D: Inspiration is a gift from the gods. I never claim credit for it, just humble gratitude for being chosen as a divine vessel. And others too numerous to mention. Such as the addition symbol, the little cross used in mathematics. That's mine. Do I ever get credit for that?
FMF: Could we talk about the Liquid Sunshine Donovan album?
D: [laughs] That was quite the scandal at the time! We dosed the butterfly on the cover with a microdot of LSD. I invented LSD, you know.
FMF: Is that what led to the album being withdrawn?
D: That and the title, apparently. Epic didn't like it. Don't know why.
FMF: Liquid Sunshine Donovan ... L,S,D?
D: [thinks] Hmm. Nope. Not getting it.
FMF: Anyway, John Peel wrote the sleeve notes, didn't he?
D: Dear old Peelie! He doesn't come by my yurt much any more.
FMF: What was going to be on the album?
D: It was the most groundbreaking thing I ever did. It was so far beyond what mere humans call music it transcended time and space. Unfortunately it was also beyond the limited consciousness of anybody who heard it. It was recorded during intensive all-night sessions with the Stromberg Twins, channeled directly from the spirit world via my astral connections with the Old Gods of Mu and Atlantis, the Celtic archetypes manifested in this earthly realm. Om shanti the noo, och aye.
FMF: No songs as such, then?
D: Just the pure tantric spiral of the groove, traveling ever inward to the ineffable center of the cosmic void. Are you going to finish those fries?
FMF: Help yourself.
D: [belches] I invented French fr- [tape ends]
FMF: Thanks for taking the time to wrestle wisdom out of Don(ovan). I've enjoyed his "music" for a long, long time. My friends don't agree, but I think my favourite song of his is "Epistle to Dipshit."
ReplyDeleteI look forward to more of your ground-breaking interviews.
Here's something you probably don't have - his songs from the original soundtrack of Brother Sun, Sister Moon (not his later re-recordings). They're grabbed from the actual movie and stitched together as best as I knew how, and at an insultingly low bitrate, but it's all there is. "Haunting" is the word.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for the curioddity. I faintly recall the soundtrack from seeing the movie during it's original run in the San Francisco Bay Area. Of course, that was many years and miles away from today's life and locale. My ultimate listen to your offering brought back some memories. I say ultimate because I think I listened to your unique offering at least seven times. Unfortunately, each time I would start to listen (mostly on headphones), after some time, I would be startled awake wondering where I was and what I was doing. I had no recollection of listening to your recording of the original soundtrack of "Brother Sun, Sister Moon." So, I started listening (again) to your offering. Evidently this happened multiple times. Finally, I wrote myself a note, telling me what I was about to listen to and I had a very large drink of iced coffee (I do not usually drink coffee). That seemed to do the trick and I was conscious through every interesting second of the 24 minute production. Thank you again for your special offering and providing me a substitute to the Melatonin I usually ingest prior to bed time. I look forward to your future educational, enlightening, and entertaining offerings.
DeleteDear Mr Mous - or may I call you Anony? - His songs for this movie are strangely narcotic. I enjoy a lot of Donovan's music, but this odd little corner of his work is very special. His later re-recordings of the same songs have none of the drugged-out haze that make this collection so pleasurably difficult to stay awake to. I'm a big fan of pillow-music!
ReplyDelete