The obscure origins of The Seeds’ proto-punk classic ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’
While it is easy to criticise the sound of the 1960s due to its limited appearance vis-à-vis the expansive modern sonic palette, we must be balanced in our assertions. The 1960s was akin to the big bang of music and culture, lighting the fuse put in place by the rock ‘n’ roll stars of the previous decade and sending us off into the future. From The Beatles to the soulful hues of Motown, the music of the ’60s was consequential, despite time chipping away at its original power.
One highly important area that many different groups helped to establish was the foundations of punk, with the works of The Sonics, The Stooges and The MC5 all being awarded the coveted title of proto-punk. One of the most significant instances of proto-punk in the 1960s came from the Los Angeles band The Seeds and their 1965 piece ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’.
Although the song was hailed as a countercultural masterpiece and became a staple of the hippie movement, it is best regarded as a piece of proto-punk. ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ is an unrelenting work that rumbles along, featuring a gritty performance from frontman Sky Saxon. There’s also one hell of a guitar solo courtesy of Jan Savage and some pioneering keyboard work by Darryl Hooper, an early example of just how effective modern instruments could be in augmenting the traditional band format.
The song was initially released in 1965 but was then reissued the following year, charting at 36 on the US Hot 100 and number 44 in Canada. The track became the band’s signature number and established a rough template for what would become their sound. Demonstrating its significance outside of the band’s music, the song is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit, ‘The 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll’, with everyone from Pere Ubu to The Bangles covering it over the years. Keen-eared fans will also know that Frank Zappa, the most prominent enemy of the hippie movement, parodies the chorus of the track on ‘Sy Borg’ from 1979’s Joe’s Garage.
Looking back on ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ and how it became championed by the hippie movement, Hooper said: “You’re always hoping ‘maybe this is a good one.’ When Sky actually wrote the lyric to that song it was about a girlfriend he was having trouble with. He initially called us ‘flower rock music’ ’cause the words are kind of flowery, and…the girls used to toss flowers at us on stage. So it became ‘flower power'”.
Hooper also mentioned an interesting point that Seeds fans have long believed: Sky Saxon wrote the track about a girlfriend controlling him. Although, when sitting down with an interviewer in 1987, he claimed that that was not the case at all and that ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ is actually a protest song.
Saxon declared that it was written after the Pandora’s Box nightclub on Sunset Boulevard was torn down in August 1967 following the “hippie riots” that centred around late the year before. However, according to records, The Seeds’ song was recorded in September 1965, which casts serious doubt on Saxon’s claim. He died in 2009, meaning it’s almost certain that we’ll never know the truth.
Saxon said: “I wrote ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ because they tore down Pandora’s Box on Sunset Boulevard. Everyone used to come there and drink coffee. People even used to bring their dogs. It was a groovy place for people to meet. Someone decided to tear it down, and it sits there today as a parking lot. The song was a reaction against the establishment for tearing down things they no longer consider works of art or what the people liked. It was a protest song.”
It might well have been a reaction against the establishment and a protest song, but there’s no way it could have been about Pandora’s Box – unless, of course, the typically enigmatic Saxon was fibbing.
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