🚀
Maybe a few of you might know Mercury Rev from the altogether more lovely/pastoral "Deserter's Songs," which spawned three hit singles in the UK alone when it was released in 1998.
But this one -- the band's 1991 debut, with a different singer and an entirely different (lysergic) outlook -- comes straight outta the rust-bucket wastelands of a very economically distressed Buffalo, NY.
I wrote about it at length for Magnet -- it was the first time the six original members of the band had gathered to talk about it.
"As (singer Jonathan) Donahue predicts, the results represent six different creation myths that sometimes synch with one another, but just as frequently spin out in space, going in seemingly every possible (opposite) direction, often simultaneously. “Six chefs, one cauldron,” laughs Donahue at the memory of it now. “Six witches, one spoon.”
They are my friends and one of my all-time favorite bands but it's amazing that they survived the craziness of that period, which I think is baked into the sound of this totally acid-fried classic.
Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to.
https://magnetmagazine.com/2015/08/19/magnet-classics-mercury-revs-yrself-is-steam/
Apr 22, 2024
Related Recs
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
A band of brothers that truly just did what they did for the enjoyment of making music.
My passion for Sparks has been undying since I first began listening to them back in high school. Their sound and style totally blew my mind.
Refusing to be held hostage to the inclinations of the music industry, like Frank Sinatra and Sid Vicious say ”they did it their way” sailing off on a slow boat and leaving a discography rich with a uniquely cinematic & whimsical world vision in their wake.
Spanning decades and the confines of genre with a sharp comedic wit, throughout their prolific career they have always been simultaneously a little ahead of their time but still little rooted in the past. This was a great strength of theirs in the long run - nobody did it quite like Ron & Russel Mael.
May 28, 2025
IS THIS THE GREATEST PSYCHEDELIC POP SONG OF THE 1960’S?
THE FOUNDER OF THIS GROUP WAS A BIZARRE BLOKE. HIS NAME WAS BOB MARKLEY AND HE WAS ADOPTED BY AN OIL TYCOON. HE HAD A STRANGE, OBLIQUE BOWL CUT. SO PSYCH.
CHECK OUT THEIR SONGS. THEY HAVE SO MANY GOOD ONES.
OH YA…BOB MARKLEY MAY HAVE BEEN A NONCE. HENCE THE SONG TITLE.
BUT THE SONG…PERFECTION.
A MINIATURE MOMENT OF SPARKLING DARKNESS THAT EMANATES A DERANGED, CAPTURED INNOCENCE. CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOU MIGHT SEE CHARLEY MANSON’S FACE APPEAR OUT A BLACK CLOUD OF FUNERAL SMOKE.
MUCH LIKE MANSON’S STUNNINGLY HAUNTED SONG “ LOOK AT YOUR GAME GIRL”, THERE IS A DEEPLY FORLORN QUALITY TO THIS TUNE.
WHEREAS THE BEATLES TENDED TOWARD THE WHIMSICAL, PLAYFUL AND LET’S BE HONEST, BLOODY FUCKING GOOFY SIDE OF THINGS, THIS SONG HINTS AT SOMETHING MUCH MORE NEFARIOUS.
GO LISTEN TO THE SONG WHILE LOOKING AT THE SEVEN OF CUPS CARD FROM THE RIDER WAITE TAROT DECK. AND THEN LOOK UP THE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION IN LAUREL CANYON. AND THEN CHECK OUT THE BOOK “CHAOS” BY TOM ONEILL. AND THEN READ “WEIRD SCENES FROM THE CANYON” BY DAVE MCGOWAN AND ONLY BELIEVE HALF OF IT. AND THEN READ ABOUT THIS BAND. AND THEN REWATCH MULHOLLAND DRIVE. AND THEN ASK YOURSELF:
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH LOS ANGELES?
Jan 30, 2024
🎧
This is one of the greatest proto-psych rock albums of all time. 1971. Bunch of 1st generation black British dudes from former colonies. Crazy album and crazy story. They disappeared as the album was nearing completion. There was no follow up album, no nothing, they never reappeared. The name of the album comes from the fact that the label decided to put the music out after not being able to find them for a while because it was so good that “We Had To Let You Have It”. I know this because I have an original copy on vinyl and there is a handwritten note printed on a piece of paper inside the sleeve.
The track “Rain” is for my money one of the best songs written in this genre from that era. If they had been a popular band, I think it would be considered a classic.
Also, I dare you to listen to the song “The System” and tell me Lynyrd Skynyrd didn’t lift the main lick of the Free Bird solo from it. Yeah, I said it.
Jan 23, 2024
Top Recs from @coreydubrowa
The man responsible for dozens of Teenage Symphonies to God
"Sad songs about happy things" (the first time, as a kid, I can recall the sweet/sour combo of melodies that could make you cry attached to songs about endless, bottomless love)
I've long since lost track of how many weddings and funerals I've attended that have featured this song; suffice it to say, "a lot."
God only knows what we'd been without him 🙏🏻
Jun 11, 2025
May 22, 2025
Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s.
Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha).
For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️
Mar 27, 2024