On this episode we discuss the debut LP by the seminal psychedelic rock band, the 13th Floor Elevators: 1966's The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. The 13th Floor Elevators were one of the the first well-known bands to come out of the Austin music scene in the 1960's, and one of the first band's nationwide to purposely embrace the term "psychedelic rock."
The band possessed a lead singer with a one of a kind voice (and screech) in Roky Erickson. The music was played with a fierce garage-rock intensity. But the thing that made them stand out was the use of the "electric jug," which imbued their songs a dark, uneasy, and otherworldly drone. The jug player was also the architect of the band's image and message, which relied heavily on the use of drugs as a means to "free your mind." Unfortunately the band embraced the message a little to fully, which resulted in drug busts and helped facilitate the decline of Erickson's mental health. But the music is something else. Their hit single, "You're Gonna Miss Me," is a undisputed classic, and their music was innovative and influential well beyond their short time as a working band.
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