"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
02/11/2016 at 13:00 • Filed to: Song Showdown
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"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
02/11/2016 at 13:00 • Filed to: Song Showdown | 2
| 13 |
Haven’t heard of Roky Erickson?
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I expected the battle between Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash for the best Hurt to be a close fight, but despite very passionate endorsements from the likes of Gamecat, Wacko, and Johann Vegas, it was an absolute blowout, with Cash taking three times the votes.
So here’s a woefully short backstory that barely skims the surface for you kids. Roky and his band the 13th Floor Elevators were pioneers of the psychedelic rock genre, finding success largely thanks to Roky’s haunting vocals. The band rise was sidetracked in 1968 when Roky suddenly started speaking gibberish while performing at a concert. Shortly after he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to a psychiatric hospital where he was involuntarily subjected to electroconvulsive therapy. A year later he was arrested for possession of a single marijuana joint, plead not guilty due to insanity, and found himself once again in a state hospital, where he was agan subjected to electroconvulsive therapy and thorazine treatments until finally being released in 1972. Suffice to say Roky didn’t exactly have an easy or stable path. After being let out he returned to music with a new band, Blieb Alien, but eventually mental illness and creative decline caused him to leave the music scene once again. Before leaving though, Roky and Blieb Alien recorded the song “Two Headed Dog,” a song that, while unkonwn by most, was evocative enough that Dave Grohl talked about it (and Roky) on the Austin episode of his song Sonic Highways, and even covered it with the Foo Fighters during the 40th anniversary of Austin City Limits.
Side note before we get started, there’s an excellent documentary about Roky that you can watch
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Roky Erickson - 1981
Foo Fighters - 2014
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Reminder: Stevie Wonder vs Chili Peppers closes in two hours. Ohio Players vs Chili Peppers closes in 26 hours.
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Dusty Ventures
> Dusty Ventures
02/09/2016 at 20:37 |
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This is one of the few times I’ll actually comment my personal opinion on a battle. I am a massive Foo Fighters fan. Dave Grohl is my hero and to me he’s the greatest person in music. That said, the opening guitar riff on the Roky Erickson version is absolutely goddamn filthy, and I love that. Dave’s riff just wasn’t dirty enough. Roky’s initial scream of “Two headed dog” is nasty as well.
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 13:09 |
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I knew a girl once who was near cultic about Roky. By remarkable coincidence, she was not amazingly stable either. That being said, good stuff.
CB
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 13:18 |
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How is it that I’ve never heard about Roky Erickson before yesterday, and here he comes popping up again? (Jesse Lacey mentioned him as an inspiration for Degausser in an interview I listened to)
Stapleface
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 13:32 |
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I agree 100% . The cover version is good, but Roky's is just more raw and primal.
vondon302
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 13:33 |
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Ive just got educated.
Hoccy
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 14:03 |
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Damn, those versions were similar. The main differences seem to be that Erickson (as a Norwegian the spelling bothers me) is crazy and that he seemingly recorded this with a walkman in a garage. Foo Fighters have everything but that grittyness in their version, so I have to vote for Roky this time.
BrtStlnd
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 14:30 |
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hike
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 20:56 |
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This is the first time I’ve seen this column but I quite like it! Went back and looked and listened to a few of the past ones.
Im a big fan of the Foos, but in this case, they took an incredible and unique song and made it catchy and generic. Some aspects of music just can't be repeated by anyone but the original.
bobbe17
> CB
02/11/2016 at 21:36 |
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I learned about him during the Austin episode of Foo Fighters Sonic Highways. Definitely worth a watch.
Nauraushaun
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 22:12 |
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I edumacated myself on Rocky a week or two ago! Was going through some less common EPs for a band I like when I found this song. I thought the singer sounded mentally retarded, so I looked him up. Turns out this guy at my work loves him and wears an Elevators shirt all the time.
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Nauraushaun
> CB
02/11/2016 at 22:12 |
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That’s how I feel, heard about him the first time a few weeks ago
thatsmr
> Dusty Ventures
02/11/2016 at 22:59 |
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Had a friend/ bandmate turn me on to Roky in the mid 80s..Ive got a lot of 13th Floor stuff, but my favorite is Gremlins Have Pictures. If you remotely like Two Headed Dog, this record is a carnival of rockers and odd ballads. Before being able to find much on the internet, I finally tracked down a cd...it is in my car cd changer waiting ti be fired up. There is also a great Roky documentary which pops up on netflix from time to time called ”You’re gonna miss me” which is also a great Elevators tune....
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Dusty Ventures
> thatsmr
02/11/2016 at 23:16 |
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I actually linked to “You’re Gonna Miss Me” on youtube, just above the song videos. Great watch