That's an actual Roky Erickson lyric. I love Roky, but, really, I can't relate. But can you dislike "The Interpreter" or "Mine Mine Mind"? "Cold Night for Alligators"? "Reverberations"? Not if you're honest, you can't. He's a genius, even though sometimes it's like Tenacious D, but for real (like "Stand for the Fire Demon").
Without getting into the whole mental health part of his biography, I will say that despite his far-out cred, you're basically talking about blues-form garage jams with some unusual pentatonic solos on top. And his bridges, to be honest, are far out. So of course I loved I Have Always Been Here Before
(thanks for buying it for me Rachel!).That said, his music really fits well with stuff that came much later -- "I Have Always Been Here Before" is just steps away from Guided by Voices. (Who I just saw on Austin City Limits, and man that singer was drunk off his ass. I think I like them again.)
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Our favorite bar in Austin was a place that had the punkest jukebox I've ever seen (I remember listening to stiff little fingers, the damned, black flag, fear, and oh so much more there) and b/w murals on the wall. There was this bum (or maybe he was just drunk and dirty) who used to come in all the time and who would stand over our table (we were usually there with 3 or 4 of our friends) and look at the mural of Roky Erickson and say "that's Roky Erickson" and shake his head. He had a bunch of stories about him too, but I forget them all. Our friend Vince bought him a beer once, which was strange (because we were usually trying to get rid of this guy), but a very nice thing to do.
Drunk and dirty? Maybe it was Roky!
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