Revised FP 6: Strange Days by The Doors

In 1967 The Doors released their second album, Strange Days.  After tremendous success with their debut album, which was released earlier in the same year, the Doors didn’t disappoint with Strange Days.  When it was first released it was very successful and over time it eventually earned platinum certification. 

Strange Days was released in September of 1967, in the midst of war, violent events, and overall social changes of the 1960’s decade.  This era is a very popular time in history because the people experienced a tremendous amount of changes that would all go down in history as some of the most defining yet difficult times for the United States.  Among the Vietnam War, civil rights protests, war protests, Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the people of the 1960’s experienced some rough times.  With all the “conflicting cultures and demands” of the 1960’s it created a very chaotic time period in America (Chalmers 25).  It was very difficult for people to deal with all these issues and for them to get used to these changing times.  In the midst of all of this many people turned to drug use to try and escape reality and develop a more peaceful mindset than the world had.

The sixties are famous for being the decade of hippies and good vibes because psychedelic drugs a phenomena at this time.  The psychedelic drug, LSD, was originally introduced in the 1940’s for experimentation but after discovering there was no medical use for the drug it turned into a recreational activity for people. The popularity of LSD spread like wildfire, especially among the younger generation.  American students were encouraged to try LSD and “turn on, tune in, and drop out.” (“LSD: A Short History”).  This new phenomena detached people from what was going on in the world and allowed them to open up their minds to peace and creativity.  In the midst of such a violent world people were now starting to think about peace.  After opening up their minds to this new mentality some people believed that if a sufficient number of people changed their ways of life they would reform American society (Elcock 297).  This time period praised the transgressive righteousness of youth culture, to escaping the establishment through drugs and liberated morals (Horning 106).  As the 1960’s went on the violence in the world continued and the popularity of drug use increased. 

Almost everyone at this time had been exposed to LSD or took part in using LSD, especially the musicians of this time.  The psychedelic rock genre emerged during this time period and became the most dominant music genre of the 1960’s.  Psychedelic rock music is influenced by psychedelia and tries to replicate the experience of using mind-altering psychedelic drugs.  I believe there’s a strong connection as to why psychedelic rock was so popular during this decade; the people of the 1960’s relied on the use of psychedelic drugs to try and escape the change and hardship that the 1960’s presented to them.  All of the social or economic worries didn’t matter when you experienced this out-of-body experience, in fact nothing really mattered except what drug you were doing.  Since the use of psychedelic drugs were so common and popular, psychedelic music thrived and gained a massive fanbase. 

Since psychedelia and the psychedelic rock genre were so popular it in return caused an enormous amount of drug abuse problems.  It can be very difficult to be a musician and many artists developed problems from using so many drugs to try and escape their stress and worries.  Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, tried to cope with traumatic events, depression, and uncontrolled impulses through creative activities and his constant drug use helped him to be even more creative with his music (Holm-Hadulla 171).  During this time period The Doors had a massive fanbase and were one of the most popular psychedelic rock bands but that didn’t help improve Jim Morrison’s mental health.  Musicians were always pressured to make better and successful music which caused them to try and open up their minds in a way that only hallucinogenic drugs could produce.  This led to an extreme amount of musicians becoming addicted to drugs and as they continued this heavy drug use it only negatively affected their lives. 

This new phenomena of taking LSD to alter your mind created a very strange time period in history.  Although using psychedelic drugs helped free your mind and create this feeling of an out-of-body experience they couldn’t always help you escape the reality of the world, and that’s where music comes in.  The psychedelic rock genre was accepted by the people because it appealed to the drug aspect but it also discussed the state of the world in a way that was comfortable and in a way that people could understand.  Psychedelic rock musicians from the 1960’s helped people deal with the changing times by writing songs about it and expressing their opinions about these times.  In The Doors album Strange Days, even the title lets people know that this band recognizes the changes and thinks these times are full of “strange days.”  The first song on the album “Strange Days” immediately sets the theme of the album and explicitly states their opinions about these changing times.  The album opens with the lyrics “strange days have found us, strange days have tracked us down, they’re goin’ to destroy our casual joys, we shall go on playing or find a new town.”  The 1960’s were confusing times for a lot of people and they were full of many “strange days” for people.  The Doors put these emotions in “Strange Days” with their lyrics describing the approach of these days and unsettling instrumentation that makes the listener feel uncomfortable.  When listening to this song it’s just like experiencing the changing times of the 1960’s.

After “Strange Days” the next song on the album is “You’re Lost Little Girl.”  With questioning lyrics like “you’re lost little girl, you're lost, tell me who are you” it creates this sense of confusion while listening to the song.  Included with a mesmerizing guitar riff that continues throughout the piece, this song really draws listeners in and makes them listen to it.  This concept of a “lost little girl” can also relate to the 1960’s era.  There were many changes and reforms that people had never experienced before and many people were lost and didn’t know what to do.  It can be hard when you are presented with change and often times we are like the “lost little girl” that this song describes.  

Strange Days continues with the songs “Unhappy Girl.”  As you can assume from the title, it continues with the theme of a girl that is experiencing a confusing and tough time in her life.  The lyrics “girl, unhappy girl, fly fast away; don’t miss your chance” encourage this girl to run away from her problems and try and escape.  I’m sure when people in the 1960’s heard this song they were very tempted by this idea and many people did try and escape from their problems or from society’s problems with things like drugs or music or even both. 

Another song on the album and arguably the most famous song from this album is “People Are Strange.”  Some of its lyrics are “people are strange when you’re a stranger, faces look ugly when you’re alone, women seem wicked when you’re unwanted.”  The lyrics describe someone strange but the upbeat tempo and captivating piano melody allow the song to still feel happy.  The Doors are able to describe this experience of feeling like the odd-one-out and just plain strange into something that people can accept. 

Strange Days ends with the song “When The Music’s Over.”  This song contains lyrics like “for the music is your special friend//dance on fire as it intends//music is your only friend until the end, until the end.”  The song really brings the album to a close and even though the lyrics are kind of sad the upbeat tempo of the song doesn’t let the listener be upset about it.  The exuberant guitar in the background throughout the song and the crescendo of the vocals throughout the song make it into a positive-feeling song.  Although The Doors can make this song seem positive it still does have a sad feeling when only looking at the lyrics and applying them to the real-life of the 1960’s.  In this era of change and “strange days” many people turned to music as the only unchanging things in their lives.  The psychedelic music culture in the 1960’s was extremely popular and people needed something to turn to to help them get by.  With that in mind this song really hits home when it describes music as “your special friend” and “your only friend until the end.”  Although drugs were a popular escape during this time period they couldn’t properly fill the void that people felt, music was the only thing that could really do the job.  So with this song “When The Music’s Over" The Doors describe a very scary experience of not having music anymore because without music how would people get by? 

Works Cited

Chalmers, David. "The Struggle for Social Change in 1960s America: A 
          Bibliographic Essay." American Studies International 30.1 (1992): 24-41. 
          Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Elcock, Chris. "From Acid Revolution to Entheogenic Evolution: Psychedelic 
          Philosophy in the Sixties and Beyond : Winner of the William M. Jones Best
          Graduate Student Paper Award at the 2013 American Culture Association 
          Conference." The Journal of American Culture J Am Cult 36.4 (2013): 296-
          311. Web. 17 Nov. 2015

Holm-Hadulla, Rainer M., and Alina Bertolino. "Creativity, Alcohol and Drug
          Abuse: The Pop Icon Jim Morrison." Psychopathology 47.3 (2014): 167-73.
          Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Horning, Rob. "REVOLUTION BLUES." Art in America 103.10 (2015): 106-10. 
          Print. 17 Nov. 2015.

"The History of LSD - Acid, Albert Hoffman & Timothy Leary - Drug-Free
          World." The History of LSD - Acid, Albert Hoffman & Timothy Leary-
          Drug-Free World. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Revised FP 5: Anthem of the Sun by the Grateful Dead

In 1968 the psychedelic rock band, the Grateful Dead, released their second album Anthem of the Sun.  This album was released only a year after their debut album The Grateful Dead was released in 1967.  Their debut album was successful but Anthem of the Sun blew their prior success out of the water by becoming their most popular album, and one of the most popular albums of all time.  This album only has a total of five tracks, “That’s It for the Other One”, “New Potato Caboose”, “Born Cross-Eyed”, “Alligator” and “Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks)”, but these five tracks went down in history as some of the most influential and important songs of the psychedelic rock genre.  The Grateful Dead are the epitome of psychedelic rock and they have served as inspiration for numerous artists within their genre and many other genres as well. 

While there are many themes throughout this album there is one recurring theme that really stands out, death.  Sometimes the reference to death would be hidden but sometimes it would explicitly mention this theme of death and human mortality.  Although death is a popular theme in history the Grateful Dead take a spin on it and make it unique.  Listening to Anthem of the Sun creates this sense of impending doom and anxiety; it’s like the listener is on their own personal journey at the end of their life that ultimately results in death. 

The first track on Anthem of the Sun is “That’s It for the Other One”.  The song starts off with a chill, easy-going feeling.  The simple guitar riff lulls the listener into a dream-like state that continues through most of the song.  Towards the middle of the song the lyrics stop and you are immersed in the mesmerizing instrumentation until the lyrics start back up.  Throughout the song the pace quickens, the lyrics get faster and faster and the guitar starts getting stronger and stronger until the end of the song when everything collapses.  The lyrics stop, the instruments start playing notes that don’t mesh, and the sound of clocks and bells takes over and slowly gets dimmer and dimmer until the last part is the sound of a single bell ending out the song. 

When I first listened to this song it left me so confused, I didn’t know what to think of it.  I looked up the lyrics to hopefully get a better understanding of the song and once I did the theme of the song became clear to me, death.  Death is a very touchy subject and it’s something that’s very hard to talk about for most people.  It is the only thing that every person will experience and there’s no way to escape it.  It sounds very depressing when you discuss it so many artists avoid writing music that alludes to it, but not the Grateful Dead.  They were bold enough and talented enough to talk about death in a way that didn’t scare people.  

The first lyrics of the song are “the other day they waited, the sky was dark and faded//solemnly they stated, he has to die, you know he has to die”.  Right away the song’s lyrics expose listeners to what the song is going to talk about, but they do it in a way that is ironically relaxing.  Although the lyrics are talking about death, the calm style of singing and the mellow instrumentation make the listener feel relaxed and not afraid of what they have to say.  The Grateful Dead draws listeners in and makes them feel comfortable even though the chorus of the song is “he had to die, you know he had to die”.  Then they start to create this feeling of anxiety when the pace of the song quickens and the lyrics “comin’,comin’,comin’ around” start to repeat over and over.  Then the song reaches the point where everything falls apart and there are all sorts of sounds that don’t sound good together and make you cringe.  After everything falls apart the song ends with a calming sound of a bell that gets dimmer and dimmer until the very last note of the song.  These two points of the song are symbolic of someone experiencing death.  The point of the song when everything falls apart is like when someone is dying and their life is escaping them.  Then once they start to really slip away the music gets slower and the instruments are reduced to a single bell.  Like the final heartbeats of a dying person, the beats of the song slowly die off into nothing.  Towards the end it is painful to experience but in the final moments they become at peace with what is happening. 

After that intense eight minute opening song, the album continues with an even longer song “New Potato Caboose”.  Although this song is nearly nine minutes long it contains a lot of instrumentation and not a lot of lyrics.  This song is similar to the first in the sense that it has a dream-like vibe it gives off.  The carefree style of singing and easy instrumentation once again draw people in and produce this psychedelic vibe that the Grateful Dead are known for.  Unlike the first song though, this easy feeling continues throughout the entire song and the lyrics disappear halfway through the song and the instruments take over until the song is over.  In “New Potato Caboose” the Grateful Dead do what they do best, they make talking about a difficult subject into an easy experience.  The lyrics of the song talk about death and destruction  but not in a frightening way.  With examples like “when the windows all are broken//when the voices of the storm sound like a crowd//winter morning breaks, you’re all alone”  the Grateful Dead follow with their theme of death and painful experiences but are still able to stay within their distinct psychedelic, easy-going style.  

Although Anthem of the Sun only contains five songs, four of the five songs are each close to or over ten minutes long.  The third and middle song, “Born Cross-Eyed” is only a mere 3 minutes long though.  This song also continues with the theme of the rest of the album, but it presents it in a more intense way that the previous two songs didn’t.  The song feels like it is rushing by and the lyrics are trying to catch up with the pace of the instruments.  When I listened to this song I felt like I was running, trying to escape death and it was always right at my heels reaching out to get me.  The lyrics “and I don’t want to see anybody cry” and the repeated “good-bye, good-bye, good-bye” reinforce this idea of trying to escape death but then coming to grip with the reality that no one can allude death.  Death is a guaranteed thing and this song represents someone starting to come to that realization, which everyone has to go through eventually.  

After “Born Cross-Eyed” the next song “Alligator” starts it’s eleven minute journey.  The lyrics talk about an alligator that is coming and hunting this speaker.  When I listened to this song I immediately pictured the alligator as “death”. The song has lyrics like “creepy alligator coming all around the bend// screamin’ and yellin’, he was pickin’ his chops//and I ain’t gonna come around here any more”.  The beginning of the song describes the alligator coming to get the speaker and the speaker trying to get away from him.  Following the theme, the alligator coming to get the him is symbolic of death hunting down someone and in return them trying to get away from it.  Going along with the realization that no one can escape death this song describes the process of someone thinking that they can actually get away from death.  When they think they’re doing fine the alligator comes out of nowhere again and tries to get them.  The lyrics at the beginning of the song introduce this idea and then the instrumentation that follows in the last half of the song reinforces this idea without having to use words.  The beating of a drum and the speeding up and slowing down of the song make listeners feel like they are the ones being hunted by the alligator. 

The last song on this album is “Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks)”.  This song closes out the album and it alludes to someone trying one last thing to prevent their death.  The lyrics are “I went down one day to see a Gypsy woman//I want to find out, I want to find out//I told her my story, I told her what was goin’ on//she said all you got to have, oh Lord//just a touch of Mojo’s hand”.  After continuing through the rest of the album being exposed to death and then trying to escape death, the narrator has finally come to terms with the fact that it is going to happen, and they’re not happy with it.  He is trying everything he can to still avoid death and now it has come down to using alternative methods.  The beginning of the song describes his story and the way it is sung is very pleasing to the ear.  Then at the end of the song everything collapses, something changes and the song just falls apart.  After trying to cheat death by using corrupt ways things don’t turn out so well for the speaker.  It proves not to be successful and the end of the song represents him losing his battle with death.  At the end of the song when all the instruments clash and sound terrible it ends the entire album on a sour note.  When listening to this album the listener is on the run from death but in the end it proves to be unsuccessful, showing that it is impossible for someone to cheat death, which is something that every person has to face. 

The Grateful Dead are one of the most successful and talented bands of all time.  They were leaders of the psychedelic rock genre and their distinct hallucinogenic, easy-going vibe appealed to people everywhere.  One of their main talents that set them apart from other bands was their ability to address difficult topics in a way that was still easy to understand.  One of the band’s favorite topics was death, which is not surprising from a band named the Grateful Dead, and they were masters of discussing this depressing subject in a way that people were comfortable with.  The Grateful Dead do a great job of getting the listeners to experience this anxious feeling about death, but they differ in the sense that they actually go there and make the listener feel like they are experiencing death.  With their use of lyrics, instrumentation, and rhythm the Grateful Dead are able to take the listener on a journey through their own dying day until they breathe their last breath. 

Revised FP 4: The White Album by The Beatles

In 1968, one of the most famous bands of all time, The Beatles, released their ninth album The Beatles.  Although this album is officially titled The Beatles, it is more commonly referred to as The White Album because the album cover is plain white and has no pictures or words other than “The Beatles”.  After enormous success from their album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club, released only a year earlier in 1967, The Beatles came back and did it again with the extremely popular The White Album. This album topped the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1968, and soon became legendary. 

When this album was released it was an eventful time for the Beatles because of their continuing success, but it was also an eventful time for the rest of the world.  The sixties were a very interesting decade because although there was lots of war and violence going on in the world, this decade is also known for love, peace, and good vibes.  The Beatles were formed in 1960 so their rise to fame was happening simultaneously with the progression of the 1960’s.  The Beatles are known for their carefree, dream-like sound and they had the ability to reference violence, war, and other serious issues while still keeping their distinct sound. Many people found solace in The Beatles’ music because they discussed society’s issues in a peaceful and almost comforting way.  The Beatles’ music encompassed the 1960’s time period by creating music that dealt with the events and issues that surrounded the sixties decade while still keeping their personal style.  By listening to their music listeners from every generation can get a better understanding of what the world was like in the sixties. 

The Beatles are an interesting band because although their music reflects the culture of the 1960’s, The Beatles themselves were an important part of the culture of that era.  When you ask someone to describe things related to the sixties its very likely that they will mention The Beatles because they were a phenomena at that time, and they still continue to be long after the band’s existence.  The Beatles were so popular that even though there were so many things happening during that time, they stole the spotlight and were the topic of conversation by the media and the people. Today in modern times we can listen to The Beatles’ music and understand what it was like in the sixties because The Beatles were the culture of the 1960’s.  People enjoyed listening to The Beatles and they were also eager to listen to what they had to say and what their music had to say about the world.  The Beatles could take things going on in the world and discuss them to mass audiences because the world basically revolved around them. 

The White Album opens with the song “Back in the U.S.S.R.” and tells the story of a man returning to his home of the Soviet Union after fighting in a war.  When this album came out in 1968 the world was in the middle of the Vietnam War.  The lyrics “I’m back in the U.S.S.R, you don’t know how lucky you are boy, back in the U.S.S.R.” allude to the conditions of the Soviet Union and its people during the war.  This song is somewhat of an oxymoron because the lyrics describe the U.S.S.R. as a great place and the upbeat and light tempo produce this positive feeling of the U.S.S.R during the war, but in reality it was a terrible place to be.  The lyrics allude to the situation of the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War, but in an almost-joking way because of the way the lighthearted lyrics contrast with the oppressive and violent atmosphere of the Soviet Union.  Even though they discuss a very gloomy and depressing part of history the Beatles are able to remain true to their sound with their upbeat tempo and light tone.  Although this song sounded happy and pleasant, after listening to the lyrics many people were not happy with the song or The Beatles.  The Beatles were labeled to be “pro-Soviet” and many anti-communist groups were enraged that they would jokingly praise the United States’ enemy.  Although this song created many controversies it was still a popular song.  “Back in the U.S.S.R” shows how much of an influence The Beatles had that their ideas could spark such interest and anger from people.  It also shows how popular the band was because even though they seemed to support the United States’ enemy it didn’t ruin their reputation at all, after this song The Beatles would still continue to produce legendary music and their popularity would only increase. 

 The album continues with the song “A Hard Day’s Night” which keeps the same carefree sound and quick tempo.  Even though the lyrics describe being a hard day of work, The Beatles present it in a way that makes the listeners still feel happy.  Another song on The White Album is “All You Need is Love”, which brings the album back into harmony with both lyrics and tone that give off a chill, peaceful feeling.  While there are many themes in The White Album, “All You Need is Love” really encompasses the Beatles sound.  The Beatles are famous for being peaceful, anti-violent people and with the lyrics “love is all you need” repeated over and over, listeners can see what The Beatles stand for. Even during this time of war and violence, The Beatles stayed true to their peaceful beliefs and served as comfort and an escape for many people.

While The Beatles are known for their relaxing style, they were also famous for their connections and references to drug use.  During this time period of the 1960’s the world was full of hippies that participated in lots of recreational drug use and had the same ideas of peace that The Beatles had.  The drug LSD was legal in the 1960’s so as a result the culture went through a sort of psychedelic revolution, and The Beatles were right in the middle of it.  When The Beatles were formed they created this new kind of psychedelic music that no one had ever heard before.  As the Beatles became more popular and as the 1960’s went on, hallucinogenic music and the psychedelic rock genre gained an enormous following and became one of the most legendary musical time periods in history.  

The Beatles were the founders of psychedelic rock and many of their songs reference psychedelia and this mind-altering experience that results from taking LSD or other drugs.  On The White Album, the song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is just one example of this.  Lyrics like “a girl with kaleidoscope eyes” and “where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies” make absolutely no sense to the average person.  The lyrics describe things that aren’t logical and make you question what is really going on, much like the mind-altering experience of LSD that causes your reality to be distorted.  Another song on this album, “Strawberry Fields Forever” makes the listeners feel like they are experiencing a psychedelic experience themselves just from listening to this song.  With lyrics like “nothing is real” and “but you know I know when it's a dream” it makes listeners question if what they are experiencing is real or if it all is really just a dream.  While these two songs have hallucinogenic lyrical factors, the quick tempo and harmonious melodies really transform listening to these songs into a psychedelic experience.  

After “Strawberry Fields Forever”, The White Album ends with the song “The Fool on the Hill.”  Continuing with the psychedelic sound that The Beatles knew so well, “The Fool on the Hill” draws listeners in one last time and leaves them wanting more as soon as the song ends.  With the relaxed tone and slowed down tempo it brings The White Album to a quality ending.  This song includes mesmerizing flute solos and harmonious piano chords that help to produce this peaceful and happy feeling that The Beatles were so famous for. “The Fool on the Hill” is the perfect song to close out the album and leaves listeners with this joyous feeling that only The Beatles could produce. 

Soon after it was released, The White Album quickly became one of the Beatles' most popular albums.  Even today, fifty years later, this album and the Beatles have earned a legendary reputation that no other band can even come close to.  When this album was released in the 1960's it encompassed the culture of the sixties but today, even in our modern culture, people still listen to it and enjoy it.  The Beatles had a unique trait that set them apart from other bands, they were the culture of the 1960's and they have continued to appeal to people throughout the following decades.

Revised FP 3: Electric Ladyland by the Jimi Hendrix Experience

In 1968, one of the most successful psychedelic rock bands of all time, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released their third album, Electric Ladyland.  The Jimi Hendrix Experience only produced three albums together and this one was by far their most successful.  Electric Ladyland topped the charts in the United States and it included the band’s highest selling single “All Along the Watchtower.”  This album was released in October of 1968, just under a year before the Jimi Hendrix Experience headlined one the most famous music festivals in history, Woodstock. 

Woodstock was expected to be just another average music festival but it generated a crowd so large that they extended the festival another day to include all of the artists, which included a lot of psychedelic artists like the Jimi Hendrix Experience.  The organizers of Woodstock estimated around 200,000 people would attend this music festival but their expectations were shattered when over 400,000 people showed up to this two-day event.  There turnout was so unexpected that the festival had to be extended to three days just to include all of the artists.  Some of the artists included The Who, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.  This festival was mainly a rock music festival but with bands like the Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, and Grateful Dead that played such major roles in the festival, Woodstock had a large psychedelic vibe.  These artists are considered psychedelic because they replicated the feeling of using psychedelic drugs, which were very popular at this time, and produced a hallucinogenic, mind-altering feeling.  They drew people in with lyrics that told a story, intricate instrumental solos primarily on the guitar or piano, and with the use of elaborate studio effects that produced a mesmerizing, out-of-this-world sound. Woodstock was the epitome of the psychedelic rock genre, good vibes and lots of people under the influence of drugs. During this time period in 1969 psychedelic rock was booming so these psychedelic artists drew in a massive amount of people.  Woodstock quickly became possibly the most famous music festival in history so it was a huge accomplishment for the Jimi Hendrix Experience to headline it.  Before their appearance at Woodstock they had built up a successful career but after they headlined their popularity skyrocketed and their most recent album, Electric Ladyland, became legendary. 

Electric Ladyland opens with “…And the Gods Made Love”, a pure instrumental song that really messes with your mind.  The electric sounds of the instruments don’t mesh well together so it creates this uneasy feeling when you listen to it.  They keep building up so you expect some sort of resolution but then the song ends before the sounds can reach a harmonious tone.  After that, the next song “Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)” establishes the feeling and tone of the whole album.  This song has a chill and almost mind-altering feeling that puts you into a relaxed mood to listen to the remaining songs on the album.  Throughout the rest of the album this psychedelic style continues and songs such as “Voodoo Chile” and “Gypsy Eyes” produce this hallucinogenic felling that perfectly represents the psychedelic rock genre.  Through the use of attention-grabbing guitar riffs and lyrics that draw you in, "Voodoo Chile" and "Gypsy Eyes" influenced many psychedelic rock songs that came after them.  Another influential song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience comes at the end of this album, and is the band's most famous song, “All Along the Watchtower."  This song helps close out the album with an intense feeling that lingers even after the album is over.  This song showcased the talented band members and showed listeners why the Jimi Hendrix Experience was such a successful band.  Frontman Jimi Hendrix's impressive guitar skills and the harmonious sound that the entire band creates helps to make Electric Ladyland  the Jimi Hendrix Experience's most popular album. 

When this album was released in 1968 it was the prime time for the psychedelic rock genre.  Psychedelic rock consists of melodious lyrics and unique instrumentation that resemble the feeling of psychedelic drugs.  The Jimi Hendrix Experience encompasses this definition of psychedelic rock and Electric Ladyland contains many elements expected of a psychedelic rock album.  Although Electric Ladyland contains these elements such as elaborate instrumentation, mesmerizing lyrics, and an out-of-this-world feeling, it pushed the limits of this genre and exceeded the genre’s expectations.  The Jimi Hendrix Experience were able to stay true to their roots and use many of the common aspects of a psychedelic rock album but they also introduced new elements that would end up changing the psychedelic rock genre forever. 

Jimi Hendrix was a very well-known guitar player but in Electric Ladyland he really shows off his skills and pushes the instrumentation on the album over the top.  On Electric Ladyland, the songs “All Along The Watchtower” and “Voodoo Child” showcase Jimi Hendrix’s talent with elaborate and impressive guitar solos that shatter previous expectations of how the guitar is used in psychedelic rock.  Hendrix’s guitar riffs draw in listeners and create this hallucinogenic feeling that enthralls the listeners.  When the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed “Voodoo Chile” at Woodstock, Jimi Hendrix turned this five minute song into a twelve minute performance by adding additional improvisation on the guitar.  The guitar was a very popular instrument in the psychedelic rock genre and the rock genre in general, but before Jimi Hendrix the guitar was overshadowed by vocals or other instruments.  Traditionally the guitar added a little excitement when the vocals took a break or maybe it would be lucky enough to get a solo in a song.  Jimi Hendrix took these previous ideals and completely turned them around by making the guitar the center of his music.  His songs still involved intricate vocals and other instrumentation but the guitar was his passion, and he made it the most important thing in his songs.  Jimi Hendrix was truly a mastermind and used the guitar to produce feelings and ideas that words could not.  This new, intense, and hypnotizing use of the guitar was a new step in the psychedelic rock genre and generated a very positive response from listeners.  Hendrix’s use of the guitar not only revolutionized the psychedelic rock genre but he would also influence many other bands throughout the next few decades and within different genres.  Many bands such as Radiohead, Iron Maiden, and the Foo Fighters followed this idea of making the guitar important and each band has multiple guitar players to help showcase it’s importance.  Jimi Hendrix will always be remembered as one of the most influential guitar players ever and his showcase of the guitar helped make Electric Ladyland an exciting and revolutionary album. 

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was one of the greatest gifts to psychedelic rock and their influence on the genre was unlike any other band before them.  During this time period the psychedelic rock genre was booming and bands like this helped the genre skyrocket and become legendary.  Electric Ladyland is one of the most important albums from the psychedelic rock category and it will forever remain the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s most impressive work. 

Revised FP 2: Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones

In 1969, just seven years after The Rolling Stones were formed, they released their tenth album, Let It Bleed.  After releasing a hit album only a year before, the Stones came back and did it again with their chart-topping Let It Bleed album.  

Despite their musical success, the Stones experienced many difficulties during this time.  This album was the last to feature drummer and original member Brian Jones.  Along with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Brian Jones was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones, but after experiencing many difficulties involving drugs and substance abuse he was not focused on the band at all.  After only performing on two tracks on the album and missing numerous rehearsals and other recording sessions the other band members were fed up with Jones.  After thinking about what’s best for the band, the other members of The Rolling Stones agreed that they had to kick Brian Jones out of the band.  Some critics and fans suspected Brian Jones would eventually return to The Rolling Stones after recovering from his addictions but he tragically died shortly after as a result of a drowning incident.  After the unfortunate situation surrounding Brian Jones, the Stones held auditions for a new drummer and found Mick Taylor, who is still a part of the band today. 

After gaining new member Mick Taylor it was the start of a new era for The Rolling Stones.  With this new harmony among their members they could once again focus solely on their music.  Let It Bleed was the first album to be released after this change and it symbolizes a new beginning for the Stones.  Although this change was for the better, many people were unsure about this new start and how it would affect the success of the band.  Let It Bleed was the assurance they needed that The Rolling Stones would still continue to produce successful and beautiful music. 

The second this album begins with the song “Gimme Shelter”, listeners are drawn in by the building percussion and opening guitar riff.  As soon as the listener hears it they want to hear more, and are immediately engrossed in the album.  The instruments create this anxious feeling as if something is coming and the listener needs to get away from it.  The Stones use a guiro, an instrument popular in traditional Caribbean music, to create a sound similar to a washboard that is very prominent at the beginning of the song and then fades in and out throughout the rest of it.  This unusual sound creates an uneasy feeling and when it fades you think it’s gone for good but then it comes back louder and more aggressive than ever.  “Gimme Shelter” starts the album off with a quick pace that sparks the listener's interest, and as the album progresses the tempo of the songs slow down and speed back up spastically, as if the listener is running and changing their pace.  The slow songs provide a false sense of security that calm you down and then the fast songs come back in and start the race again.  When you listen to this album you are embarking on a journey with The Rolling Stones by your side, guiding you through this intense experience. 

The next song on the album is “Love in Vain”.  After the intense opening song “Gimme Shelter”, “Love in Vain” slows it down and has a more soothing sound.  The song begins with a lulling guitar riff and then Mick Jagger comes in with a raw and pure sound in his voice.  The instruments back down while Jagger sings the first few verses and the listener’s focus is shifted completely to the lyrics and his voice.  Then the song starts to pick up and the instrumentation builds as Jagger’s voice fades into nothing.  This battle between the voice and the instruments continues throughout the song but each element still has the chance to be heard.  The lyrics of this song describes this story of Jagger boarding a train and having to leave his love behind, although he doesn’t want to.  The song ends with the haunting words “all my love’s in vain” and the trickle of the guitar to end the song with a sense of longing and anticipation for the rest of the album. 

The album continues with the song “Let It Bleed”.  At the beginning of the song there’s an unsettling sound of a slide piece guitar but quickly after it transitions into a more harmonious sound with the acoustic guitar, piano, and drums.  The song has an upbeat tempo and it feels very personal because Jagger is talking directly to the listeners throughout the song.  The song contains lyrics like “we all need someone we can lean on//and if you want it, you can lean on me” and “bleed alright, bleed alright, you can bleed all over me”.  The Stones establish this easy-going and happy feeling through their reassuring lyrics and upbeat tempo in this song.  

One of the last songs on the album is “Monkey Man”.  The song opens with a piano solo that immediately draws people in and then the entrance of the tambourine and guitar add a little excitement to it.  Then when Mick Jagger enters everything picks up and song builds up to a harmonious clash of instruments and vocals.  This song has sort of a crazy sound to it with lyrics like “I’m a fleapit peanut monkey”, “I’m a cold Italian pizza//I could use a lemon squeezer” and “well, I’m just a monkey man//I’m glad you are a monkey woman too”.  These unusual lyrics along with unique instruments like the vibraphone really set this song apart and make it different.  The quick pace and the appealing sound produce a happy feeling but there is also a sense of confusion from the strange lyrics and instrumentation. 

From the beginning of the album, the songs and lyrics create this feeling that you have to get away from something, but in the last song of the album, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, you experience this calming and almost heaven-like ending.  The opening of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” features a choir followed by Mick Jagger’s calm and relaxed tone, different from the uneasy and tense tone of the rest of the album.  After the journey through the album and this feeling of running away from something, listeners can finally rest and end their long journey.  With the nervous feeling in the rest of the album and the nervous feeling listeners in the 1960’s had about the world when this album was released, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, soothes you and somehow makes you feel better about what is going on in the world at this time.  With lyrics like “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes well you might find you get what you need” you feel content and almost hopeful about the future. 

The feeling that this entire album gives off is a sense of impending doom that the band is trying to escape.  The spastic change of tempo throughout the album creates a feeling of running from something, or trying to escape something.  This album was released in 1969, in the midst of a very violent era. During this time the Vietnam War was going on so the United States were exposed to this frightening war with dangerous oppositions from outspoken protestors.  The Stones album Let It Bleed encompasses this feeling of tension and fear using lyrics such as “rape, murder.  It’s just a shot away.” in the opening song “Gimme Shelter”.  While most of the album contains dark and gloomy lyrics such as these, the tempo and tone of the songs counteract with them so that the album doesn’t feel depressing or grave.  The lyrics reflect what was going on in the world and the songs themselves all mimic the feelings of anxiety and doom that people were feeling about the world. 

In addition to talking about the Vietnam War, The Rolling Stones touched on other events of the 1960’s.  In the sixties psychedelia was extremely popular and the psychedelic rock genre was thriving.  Many consider The Rolling Stones to be a psychedelic rock band while some disagree, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they did allude to this psychedelic phenomena that was happening during this time period.  “Monkey Man” is believed to be about an experience involving “acid” or another type of drug. The song contains lyrics that directly reference psychedelia like “all my friends are junkies” but most of the lyrics are so out-there that it’s hard to imagine someone writing them and not being under the influence of drugs.  This song reflects the typical psychedelic rock song because it tells a story about love but it is surrounded by strange lyrics and verses that don’t necessarily make sense.  When people today listen to this song it might be very weird to hear the lyrics like “I was bitten by a boar//I am a sack of broken eggs//I always have an unmade bed//Don’t you?”  but during the 1960’s it was very common because of the popular psychedelic rock genre.  It has been argued that psychedelia during the 1960’s was to help cope with the problems in the world during those times and when artists like The Rolling Stones referenced this topic it was familiar to people, and it also helped them cope with whatever they had going on. 

When Let It Bleed was released, The Rolling Stones had the odds stacked against them.  They had to follow up their previous chart-topping album, they lost one of their own members, and the world was in a time of crisis.  Nevertheless, The Rolling Stones continued what they do best, they created a masterful and successful album.  The lyrics and sounds of Let It Bleed are exactly what the world needed during this time.  Without band member Brian Jones everyone expected this album to be the end of The Rolling Stones' success, but when Let It Bleed was released everyone could see that this wasn't the end, it was the start of a new beginning for The Rolling Stones. 

Revised FP 1: About Me

Hey everyone!  My name is Caroline Yano and I am the creator of this blog.  This blog is dedicated to the emergence and popularity of the psychedelic rock scene during the 1960’s.  This time period was possibly the most exciting time for rock and roll music because the artists shaped the rock genre into something no one had ever experienced before.  This new style of music replicated the feeling of using psychedelic drugs, which were very popular at this time, and produced a hallucinogenic, mind-altering feeling.  Psychedelic rock artists drew people in with lyrics that told a story, intricate instrumental solos primarily on the guitar or piano, and with the use of elaborate studio effects that produced a mesmerizing, out-of-this-world sound.  In this decade of hippies, good vibes and heavy drug use, this new genre of rock appealed to the masses and was able to thrive.  Legendary psychedelic rock artists like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix were just some of the artists that emerged during this time and created a legacy that still exists today. 

Before rock music took a shift towards this psychedelic culture of the 1960’s it was very different.  Rock and roll music emerged in the United States in the late 1940’s and was a fusion of blues and country music.  However, during the late 1950’s rock and roll music started to decline as a result of the death and retirement of many popular rock musicians, scandals surrounding musicians, and even popular musicians like Elvis being drafted into the war.  After this drastic decline of traditional rock music in the 1950’s, in the early 1960’s psychedelic rock came about due to the increasing popularity of psychedelic drugs.  During this time period the psychedelic drug LSD, or “acid”, was a legal drug and began to be used an an experimental treatment after it was initially introduced as a potential cure for mental illness.  Many musicians started to experiment with these drugs and in return it changed the way they thought about music and the way they made their music, and thus psychedelic rock was born. 

Psychedelic rock music was created more than 50 years ago yet it stills remains relevant today in our modern culture.  The rock scene in the 1960’s was so popular and influential that decades later it is still being discussed by fans, bloggers like myself, and even other musical artists.  These rock artists of the 1960’s created a phenomena among people everywhere and over time they have still continued to be successful.  When listeners hear these psychedelic rock songs they can get an understanding of what the sixties were all about.  Although this genre related to the 1960’s era, the elements and themes of this music will never go out of style.  Psychedelic rock artists in the 1960’s were able to draw in listeners through their mesmerizing sound and lyrics, and today when listeners hear this music they are still entranced by it.  When you listen to these songs you become involved in the story that the lyrics tell and the mind-altering sonic elements send you into a trance.  It doesn’t matter what time period it is, psychedelic rock’s legacy will continue to thrive. 

As I continue to post on this blog I hope I can show you how psychedelic rock artists and albums influenced the music industry and the world.  The atmosphere that surrounded this genre during this time period, along with the feelings that these rock groups created through their music revolutionized the world and I will try to accurately represent this in my posts.  In my blog you can expect to see reviews of some of the most popular psychedelic artists and albums from this era, but I’ll also include ones that aren’s as well-known too.  I hope you enjoy reading and learning about this exciting time in music’s history!