“I Tell Myself”
by The Seeds
1966 song
Astride the space between garage dirt and berserk psychedelia, "I Tell Myself" from The Seeds’ 1966 LP A Web Of Sound is quite unlike anything else. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on the song’s nature – by settling into Sky Saxon’s punky nasality, say – there are weird, echo-y noises diving in from left field that upset the balance. It’s weird, and it’s great.
Sky’s lyrics for "I Tell Myself" may be some of the more unremarkable on A Web Of Sound but it doesn’t really matter; the music is the focus. The impression is one of a garage band trying to play a conservative, straightforward pop song but which keeps finding itself off on some bizarre side excursion. A lack of distracting lyrical flourishes actually helps the listener get nudged uncomfortably back and forth by the deceptive strangeness of the music underneath. "I Tell Myself" is one of the most clever things about A Web Of Sound.
"I Tell Myself" was recorded on July 5, 1966; the eleventh of eleven takes was used for the album. Overdubs were recorded twice, first at the same session and then new vocals from Sky on July 21. Take 1 of the song was added as a bonus track on the 2013 expanded version of A Web Of Sound from Big Beat.
