insect trust

1. The Skin Game
2. Miss Fun City
3. World War I Song
4. Special Rider Blues
5. Foggy River Bridge Fly
6. Been Here and Gone too Soon
7. Declaration of Independence
8. Walking on Nails
9. Brighter Than Day
10. Mountain Song
11. Going Home

good source on the band

i am not really a christgau fan by any stretch, but he sort of gets it on his liner notes to the insect trust's second album: "Anyone who wonders what the hippie '60s were like--or could be like, with the arrant nonsense and obsessive back-biting avoided or suppressed--can find out from this true collective. Not the Beatles or the Stones--they were different, bigger and often better, mass culture. Hoboken Saturday Night--like Have Moicy!, the later and smaller and more pastoral and perfect album Peter Stampfel helped actualize, and maybe the Dead's Aoxomoxoa or even Dylan's Basement Tapes--is subcultural. All involve folkies untouched by self-righteous sentimentality."

sharing, caring...

ok, so this is an LP that has righteously been blowin' my head off lately. i'm not in a writerly mood so i'm gonna refer you to lysergia's in depth analysis/review/database on this one and i do reccomend you read about it while listening. but on this christmas eve i present you COMPLEX, one of the rarest british LPs known to man, and deserving of every whisper and hush hush about this one. a real cheap way of describing it would be a british version of Mystery Meat, circa 1970. but that doesn't go all the way there... i will merely quote from the article i mention above to fully give you a better idea:

"According to the "private press" gospel, a band releasing an item on their own reaps certain benefits, even though they may not realize it: no smart A & R guy or greedy manager is there to tell them what to do, the lack of funds makes for a time-critical recording with a live gig spontaneity; and, usually, the band is on its way up which means youthful enthusiasm and innocence. All of this can be found on the Complex LP, spades of it, the irony being that it was done with the hope of getting a "major" recording contract, where much of it ran the risk of being lost. But those factors are true for 100s of albums, and hardly any of those are as stunning as Complex, so what gives? Well, ultimately and beyond all the unconscious advantages of DIY, you have to have the songs and the vocals and the arrangements and the playing, and unfortunately a lot of the local American "garage" type LPs are lacking in this department, whereas Complex are not. The opening "Funny Feeling" sets the stage just right with its energetic roller coaster melody and rousing tempo; somewhat akin to the Zombies, or more precisely a teen garage band influenced by the Zombies, such as All Of Thus. Already in this tune Tony Shakespeare's vocals may create a division among listeners, although I really can't see how anyone can NOT like them -- it's such a perfect capture of the starry-eyed ecstasy of a 17-year old kid walking on clouds at the beginning of a new love affair. It's the stuff Merseybeat bands were singing in 1963, and hearing someone credibly delivering these words in 1970 to a musical backdrop from 1966 makes you realize the unique nature of the Complex experience. Cynicism, "hip" blaséness and burnt-out worldweariness all melt into a tiny pool of battery acid on the floor before Shakespeare's bared heart. "Message from the year 2000" is a very fitting title for the band and LP, and although we're five years past that now it sounds fresher than anything you'll pick up on classic rock radio." - Patrick the Llama, read more here.

so without further ado... COMPLEX

1. Funny Feeling
2. Message from the Year 2000
3. Green Eyed Lucy
4. Josie
5. Witch's Spell
6. Norwegian Butterfly
7. Self Declaration
8. Images Blue
9. Storm on the Way
10. Mademoiselle Jackie
11. Live for the Minute
12. Hush

a new topic for discussion.... i think blue oyster cult's Fire of Unknown Origin has become my favorite record from the 80s. it is soooooooo fuckin' GOOD. get it on tape, and let it get stuck in your car tape player. let it go around about 100 times and tell me this is not the fuggin' greatest thing since sliced bread??? merry xxx-mas

rabble! hogs....

more x-mas for you... i give ye RABBLE

crazy ahead of time rock record coming from 1968 montreal band. voice is spoke sang, slightly satirical and snide, but sometimes heartbreaking. a mothers-ish time signature/dabblement (and occasionally totally gross lyrics, like on "can i squeeze") could be implied but ya know who this sounds alot more similar to? PAVEMENT. yep. listen to "rising of the sun"and i think you'll see what i mean. some really great pop songs here too... they could write. "golden girl" sounds like a missing song from the lennon-mccartney catalog circa '65 with matching guitar sound to boot! so dig on it man. RABBLE... pushin' ahead into 2006...

1. I Can Still Hear Them Laughing
2. Black Potatoe
3. Nothin' But
4. Rising of the Sun
5. The Crushing Hand of Mother
6. Golden Girl
7. We'll Bring You Flowers
8. Can I Squeeze
9. The Energy Ritual

also, supposedly the second album is real good too but i ain't heard it... more fuzz and lunacy quotient upped is the word on the web.

coming in the coming days: index, complex, insect trust... among other things... ooh and that Victoria album i mentioned down below.

merry x-mas...

i give ye NIGHTBIRD. the kaplan bros. at their swingenest, most totally warped, and overly ready for the next great bar mitzvah party in outer space...

imagine catching these fellas in action circa 1978 in some illinois backwater holliday inn! lysergia.com nails their amalgamation quite succinctly: "The ultimate loungerock extravaganza that makes John Ylvisaker sound like Nick Drake. An "Electric symphony" mixing Morricone with King Crimson as recorded by a Holiday Inn/Bar Mitzvah band from outer space. These guys probably thought they'd made the greatest LP of all time and in a way I guess it is - almost everyone I know is blown away by it, including regular folks with no interest in this scene. Must be heard to be believed, preferrably on acid." - Patrick the Llama

1. Ode to Life
2. Vodka and Caviar
3. Epitaph
4. Listening to Falling Rain
5. Life & Me
6. Love is Life
7. Nightbird
8. Happy
9. He

spike the eggnog, put on your worst disco shirt, embrace the kaplan brothers with all your heart...

MORE! MORE! aaaGH

has anybody heard of these or HAVE these besides the collector nuts at www.lysergia.com? my goal here is to have a way deep library of home made american ooze (preferrably in rock-ist direction vs. incredibly strange music, though of course the best rockist material in this zone often could pass as well for some variant tunnel off of the ISM bunker...) from the 60s, 70s, 80s, sure 90s too if it's twisted enough... mp3s to come of course. when time and money affords for me to share. x-mas time i think... but here of course are some interesting leads, and if anybody can hook me up, i'm working on a full list of wants/haves for trading purposes.

ZENITH EFFLUVEUM (Rochester, NY)

"Almost Made It In The USA" 1978 (Separate)
"This new wave era psych album has the feel of unrestrained teenagers getting stoned and recording everything they’ve ever written in one day. It’s six songs that take up 48 minutes, and the messy arrangements include clarinets, synthesizers and unidentified noise."

ZIG ZAG PEOPLE ( )

"Take Bubblegum Music Underground" 196 (Decca dl-75110)
"We won't describe each track, but highlights include a fuzz guitar drenched/ take-no-prisoners "Little Bit of Soul", a drastically slowed down, pseudo-dirge take on "Chewy Chewy" (complete with way cool droning bagpipes and fuzz guitar) and a bet you can't recognize it "Hanky Panky"."

WANDERERS (CT)

"Sing To The Lord... A New Song!" 1967 (Allen 108)

"The album's legend rests mainly upon the closing "BSRS", a remarkable, spooky 9-minute acidrock excursion which sounds like "Spare Chaynge" as done by a group of depressed 14 year-olds."

VICTORIA (NJ)

"Kings, Queens and Jokers" 1971 (Dirty Martha 61471) [no sleeve] [4]

"Band leader Greg Ruban found himself three capable young ladies to back him on his homemade musical fantasy. Greg himself is a pretty unusual guy... a professional volleyball player who at 6'6" was still playing into his 50's."

"Imagine an East Coast version of CA Quintet's "Trip Thru Hell" done by three chicks influenced by Joan Baez and a second rate Herb Alpert & The Marijuana Brass. The only redeeming thing about this track is the effects used in the last 4 minutes that do indeed remind me of a "Trip Thru Hell". The final cut is probably the highlight for most owners of this LP. "Core Of The Apple" is an upbeat, fuzz guitar 8 minute killer with that same Middle East feel that we caught a glimpse of on side one."

"if the chicks were naked in the photos I might have raised it to a 6!"

UNISON (NY)

"Unison" 1984 (no label) [2]

"Essentially a concept LP about relationship breakdown, each song being a different aspect of how “his chick done him wrong”. Sounds terrible doesn’t it? But it is pretty good, with tracks like ‘Borderline’ delivering that seventies chunk fuzz with insane lyrics and ‘Cookin’ for you’ having so much phasing it could be Marcus."

JEM TARGAL ( )

"Luckey Guy" 1977 (S'Heavy) [gatefold; insert] [1]

"You know from the coloring book album cover and misspelled album title that Targal is one of a kind, and his album does not disappoint. It’s full of weird songs with freaky echo-heavy production, pained romantic lyrics, unrestrained high-pitched vocals and stark guitar or piano arrangements. There’s no clue here that he was once in the Third Power. Not only is this music not heavy, it’s almost not even rock. The songs are pretty repetitive and groove heavy, but pretty catchy. It’s more like 80s and 90s DIY albums than 60s or 70s acid casualty music (the Skip Spence comparisons are off the mark.)"

TEA COMPANY ( )

"Come And Have Some Tea" 1968 (Smash srs-67105) [wlp also exists] [1]

"Crazed garage psych with kitchen sinx efx thrown in. Like a snotty punk band crossed with the Deep. Goofball protest songs! Featuring acid rambler Frankie Carr."

THIRTYONE FLAVORS ( )

"Hair" 1969 (Crown 492)

"The rest of the LP is 100% fuzzploitation instros with studio hacks obviously delighted to run stone free like a stage jam by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Great raw live feel, wild playing and excellent fuzz riffs."

"You have to love the idea that these people were just fucking around and still managed to put together two albums that blow away most hard rock albums by “real” bands."

MAYO THOMPSON (Houston, TX)

"Corky's Debt To His Father" 1970 (Texas Revolution 2270)

"Thompson’s singer/songwriter album is in many ways a lot more interesting than anything he did with the Red Crayola. He has a matter of fact singing style and a really unusual sensibility that rewards multiple listens. Some surprisingly blunt sexual lyrics are pretty funny. As with the Crayola, this isn’t exactly the most adeptly performed record, but unlike with the Crayola, it never sounds like Thompson doesn’t care deeply about his songs. Fascinating and memorable."

STEVE TIBBETS (St Paul, MN)

"Steve Tibbets" 1977 (Frammis bzz-77)

"Yr" 1979 (Frammis 1522-25)

"Guitar/home studio wizard. Eastern instro prog psych, tablas. The Frammis LPs were recorded in his house on an 8-track machine."

TOWER (New York City, NY)

"The Tower" 1973 (Other World 1001) [1-2]

"Post-nuclear holocaust story with audio collage of electronics, musique concrete, synthesized speech, and all sorts of sound effects. sounds like the Dreamies doing the music for a Stephen King audio book! "

thank you
www.lysergia.com
for your undying website.

wants, NEEDS, please god deliver me from this state of depravation!

CELEBRATED RATLIFFE STOUT BAND: Dan, Half-Dan and the Spaceman (no label UK 1976)
anybody have this? will trade bodily organs for a CD-R, or file-share.

or this...


MICHAEL RAVEN & JOAN MILLS with SAGA: The Jolly Machine (Folk Heritage 053 UK 1974)

i've lusted after the below for a while...

ORACLE: Nataraja da nada (Paradise Lost US 1990)
"Around 1990, a Texan record dealer and occasional impressario named Darryl Menkin distributed this LP among the psych-head underworld. Information on it was limited, but Menkin himself was listed as "executive producer" on the sleeve, and the recording was stated as having been made in West Virginia. It appeared to be a modern release of a contemporary psych group. Except that this band didn't look like the Blacklight Chameleons - they looked like they had wandered out of the time-space continuum at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert in 1975 and hadn't found their way back to earth until 1989. And the record didn't really sound like a modern psych band either - to begin with, it was insane."

" About 1 minute into the track I'm upright in my chair, having sunk into a couch potato pose after listening to half-ass psych all day. I mean, this sounds like the real thing; the basement fidelity, the acid guitar, the murky drumming. Then when the vocalist opens his mouth I'm practically on my feet. What the hell IS THIS? It sounds like the missing link between Sky Saxon & James Brown, with a thick redneck accent to boot. The lyrics are obscure, but what I pick up spells "L"-"S"-"D". About halfway through the track the trio takes off for the Andromeda Galaxy, a 10-minute space guitar jam with echoes of Manuel Gottsching and Terry Brooks, before Rameshwar the vocalist reappears to send a final transmission back to the Solar system. Whew! No coincidence they called their recording shack "The Sponge" - there must have been liquid acid running down the walls in there." - www.lysergia.com

i will vouch for west virginia being in a time warp, and beautiful alternate galaxy all it's own...

rameshwar their leader....

have lot's of psych, flipped out shit of all varieties. will trade.