Trippersonics by Scott Meze
Psychedelia isn’t what you think it is. This superb large-format book details the 125 tracks and albums every experienced tripper must have in their collection, mapping out every turn in the music so you know exactly what to expect.
125 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENTS TO THE PERFECT PSYCHEDELIC TRIP
The book also lists and describes those tracks suitable for the novice, including 40 outstanding examples of psychedelic pop from the Beatles to the modern day.
Featured artists include Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, the Soft Machine, Acid Mothers Temple, Can, Man, Brainticket, Gong, Ash Ra Tempel, the Boredoms, Hawkwind, Tangerine Dream, Frank Zappa, Nurse With Wound, the Future Sound Of London — and more than a hundred more, from every possible style of music, including many that are not generally thought of as psychedelic. For each one, Meze puts the piece in context, and maps out its sonic terrain visually.
From floating bliss to brain-chewing chaos, Trippersonics takes you to the heart of the most extraordinary music ever recorded.
Special features include:
- A new definition of psychedelia and psychedelic music
- How to match soundtrack to experience
- Adventures in psychedelic pop, including the essential tripper’s pop soundtrack from the Byrds to Teenage Filmstars
- A special feature on the Grateful Dead
- How to choose vinyl, CD, and digital sources
- Psychedelia in surround sound
- Exclusive graphical terrain guides for each of the 125 featured recordings so you’re never stuck without a sonic map
140,000 words : 242 pages
Paperback
Amazon search code: 1522075054
Buy at Amazon US : $15.99
Buy at Amazon UK : £12.99
Print-replica ebook
Amazon search code: B08ZKHB8SW
Buy at Amazon US : $9.99
Buy at Amazon UK : £8.99
This ebook is a faithful reproduction of the paperback version presented in a layout-locked format similar to a PDF file.
EXCERPT
It’s a late Friday night in February, and the city lies timeless as a dream.
A taxi pulls up in front of the EMI studio in Abbey Road. David Crosby climbs out the back seat with an album under his arm. He buttons his coat against the winter frost, presses his Borsalino hat firmly over his head, tries to shake off his jetlag. Two days ago he was in hot-as-a-riot Los Angeles, sharing the stage at a C.A.F.F. benefit at the Valley Music Theater with the Doors and Buffalo Springfield. There’s a future here, Crosby knew, as the Byrds tumbled through their familiar set. In deceptively sleepy London, they are no longer the coolest four people in town. He can feel the all-night vibrations from basement clubs, far away in the heart of the city, shaking the foundations underfoot.
As the taxi eases away, he blinks at the faces in the gloom beneath the studio wall. A vigil of barely dressed girls, shivering in a huddle. It takes him a moment to remember that the fans won’t hassle him here.
Suddenly the door flies open. John Lennon comes bounding down the steps. His glasses flash red in the lights of the departing taxi.
‘Nice mustache, Croz. But once again, we’re way ahead of you.’
Crosby chuckles. He knows full well the Byrds lead, the Beatles follow. Then he notices the others behind Lennon, nudging each other and giggling like school kids, and laughs out loud. They’re all sporting mustaches.
Paul McCartney, the attentive host, pushes a joint in his mouth. ‘A Mal special. You’ll need it.’
‘Oh yeah?’ Crosby takes a drag, tilting the brim of his hat down to shield his face from the onlookers. He passes Lennon the album. ‘Check out the second track on side two. ‘Mind Gardens.’ It’s the new frontier, man.’
‘Same hat,’ Ringo comments in his best Liverpudlian drawl. ‘You could have made an effort.’
They usher him into the building. Excitement is palpable on their faces. Even Lennon, for once, has ditched the cynical act and seems unusually eager to hurry Crosby to the studio. His eyes, carefully cleansed of pink, are wide and twinkling. His pupils are so big Crosby can’t tell what color they are.
‘We’ll mark your paper later,’ Lennon grins, sliding the album on a table.
They head through the maze of the building. ‘So what are you up to?’ Crosby asks.
‘Piano music,’ George Harrison says.
‘Piano music.’ Crosby’s joint hits a nodule of hash and everything lights up. ‘You guys have lost it.’
The lights are low in Studio 2. It’s all ready for him. Crosby takes in the knowing glances of the engineers, George Martin’s paternal face up in the control room window, the strange setup in the middle of the studio floor. Two enormous boxed speakers have been positioned a few feet apart, facing each other. Between them McCartney has placed a stool, carefully dead center in the stereo field.
‘Your next single?’ Crosby says, glancing from face to face as they steer him onto the stool. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve followed ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ already. I won’t fucking believe it.’
McCartney, ever practical, drops an ashtray in his lap.
‘You ready?’
Crosby takes another drag, watching the shimmering curls of tobacco at the end of the joint twisting as they burn. He feels the studio expanding around him, yawning open like an enormous wind tunnel preparing for the roar of jet engines. Jets like McGuinn and himself had felt blowing through them for the past two years.
He nods silently. The others have already hurried out of the studio, shoving each other back as they fight to be first up the stairs to the control room. The lights click off, leaving just the glimmer of Crosby’s joint, burning hot now, and the expectant buzz of the studio equipment. He closes his eyes, makes himself as comfortable as he can.
He hears Lennon’s voice by his right ear, muttering something, and resists the urge to turn. It’s just a count-in on the tape. Just the pot pushing everything apart.
Now a solitary acoustic guitar, strumming a simple blues pattern, a series of simple melancholy piano chords. Too slow for a single, he muses, too gentle. No promise at all. They’ve blown it.
Then Lennon starts to sing:
‘I read the news today. Oh boy…’
140,000 words : 242 pages
Paperback
Amazon search code: 1522075054
Buy at Amazon US : $15.99
Buy at Amazon UK : £12.99
Print-replica ebook
Amazon search code: B08ZKHB8SW
Buy at Amazon US : $9.99
Buy at Amazon UK : £8.99
active maas 