That boy needs therapy
May 15, 2019 11:14 AM Subscribe
The Avalanches - 'Frontier Psychiatrist'
wiki
Lyrics
Previously: The Avalanches - Frankie Sinatra
Via
wiki
Lyrics
Previously: The Avalanches - Frankie Sinatra
Via
PURELY PSYCHOSOMATIC
Thanks for getting this stuck in my head again! (But actually thanks, this song isbonkers crazy in the coconut and always brightens my day.)
posted by meemzi at 11:21 AM on May 15, 2019 [6 favorites]
Thanks for getting this stuck in my head again! (But actually thanks, this song is
posted by meemzi at 11:21 AM on May 15, 2019 [6 favorites]
This was a viral video on my US college campus before youtube, through the painstakingly curated shared drives on our school network.
posted by muddgirl at 11:30 AM on May 15, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 11:30 AM on May 15, 2019 [7 favorites]
LOVE. The very first time I ever heard this song, courtesy of my younger brother who has always had the best taste in music, will always be seared into my brain. Since I Left You, the album it appears on, is pure gold from beginning to end, and fueled many college all-nighters, as it's the perfect thing to put on repeat on the disc drive of your campus computer lab's PC and procrastinate/chain-smoke/write to.
posted by stellaluna at 11:30 AM on May 15, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by stellaluna at 11:30 AM on May 15, 2019 [9 favorites]
What, nobody's linked to the source material yet?
(Not the original sketch, but they remade it in 1983 for their CBC show.)
posted by suetanvil at 11:43 AM on May 15, 2019 [10 favorites]
(Not the original sketch, but they remade it in 1983 for their CBC show.)
posted by suetanvil at 11:43 AM on May 15, 2019 [10 favorites]
Yo this is amazeballs. I love The Avalanches, their mixes/samples/videos are always amazing.
<3
posted by Fizz at 11:44 AM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
<3
posted by Fizz at 11:44 AM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
I will always love this song and this video. Hearing this for the first time unlocked so much new music for me and really expanded my horizons.
posted by sleeping bear at 11:52 AM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by sleeping bear at 11:52 AM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
Also! I first heard of The Avalanches through a mixtape put together by a young woman on a USENET group we both frequented.
Reader, I married her.
posted by suetanvil at 12:01 PM on May 15, 2019 [27 favorites]
Reader, I married her.
posted by suetanvil at 12:01 PM on May 15, 2019 [27 favorites]
Is it fair to say that this song is distinct among mashups for sampling 100% speech and no singing (except maybe the “Ooooh”). And relying on the speech-to-song illusion?
posted by little onion at 12:05 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by little onion at 12:05 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
From the wiki:
Critics acclaimed "Frontier Psychiatrist". Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle said it was "hands down the best example of the sheer giddy pleasure of turntablist art you've likely ever heard."
Sheer giddy pleasure is right.
posted by meemzi at 12:08 PM on May 15, 2019 [5 favorites]
Critics acclaimed "Frontier Psychiatrist". Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle said it was "hands down the best example of the sheer giddy pleasure of turntablist art you've likely ever heard."
Sheer giddy pleasure is right.
posted by meemzi at 12:08 PM on May 15, 2019 [5 favorites]
Is it fair to say that this song is distinct among mashups for sampling 100% speech and no singing
The work of Steinski is a pretty clear antecedent.
Regrettably
We now believe
That only force
Will make him leave
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:28 PM on May 15, 2019 [8 favorites]
The work of Steinski is a pretty clear antecedent.
Regrettably
We now believe
That only force
Will make him leave
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:28 PM on May 15, 2019 [8 favorites]
I cannot find it now, but last year I remember listening to a bootleg or similar of the original for this album - with all the samples that they ended up being unable to get permission to use. It was phenomenal! I am kicking myself for not saving the details somewhere!
posted by sarahdal at 12:28 PM on May 15, 2019
posted by sarahdal at 12:28 PM on May 15, 2019
Holy crap! I've always loved the song but never knew about the video for it. Good thing I knew the song first or I'd be thinking "WTF" the entire time.
posted by Qubit at 12:36 PM on May 15, 2019
posted by Qubit at 12:36 PM on May 15, 2019
Oh man. I was JUST listening to this yesterday! "That boy needs therapy" is a common rejoinder in my extended circle of friends. Thanks for posting!
I'm marvelling that a silly song (however delightful) is deemed significant enough for a Wikipedia entry while fierce debates rage about whether various women scientists are worthy of their own entries.
No disrespect for the song, but seriously Wikipedia?
One would imagine that the sections of Wikipedia concerning science and music are populated/edited/managed by very different segments of contributors and the one would likely have very little to do with the other.
I mean, you're not wrong but I'm not sure you can fault the contributors with the time, knowledge and interest enough to fill in musical stubs for not fighting for inclusion in other spheres.
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:44 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'm marvelling that a silly song (however delightful) is deemed significant enough for a Wikipedia entry while fierce debates rage about whether various women scientists are worthy of their own entries.
No disrespect for the song, but seriously Wikipedia?
One would imagine that the sections of Wikipedia concerning science and music are populated/edited/managed by very different segments of contributors and the one would likely have very little to do with the other.
I mean, you're not wrong but I'm not sure you can fault the contributors with the time, knowledge and interest enough to fill in musical stubs for not fighting for inclusion in other spheres.
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:44 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
Crazier than a coconut!
I swear I’ve heard that somewhere else, like as a saying, but I’ve never been able to pin it down and I always say it like the sample
In college this led me to Kid Koala, too, who is still going and now has an entire album of “music to draw to,” which is pretty great
posted by schadenfrau at 12:45 PM on May 15, 2019
I swear I’ve heard that somewhere else, like as a saying, but I’ve never been able to pin it down and I always say it like the sample
In college this led me to Kid Koala, too, who is still going and now has an entire album of “music to draw to,” which is pretty great
posted by schadenfrau at 12:45 PM on May 15, 2019
WhoSampled lists all the samples
TWENTY-ONE SONGS.
posted by dw at 12:47 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
TWENTY-ONE SONGS.
posted by dw at 12:47 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
Their follow-up album, which came out 16(!) years later, was a bit less amazing, but still had flashes of brilliance. Surprisingly, they toured the album, which was assembled much in the same way as the first album. Even more surprisingly, instead of sticking to the original samples, the band included a singer who gave off a very Fergie vibe. The friend who I was with was just as disappointed as I was by the incongruous (to us) presentation and we left before the end of the show. I still love Since I Left You, tho.
posted by PatchesPal at 1:00 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by PatchesPal at 1:00 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
How on earth after 20 years does this song not have a previously? This ditty is as Metafilter as anything by The Mountain Goats.
You know what else seems to be missing from our collective record? Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip.
posted by St. Oops at 1:28 PM on May 15, 2019 [5 favorites]
You know what else seems to be missing from our collective record? Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip.
posted by St. Oops at 1:28 PM on May 15, 2019 [5 favorites]
Is this the new Weezer thread?
posted by sjswitzer at 1:30 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 1:30 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
How on earth after 20 years does this song not have a previously? This ditty is as Metafilter as anything by The Mountain Goats.
Since I Left You
I do like this comment from this post:
The Avalanches: Frontier Psychiatrist Music Video (300k streaming windows media). Highly Reccomended.You know what else seems to be missing from our collective record? Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
posted by sophist at 22:14 on March 6, 2005 [+] [!]
Previously.
posted by zamboni at 1:45 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
Man, that takes me back for sure. OG internet...
posted by lazaruslong at 2:33 PM on May 15, 2019
posted by lazaruslong at 2:33 PM on May 15, 2019
years ago, I made a mixtape for some friends that included Frontier Psychiatrist among other then fresh selections. They had an eight year old boy at the time who I was told had bonded with it, almost worryingly, knew every sample, would sing it to himself while playing up his room. "He's crazy as a coconut -- that boy needs therapy."
He's grown into a fine young man.
posted by philip-random at 3:08 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
He's grown into a fine young man.
posted by philip-random at 3:08 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
I love the Avalanches, and we should all love their work, but then I heard J Dilla's Donuts and realized everything else is but a pale shadow of that genius.
posted by mecran01 at 3:16 PM on May 15, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by mecran01 at 3:16 PM on May 15, 2019 [6 favorites]
I contend it's
posted by zamboni at 3:44 PM on May 15, 2019 [22 favorites]
crazy in the coconut, not
crazy as a coconut. Thank you for lending your attention to this important issue.
posted by zamboni at 3:44 PM on May 15, 2019 [22 favorites]
When someone says the word psychosomatic, it demands an immediate response of “That boy needs therapy!” in the same way that “dental plan” demands “Lisa needs braces”.
posted by dephlogisticated at 3:59 PM on May 15, 2019 [16 favorites]
posted by dephlogisticated at 3:59 PM on May 15, 2019 [16 favorites]
Surprisingly, they toured the album... the band included a singer who gave off a very Fergie vibe. The friend who I was with was just as disappointed as I was by the incongruous (to us) presentation and we left before the end of the show.
PatchesPal. I saw them play their set at a festival in Bilbao in 2016. I thought it was the highlight of the whole festival, which is saying something because there were a lot of great acts.
And I'm doubly glad my friends and I stayed for the end of our show because they trotted out Since I Left You and Frontier Pyschiatrist as the encore, the latter of which unleashed a frenzy of energy. Perhaps we just got lucky and they were really 'on' that evening. Either way it was a great night!
posted by decent rooms and a bath at 4:00 PM on May 15, 2019
PatchesPal. I saw them play their set at a festival in Bilbao in 2016. I thought it was the highlight of the whole festival, which is saying something because there were a lot of great acts.
And I'm doubly glad my friends and I stayed for the end of our show because they trotted out Since I Left You and Frontier Pyschiatrist as the encore, the latter of which unleashed a frenzy of energy. Perhaps we just got lucky and they were really 'on' that evening. Either way it was a great night!
posted by decent rooms and a bath at 4:00 PM on May 15, 2019
And as great as the famous music video for this song is, it's not the one I immediately associate it with.
I was first exposed to the song one night on Rage and they had a different music video at the time. This one was set in a pyschiatrist's office and had a boy playing the part of Dexter. He was taking part in Rorschach tests, then the ink blots went off into their own trippy animation sequence. I found it mesmerising.
I've had to describe it because my best efforts to find it on the web have turned up a blank. All I could find were these sketchy stills.
If anyone knows where a copy of it is lurking I'd love to see it!
posted by decent rooms and a bath at 4:13 PM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
I was first exposed to the song one night on Rage and they had a different music video at the time. This one was set in a pyschiatrist's office and had a boy playing the part of Dexter. He was taking part in Rorschach tests, then the ink blots went off into their own trippy animation sequence. I found it mesmerising.
I've had to describe it because my best efforts to find it on the web have turned up a blank. All I could find were these sketchy stills.
If anyone knows where a copy of it is lurking I'd love to see it!
posted by decent rooms and a bath at 4:13 PM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
I remember listening to a bootleg or similar of the original for this album - with all the samples that they ended up being unable to get permission to use
I’m not sure if you’re referring to the song or the album, but if you mean the version of Since I Left You with all the samples, that’s the Zomba Promo. Here’s a Reddit thread with more info. I enjoyed it but I’ve listened to SILY many times and have gotten so enamored of its sheer flowing groove that a diff version was just a bit odd to hear.
Alternately, you might also mean Gimix, a mix that contains chunks of SILY. I love it almost as much as SILY. It’s more of a straight party mix than the colorful travelogue of SILY. The Madonna-to-Dylan bit is so good every time.
posted by shortfuse at 4:41 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
I’m not sure if you’re referring to the song or the album, but if you mean the version of Since I Left You with all the samples, that’s the Zomba Promo. Here’s a Reddit thread with more info. I enjoyed it but I’ve listened to SILY many times and have gotten so enamored of its sheer flowing groove that a diff version was just a bit odd to hear.
Alternately, you might also mean Gimix, a mix that contains chunks of SILY. I love it almost as much as SILY. It’s more of a straight party mix than the colorful travelogue of SILY. The Madonna-to-Dylan bit is so good every time.
posted by shortfuse at 4:41 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
I freaking love this song.
posted by nikaspark at 5:13 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by nikaspark at 5:13 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
decent rooms and a bath, here's that original video you wanted.
And here's an animation by Nick Shoen.
Each of these videos is trippy in its own way.
posted by dannyboybell at 5:18 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
And here's an animation by Nick Shoen.
Each of these videos is trippy in its own way.
posted by dannyboybell at 5:18 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
When someone says the word psychosomatic, it demands an immediate response of “That boy needs therapy!” in the same way that “dental plan” demands “Lisa needs braces”.
For me the immediate response is "addict, insane."
I like "Frontier Psychiatrist," but if you told me I could only save one song off that album from being erased from the collective memory, it's no contest. "Since I Left You" is one of the most joyous songs and music videos ever made.
posted by chrominance at 5:35 PM on May 15, 2019 [7 favorites]
For me the immediate response is "addict, insane."
I like "Frontier Psychiatrist," but if you told me I could only save one song off that album from being erased from the collective memory, it's no contest. "Since I Left You" is one of the most joyous songs and music videos ever made.
posted by chrominance at 5:35 PM on May 15, 2019 [7 favorites]
The Wayne and Shuster angle reminds me that I never updated my AskMe that none of you louses ever answered!
posted by villanelles at dawn at 5:40 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by villanelles at dawn at 5:40 PM on May 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
Guys in Leiderhosen playing Serpents! Best music video ever.
(for my top ten best music videos, Art of Noise 'Moments in Love' & Einsturzende Neubauten 'Blume' are up there)
posted by ovvl at 5:56 PM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
(for my top ten best music videos, Art of Noise 'Moments in Love' & Einsturzende Neubauten 'Blume' are up there)
posted by ovvl at 5:56 PM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
It's worth looking back on the ur-example of modern spoken snippet sampling, from the Holger Czukay album Movies that served as the inspiration for Eno & Byrne's later masterwork.
The Avalanches are a brilliant group in a noble lineage of creative sonic reuse. Adore 'em.
posted by sonascope at 6:31 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
The Avalanches are a brilliant group in a noble lineage of creative sonic reuse. Adore 'em.
posted by sonascope at 6:31 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
It's worth looking up the "Zomba Promo" version of Since I Left You, which now circulates freely - it includes numerous samples and snippets and one full song that could not be cleared for the retail version.
posted by anazgnos at 7:49 PM on May 15, 2019
posted by anazgnos at 7:49 PM on May 15, 2019
> "And as great as the famous music video for this song is, it's not the one I immediately associate it with."FWIW, I've literally never seen the video linked in the post before in my life. The only one I've ever seen is the one you refer to & linked earlier by dannyboybell, and didn't know there was any other.
posted by Pinback at 8:13 PM on May 15, 2019
My favourite detail about "Since I Left You" is that the main sample is actually saying "since I met you", a fact that I didn't know for many years. I just thought it interesting that I would hear "left" all these years simply because the song's title led me to that, and how the meaning is at once the same and completely opposite.
posted by good in a vacuum at 8:45 PM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by good in a vacuum at 8:45 PM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Let's have a tune.
posted by Rat Spatula at 9:08 PM on May 15, 2019
posted by Rat Spatula at 9:08 PM on May 15, 2019
You know what else seems to be missing from our collective record? Dan le Sac vs
I’m not really the first person to link Thou Shalt Always Filter am I?
Yeah, Dan le Sac was a thing around here 13 years ago.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:57 PM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
I’m not really the first person to link Thou Shalt Always Filter am I?
Yeah, Dan le Sac was a thing around here 13 years ago.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:57 PM on May 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Approximately halfway between Frontier Psychiatrist and Piece Of Pie from the Negativland album No Business sits From The Tide Or The Wind by the Tape Beatles, a track I occasionally played on the air in Chicago in the early 90s and love to this day. Seems like a good place to share.
posted by davejay at 10:13 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by davejay at 10:13 PM on May 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
Love this song so much, and had forgotten the amazing video! I still have Frontier Psychiatrist and Since I Left You on one of my current playlists.
posted by ellieBOA at 1:46 AM on May 16, 2019
posted by ellieBOA at 1:46 AM on May 16, 2019
Heard this first on college radio, have listened to it and the remainder of the album for years, never even once considered there might be a video. That was fun!
posted by caution live frogs at 5:44 AM on May 16, 2019
posted by caution live frogs at 5:44 AM on May 16, 2019
Can't remember the first time I spun it, but I have ~adored~ the album from that first time. From the first moment to the last, it's a stunner. This post is just in time for a rare bright May day: I'm blasting it all the way home. And adding it to my running mental list of Personal Top 5 albums of all time.
I too hear "crazy in the coconut."
posted by foodbedgospel at 10:18 AM on May 16, 2019
I too hear "crazy in the coconut."
posted by foodbedgospel at 10:18 AM on May 16, 2019
I also hear "crazy in the coconut" and I'm the one that said, "crazy as a coconut". I was wrong.
posted by philip-random at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 10:32 AM on May 16, 2019 [2 favorites]
I've loved this tune since I heard it on the radio! in the late '90's. It was the first music video I ever searched for on yootoob, also. Thanks for the memories, growabrain!
posted by Lynsey at 2:20 PM on May 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Lynsey at 2:20 PM on May 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
« Older Háá Nilyį́į́h Fleming Begaye Sr. | Making Sense Of The Britney Spears Conservatorship... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by alex_skazat at 11:19 AM on May 15, 2019 [5 favorites]