You may now commence gibbering.
284. Napoleon XIV "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haa!"
When I was a kid there was a radio show that played late at night. It was called Dr. Demento. The DJ (known as Barry Hansen to his mom) spun some of the weirdest wildest records ever created in the name of self expression, humor, trend-chasing or simply making a buck. He was also a heavyweight record collector and music scholar who knew his stuff and wasn't reluctant to share his inside knowledge. He, more than almost any other DJ, got more listeners into expoloring the Swamp Of Weird that lay bubbling just below the mainstream of music.
Today's song was a perennial favorite of his show and his fans. Mental illness humor was big in the mid-60's for some reason. I figure it had something to do with the movie Psycho. Napoleon XIV (born Jerry Samuels) was a recording engineer by trade and that shows in a lot of the sonic trickery employed on this song and others on the album (such gems as 'Bats In My Belfry' and the sublime 'My Little Red Tricycle').
This song, though, still hold legitamite sway as the greatest piece of what the aforementioned Doctor calls 'dementia.' Samuels' weirdly cadenced vocals sound like a man genuinely gone off his nut. The monotonous marching--no, pacing. pacing like a patient on a locked ward-- beat, listless tambourine and siren sound effects bring the atmosphere to a full boil, so much so that prolonged exposure to the record may have you questioning your own sanity. This album led loads of listeners not just to sonic comedians like Weird Al Yankovic, but to acid casualty visionaries like Roky Erickson & Skip Spence and fruitcake savants like Wesley Willis and Daniel Johnston. Trust me, to get to Jandek, you must first pass through Napoleon.
Now if you'll excuse me, there's some chirping birds I have to speak to.
When I was a kid there was a radio show that played late at night. It was called Dr. Demento. The DJ (known as Barry Hansen to his mom) spun some of the weirdest wildest records ever created in the name of self expression, humor, trend-chasing or simply making a buck. He was also a heavyweight record collector and music scholar who knew his stuff and wasn't reluctant to share his inside knowledge. He, more than almost any other DJ, got more listeners into expoloring the Swamp Of Weird that lay bubbling just below the mainstream of music.
Today's song was a perennial favorite of his show and his fans. Mental illness humor was big in the mid-60's for some reason. I figure it had something to do with the movie Psycho. Napoleon XIV (born Jerry Samuels) was a recording engineer by trade and that shows in a lot of the sonic trickery employed on this song and others on the album (such gems as 'Bats In My Belfry' and the sublime 'My Little Red Tricycle').
This song, though, still hold legitamite sway as the greatest piece of what the aforementioned Doctor calls 'dementia.' Samuels' weirdly cadenced vocals sound like a man genuinely gone off his nut. The monotonous marching--no, pacing. pacing like a patient on a locked ward-- beat, listless tambourine and siren sound effects bring the atmosphere to a full boil, so much so that prolonged exposure to the record may have you questioning your own sanity. This album led loads of listeners not just to sonic comedians like Weird Al Yankovic, but to acid casualty visionaries like Roky Erickson & Skip Spence and fruitcake savants like Wesley Willis and Daniel Johnston. Trust me, to get to Jandek, you must first pass through Napoleon.
Now if you'll excuse me, there's some chirping birds I have to speak to.
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