Background
"The Legendary Stardust Cowboy" is the stage name of Norman Carl Odam of Lubbock, Texas. He's famous as an "outsider" artist and for pioneering the genre known as "psychobilly"
In some ways, I can relate to this guy. For example, Odam was interested in space travel as a kid and remarked that "someday, man will go to the Moon." I've been a huge sci-fi fan since I was a kid, so I approve.
His interest in space and the Southwestern United States led him to create a stage persona known as "The Legendary Space Cowboy." He was often dressed in a ten gallon hat and other cowboy accoutrements when he played live or on album covers. At the very least, I can admire the confidence.
Outsider Music
My only real context for outsider music is a few Frank Zappa songs I had to listen to in a college class (I remember one where they kept repeating "help, I'm a rock!"), and the time I stumbled upon the The Shaggs' Philosophy of the World album a few years ago.
The appeal of outsider art is that it's interesting because it breaks the rules. For Philosophy of the World, that album is interesting because it unknowingly breaks every expectation about what music should be (instruments are tuned, people are in time, the lyrics actually make sense) to such a degree that it becomes fascinating. I personally can't do more than 40 seconds of "My Pal Foot Foot," but I can see why Frank Zappa and Kurt Cobain found Philosophy interesting.
Paralyzed
When Odam wrote "Paralyzed," his goal was to create a song that would instantly command people's attention.
Mission accomplished.
The vocals are easily the focal point of the song. They're actually so high in the mix that they act as a noise gate to the rest of the band. Every time Odam ramps up and gets louder, the band gets quieter and quieter or disappears completely. Odam is trying to disprove the adage "in space, nobody can hear you scream" through sheer determination.
The rest of the band are no less chaotic. The drums are played with no discernable rhythm and the bugle solo sounds angry.
It looks like Wikipedia, the most reliable source of information in the world, has some info on "Paralyzed" for us:
The song's main storyline centers around Odam's for a real-life "beautiful cheerleader from Lubbock."
Wait, is that what I was supposed to be getting from this?
For Odam's sake, I kind of hope it worked out for him. That would be a hell of a story to tell people.
Wikipedia also says that around 1973 NASA briefly used this song to wake up astronauts. It was so disconcerting to the crew that it was actually banned from space.
Conclusions
I heard about this song from the YouTuber Stevie T. I checked it out. After listening to it, I am deeply confused.
Odam definitely succeeded in making a strong impression on both the world at the time (David Bowie) and me in particular. "Paralyzed" isn't a musical experience easily forgotten.
I would recommend listening to this out of morbid curiosity.
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