VA’s 100 Greatest Psychedelic Rock Songs

A list of the 100 greatest psychedelic rock songs as determined by the VA.

The Psychedelic Rock Sound

Psychedelic rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s.Psychedelic rock was inspired by psychedelic culture, which is centred around the use of psychedelic drugs. The music is intended to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs.Psychedelic rock often uses distorted guitars, feedback, and other effects, and is often characterized by extended jams and improvisation.

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

musical style that emerged in the mid-1960s and reached the height of its popularity in the late 1960s
The electric Kool-Aid acid test was a term coined by Tom Wolfe in his 1968 book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which chronicled the early days of the psychedelic music scene in San Francisco. The book takes its name from an incident that occurred at one of the early concerts by the band The Grateful Dead, when LSD was slipped into the punch bowl at a party. The resulting experience was so overwhelming that it became known as an “acid test.”

In his book, Wolfe described the scene as follows: “The music was not electronically amplified… yet it had an undeniable physical power… It seemed to be coming at you from all directions at once, with a effect that was almost visible… like heat waves shimmering in the air.”

The sound of psychedelic rock is often characterized by extended instrumentation, unusual sound effects, and distorted or extended vocals. Psychedelic rock developed out of other genres such as garage rock, blues rock, and folk rock, and is often credited to bands such as The Beatles, The Byrds, and The Grateful Dead.

The Summer of Love

The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 young people converged on San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. This area, nicknamed Hashbury by locals, had become a center for various countercultural activities, including the use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD and marijuana. The influx of young people led to a shortage of housing and an increase in crime, prompting a negative reaction from the media and city officials. Despite the challenges, the Summer of Love was considered a success by many participants, who felt that they had created a new community based on peace, love, and harmony.

The Birth 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 raga drone of Indian classical music. Psychedelic rock developed in the mid-1960s.

The San Francisco Sound

Psychedelic rock, sometimes called garage rock, acid rock, or hippie rock, is a style of popular music that emerged in the mid-1960s. The sound is characterized by distorted guitars, feedback, and extreme volume levels, as well as by the use of electronic effects such as echo and reverb. Psychedelic rock often aims to replicate or enhance the experience of using psychedelic drugs such as LSD.

The San Francisco Sound was a music scene that emerged in the mid-1960s. The sound was characterized by distorted guitars, feedback, and extreme volume levels, as well as by the use of electronic effects such as echo and reverb. The San Francisco Sound was also influenced by psychedelic drugs such as LSD.

The British Invasion

Psychedelic rock, sometimes called garage rock, is a style of rock music that became popular in the mid-1960s and was characterized by a distorted, “trippy” sound. The genre emerged during the British Invasion, when a number of British bands began experimenting with new sounds and technologies.

Psychedelic rock began to lose its popularity in the early 1970s, but has since been resurrected by a number of modern bands.

Some of the most famous psychedelic rock songs include:
-The Beatles – “Tomorrow Never Knows”
-The Rolling Stones – “Paint It, Black”
-The Doors – “Break On Through (To the Other Side)”
-Jimi Hendrix – “Purple Haze”

The Psychedelic Rock Revolution

Psychedelic rock, also referred to as “acid rock”, is a style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s and was characterized by its distorted guitars, mind-bending lyrics, and trippy sound effects. The genre reached its peak in the late 1960s with bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Doors, and Pink Floyd.

The Monterey Pop Festival

The Psychedelic Rock Revolution began in earnest with the historic Monterey Pop Festival, which took place over the course of three days in 1967. More than 200,000 people descended on the small town of Monterey, California, to see a lineup that included such legends as The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding.

While previous festivals had been dogged by violence and poor organization, Monterey Pop was a triumph of peace and efficiency. The performances were mesmerizing, and the overall atmosphere was one of love and unity. With its success, the concert became an annual event, and psychedlic rock came to be seen as the soundtrack of a generation.

In the years that followed, psychedelic rock would have a profound impact on popular music. Groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones incorporated elements of psychedelic rock into their own music, while other artists pushed the genre in new and exciting directions. With its hypnotic rhythms and dreamlike atmosphere, psychedelic rock remains as fresh and exciting today as it was fifty years ago.

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair—informally, the Woodstock Festival or simply Woodstock—was a music festival in the Catskill Mountains, northwest of New York City, between August 15–18, 1969, which attracted an audience of more than 400,000. Cro‌pped to only four days due to logistical and financial problems, Woodstock was nonetheless a historic event. It is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history and was named by Rolling Stone as one of the 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll. Performers included many of the most popular rock musicians of the era. For many concert-goers, the festival was a magical experience and becomes a organizing principle in their lives and deeply held set of values.

The Psychedelic Rock Legacy

Psychedelic rock, also called acid rock, is a style of music that emerged in the mid-1960s. The genre is marked by a use of distorted guitars, extended instrumentals, and flamboyant stage shows. It was influenced by the Psychedelic culture of the time, which included the use of drugs such as LSD. The effects of the Psychedelic drugs on the music were largely responsible for the style’s popularity.

The Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, bluegrass, blues, jazz, and gospel. They also developed their “iconic” sound of long jams fused with a strong rhythm section. This sound became their trademark as they were one of the first bands to experiment with “extended musical passages” in their live performances. The Dead would often play for hours, with improvised sections that would segue into other songs or return to the main theme. They were also renowned for their psychedelic light show and improvisational jams.

Jimi Hendrix

When most people think of psychedelic rock, they think of the 1960s and the San Francisco Sound. But the truth is that psychedelic rock didn’t die in the 1970s; it just went underground. In the 1980s and 1990s, a new generation of artists picked up where the original psychedelia pioneers had left off, creating a whole new world of mind-bending music.

One of the most important figures in this new wave of psychedelia was Jimi Hendrix. Though he only released three studio albums during his lifetime, Hendrix’s influence can be heard in the work of countless subsequent artists. His groundbreaking fusion of rock, blues, and soul created a whole new template for what psychedelic music could be, and his use of feedback and distortion pushed sonic experimentation to new heights.

The Psychedelic Rock Revival

Psychedelic rock is making a comeback with a new generation of bands taking influence from the classics. The sound is becoming more popular with a new generation who appreciate the creativity and freedom that the genre offers. This list of the 100 greatest psychedelic rock songs of all time includes some of the best tracks from the 60s and 70s, as well as newer tracks from the Psychedelic Rock Revival.

The neo-psychedelia movement

Psychedelic rock, also referred to as psychedelia, is a diverse style of rock music that originated in the mid-1960s. The style is characterized by distorted guitars, San Fran Psychedelia often featured lengthy improvised sections.

The neo-psychedelia movement emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Groups such as R.E.M., The Pixies and Sonic Youth are often considered proto-grunge because they either incorporated elements of grunge into their music or were influenced by the genre.

The garage rock revival

The garage rock revival was a movement in rock music during the late 1990s and early 2000s that saw a return to the raw, energetic sound of 1960s garage rock. The style was typified by bands such as the Strokes, the White Stripes, the Hives and the Vines. The revival was spurred on by the popularity of lo-fi and punk rock and led to a renewed interest in 1960s garage bands such as the Sonics, the Seeds and the Monks.

The garage rock revival differed from the 1960s original in several ways. Most notably, it was a more overt attempt to revive and reinterpret the sounds of that era, rather than simply emulate them. Bands often incorporated elements of other genres (such as garage punk, surf rock, psychedelic rock and punk blues) into their sound. The garage rock revival occurred at a time when there was an increase in interest in vintage clothing and fashion; many bands adopted a retro image, often sporting bowling shirts, skinny ties and fedoras.

The Strokes’ 2001 debut album Is This It is widely credited as being instrumental in kickstarting the garage rock revival. Following its release, a number of other bands emerged with a similar sound, including the White Stripes, Libertines, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Franz Ferdinand.