze Parade – P-ills 09:27 Sky Burrow Tales – Photons 16:02 TMODM – Little Man/Great Man 17:45 Prana Crafter – Cloud Ambassador 20:15 El Viaje De Los Antiguos – Capitulo 1 24:45 The Cove – Come Down Easy 30:01 Doug Tuttle – No, No, No, No 32:07 CCR Headcleaner – Unified (Dubified) 34:39 TMODM – Dialectics 36:33 Kikagaku Koyo – Ouchi Time 40:09 Tonstartssbandht – Olde Feelings 45:14 Flowers Must Die – Funki 54:05 O.S.H. – Let’s Try To Have Good Times 56:52 TMODM – Outro
An old friend texted me “Saigon. Shit. I’m still only in Saigon.” In these strange days it seems like we’re all Capt. Willard stuck in a room in Saigon waiting for a mission. This episode of the Turn Me On, Dead Man podcast is heavy on psychedelic freakouts, thinking about Apocalypse Now while putting it together.
00:00 TMODM – Intro 01:08 Oakacetator – Open Up Your Mind 04:59 Vince Cory – Death Birth of Time 12:08 Kundalini Genie – Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind 16:59 Psychic Ills – Never Learn Not To Love 20:42 TMODM – He’s Close, Man 22:09 Frozen Planet….1969 – 900 Mile Head Rush 32:30 Dark Fog – Revird Ysatnaf Eht/The Fantasy Driver 37:14 TMODM – We’ll Go Together 38:14 Heaven’s Gateway Drugs – Sweet ‘N Low (Dub Mix) 43:51 Long Slow Dissolve – Into Darkness 56:34 oz. – Is Risen 65:21 TMODM – Outro
This edition of Turn Me On, Dead Man focuses on social distancing, our new reality in this era of COVID-19. All of the tracks in this podcast were released from mid-March through early April in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the tracks address the isolation that has come about because of the stay-at-home orders issued by the government. The artists are from a variety of countries but most are under some sort of lockdown and facing a prolonged period of limited social engagement. Some of the artists are donating the proceeds from the sale of their music to charity. Some of the artists are using this time to explore their creativity, producing extended improvisational works. Given how quickly the COVID-19 has spread throughout the world, it’s impressive how much creative work is out there already. I asked the artists where they were and what sorts of restrictions had been placed on them.
The music in this edition of the Turn Me On, Dead Man podcast doesn’t reflect the current state of our world. These are not songs about pandemics, quarantines or the end of the world. As a matter of fact, most of The Corona 714 is upbeat garage rock, some power pop, and of course, a psychedelic freak-out here and there. Perhaps this is because even though these are all recent releases, the corona virus has changed the world so rapidly. I wonder if “social distancing” will become the new normal, and if we’ll ever go back to interacting with each other the way we did in the world before COVID-19.
The drops in this edition of Turn Me On, Dead Man come from The Conet Project. My obsession with following the number of coronavirus cases, and continually checking to see if we have “flattened the curve” put me in mind of the odd numeric messages captured by The Conet Project.
00:00 TMODM – Ready Ready 02:19 Dogpile – Peripheral 06:01 Gavin Watts – Apple Scruffs (George Harrison) 09:11 The Hearses – Carrier Pigeons 12:11 The Psychedelic Suns – Hide From The Sun 16:43 TMODM – Crossing The Cosmic Void 17:55 Yellow Sunshine Explosion – Air 22:28 Black Heart Death Cult – Sonic Dhoom 26:35 Concrete City – Strange Bodies 30:17 “the band whose name is a symbol” – From Dusseldorf to Cologne 36:51 New Blue – “Now I Know” 38:42 Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin – Rider In The Desert Sun (Parts I & II) 45:02 TMODM – Trip Around The World 46:17 The Artakees – Rush 49:57 Kikagaku Moyo-幾何学模様 – Gypsy Davey 53:33 Jambattista – Walker 56:16 The Flower Machine – Through a London Window 58:57 TMODM – Counting Out
This episode of Turn Me On, Dead Man focuses on recent extended psychedelic tracks, heavy on improvisation. I asked the bands about their creative process, so check out their answers below. The drops in this episode come from Terrence Malick’s 1998 film Thin Red Line.
00:00 TMODM – The Other Side of the Dark Waters 00:33 Dark Fog – Black Candle/Eldnac Kcalb 10:00 Melt Plastic Group – Return Of The Turkey (Edit) 14:10 TMODM – This Great Evil 15:46 Dire Wolves – Deep Sunrise Energy 23:54 Elkhorn – Electric One (Part C) 29:28 TMODM – Each Like a Coal Drawn From the Fire 31:05 The Spacelords – Spaceflowers 44:30 Kanaan – Urgent Excursions To The Tundrasphere 58:42 TMODM – All Things Shining
Turn Me On, Dead Man podcast 2020.03 Somebody’s Controlling The Vibes on Mixcloud includes garage rock and psychedelic tracks released (or re-released) from late January to early February. The title of the podcast, as well as the breaks used throughout the hour, are from the outlaw biker/horror movie Werewolves On Wheels [1971].
00:00 TMODM – Intro 01:08 Capricorn One – Hey Garcon 04:57 Mouse – Electric Face 09:11 Ozo – Saturn 13:56 TMODM – The Truth 15:25 Lenny Kaye & The Fleshtones – Lost on Xandu 18:00 Crushing Yellow Sun – The Bomber 21:48 No Glitter – SUB 24:15 Van der Vous – Cuidad Del Sol 28:18 TMODM – Protect Us From Your Evil 29:32 Lemurian Folk Songs – Logos 37:55 Wolf Tape – Wreckage 41:01 Dead Sea Apes – Night Lands 54:19 TMODM – Outro
