Totally agree. Drugs use or advocacy is not a requisite but obviously that has inspired some great psych music. And modern psych isn’t disconnected from the 60s explosion of it. At all. Hawkins is the grandfather of all that followed, just my opinions. I do enjoy this feed.
As Aldous Huxley stated in his book "The Doors of Perception," the term "psychedelic" (derived from "psyche" (mind/soul/spirit) and "delos/delic" (clear, manifestation, or openness) ) refers to "mind opening." Thus, broadly speaking, one can definitely have (non-psychotic) "psychedelic" experiences without drugs. Whatever "opens the doors of perception" is psychedelic.
Interesting. Keeping the focus on mysic, under that specific definition, there is a much broader variety of songs which could count as "psychedelic" then. Anything that helps the listener realise something could be psychedelic
The visual aspect of what was going on in the 60s seems like an essential influence on psychedelic music. The light shows, the concert posters, the clothes, the album sleeves etc. To use an analogy, the 1960s was when music went from monotone to technicolour.
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That was the development of the counter-culture, which grew organically from the need to create an environment conducive to the trip. The trip in the sense of making live a holistic adventure. There was the generation gap, but also the culture gap. Color tv became the must-have item and with that the expansion of channels like PBS which was more of a creative venue as opposed to the Formulaic approach of the Commercial networks. It was clear that TV would not be a good source for psychedelic tripping because the content was chopped up. Although TV has had a lot of promise, it has been dominated by top-down control of content and culture-creation. Record albums were the best because you could choose your own programs and they would run uninterrupted. The rise of the postwar middle class meant teens had money to create these new markets. When you got into an alpha brainwave groove, you didn't want to have anything ruin the vibe. Then, with the advent of cassette recorders, and longer tape times, it was even better. Reel to reel was great but not as accessible to the average hipster.
My favourite music of the 60’s is the psychedelic period. Great video. Electric music for the mind and body by Country Joe and the Fish was an attempt musically to simulate an LSD trip. Some excellent music produced in this period. Thanks again Matt.
Often overlooked is the fact that Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' acid-fueled bus odyssey happened in the summer of 1964, when we were still collectively reeling from the new British Invasion. this is 3 full years before 'Sgt Pepper' was released. So, what were early acid heads listening to if 'psychedelic music' hadn't even been coined as a phrase, let alone pursued as a genre? They were largely listening to bee-bop jazz and Indian ragas. So arguably, musicians like John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar were early purveyors of 'psychedelic' music. The Grateful Dead (then; The Warlocks) were the aspiring bay area blues/jug band at ground zero of the above. Not that this wasn't happening elsewhere in the USA at the time, but they were friends of Kesey and The Pranksters contingent. The Grateful Dead locked in on the extended jams, cultivated their ability to 'read the room' and improvise at the acid test events.
My first excursion into Psychedelic music was the 13th Floor Elevators from Austin, TX. I believe they were the first band to describe themselves as "psychedelic," 1965. I highly recommend them to any fan of Psychedelica.
Number 10 would be: the listener gets Higher from the music. Not "wrecked", not "wasted" - those are post-Psychedelic terms - but Higher. The purpose of Psychedelic music is to raise the consciousness of the listener, to share the musician's Trip with them in the hope that it will be beneficial and liberating. The Underground definition of "Psychedelic", unlike those dictionary descriptions, was "A feast for the senses". It was a unifying connection to every other Head on the planet. When Jimi Hendrix asks "Are you Experienced?" he is well aware that at that time the code word for Acid was "The Experience". The true power of Psychedelic music can't be fully understood by anyone who wasn't part of that time. The energy, the Vibe, that powered it is gone but it changed the world enough that with effort and luck you can still catch an echo of it.
One of my favourite tracks from this era is Pink Floyd's Interstellar Overdrive. The fact it's an instrumental enhances the trip for me. It all comes from the woozy guitar effects. Lyrics would have only diluted the vibe
I would say some of Bob Dylan’s lyrics are surreal, but that he never made psychedelic records, though I wish he had! Thank you for yet another great episode, Matthew!
I think that surreal is a great way to distinguish Dylan's lyrics from psychedelic. Dylan was , supposedly - who really knows - smoking pot when he made 'Subterranean Blues through "Blonde on Blonde." When I heard the lyrics in the mid-sixties, Salvador Dali's paintings flashed into my mind. I guess maybe I was seeing surreal and listening surreal/psychedlelic.
Bob Dylan "and the these visions of Johanna are now all that remain", thats as psychedelic as "Dark Star Crashes , reason tatters" or "First I was transparent, then I is was effervescent, and finally i was absent" Every song he ever played was a Jam, just like the Dead,
I got into psychedelic music when I was 15 in 1966. Young, not stoned and looking for unusual sounds with exciting rhythm etc. Later, when stoned, it just adds to enjoyment and understanding of the music but didn't suddenly make the song psychedelic.
I think the keyword is "disorienting". I think the most important part is the uneven tempo, partly by effects, that give the music a floating feeling. Like a normal melody dissolved in acid. Second is the seemingly aimless and somewhat chromatic movement of solo melodies. Like it is going nowhere but still spiraling upwards or downwards.
A more physical description is the Left PFC focuses and the right PFC unfocuses, so we are taught to focus on focusing with reading and writing, Psychedelic is letting go of the focus on focusing and allowing the unfocus to take control So the music needs to be as unfocused as possible to help the switch, A good term i use is it needs to be postively happily traumatic :) then the persons world might turn upside down
8. Entrancement. You covered this one quickly but there could be more to it. In many traditional cultures, music was used as part of important ceremonies, often aiming to induce a trance state. Anthropologists think this was an important way to increase social cohesion. Similarly to psychedelic experiences, it could make people feel part of some greater whole.
For example, I noticed modern Afro-rock songs have these looping melodies and rhythms which I believe harken back to their tribal roots, probably passed down from earlier times when a whole tribe would participate in trance inducing ceremonies with singing and chanting based on those loops.
Psychedelic = Mind manifesting. It is music that turns your attention inward, allowing you to see how the music is showing you something about your mind while listening. By this definition, ANY music can be psychedelic if it meets this criterion.
One of my favourite psychedelic lyrics is the Byrds's "Wasn't Born to Follow," written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin: "where the trees have leaves of prism and break the light in colours that no one knows the names of." I think of psychedelic as revealing everyday reality to be wondrous and infinitely complex.
In case they haven’t been mentioned…two psychedelic-sounding songs from the late 60’s that I loved. The Lemon Pipers, Green Tambourine and Status Quo, Pictures of Matchstick Men. And The Kinks, See my Friends is so underrated as far as an Indian sound goes
There's probably a sub-genre or songs that really aren't psychedelic, but have psychedelic flourishes to cash in on the trend. Cry Like a Baby might be one of them. One that I always thought was kind of faux psychedelic is "Susan" by the Buckinghams, which is a conventional pop song with a tacked on psychedelic section toward the end.
Early donovan 66-69 was some excellent psych stuff...those magically beautiful days just spawned experimental music..excellent job Matt..great video..Thanks
What works for your definition of psychedelia is that it applies to the three minute songs of the Syd Barrett Pink Floyd as well as the freak out longer jams of the Aoxomoxoa era Grateful Dead.
There's also a whole class of psychedelic music and that is music to 'trip' on - music that when you first heard it , it was so different than anything you ever heard before, like 'tripping' - personally the arc of 'trip' music for me began with with the song A Hard Day's Night to I feel fine to Norwegian Wood (discovering stereo headphones) to all of Revolver, Sgt Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour and the whole Notorious Byrd Brothers album, Procol Harum's Salty Dog, all Pink Floyd did....of course Ithycoo Park, the Zombies (de rigeur);;;so all criteria aside...could you 'trip' on it ;)LOL
@@mark9058 The Moody Blues are most definitely a Psych band. They're credited with pioneering some of the timbres (specifically Mellotron) and imagery of Prog as well as Days Of Future Past being one of rock's first concept albums. They had a big influence on Prog bands but they were explicitly a Psych band, their music can be summarized as radio advertisement for the wonderful benefits of LSD and the members made it no secret that LSD was doing the writing. Prog is more along the lines of King Crimson or Van Der Graff Generator, both contemporary to the Moody Blues.
@@mark9058 I mean, you technically could label anything coming out at that time as truly Progressive, given that it all pushed boundaries and set the standard especially for rock music as we know it today. But I've just gotten used to people labeling a very specific combination of timbres and phrasing as sounding "Progressive", meaning essentially sounding like Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Camel and the like, and I never got that out of the Moody Blues, it's definitely Progressive, again anything was at that time, but not "Progressive" in the sense that I laid out earlier where that meant you kind of sounded like "Progressive" bands. That's usually what people mean. Labelling it as "Psych" is definitely after the fact but I feel more accurate, so that's where I'm coming from, but to each his own.
Thanks Matt. Always a favorite & fascinating topic, I like the parameters youve laid down as they arent restrictive or confining, which goes to the core of the universality of Psych or Acid Rock. There were parallel tracks in the UK (Yardbirds - Jeff Beck in particular laying down the tracks for psych rock - distortion on Heart Full of Soul for eg, guitar sounding like a Sitar ) & the US (Byrds - cover of Dylans Tambourine Man) along with sub genres in the Folk-Rock & Underground (13th Floor Elevators etc) Psychedelic genres. The influence of Acid Jazz artists like John Coltrane & Myles Davis was also huge..... as was, again, the Beatles & George Martin in particular, notably on the track Ticket to Ride, though Martin had been using recording sciences tricks for some time before that on the Beatles recordings that became staples of the psychedelic era..... It was a lifestyle, an attitude, you didnt have to take drugs to appreciate it. Fashion exploded with shops like Granny Takes a Trip opening in London, a second location in LA... velvet frock coats, butterfly collared shirts, embroidered jeans, stage gear. Period pieces.... Great time to be alive, young.
Songs that come to mind immediately: Beatles - 'She Said, She Said', Byrds - 'Eight Miles High', Beach Boys - 'Good Vibrations', Kinks 'Autumn Almanac' (for the tag) and Lovin' Spoonful - 'Six O'Clock'. Later there were bubblegum songs like 'Incense & Peppermints' and 'Green Tambourine'.
I would have liked to hear you make a distinction between the Westcoast jam- driven psychedelia of the Jefferson Airplane and Doors, etc, and the British psychedelia typified by studio trickery. strings, and horns.
Good criteria, to which I would add experimenting with song structure. Grace Slick's compositions starting with White Rabbit exemplify this in that they are through-composed, defeating typical verse-verse-chorus form. Her other outstanding examples of this are Rejoyce, Mexico and Lawman.
Also her outstanding tracks from Volunteers, Hey Frederick and Eskimo Blue Day. Some of her later post 60's songs show she was still capable of going back to that same headspace like Hyperdrive, Switchblade and even a little bit Babylon from the late 80's although that has an 80's style chorus awkwardly shoehorned into what is otherwise a trippy song with short story style verses.
One doesn't need drugs to feel or understand psychedelic music or any music. If you are creative, have an open mind and a love of music, you will understand it and get it.
The album that really blew my mind was Odessey and Oracle the first time I heard I must of replayed it a thousand times it was nothing like I heard before and to this day it considered one of the greatest albums to come out of the 60’s and is The Zombies magnum opus.
@@russseuffert803 it’s definitely on my top 10 favorite albums I’m the same way with Pet Sounds I can listen to it over and over it’s an amazing work of art.
This Morning I Listened To In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida , Perhaps The Most Enjoyable Listen Of That Song, So Far... In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida Is About The Greatest Psychedelic Song, Ever! Yes; Some Morning Hybr, The Rainy Day Walk Under An Umbrella, Nature... Everything... Magically; Cheerful Morning-Mood... Was Now, Flashing Back To The Only Time I Ever Saw These Dudes Live In Concert; Great! We Chatted... They Were Very Friendly; They Liked My Crystal... Peace
#10 ambient sounds. Pink Floyd Saucerful of Secrets is probably the best 60's psychedelic recording to listen to while tripping. I've listened to it straight also. It holds up.
Great video once again. I also believe you don't need to take drugs to "go on a trip" I never had and I'm always "tripping" with these songs. And you're right, there is a fine line with the genres when it comes to psychedelic / garage / flower power. My go to song is (a so and so production, to be honest) Your Golden Touch by the Clockwork Orange
I lived through this period, I was 14 in 1967. One thing great about a lot of the music of that period was the aspiration to do something beyond commercialism. In fact a lot of time being overly commercial was disdained and some of the revered bands like The Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane had few top 40 hits. Also you wanted the lyrics to say something or try to! A lot of it was forgettable but a lot of the music was fantastic! Thanks.
Great point, I feel the 60's were the opposite of today, in terms of music (go figure). The 1960s-70s was a great progressive and experimental period in music rather than the dreaded polished commercialization of a lot of music starting sporadically in the late 80s which basically sapped the soul of humanity, right out of the music.
Would love an entire series on psychedelic music. You've just scratched the surface. There were other genres, including "acid jazz" and "free jazz" (e.g., late 60's Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra Arkestra), trippy fusion (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea's Return to Forever). Plus: "I Hear a New World" (wild early 60's album by Joe Meek - CHECK IT OUT!).
Great video Matt. When I'm tripping, I spend almost all of the time either hyperfocused on something or searching for somewhere else to be. My 10th criteria would have included restless, trance-like, or "ADHD" style song structures. This can be achieved with dynamic instrumentation and sudden breaks in mood (Strawberry Fields, Good Vibrations) and the use of drones and repetition (Venus in Furs, Tomorrow Never Knows). Most people seem to overlook the "restless" facet of the psychedelic experience. Todd Rundgren's A Wizard a True Star captured it extremely well.
#PopGoesThe60s, Roger McGuinn once gave a great explanation for psychedelic music. He described it as music that sort of bleeds together. Kind of going with the idea that you mention of imitating the hallucinatory drug experience. Roger went on to add that instruments, melodies and vocals in psychedelia would all kind of flow into different sensory experiences, similar to how LSD altered the perception of human senses. That was one of the best explanations for psychedelic music I ever heard: music that bleeds together.
I was 6 and 7 when during the psychedelic era. Mostly it what I was hearing on the radio, and I thought at the time it all seemed perfectly normal, like that's what records should sound like. I came to appreciate some of the craft, especially on the British side, though I remember thinking Somebody to Love by the Airplane sounded so great. Great stuff Matt!
For me, psychedelia (whether music or another art form) is that which inspires you to enter a dream-like state. You don't need drugs, but for some, it helps.
This is a great breakdown, Matt! I’m glad that you mentioned recording engineers. I remember being amazed the first time I heard the mono pressing of ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’. It is so much more of a psychedelic experience.
thank you for calling out the snobbery with drugs, one of the main reasons I stay away from it all is the reason that the people kinda become assholes when on it or talking about it, even if they are being friendly, there is always a separation in their minds between us and them.
Agreed. The problem I have with the snobs is their inability to discuss the music from a perspective outside of themselves. As if that type of music was written only from them and only they can 'fully understand' it. Not very helpful when trying to have a deeper discussion.
10. The music is released with colorful and/or trippy artwork that signals the artist’s interest in psychedelic imagery to represent their music. Obviously this is not always the case, but it’s presence is a good sign that the music within will have psychedelic elements. Or at least that’s the intended message the artist or record company is sending.
I had a funny experience while listening to music of a neo-psych band in the 1990's, Poisoned Elektric Head. The music listening to it late in the evening while already being tired had an effect on me that you could call psychedelic, although not being on some substances (never have been)....it made my brain experience the music other than I had expected, bit like a subconscious move in my head. I still recall it as interesting.
There’s a funny story that my dad used to tell me when he was back college back in the 90’s he had a cd copy of The Doors greatest hits and he had a roommate that would play his cd every night to point where he grew tired of The Doors I thought well I would get right along with that guy I’m a huge Doors fan🤣
A wonderful essay/vLog Matt to get the ball rolling on this brilliant Topic. Personally, I think that for Psychedelic music, you didn’t need to be on drugs to listen to it or perform it (certainly NOT to record if you listen to George Martin). Psychedelic rock requires only a “state of mind”. The lyrics and music can definitely evoke that state of mind but you don’t need to be on drugs. In fact on the 20th anniversary of the release of SGT Pepper back in 1987, an amount of a certain green leafy substance might have been inhaled (to find out what all the fuss was about) and the result was being oh so “far out and groovy” that all motor skills were gone and as a result the record was unable to be flipped over to side 2!. So no, one does not need drugs to experience the music, in fact it could be avoided :) I also agree with you that the best music to come from the Psychedelic state of mind was the last half of the 60s. After that period, people had tuned in, turned on and dropped out to the point that Psychedelic rock bloated into what would become Prog rock (where unfortunately you probably did need to be on drugs, if only to tolerate 30 minutes of musical noodling and belly button fluff gazing in the non-ending solos). But we will forever have that small, 5 year window of the last half of the 1960s. The time that gave us some of the best music of ALL time and in my view, most of it is yet to be beaten. I cannot wait for future instalments.
Those were times of the beginnings of serious awakening for so many. Drugs like pot and LSD (especially LSD) were an ultra profound experience as in the exposure of presumptions one had held previous to the experience. A realization that ‘we’ are “it” so to speak, and as such was unforgettable, not to mention challenging. The age of those participating were on the younger side of my age 27 in 1969 but we were drawn to the experience by the music and the spiritual culture from which it seemed to have spawned: a lifelong influence. Thanks for your thoughtful in-depth approach to this important musical era !!
There is so much more than my reflex reaction but the two big things that come first to my mind are the swirly sound effects and, in view of the fact that the first songs to come to mind, 'Tomorrow Never Knows', 'Blue Jay Way' and 'It's All Too Much', seem to indicate to me that drone is important. I love a good droney piece that goes on for a bit. You need to take drugs to get it? I'll take a couple aspirin, put on 'Within You Without You' and rocket right into fricken orbit. Oh I'm there! I'm there!
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I'm going to love this series since I've always loved that music. Whether I was under the influence or not. If I was, it enhanced the experience. If I wasn't, I was transcended into that state through the music. It was a win - win situation, and there's nothing wrong with that!
I managed a record store in Houston from 1978 to 1983. Love your videos. Kind regards Scott AKA et2petty. Armenia City In the Sky-The Who, A Love Supreme-Miles Davis, Happenings Ten Years Time Ago-Yardbirds, Legend of a Mind-Moody Blues....etc
One of my favorite things to listen to is the hours long mixes on RUclips of Grateful Dead improvisations. Bending the rules of music theory and time keeping is on the right track.
In the pre-internet age I was looking for psychedelic 60s music and I got the psychedelic years by Rhino, a good collection but there were only few songs I considered as psychedelic. Turns out the second edition on the 3rd disk it had the far-out section and that is where there was really psychedelic music like country, joe and fish, united states of america and so on. And also I later found out quite some great psychedelic songs are by quite well known artists (I can go for miles, eight miles high, we love you, lucy in the sky)
It is interesting the difference between the originators of a style and those jumping on the bandwagon for monetary or "being hip" reasons. As a guy in the SF Bay Area when it was happening it was easy to tell which is which. Also there was a big difference between US and UK psychedelic music which I hope you explore later.
As always, Matt, another fab video! "Psychedelic" to me has always felt like that brief period from late 1966 to early 1968, and I think your criteria helps differentiate it from other terrific 60's music style such as Baroque and Sunshine Pop (and I think we know there are examples where these styles and sounds seem to overlap), though I'd leave out criteria #9 as I don't think it's necessary. That said, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" ticks all the boxes, and remains the #1 Psychedelic song of all time - I will leave the remaining 9 spots on the top ten to be advised by all the other viewers of "Pop Goes the 60s". Many thanks, Terry (from Australia).
A music that takes you out of yourself and presents the listener with a hitherto unknown experience. I would class The Incredible String Band as psychedelic. Thanks Matt, great topic and breakdown.
Nice video, as this is a hair-splitting topic. I have always thought of the Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" from 1966 as highly psychedelic and Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" from '67 mainly because of the lyrics. Surprisingly, Kenny Rogers' First Edition checked all of the psychedelic boxes with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" from '68. Crazy lyrics and instrumentation. A little-known psych gem is '67's "Shifting Sands" by the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.
The first three you mentioned are probably my top three as well. Best all time psychedelic song title of all time has to go to Strawberry Alarm Clock for 'Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow". That must have been a fun day.
For me the word psychedelic immediately brings three songs , The Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows, Jimi Hendrix' s version of All Along the Watchtower and The Rolling Stones' She's Like a Rainbow. Lots of others of course but for me these three do the job.
Tomorrow Never Knows, Time has come Today, Mind Gardens, Paper Sun, We Love You, Are you Experienced? and Interstellar Overdrive pretty much sum up what psychedelic music is to me. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. My favourite genre for sure.
Hi Matt! I think the Beatles' album "Rubber Soul" is the beginning of Beatles' psychedelic music. John Lennon said he took LSD hundreds of times taking it, and of course, marijuana also influenced their music. Those who took LSD, like "Hawkwind", when recording or performing (except for Lemmy, who only took amphetamines) showed that they could perform and keep the energy flowing during their performances.
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I think any song that has a significant amount of phasing, distorted vocals, swirly swishy sounds and floating stereo is quintessential psychedelia. Itchycoo Park by the Small Faces, Armenia city in the sky by the who are the best examples
Wow. Huge topic and great question! I've been fascinated for years with the influence of LSD on music in the 60's. I remember watching a RUclips of the Beach Boys doing 'California Girls.' It was a simple set with a scaffold around which the band was scattered, and all around the set were bikini clad girl dancers. This all-American Beach Boys look was far from psychedelic, yet I somehow felt the LSD influence radiating off of the video. I couldn't figure out why the video was feeling so acid drenched to me. I did some research and discovered that Brian Wilson's first acid experience was around the time of the production of this video. Wilson wasn't exactly a psychedelic pioneer and only tripped a handful of times. But the other band members probably did so in notable quantities. I'm not able to verify that but I'll have to assume it since so many of the jetsetters by then were getting their hands on this new, unusual drug, it seems it was likely. I remember feeling, while watching that video, that everyone on the set was tripping balls. I cannot even say why I felt this way. To me, that which we call 'psychedelic' is embedded inside the zeitgeist of the era. All attempts at neo-psychedelia seemed to lack a certain spirit that the original style was imbued in. There were attempts from the 80's on up until today to make a 'psychedelic sound.' I think these attempts, while cool, musical and interesting to listen to, simply do not have the same spirit as in those days when, to take a trip was a bold, new, exciting and scary experience. There was a newness to it that simply couldn't be captured in later years. It's the same as trying to relive one's childhood. You can't go back. It seems that a line has to be drawn between out-and-out psychedelic music and music that was 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 by the psychedelic experience. For example, you get the sly term, "Sunshine Pop," where the performers, while dressed in highly stylized and bold psychedelic patterns and colors, took on a wholesome, 'good American kids' type of appeal. To whit: The Fifth Dimension. What I mean to say is, you can take the song 'Up, Up and Away,' considered to be Sunshine Pop and pretty much say that it's not overtly psychedelic. Or would you? Not sure. But the term itself runs in two directions: "Sunshine" referring to the happy feeling one gets on a sunlit summer day but also referring to the brand of acid, 'Orange Sunshine.' The song Up, Up and Away, definitely suggests a few psychedelic influenced references: Going up in a balloon can be a metaphor for getting high. The balloon imagery itself can be thought of as looking like a pill. I did some research on Jim Webb, the composer of the song. I couldn't nail down if he was taking big quantities of LSD at the time he wrote this but I did catch a quote from him saying that around that time he was 'partying like crazy.' In those days "partying" implied not just drinking but smoking weed and taking acid. So I have to assume that by the time the song was written, Jim Webb was well familiar with the experience. You can't say that on its face that Up, Up and Away is a psychedelic song yet it's is clearly influenced by the acid experience. My biggest interest is in how the songwriters became more and more bold in their expression of new and unusual chord progressions. This, I think, is because the LSD experience took us out of our comfort zone and got us used to an altered interpretation of reality itself. In music there's the term 'modulation' which means going to a different key. Modulations were happening like crazy during this period. From Mrs. Robinson to California Dreamin' to Dr. Robert. The musical equivalent to bright, psychedelic colors in musical terms would be in modulation itself. But that in itself simply cannot define the psychedelic sound if at all. When we take songs like Tomorrow Never Knows or Within You And Without You, they are both psychedelic without question, but these songs do the very opposite of modulation. They stay on one chord. The drone sound. I think that, when the composers weren't playing with interesting chord movements to get the reality bending effect, they relied on musical texture: sitars, tape loops, sound effects, etc. A question arises here as well: are the Beatles themselves responsible for the psychedelic sound in music. After all, had George Harrison not been in love with all things India and especially its music, it's highly doubtful that the sitar sound would have entered the psychedelic arena. It truly was a number a magical components and incredible serendipity that started the psychedelic musical sound. Bottom line though, to me, psychedelic music is bound by the context of its times.
Hey Vin. The California Girls intro was composed during his first acid trip. One of the great intros of the era. I agree that this music is hard to separate from the times it comes from. Listening so called psychedelic music from the 1990s or today merely sounds like 90s music or contemporary music with no meaning around them other that the song itself. They don’t seem “written from a time.” Just written and floating out there. The psychedelic sound became a style of production and craftsmanship that served many songs well until it became a fad. And you are right - any attempts to recreate this sound or spirit fails outside of that time period. Songs like Up, Up and Away was taken to another level with the production style that was rapidly progressing. I can’t imagine it sounding nearly as good had it been recorded in 1964. Some songs seem to communicate a psychedelic feeling more than others and its hard to pinpoint the reasons why. Basically, and I know this is not very “hippie”, but the more boxes of criteria that are checked, the more psychedelic the song is. I dislike saying it that way but I think the discussion of “what is psych” has be viewed from outside personal perspective, otherwise everything becomes psychedelic - the postmodern view - where there is no truth only personal perception. See: gender 2022!
Defining psychedelia is no small task. There are so many theories. I used Richard Morton Jack’s book endless trip as the Bible. So much in there isn’t really psychedelic. Lots of pop, blues and garage. But that’s my litmus test. Though? I like the Charlatans. Their cover of Codeine is fire.
New Wave (c. 1977-1983) has the same fuzzy distinction. Sometimes a single instrument can identify the genre as you mention with the sitar. I consider anything with a mellotron is usually psychedelic. Anything with a farfisa organ is usually new wave. However, the way you expand the definition hit more of the marks than just the intrumentation and production. An expanded definition for other genres, like new wave, could certainly take from your example.
Nothing to really add to the discussion... just feel this is such a great channel! Thank you for all you're doing... as one who grew up in the 60's... I find these episodes sorta soothing to my soul. Not sure if that makes any sense. Maybe it's the music reminds me of my youth... my mom and dad, my younger siblings, the places we lived... etc. To have your insights into it all it adds a visceral side or content with those experiences. Very cool... very, very cool! Blessings of all your efforts!
My definition is a bit more generalized -- any piece of music that promotes, reflects or attempts to recreate a higher state of consciousness. Some drugs (opiates) don't do that, so I don't use that as a criteria. But as you say, all definitions are subjective, which is as it should be. I'm a big fan of psychedelic music and philosophy, though I've never taken a psychedelic drug myself.
I like your definition. I was going to say it was music that simulated or enhanced a psychedelic experience. Part of that would be musical elements such as drone tones and trance-style music with ostinato motifs that vary slightly in an atmospheric sense.
A challenging topic Matt. I think your 9 categories check all the relevant boxes on the subject. Full disclosure. I never tried the "Dreaded Lysergic'. Mushrooms was as close as I ever got. Under its influence, everything seems psychedelic. Once we rolled a cassette tape and jammed . We thought we'd reached a new level in our growth as a band. In reality it was abysmal. Psychedelia is a state of mind and thus difficult to quantify. You just know it when you hear it. Gotta split the scene man, RNB
Any chance of doing an exploration of Lee Hazlewood with or without Nancy Sinatra ! Some great songs. Between the two of them for sure, somewhat psychedelic and I sure like the production, arrangement of songs and just the sound of the songs, thanks Matt 🏴🤘🇬🇧
You don't want to get me started on Lee Hazlewood! There is a reason he was called "the genius". I have been a major fan of his music since he first produced Duane Eddy, have every LP that he was associated with, and I totally disagree with his self-deprecating opinion that he couldn't sing.
The Kinks "See My Friends" stands as a formidable ground zero for psychedelic music. No gimmickry. The drone,chanted vocals and serious otherworldly atmosphere point to the future. Months later I guess the Who cut "The Goods Gone" with a similar droning riff. And at the same time,Jeff Beck was experimenting with noise and Eastern tones with The Yardbirds.
Almost to the point of a cliche. Good album, given the temporal displacement of the embellishments, but at times it sounds forced. I prefer the _United States of Existence_ from the same underground psychedelic revival period of the mid-late '80s.
Love this one, had so many of these Matt - good to see Fever Tree get a mention. Much is in the ear of the beholder and many reviewers classify albums as psychedelia when they're just rock/blues based. As an Englishman from that time would just giggle at the inclusion of Donovan for example. For me there's Beefheart, Country Joe, Love, Arthur Brown, The Electric Prunes and Kaleidoscope as well as your mentions. Is the much-loved Moby Grape first album really psychedelic, though the band drug-fuelled?
There's a couple Donovan psych tracks. I've got tons of Beefheart and only found 2 or 3 psych tracks, mostly from "Strictly Personal", I've got all 4 Love albums and not a psych track on any of them! Arthur Brown's got a couple. Which kaleidoscope? There were at least 4 of them at the same time! Really? Moby Grape is psych?? They're just another country rock band like The Dreadful Great! "Omaha" and "Horse Out In The Rain" are the only psych tracks I've found from them.
@@RedVynil I don't consider Moby Grape a psych band. The problem is that bands that formed during the mid-late '60s are often lumped into the 'psychedelic' genre because, well, that was during the psychedelic era at its peak. It's unfortunate but that happens.
@@jamesaron1967 Except for one or two songs, neither do I. From what I've been seeing the past dozen or so years, ANYTHING made in the `60's is considered psych!! Conway Twitty? Yeah! Great psych, there!! Lawrence Welk? The best psych you ever heard!! I've picked up so MANY "psych" comps in the past 30 years only to find that about 75 to 90% of the stuff on each one isn't psych at all!! I LIKE garage but, if I'm BUYING psych, I WANT PSYCH, NOT garage!! And, I've heard SO MANY people say this or that album was a great psych record and then, I go to listen to it and it's not psych at all!! Obviously, people don't know what psych is! Just because there's a fuzzy guitar and odd lyrics, that doesn't automatically make it a psych record. I'm looking for the stuff that makes you see things BEFORE you take the drugs!
@@RedVynil LOL, yeah, I've been noticing the mislabelling occurring with increasing frequency the past few years. Why that is the case is anyone's guess. Some people are speaking of resurgent interest in all things psychedelic, especially From gen Z which I find very odd. If indeed true that could explain it.
There's another point I'd want to express about this theme, although I really don't have certain if it has really a link. For me, there are songs from the end of the sixties and beginning of the seventies that have in common (in my opinion) a climate and arrangement that somehow evokes a psychedelic air. Songs like: Paul and Linda McCartney's "Uncle Albert" ; The Rolling Stones' "Let it loose"; Bread's "Games of magic"; The Doobie Brothers' "Toulouse street"; "Fleetwood Mac's "Show me a smile"; Lovin' Spoonfull's "Coconut grove"; Blind Faith's "Can't find my way home"; among others from that period. These songs bring a curious feeling of isolation and self-communion; and these states of mind I think been anyhow associates with a psychedelic. Probably I'm wrong, but I'd want to share these ideas. By the way, even in Erik Satie's compositions from the 1900s, like "Gymnopedie 1" or "Gymnopedie 2" I find some points with the same feeling.
Tomorrow Never Knows was my first introduction to what I would label as mind bending. They really paved the genre. Then came the SF groups who were delighting in their power to influence. Thanks for your investigation into to the evolution of this music Nitch.
On a history of rock documentary co produced by the BBC and PBS, Phil Lesh said someone at a record store pulled him in off the street to play him Tomorrow Never Knows and it it blew his mind.
A terrific and (don't take this the wrong way) sober tour of psychedelic music properties. It came off as somewhat odd when you mentioned "a CD". I remember when those came out absent the imperfections your elders learned to live with, but I claim that Vinal and Vacuum Tubes are important to the sound. People will argue about which vacuum tubes, but I say the sound level should be enough to span the load line of the tube/amp.
Interesting and well thought dissection of the "psychedelic" concept....I agree with al the 9 criteria and would humbly suggest as a 10th one the integration of the sonic experience with a visual one such as a non conformist cover/packaging/presentation (ie Sgt.Pepper's) or a visual component added like Pink Floyd used (light and colour show) in a live concert. Very interesting topic indeed, thanks Matt! I concur that music should be produced and consumed with a clear mind...the psychedelic "experience" should come/go from/to the soul/heart.
Yes, I did think of the artwork that often accompanied this music but I wanted to just keep the focus on the music. Probably a good part 2 video topic!
Hey Matt. I've been listening to 60s psych music for 35+ years and I think you are spot on. What was considered psychedwlic in the 60s became a very broad category and included numerous styles. Your inclusion of the Carlatana is a erfect example. Many psych 'purists' wouldn't consider them psychedelic but they were. I think your 10th point could be personal interpretation, as you pointed out very well wirh how the Booker T song produces a personal psyxhede experience for you. Lookimg forward to your new explorations of this topic. Keep up the great work!
Forgot to include my introductio to psychedelic music was Incense and Peppermints by Strawberry Alarm Clock. Got a best of como of the band's music and the rest is history.
Spot-on assessment, Matt. Having spent my teen years in the 60s I concur with every point you made. My vote for the most psychedelic song of all time is "Tomorrow Never Knows" because it contains every element you listed (and, besides, it's the Beatles!). I'd love for you to make a video about the Bee Gees in the 60s era. Too many think of them as disco ducks but their early LPs were very adventurous and, yes, often they included some very psychedelic tunes. Keep up the great work.
Tough call... "Rain" and "I'm Only Sleeping" are pretty trippy Beatles tunes too... "Tomorrow Never Knows" has always been a bit too brash for my tastes.
I think that defining a song as psychedelic is mostly an "I know it when I hear it" situation.
Couldnt have put it simpler or better
Totally agree. Drugs use or advocacy is not a requisite but obviously that has inspired some great psych music. And modern psych isn’t disconnected from the 60s explosion of it. At all. Hawkins is the grandfather of all that followed, just my opinions. I do enjoy this feed.
As Aldous Huxley stated in his book "The Doors of Perception," the term "psychedelic" (derived from "psyche" (mind/soul/spirit) and "delos/delic" (clear, manifestation, or openness) ) refers to "mind opening." Thus, broadly speaking, one can definitely have (non-psychotic) "psychedelic" experiences without drugs. Whatever "opens the doors of perception" is psychedelic.
Interesting. Keeping the focus on mysic, under that specific definition, there is a much broader variety of songs which could count as "psychedelic" then.
Anything that helps the listener realise something could be psychedelic
The visual aspect of what was going on in the 60s seems like an essential influence on psychedelic music. The light shows, the concert posters, the clothes, the album sleeves etc. To use an analogy, the 1960s was when music went from monotone to technicolour.
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That was the development of the counter-culture, which grew organically from the need to create an environment conducive to the trip. The trip in the sense of making live a holistic adventure. There was the generation gap, but also the culture gap. Color tv became the must-have item and with that the expansion of channels like PBS which was more of a creative venue as opposed to the Formulaic approach of the Commercial networks. It was clear that TV would not be a good source for psychedelic tripping because the content was chopped up. Although TV has had a lot of promise, it has been dominated by top-down control of content and culture-creation. Record albums were the best because you could choose your own programs and they would run uninterrupted. The rise of the postwar middle class meant teens had money to create these new markets. When you got into an alpha brainwave groove, you didn't want to have anything ruin the vibe. Then, with the advent of cassette recorders, and longer tape times, it was even better. Reel to reel was great but not as accessible to the average hipster.
My favourite music of the 60’s is the psychedelic period. Great video. Electric music for the mind and body by Country Joe and the Fish was an attempt musically to simulate an LSD trip. Some excellent music produced in this period. Thanks again Matt.
* Yet everyone remembers them for the lame Viet Nam song, not typical for them at the time.
Oh YES! Section 43 is one of my all-time favourite tunes!
Often overlooked is the fact that Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' acid-fueled bus odyssey happened in the summer of 1964, when we were still collectively reeling from the new British Invasion. this is 3 full years before 'Sgt Pepper' was released.
So, what were early acid heads listening to if 'psychedelic music' hadn't even been coined as a phrase, let alone pursued as a genre?
They were largely listening to bee-bop jazz and Indian ragas. So arguably, musicians like John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar were early purveyors of 'psychedelic' music.
The Grateful Dead (then; The Warlocks) were the aspiring bay area blues/jug band at ground zero of the above. Not that this wasn't happening elsewhere in the USA at the time, but they were friends of Kesey and The Pranksters contingent. The Grateful Dead locked in on the extended jams, cultivated their ability to 'read the room' and improvise at the acid test events.
My first excursion into Psychedelic music was the 13th Floor Elevators from Austin, TX. I believe they were the first band to describe themselves as "psychedelic," 1965. I highly recommend them to any fan of Psychedelica.
That stupid "love jug" ruins it, for me!! Use it on 2 or 3 songs, that's fine but, to put it in EVERY BLOODY SONG is SOOOOO ANNOYING!!!
@@RedVynil Take that blood somewhere else pallie!
@@michaelcraig9449 Oh! Was that YOU making those stupid noises on those records?
Check out Moving Sidewalks, that is awesome.
@@michaelcraig9449 Pre-Z. Z. Top.
Number 10 would be: the listener gets Higher from the music. Not "wrecked", not "wasted" - those are post-Psychedelic terms - but Higher. The purpose of Psychedelic music is to raise the consciousness of the listener, to share the musician's Trip with them in the hope that it will be beneficial and liberating. The Underground definition of "Psychedelic", unlike those dictionary descriptions, was "A feast for the senses". It was a unifying connection to every other Head on the planet. When Jimi Hendrix asks "Are you Experienced?" he is well aware that at that time the code word for Acid was "The Experience". The true power of Psychedelic music can't be fully understood by anyone who wasn't part of that time. The energy, the Vibe, that powered it is gone but it changed the world enough that with effort and luck you can still catch an echo of it.
10. You know it when you hear it.
One of my favourite tracks from this era is Pink Floyd's Interstellar Overdrive. The fact it's an instrumental enhances the trip for me. It all comes from the woozy guitar effects. Lyrics would have only diluted the vibe
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
I agree , doesn't harsh your mellow@@allenf.5907
I'd include most of the LP 'Ummagumma also😉
I would say some of Bob Dylan’s lyrics are surreal, but that he never made psychedelic records, though I wish he had! Thank you for yet another great episode, Matthew!
Hey David - thanks again for your comments!
Unfortunately because of the motorcycle accident there was no 1967 Dylan album; who knows, he might have made one then had he been able.
Blonde On Blonde is a good album to smoke pot to.
I think that surreal is a great way to distinguish Dylan's lyrics from psychedelic. Dylan was , supposedly - who really knows - smoking pot when he made 'Subterranean Blues through "Blonde on Blonde." When I heard the lyrics in the mid-sixties, Salvador Dali's paintings flashed into my mind. I guess maybe I was seeing surreal and listening surreal/psychedlelic.
Bob Dylan "and the these visions of Johanna are now all that remain", thats as psychedelic as "Dark Star Crashes , reason tatters" or "First I was transparent, then I is was effervescent, and finally i was absent"
Every song he ever played was a Jam, just like the Dead,
I got into psychedelic music when I was 15 in 1966. Young, not stoned and looking for unusual sounds with exciting rhythm etc. Later, when stoned, it just adds to enjoyment and understanding of the music but didn't suddenly make the song psychedelic.
Sky Pilot by The Animals, specifically when the noodling guitar fuzz in the middle folds into a sound effect of a plane crashing. Pretty chilling
I think the keyword is "disorienting".
I think the most important part is the uneven tempo, partly by effects, that give the music a floating feeling. Like a normal melody dissolved in acid. Second is the seemingly aimless and somewhat chromatic movement of solo melodies. Like it is going nowhere but still spiraling upwards or downwards.
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A more physical description is the Left PFC focuses and the right PFC unfocuses, so we are taught to focus on focusing with reading and writing, Psychedelic is letting go of the focus on focusing and allowing the unfocus to take control
So the music needs to be as unfocused as possible to help the switch,
A good term i use is it needs to be postively happily traumatic :)
then the persons world might turn upside down
I think if it sounds like you’re tripping when sober, then that’s it. Any song sounds psychedelic when you’re tripping.
What I found psychedelic about your video was watching your beer evaporate without you drinking it. Hmmmm lol. Great video. 👍
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8. Entrancement. You covered this one quickly but there could be more to it. In many traditional cultures, music was used as part of important ceremonies, often aiming to induce a trance state. Anthropologists think this was an important way to increase social cohesion. Similarly to psychedelic experiences, it could make people feel part of some greater whole.
This is a good addition- thank you!
For example, I noticed modern Afro-rock songs have these looping melodies and rhythms which I believe harken back to their tribal roots, probably passed down from earlier times when a whole tribe would participate in trance inducing ceremonies with singing and chanting based on those loops.
I can't explain my criteria, but I sure know it when I hear it
Psychedelic = Mind manifesting. It is music that turns your attention inward, allowing you to see how the music is showing you something about your mind while listening. By this definition, ANY music can be psychedelic if it meets this criterion.
I think this is as close as we're going to come for a good definition of psychedelic music. Thanks Matt.
Thanks Steve, though future updating may be needed!
One of my favourite psychedelic lyrics is the Byrds's "Wasn't Born to Follow," written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin: "where the trees have leaves of prism and break the light in colours that no one knows the names of." I think of psychedelic as revealing everyday reality to be wondrous and infinitely complex.
Great lyric. I’ve never heard if Goffin and King took lsd but it sure sounds like it!
@@popgoesthe60s52 my recollection is that Goffin did, and it messed him up. I think that was in Ken Emerson’s book about the Brill building.
@@modernpolitics thank you David - I’ll track down that book.
Heh. The heavy "phlanged" guitar effects on that Byrds tune is extremely "trippy".
@@leeroth5604 Yeah, I think somebody said it was like the Carter Family meets the Jetsons. 😂 A really wild guitar song.
In case they haven’t been mentioned…two psychedelic-sounding songs from the late 60’s that I loved.
The Lemon Pipers, Green Tambourine and Status Quo, Pictures of Matchstick Men.
And The Kinks, See my Friends is so underrated as far as an Indian sound goes
Having a top 9 instead of a top 10 is rather psychadaelic, isn’t it?
So in that sense, you nailed it Matt!
Another gem of yours for which I thank you!
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I never thought of it that way but I'll take it!
There's probably a sub-genre or songs that really aren't psychedelic, but have psychedelic flourishes to cash in on the trend. Cry Like a Baby might be one of them. One that I always thought was kind of faux psychedelic is "Susan" by the Buckinghams, which is a conventional pop song with a tacked on psychedelic section toward the end.
I love your channel, Matt.
Early donovan 66-69 was some excellent psych stuff...those magically beautiful days just spawned experimental music..excellent job Matt..great video..Thanks
Pink Floyd seems to meet most of your criteria as well as 90's era shoegaze. Great video.
What works for your definition of psychedelia is that it applies to the three minute songs of the Syd Barrett Pink Floyd as well as the freak out longer jams of the Aoxomoxoa era Grateful Dead.
Very true. Song length certainly varies within this genre.
Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies - The American Metaphysical Circus. Now THAT'S a psych album.
There's also a whole class of psychedelic music and that is music to 'trip' on - music that when you first heard it , it was so different than anything you ever heard before, like 'tripping' - personally the arc of 'trip' music for me began with with the song A Hard Day's Night to I feel fine to Norwegian Wood (discovering stereo headphones) to all of Revolver, Sgt Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour and the whole Notorious Byrd Brothers album, Procol Harum's Salty Dog, all Pink Floyd did....of course Ithycoo Park, the Zombies (de rigeur);;;so all criteria aside...could you 'trip' on it ;)LOL
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Indeed. It's like that famous opening chord on A Hard Day's Night was the starting gun for the entire psychedelic era
The Moody Blues are the standard for me, so much sound it almost becomes 3D. That's what makes something psychedelic.
Agreed...Mike Pinder's mellotron can still "take me places" without a single illicit substance in my body. He was that good.
@@mark9058 The Moody Blues are most definitely a Psych band. They're credited with pioneering some of the timbres (specifically Mellotron) and imagery of Prog as well as Days Of Future Past being one of rock's first concept albums. They had a big influence on Prog bands but they were explicitly a Psych band, their music can be summarized as radio advertisement for the wonderful benefits of LSD and the members made it no secret that LSD was doing the writing. Prog is more along the lines of King Crimson or Van Der Graff Generator, both contemporary to the Moody Blues.
@@mark9058 I mean, you technically could label anything coming out at that time as truly Progressive, given that it all pushed boundaries and set the standard especially for rock music as we know it today. But I've just gotten used to people labeling a very specific combination of timbres and phrasing as sounding "Progressive", meaning essentially sounding like Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Camel and the like, and I never got that out of the Moody Blues, it's definitely Progressive, again anything was at that time, but not "Progressive" in the sense that I laid out earlier where that meant you kind of sounded like "Progressive" bands. That's usually what people mean. Labelling it as "Psych" is definitely after the fact but I feel more accurate, so that's where I'm coming from, but to each his own.
Thanks Matt. Always a favorite & fascinating topic, I like the parameters youve laid down as they arent restrictive or confining, which goes to the core of the universality of Psych or Acid Rock. There were parallel tracks in the UK (Yardbirds - Jeff Beck in particular laying down the tracks for psych rock - distortion on Heart Full of Soul for eg, guitar sounding like a Sitar ) & the US (Byrds - cover of Dylans Tambourine Man) along with sub genres in the Folk-Rock & Underground (13th Floor Elevators etc) Psychedelic genres. The influence of Acid Jazz artists like John Coltrane & Myles Davis was also huge..... as was, again, the Beatles & George Martin in particular, notably on the track Ticket to Ride, though Martin had been using recording sciences tricks for some time before that on the Beatles recordings that became staples of the psychedelic era..... It was a lifestyle, an attitude, you didnt have to take drugs to appreciate it. Fashion exploded with shops like Granny Takes a Trip opening in London, a second location in LA... velvet frock coats, butterfly collared shirts, embroidered jeans, stage gear. Period pieces.... Great time to be alive, young.
I appreciate the comments, Scott!
My dream is to see your documentary on the original mothers of invention (1965-1969)! Thanks for the content that you put out!
Well , a great group from the psychedelic era is The Chambers Bros. with their best and also most well known song being "Time Has Come Today " .
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There was another one that was pretty psych, "Love, Peace And Happiness". Other than those two, I'd never call them a psych band!
Pretty honest evaluations. Food for thought, and maybe a windowpane blotter.
Songs that come to mind immediately: Beatles - 'She Said, She Said', Byrds - 'Eight Miles High', Beach Boys - 'Good Vibrations', Kinks 'Autumn Almanac' (for the tag) and Lovin' Spoonful - 'Six O'Clock'. Later there were bubblegum songs like 'Incense & Peppermints' and 'Green Tambourine'.
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Kinks' "King Kong", too.
Good vibrations is directly lsd
You had me at The Crystal Ship and then cemented it with White Rabbit. Great channel. New subscriber.
Welcome, Rich!
I would have liked to hear you make a distinction between the Westcoast jam- driven psychedelia of the Jefferson Airplane and Doors, etc, and the British psychedelia typified by studio trickery.
strings, and horns.
Excellent and innovated tutorial! I have always felt that Donovan was one of the trend makers. Do another!
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Good criteria, to which I would add experimenting with song structure. Grace Slick's compositions starting with White Rabbit exemplify this in that they are through-composed, defeating typical verse-verse-chorus form. Her other outstanding examples of this are Rejoyce, Mexico and Lawman.
Also her outstanding tracks from Volunteers, Hey Frederick and Eskimo Blue Day. Some of her later post 60's songs show she was still capable of going back to that same headspace like Hyperdrive, Switchblade and even a little bit Babylon from the late 80's although that has an 80's style chorus awkwardly shoehorned into what is otherwise a trippy song with short story style verses.
One doesn't need drugs to feel or understand psychedelic music or any music. If you are creative, have an open mind and a love of music, you will understand it and get it.
Very well stated.
The album that really blew my mind was Odessey and Oracle the first time I heard I must of replayed it a thousand times it was nothing like I heard before and to this day it considered one of the greatest albums to come out of the 60’s and is The Zombies magnum opus.
Brady, that's a great example!
@@russseuffert803 it’s definitely on my top 10 favorite albums I’m the same way with Pet Sounds I can listen to it over and over it’s an amazing work of art.
Not that good, no promotion from EMI, the band broke up and could not promote it, overrated in my opinion
@@johnvanstone5336 The album might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I consider it a masterpiece I love it for the music that’s just my opinion .
An Excellent Choice, Brady. ☮
This Morning I Listened To In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida , Perhaps The Most Enjoyable Listen Of That Song, So Far... In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida Is About The Greatest Psychedelic Song, Ever! Yes; Some Morning Hybr, The Rainy Day Walk Under An Umbrella, Nature... Everything... Magically; Cheerful Morning-Mood... Was Now, Flashing Back To The Only Time I Ever Saw These Dudes Live In Concert; Great! We Chatted... They Were Very Friendly; They Liked My Crystal... Peace
Right now is like the 60's all over again. We got the establishment doing terrible stuff like always, and newer bands being psychedelic too.
#10 ambient sounds. Pink Floyd Saucerful of Secrets is probably the best 60's psychedelic recording to listen to while tripping. I've listened to it straight also. It holds up.
Great video once again.
I also believe you don't need to take drugs to "go on a trip"
I never had and I'm always "tripping" with these songs.
And you're right, there is a fine line with the genres when it comes to psychedelic / garage / flower power.
My go to song is (a so and so production, to be honest)
Your Golden Touch by the Clockwork Orange
Thanks for the comments, Chris
I lived through this period, I was 14 in 1967. One thing great about a lot of the music of that period was the aspiration to do something beyond commercialism. In fact a lot of time being overly commercial was disdained and some of the revered bands like The Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane had few top 40 hits. Also you wanted the lyrics to say something or try to! A lot of it was forgettable but a lot of the music was fantastic! Thanks.
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Great point, I feel the 60's were the opposite of today, in terms of music (go figure). The 1960s-70s was a great progressive and experimental period in music rather than the dreaded polished commercialization of a lot of music starting sporadically in the late 80s which basically sapped the soul of humanity, right out of the music.
Would love an entire series on psychedelic music. You've just scratched the surface. There were other genres, including "acid jazz" and "free jazz" (e.g., late 60's Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra Arkestra), trippy fusion (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea's Return to Forever). Plus: "I Hear a New World" (wild early 60's album by Joe Meek - CHECK IT OUT!).
I love the sound of that.
Sun Ra!!!
RA! RA! RA! (And electric-era MILES DAVIS, too!!)
Great video Matt.
When I'm tripping, I spend almost all of the time either hyperfocused on something or searching for somewhere else to be. My 10th criteria would have included restless, trance-like, or "ADHD" style song structures. This can be achieved with dynamic instrumentation and sudden breaks in mood (Strawberry Fields, Good Vibrations) and the use of drones and repetition (Venus in Furs, Tomorrow Never Knows).
Most people seem to overlook the "restless" facet of the psychedelic experience. Todd Rundgren's A Wizard a True Star captured it extremely well.
#PopGoesThe60s, Roger McGuinn once gave a great explanation for psychedelic music. He described it as music that sort of bleeds together. Kind of going with the idea that you mention of imitating the hallucinatory drug experience. Roger went on to add that instruments, melodies and vocals in psychedelia would all kind of flow into different sensory experiences, similar to how LSD altered the perception of human senses. That was one of the best explanations for psychedelic music I ever heard: music that bleeds together.
I was 6 and 7 when during the psychedelic era. Mostly it what I was hearing on the radio, and I thought at the time it all seemed perfectly normal, like that's what records should sound like. I came to appreciate some of the craft, especially on the British side, though I remember thinking Somebody to Love by the Airplane sounded so great. Great stuff Matt!
No. 10 "Raga Rock". The use of modal or non-Western scales. Jeff Beck was a big proponent in the Yardbirds.
For me, psychedelia (whether music or another art form) is that which inspires you to enter a dream-like state. You don't need drugs, but for some, it helps.
This is a great breakdown, Matt! I’m glad that you mentioned recording engineers. I remember being amazed the first time I heard the mono pressing of ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’. It is so much more of a psychedelic experience.
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thank you for calling out the snobbery with drugs, one of the main reasons I stay away from it all is the reason that the people kinda become assholes when on it or talking about it, even if they are being friendly, there is always a separation in their minds between us and them.
Agreed. The problem I have with the snobs is their inability to discuss the music from a perspective outside of themselves. As if that type of music was written only from them and only they can 'fully understand' it. Not very helpful when trying to have a deeper discussion.
Perfectly put. Most of the ones I've known have been out of commission for years, decades even.
10. The music is released with colorful and/or trippy artwork that signals the artist’s interest in psychedelic imagery to represent their music.
Obviously this is not always the case, but it’s presence is a good sign that the music within will have psychedelic elements. Or at least that’s the intended message the artist or record company is sending.
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Good addition. I thought of including the imagery that accompanies the music but I wanted to keep focus on just the music.
I had a funny experience while listening to music of a neo-psych band in the 1990's, Poisoned Elektric Head. The music listening to it late in the evening while already being tired had an effect on me that you could call psychedelic, although not being on some substances (never have been)....it made my brain experience the music other than I had expected, bit like a subconscious move in my head. I still recall it as interesting.
There’s a funny story that my dad used to tell me when he was back college back in the 90’s he had a cd copy of The Doors greatest hits and he had a roommate that would play his cd every night to point where he grew tired of The Doors I thought well I would get right along with that guy I’m a huge Doors fan🤣
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@@natashawalker1345 I’m 18 years old I’m only interested in the music not the stupid drug.
Fun topic with a, chicken or the egg circular argument that never resolves. Good job, man!
A wonderful essay/vLog Matt to get the ball rolling on this brilliant Topic. Personally, I think that for Psychedelic music, you didn’t need to be on drugs to listen to it or perform it (certainly NOT to record if you listen to George Martin). Psychedelic rock requires only a “state of mind”. The lyrics and music can definitely evoke that state of mind but you don’t need to be on drugs. In fact on the 20th anniversary of the release of SGT Pepper back in 1987, an amount of a certain green leafy substance might have been inhaled (to find out what all the fuss was about) and the result was being oh so “far out and groovy” that all motor skills were gone and as a result the record was unable to be flipped over to side 2!. So no, one does not need drugs to experience the music, in fact it could be avoided :)
I also agree with you that the best music to come from the Psychedelic state of mind was the last half of the 60s. After that period, people had tuned in, turned on and dropped out to the point that Psychedelic rock bloated into what would become Prog rock (where unfortunately you probably did need to be on drugs, if only to tolerate 30 minutes of musical noodling and belly button fluff gazing in the non-ending solos).
But we will forever have that small, 5 year window of the last half of the 1960s. The time that gave us some of the best music of ALL time and in my view, most of it is yet to be beaten. I cannot wait for future instalments.
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Great comments, wonsworld - thank you!
Those were times of the beginnings of serious awakening for so many. Drugs like pot and LSD (especially LSD) were an ultra profound experience as in the exposure of presumptions one had held previous to the experience. A realization that ‘we’ are “it” so to speak, and as such was unforgettable, not to mention challenging. The age of those participating were on the younger side of my age 27 in 1969 but we were drawn to the experience by the music and the spiritual culture from which it seemed to have spawned: a lifelong influence.
Thanks for your thoughtful in-depth approach to this important musical era !!
Thanks for commenting, Charles!
There is so much more than my reflex reaction but the two big things that come first to my mind are the swirly sound effects and, in view of the fact that the first songs to come to mind, 'Tomorrow Never Knows', 'Blue Jay Way' and 'It's All Too Much', seem to indicate to me that drone is important. I love a good droney piece that goes on for a bit.
You need to take drugs to get it? I'll take a couple aspirin, put on 'Within You Without You' and rocket right into fricken orbit. Oh I'm there! I'm there!
For greg's sake, I'm not bloody interested in bloody chemical refreshment aids. What the hell!!!
@@Amadeusthegreat100 - Pop really needs to clean up the spammers. I've already reported three or four of the names. DON'T REPLY so they don't get paid.
I'm going to love this series since I've always loved that music. Whether I was under the influence or not. If I was, it enhanced the experience. If I wasn't, I was transcended into that state through the music. It was a win - win situation, and there's nothing wrong with that!
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Well said, MusicManiac!
I managed a record store in Houston from 1978 to 1983. Love your videos. Kind regards Scott AKA et2petty. Armenia City In the Sky-The Who, A Love Supreme-Miles Davis, Happenings Ten Years Time Ago-Yardbirds, Legend of a Mind-Moody Blues....etc
Thanks for watching, Scott! Much appreciated.
@@popgoesthe60s52 ruclips.net/video/GfkmPAACpJI/видео.html Madison Sq Grdn Night of the Hurricane
Legend of a Mind 👍
One of my favorite things to listen to is the hours long mixes on RUclips of Grateful Dead improvisations. Bending the rules of music theory and time keeping is on the right track.
In the pre-internet age I was looking for psychedelic 60s music and I got the psychedelic years by Rhino, a good collection but there were only few songs I considered as psychedelic. Turns out the second edition on the 3rd disk it had the far-out section and that is where there was really psychedelic music like country, joe and fish, united states of america and so on. And also I later found out quite some great psychedelic songs are by quite well known artists (I can go for miles, eight miles high, we love you, lucy in the sky)
It is interesting the difference between the originators of a style and those jumping on the bandwagon for monetary or "being hip" reasons. As a guy in the SF Bay Area when it was happening it was easy to tell which is which.
Also there was a big difference between US and UK psychedelic music which I hope you explore later.
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Great explanation! Spot on! 👍🏻
As always, Matt, another fab video! "Psychedelic" to me has always felt like that brief period from late 1966 to early 1968, and I think your criteria helps differentiate it from other terrific 60's music style such as Baroque and Sunshine Pop (and I think we know there are examples where these styles and sounds seem to overlap), though I'd leave out criteria #9 as I don't think it's necessary. That said, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" ticks all the boxes, and remains the #1 Psychedelic song of all time - I will leave the remaining 9 spots on the top ten to be advised by all the other viewers of "Pop Goes the 60s". Many thanks, Terry (from Australia).
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Microdose _what_ exactly? LOL. BTW, that's not a Type of substance, but rather an Amount of something! 🤦🏻♂️ FFS...
Thanks Terry!
A music that takes you out of yourself and presents the listener with a hitherto unknown experience. I would class The Incredible String Band as psychedelic. Thanks Matt, great topic and breakdown.
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Nice video, as this is a hair-splitting topic. I have always thought of the Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" from 1966 as highly psychedelic and Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" from '67 mainly because of the lyrics. Surprisingly, Kenny Rogers' First Edition checked all of the psychedelic boxes with "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" from '68. Crazy lyrics and instrumentation. A little-known psych gem is '67's "Shifting Sands" by the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.
Thanks for the comments, Alan! You mentioned some classics.
The first three you mentioned are probably my top three as well. Best all time psychedelic song title of all time has to go to Strawberry Alarm Clock for 'Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow". That must have been a fun day.
I agree with you and thanks for the reminder of Just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in. Loved whiter shade of Pale.
So, you got stuck at number 9…number 9…number 9…
Pretty “trippy” coincidence.
Keep up the great work!
For me the word psychedelic immediately brings three songs , The Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows, Jimi Hendrix' s version of All Along the Watchtower and The Rolling Stones' She's Like a Rainbow. Lots of others of course but for me these three do the job.
The whole Satanic majestic album from the Stones is so pyschedelic and trippy
@@niggato23 underrated psychedelic album
Tomorrow Never Knows, Time has come Today, Mind Gardens, Paper Sun, We Love You, Are you Experienced? and Interstellar Overdrive pretty much sum up what psychedelic music is to me. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. My favourite genre for sure.
Time Has Come Today 11:04 Freak Out Version 👍
@@erniericardo8140 Oh definitely. It's THE version.
How could I forget Dive into Yesterday by Kaleidoscope. Sublime. AND White Rabbit. ✌️✌️✌️
Hi Matt! I think the Beatles' album "Rubber Soul" is the beginning of Beatles' psychedelic music. John Lennon said he took LSD hundreds of times taking it, and of course, marijuana also influenced their music. Those who took LSD, like "Hawkwind", when recording or performing (except for Lemmy, who only took amphetamines) showed that they could perform and keep the energy flowing during their performances.
I agree, I think you can even find early signs The Beatles were heading towards this direction on Beatles For Sale and in Ticket to Ride.
who are you?
Are you the same persona as William Pool, Maryann Perez, Natasha Walker, or Pete Trips? Why are you spamming almost every message on this thread.? I checked out one of your webpages and all it was, was a webpage you could subscribe to, with absolutely nothing going on anywhere on site. I don't get it. Why bother to message almost everyone here unasked to, when all you have is bad grammar, empty promises, and weird blank webpages. Wonders never cease.
Lemmy also partook of the constant stream of acid punch!
I enjoyed this video too, Matt. Great work! I believe you checked every box. Certainly, the Grateful Dead album Anthem of the Sun fits that catagory.
I think any song that has a significant amount of phasing, distorted vocals, swirly swishy sounds and floating stereo is quintessential psychedelia. Itchycoo Park by the Small Faces, Armenia city in the sky by the who are the best examples
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No I don't consider Itchycoo Park psychedelia.
Wow. This is a harder question than I'd ever thought about before.
A great album of the psychedelic genre would be The Seeds Future it’s a very underrated album.
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Wow. Huge topic and great question! I've been fascinated for years with the influence of LSD on music in the 60's. I remember watching a RUclips of the Beach Boys doing 'California Girls.' It was a simple set with a scaffold around which the band was scattered, and all around the set were bikini clad girl dancers. This all-American Beach Boys look was far from psychedelic, yet I somehow felt the LSD influence radiating off of the video. I couldn't figure out why the video was feeling so acid drenched to me. I did some research and discovered that Brian Wilson's first acid experience was around the time of the production of this video. Wilson wasn't exactly a psychedelic pioneer and only tripped a handful of times. But the other band members probably did so in notable quantities. I'm not able to verify that but I'll have to assume it since so many of the jetsetters by then were getting their hands on this new, unusual drug, it seems it was likely. I remember feeling, while watching that video, that everyone on the set was tripping balls. I cannot even say why I felt this way.
To me, that which we call 'psychedelic' is embedded inside the zeitgeist of the era. All attempts at neo-psychedelia seemed to lack a certain spirit that the original style was imbued in. There were attempts from the 80's on up until today to make a 'psychedelic sound.' I think these attempts, while cool, musical and interesting to listen to, simply do not have the same spirit as in those days when, to take a trip was a bold, new, exciting and scary experience. There was a newness to it that simply couldn't be captured in later years. It's the same as trying to relive one's childhood. You can't go back.
It seems that a line has to be drawn between out-and-out psychedelic music and music that was 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 by the psychedelic experience. For example, you get the sly term, "Sunshine Pop," where the performers, while dressed in highly stylized and bold psychedelic patterns and colors, took on a wholesome, 'good American kids' type of appeal. To whit: The Fifth Dimension.
What I mean to say is, you can take the song 'Up, Up and Away,' considered to be Sunshine Pop and pretty much say that it's not overtly psychedelic. Or would you? Not sure. But the term itself runs in two directions: "Sunshine" referring to the happy feeling one gets on a sunlit summer day but also referring to the brand of acid, 'Orange Sunshine.' The song Up, Up and Away, definitely suggests a few psychedelic influenced references: Going up in a balloon can be a metaphor for getting high. The balloon imagery itself can be thought of as looking like a pill.
I did some research on Jim Webb, the composer of the song. I couldn't nail down if he was taking big quantities of LSD at the time he wrote this but I did catch a quote from him saying that around that time he was 'partying like crazy.' In those days "partying" implied not just drinking but smoking weed and taking acid. So I have to assume that by the time the song was written, Jim Webb was well familiar with the experience.
You can't say that on its face that Up, Up and Away is a psychedelic song yet it's is clearly influenced by the acid experience. My biggest interest is in how the songwriters became more and more bold in their expression of new and unusual chord progressions. This, I think, is because the LSD experience took us out of our comfort zone and got us used to an altered interpretation of reality itself.
In music there's the term 'modulation' which means going to a different key. Modulations were happening like crazy during this period. From Mrs. Robinson to California Dreamin' to Dr. Robert. The musical equivalent to bright, psychedelic colors in musical terms would be in modulation itself. But that in itself simply cannot define the psychedelic sound if at all. When we take songs like Tomorrow Never Knows or Within You And Without You, they are both psychedelic without question, but these songs do the very opposite of modulation. They stay on one chord. The drone sound.
I think that, when the composers weren't playing with interesting chord movements to get the reality bending effect, they relied on musical texture: sitars, tape loops, sound effects, etc. A question arises here as well: are the Beatles themselves responsible for the psychedelic sound in music. After all, had George Harrison not been in love with all things India and especially its music, it's highly doubtful that the sitar sound would have entered the psychedelic arena. It truly was a number a magical components and incredible serendipity that started the psychedelic musical sound.
Bottom line though, to me, psychedelic music is bound by the context of its times.
Hey Vin. The California Girls intro was composed during his first acid trip. One of the great intros of the era.
I agree that this music is hard to separate from the times it comes from. Listening so called psychedelic music from the 1990s or today merely sounds like 90s music or contemporary music with no meaning around them other that the song itself. They don’t seem “written from a time.” Just written and floating out there.
The psychedelic sound became a style of production and craftsmanship that served many songs well until it became a fad. And you are right - any attempts to recreate this sound or spirit fails outside of that time period. Songs like Up, Up and Away was taken to another level with the production style that was rapidly progressing. I can’t imagine it sounding nearly as good had it been recorded in 1964.
Some songs seem to communicate a psychedelic feeling more than others and its hard to pinpoint the reasons why. Basically, and I know this is not very “hippie”, but the more boxes of criteria that are checked, the more psychedelic the song is. I dislike saying it that way but I think the discussion of “what is psych” has be viewed from outside personal perspective, otherwise everything becomes psychedelic - the postmodern view - where there is no truth only personal perception. See: gender 2022!
Defining psychedelia is no small task. There are so many theories. I used Richard Morton Jack’s book endless trip as the Bible. So much in there isn’t really psychedelic. Lots of pop, blues and garage. But that’s my litmus test. Though? I like the Charlatans. Their cover of Codeine is fire.
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Stellar episode, Matt 👏👏👏
Tommy James and the Shondells, "Crimson and Clover" was really psychedelic imo.
Cellophane Symphony 👍
Especially the extended version
This guy sounds like Stanley J Krammerhead III Sr in The Rutles.
New Wave (c. 1977-1983) has the same fuzzy distinction. Sometimes a single instrument can identify the genre as you mention with the sitar. I consider anything with a mellotron is usually psychedelic. Anything with a farfisa organ is usually new wave. However, the way you expand the definition hit more of the marks than just the intrumentation and production. An expanded definition for other genres, like new wave, could certainly take from your example.
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Yes, I remember a time when EVERYTHING was called 'new wave' simply because it came from a distinct time period.
Nothing to really add to the discussion... just feel this is such a great channel! Thank you for all you're doing... as one who grew up in the 60's... I find these episodes sorta soothing to my soul. Not sure if that makes any sense. Maybe it's the music reminds me of my youth... my mom and dad, my younger siblings, the places we lived... etc. To have your insights into it all it adds a visceral side or content with those experiences. Very cool... very, very cool! Blessings of all your efforts!
I accept blessings - thank you Ken!
My definition is a bit more generalized -- any piece of music that promotes, reflects or attempts to recreate a higher state of consciousness. Some drugs (opiates) don't do that, so I don't use that as a criteria. But as you say, all definitions are subjective, which is as it should be. I'm a big fan of psychedelic music and philosophy, though I've never taken a psychedelic drug myself.
I think cannabis had as much an influence on the scene as acid did
I like your definition. I was going to say it was music that simulated or enhanced a psychedelic experience. Part of that would be musical elements such as drone tones and trance-style music with ostinato motifs that vary slightly in an atmospheric sense.
A challenging topic Matt. I think your 9 categories check all the relevant boxes on the subject. Full disclosure. I never tried the "Dreaded Lysergic'. Mushrooms was as close as I ever got. Under its influence, everything seems psychedelic. Once we rolled a cassette tape and jammed . We thought we'd reached a new level in our growth as a band. In reality it was abysmal. Psychedelia is a state of mind and thus difficult to quantify. You just know it when you hear it. Gotta split the scene man, RNB
Thanks for the comments, Rick!
Any chance of doing an exploration of Lee Hazlewood with or without Nancy Sinatra ! Some great songs. Between the two of them for sure, somewhat psychedelic and I sure like the production, arrangement of songs and just the sound of the songs, thanks Matt 🏴🤘🇬🇧
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I agree - Some Velvet Morning is a good example. I would love to do them in the future.
You don't want to get me started on Lee Hazlewood! There is a reason he was called "the genius". I have been a major fan of his music since he first produced Duane Eddy, have every LP that he was associated with, and I totally disagree with his self-deprecating opinion that he couldn't sing.
I like the psychedelic montage heading into the segment
Thank you! I love making those.
The Kinks "See My Friends" stands as a formidable ground zero for psychedelic music. No gimmickry. The drone,chanted vocals and serious otherworldly atmosphere point to the future. Months later I guess the Who cut "The Goods Gone" with a similar droning riff. And at the same time,Jeff Beck was experimenting with noise and Eastern tones with The Yardbirds.
A personal favorite. Incredible song.
The first raga guitar in Rock!
"She Said", "Within You Without You", "Come Together", "In the Court of the Crimson King"
The Dukes of Stratosphear (1985 and a disguise for XTC)25'0 Clock is an incredible psychedelic album.
That album is a homage to very popular songs/bands
Almost to the point of a cliche. Good album, given the temporal displacement of the embellishments, but at times it sounds forced. I prefer the _United States of Existence_ from the same underground psychedelic revival period of the mid-late '80s.
Some people - think it's the best thing the band ever did.
@@LannieLord Y'know I'm with you. I bought the album in 1985 and never stopped listening to it. I's that kind of album...addictive.
I wish they did a TOUR as the Dukes. @@Uniblab8
In the Song "Mother's Little Helper" the little Yellow Pill that they're talking about is Valium 5 mg not Amphetamine!!!
Love this one, had so many of these Matt - good to see Fever Tree get a mention. Much is in the ear of the beholder and many reviewers classify albums as psychedelia when they're just rock/blues based. As an Englishman from that time would just giggle at the inclusion of Donovan for example. For me there's Beefheart, Country Joe, Love, Arthur Brown, The Electric Prunes and Kaleidoscope as well as your mentions. Is the much-loved Moby Grape first album really psychedelic, though the band drug-fuelled?
Thanks Bob - I had been planning this one for a long time.
There's a couple Donovan psych tracks. I've got tons of Beefheart and only found 2 or 3 psych tracks, mostly from "Strictly Personal", I've got all 4 Love albums and not a psych track on any of them! Arthur Brown's got a couple. Which kaleidoscope? There were at least 4 of them at the same time! Really? Moby Grape is psych?? They're just another country rock band like The Dreadful Great! "Omaha" and "Horse Out In The Rain" are the only psych tracks I've found from them.
@@RedVynil I don't consider Moby Grape a psych band. The problem is that bands that formed during the mid-late '60s are often lumped into the 'psychedelic' genre because, well, that was during the psychedelic era at its peak. It's unfortunate but that happens.
@@jamesaron1967 Except for one or two songs, neither do I. From what I've been seeing the past dozen or so years, ANYTHING made in the `60's is considered psych!! Conway Twitty? Yeah! Great psych, there!! Lawrence Welk? The best psych you ever heard!!
I've picked up so MANY "psych" comps in the past 30 years only to find that about 75 to 90% of the stuff on each one isn't psych at all!! I LIKE garage but, if I'm BUYING psych, I WANT PSYCH, NOT garage!!
And, I've heard SO MANY people say this or that album was a great psych record and then, I go to listen to it and it's not psych at all!! Obviously, people don't know what psych is! Just because there's a fuzzy guitar and odd lyrics, that doesn't automatically make it a psych record. I'm looking for the stuff that makes you see things BEFORE you take the drugs!
@@RedVynil LOL, yeah, I've been noticing the mislabelling occurring with increasing frequency the past few years. Why that is the case is anyone's guess. Some people are speaking of resurgent interest in all things psychedelic, especially From gen Z which I find very odd. If indeed true that could explain it.
There's another point I'd want to express about this theme, although I really don't have certain if it has really a link. For me, there are songs from the end of the sixties and beginning of the seventies that have in common (in my opinion) a climate and arrangement that somehow evokes a psychedelic air. Songs like: Paul and Linda McCartney's "Uncle Albert" ; The Rolling Stones' "Let it loose"; Bread's "Games of magic"; The Doobie Brothers' "Toulouse street"; "Fleetwood Mac's "Show me a smile"; Lovin' Spoonfull's "Coconut grove"; Blind Faith's "Can't find my way home"; among others from that period. These songs bring a curious feeling of isolation and self-communion; and these states of mind I think been anyhow associates with a psychedelic. Probably I'm wrong, but I'd want to share these ideas. By the way, even in Erik Satie's compositions from the 1900s, like "Gymnopedie 1" or "Gymnopedie 2" I find some points with the same feeling.
Tomorrow Never Knows was my first introduction to what I would label as mind bending. They really paved the genre. Then came the SF groups who were delighting in their power to influence. Thanks for your investigation into to the evolution of this music Nitch.
Don't forget the Brits.
On a history of rock documentary co produced by the BBC and PBS, Phil Lesh said someone at a record store pulled him in off the street to play him Tomorrow Never Knows and it it blew his mind.
@@allenf.5907 Only a few psychedelic brits
A terrific and (don't take this the wrong way) sober tour of psychedelic music properties. It came off as somewhat odd when you mentioned "a CD". I remember when those came out absent the imperfections your elders learned to live with, but I claim that Vinal and Vacuum Tubes are important to the sound. People will argue about which vacuum tubes, but I say the sound level should be enough to span the load line of the tube/amp.
Interesting and well thought dissection of the "psychedelic" concept....I agree with al the 9 criteria and would humbly suggest as a 10th one the integration of the sonic experience with a visual one such as a non conformist cover/packaging/presentation (ie Sgt.Pepper's) or a visual component added like Pink Floyd used (light and colour show) in a live concert. Very interesting topic indeed, thanks Matt! I concur that music should be produced and consumed with a clear mind...the psychedelic "experience" should come/go from/to the soul/heart.
Yes, I did think of the artwork that often accompanied this music but I wanted to just keep the focus on the music. Probably a good part 2 video topic!
Hey Matt. I've been listening to 60s psych music for 35+ years and I think you are spot on. What was considered psychedwlic in the 60s became a very broad category and included numerous styles. Your inclusion of the Carlatana is a erfect example. Many psych 'purists' wouldn't consider them psychedelic but they were. I think your 10th point could be personal interpretation, as you pointed out very well wirh how the Booker T song produces a personal psyxhede experience for you. Lookimg forward to your new explorations of this topic. Keep up the great work!
Hey Brian - thank you for commenting! More to come.
Forgot to include my introductio to psychedelic music was Incense and Peppermints by Strawberry Alarm Clock. Got a best of como of the band's music and the rest is history.
Matt, have you heard about the CIA involvement in the 60s counter culture, particularly the laurel canyon hippie/freak scene?
Yes.
@@popgoesthe60s52 what's your take on that?
Spot-on assessment, Matt. Having spent my teen years in the 60s I concur with every point you made. My vote for the most psychedelic song of all time is "Tomorrow Never Knows" because it contains every element you listed (and, besides, it's the Beatles!). I'd love for you to make a video about the Bee Gees in the 60s era. Too many think of them as disco ducks but their early LPs were very adventurous and, yes, often they included some very psychedelic tunes. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Flirolas, I do plan a 60s Bee Gees video so stay tuned!
@@popgoesthe60s52 I know you'll do a great job. Like always.
I agree, loved the 60s BeeGees
Tough call... "Rain" and "I'm Only Sleeping" are pretty trippy Beatles tunes too... "Tomorrow Never Knows" has always been a bit too brash for my tastes.
@@popgoesthe60s52 A big YES to a Bee Gees 60s analysis, which is when I first listened to them.