Tripping (MP3s)

As we are approaching the 40th anniversary of the LSD ban in October 1966, here is a fair and balanced look at acid, as seen through the eyes of popular culture.

Wendell Austin and The Country Swings - LSD (MP3): The drug of choice for country singers has always been alcohol (with the notable exception of Willie Nelson), so it is no surprise that acid did not appeal to Wendell at all.

Acid, The Story of LSD (MP3): Taken from the soundtrack of an educational (supposedly anti-LSD) film from 1971. The music on this one is certainly ahead of its time, and I suspect that it was created under the influence of psychedelic drugs.

Stu Mitchell - Acid (MP3): The lyrics condemn LSD, but the music tells a different story. If Stu hadn't taken drugs, it would have sounded boring and generic. Probably signs of a split personality.

Sacramento City College Stage Band - LSD '67 (MP3): More proof of the beneficial effect of acid on musical creativity.

Danny Ben-Israel - Bad Trip (MP3): For the inexperienced it is good to know what a bad trip sounds like. It might surprise you that it closely resembles an average WFMU show.

Jeffrey Lewis - The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane (MP3): Practical advice on some of the dangers of LSD and how to avoid them. Follow the rules and you might discover the meaning of life, or don't follow them and fall from a rooftop.

More audio on the topic of acid and insanity can be found here by one of the leading scholars of insanity, communism, capitalism, fluoridation, and the bible, the late W. Cleon Skousen. Like many drug critics, he fails to address the question whether it is better to be boring or insane.

I haven't touched on important issues like cosmic masonry and elves, but you can hear all about it in the MP3 archives at Trip Receptacles, featuring Albert Hofmann, Timothy Leary, and Stanislav Grof, among others.

LSD has also given us an impeccable and very simple tool to judge popular culture: The more it resembles an acid trip, the better it is. This test applies to everything, including radio stations, and it explains why WFMU and Resonance FM are ahead of the pack. (It also explains the presence of Dave Emory and Rob Simone on those two radio stations, if you ever wondered.)

Comments

[Rev. Marcus Burkhard]

Let's not forget LSD also gave us the knowledge of the double helix.

[protogenes]

I can offer this:

http://lotu2.blogspot.com/2005/09/lsd.html

[Alexa]

wow...thanks for the Trip Receptacles link

Nice to see many Terence McKenna tracks available for download (on their page) - - although McKenna was more of a proponent of DMT than LSD!

keep on bloggin'

A

[James]

Check out some sketches under the influence of LSD I did based on a Roger McGough Liverpool Scene poem I did in 1970 on me ole site.... www.tregaskis.org

[michael deprisco]

have always been fascinated with the world of LSD....anyone ever run across the Bud Freeman 45, "Because of LSD"? I figure if ANYONE in the world knows about this record, it would be someone at wfmu....anyway...thanks for the great blog!!! Mike deprisco