Today’s Mystery Date was suggested by a Townsman who may or may not choose to help me coax your opinions on this song. Thanks to our Mystery Shadchen!
Let’s review the ground rules here. The Mystery Date song is not necessarily something I believe to be good. So feel free to rip it or praise it. Rather the song is something of interest due to the artist, influences, time period… Your job is to decipher as much as you can about the artist without research. Who do you think it is? Or, Who do you think it sounds like? When do you think it was recorded? Etc…
If you know who it is, don’t spoil it for the rest. Anyone who knows it can play the “mockcarr option.” (And I’ve got a hunch that some of you know this one.) This option is for those of you who just can’t hold your tongue and must let everyone know just how in-the-know you are by calling it. So if you know who it is and want everyone else to know that you know, email Mr. Moderator at mrmoderator [at] rocktownhall [dot] com. If correct we will post how brilliant you are in the Comments section.
The real test of strength though is to guess as close as possible without knowing. Ready, steady, go!
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Mystery-Date-021011.mp3|titles=Mystery Date 021011]
OK, the crackle of the vinyl tells me this is a legit late 60s artifact. That baroque sound screams 1969 to me…and the vocalist sounds familiar, but I just can’t place it. Sounds British…they had a lot of twee bands in that genre: Nirvana, Duncan Browne, World Of oz, etc…
Excellent characterization, pudman13, but not that close on almost any front. I will say that this song is a bit uncharacteristic of the rest of the album.
I have no idea who this is, but the singer sounds like the guy from Yo La Tengo. Can’t imagine he would have recorded this, though.
Sounds like an 80s Southern indie band let loose in the orchestra room of the local high school. It doesn’t feel like the sixties to me–maybe the lyrics aren’t dopey earnest enough?
The voice sounds like Weird Al Yankovic so I’ll say it was his attempt at straight music before he went into comedy.
I change my guess. It sounds even more like Weird Al than Ira Kaplan.
Funny!
That is hilarious–I could not put my finger on it but you are absolutely right, it does sound like Weird Al.
I made it to 1:25 and if I listen any longer I’ll kill myself.
Or else perhaps Mr. Van Driessen, the hippy teacher from Beavis & Butthead.
Is this Fuse or some other proto version of Cheap Trick?
No, no one associated with that crew, as far as I know.
Is it late 80s/early 90s west coast psych pop?
1980s, California, associated with the early paisley neo-psych/pop movement. Band members went on to various prockist endeavors, and eventually ended up in movie soundtrack work.
It has a ’60s dreamy folk/psych vibe, but the production sounds too crisp and dry (but not low-fi) compared to a ’60s soaked-in-fuzz sound. So I would put it later than that. The strings sound real, not synthesized, so that might mean it’s no later than mid-’80s!
No, this record precedes the ’80s. The artist is from California. trigmo is correct in stating that the period of this recording, relative to the 1960s, is “later than that.”
Is this that Fapardokly guy?
I know! This is the inspiration for Blackmore’s Night!
No.
This sounds like one of those songs that would sound at home in some late 70’s/early 80’s animated feature sung by some cute furry animal whose ecosystem is going to be destroyed.
I was thinking it was some deep cut from the Klaatu catalog, but Mr. Mod said they were from California, which gives more cred that it should have been used in some animated feature sung by a rabbit or squirrel.
That makes sense, petesecrutz, and it actually verges on a comparison that I made when first hearing this song which, to tell the truth, I liked – and liked a lot more than almost anything I’ve heard by the artist who first came to mind and who did some work with animated features involving cutre, furry animals whose ecosystem was in jeopardy! But it’s NOT the person who’s (less-enjoyable, for me) music I compared it to on first listen.
Whenever we do the reveal piece and I put up another song or two for you to check out you may want to punch me for starting with this less-characteristic song. This just happened to be the quirky one that first caught my ear.
Been away from RTH for a few weeks and return to this. Mr. Mod, I know this one and I’ll be mighty impressed if anyone who doesn’t know it can suss it out.
Good choice for an artist/album that can use the exposure however belated it is
You were missed, al. I was hoping you or geo would already know this artist!
The music reminds of some Curt Boettcher project, although the voice could be Charles Manson for all I know.
It sounded very Let’s Active/Mitch Easter, but that doesn’t give us California. I’m going to put my thinking cap on…(ie check Wikipedia).
Weird Al or possibly John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants but the time period and the music style are all wrong.
Sounded like someone that Donovan heard busking and took him under his wing. But you say California so I’m going to substitute Tommy Smothers for Donovan and add Jerry Brown into the hot tub.
Ok, I’m thinking this dude morphed into the Paisley scene, so I’m going to say it’s something Michael Quercio.
As always, the game is not to guess who this is, but I’m amazed at how far off people are. I truly think petesecrutz and misterioso’s Mr. Van Driessen are as close as anyone has gotten. I’ll let this play out and then present the reveal late tonight or tomorrow morning.
I will say that three Townspeople inadvertantly typed a word that is as close as one could possibly get to who this is.
I’ll take a stab at sleuthing your last comment, Mod. I see three mentions of the word “psych” as in psychedelic here. If that’s the one, could your calling it inadvertent mean that this artist has some connection to psychiatry or psychology, rather than psychedelia?
Good try, trigmogigmo! As you’ll now see, the operative word was “band,” as in Robbie Robertson of The Band, the producer of this track and the entire album from which it came. Check out the “reveal” post for the artist’s name and details.