Psychic TV - "Godstar"

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge died about a month ago.  You probably never heard of Genesis, and I'm not going to be able to summarize their career in any meaningful way (I must confess, I understand -- truly understand -- only a small portion of it myself).  But among the many things that Genesis did was be the focal point for both Throbbing Gristle, arguably the first industrial band, and later Psychic TV, arguably the first acid house band.   For more about Genesis and their impact on modern music, read the articles by BBC, NPR, Pitchfork, The New Yorker (!), and Rolling Stone.  You might not have heard of bands like Throbbing Gristle, but they were influential on bands that you have heard of, like NiN.  His influence also extended into mysticism projects like Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth, which included members of other bands in Genesis's orbit, such as Coil (one of Herbert's favorite bands).

I first heard of Psychic TV via Terry when we lived on Chesapeake Ave in the mid 90s.  He got a VHS tape, probably "8 Transmissions 8", and we watched it on his giant projector.  Clearly it made quite an impression on me, especially the video for "Godstar", an homage to Brian Jones.  "Godstar" is probably some of Genesis's most accessible music; I'm almost embarrassed to use this song to memorialize Genesis, but it's simply a great song.

I thought about marking Genesis's death during Women's History Month, or postponing it until Pride Month (June).  But I'm honestly not sure if either are completely appropriate.  On the surface, you could say Genesis was trans, but the "Pandrogeny Project", where he and his wife Lady Jaye underwent body modifications to become the same person, some how seems different.

In summary, although I know only the tiniest portion of their canon (Throbbing Gristle has 87 LPs and Psychic TV has 90), I know enough to know that Genesis might be the most influential modern musical artist you've never heard of.

Psychic TV - "Godstar"

The Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations" (the song remains the same)

I just finished reading "The Nearest Far Away Place", the 1996 biography of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys.  I believe it was a thrift-store find from Terry many years ago and I've just now gotten around to reading it.  I moderately enjoyed the book, but there were several features that limited my enjoyment: 1) it was written before the 1998 death of Carl Wilson, 2) there was way too much biography about the Wilson's grandparents and great-grandparents, 3) many of the stories reported in the book now have contradicting stories, and 4) Timothy Whites's "rock-n-roll" writing style was excruciating.  Having recently read Marc Spitz's "Bowie" I can only assume things have reached epidemic status and  Hunter S. Thompson was patient zero. 

Regardless, it was fun to revisit The Beach Boys; I've been busy ripping my old CDs and I've just now gotten around to ordering (and enjoying) the apocryphal "SMiLE".  I'm not quite ambitious enough to rehash the cultural importance of Brian Wilson, "Pet Sounds", "SMiLE"/"Smiley Smile", etc.  -- and really, what could I say that hasn't been said before?

But I will briefly mention the 1966 single "Good Vibrations".  Originally developed during the "Pet Sounds" sessions, it was left off that LP and released as an advance single for "SMiLE".  Nearly a year later "SMiLE" devolved into "Smiley Smile", and that was pretty much it for Brian Wilson.  But the fact that this song was ever a hit is nothing short of amazing.  Sure, the standard song structure is in place, but how many other hit songs that you know of feature an electro-theremin?!  If you could pretend that you haven't heard this song 1000 times before, you realize it is amazing that you ever heard it in the first place.  Before The Beach Boys became a Ronald Reagan-approved nostalgia act, there was the drug-induced breakdown, the TM, and of course Charles Manson (no, really).

And now I would like to draw your attention to Psychic TV's excellent cover of "Good Vibrations", which I believe first appeared on their 1986 EP "Magickal Mystery D Tour".  I'm not going to even try to explain Psychic TV / Genesis P-Orridge... other than credit Terry for my first Psychic TV experience too.  Psychic TV plays the cover pretty close to the original, with only the spoken word part during the break (~2:40), but that little touch makes the cover stand out. 

The Beach Boys: stereo version, mono version, 1976 live version

Psychic TV: 7" version, long version