A Brief History of Alt Psychedelic Rock

Ongoing History of New Music

Here’s one of the most misunderstood and misused words in the English language: “psychedelic” …

The word first came into use in 1956 when a psychiatrist named Humphrey Osmond was studying a new class of pharmaceuticals that had potential when it came to treating certain mental disorders…

A chemical known as lysergic acid diethylamide—LSD, for short—had been extracted by a Swiss scientist named Albert Hoffman from a fungus called “ergot”…from 1943 on, medical professionals tried to figure out what it could be used for…it was even marketed commercially for a while under the brand name “delysid”…

Then the CIA got involved, thinking that LSD could be used for things like interrogation, chemical warfare and mind control…but that’s a whole other story...

Because the chemical resulted in people entering an altered state of perception, some started using it recreationally… artists discovered its properties and started taking acid trip, looking for inspiration and new creative roads…

Then other psychedelics went mainstream, including mescaline (which comes from the peyote plant) and psylocybin (which you get from certain mushrooms) before just about all of these drugs were made illegal…

Meanwhile, “psychedelic”—which means “soul-revealing” in Greek—became an adjective…it describes anything that could be described as mind expanding, anything that alters the way we perceive reality…

Naturally, this quickly extended to music…psych became a thing in the 60s—that sound, feel, vibe, attitude continues today with alt-rock…

This is a quick history of psych in the world of alternative music…

Songs used in this episode:

1. Kula Skaker - Tattva
2. The Soft Boys - Give It To The Soft Boys
3. Teardrop Explodes - Sleeping Gas
4. Echo and the Bunnymen - Bring on the Dancing Horses
5. Siousxie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence
6. Spaceman 3 - Revolution
7. The Bangles - Hero Takes A Fall
8. My Bloody Valentine - Soon
9. The Verve - Slide Away
10. Tame Impala - Elephant

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