PHILS PSYCHEDELIC ARCHIVE (17) While most musical genres can sometimes stray into politics or even be hijacked, it was always a bit of a grey area in the midst of psychedelia - there was so much anti-establishment feeling at the time, and a real fight against the conventions of the day, that it couldnt easily be explained away in simple political terms. In the end I gave up trying to work out who was aligned to who, and just enjoyed the music.The lyrics singing songs and carrying signs, mostly saying hooray for our side struck a chord with with me. Having said that there were plenty of worthy causes to stand up and be counted for, not least Civil Rights, Human Rights and the Vietnam War; much of the protest was also directed at the mainly right wing oppressive attitudes which translated into efforts to curtail anyones freedom (often over petty issues). If you have power, you dont like people thinking for themselves, that can be dangerous (to your chances of maintaining the comfortable status quo of course). The establishment must have hated The Fugs. Here was a band who did what they wanted, wrote and sang without any apparent inhibitions, and believed in what they did. They were also an imaginative bunch; I have their Tenderness Junction album which contains a beautiful interpretation of part of Matthew Arnolds Dover Beach, a nicely lewd song Wet Dreams, and a version of Hare Krishna which I still havent decided if they meant to be funny or not. The first track Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out sets the tone for the album, or rather throws down a gauntlet, without actually suggesting how youre meant to survive once youve dropped out. Difficult band to ignore, even years later; wonderful solo! https://youtube/watch?v=-cwYHl3IK0Y
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 00:19:59 +0000
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