Rabz’ Radio Show Rocktober 2022: Psychedelia


This is my favourite musical genre. As various R&B purveyors in the sixties got a bit older, they started experimenting with illicit substances other than amphetamines, such as THC, LSD, mescaline and psilocybin.

Consequently, the music became far more complex (and occasionally extremely self-indulgent) and was meant to reflect an alternate consciousness, if getting totally off your face on the aforementioned substances could be dignified with such a term. See for example, the difference in musical style between Help and Rubber Soul, recorded after the Beatles had recently experienced Mary Jane (courtesy of one Bob Dylan) and LSD. Syd Barrett, the founder of and key initial figure in Pink Floyd was a salutary example of what happens when too much LSD is barely enough.    

The Psychedelic style has remained a musical staple since the late sixties, nonetheless. The definitive (for me) record of 1967’s (northern) “Summer of Love” was the Monterey Pop Festival, so gloriously essayed in the D A Pennebaker film – although the standout performance is by Otis Redding, who was most certainly not a purveyor of Psychedelia. Various movies of the time also sought to explore the “altered consciousness” concept, including “The Trip” and “Vanishing Point”, not to mention “Easy Rider”.

Some of my favourite examples of the genre post the sixties include Naz Nomad and the Nightmares and the Dukes of Stratosphear (the Damned and XTC respectively). Primal Scream also mined the genre with their 1997 epic, “Vanishing Point” (named after the film), which included an awesome homage to Syd Barrett, “Burning Wheel”.

The other wonderful thing about Psychedelia is the fashion style and the instruments. Stoves, suede Chelsea boots, paisley shirts, mop top haircuts, granny glasses, suede fringed or Levi’s jackets, mellotrons and twelve string guitars (hello, Rickenbackers).  

Some other bands and artists that have dabbled in the genre include:

The Byrds

Jimi

Jefferson Airplane

The Dandy Warhols

The Church

Barely scratching the surface. No doubt there are many artists, bands and songs that will be posted by Cats this evening. Now again, comes the hard part – picking two intro songs. Let’s have some local flavour:

The Church (1981)

The Moffs (1984)

Enjoy, Cats!


114 responses to “Rabz’ Radio Show Rocktober 2022: Psychedelia”

1 2
  1. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    Rabz – The Incredible String Band. Many lost nights on this and other stuff in the sixties.

    Very psychedelic

  2. johanna Avatar
    johanna

    Creeping back, as usual.

  3. Anchor What Avatar
    Anchor What

    Sorry, I accidentally reported a comment.
    And if a six, turns out to be nine,
    I don’t mind.

  4. Anchor What Avatar
    Anchor What

    Lizzie, you can come to our place out near your childhood places any time. Never mind the grinch of QBN.

  5. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    Rabz is a friend of mine.
    And of the ole Hairy Cap’n Beefheart fan.
    Who can’t stand the Incredible String Band.
    I can’t stand them either these days either and many other bands were better.
    But under acid and stoned to the eyeballs, back then, another story.
    Even more than in seventies, for the psych-sixties, you had to be there.
    Once Upon a Time in Hollywood indeed.

    Thanks Anchor What.

  6. Louis Litt Avatar
    Louis Litt

    Good to see ya back lizzie

  7. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    Hardly ‘back’, Louis Litt, thanks though. I’m on holidays in Pacifica, the New World of the multi-racial multi-ethnic Pacific and just dropped by to say hello to Rabz, my buddie on his own thread, whom I’m pleased to see is in a good place in his life right now, and because the whingey old Incredible String Band, endpoint of many a stoned psychedelic sixties party, hadn’t had a mention.

    So easy to forget how boring psychedelia became. 🙂

  8. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    By 1973 under Mike Oldfield it turned to spooky horrorshow: Tubular Bells.

  9. Louis Litt Avatar
    Louis Litt

    Oh shucks Lizzie, you can call we Luigi

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