This week’s special guest edition of Saturday Night Shut-In comes to you from Chez Royale! That’s right, ladymisskirroyale and Mr. Royale share with you a mix entitled Geniuses, Crackpots & Visionaries. A note from Mr. Royale, including the tracklist and notes on this evening’s selections, follows.

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Geniuses-Crackpots-Visionaries.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 77: Geniuses, Crackpots & Visionaries]

Mr. Royale sez…

Let’s see, this mix is actually part of a larger compilation I’ve put together, which includes the likes of Harry Partch, Brian Wilson, John Cage, Stockhausen, Glenn Branca, Morton Subotnick, John Zorn, Captain Beefheart, Steve Reich, Iannis Xenakis….etc. In other words, musicians who have stood on the outside and came up with something unheard before, some kind of personal, uncompromising artistic vision. Perhaps these artists have been obscure or widely followed, but there’s something of an independent spirit in each. The title of the collection is, of course, tounge in cheek. Hey, maybe Lucia Pamela really did go to the moon

With the post on Wildman Fischer, Erika and I hit on the idea of a G,C & V shortlist, this time highlighting the “crackpots” section. Certain names came up that were too obvious. People with mental health issues (Syd Barrett, Roky Erickson, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Kristin Hersh), but who make very “acceptable” music. I was adamant that this list be a WTF kind of a thing. We refined it to a criteria of “unhinged” recordings, ones that make you say “how in hell did this EVER get recorded? Somebody thought this was a good idea? Did somebody lose a bet?” And yet, in their own way, each of these is delightful!

Okay, we begin with: Continue reading »