Acid Rock & Pink Floyd
Music and drugs. Perhaps it was inevitable that these two came together. Both tend to meet up at parties, help fill a silence or void, and are enjoyed recreationally. While some think music and drugs go together, some will experiment and successfully find a way to make music almost feel like a drug. Before we dive into one of the legendary groups to do so, let us explore a little bit more about the drug we’ll be trying to “feel”, LSD.
Lets go back to Sweden, 1943. A scientist named Albert Hofmann was trying to create medicine to combat migraines. A lot of science is trial and error, and Hofmann had accidently created LSD, Lysergic acid diethylamide. Also known as acid, Hofmann received a dose through contact with his skin. That night as Hofmann biked home, his assistant decided to follow him out of concern. When recounting the night, Hofmann mentioned a very slow and colorful ride where the horizon was almost breathing. His assistant, who arguably was a little more connected to reality, saw Hofmann biking vigorously fast. This was the first “trip” on acid.
Acid eventually collided with music. John Lennon and George Harrison of The Beatles were out one night when another person dosed them. Unaware of the drug being ingested, they were creeped out by the person constantly asking them, “How do you feel?” Regardless of how unethical that moment was, please don’t ever drug others, the two bandmates enjoyed their night. During the Summer of Love in 1967, LSD became more common. As people experimented, some familiar themes came up. There was this idea of reaching a higher consciousness. And in this space, people viewed societal lies as detrimental to the public good and that they could find a true authenticity within themselves. This whole thought process and the emotions that came with it felt like a “trip”.
Musicians were already experimenting with music and finding new exciting ways to enjoy it. The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Band was considered the first concept album. Bob Dylan had taken a very serious and meaningful approach to lyricism with his folk music. With acid, people began to trip with music. The Hippie Aesthetic fit perfectly with this crowd. This ambitious and artistic vibe resonated with the drug. However, some wanted to make the music feel like the drug itself. No other band has ever taken me more on a trip than the music of the great Pink Floyd. We’ll take a small look at The Dark Side of the Moon and see just how they manage to do this.
The Dark Side of the Moon starts with a heartbeat pounding. As it grows increasingly louder, so do other noises. This cacophony of distractions builds until its screaming falls softly onto a gentle bed of guitar and drums. The first words that eventually reach your ears are “Breathe”. Meaningful lyrics accompanied by Roger Water’s voice gives a feeling of melancholic hope. And this is just the start. The album speaks to all differently and it does so for itself, so I don’t want fixate on it too much. I do want to share this though.
A few weeks ago one of my friend’s 16 year old sister came over and wanted to listen to some music on my record player. She didn’t know any of the music I had, so she asked me to suggest something. I recommended The Dark Side of the Moon. I’m a decade older than her, so she turned to me and said, “Wow, are they like old?” Good assumption, but irrelevant. My response was, “A little, but their music is timeless.” So we listened. As we listened, she told me her thoughts about the songs. And it became scary to me how much I could relate to her. Feelings of not being enough, not having enough time, struggling to grasp onto anything when things got too loud. She’s a rather precocious child, but I think this also shows just how encompassing Pink Floyd’s music can be. They have created an album that a sober adolescent could hear for the first time, and then could draw someone like me into a deep conversation. Music that feels like a trip, truly remarkable.
Pink Floyd and all of psychedelic music heavily influenced rock. This era of music and the upbringing of LSD brought out another way of thinking. This subculture of society had found it’s soundtrack. It brought in the experimental success of those before them, and tied it together with the hippie aesthetic. As music became less about listeners and money, the musicians began to express themselves better. They became artists. Plato used to frown upon art because art tends to be imitations of something else. There was no truth or beauty to a recreation of something that already exists in nature. With works like The Dark Side of the Moon, I wonder if even Plato would notice the artists’ attempts at finding truth in society and themselves.
