marching to the beat of a different bum

I've been listening to the Brian Jonestown Massacre as of late. It's not remarkable stuff but it's still pretty cool. It's very derivative, but in the best possible way because it cribs tunes from some of my favorite old music dudes. "Straight up and down" rips off Donovan's "season of the witch" and "starcleaner" is eerily reminiscent of the Beatles' "it's only love." "Mary please" has a nuggets feel with a little bit from "I feel fine" by our favorite Liverpudlian foursome worked into the main riff while "maybe tomorrow" is a lot like the Rolling Stones' "wild horses." Seriously, if you listen closely to any of the songs, you'll hear something that sounds familiar. One of them, I can't remember now, has a Tom Petty melody. It all works though, and the material they bite is cool so it doesn't really bother me. Copying other people's stuff, even just barely, is a fine line to walk. On one hand, you want to have credit given where credit is due. On the other, paying homage can be an understated, yet sincere form of respect.

Anton Newcombe was the main guy in the band. That's him there with the old Porsche. He was kind of a volatile person, almost bipolar or something. Check out the documentary "Dig" that came out awhile back for proof. They say crazy folks are often responsible for some of the best pieces of artistic expression. That's probably true to an extent; I can think of many writers, musicians, painters, etc. that fit the mold. As an artist, Newcombe was pretty prolific. It was like he had all this music balled up inside and he'd just let it seep out of him sometimes. He certainly wasn't afraid to blatantly show his influences and didn't do too much to disguise them in the interest of a more original finished product. I bet he's got a killer record collection.

I really like their song "servo." It sounds like it could have been the soundtrack to some 1967 Haight-Ashbury whirlwind tripout tour with its lilting never-grow-up peter pan-style flute, sedated guitar, loping pace and lazily sung lyrics. I can't be sure, but I recall Hunter S. Thompson writing something about people thinking they could buy hope for a dollar a hit (or something like that). Those people might like to listen to tunes like this because the music and words have a sense of hope in them. The song's got kind of a flowing, surfer vibe too. I can picture a whole scene flickering on grainy 16mm film with some shirtless short-short dude, blond hair blowing in the coastal wind, cruising on a little skateboard down the boardwalk as the waves lap at the calves of beachgoers in the background. Now that I think about it, I guess this song is pretty dynamic. It's not groundbreaking but it still grooves. Cool, eh? I'm under the influence.

LISTEN TO "SERVO" OR "MAYBE TOMORROW."