Transcript Chapter 10: Psychedelic Rock

Chapter 10 – Psychedelic Rock
“LSD is Western yoga. The aim of all Eastern
religion, like the aim of LSD, is basically to get
high; that is, to expand your consciousness and
find ecstasy and revelation within.”
Dr. Timothy Leary
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Psychedelic Rock
Late sixties experimentation and innovation influenced by
Beat writings by Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Gregory
Corso, and others
Claims that America is not the “land of the free,” but rather a
hypocritical, oppressive society that despised and legislated
against those who rejected conventional morality and
chose nontraditional lifestyles
Cool jazz by Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Chico Hamilton and
others supported the Beat writers’ readings of their work
Beat movement strong in New York and San Francisco
San Francisco favored for some Beats and musicians because
of lax enforcement of drug laws and good, cheap, California
wine
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The San Francisco Sound
Hippie culture for peace, free love, and nonmaterialism
Use of LSD common
Musicians tried to recreate the effects of LSD through long
instrumental improvisations
Existentialism and Beat writings influenced a sense of
alienation from society
Many refused to enter the military to fight in Vietnam, required
jail or leaving the country
1967 in San Francisco declared the Summer of Love by those
who attended outdoor concerts and “love ins”
San Francisco based bands associated with this thinking:
The Grateful Dead
Big Brother and the Holding company (with Janis Joplin)
The Jefferson Airplane
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Listening Guide
“Dark Star” by the Grateful Dead (1970)
Tempo: Begins at 88 beats per minute, four beats per bar, but
tempo varies as improvisation progresses
Form: Through-composed, no regular sections, but a continuous
spinning out of improvised music
Features: Begins silent with volume gradually being turned up
after group has been playing
Instruments enter gradually, bass and guitar, then drums,
rhythm guitar, organ, maracas
Some harmonized vocals near the end
Recording lasts over 23 minutes
Lyrics: Short vocal phrases suggest visual effects when one
watches a “dark star” crash… Reflections and diamonds are
parts of the images.
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Listening Guide
“Uncle John’s Band“ by the Grateful Dead (1970)
Tempo: 132 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar for most of the recording, but
some 3-beat bars
Form: 8-bar instrumental introduction, followed by sections of varying
lengths: AABCCAACBDCB
Last C section is preceded by silence and sung a cappella (without
instruments)
Features: Even beat subdivisions
Backbeat played softly on wood block
Instruments include strummed acoustic guitars, electric bass, and Latin
percussion instruments the guiro, maracas, claves, and conga drums
The harmonized group vocals include two voices above the main melody, a
country influence
Lyrics: The lyrics stress virtuous living and ask the listener to go with the
singers to visit “Uncle John’s Band” by the riverside, a suggestion of
Christian baptism
Charts: Pop, #69
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Listening Guide
“White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane (1967)
Tempo: 104 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: Five 12-bar sections, the first instrumental, the last with
an extension
Features: Opening with soft, regular beat on bass
Drums enter at 3rd bar, guitar at 5th bar
Recording gradually gets louder to Grace Slick’s almost
screaming repetitions of “Feed your head” at the end
Spanish flavor is added by a bolero rhythm and use of
Phrygian mode, often used in flamenco music
Lyrics: Imagery drawn from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
and Through the Looking Glass creating a general sensory
disorientation of space and time as a connection to drug use
Charts: Pop, #8
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Psychedelic Rock beyond San Francisco
The Doors (centered in Venice Beach, L.A.)
Jim Morrison (1943-1971), singer, songwriter, poet
Ray Manzarek (born in 1939), keyboard player
Robby Krieger (born in 1946), guitarist, songwriter
John Densmore (born in 1944), drums
Morrison’s problems touring, drug and alcohol abuse
Arrest in Miami (1969)
Death in Paris
Current group, Doors of the 21st Century includes Manzarek and
Krieger of the original Doors
In England, Pink Floyd was both progressive and psychedelic
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Listening Guide
“Light My Fire“ by the Doors (1967)
Tempo: 126 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: 5-bar introduction, then ABAB with 8-bar A’s and 7-bar B’s, improvised
instrumental section 145 bars long, then repeat of ABAB and an
extension
The long instrumental section features organ for 70 bars, then guitar with
organ next 70 bars, then a repeat of the 5-bar introduction
B sections function as a refrain with the same lyrics each time
Features: Even beat subdivisions
Backbeat played by drums, stronger in the B sections than the A ones
Bass lines are played on the organ
Lyrics: The singer asks a girl to help him get as high as possible, both sex and
drugs are hinted at as part of the trip
Charts: Pop, #1 for three weeks, British hits, #49
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Jimi Hendrix
(1942-1970), guitarist, singer, songwriter
Formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience in London,
debuted in U.S. at Monterey Pop Festival
(1967)
Broke up Experience in 1969, moved back to U.S. and
worked with a variety of musicians, including
Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell
Famous playing of “Star Spangled Banner” highlight of
Woodstock Festival in 1969
Drug-related death in 1970
Continuing influence on guitarists to follow
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Listening Guide
All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan (1968)
Tempo: 126 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: 8-bar sections, 2-bar chord progression with descending bass
line repeats throughout
Features: Even beat subdivisons
8-bar instrumental section includes strummed acoustic guitar,
harmonica, electric bass, and drums
No backbeat is accented
Dylan plays the harmonica during instrumental sections and
between vocal phrases
Lyrics: Various Biblical references indicate that outside forces are
coming to challenge the “city”
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Listening Guide
“All Along the Watchtower“ by Jimi Hendrix (1968)
Tempo: 116 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: The form of Dylan’s recording has been followed, except Hendrix
extends the instrumental section to 32 bars and adds a final
extension
Features: Even beat subdivisions, but vocals sometimes uneven
Instruments include a thick texture played by rhythm guitar, keyboard
instruments, electric bass, two drums, and congas
Drums and tambourine play a very strong backbeat
Instrumental sections and fills feature Jimi Hendrix’s distinctive and
colorful guitar style
Lyrics: Dylan’s lyrics are kept the same and even amplified through
repetitions of bits of phrases at the end of the recording
Charts: Pop, #20, British hits, #5
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Discussion Questions
Psychedelic drugs were used, at least in part, during
the sixties to help the user “drop out” of a society
that she or he disapproved of. What do young
adults do today when they disapprove of the
government or society in general?
Is music used to express that disapproval?
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