Weirdest Jefferson Airplane Song

[usedtobebabson]

Well JA really blew the viewers minds when they did Lather on the Ed Sullivan show. JA's music was mostly all designed to blow your mind, even the love songs were beyond the edge, and thus they gave us "Lather", which did a pretty good job of it!

[plasticfantastic]

Good point, Babson-- isn't that the clip where Grace comes on in blackface?

Definitely a good song for mind-blowing, as even its adversaries will likely admit.

[EmbryonicRabbit68]

Actually, the one where Grace went on wearing blackface was on Smothers Brothers, their second appearance on the show. I don't think they ever did Lather on Ed Sullivan, just Crown of Creation.

Personally, Lather is one of my favorite Airplane songs, I adore every thing about it. Sometimes I put on Crown just because I wanna hear that song, the guitar work is relaxing to me, so is the way Grace sang it. It just makes me feel very good .

[Nipper]

Speaking of the weirdest JA songs, I agree about "The Saga Of Sydney Spacepig”, ”Would You Like A Snack , "Rejoyce”, "Never argue with a German if you're tired…”, "A small package of value will come to you, shortly", "The House at Pooneils Corners", “RiBump Ba Bap Dum Dum”, “Chushingura”, “Lather” mentioned above… I love them all. They all are great! Even the names of the songs are weird

And what about “Bear Melt”?! It sounds very trippy and weird to my ears. I think it’s pretty underrated, but to me it is a masterpiece…
And when I think of the weirdest JA songs, ”Share A Little Joke” and “You Wear Your Dresses Too Short” also come to my mind… I don’t know why but they sound “weird” to me…

[Nipper]

JA's music was mostly all designed to blow your mind, even the love songs were beyond the edge

I absolutely agree...
So I think it's not easy to choose the weirdest song

[usedtobebabson]

Lather was done on the Smothers Bros then! I was thinking that when I posted but wasn't sure. It was just Gracy shown all alone, with the rest of the bands faces floating around superimposed on the video.

[georgef76]

The second song on After Bathing at Baxter's,can't think of the name right now.

Also the Other Side Of This Life At Altamont on the Gimme Shelter video, is pretty weird.
There was a lot going on that day, lot's of people on drugs, there was a real strange feeling in the air that day , which comes through in the music as well.

[plasticfantastic]

Well, it's a great version, but obviously the small riot that broke out in the middle of it made it a little strange. What a mess... I saw "Gimme Shelter" recently. A really fascinating piece of film. One of the more fascinating things about it was the Rolling Stones' performance at the end-- I'm not a big Stones fan, but it was incredible to see Jagger up there, obviously knowing full-well that the performance that had been basically his band's brainchild had failed. Quite miserably. Or so it seemed at the time.

[redrabid]

"Other Side" at Altamont isn't weird, it is bad. A very bad performance of a song that used to be one of the highlights of a JA show. It is very untogether and Bill Wyman of the Stones wrote in one of his books how very out of tune JA played at Altamont. Of course he is right. Being a fan of JA I have heard a lot of live performances and yes, they were often playing out of tune, the singers and, surprisingly for a talented guitarist, especially Jorma Kaukonen. Too often. JA was a band with two faces: When they were bad, they were really bad, but when they were good they were very, very good. But, alas, that didn't happen too often. But strangely, that is what I like about JA, they took chances.

[Nipper]

JA was a band with two faces: When they were bad, they were really bad, but when they were good they were very, very good. But, alas, that didn't happen too often.

“I always wished we could do that clean Crosby, Stills & Nash harmony”, says Slick. “ I preferred to practice so that you know the thing backwards and forwards. You don’t have to think about it, you just do it. The Airplane didn’t practice, we just hoped for the best”…
(from the liner notes of “Blows Against The Empire” CD)

One of my most favorite versions of "Other Side" is from the "Live At The Fillmore East " (1968) CD...

[Susan Butcher]

I agree, RR. Music is more exciting when the players take chances. I saw Jethro Tull once, and they sounded exactly like their records. Meticulous but boring. At the other extreme, I've seen Damo Suzuki three times. One show was great, but the others were painful. That's what you get when you play without compositions or rehersals. Despite that, the idea of plucking music out of the ether is very appealing to me. Because I HATE practising!

[okeedoe]

You have lacked a discipline ever since you were a kid.That's why you haven't achieved as much as you could have.Lazy,naughty bird,you.

[EmbryonicRabbit68]

I think Other Side at Altamont is an example of what the Airplane went through during 1970, but earlier on. I've heard a few shows from that year and most of them stunk. Great songs and all, always nice to hear new solos and such, Grace's banter was always nice too, but there was something missing. From Jack and Jorma especially, I think Hot Tuna was on their minds. And Grace sounded off-key a lot... It was the nature of 60s band running it's course in the 70s. Sad, but a reality, they were a 60s band. The 70s was too polished for them.

As for live shows, I agree that less practice leads to more interesting shows, but improvise-oriented bands really are the best at live shows - Airplane, Dead, Who, Cream, Purple, ect. Although, I don't know about Jethro Tull sounding just like the record, you must've them since the 80s, Susan. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, they really jammed, and really good too.

This is a bit random but somewhat close to subject, does anyone else think that Today is the greatest love song ever written? I've often thought that.

[Nipper]

This is a bit random but somewhat close to subject, does anyone else think that Today is the greatest love song ever written? I've often thought that.

“Today” is a very beautiful and magical song, and I think it’s one of the greatest love songs ever written…
And Grace thinks so, too! Look what she says in her book (page 225): “ I think “Today” and “Comin’ Back to Me” are two of the best love songs ever written”…

[usedtobebabson]

Although, I don't know about Jethro Tull sounding just like the record, you must've them since the 80s, Susan. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, they really jammed, and really good too.

This is a bit random but somewhat close to subject, does anyone else think that Today is the greatest love song ever written? I've often thought that.

Jethro Tull was real big where I came from on the East Coast. I always listen to Aqualung.

I have been listening to "Today" daily for about 3 months now, ever since I added a "worst of JA" CD to my vinyl copy of it. I have an experience, asking a girl out a couple of months before I got my draft notice, end of '68. I play the song and the memory rerun and I am overwhelmed at the sheer power of this song. I like to sprinkle in a little of "It's no Secret, and "Watch her Ride" also. Then "Greasy Heart" comes along and chills it down a couple notches!