The 500 - #269 - Psychocandy - The Jesus And Mary Chain

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #269

Album Title: Psychocandy

Artist: The Jesus And Mary Chain

Genre: Noise Pop, Shoegaze, Alt Rock, Post Punk

Recorded: Southern Studios, London, U.K.

Released: November, 1985

My age at release: 20

How familiar was I with it before this week: Not At All

Is it on the 2020 list? No

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Just Like Honey

The Psychocandy debut record from Scottish noise rock pioneers The Jesus And Mary Chain often caught my eye while I was flipping through the "J" section at my local independent record store, Dr. Disc. How could it not with those provocative names?

Despite my curiosity, though, I never bought the record. Chances are, in 1986, I was perusing the "J" section for a record from Jethro Tull or Journey, or perhaps something obscure from Jeff Beck or Jon & Vangelis.

The Jesus And Mary Chain were formed in 1983 by brothers Jim and William Reid. Their original line-up comprised the brothers on guitars and vocals, Douglas Hart on bass, and Bobby Gillespie on drums. Gillespie  departed shortly after the record's release to form his own band, Primal Scream.

(l-r) Hart, W. Reid, J. Reid & Gillespie (1985 line-up).

Psychocandy was cited by AllMusic magazine to be "the archetype for the noise pop genre" –  a style of music that blends catchy melodies in a pop song with a mixture of dissonant noise and amplifier feedback. American musicologist and television personality Matt Pinfield humourously compared the sound  to  "listening to the Beach Boys, with a kitchen blender whirring in the background".

A poster from the 2023 Noise Pop Festival.

The Jesus and the Mary Chain is not an easy listen for the uninitiated. During my first listen, I was doing some housework. At one point, during the song In A Hole, I paused my cleaning to check my Sonos speakers because I thought they were malfunctioning and needed a software update.

My speakers are a Sonos Beam and a pair of Sonos Ones.

Part of me wanted to dismiss the record as cacophonous nonsense and perhaps blog about why on earth it ever made The 500. Deciding not to rush to judgment, I persisted, listening to Psychocandy several times. Slowly, the musical output grew on me. Eventually,  the pop sensibilities emerged and the hazy feedback that initially turned me off took on a dreamy quality.

The overall effect became a rewarding experience despite the musical challenge, written, it seemed to me, to be intentionally unpleasant. It reminded me of several students with whom I have worked over the years -- hostile contrarians. Often having suffered traumas in their young lives, these types of students tend to struggle with social interaction. They have difficulty engaging with authority or respecting rules and expectations. They are often sullen and dour and it seems as if they are intentionally making choices that will make them unlikable.

Teachers' College does not always prepare up and coming educators for the challenges presented by trauma-ridden students. Interactions are fraught with seemingly unnecessary hostility and aggressive pessimism. Just as you think you are making some progress, they will self-sabotage the social dynamic and use the negativity of their own making to fuel additional despondency. A classic case of a self-fulfilling prophecy, sometimes called The Pygmalion Effect, it can be visually explained by the following graphic:

In this tragic cycle, the student believes they are not worthy of love, kindness or friendship. Consequently, they behave in ways that are annoying or repellent. When, understandably, peers move away from them or teachers react negatively to the choices they make, their established belief is reinforced -- and the cycle repeats. 

However, with kindness, patience and skin thicker than a crocodile's, a teacher can build a quality relationship with these students. The first time they crack a smile or feel pride in work they have submitted is among the most rewarding experiences in an educator's career.

Psychocandy, much like the debut record by Suicide, which I wrote about in March, 2020, is a fascinating record because it almost serves as a mid-point between the art rock and pop that influenced it and the sounds that it would inspire. The opening track, Just Like Honey, begins with the drum riff lifted directly from The Ronettes’ Be My Baby. In interviews, the Reid brothers have cited The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, The Stooges and Pink Floyd as influences, as well as Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" approach to recording.

The Ronnettes with producer Phil Spector.

On the other side of that mid-point are the records that were influenced by The Jesus And Mary Chain, including The Downward Spiral (#201) by Nine Inch Nails and Nevermind (#17) by Nirvana.

Nevermind by Nirvana #17 on The 500.

As I mentioned, I did not purchase Psychocandy when I stumbled on it in 1986. In retrospect, that is a good thing. I did not have the patience and understanding of music that I now possess. I am sure I would have dismissed it off-handedly as “cacophonous nonsense” and I would have missed out on something artistically interesting and musically important.