We set Garry Cobain of wizard psychedelic duo Amorphous Androgynous – who have taken over the Quietus today – a task recently: "If everyone was coming back to yours after the pub shut and you had to take everyone on a psychedelic trip but only had access to YouTube… what would you play?" And, here, my friends, are the results…
1. The GOASST – ‘Animals’
I absolutely love this – cults, hippies, rituals, the Pleiades, pentagrams, lamas, UFOs, nakedness… What’s not to like? ‘Animals’ has a celebration of the potential for a different kind of lyrical content and philosophical outlook at a time where cosmically, politically and spiritually we seem to be embracing this discovery and yet ( still ) the traditional song seems to be stuck with the mundane. Getting drunk. (Young songwriters seem obsessed with it. What’s up with that ?) Conditional love. (As opposed to the higher state of unconditional love.) Materialism… It’s about time the ‘song’ represented this intrigue goin’ down… let’s pledge and start afresh here.
2. The Mighty Boosh – ‘The Yeti Song’
I’m probably the only person who saw this as an instant classic (and took it seriously). I even discussed the AA mixing this for A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble and producing some of their other material with Julian Barrett of the Boosh. He seemed vaguely interested for a while. But he was probably downright confused by me seeing the psychedelic potential in this piece of absurdism. He seemed more intent on sending me links for The Pod an earlier thing he’d done which was sending up electronic producers and horribly reminiscent of our very own Future Sound Of London. I chuckled but I think he half-expected me to be insulted.
3. OSHO – ‘One Of The Most Interesting Words In The English Language Is Fuck’
Absolutely the most charismatic and captivating of mystics, OSHO is fun, creative, rebellious and enlightening. The way of the rebel is the way ultimately of the spiritual person. This YouTube is a must have of mine at any party. In AA, we’ve been using him as voice over material for years on our Monstrous Psych Bubble mixes. I tried to license his voice for the official releases and ended up having to try and prove to the OSHO FOUNDATION that I was enlightened in order to do so ! I failed (not surprisingly) but remain convinced OSHO (if alive) would thoroughly approve of my attempts to compile an album on a theme of cosmic consciousness. "Fuck" is a great word and like so much of language just shows how conditioned we are to react to words purely on the basis of convention and propriety. "Fuck it", I say. ‘Tourettes and meditation for everyone."
4. Noel Gallagher’s Press Conference
Well now…
5. NEKTAR – ‘Journey To The Centre Of The Eye’
A concept album about the death of the ego… Enough said. This is one of our favourite bands and transcendence is assured. Not to mention a vintage psychedelic light show.
6. NEKTAR – ‘It’s All In The Mind’
See above.
7. Scott Walker – ‘The Plague’
The suspense, timing and intensity of Scott Walker is unparalleled. No-one matches him for the simultaneous interplay between shade and light. That towering voice commands you to listen to every syllable. Portentous, reflective, profound drama in a song.
8. Scott Walker – ‘My Death’
See above.
9. Fluoridated Water
Then someone decides to get a glass of water from the tap after all the talking and dancing. I say, ‘No no no! Use the filtered water." And a mini argument erupts about the purity of tap water and men growing breasts from growth hormones plus the yellow stains on my daughter’s teeth. Luckily I’ve got this clip lined up for a bit of education.
10. Mark Fry – ‘The Witch’
It should come as no surprise with the surfeit of songs in the Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble mixes covering mysticism and alternative god concepts that we also have a thing for witches. This one’s a beauty. When I record with Alisha Sufit, the vocalist of 70s psych folk luminaries, The Magic Carpet, I periodically shout the word "Witch" at her as spontaneous shorthand for a certain cackling kind of singing style which we have discussed and she knows i love. It’s a sort of possessed tongues kind of thing. Witches were the first naturopathic healers to be slaughtered for using herbs and having prescient knowledge of other realms. Be under no illusion the witch hunt is alive and kicking but no burning is required these days, just salacious untruths on the front page of The Sun.
11. School House Rock – ‘Interplanet Janet’
I love songs about unusual subject matter because they are the lifeblood of psychedelia. These tracks explore outside the box of the conventional thought lyrically. One great example is Bob Dorough, best known for ‘Three Is The Magic Number’ sampled to mass effect by De La Soul. What the majority of people – including me – didn’t know was that he wrote songs for education as part of a US 70s TV kids series called School House Rock. It’s brilliant, I love most of the songs and use them to teach my daughter.
12. Demis Roussos – ‘Let It Happen’
We love the version on the Vangelis solo album but this one is more suitable for our gathering tonight because we’re keeping it uptempo and light. We need a golden Mediterranean vibe… a touch of the elixir of the Greek love gods. Demis, the god in you, rest your soul. He was always outta this world anyway and now he truly is.
13. George Carlin – ‘Nobody Cares About You’
When did humour lose the ability to question and be insightful? It’s worth reminding oneself that there is another way. I’m too busy dancing to argue tonight but slap on a bit of George to activate a question or two. All in the name of humour of course.
14. Andrew Leigh – ‘The Magician’
Magic, magic magic. We’re in the realm of a new generation of TV magicians who are magic in the edit. Is it real? No denying the magic here though – it’s trans-apparent.
15. The Rolling Stones – ‘Memo From Turner’ (alternate take)
I always loved this with the "smaller piece of stick" lyric and the groove from the Nicholas Roeg film Performance but this alternate take is even greater in the dope stakes courtesy of the drums being phatter and the lingo being even slacker. This is cool in a way that has disappeared off the face of the earth sadly.
16. "Sleep With Me I’m Not Too Young" – Hidden Messages In Rock Music
This is the part of the evening where we play music backwards and folk try to discern hidden messages. This has always been entertaining and part of rock & roll mythology but is it real or imagined? I love the idea and don’t doubt the probability of the Illuminati controlling the music business. Tupac was in on it as was Michael Jackson. Music is one of the most potent ways to reach the masses and is frequently suppressed in fascist states so maybe there is some darkness afoot in the upper echelons of pop. I’ve been meaning to check the effects of helium pop for a while, seeing how all of our young daughters love it but I haven’t darned quite found the time. Luckily YouTube is on hand to provide some "scientific: answers!
17. Jim Carrey – ‘Commencement Address At The Maharishi University’
Wow, this guy gets it completely and everyone needs to hear this. It’s why the spiritual message is coming through entertainers/ comedians/ actors now because mystics have been defaced by the new age and slurred by the gurus. The fact that they all take drugs and shag women is used to discredit their charisma and performance ability. We need our stars to wake up and be the message carriers now. Jim has it… Russell has it… We’re gonna be alright… Rus and Jim will save us, ha ha ha!
18. Syd Arthur – ‘A Time To Live A Time To Die (Dorothy)’
Conversation will come round to me and what I’ve been doing so I’ll play this track. It’s a recent Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble remix of one of my favourite bands Syd Arthur and this track is particularly personal to me since the last time I saw my beloved gran Dorothy alive was the first time I heard this song while driving to see her and I was determined to remix it.
19. The Holy Mountain
Some visual entertainment, either with the sound turned down or not, depending on how things are going. It is visually arresting and brilliant filmmaking. It is a shame that stream of non-linear consciousness seems truly dead in Holy-Wood…
20. 360 Degree Swing
I threaten my little girl with this every time I push her on the swings. ("You want the jolts eh? You wanna do a 360, eh?") But until I saw this I never knew it was actually possible and there’s something about it that defies one’s imagination and yet transfixes you. Everyone I’ve shown it to is the same. It’s that point of no return toward the top, "This time… mane this time it’ll go?"
21. The Six Tones Of Creation
As an experiment, if and when things get a bit frenetic, I’ll play this to see what effect it will have on proceedings. You can all be my guinea pigs! Some people would scream "Headache!" Others would claim greater focus or chakra alignment but one thing is for sure, it is sound and it’s on my playlist because I’m interested in sound above and beyond entertainment. I’m interested in specific frequencies for different purposes. The idea is to heal yourself with a frequency; the frequency of DNA creation. After all, we are but a frequency resonating.
22. The Secrets Of Vibration
See above.
23. Crop Circles
This is bound to stir up a bit of debate. Aliens… blah, blah blah. We can’t be alone in this vast universe. Are there good aliens and bad aliens? Which ones are the governments in collusion with? Should pass the time until hors d’oevres are served . . . .
24. Marvin Gaye – ‘Inner City Blues’
Forget all of the copyright/ publishing malarky going down with Pharrell – here’s my favourite Marvin Gaye tune. Beware though – be influenced by its brilliance and it may set you back approximately $7m; so it’s best not to listen to it just in case it has a subliminal message encoded into it ordering you to copy it. From now on, only those who don’t make music are allowed to listen. Everyone else (including me) needs to shut their ears now.
25. DZYAN – ‘Naga Raga’
A beautiful piece of music that transfixes every time. I’ll play this as people get a bit more philosophical and contemplative, after the lightweights have departed.
26. Wah Wah Watson – ‘Goo Goo Wah Wah’
Hell yeah ! Funky chicken. We have got one of the ‘voice box’ things that Wah Wah Watson uses to great and funky effect in ‘Goo Goo Wah Wah’ but it only gave us electric shocks in our mouths and dislodged mercury fillings. Because of the latter, we all became mad as hatters and made psychedelic music with reversed Satanic messages and advertised it by making crop circles in the night. Ah, it’s a mad world alright.
27. Bo Hansson – ‘The Black Riders’
Ah sweet uplifting joy tinged with remembrance! There is something about the melodies of Bo that steals the heart every time. I’d be failing in my quest, if I were to not play this. When the mood turns reflective I’d have this at the ready because it inspires heartfelt conversation and humble introspection – a very necessary part of the evening’s communion.
28. Paul Weller – ‘White Sky’
It’s great to see Paul busting our co-written and produced track live. We have another track in the works which is an absolute corker. We wrote seven new tracks with him actually and a couple of them are really fourth dimensional stuff which we look forward to finishing with him.
Goodnight and bon voyage, psychonauts. Can I call anyone a cab?
