The United States Of America

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A registered Communist starts a band called The United States Of America and lands a major label record deal before playing a single live gig? Only in the Sixties. After studying with avant-garde legend John Cage in New York City, composer Joseph Byrd moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and decided to form a rock band. His first recruit was ex-girlfriend Dorothy Moskowitz, whose icy vocals formed the perfect complement for the trippy sonic experiments Byrd had in mind.

The band recorded only one self-titled album before dissolving, but it was a memorable one.”The American Metaphysical Circus” begins the album with a lilting calliope tune upon which Byrd heaps one patriotic marching band tune after another. Just when the whole insane cacaphony is on the verge of collapse, in comes Moskowitz - transmitting from a sinking submarine. “Cloud Song” features delicate plucked bass and an ever-haunting melody. Like an LSD flashback, the final minutes of closing track “The American Way Of Love” features snippets of all the preceding songs flowing in and out of consciousness. “The United States Of America” sold poorly upon release, thanks to Columbia’s near total lack of faith. As Byrd puts it, “There was scant enthusiasm from the executives for a band whose name they hated, whose music they didn’t understand, and whose politics they thought treasonous.” But over the years, the group has developed a devoted cult following and influenced numerous modern bands, most notably Broadcast.
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  • RaulLipschitz

    "American Metaphysical Circus" reminds me of Charles Ives..

    11 days ago

  • SolidFox

    from The United States of America to moonblast? the world really IS fucked! http://moonblast.bandcamp.com/

    21 days ago

  • coffeeandpigs

    "a bunch of slumming rich kids doing fucktons of drugs with a Commie professor or something"

    23 days ago

  • SprackCriddler

    Don't think I will ever outgrow this record

    29 days ago

  • moonandjuice

    Only in the Sixties.

    last month

  • RussellChap

    Dorothy Moskowitz sounds sexy as **** in a Ice Queen sorta way

    March 2012

  • the_raytownian

    I lol't. "Hipster" has not only been constantly changing meaning since it's modern usage began in the late 90's (which is based largely on the ever-changing trends/fads popular among slumming trust fund babies [which, in case you're unaware, are hardly a recent phenomenon themselves--hi, William Burroughs!]), but it has lost any and all real meaning now... I mean, maybe this band were ACTUALLY a bunch of slumming rich kids doing fucktons of drugs with a Commie professor or something, but I think it's kind of hard to compare them (or anyone from the period) to some trendy, recycled "post-psyche" "post-whatever", "post-everything" horsheshit like, um, Animal Collective or whatever's considered cool on "P4K" right now. Actually, I'm not even sure you were serious. It's hard to take such a retarded response to this band as "pretentious hipster bullshit" as anything but a joke... Seriously, kudos to you, because if you trollin', you got me, good... and If not, you're just foolish.

    February 2012

  • travbrad2

    Obviously they went to Starbucks a lot...in the 60s.

    February 2012
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