Freak scene

The freak scene was originally a component of the bohemian subculture which began in California in the mid-1960s, associated with (or part of) the hippie movement. The term is also used to refer to the post-hippie and pre-punk period of the early to mid-1970s. It overlaps with hippies, pacifists, politicized radicals, non-political psychedelic music fans, and generally non-political progressive rock fans. Those connected with the subculture often attended rock festivals, free festivals, happenings, and alternative society gatherings of various kinds.

Origins

In the United States of the 1960s, especially during the heyday of the hippie counterculture on the west coast, many teens and young adults that were disillusioned with the austere confines of the postwar, suburbanite American way of life, and some of the resultant countercultural and New Left movements defined themselves as "freaks". During the early 1960s, painter, sculptor and former marathon dancing champion Vito Paulekas and his wife Szou established a clothing boutique on the corner of Laurel Avenue and Beverly Boulevard in Hollywood, close to Laurel Canyon. Paulekas and his later associate Carl Franzoni (known as "Captain Fuck") were known for their sexual appetites and unconventional behavior. They and an expanding troupe of associates called themselves "freaks" or "freakers", and became well known in the area by about 1963 for their eccentric free form dancing in Sunset Strip nightclubs, being described as "an acid-drenched extended family of brain-damaged cohabitants".

Freak Scene

"Freak Scene" is a song by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., the opening track on the group's third studio album Bug (1988). Written and produced by frontman J Mascis, the song was recorded at Fort Apache Studios by engineers Paul Q. Kolderie and Sean Slade. "Freak Scene" was released as a single on SST Records in the United States and was also Dinosaur Jr.'s first release on Blast First in the United Kingdom. The band also made a music video to promote the single.

Music journalist Everett True writes that "Freak Scene" "invented the slacker generation. J. plays the guitar like he skis: effortlessly and fully in control. The song slows down, catches on fire, whispers sweet harmony and then starts blowing a tornado. 'So fucked ...you'd see it,' J. sings with heavy resignation ... 'Don't let me fuck up will you?' J. pleads, helpless in his slumber. 'Because when I need a friend, it's still you.'"

"Freak Scene" is rated as one of the best songs by Dinosaur Jr. In his review of Bug, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called the track "the masterpiece of the record, . . . a surprisingly catchy song encapsulating the appeal and pitfalls of indie rock within three minutes." Jess Harvell of Pitchfork believes "'Freak Scene' is probably indie rock's greatest guitar performance and the band's greatest pop song, somehow finding room for Psychedelic Furs jangle, Edge-style ascending harmonies, Eddie Van Halen in the drunk tank, pickled country, and a cherry on top in three and a half minutes without feeling at all cluttered." The single reached number seven in the UK Indie Chart, and spent 12 weeks on the chart in total.