The 13th Floor Elevators

The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969 and released four albums and seven singles. 

They were the first band to refer to their music as "psychedelic rock." The first-known use of the term to describe a musical style was on the band's business card in January 1966.

 The band's electric jug player Tommy Hall added a musical element you would never expect in a psychedelic rock band. Hall was also the band's lyricist.

The band's name developed from a suggestion by drummer John Ike Walton to use the name "Elevators". Clementine Hall added "13th Floor" because many tall buildings in the US lack a designated 13th floor as it is considered to be superstitiously unlucky and tenants would not want to live on that floor. Of course, these buildings do have a 13th floor but the elevator numbers skip from 12 to 14. Sometimes it is also noted that the letter "M" (for marijuana) is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.

Their original albums are collectibles but most of their material is available on several best of compilations such 13 of the Best 13th Floor Elevators. Their debut single "You're Gonna Miss Me", a national Billboard No. 55 hit in 1966, was featured on the 1972 compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968. 

oomph

The word "oomph" is an Americanism that dates back to 1935–40. It's an imitative word that sounds like the sound made during exertion, such as lifting a heavy object. It is an onomatopoeia that imitates a sound. Ah, but what sound is it imitating?

According to Online Etymology Dictionary , “oomph” means "sexual attractiveness," 1937 (umph), suggestive visceral physical sound.

Ann Sheridan (1915–1967) was the original Hollywood "oomph girl."

Some say the word comes from the forceful sound of being hit in the belly, like a boxer taking a punch to the midsection. Others say it may be imitative of the bellow of a mating bull. If you said that a powerful car has plenty of oomph, then on acceleration it pins you back in your seat and makes you say “oomph.”.

"Oomph" has multiple meanings: Power and strength; enthusiasm, vigor, or energy; sex appeal; or expressive of exertion

Electric Prunes

 

Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. Incorporating psychedelia and elements of early electronic rock, the band's sound was marked by innovative recording techniques with fuzz-toned guitars and oscillating sound effects. 

Guitarist Ken Williams' and singer James Lowe's called the sound "free-form garage music" that set them apart from many of their contemporaries.

According to Lowe, the name Electric Prunes started off as a joke, but he eventually convinced other band members to keep it, saying, "It's the one thing everyone will remember. It's not attractive, and there's nothing sexy about it, but people won't forget it."

The band was signed to Reprise Records in 1966 and released their first single, "Ain't It Hard", in the latter part of the year. Their first album, The Electric Prunes, included the band's two nationally charting songs, "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me to the World on Time". With the appearance of their second album, Underground, the band was more free to create their own material. However, the original group disbanded by 1968 when they proved unable to record the innovative and complex arrangements by David Axelrod on the albums Mass in F Minor and Release of an Oath. Both albums were released under the band's name, the rights to which were owned by their record producer David Hassinger, but were largely performed by other musicians. Several of the original band members reconvened in 1999 and began recording again. The band still performs occasionally, although the only remaining original member is lead singer James Lowe.

They produced albums and got FM airplay but did not really have hit singles.

Mass in F Minor is their third studio album and explains pretty well why they were not a mainstream rock band. Released in 1968, it consists of a musical setting of the mass sung in Latin and Greek and arranged in the psychedelic style of the band, and was written and arranged by David Axelrod.

hullabaloo

Hullabaloo is defined as a commotion, usually over something of little or no importance.
"There was a hullabaloo about who should cut the wedding cake."

The Cambridge Dictionary defines it a bit more seriously as "a loud noise made by people who are angry or annoyed; a lot of angry comments made in public about someone or something," so it might have a slightly different meaning in the UK. 

The origin is given as being mid-18th century as a reduplication of hallo, hullo, etc. I'm not sure that satisfies my curiosity. 

It is a word I associate with an old American TV show that I have seen clips of on YouTube. Wikipedia says it was "an American musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 12, 1965, through April 11, 1966 (with repeats to August 1966). Similar to ABC's Shindig! and in contrast to American Bandstand, it aired in prime time."

At the drop of a hat

“At the Drop of a Hat” is an expression that means to do something without delay, warning or much preparation.

In the 19th century, a hat was often used to indicate the start of a race or a fight. A hat would be dropped or swept in a downward arc and participants would begin.This was particularly in usage in the American West.

If you do something at the drop of a hat, you do it immediately without really stopping to think about it:

"Do you think I can just meet you at the drop of a hat?"  Though in a usage such as "People will file lawsuits at the drop of a hat these days," there must have been some thought beforehand.