I caught myself doing a bit of reflecting recently. Not always a good thing, I know, but what it led me to was thinking about those little sweet spots in life. I do like that phrase, 'sweet spot', and found the perfect definition here: "An optimum point or combination of factors and qualities".
And what that led me to was music, and how there had been one very specific sweet spot in several decades of my personal musical meanderings. An optimum point in the 1980s when I first discovered and became immersed in 1960s psychedelia (and similar pop, beat and garage obscurities) which came into my consciousness via some independent label reissues, compilation albums, as well as boxes of musty vinyl at record fairs in London hotels and the Record & Tape Exchange in Notting Hill Gate and Camden. Oh, what aural pleasures there were to explore!
Much of these underground treasures were like nothing I'd really heard before. All those various elements of backwards, or fuzzy, or jangly and melodic, guitars, of piquant melodies and swirling (is there any other type?) Hammond organs, of trippy lyrics and richly enunciated vocals. Plus there were the soulful numbers infused with mod rhythms, and dreamy Alice-In-Wonderland experimental freakouts... All I could do was to imagine what it would have been like to be 17 or 18 in 1967, hanging out at the UFO Club or buying my clothes from Biba. And imagining it was fine - moulded to suit my will and unbound by reality, one foot in my tangible world and the other in the curated version of a past I could inhabit freely through music and associated ephemera and imagery.
I think the thing was, nothing could come along and spoil it. The bands and their records had been and gone; it was finite. Punk had been my gateway musical genre (and a very important one), but living through it in real time also meant being there for its demise, being there should it get 'spoiled' - which, in many ways, it did. From the characters who became parodies of themselves and the unsavoury transition into Oi, to the postcard studded-belt, giant Mohawked tourist attractions, it evolved alongside my contemporaries and me. But by delving back into moments in music which had already passed nearly two decades earlier, there was no future unwritten.
It was a bit of a sweet spot in life for me too, really. That stage when you have some responsibilities - paying the rent, etc. - but not too many it seemed, and they were a fair trade-off for youthful independence. My '60s psych obsession fuelled my creativity and I adored making my own fanzine, all hand-drawn and hand-written, an uninhibited expression from the heart. Swapping some meticulously compiled tapes with a fantastic friend introduced me to other similar bands and musical side-trips, opening it up even more. I also inherited my mum's lovely 1969 Triumph Herald, one of those cars which epitomised the era, and found an original paisley top or two in the racks of pokey second hand and charity shops.
Being only 20-something in the analogue world to which I'm still best suited may have a lot to do with it too, but this isn't meant to be nostalgic - just a celebration of one of those sweet spots, and some music to dream to. Here are three favourites, then and now....
Excellent stuff, and beautifully expressed as always.
ReplyDeleteAll together now: "Charlie Brown works hard all day, doesn't get till the sky is grey..."
So many sweet spots/ obsessive enthusiasms over the years including the Incredible String Band, soca and Tsonga disco to name just a few.
Also psych like yourself which kicked off when I found a pile of old singles in a junk shop which included these two (both still prized possessions):
https://youtu.be/gZ1FmR4UYDU?si=9D7JD2LT8eq_dBHm
https://youtu.be/mbIAdwV2114?si=TBnssWnC26NpOjVx
Ah, thank you Ernie. I think we may be in a minority knowing those Reflections of Charles Brown lyrics, but what a song.
DeleteYour own sweet spot choices are just as brilliantly eclectic as I would have imagined! And I'm curious about the rest of those old singles you found on the basis of the Skip Bifferty and Tinkerbell's Fairydust ones. Do you know (I'm sure you do) this great one by Skip Bifferty too? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWDYoRY6w5c
More sweet spots to be discussed in Bristol perhaps!
I am familiar with it but only from compilations, I've never seen it live in the wilds. In turn, I'm sure you already know that Mick Gallagher of Skip Bifferty grew up to be Mickey Gallagher of the Blockheads and Sandanista fame.
DeleteI can't remember all the other singles in the pile (they were a mixed bag) but this was the pick of the bunch. Purists might call it freakbeat rather than psych I think:
https://youtu.be/uRrViaK2pPE?si=u8BRurvLKibW31f5
That's very exotic, as befits a man of your taste and international experience!
Delete"Get HOME till the sky is grey" of course
ReplyDeleteWe all know of your love of this kind of music but a lovely idea to write about it within the context of a "sweet spot". We'd love to see another copy of one of your fanzines. I love the two clips with footage from the 60s. Like you I would love to have been a teen in the late 60s.
ReplyDeleteLike you I have had these sweet spots in life but more to do with the people who were around at the time and what we were doing - lack of responsibility definitely came into it too.
More please.
Thanks Alyson, I thought you might like those bits of footage, and I know you share those thoughts about being a teenager in the late '60s. We need John's time machine (with some age adjustment controls fitted too).
DeleteI can think of a few sweet spots in life, where the balance was just right. Sadly I don't feel in one now, and that's not because there's anything innately wrong with my life, but just because of all the imbalances and anxieties in, and about, the world, etc. But perhaps my perception is different, who knows.
And yes, must write more, it feels good to do so...! Hope you feel the same.
Actually C, I may be just lucky, but I feel as if I'm in a bit of a sweet spot at the moment so it can't be age or what's going on in the world. I felt the same all of last year actually too but maybe all because of the aftermath of having been in hospital the year before and having reconnected with lots of old friends since then. I watch what's going on in the world but it's not affecting me as much. As I say I'm lucky (hope I haven't jinxed it).
DeleteAs for my musical sweet spots, they kind of morph into each other but it would be the music that came out of the artists that lived in Laurel Canyon in the late 60s and then the 70s soft rock that came afterwards.
DeleteAnother totally different one would be the 2 Tone/ska rival movement of the late 70s. A fine time to be alive.
So lovely to hear that you're feeling that sweet spot in life now, especially after your experiences in the year you mention - that has passed and now you're able to enjoy and fully appreciate all those things you hold dear, it's so important. I think I'm in a pretty sweet spot in so many ways too - have struck a good balance at the moment with work, time and income, but I can't seem to rid myself completely of that slight sense of existential unease! I probably just need to give myself a good talking to because, like you, I know I'm very lucky in SO many ways.
DeleteI thought you might have those particular musical sweet spots! Very you :-)
I love this post. I sometimes feel that I've spent half my life with "one foot in my tangible world and the other in the curated version of a past I could inhabit freely through music and associated ephemera and imagery", and the other half wishing I could put both feet in. And to stretch the analogy, now feel beset by artificial sweeteners that purport to be the same but don't hit the same spot. How could they?
ReplyDeleteGreat music choices too, especially that Rupert's People track.
DeleteThanks Martin, it's nice to know you *get* that thing I was trying to describe! I love your analogy re. artificial sweeteners too...
DeleteGlad you like the music. 'Dream On My Mind' hits every spot for me!
I too love that 'sound'. XTC's Dukes of Stratosphere nailed it many, many years later: I thought Andy Partridge played it with a straight bat too.Andy Ellison and Marc Bolan in John's Children would hit your sweet spot too, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteMy musical sweet spot? Too many to mention, I fear. But I will give you this trio: three male voices that hit me in the feels every time. And they couldn't be more disparate - George Harrison, Mel Tome & Michael Head.
JM
Ah excellent, yes - Dukes of Stratosphear and John's Children defintely up there.
DeleteThose three disparate voices show just how superbly eclectic and refined your taste is.
D'oh! Mel Tormé.
ReplyDeleteJM
Lovely post C. I like the idea of a scene being finite because its gone before you and is already over. 60s psychedelia/ mod beat is such a good sound- the fuzz guitar and hammond organ bands.
ReplyDeleteThanks - it's so exciting too to discover new old stuff, and how fresh it can still sound even when decades old. Although I'm open to lots of different sounds, instruments and effects, etc. I think fuzz guitars and Hammond organs are pretty unbeatable.
DeleteA terrific read
ReplyDeleteMy musical sweet spot is probably Americana at the turn of the Millennium.
This news comes as a complete shock to us all
DeleteThanks CC. And as Ernie says!
DeleteRupert's Friends are now my favourite Rupert band
ReplyDeleteHi George - glad to hear it! There are so many Rupert bands out there, that's quite an accolade I believe...
DeleteAnother brilliant post, C… only I keep reading them and then not commenting! I will come back to this at the weekend, I promise!
ReplyDeleteThanks Khayem, never worry either!
DeleteA really fun and enjoyable read, C!
ReplyDeleteI've written about it previously
https://dubhed.blogspot.com/2021/12/love-is-grooviest-thing-up-to-now-in.html
https://dubhed.blogspot.com/2023/01/psychedelic-sixties.html
but a cheap cassette compilation called Psychedelic Sixties that I picked up in Australia proved to be an enduring favourite, even if some of the picks were tenuously linked to the genre!
By coincidence, earlier this month I came across an online compilation called Psychedelic Obscurities Volume 1, 48 tracks of (to me, at least) super obscure stuff.
Some of them were clearly jumping the bandwagon (and probably way too late in some cases) but overall it's lots of fun.
Sample songs include Jelly Man by Moonkyte, Sock It My Way by The Animated Egg and Vacuum Cleaner by Tintern Abbey.
As for my sweet spot, I guess it will be 1970s reggae/dub, Julian Cope (of course) and anything by The Undertones when Feargal was lead singer.
Oh thank you, Khayem - and for the links; it was great to read your posts too and see the tracks featured on those two comps. Interesting to see the Australian take on things too! Re. your recent purchase, I'm not familiar with the first two you mention but, oh, Tintern Abbey, absolutely! Something of a psych classic.
DeleteI must find the whole tracklisting to peruse - and/or perhaps you'll be posting about it soon?! There were many comps that did it for me at the time too - such a great way to hear all those obscurities, I'm so grateful to those labels for putting them out and was lucky to have access to a lot in my shop days (written about in a little bit more detail here, should you want more of a look https://sundriedsparrows.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-trip-into-world-of-real-psychedelia.html )
Of course I guessed your own excellent sweet spots would feature Mr Cope :-)
I may get around to posting eventually, C...I rarely plan in advance and the posts mostly tend to come when they're ready!
DeleteI've traced the source of the compilation - download links still live - https://hairybreath.blogspot.com/2019/05/psychedelic-obscurities-volume-1.html
...and in so doing have discovered that there's (at least) 5 volumes (!) I may be some time...
Thanks, Khayem, that's quite a selection! I know a fair few but others not at all, and an interesting mixture of different stuff... you may indeed be some time!
DeleteTen years ago I bought a ticket using Tesco club card points to fly to Las Vegas with my then 15 year old daughter. We rented a ratty old camper van and headed across the desert to Southern California to explore , surf and skate.In the final week my daughter persuaded me that we should head up to LA. I had low expectations but we found Hollywood , the Walk of fame and Sunset strip amongst other spots. She was delighted.I knew that Laurel Canyon was up from Sunset Blvd and swung the van up a few roads. There it was in all its funky beauty . Lush foliage, generous houses built on steep inclines and a feeling of free expression. I am a huge fan of that period with Joni as Queen Bee of the Canyon The brief experience was a low point of the day for my daughter I suspect but will remain with me. We went down to Santa Monica later where I skated the ‘dog bowl’, another tick against one of those things you will never do. I hear you about celebrating scenes that has passed but suspect it to . Is n’t life complicated?
ReplyDeleteMy internet fuckwittery failed to give my identity. Apologies
ReplyDeleteHi Ben, I thought it must be you, no worries at all! And that sounds like a fantastic trip to have made with your daughter - what a great experience for her to have at that age too. Love your description of Laurel Canyon. A place I doubt I'll ever visit now but certainly like to imagine!
Delete