Written by Parisa Eshrati Play It By Ear is an ongoing series by T&E writer Parisa where she shares music discoveries along with informational tidbits, anecdotal musings, interactive dialogue, reader prompts, and whatever else spills out of her brain. This installment features yet another deep dive of outsider music, a pop quiz on Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica, hyper specific songs about printing presses, psychedelic obscurities, and asks the age old question…can people genuinely enjoy listening to The Shaggs? (*ShoCKInG:: ThE AnSweR mAY SurPrIse YOU!!”) Welcome to another installment of Play It By Ear! It’s been over a year since the last installment (the “Weird Al” Yankovic special, to be exact - the best blog I’ll probably ever write), and since then I’ve probably written about a dozen drafts that never got published. The whole point of PIBE blogs is to harken back to the ol’ fashioned blog days, where people could share and discover music in a more personal and genuine way rather than writing more standard album reviews. My goal is to create blogs where people can discover oddities and hear stories surrounding the music that makes them want to share and reflect as well. However, I guess I kept getting self-conscious. Even though it’s a casual blog, I keep feeling an urge to make things more polished. I’ve never considered myself a writer, and I’ve always had a paranoia of sorts that people reading my blogs would think I’m an idiot or whatever. However, I’ve been reading the book Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture and it’s been a nice reminder how authenticity rules supreme and dismantling conventions begets genuinity. A must read for anyone even remotely interested in zine culture, but also a great read for anyone interested in DIY and the self-politics it drives. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book to get things started off with the right theme: "Perzines are created by people who have not been 'authorized' to do this kind of writing: losers." "Personalization is the mark of individuals who don't have a voice that matters in public discussions about culture and politics saying: Yes, I do matter, this is what I believe, this idea is mine." "And even if the writing isn't at a professional level, sometimes the excitement, the enthusiasm can compensate for it." One of the main motivators to get back into Play It By Ear was an interaction I had at a health foods store. I went in the other week because they’re the only place that carries a local chocolate that I like. To set the scene, there’s no one in the store but a single employee. There is no music playing, the lights are dingy and dim, and it kind of has that vibe that no one has shopped there in twenty years ‘cause it’s just kind of sad and empty looking. I grab my chocolate bars and walk to the register. Before even talking to the employee, I can just get a feel already that he’s sort of…far out. Our conversation goes as follows: Employee: *pointing at my Gorguts shirt* “Woah, cool shirt.” Me: “Thank you.” Employee: “Is that like, a band or something?” Me: “Yes, it’s a band.” Employee: “That reminds me…I’ve been listening to a band lately. They have this song that’s such an earworm. It’s so catchy! Gosh…I can’t think of their name right now. But that song has been stuck in my head all week.” Me: “Ah, sounds cool.” Employee: “Oh wait, it’s The Shaggs. Have you heard of the Shaggs?” Okay…I’m sorry, but…WHAT?! Could this possibly have been the most unhinged music conversation I’ve ever had in my life!? The Shaggs, the world’s most notoriously unlistenable band, being described as catchy earworm music? Is it scientifically even possible to have one of their songs stuck in your head? The thing is that he was 100% authentic about it too. My boyfriend has always been under the strong impression that no one can genuinely like The Shagg’s music. I get his drift, but at the same time, I think that’s the only way one could like The Shagg’s music? And I think that’s what kind of makes them so special, right? There’s no artificial way to enjoy their music other than the fact that you can really sit there and think that these people are doing something spectacular. What is an artist, album or artwork that fits this category for you? Something that could be thought of as generally bad, or even viscerally unlistenable, but you love anyway? An album that immediately comes to mind for this topic is Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica. Although, of course, this album is equally known to be a masterpiece so it’s in a sort of different ballpark than what The Shaggs were doing. Although, both have had similarly high praises for breaking down conventions, lauded by artists like Frank Zappa, and went down in music history… …so maybe they’re not so different? Let’s take a quiz. Which reviews do you think are for (A) Captain Beefheart and which are for (B) The Shaggs?
(Answer guide: 1. B 2. A 3. B 4. B 5. A 6. A 7. A) While I could dive endlessly into my love and fascination for outsider music, I won’t get too deep since I’ve already dedicated a lot of previous PIBE to outsider playlists (if you’re wondering why I’ve left Daniel Johnston out of his conversation, it’s only because I’ve mentioned him in at least two other PIBE posts!). However, I got two more artists to mention here while we’re on the topic. Speaking of Zappa, I recently came across this album at work that I had never heard before called An Evening with Wild Man Fischer. Wild Man Fischer was a street performer who spent his days “homeless or institutionalized, and he later became regarded as ‘the godfather of outsider music’". The album art below has to be up there on some of the greatest cover portraits, right?! I feel like as far as outsider music goes, this feels especially difficult to listen to because it’s mostly acapella. Even though the instrumentation and key changes are what make the aforementioned albums also equally challenging, there’s something about having absolutely nothing to hide behind that makes the freakiness extra palpable. Anyway, a big reason why I’ve become so fascinated with Wild Man Fischer is his link to Arizona music history. According to his Wikipedia, the very last show he ever played was at the Trunk Space in Phoenix. I was pretty blown away by this, because I’ve never heard anyone in AZ talk about that factoid. The Trunk Space is a long-standing, teeny tiny independent venue for local artists, and in a metropolitan wasteland like Phoenix, it’s especially important. I just found this indie documentary about Wild Man Fischer here. I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m looking forward to it! “Weird Al” is in the credits so obviously it must be good. Last tidbit on my outsider music rant - I forgot how much I love The Space Lady. If you’re unfamiliar with her work, she’s a synth musician and street performer originally from Colorado but began her music journey in San Francisco in the late ‘60s. This falls on some of the more “pretty” side of outsider music. This song is a true synth anthem: More than just her music, I just love her as a person. It’s so refreshing when you know the music is a direct expression of the artist and not from a persona (although, artist personas aren’t always a bad thing). Her and her husband took a “vow of poverty” when he decided to dodge the Vietnam war draft by performing on the streets and refusing to take jobs. She has lived her whole life just making music on the streets. Staunch anti-militarist, hardcore vegan, the list goes on. Also, I like her version of “Major Tom” more than the original. A while ago when I was at work [at a record store], I came across this cover in the jazz section. My first thought was that maybe it was mis-alphabetized, just from looking at the picture and seeing songs like “Peel Me a Grape” and “Two Sleepy People”. So I looked her up, assuming it would be some adult contemporary that I would absolutely loathe, and it turns out that this woman is an absolute GEM. I first put on this song called “I’m Hip” and literally laughed out loud at her quick wit and self-aware humor: Blossom Dearie was a jazz pianist known for her light and girlish singing voice. She is so charming. Don’t you just adore her? I know the internet is really into "cottagecore" right now, but maybe I'm ahead of the times 'cause I'm into granniesxsingingxaboutxbeingxoldxcore. What are some albums you judged by their covers? Did you take a chance on them? Was the album better or worse than the artwork made you believe? Speaking of things I discovered at work, I was sorted through a bin of 45s and came across this single called “If I Possessed a Printing Press” by George Hamilton IV. I thought…”huh, what a very oddly specific track name. I wonder what he is yearning about so badly to do with a printing press that he had to write a song about it.” Seeing as how I print zines and have worked in print shops, I had a vested interest in hearing what this song was about. It’s a dreamy, twangy song from 1957 with a slapback echo and a crisp country voice with doo-wop background harmonies. The lyrics tell of a man who wants to share with the world how much he loves his woman, so much that if he possessed a printing press, he’d make handbills about his love and print it in all different colors. And in the middle of each one, in bold face type a line would run. The oldest line it always knew, I'd tell the world that I love you. Can you think of a song that feels very niche or catered to a specific interest/hobby? This song was never a chart topper, but for anyone who is involved with printing, you’ll know that maybe this is the most romantic song. I also found it endearing that as I’m researching this song, most of the info is from expired letterpress blogs talking about how much they adore this song. Isn’t it a great feeling to find a song that caters to a niche interest of yours? I’m so glad something like this exists. This blog has quickly become quite geriatric lol. Nothing wrong with that, but let’s shift over to some other thoughts. What is a band that you generally don’t care for their discography, but there is a single song or album exception? For me, that has to be “The Other Song” by the late ‘60s Los Angeles psych band, Spirit: I don’t think Spirit is bad, but in my opinion they just put out so much mediocre stuff. Like nothing in their discography even compares this absolute monster of a jam. Even though this isn’t a “one hit wonder”, it really makes you wonder how this sort of phenomenon happens, y’know? Like how someone can make something so amazing and out of left field and never return again. Maybe some bands are just destined to make one epic song? And I don’t mean this to sound harsh, because I think even making one amazing song is a true feat. Have you heard this song before? It blows my mind every time. I have a lot of categorized playlists, and this song falls into both “Great Songs with ‘OW!’s and Other Exclamatory Phrases” and songs that make me go “ohhhhh shit!” Naturally, I say “oh shit!” when the melody returns from the groove…if you hear it, you know what I’m talking it. This song was also masterfully sampled by Gonjasufi (produced by The Gaslamp Killer) in the song “Duet” off of my favorite 2010 album, A Sufi and a Killer: This is such an excellent use of sampling, because it retains an essence of the original but given a totally different mood to highlight Gonjasufi’s raspy, soulful sexiness. Speaking of Gonjasufi, I could easily do an entire blog about the samples on that album and the music I’ve learned from listening to The Gaslamp Killer mixes (Gonjasufi’s producer) since I was a teen. Records that many of us may have never heard otherwise - the real beauty of crate digging! Not just getting obscure stuff for the sake of being hip, but to share it, sample it, revive it and let amazing oddities and rare sounds be saved from obscurity. But anyway, here are some quick ones that stand out at the moment that have either been sampled in Gonjasufi albums or things I’ve heard in GLK sets that rule: The Souls of Inspyration - Canadian psych band from 1970. I love this late psych era stuff. The piano melody in this song is so incredible, it almost feels like a recontextualized neoclassical song through rose-colored lenses. This album never got a reissue until two years ago from Lion Productions, and was their only recorded full length. Gonjasufi sampled this in the song "She Gone", his best song in my opinion. Some of the most depraved, lonely and heartbreaking vocals, and I love how it sounds like the microphone is shoved down his throat. Blue Phantom - Italian prog/psych from the early ‘70s. Solo project of Armando Sciascia who used to write Italian B-movie soundtracks. Every song on this album is a cinematic, groovy, oddball masterpiece. And how about that album art?! Karl Heinz Schäfer - German born composer who scored French films with psychedelic jazz fusion goodness. I've never seen this film, but the soundtrack is phenomenal. Hank Levine and the Blazers - composer from Pittsburg active in the late 50s. The song above is my favorite instrumental of all time. Haunting, eerie, beautiful. What is a song that you discovered initially as a sample? Finally, since this blog kinda stuck with oddballs and oldies, I’ll just drop one recent discovery from the hxc world. Recently at work, we acquired a collection of rare punk 7”s and it made me delve more into the Italian hardcore scene of the early ‘80s. It’s not a scene I have specifically spent a lot of time with ‘til now. This is a great compilation for those wanting to dig: This YouTube rip was uploaded by a badass punk blog called Terminal Sound Nuisance. Instead of talking about that album here, check out their blog post on their comp: https://terminalsoundnuisance.blogspot.com/2020/04/condannato-sperare-look-at-classic.html Alright, that’s enough of my rambling for one Play It By Ear. I hope you found something you enjoyed, or maybe even something you hated given the nature of this particular blog lol. Please leave comments if you’d like to share your responses to the reader prompts, or reach out to me to say hi via the Contact Form. Thanks for reading! ‘Til next time. Xoxo, Parisa Play It By Ear installment #007 closing reader prompts:
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