Category Archives: Counterculture

‘Ramparts’, the muck-racking San Francisco magazine that helped spawn ‘Rolling Stone’

Posted on July 30, 2018 by

“The 50th anniversary of Rolling Stone magazine has arrived, and not without fanfare. Joe Hagan’s biography of co-founder Jann Wenner appeared in October to stellar reviews, and earlier this month, HBO aired Alex Gibney’s documentary film about the magazine’s history. … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Power, CIA, Counterculture, Documentary, Eldridge Cleaver, Haight-Ashbury, Hippie, LSD, Marijuana, MLKJr., Newspaper, Religion, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Folk to Acid Rock, How Marty Balin Launched the San Francisco Music Scene

Posted on July 27, 2018 by

Top: Marty Balin at Monterey Pop, 1967. Photo by Suki Hill. Above. Jefferson Airplane enjoyed a close relationship with promoter Bill Graham, who booked the band, which he managed during most of 1967, into the Fillmore in San Francisco and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Graham, Counterculture, Grateful Dead, Haight-Ashbury, Hippie, Music, Rolling Stones | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Synthedelia: Psychedelic Electronic Music in the 1960s

Posted on July 7, 2018 by

“‘Rock & roll is electronic music – because if you pull the plug, it stops.’ So says Louis ‘Cork’ Marcheschi of Fifty Foot Hose, whose sole album, Cauldron – a pioneering collision of abstract electronics and psychedelic rock originally released … Continue reading →

Posted in Counterculture, Environmental, Grateful Dead, Happenings, Jazz, Music, Street theater | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Space Cowboy’s Curriculum

Posted on June 27, 2018 by

“Ten things I know about John Perry Barlow: 1. John Perry Barlow died this past February at age seventy, but people have been trying to describe him for decades. Among the attempts: ‘Internet guru,’ ‘the thinking man’s Forrest Gump,’ and … Continue reading →

Posted in Counterculture, Grateful Dead, Haight-Ashbury, Ken Kesey, LSD, Merry Pranksters, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bosstown Sound

Posted on June 17, 2018 by

Beacon Street Union: The Eyes of the Beacon Street Union “The Bosstown Sound (or Boston Sound) was the catchphrase of a marketing campaign to promote psychedelic rock and psychedelic pop bands in Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 1960s. The concept … Continue reading →

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Africa’s 1968: Protests and Uprisings Across the Continent

Posted on June 17, 2018 by

Egyptians pour into the streets on 9 and 10 June 1967, shouting, “we shall fight” in support of President Nasser, and against his resignation. “Fifty years ago, in May 1968, what started as a localized student protest against proposed reforms … Continue reading →

Posted in Counterculture, Paris | Tagged , | Leave a comment

10 Early Late Night TV Interviews You’d Never See Today

Posted on June 2, 2018 by

Fidel Castro on The Ed Sullivan Show (1959) “Back before the age of 24-hour cable news and stations dedicated entirely to single sports teams, television was a pretty barren medium dominated by the three major networks. At night, families would … Continue reading →

Posted in Counterculture, Cuban Revolution, John Kennedy, LSD, Lyn. Johnson, Rob. Kennedy, Timothy Leary | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment