Psychedelic Rock--Drugs! |
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"As the rhythms, harmonies and melodies became freer, so too did the audience become freer, more experimental. No. It was the other way around Popular music-Rock and Roll- was still reflecting the action and philosophy of youth." --p.105 Rock Story
Jefferson Airplane
Jimi Hendrix |
Acid rock came out because of the hippies. Normally when you think of hippies you think "peace man". And that's sort of what they were. The hippies were mainly white middle class, and voluntarily poor. This was because they were fighting against the materialistic American culture that they had been raised on. They pushed for individual expression and love.
The hippies began in San Francisco in a place called Haight-Ashbury. This is where many of the psychedelic bands like Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead came out of. They had a whole little hippie colony set up where they lived as they wanted. When Jefferson Airplane became famous with their song "Somebody to Love," the rest of the nation began to notice Haight-Ashbury. The hippies then turned to hallucinogenic drugs to enhance their "individual potentials". Drugs like Marijuana and LSD were used by most hippies. Timothy Leary, an ex-Harvard professor, known as the guru of LSD, encouraged people to "turn on, tune in, and drop out." The music that was popular at this time was known as "Acid Rock", because of all the drugs being used. Many acid musicians got their start from folk music. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead got inspired by Joan Baez. Other Acid Rock bands included the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and Jimi Hendrix. Acid Rock songs contained extended guitar solos, guitar distortion and feedback, and mixes of blues and country. Many consider the music and protests of the 60s to be some of the most exciting times for youth and rock... [an error occurred while processing this directive] |