Welcome back to Psychobabble's Psychedelic 500, in which I count my personal fave psych songs from 500 all the way down to #1! Today, let's see what's discovering the meaning of life in a blade of grass from 175 to 151...
175. The Incredible String Band- "You Get Brighter" (1968), in which The Incredible String Band create such a light and joyful psych-folk confection that even atheists get wrapped up in their chants of "Krishna!"
174. Buffalo Springfield- "Broken Arrow" (1967), in which Neil Young kicks the conventions of pop songwriting square in the nuts.
173. Cream- "We're Going Wrong" (1967), in which Jack Bruce shows you what a slow-burn is all about.
172. The Moody Blues- "Tuesday Afternoon" (1967), in which The Moody Blues finally give the day after Monday its pop song due...beating Blossom Toes by one whole week! (see #277).
171. Buffalo Springfield- "Expecting to Fly" (1967), in which it becomes clear that some people have some pretty unrealistic expectations.
170. Procol Harum- "Whaling Stories" (1970), in which Procol Harum do an arresting, brooding suite that really doesn't seem to have much to do with murdering whales.
169. The Who- "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (1965), in which, by attempting to come off as the ultimate mod thugs, The Who come off as proto acid-eating hippies, what with the freaky mid-song freak out and the supernatural abilities Daltrey claims to possess.
168. Cream- "As You Said" (1968), in which Cream show how little they really relied on Clapton's recycled B.B. King licks.
167. Dave Davies w/ The Kinks- "Creeping Jean" (1968), in which Dave Davies uses his sinister voice and sinister slide guitar to very sinister effect.
166. Small Faces- "Show Me the Way" (1967), in which Small Faces go all spacey, and that's pretty much it.
165. Pete Townshend- "Melancholia" (1968), in which Pete Townshend creates a dreamy demo about feeling down in the dumps which The Who would then shake the psych out of and leave unreleased for a few decades.
164. Donovan- "Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)" (1969), in which the Jeff Beck Group stirs up the swampiest funk you'll ever hear on a Donovan record.
163. Procol Harum- "Rambling On" (1968), in which watching a Batman movie leads to some seriously irrational behavior.
162. Marvin Gaye- "What's Going On" (1971), in which Marvin Gaye uses the non-musical speech effects, Mellotron, and spacey jams of psychedelia to muse inconclusively on some very real world issues.
161. Nazz- "Meridian Leeward" (1969), in which Nazz take down the pigs, man!
160. Cream- "White Room" (1968), in which Cream make the most of a mundanely decorated room.
159. The Beach Boys- "Here Today" (1966), in which Brian Wilson uses a guitar lick that will one day become the foundational musical element of "The Eye of the Tiger".
158. The Rolling Stones- "Street Fighting Man" (1968), in which the Stones write a down-to-earth rock and roll number about real world issues and twist it into a psychedelic freak show with their sitar and tamboura and shehnai.
157. Led Zeppelin- "What Is and What Should Never Be" (1969), in which Zep goes all spacey before slamming their massive riff fist through your skull.
156. The Monkees- "Take a Giant Step" (1966), in which those nice boys from that new TV program sing a nice song about engaging with the world... then things get all crazy.
155. The Spencer Davis Group- "I'm a Man" (1967), in which ...goddamn it, that's some infectiously funky shit!
154. The Rascals- "See" (1969), in which ...goddamn it, that's some infectiously funky shit!
153. Paul Revere and the Raiders- "Louie, Go Home" (1966), in which Paul Revere and the Raiders remake a flimsy older song in the newer psychedelic style and the improvement is incalculable.
152. The Who- "Amazing Journey/Sparks" (1969), in which I promise I'll only include one more song that uses the same exact music as the second part of this song on Psychobabble's Psychedelic 500!
151. Yardbirds- "Over, Under, Sideways, Down" (1966), in which HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!
Trip on to #150-126... (COMING SOON)
