The first Psychedelic song?

Lisnaholic · 03-01-2014, 07:24 PM

The Merry Pranksters and Timothy Leary both made records of recitals put to music. Although they aren`t songs according to the usual definition of the word, and aren`t as early as Berlioz, I think they deserve a mention here as nobody can doubt their psychedelic credentials:-

I wouldn`t like to take a side on any USA vs UK psychedelia debate, but I do remember that Timothy L. had high praise for the Brits. In a long article he wrote about the British tradition of psychedelic experience, he rounded up all the usual suspects like de Quincy, Blake, Coleridge and Lewis Carol. He said that the Beatles were just the latest players in a cultural game that the Brits had been playing since the days of the British Raj - those Victorian guys stationed in India, Bringing It All Back Home. His argument hangs together quite well, because at the same time the psychedelic movement started up there was a new-found tongue-in-cheek fashion for Victoriana; the famous Granny Takes A Trip shop in Carnaby Street, the military clothes, droopy moustaches and of course the circus poster that sparked off For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite. So maybe at one level the Brits did have an edge; lyrically if nothing else, people like Procul Harum and Syd Barrett could just dip into a back catalogue of proto-psychedelic writings that they had probably come across as children.

03-01-2014, 07:24 PM	#33 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	The Merry Pranksters and Timothy Leary both made records of recitals put to music. Although they aren`t songs according to the usual definition of the word, and aren`t as early as Berlioz, I think they deserve a mention here as nobody can doubt their psychedelic credentials:- I wouldn`t like to take a side on any USA vs UK psychedelia debate, but I do remember that Timothy L. had high praise for the Brits. In a long article he wrote about the British tradition of psychedelic experience, he rounded up all the usual suspects like de Quincy, Blake, Coleridge and Lewis Carol. He said that the Beatles were just the latest players in a cultural game that the Brits had been playing since the days of the British Raj - those Victorian guys stationed in India, Bringing It All Back Home. His argument hangs together quite well, because at the same time the psychedelic movement started up there was a new-found tongue-in-cheek fashion for Victoriana; the famous Granny Takes A Trip shop in Carnaby Street, the military clothes, droopy moustaches and of course the circus poster that sparked off For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite. So maybe at one level the Brits did have an edge; lyrically if nothing else, people like Procul Harum and Syd Barrett could just dip into a back catalogue of proto-psychedelic writings that they had probably come across as children. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953