72. The 13th Floor Elevators — The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators (1966)
- I was utterly delighted to jump into this record and immediately recognize the incredible wail and guitar of “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” which is a perfect song in and of its own right but iconic in my mind specifically as the tune used in the intro to High Fidelity (the movie, not the also-great show). Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?
2. Here we have the first acid rock album, featuring liner notes promoting the benefits of hallucinogenics. The album heavily features an electric jug. “The question for pure sanity … forms the basis of the songs on this album,” reads the back cover. Based on the result, I’m not sure they found sanity, but they did find something bitchin’. At its peak moments, this album is pure garage rock bliss, appropriately hailing from Austin, TX.
3. Roky Erickson’s voice is a howling, raspy, sprawling delight, paired perfectly with excellent guitar work and the aforementioned electric jug providing truly trippy sounds. The album is inconsistent and never lives up to the utter perfection of “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” but it’s fun to hear a band pushing rock music forward right as it began to explode.
One Essential Song:
Listen on Spotify:
