5/1/2023 0 Comments Youtube byrds eight miles high![]() ![]() Daniel Dayton from East Hampton NyI remember Vice President Spiro Agnew (mid-sixties)ranting about it’s supposed drug inspired lyrics.remarkably done by the under rated group The Golden om Canada. usicmachine from FloridaNobody mentions the classic whole album side version of Eight Miles High. I'm not denying that the Byrds did drugs at that point - we smoked marijuana - but it wasn't really about that." When Songfacts asked McGuinn in 2016 if the song was really about drugs, he replied: "Well, it was done on an airplane ride to England and back. As soon as one station dropped it, others followed and it quickly sank off the charts. If the band owned up to the drug references, they knew it would get banned by some radio stations, and that's exactly what happened when a radio industry publication reported that the song was about drugs and that stations should be careful about playing it. ![]() The band had been doing a lot of drugs at the time, including LSD, which is the likely inspiration. This story was likely a smokescreen to keep the song in the good graces of sensitive listeners. McGuinn told him six miles, but for the song they changed it to eight. ‘The Classical’ by The Fall covered by Pavement – Magnificent Cover Version No.Many people believe this song is about drugs, but the band claimed it was inspired by a flight where singer Gene Clark asked guitarist Roger McGuinn how high they were in the sky.‘The Classical’ by The Fall covered by Pavement – Magnificent Cover Version No. 39ĭiscoverNet | The Un… on ‘Love Buzz’ by Sho….‘She’s A Rainbow’ by The Rolling Stones, covered by World of Twist – Magnificent Cover Version No.40.‘Mr Grieves’ by the Pixies covered by TV on the Radio – Magnificent Cover Version No.41.Magnificent Cover Version No.2 – Happiness Is A Warm Gun by The Beatles, covered by The Breeders Magnificent Cover Version No.8 – Hurdy Gurdy Man by Donovan, covered by Butthole Surfers Magnificent Cover Version No.6 – (I’m Not Your) ‘Steppin’ Stone’ by The Monkees, covered by Minor Threat The combination of punk aggression and pop melodies that started here would grow and grow before exploding in the next decade. It’s not just a mid-eighties hardcore band fucking around with a song from a contrasting genre – it’s a blistering attack on the philosophical failure of a previous generation’s subculture and a landmark recording in the life of an important and influential underground band. ![]() When looked at in context, maybe those eminent music journalists have a point about the significance of this cover version. Despite the cacophony, The Byrds’ tune remains audible, presaging the direction that the band would take in their next two, classic albums, 1984’s Zen Arcade and 1985’s New Day Rising, both of which would retain the volume of their earlier work but with melodies more clearly detectable within the torrent of sound. At the beginning of the track, his voice is an angry roar by the end it’s a furious, throat-shredding, animal holler. Mould’s guitar work is sublime, slashing out the melodies in searing, high-velocity metallic squalls. The cover replaces the dreamy pop jangle of the original with excessive volume, distortion and aggression. Husker Du’s furious assault on a sacred hippie hymn was an attack on them and their treachery. Like many in the eighties US punk scene, Bob Mould had long been disillusioned with what he saw as sixties counter-culture’s betrayal of its own ideals, the pinnacle of which being the election of Ronald Reagan as president. Which is exactly why Husker Du went for it. In 1984 when Husker Du covered it, it was still a beloved artefact for ageing hippies. The song’s originality, fusion of Eastern and Western sounds and influence on psychedelic rock make it an important cultural touchstone of its era. Banned by radio stations for its drug references, the title and lyrics also refer to The Byrds’ flight to the UK for a 1965 tour and their mixed reception on arrival – adulation from fans, hostility from rivals. ![]() The Byrds’ 1966 original Eight Miles High was a classic example of their jangly, psychedelic folk rock and their last US Top 20 hit. ![]()
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