Historical Context

The psychedelic movement was a short time period in American history, prominent during the end of the 1960s among college age people. Music was essential to these ideas of counterculture and freedom from societal norms. The “Turn on, Tune in, Drop out” motto was directly related to the use of music as the soundtrack of the trip along with the use of drugs or music acting as the trip (the music mimics the use of drugs), in the quest for higher consciousness. Drugs added spectacle to these outdoor festivals, as well as the natural scenery. Being visual creatures makes it “nearly impossible to escape from the visual” (Pinch 2004, 637) aspects of entertainment. This helped influence the development of special lighting and other on stage effects to add spectacle and entertainment value to indoor concerts. As these outdoor festivals continued to attract large crowds, like Woodstock and Altamont, there was a need for more organization and structure. This, along with the decline of the hippie movement at the turn of the decade, ushered musical groups into large stadiums to play to a somewhat more controlled audience. This also changed the music. Artists had to develop new technology to reach audience members in the far corners of the stadium and to be able to hear themselves play. New amplifiers, lighting, speaker systems, and guitar distortions morphed psychedelic rock into progressive rock, glam rock, and punk rock as the “introduction of a new instrument or adaptation of an old instrument [was the] opportunity to transform musical culture” (Pinch 2004, pg 639). Music and culture changed side by side as the genre moved from the outdoor festivals to the indoor stadiums, emphasizing that “different performing contexts… affect the reception and interpretation of the musical content” (Whitely 2004, 19). As the Rolling Stones were gaining in popularity while touring, it is interesting to note the difference in sound and performance of the same song in the same year, but in two different venues. Below is a video of the band playing in Hyde Park in London in July 1969. Notice how the sound quality of the song sounds strained in the limitless outdoor space. The music sounds less contained and structured, as the drums and guitar at times sound off-beat and out of tune, much like the audience, as we can see how they are interacting with the music under the influence of drugs.