# Blow My Mind with Some Obscure Rock and Roll **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 11, 2022, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358 "2022-09-11T02:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/61 "2022-09-13T12:36:40Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Davis band. Knew all the members back in the day. That is awesome! I only got to talk with Scott Miller a couple of times, but as a fan, I was spellbound. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/62 "2022-09-13T13:35:22Z")
That sound reminds me a lot of **Let’s Active** , another Southeast band from the era that few people have heard of even though they existed through the entire decade with multiple records and albums. Their frontman, Mitch Easter, is better known as REM’s first producer. This video is probably the most exposure they ever got… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AvuetnVoxIs/maxresdefault.jpg "Let's Active - Every Word Means No") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvuetnVoxIs) ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/63 "2022-09-13T13:41:20Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > That sound reminds me a lot of **Let’s Active** That is a highly perceptive observation, as Mitch Easter produced much of Game Theory’s output, including this track! ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/64 "2022-09-13T13:44:43Z")
Never in a thousand guesses would I have got that right - and I actually saw the singer live in concert in a different context. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/65 "2022-09-13T14:54:54Z")
The Creation, a UK rock band of the 60s. Never had much success, but they influenced many UK musicians. The guitarist sometimes used a bow to play (at 1:27), something Jimmy Page took up. Pete Townsend acknowledged them as an influence and some accounts say he asked guitarist Eddie Phillips to be a second guitarist for the Who, but Phillips declined. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b0YdOoLDkR4/hqdefault.jpg "The Creation - Painter Man (1967)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0YdOoLDkR4) ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/66 "2022-09-13T15:00:22Z")
This topic often comes down to regionality. Growing up in Ottawa, I was subjected to CanCon radio and TV regularions, so a certain percentage of airtime was always turned over to Canuck artists, so a lot of lesser lights got tons of play to fill the time. Still there were some cool bands that may not have broken through south of the border (or elsewhere). I loved National Velvet, out of Toronto: poppy goth, with a lead singer on whom I had a major crush for years. This song still gets regular spins at the retro clubs I attend: [National Velvet - Flesh under skin - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0CZvhutBPE) Here’s a song that I remember got a fair bit of critical acclaim back in the day, but David + David never followed it up with another album. Both Davids went on to behind-the-scenes success (I think one of them was a producer for Toni Childs…or Sheryl Crow?): [David & David - Welcome To The Boomtown - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97wvwuHUMCw) ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/67 "2022-09-13T16:00:41Z")
Hitting Birth. An industrial protogrunge band out of Portland OR in the 80s/90s. A lot of improv jams and found trash as instruments, always unpredictable. I saw them at least a dozen times live. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Crc30IhvDWw/hqdefault.jpg "Hitting Birth "Crackman" ‌‌ - Bohemia Afterdark") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crc30IhvDWw) ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/68 "2022-09-13T16:01:31Z")
Mike Dillon, Punk Rock Percussionist extraordinaire [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/X1Jy_vMeuKw/maxresdefault.jpg "The Mike Dillon Band "DVS" Live at KDHX 2/9/13") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Jy_vMeuKw) ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/69 "2022-09-13T16:17:45Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZBDRTmpqnHg/maxresdefault.jpg "Mike Dillon - "Apocalyptic Daydream" (Megalomaniacs Ball 2021)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBDRTmpqnHg) ---
**Author:** ![kwintenstraler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kwintenstraler/32/10698_2.png) [@kwintenstraler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwintenstraler)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/70 "2022-09-13T16:51:25Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TKWtnFM92DQ/hqdefault.jpg "Birtha - Free Spirit (The Old Grey Whistle Test)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKWtnFM92DQ) Birtha Free spirit ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/71 "2022-09-13T21:17:45Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I listened to some of that earlier this evening. Wow, they’re good! I thought they sounded like a cross between early Yes, and early Styx, leaning a bit towards the latter. Glad you like it! Even in '68 when it was a new album, few people seemed to have heard of it. 54 years later, the fade from _Alicia and Others_ to that quasi-Morse Code opening of _Seventy-Five_ still gives me goosebumps. The composer/organist/pianist was Don Galucci, who at age 15 played that opening electric piano riff in the Kingsmen’s recording of “Louie Louie.” ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/72 "2022-09-13T21:38:46Z")
Hehehe, I know of him from Billy Goat, he’s always has been a killer percussionist: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OhK2WHegWSI/hqdefault.jpg "Billy Goat - Chef (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhK2WHegWSI) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/73 "2022-09-13T21:54:42Z")
I was in a band with the singer of this band before he hooked up with them. They were totally more talented and practiced than we were (hey, they were Jazz performance majors, we were Art majors), so I understand why he went with them. They had a lot of great songs, but this is my favorite that you can find online easily. Karate 2000: (it’s the whole CD, but cued up to that song): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dGRdvKSXkNY/hqdefault.jpg "Dooms U.K. - Art Rock Explosion!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGRdvKSXkNY) ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/74 "2022-09-13T22:05:15Z")
[The Beat Farmers](https://www.beat-farmers.com/) were a slammin’ cowpunk band in the 80s and 90s with a knack for great covers, a seriously warped sense of humor and a drummer/singer (RIP) who sounded like Johnny Cash’s idiot cousin. According to their website the surviving members are touring again. [The Handsome Family](https://handsomefamily.com/) is a Chicago-based brother-and-sister act who sound like Nick Cave filtered through the Cowboy Junkies’ _Trinity Sessions_. Eccentric, atmospheric and quietly intense. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/75 "2022-09-13T22:28:28Z")
That is what I came here to write, and am a bit surprised that @EinsteinsHund did not mention it earlier, as they were big in Europe and particularly in Germany for a season. The whole album _Mas Histeria_ is great, [Sittin’ in the Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_ydQHaU3cM&t=42s) a masterpiece. And good for dacing wild. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/76 "2022-09-13T22:47:16Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > [The Beat Farmers](https://www.beat-farmers.com/) were a slammin’ cowpunk band in the 80s and 90s with a knack for great covers, a seriously warped sense of humor and a drummer/singer (RIP) who sounded like Johnny Cash’s idiot cousin. According to their website the surviving members are touring again. Funny story about this song… I had a roommate in college who picked up some Rhino Records sampler album at a used record store that had this song on it, but the credits only said something like “Bonus Track/Mystery Artist”. It was probably another 10-15 years before I finally found out what the song was! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LEZtII8rt_Y/hqdefault.jpg "Beat Farmers...Happy Boy.wmv") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEZtII8rt_Y) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/77 "2022-09-13T22:51:47Z")
[Warpig](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warpig_(band)) Only one album in 1970, rereleased in’73. Canadians, eh? Really good record, available on Spotify BTW, they are still together. (line up changes though) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/78 "2022-09-13T22:51:57Z")
And speaking of obscure tracks from sampler albums, a different college roommate had some other sampler album with this little gem: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TsfArtnjAcY/maxresdefault.jpg "[Your Love Is Like] Nuclear Waste") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsfArtnjAcY) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/79 "2022-09-13T22:56:21Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > That is what I came here to write, and am a bit surprised that @EinsteinsHund did not mention it earlier, as they were big in Europe and particularly in Germany for a season. The whole album _Mas Histeria_ is great, [Sittin’ in the Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_ydQHaU3cM&t=42s) a masterpiece. And good for dacing wild. I honestly never heard of Carolyne Mas, though it was exactly my time (1980) when this came out if she was successful in Germany. Was she ever in Bananas, Disco or Musikladen? Or even Rockpalast? I’m listening now to the song and it’s great. Reminds me of Patti Smith. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358/80 "2022-09-13T22:58:43Z")
I did not have a TV back then, I don’t know why she was so popular in Germany, but she was played a lot in discos in the 80s. And in the radio. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blow-my-mind-with-some-obscure-rock-and-roll/971358.md?page=5)