Rainy Day Women #12 & 35: The Best Psychedelic Rock
It’s a rainy day, and what better way to spend it than with some of the best psychedelic rock around? This playlist features some of our favorite tracks to help you trip out and enjoy the weather.
The History of Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock, also known as acid rock or simply psychedelia, is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s. Psychedelic rock is characterized by its use of distorted guitars, feedback, and various other sonic effects to create an acidic, mind-bending sound. The genre is often associated with mind-altering drugs such as LSD, and its use became widespread among the counterculture of the 1960s.
The Beatles and Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock, also referred to as psytrance, is a genre of rock music that originated in the 1960s. The genre is characterized by a heavy use of distorted guitars, drums, and vocals. Psychedelic rock is often associated with the use of drugs, particularly LSD.
The Beatles were one of the first psychedelic rock bands. They began experimenting with psychedelic drugs in the mid-1960s, and their album Revolver (1966) featured several songs with drug-related themes, including “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Day Tripper”. The Beatles’ influence on psychedelic rock was immense; their popularity helped popularize the genre in the 1960s.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, other bands such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin began incorporating elements of psychedelic rock into their music. Psychedelic rock reached its peak of popularity in the early 1970s with bands such as The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and Crosby, Stills & Nash releasing bestselling albums. However, by the end of the decade, the genre had become largely overshadowed by other musical styles such as hard rock and punk rock.
The Rolling Stones and Psychedelic Rock
The Rolling Stones and Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the 1960s with the use of psychedelic chemicals such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and mescaline. Psychedelic rock often incorporates elements of other genres such as acid rock, garage rock, and blues rock.
The Rolling Stones were one of the first popular bands to experiment with psychedelic drugs and their music. The band’s 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request is considered one of the earliest examples of psychedelic rock. The album’s artwork and title were inspired by the 1967 Quatermass film The Psychopath.
The Rolling Stones’ song “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1968) is also considered a psychedelic rock song due to its use of sound effects such as feedback and distortion. The song “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968) contains elements of both Acid Rock and Psychedelic Rock.
The Sound of Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock is a genre 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 incorporates elements of other genres such as rock, folk, electronica, and world music.
The Electric Guitar in Psychedelic Rock
It is easy to think of the electric guitar as the defining instrument of psychedelic rock, and indeed it is hard to imagine the genre without it. The wailing, feedback-drenched solos of Jimi Hendrix and the jangly 12-string riffs of The Byrds were two of the most defining sounds of the 1960s, and both were powered by electric guitars. But the electric guitar was not always the primary focus of psychedelic rock bands; in fact, some of the earliest and most influential psychedelic groups, such as The Grateful Dead and Santana, were defined more by their use of extended improvisation and Latin rhythms than by their guitar work. It was only in later years that the electric guitar would come to be seen as the central instrument of psychedelic rock.
The Bass Guitar in Psychedelic Rock
The electric bass guitar is the foundation of the rhythm section in psychedelic rock. The bass guitar provides the low-end sound that drives the music and also helps to define the chord progression. The psychedelic rock bassist often uses a variety of techniques to create a wide range of sounds, including plucking, strumming, picking, slide playing, and using a variety of effects pedals.
Psychedelic rock bassists often make use of the fretboard by extend their range beyond the traditional one octave. They may also use extended techniques such as tapping, glissando, and harmonics. Many psychedelic rock bassists approach their instrument from a melodic standpoint, creating interesting countermelodies and solos.
The Drums in Psychedelic Rock
One of the main difference between psychedelic rock and other genres is the sound of the drums. Many psychedelic bands used louder and more complex drumming than other rock bands of the time. This was often due to the influence of Indian classical music, which was becoming popular in the Western world at the same time as psychedelic rock was taking off.
Psychedelic rock is also known for its inventive use of percussion instruments, such as gongs, tablas, and bongos. These were often used to create an otherworldly atmosphere or to mimic the sound of mind-altering drugs like LSD.
The Legacy of Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock emerged in the mid-1960s and was characterized by distorted guitars, mind-altering lyrics, and drug-inspired imagery. The genre was pioneered by artists like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Grateful Dead. Psychedelic rock reached its peak in the late 1960s with the release of The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The genre declined in popularity in the early 1970s, but has since been revived by artists like Beck, Franz Ferdinand, and Tame Impala.
The Influence of Psychedelic Rock on Other Genres
Psychedelic rock, often referred to as simply psych rock or psychedelia, is a style of rock music that became popular in the 1960s and which was influenced by the use of psychedelic drugs.Psychedelic rock developed from a number of different genres, including garage rock, blues rock, and British Invasion music. Psychedelic rock’s defining characteristics include its use of feedback, extended guitar solos, and experimentation with new sounds and recording techniques.
Psychedelic rock was a significant influence on many other genres of music, including hard rock, glam rock, punk rock, and progressive rock. It also had an impact on popular culture, with fashion and art being particularly influenced by the psychedelic aesthetic. Psychedelicrock remains popular to this day and is often cited as an influence by newer bands.
The Influence of Psychedelic Rock on Popular Culture
Psychedelic rock, often referred to simply as psychedelia, is a style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s and became widely popular in the world by the early 1970s. The genre is marked by a heavy use of distorted guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards, as well as new sounds created with electronic techniques such as feedback and phasing. Psychedelic rock also often incorporates visual elements such as psychedelic artwork, light shows, and experimental film.
Psychedelic rock reached its peak of popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when many groups released seminal albums that have since become classics in the genre. Among the most influential of these were The Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums ever made; The Doors’ 1967 self-titled debut album; Pink Floyd’s 1968 album A Saucerful of Secrets; and The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 debut album Are You Experienced.
In addition to these groundbreaking albums, psychedelic rock had a significant impact on popular culture more broadly. The style influenced fashion trends of the time, with both men and women adopting more colorful and outrageous styles of dress. Psychedelic rock also contributed to the development of the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which was marked by increased experimentation with drugs and alternative lifestyles.
