You can't see it at this angle, but Jack Nicholsen, aka "Stoney," is wearing the FAKEST ponytail ever ...
Being in a band has gotten — as surprising as it may seem — much, much LESS cool over the last, say, 5-odd years. It seems like every commercial — like that one by the shitty Vodka company — is about being in a band, going to see a band under unusual circumstances or playing a song about a product, and that’s only the start.
I won’t go into it too probingly, but suffice to say, I’ve never been less motivated to join the sea of lovable losers in “let’s play a concert for our girlfriends and two or three hangers on” land. (That said, I’m supposed to jam with a sick guitar player from Florida shortly.)
Movies like Psych-Out (which was named in misguided hopes of cashing in on the Psycho phenomenon), starring a fledgling Jack Nicholsen, make me feel better because there have obviously been other eras victim to the cheapening of the rock-star ideal.
In this flick — produced by Dick Clark! — Nicholsen and some friends live on a hippy commune and play acid rock (check out the HAlarious clip above of the fake group playing a note-for-note vamp of “Purple Haze,” only shitty).
They never explain their motivations for playing rock ‘n’ roll or living on the commune; it is just sort of accepted that living in communes/playing in rock bands is the thing to do. Oh, and playing songs like “Red River Dreams” … that’s also the thing to do.
Not that their motivations matter; you’ll be laughing so hard at their lack of pantomime skills you’ll lose your lunch and possibly your breakfast — if you ate any — not to mention dinner from the night before. Nicholsen in particular looks like he’s not only never played a guitar before but never seen anyone ELSE play a guitar before.
The band scenes are THAT generic.
Of course there’s that itty-bitty schtick-el of charm that accompanies most hippy films, and that’s what makes Psych-Out, possibly, worth checking out. Then again, you might just check out the video above, peep some others on YouTube, and call it good.
I wish I would have.
Hey, thanks for this, man. I love that film in both ironic and nonironic ways.
That is actually Purple Haze played with the sheet music turned upside-down. I love how it just…ends.
btw, Nicholson’s ponytailed character is called “Stoney,” the band is called Mumblin Jim, and they drive around SF in a crazy-painted van, etc. Bruce Dern shows up as the acid-crazed prophet-turned psycho Mansonish character later on. Classic shit.
haha, you know it’s funny because I liked “Psych-Out” more the longer it went on and YES, I noticed the Bruce Dern credit too! his filmography is insanely long … oh, and “Stoney” with his obviously fake ponytail is an image I won’t soon forget. thanks for the comments! Up next: “The Trip” starring Peter Fonda, another great period piece!