[ebooks] Mary Stuart (Modern Plays) by Friedrich Schiller at Arts-Photography

Review

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Psychedelia and Infinite COLORS (AND OTHER THINGS)By JAKThis is a fairly interesting book thats a bit of a grab bag.Its difficult to say exactly what it is about.It starts with a fairly short history of the social-cultural impact of LSD ;then segues into a rather dense discussion of critical theories on multi media ; multi sensory forms of artistic expression.Then you get the music.Chapman gives you a long section on American popular music of the 60s followed by an even longer section on British music of the same period.I cant beleive Chapman can still hear because he appears to have listened to every obscure band that ever recorded.Chapman is not afraid to explore the esoteric or marginal.I found the American section more interesting in part because i was more familiar with that music.While he possess a solid critical intelligence; I do think he is insufficiently discriminatory.He spends too much time on marginal groups that dont sound all that interesting .But when hes on; which is most of the time ; hes good.You also never know what hell start on next.At one point hell be talking about Mondrian and the next Frankie Valli.Allegedly there is a unifying thread here centering around the cultural impact of LSD.Its tenuous.Theres a long discourse on English signage and lettering in the prior century and English nostalgia.He points out its revival in the psychedelic context.H;es already briefly discussed The Kinks;who he correctly states were about as unpsychedelic as you can get.But the Kinks were deeply nostalgic and some how their nostalgia relates them to psychedelia.He also throws out a good ; limited defense of Brian Jones .Jones is largely remembered ; if at all ; as a dissipated druggie who died in mysterious circumstances and looked weird playing the sitar during PAINT IT BLACK.Chapman points out he was a talented musician who could play a number of instruments and was the Rolling Stone most conversant with avant garde technique.On the other hand ; there is a comparison of the songs DARK END OF THE STREET and The Seeds PUSHIN TOO HARD- that made no sense at all.Yes ; both deal in some sense with thwarted or troubled lust or love but thats about it.In any book that covers so much ground ; mistakes are inevitable.St.Thomas is not a Pacific Island ; its in the Caribbean.Im pretty sure that Lovin Spoonfuls SUMMER IN THE CITY- is set in New York not Los Angeles(John Sebastian was a child of the then Italian South Village)Also Chapman does not "get" The Weatherman(SDS).These are minor mistakes in a good book that 60s music lovers should find quite interesting.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Three StarsBy DesignmannWordy...5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. The Sociology of PsychBy Steven MooreAlthough this is a fairly comprehensive history of psychedelic music in Britain and America during the Sixties; it differs from others in delving more deeply into sociological and cultural issues; especially during the second half of the book on "Psychedelia UK." A recurring theme is the influence of LSD on psych; not only on the music but on lyrics; light shows; fashion; and posters. "Acid sugar-cubed and blotter-soaked and tidal-waved its way across the universe in ways unparalleled before or since;" as he sums up on the last page. But Chapman also discusses the influence of nostalgia; utopianism; media coverage; censorship; racism; and psychology on the music as well. This is as much a cultural history of psych as a music survey.Challenging conventional wisdom; Chapman validates the psych credentials of many bands not usually included in the genre (the Association; the Mamas and the Papas; the Bee Gees; the Moody Blues); and makes unusual connections like the relevance of surf music to psychedelia--a chapter so good that it inspired me to buy my first surf instrumentals comp CD. He elevates certain groups--Soft Machine is one of the few that gets a separate chapter; quite rightly IMHO--and downgrades others. (Hes rather hard on the Doors. Yes; Morrison acted like a clownish drunk at times; but as a BAND the Doors are extraordinary in the most literal sense of the word.)Chapman displays a vast knowledge of music; not just psych but classical; commercial; and world music as well. Although I know psychedelia fairly well--I grew up with the stuff as a teen in the Sixties--he discusses hundreds of bands Ive never heard of. And he makes dozens of counter-intuitive connections; such as when he clever demonstrates "that there is an unbroken line of development between Bob Dylan and the Banana Splits."Best of all is Chapmans colorful way of writing; reminiscent of Lester Bangs but with more control and source notes. A few examples at random: Barry Ryans "1968 Top 10 hit Eloise was a silk-blousery romp of a song; with bridal choruses that crescendoed and climaxed like a host of Tin Pan Alley valkyries." "Smokey Pokey World" by Tickle--a good example of the rarities discussed here--is described as follows: "The wigged-out call and response between the left-brain; right-brain vocal lines is blue-eyed gospel mutated to the nth. The duo of vocalists sound like disembodied glove puppets popping up from adjacent rabbit holes or moon craters as a ringmaster MC unsuccessfully tries to club them to death with a mallet made of calcified Jelly Tots." (How badly do you want to hear THAT!)This is a magnificent study of a style that could be silly and excessive at times--one that was certainly abused by many bandwagon-jumpers who later traded psychedelics for coke or heroin to jump on the next music fad--but Chapman shows why psych should be taken as seriously as any other genre in the annals of music history.