Overview
The mid-1960s were a time of upheaval for young people in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement, protests against the Vietnam War, and the movement for women’s rights inspired many people to become suspicious of the American institutions that they were supposed to trust. This distrust and sense of separation led to the development of a countercultural movement that was passionate about maintaining its distance from the mainstream. In particular, many young people sought a new vantage point from which to view the world. In response, musicians began recording psychedelic rock, which was also intended to change the listener’s consciousness or point of view.
Objectives
- Examine how and why psychedelic music became popular in the mid-1960s
- Recall how the Beach Boys changed their earlier styles of music and began recording psychedelic rock
- Recall how guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix experimented with distortion and feedback to create new sounds on the electric guitar
- Recall how new recording techniques, instruments, technologies, and lyric sources all guided these musicians as they began explore different modes of expression and realms of consciousness in their music
- Examine the Woodstock Music and Art Festival of 1969, regarded as the pinnacle of the music and culture of the late 1960s
Introduction
The mid-1960s were a time of political and social upheaval for young people in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement, protests against the Vietnam War, and the movement for women's rights inspired many people to become suspicious of the American institutions that they were supposed to trust, such as the government. This distrust and sense of separation led to the development of a countercultural movement that was passionate about maintaining its distance from the mainstream. In particular, many young people sought a new vantage point from which to view the world.
Many of them used marijuana and LSD to achieve this new worldview. Eastern religions and spiritual movements and radical philosophies also became popular among people who were seeking new ways of perceiving reality and the world. The music that surrounded and emanated from this movement is generally known as psychedelic rock.
