8. Chocolate Watchband: Let's Talk About Girls
In addition to The Standells, Ed Cobb also managed The Chocolate Watchband, another L.A. outfit with a mean streak who recorded for AVI Records. Chocolate Watchband's "Let's Talk About Girls" almost represents the road not taken by American rock; it's an Americanized British-influenced hard r&b with an aggressive edge; the band dressed in Mod clothes. Clearly influenced by the Stones, The Pretty Things, and the Who (the last two were still "cult" bands in the U.S. at the time), their 1967 debut album No Way Out is particularly mean and sneering rock 'n' roll; "Let's Talk About Girls" is an almost seamless mix of Pretty Things raunch&blues and Who guitar crunch. The band quickly fell apart in the wake of this local hit (it didn't chart nationally), amid massive drug use and blown sessions. They were ultimately all fired during the sessions for their second album, The Inner Mystique, which featured two completely different versions of the band on sides A & B. A new lineup was convened yet again for a third album in 1969, before the name was retired.
9. 13th Floor Elevators: You're Gonna Miss Me
It's impossible to say who invented psychedelic music. Some point to the Byrds, some say the Yardbirds, others champion the Beatles. But the band that invented psychedelic music as pure lysergic freak-out, with no redeeming social value whatsoever, was the lengendary Texas outfit 13th Floor Elevators. While the British bands used psychedelia to convey whimsy, and the West Coast bands explored modalities, 13th Floor Elevators played demented hard-rock stompers, all wigged-out bigtime on psychedelic fuzz and feedback, released with joyous abandon by frontman/wildman/visionary/acid casualty Roky Erickson, who yelped torturously above the din. However, being Texan musicians, their music had some earthy grit and muscle too, it wasn't pure excess, although it was nothing if not reckless. "You're Gonna Miss Me", from 1966, has Erikson's tortured growl and some classic harmonies as well as a simplistic 3-chord riff that breaks into a surf riff followed by a timultuous crescendo. The band began to frequent San Francisco during the early Haight Ashbury era and landed some prime gigs, but Erikson's drug problems would result in a stay at the state mental institution and the band fell apart in 1968. Roky Erikson has existed on the fringes of rock ever since, as ultimate cult 60's burn-out relic; Sky Saxon is his only competition.
Article comments
1 - The Proprietor
The Standells reunited for a live show in 1999 (with Dodd, Valentino and Tamblyn; Gary Lane didn't participate) released as "Ban This! Live From Cavestomp".
The definitive Remains recording was the Capitol audition, which was released as "A Session With The Remains" by Sundazed a few years back. It's an especially fierce recording (their original "Why Do I Cry" is much more powerful than on the Epic LP).
2 - Victor Plenty
Excellent work as always, uao. Interesting mix of stuff almost everybody knows about ("Louie Louie" for example) right alongside songs many of us may never have heard of.
One minor quibble on your title: I'd recommend taking out the apostrophe. It makes the construction look like a possessive, rather than a plural; garage rock belonging to 1960, rather than garage rock from the entire decade of the Sixties.
Also interesting that "96 Tears" came from such obscure origins. The local "classic rock" station plays it all the time. For some reason I'd always assumed it was from a more well-known band with lots of other hits.
3 - uao
Thank you Proprietor, for your ever-useful nuggets of knowledge; I always appreciate them.
Victor Plenty: as an English language instructor, I'm sensitive to apostrophes. However, I've been taught that in addition to denoting a passive, they can also be used when puralizing a specific number: 1960's vs. 1960s. Maybe I'm wrong; I'm too lazy to fish out my Elements of Style right now. But I'll sleep on it, and if the title bugs me in the moring, I'll change it.
Thanks ;-)
4 - uao
I meant "possessive" not "passive" I am a famously lousy typist.
5 - Victor Plenty
It can be equally correct to pluralize a number with an apostrophe, or with just a plain S. You are of course quite right about that, as a general rule. In this specific case, it's the context that makes the construction seem possessive and not plural.
If the title had been "Garage Rock of the 1960's" it would be clear you intended the plural, with or without the apostrophe.
Of course the larger cultural context makes it unlikely any native English speaker would interpret "1960's Garage Rock" as a reference to only the year 1960, but for the benefit of any readers who might not share that cultural context, it would be more clear to leave the apostrophe out.
As I said before, it's a minor quibble, but I at least wanted to make it a clearly stated quibble. :)
6 - uao
For me it's like talking shop, I like it. Your point is a good one, given the wording of the title. You've convinced me; I've reworded it.
7 - godoggo
Where are the chick's?
8 - godoggo
Correction: Wheres.
9 - Michael J. West
Awesome list, UAO! Thanks for linking to the Essential Pebbles collection, too--in any era, that awesome CD is as indie (and as freakin' great) as it gets.
10 - godoggo
Just out of curiosity, I googled both names for the decade in the NY Times, figuring they'd have it standardized. Apparently I figured wrong.
Results:
about 24,200 from nytimes.com for "1960's"
about 23,400 from nytimes.com for "1960s"
A lot (not all) of the latter are from book etc. titles, so I guess the apostrophe wins. But I don't like it, myself.
11 - GoHah
Great article. Maybe this group is more borderline Garage (since they evolved into different directions), but I think the biggest amphetimine-jolt of that time comes from Love's "7 and 7 Is"--that'll give you chills.
Oh, I think the decades are supposed to be written apostrophe-free (but spoken with the apostrophe left in).
12 - wum
Good article, look forward to part 2.
13 - Grammar Cop
Apostrophes never make something plural. 1960s is correct.
14 - JC Mosquito
1960s is indeed correct, but doesn't look as psychedelic as 1960's.
15 - Dr Dreadful
1960s is correct.
1960's is incorrect.
You will not use it.
You will be assimilated.
16 - Christopher Rose
This 3 year old article has been corrected, thanks Grammar Cop.
Resistance is futile.