![]() After Bathing at Baxter's (1967) [ larger cover art ] |
Martha she listens for the ticking of my footsteps, patiently
She sifts the hairy air that's worn and wood-swept, pleasantly
She does as she pleases, she listens for me
Martha she calls to me from a feather in the meadow, "Fly to me"
You can dance and sing and walk with me
And dreams will fade and shadows grow in weed
She does as she pleases, she waits there for me
She does as she pleases, her heels rise for me
My love she talks to winking windows as she murmurs to her feet, thoughtly
She separates in laughter to my side, caught for me
She does as she pleases, she waits there for me
She does as she pleases, her heels rise for me
Martha she keeps her heart in a broken clock and it's waiting there for me
She weeds apart through a token lock; What a great thing to be free
She weeps time, starts unspoken, but when the gate swings there she'll be,
There she'll be: in green sun, on blue earth under warm running shower.
| a_genuine_find (not me, Radio P) (3rd stone, sol, orion belt, milkyway) | Posted: Sep 07, 2011 - 12:15 ![]() |
| Lakeview (Great White North) | Posted: May 04, 2011 - 12:44 DaveInVA wrote: I can't believe this song only gets a 5.6 here. Tough crowd. Guess you had to be there. (I was) Being there doesn't mean that it's good music. Since when does context mean quality? |
| jadewahoo | Posted: Mar 02, 2011 - 09:52 scott_bruce wrote: Dave - Really groovy, maaaaannnnn. But if you claim to have been there in the 60's, and remember it, then you weren't really there... |
| Manbird (Santa Rosa, CA) | Posted: Mar 02, 2011 - 09:49 johnjconn wrote: This is terrible. Do mankind a favor and smash this disc . Rather than smash it, put in the box of stuff going to Goodwill. |
| scott_bruce (Southern Maryland) | Posted: Oct 27, 2010 - 10:10 DaveInVA wrote: I can't believe this song only gets a 5.6 here. Tough crowd. Guess you had to be there. (I was) Dave - Really groovy, maaaaannnnn. But if you claim to have been there in the 60's, and remember it, then you weren't really there... |
| johnjconn (chicago land) | Posted: Oct 27, 2010 - 10:08 This is terrible. Do mankind a favor and smash this disc . |
| ziakut (Chicago, IL) | Posted: Oct 27, 2010 - 10:06 Is there a mark for 'troubled, disjointed and just plain blah' music? |
| Johnny_Wave (California, baby) | Posted: Sep 25, 2010 - 17:56 A very weak 3 |
| nerakdon (Colorado) | Posted: Sep 25, 2010 - 17:55 Oh, damn! Can't believe I missed most of this one. |
| calypsus_1 | Posted: Sep 22, 2010 - 22:05 ![]() Jefferson Airplane by LegacyRecordings http://www.flickr.com/photos/legacyrecordings/ http://www.legacyrecordings.com/Jefferson-Airplane.aspx . . |
| choffman2001 (Florida's Left Coast) | Posted: Aug 24, 2010 - 17:49 Peter, Paul and Mary on acid...? Blecccchh |
| Shimmer (Bethesda, MD) | Posted: Aug 24, 2010 - 17:49 No. Just... no. |
| DaveInVA (In a hovel in effluent Damnville, VA) | Posted: Aug 24, 2010 - 17:48 I can't believe this song only gets a 5.6 here. Tough crowd. Guess you had to be there. (I was) |
| lily34 (lexvegas) | Posted: Jul 23, 2010 - 18:15 paulmack wrote: From the ratings it's clear that there are a lot of people who don't care for this song. Maybe it's warranted, though not from me. I had this album from the time it first came out (I think in 1967) - I picture myself there in my little SoCal bedroom, head between the speakers of a cheesy little RCA portable stereo which my brother (who shared it with me) and I thought was just totally IT at the time. It took me a couple more years to figure out what JA was all about and when I did this song and everything else on Baxter's made considerably more sense to me. loved reading this. thanks. |
| kyleminor (San Francisco) | Posted: Jun 21, 2010 - 21:15 Jesus CHRIST do drugs have a hell of a lot to answer for. |
| lmic (Harmless Little Bunny) | Posted: Apr 19, 2010 - 13:54 Gregorama wrote: It's amazing how some songs stand the test of time, while others get stuck back then. Like this one. Excellent point. This one has the whiff of history to me, too. Not that that's a bad thing... I"m actually glad Bill plays it, as it contributes to my ongoing musical education... |
| Gregorama (Austin, TX) | Posted: Apr 19, 2010 - 07:33 It's amazing how some songs stand the test of time, while others get stuck back then. Like this one. I guess it's a "You had to be there" sense. |
| rollo_tomasi (32° 49' N 116° 58' W) | Posted: Jan 14, 2010 - 17:10 Hannio wrote: Same here, right down to the cheesy RCA stereo, except the bedroom was in Texas. Me too but the stereo was my older sister's. In Texas as well (Austin) 8 |
| Johnny_Wave (California, baby) | Posted: Jan 14, 2010 - 17:06 Not worth the time |
| Hannio (Austin, TX) | Posted: Dec 14, 2009 - 07:18 paulmack wrote: From the ratings it's clear that there are a lot of people who don't care for this song. Maybe it's warranted, though not from me. I had this album from the time it first came out (I think in 1967) - I picture myself there in my little SoCal bedroom, head between the speakers of a cheesy little RCA portable stereo which my brother (who shared it with me) and I thought was just totally IT at the time. It took me a couple more years to figure out what JA was all about and when I did this song and everything else on Baxter's made considerably more sense to me. Same here, right down to the cheesy RCA stereo, except the bedroom was in Texas. |
| paulmack (the hissing swamps) | Posted: Oct 12, 2009 - 09:38 From the ratings it's clear that there are a lot of people who don't care for this song. Maybe it's warranted, though not from me. I had this album from the time it first came out (I think in 1967) - I picture myself there in my little SoCal bedroom, head between the speakers of a cheesy little RCA portable stereo which my brother (who shared it with me) and I thought was just totally IT at the time. It took me a couple more years to figure out what JA was all about and when I did this song and everything else on Baxter's made considerably more sense to me. |
| Mookada | Posted: Oct 12, 2009 - 09:37 Somewhat if not completely unacceptable. |
| EssexTex (Gitche Gumee) | Posted: Oct 12, 2009 - 09:36 It's "White rabbit" or nothing for me.... |
| kaybee (Lost in the Wilds of Toronto) | Posted: Aug 10, 2009 - 17:13 subhuti wrote: JA was my favorite group. OK so it is not as slick and professional as stuff nowadays, but they were in tune with something that has been almost totally lost in today's Plastic Fantastic World. Nowadays every day is like a bad trip. This music got us through a time that was almost as bad as now, and where is all the music that challenges the daily bullsh*T? The JA deliberately scorned the record company when they did this album. It was not as commercially successful as their others, but I think it is also more authentic. Maybe the people who don't like it don't have pimples or wrinkles or bulges. But I hope they still have Somebody to Love. And finally, yes, Two Heads on the same album is emblematic of today's schizoid American consciousness. For myself, I really enjoy this piece, and a lot of Airplane's pre-Starship stuff. I also like that Bill segued into "Spilt Needles" after it! |
| hasben (The Middle Path) | Posted: Aug 10, 2009 - 08:33 Way back I had a GF named Martha, and her heels did indeed rise for me, and a bunch of other "dudes" |
| bobcat1963 (the netherlands) | Posted: May 07, 2009 - 04:47 my first *1* on RP.... this hippy stuff I can't stand ;-( |
| kcar | Posted: Apr 05, 2009 - 15:24 Can't say that this is my favorite JA song, but it's OK if you listen to it while thinking about the contemporary society and music scene. I would love to know how and why Jefferson Airplane went from a smart counter-culture band with political and psychedelic leanings to the absolutely schlocky, pompous and hollow Jefferson Starship. What were these people thinking? Did they really think that they were making good music after the change? JA made some bad music along with the good, but JS was just so consistently and relentlessly awful. Maybe it was all the drugs. |
| jhorton | Posted: Dec 31, 2008 - 21:58 Beautiful tune. |
| aurora1957 (New Hampshire) | Posted: Dec 28, 2008 - 15:02 superfido wrote: on the contrary, it is what reminds me that JA is one of the more overrated 60-70s bands. Actually, it's a matter of opinion. "on the contrary" makes no sense in this context. You are perfectly free to share your... opinion... with as many as you like. I hope you are not offended that I decline the offer. |
| superfido (Sweden) | Posted: Nov 30, 2008 - 07:22 aurora1957 wrote: This is JAs' very best tune, without a question, and Ive always loved it. Its not easy to listen to, not smooth, not soothing. It is warped, yet incredibly lovely, and it is psychedelic rock, an acquired taste; Tuckerman pale ale is a bitter brew, but I enjoy drinking it. The dissonance skews the feeling evoked, like Aguirre, tilting sideways, lurching, spinning psychotically through the deadly emerald Amazon. It is wrong, I think beautifully, deliberately so, and like a power chord or a live performance, can be legitimately described as less than perfect. To each his own. Perhaps the mood does not match todays more sophisticated zeitgeist; after all, the subject of this love songs lyric was a 15 year old runaway when Kanter wrote of his affair with her. Different times, indeed. A perfect 10. on the contrary, it is what reminds me that JA is one of the more overrated 60-70s bands. |
| Limpopoking (Limpopo) | Posted: Nov 30, 2008 - 07:21 Keep it between u and God... it's getting boring now. manbirdexperiment wrote: |
| Manbird (Santa Rosa, CA) | Posted: Oct 18, 2008 - 19:05 ![]() |
| ober9000 (middle of middle america) | Posted: Aug 27, 2008 - 12:30 um, let me find my beads and incense......nah - this just doesn't do it anymore |
| Hannio (Austin, TX) | Posted: Aug 27, 2008 - 12:30 aurora1957 wrote: This is JAs' very best tune, without a question, and Ive always loved it. Its not easy to listen to, not smooth, not soothing. It is warped, yet incredibly lovely, and it is psychedelic rock, an acquired taste; Tuckerman pale ale is a bitter brew, but I enjoy drinking it. The dissonance skews the feeling evoked, like Aguirre, tilting sideways, lurching, spinning psychotically through the deadly emerald Amazon. It is wrong, I think beautifully, deliberately so, and like a power chord or a live performance, can be legitimately described as less than perfect. To each his own. A perfect 10. Yeah, what he said. |
| Gregorama (Austin, TX) | Posted: Aug 27, 2008 - 12:29 Dated...in a bad way. |
| steve_san_carlos (Ummm...San Carlos, California!) | Posted: Jul 26, 2008 - 20:14 Fail |
| capandjudy (Huntington, WV) | Posted: Jun 25, 2008 - 07:41 subhuti wrote: JA was my favorite group.
OK so it is not as slick and professional as stuff nowadays, but they were in tune with something that has been almost totally lost in today's Plastic Fantastic World. Nowadays every day is like a bad trip. This music got us through a time that was almost as bad as now, and where is all the music that challenges the daily bullsh*T? The JA deliberately scorned the record company when they did this album. It was not as commercially successful as their others, but I think it is also more authentic. Maybe the people who don't like it don't have pimples or wrinkles or bulges. But I hope they still have Somebody to Love. And finally, yes, Two Heads on the same album is emblematic of today's schizoid American consciousness. Jefferson Airplane was my favorite group also and for me "After Bathing At Baxter's" is their best album although it did not sell well. Each of the six members stepped forward more with their song writing, singing and playing and the songs would segue into the next in a stream of consciousness manner. Ten stars for Jack Casady's bass playing on his slightly modified Fender Jazz Bass. |
| Ag3nt0rang3 (4,609 km from Paradise) | Posted: Jun 25, 2008 - 07:21 The only part of this song I actually enjoyed was the coda. |
| mattt (Undisclosed) | Posted: Jun 25, 2008 - 07:21 Another reminder that it's worth looking into a band's catalog beyond what gets (over)played on the radio. Good song, this. |
| Ag3nt0rang3 (4,609 km from Paradise) | Posted: Jun 25, 2008 - 07:19 RParadise wrote: That's anti-Semitic. We're Semites, not Semetes. God. Only in this place do I see people correcting other people's corrections. Clearly you've never been to Slashdot. |
| bam23 (Berkeley) | Posted: Mar 22, 2008 - 20:57 Sorry to read that some people hate this. It's actually pretty good, if you allow yourself to genuinely listen, or so it seems to me. |
| Shesdifferent (Just visiting this planet waiting for the ticket home) | Posted: Mar 22, 2008 - 20:57 Dam, missed it!! |
| firerytrigon (Here, there and everywhere.) | Posted: Feb 20, 2008 - 09:19 Quite likeable, but not a patch on the equivalent English bands. ....... still a 7 for me though :) |
| Canoe52 (Normal, IL) | Posted: Feb 20, 2008 - 09:18 Uh oh, not everybody here is an Airplane lover... Well thanks for playing for us who are! |
| EssexTex (Riding the range) | Posted: Feb 20, 2008 - 09:16 With a hey nonny NO! |
| Kismet (Calgary, Alberta) | Posted: Jan 19, 2008 - 23:00 Urk...sucko barfo |
| E_A_D_G (DC) | Posted: Dec 19, 2007 - 12:04 Rivals LA's 'X' for dissonant harmonies. |
| Misterfixit (Nashville) | Posted: Sep 16, 2007 - 07:05 Wonder what ever became of Martha? She was famous in those days, you know. |
| aurora1957 (New Hampshire) | Posted: Jun 15, 2007 - 04:43 This is JAs' very best tune, without a question, and Ive always loved it. Its not easy to listen to, not smooth, not soothing. It is warped, yet incredibly lovely, and it is psychedelic rock, an acquired taste; Tuckerman pale ale is a bitter brew, but I enjoy drinking it. The dissonance skews the feeling evoked, like Aguirre, tilting sideways, lurching, spinning psychotically through the deadly emerald Amazon. It is wrong, I think beautifully, deliberately so, and like a power chord or a live performance, can be legitimately described as less than perfect. To each his own. Perhaps the mood does not match todays more sophisticated zeitgeist; after all, the subject of this love songs lyric was a 15 year old runaway when Kanter wrote of his affair with her. Different times, indeed. A perfect 10. |
| subhuti | Posted: Jun 13, 2007 - 23:57 JA was my favorite group. OK so it is not as slick and professional as stuff nowadays, but they were in tune with something that has been almost totally lost in today's Plastic Fantastic World. Nowadays every day is like a bad trip. This music got us through a time that was almost as bad as now, and where is all the music that challenges the daily bullsh*T? The JA deliberately scorned the record company when they did this album. It was not as commercially successful as their others, but I think it is also more authentic. Maybe the people who don't like it don't have pimples or wrinkles or bulges. But I hope they still have Somebody to Love. And finally, yes, Two Heads on the same album is emblematic of today's schizoid American consciousness. |



