Category: psychedelia

Tripping Bells: Cold Turkey

Last month, wrapping up a long drunk, we hit rehab. This month, crashing after endless highs, we reach for cold turkey–cutting off all mood enhancers at once.

Blues Buffet plays their “Cold Turkey for Christmas” as a pun on holiday feasting. Blues is blues, baby. We know watchoo mean.

Central Rain also code their personal problems in an alt rock message of messed-up hope: “Cold Turkey on Christmas Day.” Coffee house slam poetry set to a kicking back beat. But will they make it?

Magno Production meld psychedelia with garage in “White Christmas, Cold Turkey,” an actual bad trip in music. No, Virginia, there aren’t snakes coming out of Santa’s brain.

Tripping Bells: Snow

Just one more line before we leave cocaine for Christmas.

Can rockabilly capture the up-the-nose Advent experience? Try on The Dammit’s “Cocaine Christmas” and shimmy for yourself.

Perhaps punk? The Dirtys play “Cocaine Christmas” like they’re wired on something. Hey, I like positive feedback like the next guy. But what’s the next guy doing–hey, you!

BLUE ALERT Apple Drank gets nasty with the cocaine rap style in “White Christmas.” Dropping rhymes here seems to be a pun fight. Meh.

Inca Jones goes meltingly modulated for experimental rock in “Cocaine Christmas.” Wait, is that good or bad?

Merry Mistletoe: oddness

What’s left…

One of my favorite unclassifiables is Franklin Bruno whingeing on the electric organ with alt-rock assuredness. “Invisible Mistletoe” haunts me like a half-remembered kiss.

A.K.A. Belle also weird up the alternative rock with “I’m Giving Mice Elf to You.” It’s a mistletoe love song that preys on your insecurities, like a kiss you won’t get.

Minimalist and new age-y, Wun Two quietly invade your psyche with their take on “Mistletoe.” You won’t be able to tell if that was a kiss.

The Jesus Lizard go a touch psychedelic with their “Mistletoe.” Your kisses may never be the same.

United We Christmas Tree Stand: birthing

The Christmas songs of our founding fathers are too archaeological to consider (church hymns)–good Christmas carols don’t come around for another century after that.

But those second banana has-beens Paul Revere and the Raiders offer a light psychedelic commentary on Vietnam by singing about Revolutionary wartime conditions in “Valley Forge” (even Doonesbury saw that connection despite the jungle/snowbank dichotomy). Not much of a Yule tune, but it’s off their cool cool cool ’67 album: A Christmas Present… and Past. Good stuff, groovesters.

Christmas List: item twenty-two (nobody)

Well, eff you. I don’t after all want you. You’re not all i need. It’s Christmas and my present is to not have you messing up my life any more, thank you very much.

Let’s get the overemotional overreaction out of the way–Midnight Riders off that “All I Want for Christmas (Is to Kick Your Ass).” Mostly they’re displacing their anger at losing their baby to kick the guy’s ass–guy might as well be Santa here. Hey. we’ll talk this metal grunge out.

Diesel Phoenix responds with “All I Got for Christmas was a Restraining Order.” It’s goth and Remo, tough but tender. You shouldn’t have–

Experimental rock (nee psychedelia) comes from Hijackalope with their definitive “All I Want for Christmas is a Restraining Order.” Now, i know you like to clap along whenever the lyrics mention the song title. No such luck here….

vh1

Wrap the Rainbow: purple

Not so much with the indigo and violet Xmas.

There are a couple parodies of ‘Purple Rain’ substituting “Christmas Rain” without much ado. Crazy Elliot from Medicinal Hat tries for that old bluesy rock. Check out the gogo dancer in the background.

Yuko Yuko and Jaab of Purple Noise Record Club get all retro with mixed media filters and video tape sfx in “It’s a Purple Christmas.” You’ll have to agree, it’s a purple Christmas,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHh1BpeeZNI

The Future: Aliens! (2)

One of the creepiest translations of the Christmas story is the Erich von Daniken Chariots of the Gods late ’60s conspiracy that all extra terrestrials are us from the future or our ancestors. God(s) means human/Jesus is human god/that’s an alien, dude. (It helped to be high to swallow all of this.)

Glen Scrivener draws an analogy between “The Martian Came Down” and the angel Gabriel coming down for the Advent. Swinging kid folk with a confusing message. Poor children in  the audience!

Chris de Burgh goes full ’70s psychedelic folk with his “A Spaceman Came Traveling,” likely picturing Bowie as the man who fell to Earth. This guy hit it big in ’68 with ‘The Lady in Red’ and has continued his singing career in Norway and Brazil. Here he meanders through images that may or may not be Christmas.