I was hanging out at a friend’s house, out of my mind on LSD and weed, the first time I heard Psychic TV.

In a daze I wandered down to the basement den of the house, grabbed a tape at random, and played it on their stereo. It was a bad copy of Psychic TV’s epic Tune In (Turn On Thee Acid House) EP. I was glued to the speakers. It reprogrammed my brain in ways I’m still trying to figure out.

These are the first two acid house songs I ever heard, at the tender age of 16. The year was 1989.

Psychic TV – Tune In (Turn On Thee Acid House)

Psychic TV – Tune In (Hard To Swallow Blotter Mix)

These were only the first songs that grabbed my attention in what was to be a long night of staring at the speakers while my face melted into my lap.

I later learned that these songs—and all the accompanying Jack The Tab / Tekno Acid Beat tracks—were just two gems from the prolific Fred Giannelli period in Psychic TV’s long history.

I was hooked. I tracked down any project related to Psychic TV that I could find. Fortunately, we had some kick-ass record stores in Minneapolis in the late ’80s, and I managed to get my hands on Jack The Tab and Tekno Acid Beat before the experimenting-with-acid period of my life sputtered out. (I still haven’t forgiven myself for selling my original pressing of Tekno Acid Beat for drug money.)

This EP showcases some of the finer moments of Jack The Tab. I hope the flashbacks never, ever end.

• M.E.S.H – Meet Every Situation Head On
• Sugardog – Groove To Get Down
• Psychic TV – Tune In, Turn On
• King Tubby – Psyche Out
• DJ Doktor Megatrip With Luv Bass – Joy
• Pearl Necklace – Rapid Bliss

I’m proud to recall that fateful night that I made out with a 303 well before 303s were cool (at least in America). It was a little taste of acid during what I now know was the real acid era of electronic music, one I just barely missed. Barely.