Got the Monday morning blues? Cheer up by watching this clip of The Byrds performing “Eight Miles High” in 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City.
“Eight Miles High” was one of The Byrds’ most psychedelic songs, first released as a single on March 14, 1966. This classic of the counterculture era was influenced by sitar player Ravi Shanakar and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, and it’s widely credited with developing the styles of psychedelia and raga rock.
Interestingly, the song was banned by U.S. radio shortly after its release following allegations that there were drug connotations in the lyrics. The Byrds denied this at the time, but later Gene Clark and David Crosby admitted “Eight Miles High” was at least partly inspired by their own drug use. The single never reached the Billboard Top 10, likely because of the radio ban, but it may have also been because of the song’s complexity and uncommercial nature.
“Eight Miles High” was later included on The Byrds’ third album, Fifth Dimension, which was released in July of 1966. It would be their third and final U.S. Top 20 hit and the last before the departure of Gene Clark, who had been the band’s principal songwriter at the time.
Along with “Mr. Spaceman,” this has always been one of my favorite Byrds’ songs, and this jam-out live rendition from 1970 does it justice!
It’s almost the weekend! Celebrate with the mighty Black Sabbath. Here they are performing “Electric Funeral” at the Hammerstein Odeon in London in 1978.
As many know, Ozzy would be fired from Black Sabbath the following year (1979) as the band’s chemistry became toxic and substance abuse plagued them. Ronnie James Dio would replace Ozzy in 1980, and the band would release Heaven and Hell in April of that year - a very successful record.
“Electric Funeral” is one of my favorite Sabbath songs, and I’ve always thought it was one that bordered most on psychedelic. Perhaps it was one of the first “psychedelic doom” songs ever? Just my two cents.
Swedish-Indian artist Ishaaq has roots in Norrköping, Sweden, and Tamil Nadu, making Indian-western psychedelic grooves with playful lyrics. But this only begins to describe the truly unique sound of his music.
Ishaaq combines his melting pot of geographical origins, mixing Indian tones from various traditions with Western folk and pop music. The result is a world music/neo-psychedelia that should interest many listeners.
On his new album Andra, the Indian heritage is loud and clear - many raga-based compositions, tabla, and strings take up more space than on Ishaaq’s previous records. The music is swinging and difficult to categorize, reminding me of bands I’ve covered, like Altin Gun but even further into the Middle Eastern and Indian sound.
Andra was released on May 22nd, and “Bang Bang” may be my favorite track. But many other songs are just as good, such as “Snälla Snälla,” with his rhymic percussion and beautiful guitar playing. None of the songs are very long, but they all hit the sweet spot for lovers of exotic world music. This is a perfect find for fans of eclectic bands like Khruangbin.
Head over to Bandcamp, check out Ishaaq’s new album Andra, and take this one deep in the desert with you for your ritualistic peyote use - you may see the face of God, or you may just have a really great time!
It's Tuesday! Damn. Well, the weekend is one day closer, so celebrate with The Flaming Lips. Here they are performing "Do You Realize??" live in 2017 :)
The weekend is almost here! Celebrate with The Black Angels.
Here they are performing "Young Men Dead" at Austin City Limits on May 23, 2017, at the Moody Theater.
My favorite Black Angels song by far ...
Some Hendrix guitar licks for your Thursday.
This is the Jimi Hendrix Experience live in Stockholm, Sweden, in January 1969. The last performance of the original Experience lineup would occur several months later, in June 1969, at Barry Fe’s Denver Pop Festival. Over that summer, Hendrix would also give his legendary Woodstock performance.
