You’ve almost certainly never heard of Rick Bain & The Genius Position. It’s not your fault. Let’s blame mass music marketing tactics, and the decline of the record label. I’m going to cover some Bain territory before arriving at the song at the bottom of this post.
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Rick Bain isn’t much for consistency in releasing albums (2000, 2004, 2020) or touring. Perhaps it’s just that Mr. Bain requires that much time to build the sonic profile that nests between your ears, and plays on repeat to your brain for days at a time. Perhaps Mr. Bain just releases an album when he wants to intensify his experience of this planet. I know not, but I do know this is Rock & Roll, and that I like it. Here are a couple of things that I have observed (probably incorrectly on a few) about Rick Bain, from afar, over the last two decades:
- Rick Bain looks like he’d grow some killer weed, and he makes damn fine neo-psychedelic rock, so I’m loosely connecting the two.
- Rick Bain isn’t much for chatting. (see pic ->)
- Rick Bain plays somewhere around 3 shows per year in Portland. Go.
- Rick Bain has the best photo shoots.
- Rick Bain mysteriously released one album as just Rick Bain (2004), making me wonder if he was trying out new positions. Why would you break from Genius?
- Rick Bain got his start and some significant buzz when he thoughtfully rearranged and recorded his version of The Beach Boy’s “Pet Sounds” on a 4 track recorder in 1997.
- Rick Bain writes super tongue-in-cheek lyrics that still make you re-evaluate life choices & lost loves.
Rick Bain & The Genius Position released their first full length studio effort in 2000, entitled ‘Crooked Autumn Sun‘, and is as turbulent as the album cover (pictured, left).
Virtual Heavy Pet was the 2004 follow up, spawning singles in my mind such as “Black Apple Orchard”, and “Comin’ Round”, which tallied what seems a million plays each, in my mind, and certainly several dozen on Spotify. (To be clear, I generally buy physical CDs if I see the band, and definitely any modern high quality vinyl output.)
Fast forward to late 2019, and Rick Bain mysteriously drops a live album, followed quickly by “Keep It Glowing”, which features several amazing tracks ready for release in Wonderland, where they are likely to go bonkers with radio play due to relevance, cheekiness, and odd, yet beautifully melodic chord pairings.
I highly encourage checking each recording out in due time.
In the meantime, please check out the track “Linear High”, just below the sample of lyrics I’ve included. It’s pretty amazing, and it’s the cut that drew me in to Rick Bain & The Genius Position. Enjoy!
“Party scenes of martyrs & kings,
Take two of these to amplify your dreams
It’s not as easy as you make it seem
You’ll like it better when you’re high”
Lyrics from “Linear High”