Do I Wanna Know? Psychedelic Rock and its Genres

Do I Wanna Know? is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. The song was released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, AM, on 18 June 2013. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart.

Psychedelic Rock Defined

Psychedelic rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s. The style is distinguished by a preoccupation with sonic texture and extended improvisation. Psychedelic rock is often characterized by a heavy use of flanging, phasing, or delay effects. Psychedelic rock developed out of the early British blues and skiffle scenes of the 1950s, and reached its peak in the late 1960s.

Characteristics of Psychedelic Rock

Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It often uses new recording techniques and effects and draws on non-Western sources such as the ragas and drones of Indian music. Psychedelic rock reached its peak popularity in the late 1960s, but declined rapidly in the early 1970s.

Psychedelic rock is divided into two main camps: the hard-rocking, heavier blues-based style associated with bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream; and the more acid-drenched, trippy sound represented by groups like The Beatles, The Byrds and The Beach Boys. Psychedelic pop is a related but distinct genre, characterized by catchy tunes and lighter lyrical themes.

Characteristics of psychedelic rock include:
-Extended song structures with multiple sections
-Repetition and drone effects
-Experimentation with stereo sound and new recording techniques
-Heavy use of feedback, distortion and other electronic effects
-Bold, eye-catching album artwork
-Explicit drug references in lyrics and song titles

Origins of Psychedelic Rock

Psychedelic rock is a musical genre that was popularized in the 1960s. The sound of psychedelic rock is typically characterized by its “trippy” or “mind-bending” effects, which are created by distorted guitars, feedback, and other sonic elements. The genre often makes use of unconventional song structures, time signatures, and chord progressions, and is often associated with the use of drugs such as LSD.

San Francisco Psychedelic Scene

By 1965, the Grateful Dead had become the de facto house band of Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests—a series of notorious parties that involved copious amounts of LSD. The tests served as a kind of coming-out party for the band, who would soon become one of the most popular live acts in America. The Dead’s success helped legitimize LSD and the psychedelic experience, and set the stage for the emergence of San Francisco as a center for psychedelic rock.

In 1966, several key figures in the San Francisco music scene—including Jerry Garcia, Owsley Stanley, and Bill Graham—established the Fillmore West, a concert venue that quickly became known for its spectacular light shows and cutting-edge booking policy. The Fillmore West became ground zero for psychedelic rock in San Francisco, hosting groundbreaking performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and the Grateful Dead.

The Summer of Love in 1967 cemented San Francisco’s reputation as a hub for psychedelic experimentation. With an influx of young people from across America flocking to the city in search of mind-expanding experiences, local bands like Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service found themselves at the forefront of a musical movement. By 1968, dozens of new psychedelic bands had sprung up in San Francisco, creating a vibrant and diverse music scene that would continue to evolve throughout the 1970s.

British Psychedelic Scene

In 1966 and 1967, the British Invasion groups-particularly the Beatles, Cream, based in Britain but featuring an Anglo-American lineup, and Jimi Hendrix, an American who had been living in Britain since 1966-experimented with feedback, extended jams, and distorted vocals and guitar. The Beatles’ Revolver (1966) included “Taxman”,[32] “Tomorrow Never Knows”, and “I’m Only Sleeping”,[33][34] while their album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) featured “A Day in the Life”.

Psychedelic Rock and its Genres

Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. The style is sometimes used interchangeably with “acid rock”. Psychedelic rock vary in style, but typically employ heavily distorted guitars, trippy lyrics, and mind-bending sound effects.

Psychedelic Pop

Psychedelic pop is a subgenre of pop music thatemail protected originated in the late 1960s and reached the peak of its commercial popularity in the mid- to late-1970s. It draws on musical traditions of psychedelic rock, assertive lyrics, and psychedelic visuals.

Psychedelic Folk

Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk) is a subgenre of folk music that originated in the 1960s. It takes the traditional sounds of folk music and infuses them with influences from Psychedelia.

Psychedelic folk often features electric guitars, sitars, and other elements of Psychedelic Rock, as well as overdubbed percussion and sound effects. The lyrics often explore themes of alienation, transgression, and lost love.

Some of the most famous psychedelic folk bands include The Byrds, Love, Fairport Convention, and The Incredible String Band.

Psychedelic Soul

Psychedelic soul, sometimes called black rock, was a subgenre of psychedelic rock that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The genre combined elements of soul music, gospel music, and R&B with the psychedelic sound of groups like the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix.

Notable Psychedelic Rock Artists

Psychedelic rock, also referred to as psychedelia, is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Psychedelic rock is characterized by its use of psychedelic and mind-altering drugs, resulting in often bizarre and trippy lyrics, sounds, and visual effects. The genre is also often associated with the hippie counterculture of the era.

The Beatles

Psychedelic rock, sometimes called acid rock, reached its height of popularity in the 1960s and was characterized by distorted guitars,drug-related lyrics, and extended improvisation. The Beatles were at the forefront of psychedelic rockis innovation, crafting influential tracks like “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “A Day in the Life.” Other notable psychedelic acts include Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Pink Floyd, and The Grateful Dead.

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group’s original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and their friend Al Jardine. The Beach Boys are one of the best-selling bands of all time. The band gained international attention with their number-one singles “I Get Around” (1964) and “Barbara Ann” (1965). Their album Pet Sounds (1966) is considered one of the most influential pop albums of all time.

With the release of the album Smile in 1967, the group began to incorporate elements of classical music and western pop into their sound, becoming more experimental as they embraced the subgenres of psychedelic pop and sunshine pop. Following Smile’s abandonment, Brian Wilson reassembled the band to record what would become one of rock’s most revered albums: 1968’s Friends. The album was a commercial disappointment upon its release, but has since grown in stature to be considered one of the most influential records ever made. In subsequent years, the band’s output declined both commercially and artistically, as they struggled to reclaim their place in the rock pantheon amid personal turmoil and legal wranglings.

The Beach Boys’ final US number-one single came with 1979’s “Do It Again”. After a period spent sporadically recording and performing without Dennis Wilson – who had drowned in 1983 – legal wrangling prevented any new Beach Boys material from seeing light until Scott Scandinavian released Made in California – a 50th Anniversary box set – in 2012. That year also saw a reunion of sorts when 6/8ths of the original lineup performed together for the first time since 1965 at Brian Wilson’s gala concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall celebrating his Britain-wide induction into that year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2014, the surviving members once again reunited for what was billed as “The 50th Anniversary Tour”, although it was later revealed that only Mike Love and Bruce Johnston were considered official members by Brian Wilson.

As of 2020, only Love remains with the touring version of The Beach Boys; Al Jardine has toured occasionally with his own versions of The Beach Boys known as “Al Jardine’s Pet Sounds Band” or sometimes “Beach Boys Family & Friends”, while Brian Wilson tours with his own solo band featuring longtime collaborators Blondie Chaplin and Jeffrey Foskett among others along with occasional guest appearances from surviving Original Band members David Marks & Bruce Johnston as well other celebrity guests such as Jeff Lynne, Ringo Starr or even Neil Young on occasion.”

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix is considered one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of rock music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. Hendrix pioneered the use of feedback and distortion in rock guitar playing. His sound was characterized by a very high level of skill on the guitar, blues-based rock compositions, and use of amplifier effects such as overdrive, fuzztone, and wah-wah. Hendrix’s style was further defined by his flamboyant stage presence and showmanship. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.