Progressive/Psychedelic Rock

Over the fall semester, I plan to study progressive rock, also known as prog rock. The genre of progressive rock is also commonly linked to the term “psychedelic,” which can be applied to a wide variety of musical genres. Yes -- There is such a thing as psychedelic folk, psychedelic pop and even psychedelic trance. I think the genre of psychedelic rock would be a particularly rich topic to study, because the concept of psychedelic music can carry several different meanings and shed light on many different cultural issues. For instance, psychedelic rock is often associated with psychedelic, mind-altering drugs such as acid or LSD. There's no surprise that the rise of psychedelic rock had a lot to do with the developing drug scene and the new wave of consciousness that swept over the nation during the 1960s. In addition, psychedelic rock is characterized by strong, loaded lyrical content that is often philosophical. Personally speaking, the light, dreamlike sound is what really drew me to psychedelic music. An example of this dreamlike sound can be heard on Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. (Great album, btw.) In short, I would really like to follow the progression of psychedelic rock and discuss the numerous ways in which it affected the period of the mid ‘60s. I'll probably be focusing my research on Pink Floyd.