I’m In Your Mind Fuzz is one of the essential Gizzard albums, and often one of the first recommendations for those looking to get into the band. Its professional analogue production paired with its psychedelic garage sound makes an accessible listening experience for those not already adjusted to the genre. A key thing about the album is that it starts with a bang, opening with a four-song suite (described as a “song cycle”) of “I’m In Your Mind” > “I’m Not In Your Mind” > “Cellophane” > “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz.” The first in the lineup is a perfect introduction to what Mind Fuzz will elaborate on: a motorik beat accompanied by a killer bass part, distorted guitars and blaring harmonica. The lyrics are psychedelic, but driven partially by paranoia about how everyone is “sucking on fluoride” — a reference to the conspiracy theory that governments put fluoride in the water to control the minds of the population, satirized in Stanley Kubrick’s film Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. Stu said so himself: “It’s a weird imagination thing. It doesn’t really mean anything specific. It’s tongue-in-cheek, a reference to all the reptilian and alien conspiracy shit that people talk about, and how people shouldn’t put fluoride in their water and all this mind control crap. It’s meant to be, ‘I’m in your mind.’ But your mind can get fuzzy. I guess it was meant to mean that ‘I’m in your mind fuzz, I’m somewhere in there, and I’m controlling your brain.’ It’s sort of silly.”
Out of everything in the suite, the idea for “I’m In Your Mind” came first, according to Stu: “Of the four tracks of that suite, [‘Cellophane’] was the last one to come together. ‘The I’m In Your Mind’ thing was first, and it did really feel like it needed to go to some other place. The song just needed to go somewhere else and then come back.”
The song debuted live on 2014-02-09 at St Kilda Foreshore in Naarm (Melbourne) alongside other Mind Fuzz material under the working title “Bit.” The ending of the suite, “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz,” was labeled as the same, meaning they were once considered the same song instead of two variations with different titles. Just like in the album, it was part of a four-song suite. These early versions of the song were nearly identical to finished studio renditions in terms of composition, but featured different lyrics. We’ve tried to transcribe the lyrics from the band’s first American show on 2014-05-02 to give an example: “You are only lazy ‘cause you're tired. You took us in, please look into your eye. And everybody’s lazy when they're fried. Just slap that noose that glue on in your mind.”
The early version relies less on the fluoride conspiracy element and instead goes for a way more psychedelic approach. Later in the year, the song’s finalized lyrics would be put in place.
The song was recorded by Wayne Gordon at Daptone Records in Brooklyn and mixed by Michael Badger and Stu Mackenzie. Footage of the song being recorded appeared in the documentary BOOTLEG HOLIDAY FROM HELL as well as on Joey’s Instagram. The song would be released as part of I’m In Your Mind Fuzz, released on October 31st, 2014. The bassline of the suite would later reappear in “The Lord of Lightning.”
“I’m In Your Mind,” and by extension the rest of the suite, was a set staple from 2014 to 2016, even making it into the concert film for Live In San Francisco ‘16, but that changed in 2017. “Cellophane” would separate to join “The Lord of Lightning”, leaving the rest of the songs on their own. It was played once in 2017 on 2017-01-21 at The Meadow in Singapore as part of a three song run of “I’m In Your Mind” > “I’m Not In Your Mind” > “Cellophane.” It was then picked up again in 2018. While often teased at the end of “Cellophane” in August, the song would rejoin “I’m Not In Your Mind” before heading into “The Balrog.” One of these performances from 2018-08-18 would end up in THE NONAGON MOVIE. This would continue going into 2019 but would also fade away starting in August as the Mind Fuzz suite was picked up yet again. While not always complete, this would be the form the song would take going forward. In 2020 and 2021, the song was only played four times but since then has been seen as part of the Mind Fuzz suite at various shows.