The Rolling Stones?

Organ, sitar (trippy), mellow/melancholic -- Smiths-esque, punk-esque, rock-pop-esque. ‘90s?

Alright, my first official post will feature this really fantastic group that popped up unexpectedly during a spotify radio session -- The Brian Jonestown Massacre. While their moniker puts into question the fabric of reality that is current events and pop culture from the last half-century -- pulling of course from the mass cult suicide of the early '70s, and none other than Brian Jones, guitarist for an early rendition of the Rolling Stones -- ya gotta love it. Something about it seems very '90s, doesn't it? Fitting, because they got together at the start of the iconic decade. And I've already learned something from this group -- that no matter how smart you think you are, the term shoegaze will creep up on you and strike you down, very harshly. I thank the shuffle feature of many a radio streaming program (likely some algorithm that I don't understand) for illuminating the gift that is the BJM.

If you need more proof that these guys love the Stones, check out their fourth album:

How many requests can satanic majesties possibly have? Do they only make requests of Brit-blues/pop rock ensembles and/or those who fall in with them? The answer to the former is two (that we know of -- see The Rolling Stones ca. 1968). The answer to the latter is probably irrelevant -- and think, we’re not even certain if these requests belong to those satanic majesties, or if they’re the ones doing the requesting (hint: a careful look at both covers will underscore current confusion).



They don't sound exactly like the Stones, which actually legitimizes all of this Stone-code. There is something withheld but confrontational about their style, because it seems to move freely between the genre it belongs to and the genre it pays homage to. They still keep it totally authentic, and I’d peg them as a beautiful '90s neopsychedelic gem, eclipsed probably by the likes of Oasis and others in that vein, with a rich (there's sitar!) but subtle sound that makes you want to live in the past, but glad you're around to hear these musicians. Sometimes you feel like you're underwater listening to them, and other times you feel like you're blinded by the sun. Sometimes you're just left in awe by the quality of musicianship. They are definitely worth checking out if you love the '60s, The Stones, or '90s genre mixup phenomena.