{"id":16299,"date":"2015-01-26T02:41:25","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T01:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/?p=16299"},"modified":"2015-01-26T02:41:25","modified_gmt":"2015-01-26T01:41:25","slug":"listen-to-the-colour-of-your-dreams-part-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/2015\/01\/26\/listen-to-the-colour-of-your-dreams-part-four\/","title":{"rendered":"Listen to the Colour of Your Dreams: Part Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lsd05.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

LIFE, September 9th, 1966. Photo by Yale Joel.<\/em><\/p>\n

Continuing the psychedelic mega-mix based on Jon Savage\u2019s list of \u201c100 mind-expanding masterpieces\u201d (see this post<\/a>). The fourth of the six mixes is the first visit to the USA, with songs from the years 1965 to 1967 arranged in mostly chronological order. As before, the selections from the Savage 100 are in bold, and I\u2019ve added notes about my additions or amendments.<\/p>\n

US psychedelia differs from the UK variety in its origins\u2014there’s often a country or folk influence where British bands tended to be working from a background of R&B\u2014and in the political reality that lurks underneath the spaced-out sentiments. UK psychedelia can be whimsical to a degree that tips into childishness, the stakes are often nothing more serious than the risk of being busted for illicit drug use; America was a nation at war overseas and at home, with riots and assassinations forming a backdrop to many of these songs. Kaleidoscope’s Keep Your Mind Open<\/em> sounds like it might be a typical plea for freer thinking but the lyrics address the war in Vietnam, and the song fades out to the sounds of gunfire.<\/p>\n