Psychedelic Rock and the New Age Movement

Psychedelic Rock and the New Age Movement – The two genres have a lot in common. Both were born in the late 1960s, both were associated with mind-altering drugs, and both were about expanding consciousness.

Psychedelic Rock

Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that was popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is characterized by its use of electronic instruments, unusual sound effects, and often-dissonant melodies. The genre was created by artists who were trying to explore the outer limits of rock music and were influenced by Eastern philosophies, drugs, and the counterculture of the time.

The Beatles

Psychedelic rock, also referred to as acid rock, is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s. Psychedelic rock is characterized by its use of distorted guitars, feedback, and extended solos. The genre is also often associated with a number of different musical styles including garage rock, folk rock, and blues rock.

The Beatles were one of the most influential bands of the psychedelic rock era. The group’s 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is often cited as one of the most important and influential albums of all time. The album’s title track and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” are both considered to be classic examples of psychedelic music.

The Grateful Dead is another band that was highly influential in the development of psychedelic rock. The group’s 1969 album Live/Dead is considered to be a masterwork of the genre. The album’s iconic cover artwork, which features a skeleton with roses for eyes, is often cited as an example of psychedelic art.

The New Age movement is often associated with psychedelic rock due to the shared use of mind-altering substances such as LSD and mushrooms. Many New Age musicians incorporate elements of Eastern mysticism and transcendental meditation into their music. CIA, a band led by musician Paul Kantner, is an example of a New Age group that was influenced by psychedelic rock.

The Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band was known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, and gospel. They also became renowned for their live performances, which were often improvisational and included lengthy jams.

The New Age Movement

Psychedelic rock, also known as acid rock, is a style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s. The music is intended to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs, most notably LSD.Psychedelic rock often relies on long jams, drone-like sounds, and heavily processed vocals. It is also sometimes characterized by a distorted, “fuzzy” sound.

Timothy Leary

Leary was an American psychologist and writer known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During the 1960s, he coined the phrase “turn on, tune in, drop out”. He also wrote several books, including The Psychedelic Experience (1964), which defined the four essentials of a psychedelic experience: set and setting; dosage; sacrament; anditual/method. By these four standards, Leary judged whether a drug experience would be positive or negative.

Carlos Castaneda

Castaneda was an anthropologist and author who wrote a series of bestselling books called The Teachings of Don Juan that document his purported apprenticeship with a Yaqui shaman named don Juan Matus. Castaneda’s work casts a psychedelic spell, wrapping readers in the world of sorcerer’s apprentice Carlos as he learns to navigate non-ordinary reality under don Juan’s tutelage. The pair journey through the southwestern landscape, encountering strange creatures, plants, and energies along the way.

The first book in the series, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, was published in 1968 and became an instant bestseller. It was followed by eight more books over the next three decades. Though they were marketed as nonfiction, many readers believed they were works of fiction. Others hailed them as revolutionary texts that expanded our understanding of human consciousness.

The New Age movement embraced Castaneda’s work, seeing in it a validation of their belief that mystical states of consciousness could be accessed through the use of psychedelics and other ” consciousness-expanding” techniques. New Age thinkers also found inspiration in Castaneda’s vision of a world where humans could live in harmony with nature.

The Connection Between Psychedelic Rock and the New Age Movement

Psychedelic rock, also known as psychedelia, is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the late 1960s. Psychedelic rock is inspired by the psychedelic culture of the time, which was characterised by the use of drugs such as LSD and psilocybin. The New Age movement is a spiritual movement that began in the 1960s. It is characterised by a belief in the power of the mind, and the use of practices such as meditation and yoga to achieve self-transcendence. There is a connection between psychedelic rock and the New Age movement, as they both emerged in the 1960s and share some common characteristics.

The Beatles and the New Age Movement

The Beatles and the New Age Movement are inextricably linked. The Fab Four’s final album, 1968’s The Beatles (commonly referred to as The White Album), included “Revolution 9,” an experimental track that featured tape loops and sounds from nature, as well as a spoken word section recited by John Lennon that included the lines “Number nine, number nine, number nine” and “Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream.” These elements would go on to become staples of the New Age movement.

The New Age movement was a spiritual, cultural, and social phenomenon that developed in the late 1960s and 1970s. It was characterized by a rejection of traditional Western values and an embrace of Eastern philosophies, Alternative medicine, Environmentalism, Feminism, Gay rights, Pacifism, and Pro-drug use. New Age music often featured minimal instrumentation and focused on creating a sense of relaxation or transcendence. The genre became increasingly popular in the 1980s and 1990s with the rise of artists like George Harrison (who released the album Wonderwall Music in 1968), Brian Eno (who helped pioneer ambient music with his 1975 album Discreet Music), and Steve Roach (who released his debut album Now in 1986).

While The Beatles’ connection to the New Age movement is often overlooked, it is important to remember that the band was hugely influential in shaping popular culture in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their influence can still be felt today in many aspects of modern life.

The Grateful Dead and the New Age Movement

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band was known for its unique and experimental style, which blended elements of psychedelia, folk, country, blues, and jazz. They were one of the most influential bands of the counterculture era and became synonymous with the hippie movement. The Dead were also closely associated with the New Age movement, particularly through their connection to author Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters.

The New Age movement is a spiritual and cultural movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s. It is characterized by a belief in the power of positive thinking and self-healing, and a focus on meditation and spirituality. The movement also promoted alternative health care practices such as massage therapy and acupuncture.

The Grateful Dead’s music often lent itself to hours-long improvisational jams, which New Age adherents saw as part of a larger quest for transcendence. The band’s performances were often seen as shamanic rituals that could induce altered states of consciousness. In fact, many Deadheads (the name given to diehard fans of the band) believe that the group’s music helped them to achieve spiritual insights and personal transformations.

Despite the strong connection between the Grateful Dead and the New Age movement, it should be noted that not all members of the band were supportive of or engage with the New Age scene. Bob Weir, for instance, was openly critical of what he saw as the commercialization of the hippie lifestyle. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the Dead played an important role in introducing New Age ideas to a wider audience.