23 skidoo [bonus tracks]

Fri Oct 9 10:43:00 CDT 2009

> On Oct 9, 2009, at 5:49 AM, Michael Bailey wrote:
>
>> ...so I reread Robin's post about the Byrds,
>> that does sound a lot more like "Boards"...
>> maybe supposed to be some kinda melding of notions
>> with the Beach Boys, though...the surfboard coffee tables...

	For most of the mid-'60s, even if it was the heart of winter, when
	one of Terry Melcher's productions came over the radio waves,
	it was summer; a permanent, glorious, sun blazing, imaginary,
	Californian Summer. Surf and hot rod-styled sides by groups
	with such evocative names as The Rip Chords, The Hot
	Doggers, Bruce & Terry, (Bruce being Bruce Johnston, Terry's
	friend and often singing, producing and arranging partner) and
	The Rogues. Delightful, eagerly sought one-offs such as Wayne
	Newton's "Coming On Too Strong", Pat Boone's "Beach Girl"
	and The Osmonds' "My Mom". Speaking of Mom, who can
	forget Doris Day's "Move Over Darling"? Terry's work with his
	mom continued into the 1970s.

	If this wasn't enough, Terry 'invented' folk-rock. Alright, it wasn't
	his song, Mr. Bob Dylan gets the credit for that. It wasn't even
	his decision to cut most of the lyrics, leaving just the glorious
	and quizzical chorus. However, it was 'his' single. Equal parts
	late surf, jangly guitar-led folk, Spectorian production, heavenly
	harmonies and a rock beat. Without Terry Melcher, The Byrds
	may never have been signed to Columbia. If it hadn't been for
	Terry Melcher, The Byrds might not have agreed to studio
	musicians playing their parts. Without Terry Melcher, The Byrds'
	"Mr Tambourine Man" would not have defined the sound of an
	era and sold millions of records. "Turn Turn Turn" soon followed
	and Columbia must have thought about printing "Terry Melcher
	Walks On Water" t-shirts.

http://www.spectropop.com/TerryMelcher/index.htm

If it hadn't been for Terry Melcher, Sharon Tate would be alive today.

	Charlie pursued his musical aspirations through 1969. Terry
	Melcher came to hear Manson play at Spahn ranch but wasn't
	impressed enough to offer a contract. While Family members
	claimed that Melcher discussed a recording contract, Melcher
	denied ever discussing this. Gregg Jakobson probably hit the
	nail on the head when he told Terry Melcher, "This guy should
	be captured on film. You're never gonna capture this guy on
	tape." Ultimately, Charlie failed to convince anyone to sign him
	to a record contract. Was this the spark or just a coincidence in
	the resulting murders? Manson allegedly told a friend that
	summer, "How are you going to get to the establishment? You
	can't sing to them. I tried that, I tried to save them, but they
	wouldn't listen. Now we've got to destroy them."

http://earcandy_mag.tripod.com/rrcase-charlesmanson.htm

>> anyway, I looked up this Glen Charlock, I mean
>> Gene Clark (just like Byrds/Boards, the two GCs are pretty
>> darn simular), and read up on the Byrds -
>> didn't know that Eight Miles High was really not about tripping,
>> although even if you read it that way, it's like, "and when you  
>> come down"
>> comes really early in the song...
>
> It's impossible to sort out the Acid from the Jet plane in 8 Miles  
> High. But Gene Clark was nearly out of the band by the time the  
> group's masterpiece slithered onto top 40, only to be swiftly  
> ejected by the powers that be.

It was just too far ahead of its time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeqyCwAeT3I

 From the Steve Hoffman forum, this morning about 'missing' songs:

	In 1970, Gram Parsons tried to record an album with Terry
	Melcher producing. They both were more interested in drinking
	and getting messed up, and the project was never completed.
	From the memory of the participants, the songs recorded were
	all covers, except for "Brass Buttons" and a GP original entitled
	"These Blues Have Made a N*gg*r Out of Me." The tapes are no
	longer in the A&M vault and no one knows their whereabouts.
	Based on the song title and his state of mind at the time, I'm
	guessing this lost Gram song is about as good as the Pinwheel
	Twist. We're probably not missing much.

	Maggie, a brief clip of the Byrds performing Milestones does
	survive. Check out this clip, where the Milestones clip is
	attached to something purported to be the backing track of The
	Flower Bomb Song. Whatever this is, it definitely seems to be
	the Byrds. Can you place it?

__________________
Jason Czeskleba

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=196236

Here's the Byrds "Milestones" and "Flower Bomb Song" clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yftz73-U488

>> but (to digress just a bit) I always liked Buffalo Springfield
>> better than the Byrds and somehow thought the Byrds should've
>> been an East Coast group and they would've been able to
>> stay together...
>
> No way—they were all too paranoid. In any case, the Byrds were about  
> as L.A. as any band would be until the Eagles appeared out of the  
> ashes of the Flying Burrito Brothers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCqxq6xqoXI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea0CDieb4yM

Hotel California repurposed in "The Big Lebowski:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If9I1P6-hgw

>> (there's even a Buffalo Springfield song "Nowadays Clancy
>> can't even sing" so if the Byrds had been an East Coast group
>> 2 of them could've got Clancy singing...)
>
> About drug abuse of some sort, as I recall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9BSRVyHIGQ

And some of their songs were purely about paranoia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEqLh4-Ouck&feature=related

And some were about groupies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbXKEjIApac&feature=related

>> but I ended up going to iTunes and getting "White Light" and
>> listening to it all the way through, really some pretty nice stuff!
>> According to the Wikipedia article, it was voted Album of the Year
>> in the Netherlands in 1971.

Gene Clark's ultra Byrds-y "One in a Hundred":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPPuyF5cA5I

>> -- 
>> --- "Can't say it often enough -
>> change your hair, change your life."
>> - Sortilege
>
> 	"It's this group I'm in," Miles explained, "the Paranoids. We're
> 	new yet. Our manager says we should sing like that. We watch
> 	English movies a lot, for the accent."
>
> 	"My husband's a disk jockey," Oedipa trying to be helpful, "it's
> 	only a thousand-watt station, but if you had anything like a tape
> 	I could give it to him to plug." Miles closed the door behind them
> 	and started in with the shifty eye. "In return for what?" Moving in
> 	on her. "Do you want what I think you want? This is the Payola
> 	Kid here, you know." Oedipa picked up the nearest weapon,
> 	which happened to be the rabbit-ear antenna off the TV in the
> 	corner. "Oh," said Miles, stopping. "You hate me too." Eyes
> 	bright through his bangs.

Milestones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZmP8ZZJj4M&feature=related