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The Olivia Tremor Control, Love Athena, Memories of Jacqueline 1906, Black Foliage (Itself)
The oddly named Olivia Tremor Control hail from Ruston, Louisiana, and are probably the most beautiful thing ever to come out of that place. Along with Robert Schneider’s Apples in Stereo, the OTC were founding members of the Elephant 6 Collective, the group of like-minded psychedelic enthusiasts who sought to re-inject the world with the…
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The Apples in Stereo, I Told You Once
When I was 17 years old, I first heard Her Wallpaper Reverie, a sort of mini Apples in Stereo LP, and I was blown away. It was the first time I’d ever heard anyone from the Elephant 6 Collective, and they were making the exact sort of music I was missing in the world. In…
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John Lennon, George Harrison, Oh My Love
When the Beatles split in 1970, it was mainly a split between John and Paul. It’s odd because George, Paul, and Ringo would have kept the group going, but because John wanted to end it, George and Ringo became as enthusiastic as John about kiboshing the whole affair. I suppose John had more good will…
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Bob Marley Interview
Here is Bob Marley being interviewed in Aoteraoa, New Zealand talking about reggae music, his Rastafarian beliefs, his dreadlocks, and marijuana. The interviewer announces that Bob Marley smokes a pound of grass a week. I thought that was a high number, no pun intended, but I suppose its true. I liked Bob’s belief that weed…
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George Gross, Beverly Hills Monster Mash!
One of the most bizarre things to ever happen on Beverly Hills 90210 was when precocious and immature Scott Scanlon suddenly got really interested in guns and country music. His last words were, “Check this out!” What the entire nation ended up “checking out” was Scott’s accidental suicide caused by his poor gun twirling techniques. …
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The Beatles, Help!
Help! John Lennon managed to cram an unusually clear psychological slogan into one of the best pop songs he’d ever write. It’s hard for most people to just shout out help, especially when they need it. It really must have been difficult for someone as stubborn, independent, and prideful as John Lennon. When you have…
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Skip James, Devil Got My Woman
Skip James was one of the original Delta Bluesmen. Like many of these original pioneers, he disappeared into obscurity after his rather obscure debut in the 1930s. The blues rock renaissance in the 1960s rescued him from oblivion, and allowed him one last chance to shine. One of the songs that emerged from his exile…
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Ted Kennedy's Eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy
Revolution, liberty, discovery, and moral courage. These were themes prevalent in Ted Kennedy’s eulogy for his brother Bobby, after his insane assassination in 1968. Drawing directly from one of Bobby’s greatest speeches, Ted quoting Bobby, said that, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or…
