Posting about Roky Erickson got me to thinking again about the nature of creative individuals.

I’ll probably write more on the subject in the future, since it’s fascinated me for years, but for tonight, a quick hit-and-run. I’ll just toss some stuff out and see if any of it sticks to your inner walls.

We had a discussion here at EOB, following Maureen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark‘, which I took off into the ditch, about what alienated little monsters some of us were (and are), and this post is a follow-up to that, too.

Yes, there are some very bright people who are happy, well-adjusted, and comfortable in their surroundings.

But they’re less-likely to be highly creative, according to the research.

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Roky Erickson was the genius behind the 13th Floor Elevators, the band that damn near single-handedly invented psychedelic rock.

They were a Texas band, of course, and had regional radio hits with ‘Splash1′, ‘Reverberation’, ‘Levitation’, ‘Slip Inside This House, and, nationally, ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’:

This clip looks like it’s from some pre-psychedelic-era tv show. Those kids had no idea what was coming at them. But I bet Roky did.

If I may use the high-culture critical lexicon for describing the Elevators — they were fuckin’ brilliant. Their music was trippy and intense and dark and evocative and way over the edge in so many ways. They had a guy who played the electric jug on just about every song. It rocked.

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