12 SONGS: Where The Pyramid Meets the Eye
We’re on a pretty big Roky kick if you can’t tell.
Don’t get me wrong, we love the Elevators - their first album predated Piper at the Gates of Dawn by a year, so it’s fairly safe to say they were the first to do psychedelic music right.
But Roky’s solo albums were always more our tempo; they still had that slight hint of psychedelia, but for the most part hit harder, had more edge to them, and showcased his songwriting talent better than any Elevators tune ever did.
For this week’s playlist we put together a “family tree” style compilation of artists who either influenced or were influenced by Roky (plus a few of his own songs for comparison). The influence is obvious on some, and more subtle on others. For instance, You’re Gonna Miss Me and Graveyard are side by side for a reason, you’ll see. But Youth of America by Wipers won’t make much sense until the tripped-out feedback interlude halfway through its 10 minute duration.
I lied last week when I said we’d be coming back to Earth and out of the cosmos for this week’s playlist. Not with Roky at the controls, at least; he was an alien, he always belonged out there. Here’s the notarized documentation to prove it:
Yup, so that’s a thing. On my way to the nearest notary now. —Jackson Todd
Listen to 12 Songs: Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye on Spotify Here:
{Above artwork by Hilma Af Klint, Altar Pieces No. 1, 1915}
