David Bowie & the Spiders From Mars – “Five Years” (TV – 1972)
Live on “Top of the Pops” w/ The Spiders From Mars
The Stooges – “The Stooges” (1969)
Written by Lenny Kaye for Fusion magazine Sept. 19, 1969…
I was once thinking of doing a piece on Blue Cheer where I wanted to show, through all sorts of diagrams and convoluted logic, that given the context of their chosen field, i.e. 400 decibel tasteless rock, they were actually Unrecognized Masters of Form.
While I never got around to formally putting the thing on paper, it did start a whole train of thought about Good and Bad, and how generally recognized musical standards could and should be thrown out the window under certain conditions. The key, it turned out, was really in what the group was (consciously or unconsciously) attempting to do, and whether their music mirrored this and made it work.
Which is as good a place as any to start with the Stooges. By any formal criteria, they are a retrogressive group, a pale copy of the early Rolling Stones. Their music revolves around one modified Bo Diddley chord progression, and neither the singing nor musicianship on their album attains any memorable level of competence.
But like the Velvet Underground, (and remember that John Cale produced the album), or the Seeds, or a select number of other bands, any formal criteria here become basically irrelevant in the face of what is actually happening within the music. All the above factors, negative though they seem, ultimately become necessary to the success of the Stooges, to the emotional set of moods they are trying to portray and, in consequence, they all work within the context the group members have set out for themselves.
The world of the Stooges, simply, revolves around boredom. Not only a mere lack of something to do, but rather a total negation of anything to do. The Stones used to touch on this feeling when they sang ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’, but the meaning of their song was set against the background of 1965. Way back then, in the old days, Jagger was able to add a touch of defiance and social protest to the overwhelming frustration he and the people he spoke for justifiably felt. But this is 1969 now, nearly another whole generation later, when the hope that came out of Haight Street is nearly dead, when the protest has been neatly swept up and glossified by the mass media. In consequence, the only stance that seems to be left is that of lggy Stooge:
Well last year I was twenty one
I didn’t have a lot of fun
And now I’m gonna be twenty two…
Another year with nothin’ to do
And thus begun, the theme is repeated in every song on the album, reflected in the hypnotic quality of each cut, over and over again until the album itself becomes a symbol of the boredom.
The titles are self-explanatory: ‘No Fun’, ‘Real Cool Tune’, ‘We Will Fall’. Even the only near-love song, ‘Ann’, is paced to a death-like cadence, floating in a kind of lethargic limbo. The record sounds no hopeful notes; there is no sense of rebellion, no cry of protest, nothing except a kind of resigned acceptance to whatever is happening around them. More, the Stooges seem to enjoy their rootlessness, almost sinking gratefully into the mud surrounding them, embracing the inevitable decadence to follow.
And maybe that’s why the album succeeds so well, why you finish listening and find yourself strangely moved. Because rock is ultimately decadence, revolving as it does around the physical and spiritual senses; feeding and re-leasing them from the strictures of civilization. And though decadence may just be another form of defense and social protest, the Stooges use it as a tool to cut through the other layers of defense, bringing us all the way back home where we belong. The al-bum works, not because it is such great music, (although no-one can deny its force and power) but rather because the Stooges have touched on one of the major characteristics of where we are today, then extracted it, crystallized it, and have ultimately taken us through it to the other side, where the Good Things lie waiting.
If 1967 was the year of the Beatles and ‘Get Together’, if 1968 was the year of the Band and Beggar’s Banquet, then 1969 may well be the year of the Stooges. You might not like it, but you can’t escape it.
Lenny Kaye
Van Dyke Parks – “Heroes and Villians” (1966)
I’ve been in this town so long that back in the city,
I’ve been taken for lost and gone and unknown for a long, long time
Fell in love years ago with an innocent girl,
From the Spanish and Indian home of the heroes and villains.
Once at night, Catillian squared the fight,
And she was right in the rain of the bullets that eventually brought her
down
But she’s still dancing in the night, unafraid,
Of what a dude’ll do in a town full of heroes and villains
Heroes and villains, just see what you’ve done
Heroes and villains, just see what you’ve done
Stand or fall, I know there shall be peace in the valley,
And it’s all an affair of my life with the heroes and villains
In the cantina, margaritas keep the spirit high
There I watched her, she spun around and wound in the warmth,
Her body fanned the flame of the dance
Dance, Margarita, don’t you know that I’m in love with you
Dance
You’re under arrest!
My children were raised, you know they suddenly rise
They started slow, long ago, head-to-toe, healthy, wealthy, and often wise
At three-score and five, I’m very much alive
I’ve still got the jive to survive with the heroes and villains.
Van Dyke Parks – “Palm Desert” (1968)
By Palm Desert
to market to buy
Tenderfoot up to date
palms of the real estate
By Palm Desert
springs often run dry
I came west unto Hollywood,
never-never land
Juxtaposed to B.B.D. and O.
Beyond San Fernando
on hillside manors
on the banks of toxicity
those below and those above the same
Dreams are still born
in Hollywood I don’t understand
Just suppose the youngster knows
he’s had a good deal of fortune
and up through the babble
on the fair banks complicity,
buy your leave or stay beyond the game
Palm Desert
not fade away
Palm Desert
I wish I could stay
Palm Desert
sages abound
So head your head
to the ground round
Meanwhile in the wild west
of Hollywood age is losing hold
Inasmuch as you are touched
to have withstood
by the very old search
for the truth within
the bounds of toxicity
Left unsung
so I have strung the frame.
The Flame – “Don’t Worry Bill” (1970)
Another song produced by Carl Wilson. After Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar left The Flame to join The Beach Boys, this song became a feature in their concerts in the early 70s.
Johnny Cash – “Wanted Man” and “Peach in the Valley” (Live – 1969)
Johnny’s famous concert at San Quentin. Johnny performs the Bob Dylan song “Wanted Man” and the gospel classic “Peace in the Valley. ” Carl Perkins and June Carter back Johnny up. This also includes interviews some of the prisoners.
Michael McClure – “99 Theses” (1970)
2. MAN IS A MAMMAL.
3. THE UNIVERSE IS THE MESSIAH.
4. THE CREATURE IS ONE BEING.
5. ONE BEING IS POLYTHEISM.
6. THE 27 SENSES ARE EXTRUSIONS OF MESSIAH.
7. THE SENSES ARE GODS AND GODDESSES.
8. THE MAMMAL & THE STAR ARE EQUAL.
9. THE STARS ARE A GAS.
10. THE GALAXIES ARE A LIQUID.
11. ALL LIFE IS A MEAT SCULPTURE FREED OF TIME, SPACE & DIMENSION.
12. THIS SOCIETY IS A CAGE FOR THE MAMMAL.
13. ALL CREATURES OF WING, FIN, FUR, TENTACLE, PROTOPLASM — ARE EQUAL.
14. THE PANDA IS A PEACOCK.
15. MAN IS A PANDA.
16. THE SALMON IS A MAN.
17. THE WOLF SINGS.
18. CARBON, HYDROGEN, NITROGEN, OXYGEN, SULFUR.
19. THE STAR IS A SUN.
20. CHILDREN ARE FREE.
21. THE BODY IS A CHILD.
22. THEISM REJECTS THE MESSIAH.
23. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL BODY IS PURE SPIRIT.
24. EACH SELF IS MANY SELVES.
25. THE INVISIBLE EXTENSIONS OUTWARD ARE AS COMPLEX AS THE VISIBLE EXTENSIONS INWARD.
26. THE SENSORIUM, MEMORIES, AND GENES — ARE CONSTELLATIONS.
27. ALL CONSTELLATIONS ARE ONE CONSTELLATION.
28. LIFE SURGES.
29. EXTINCTION IS AN APPEARANCE.
30. THE SNOW LEOPARD IS A WORM ELF.
31. EARTH IS A SNOW LEOPARD.
32. LIFE IS TOPOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY.
33. WEALTH IS ENERGY.
34. ELECTRONICS DEVOLVE FROM THIS STAR.
35. THERE IS NOT INTELLIGENCE BUT INTELLIGENCES.
36. CRUELTY, TORTURE, SELFISHNESS, VANITY ARE BORING.
37. EACH MAMMAL DESERVES.
38. THE SLOTH AND THE EAGLE ARE EQUAL — MEN ARE EQUAL IN THE SAME WAY.
39. THERE ARE, AND ARE NOT, MOLECULES AND ATOMS.
40. ONLY THE SELVES CAN DOMESTICATE THE SELF-DOMESTICATED.
41. MAN AND THE DOG ARE SELF-DOMESTICATED.
42. MEN FEED WILD MUSTANGS TO DOGS, AND WHALES TO CATS.
43. THE SEA URCHIN IS A GREAT PHILOSOPHER.
44. PLATO EQUALS CHARLIE CHAPLIN — JESUS IS ANACREON.
45. MONEY IS FUNNY.
46. THE DOLLAR IS A COLLAR.
47. CLOVER IS A CREATURE.
48. THERE IS ENOUGH WATER FOR ALL WHO SHOULD BE.
49. EVERYTHING IS NATURAL.
50. REASON IS BEAUTY.
51. MEAT IS THOUGHT.
52. THE GREEKS WERE THE LAST TO DEIFY THE SENSES.
53. MONOTONY IS MADNESS.
54. THE FRONTIER IS OUTSIDE.
55. THE FRONTIER IS INSIDE.
56. LIFE BEGINS WITH COILING-MOLECULES & NEBULAE.
57. RELIGION, MATERIALISM, POLITICS, PROGRESS, TECHNOLOGY-ARE EVANGELISMS.
58. EVANGELISMS ARE PROLIFERATIONS OF MONOTONY.
59. REVOLUTION IS SENTIMENT.
60. REVOLT IS BIOLOGICAL.
61. THE LIGHT ON YOUR FINGERTIPS IS STARLIGHT.
62. PROPORTION AS MEASUREMENT IS FALSITY.
63. THE BLACK MAN IS NOT THE PINK MAN OR THE YELLOW — THEY ARE MAMMALS.
64. DREAD THE POLITICO AND PREACHER WHO CAN DELINEATE A MESSIAH.
65. NATIONS ARE FALSE DIVISIONS OF CONTINENTS.
66. CITIES ARE SWIRLS OF POPULATION.
67. IT IS NATURAL TO DROWN IN CITIES — IT IS NATURAL TO SWIM IN WAVES.
68. THERE IS ONE LANGUAGE — GESTURE, VOICE AND VIBRATION OF BODY.
69. YOUTH IS CLUBBED WHEN IT RISES OR OPENS.
70. THE BODY IS ELF LAND.
71. THE CHILD IS A BEAST OF BURDEN — HE IS USED FOR WAR.
72. LIFE IS NOT REST BUT ACTION.
73. LIGHT AND DARKNESS ARE ARBITRARY DIVISIONS.
74. THE FIST IS REAL — THE MACHINE GUN, BOMB, NAPALM, ARE FANTASIES OF COMMUNICATION.
75. PROPAGANDA IS NARCOSIS.
76. POPULATION IS AN ADDICTION.
77. LOVE CAN ONLY BE MADE, OR INVENTED, WITH MEAT.
78. PRISONS AND COURTROOMS ARE MONOTONY.
79. WAR IS ONE COLOR.
80. THE PUSSY WILLOW, THE REDWOOD, THE BUTTERFLY — ARE BLOSSOMS.
81. MADNESS IS TEMPORARY AND NATURAL.
82. WHERE THE BODY IS — THERE ARE ALL THINGS.
83. SOUL IS BORING — SPIRIT FLIES.
84. THE CRICKET IS A WARRIOR AND A GOD OF MUSIC.
85. THE FALCON IS A CLOSE AND TEMPORARY ACQUAINTANCE.
86. ANY SEXUAL GROUP IS APPARENTLY NATURAL.
87. CLEANLINESS IS UNDEFINABLE AND AS NATURAL AS FILTH.
88. DRUGS ARE BRIEF ALCHEMY.
89. MORALE IS VIGOR.
90. THE YOUNG CREATURE IS AGILE.
91. THE OLDER CREATURE IS STRONG.
92. WISDOM, MEMORY, IMAGINATION, ARE SENSORY — CONSTELLATIONS OF INTELLECTIVE MEAT.
93. MODERATION DERIVES FROM MULTIPLICITY OF EXPERIENCE.
94. NOW SUCKS.
95. PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE AND DIMENSIONS ARE A FIELD FOR BALANCE.
96. LUCK IS A CREATION OF THE MEAT.
97. LUCK AND MEAT ARE DIVINE.
98. THE EYE AND TONGUE ARE A FIELD OF CREATURES.
99. MEAT’ IS A MOVING CAVE IN THE SOLID AIR.
Carl Wilson – “Heaven” and Interview (TV – 1981)
Carl performs probably his most beautiful song (taken from his first solo album). He later performed this at Beach Boys concerts as a tribute to Dennis, who had recently died.
This is taken from “American Bandstand.” Host Dick Clark does a rather strange interview as well.
The Beat Patrol 