By Brandon Adamson
Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” is probably one of the best songs of all time and epitomizes everything I love about the mid to late 60’s. What a great time to be alive, assuming you didn’t end up stepping on landmines in Vietnam. The slow buildup up of the song to its glorious revelation…”FEED YOUR HEAD!” Here they are on The Smothers Brothers show in 1967:
By Brandon Adamson
“That’s what cats are wearin’ nowadays.” Perhaps a fad that never quite caught on was Yipe Stripes, which from the song lyrics appears to have referred to vertical stripes on a shirt more so than the horizontal variety. Striped shirts were popular in the 60’s even without the term yipe being attached to them so who knows. The video and the song are from the film “Teenage Strangler,” which is a surprisingly good thriller. Totally watchable.
Stacy Smith with Danny Dean and The Daredevils
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWdPMzcdggU
By Brandon Adamson
I stumbled across this album by a “Beach Boys” styled band called The Sunrays several years ago at an antique store. I purchased it mostly for the mod aesthetic of the cover, not really expecting much. I instantly fell in love with the first song, “I Live For the Sun.” It’s peppy vocals and bright melodies capture the essence of summertime style in the 1960’s. It’s strange that a someone like me, practically a vampire who doesn’t even really even like going outside, could identify with this sort of jam. Yet it’s amazing. The song promotes life, like the rays of the sun itself. The band actually toured with and opened for the Beach Boys, unsurprisingly.
By Brandon Adamson
Lee Dowell – Black Belt… a really catchy and forgotten song from the film “Teenage Gang Debs.” Long before “the macarena” took an unsuspecting 90’s philistine culture by storm, there was this “Black Belt” dance sequence. Learn these moves and try them out at your next cocktail party, pronto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8a5Xd4KYps
By Brandon Adamson
The Palace guard were a 60’s garage band in Southern California. For a long time they were the resident band at the Hullabaloo club and a staple of the L.A. mod scene. Here is one of their jams, “Falling Sugar”
By Brandon Adamson
“Pretty World” Sergio Mendes’ Brasil ’66… This is one of the loveliest songs of all time, and this video does it justice. Supposedly it is one of the best existing copies.
“Why don’t we take a little piece of summer sky and hang it on a tree” is a lyric that has stayed in my head for many years.
By Brandon Adamson
Twas the night before Christmas…beatnik style.
Excellent spoken word poetry over some jazzy background music.
By Brandon Adamson
Here’s the trailer for “Mondo Mod.” It’s a classic 1960s fake documentary movie about mod culture. The film features and incredibly catchy title song by a “band” called The Gretschmen. There’s also a brief art segment where a couple of Ellsworth Kelly paintings are mentioned. One of my all time favorites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUMxggEkvO0
By Brandon Adamson
Great classic mod video from a Southern California band in the late 90s.
The band featured Scott Schultz on vocals and guitar, Jana Wittren Heller on vocals, Ammon Watene on vocals and guitar, Steve Berrett on bass, and Aaron Watene on drums. Jana left the band in 1997 to join The Arrogants and the remaining members regrouped as Majestic, releasing two fantastic pop records on Shelflife. The band went on hiatus when Scott co-created the incredibly successful children’s TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba.
source: Shelflife Records http://www.shelflife.com/catalogue/LIFE055.html