The Avalanches “Frontier Psychiatrist”

"That boy needs therapy!"

Where to start with this one. I was addicted to this song when I first heard it, which was on that same Sirius radio station called "Left of Center" I spoke about recently. I'll never forget being mesmerized by all of the different samples and soundbites that puzzle-pieced together into the collage of a song. I was left wanting more; wanting to break this song open and just explore it as much as I could. It was oddly eerie yet extremely catchy and fun. I had never heard anything like it.

The Avalanches are a group of DJs from Melbourne, Australia. Their music is "sample based" meaning they make music out of...well...other music. They collect and search through all kinds of old records and literally build songs out of bits and pieces, or "samples", of what they find. "Frontier Psychiatrist" is probably the best example you can find if you want a better understanding of what "sample based" music actually is.

For example, the creepy melody that backgrounds the playground of sounds you hear is actually the intro of a 1969 song called "My Way of Life" by The Enoch Light Singers. Those crazy clips saying "that boy needs therapy" or "lay down on the couch" are clips from an old Canadian comedy show called "Wayne and Shuster in an episode called "Frontier Psychiatrist". And the initial exchange about a boy named Dexter is actually from this 1980's movie called "Polyester". Here's the real clip. Oh! It also features bird sounds used as a scratching sample on a turntable.

Those are just a handful of samples that are in the song. Apparently there are other samples from instructional and spoken word videos. Who knows what else is on there. Do you recognize any?

There is a music video to this song that must be seen. It's hilarious. But I would recommend listening to the song first and letting your imagination have fun first.