Psychedelics
Cultural Research > Psychedelics Intro > Psychedelics Essay
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Introduction The Look: Mind-boggling, electric, swirling patterns of primary and fluorescent colour from the beginning in the USA. Swinging London Psychedelia adds (for girls) futuristic metallic fabrics, geometric haircuts, lashings of mascara, white lipstick, enormous take eyelashes, PVC coats, miniskirts and kinky boots. Pioneers of unisex, both in the USA and Britain, the Psychedelics bring colour and glitter and experimentation for all. The Time: 1964+ The Place: California(spreading across USA), Swinging London (spreading everywhere). Influenced: Funk, Glam, Heavy Metal, Punks, Pervs, Ravers, Cyberpunks |
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Essay Excerpt
On June 14, 1964 an old, clapped out International Harvester school bus pulled away from La Hondo California. The bus was carrying the internationally acclaimed writer Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Sometimes a Great Notion) and thirteen other ‘Merry Pranksters’, stereo amps, cine cameras and an extra large supply of LSD (which was legal in the USA until 1966; indeed, a drug which the CIA had been enthusiastically testing on paid guinea pigs like Ken Kesey for some time). Oh yes, the bus was driven by none other than Neal Cassidy (inspiration for Jack Kerouac’s Dean Moriarty in his great Beat novel On the Road) and painted on every square inch inside as well as out with swirling patterns of knock-your-eyes-out primary and fluorescent colours. |