Psychedelia

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Psychedelia is psychedelic rock and psychedelic pop, two forms of pop rock that incorporated art music into pop rock music. Psychedelia is the point at which popular music splintered into numerous traditions, never to be whole again.

The term is used in many ways but, on this site, the term is used to specifically refer to pop rock music made between 1966 and 1970 or so, which incorporated Indian Music, Free or Modal Jazz and or Musique Concrete, and pop rock inspired by that fusion (as many of the psychedelic bands of the era didn't so much incorporate art music as incorporate pop rock which incorporated art music). The term has been applied to various other forms of culture outside of music, but here we will only use it for music.


Types of Psychedelia


The Psychedelic Era

Though Toronto's Q107 radio station once defined the psychedelic era as 1965-1975, this time-span is so broad as to be almost comical. Most of the classic psychedelic music was made between 1966 and 1970, but its influence has extended throughout history. Most innovations of psychedelia have been incorporated into mainstream rock music since, so it's quite common to hear something that sounds "psychedelic" that was made outside of this era.

Neo-psychedelia began in the early '80s, as post-punk bands sought inspiration in past rock music. There have been neo-psychedelic bands ever since, even in the 21st century.