Music During the Sixties Essay Example
Music During the Sixties Essay Example

Music During the Sixties Essay Example

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  • Pages: 5 (1368 words)
  • Published: April 25, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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What do we know about the psychedelic music in the sixties? Robert Fontenot, (Fontenot, 2007) tells us, “When I talk about psychedelic rock, I don’t mean hippie music (like Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, etc.) at all, I mean the all-too-few records produced be teenage bands in the short time between their discovery of hallucinogenic drugs and the end of their particular line of rock evolution.”Robert Fontenot offers a look into psychedelic music in the era of the sixties through the eyes of another when he mentions the use of drugs during this time period that began the rock era of music which hallucinogenic drugs were a main source of entertainment for young people of the sixties and tells us that psychedelic music is nothing like the music that the hippies listened to but was sounds that led to abundant drug use.

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Many things were legal during the sixties that wouldn’t be today, because that old era was marked by free style music and free love. Psychedelic music used words that made the imagination grow and caused young teenagers to imagine bright colors and brilliant pictures that would be directly connected to the meaning of the definition of psychedelic.We learn on Rock Music of the Sixties that, (Rock Music 60’s, 2007) “Rock Music became the most important medium for defining and coalescing the new hippie aesthetic, and the style that emerged with the brilliant, swirling colors and having imagery was called psychedelic.”The colors during the time of the sixties seemed to represent the people during this time and their thoughts about life.

Bright colors were used by teenagers, not only in their clothes but in the words of

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the songs and music that they listened to. Psychedelic shirts were worn by teenagers during this time as they listened to music groups that sang about a colorful world and the teenagers were drawn to this theme based on psychedelic colors.We also learn from that same page that, “the first psychedelic bands came from San Francisco: The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company and others; but it was not long before the psychedelic aesthetic spread to musical groups in New York such as The Fugs and the Velvet Underground, to soul groups such as Sly and the Family Stone and the Chamber Brothers, and to England where the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and others began producing albums of psychedelic music, often with overtly psychedelic covers.”The psychedelic era was started by different music groups and then other groups began to use the psychedelic fad in their own works and this enlarged the fan groups who were interested in the whole colorful picture of that era.There is a site that shows many of the album covers that were a part of the psychedelic music, where you can view many of the pictures that represented that type of music.

(Vinyl Kiosk, 2007) It says, “Welcome to this online gallery of record covers from the psychedelic music era. This page contains recommended records from lesser known bands from various countries.”Much of the sixties era was directly linked to music which offered an escape for people because they were able to listen to the psychedelic music that lifted their moods and provided entertainment.(Psychedelic Music, 2007) We learn that “Psychedelic music has its roots in the sixties.

But since then, many tunes have been composed and many musicians and fans still live with the old ideals. Also young people share our love for strange tunes and try to expand their mind with the help of music. The sound became more dynamic and more electronic I think.”We are shown that the teenagers could communicate through this style of music and were able to open up their thoughts by the aid of the psychedelic music.

This style of music reached a broad audience of listeners and they joined together by their love for this colorful era and the music that marked it.We are also told that, “There are many different kinds of psychedelic music from dreamy fairytales to hard stoner.The different styles of psychedelic music ranges from slow paced to something harder and affected the moods of people by the beat of the music. The slower music offered a softer rhythm which gave a more peaceful feeling, while the hard stoner music was listened to those who needed something with a heavier beat.Psychedelic music was a major part of the sixties style of music. Very bright colored songs and music truly marked this old era.

You can still hear this type of music by visiting antique stores and places that offer vintage music. The covers of the music are still available to view, in order to get a clearer image of this psychedelic music.Acid rock is another word that refers to psychedelic music of the sixties. Other styles of psychedelic rock include psychedelic pop; psychedlic folk, phychedelic trance and psychedelic techno. There are also more but they all have similar themes that connect them to

the same colorful sixties music.

Psychedelic music offered a peaceful and serene setting for its listeners. It was an experience that was often described as an out of body experience where the words of the songs and strange musical tones were so enriching that it made possible for such a peaceful atomosphere that many teenagers were caught up in the feeling of the music and it changed the way they thought about life and society.Woodstock was a music and arts festival that featured many musical artist who performed on stage for a large crowd of young people who were caught up in the psychedelic tunes. Woodstock is well remembered for the huge gathering where the audience witnessed and experienced the peacefulness of the atmosphere which was given by the serene music.Some of the bands performed music that was considered more psychedelic than other bands and albums, such as Country Joe and the Fish, Angel’s Egg and the Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Flloyd. These bands were clearly psychedelic styles of music that were original.

Rock music had it’s own psychedelic music and it was known as psychedlic rock music by its listeners. Jerry Garcia was an example of a psychedelic music performer who wore flashy bright clothing and sang offering a creative style that many fans found fascinating.Early music performed by the Grateful Dead, which featured Jerry Garcia, in the middle of the sixties was a huge part of the original psychedelic move into music. They played at dances that were of the theme of psychedelic. They also played at parks and block parties where many people gathered in one area to participate in

this free style of music that offered love and peace to all.Some people refer to psychedelic music as a style which is mind-altering.

It is described as a means to unload burdens of the day and mental stress in exchange for vivid imagery which is called total relaxation to many.Many of the individuals who listened to the sixties psychedelic music also were involved with heavy drugs, such as LSD that was legal in that era, and many teenagers and young adults took part in these drugs as they listened to the colorful music and escaped normal and everyday concerns.The majority of people who was influenced by psychedelic music were those who listened to folk and jazz music. They were inspired by the psychedelic movement in music and adopted the ways of the bands and singers.The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, were a group that performed psychedelic music for their audience members and their early performance was dated back to their album cover which was dated, 1966.

These performers were heavily involved in the psychedelic trend and contributed much success to the fans who adored the psychedelic sounds of their music.The sixties offered many vivid pictures in our minds as we visualize the sixties era that was full of psychedelic music and young people who were searching for something entirely different than what they were used to in society. Psychedelic music marked the sixties as a unique time in musical history. 

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