The Summer Of Self-Love? (Granny Takes A Trip)

I've debated for several weeks over whether to comment on the brouhaha surrounding this year's 40th Anniversary of the Summer of Love. My understanding is that celebrations have been planned globally throughout the year to commemorate the infamous summer of 1967; the year that many feel the world broke wide open with endless promise for young people everywhere. There is truth in that perception; 1967 was an exciting time to be young and alive! For the 1st time in over a century, the youth comprised the population's majority, a renaissance in art and music was in full bloom, and despite the escalation of the Vietnam war, the future seemed limitless for those under the age of 30.

From my vantage however, the realities of the Summer of Love are not necessarily something to be celebrated. The myths that have come to symbolize that period are merely selective memory. The media and surprisingly, many of those who actually lived and participated in the fabled Summer, have simply chosen to look back on that time through rose-colored lens by celebrating it's 40th anniversary. It's a strange joke of time and circumstance how we as humans beings tend to whitewash our past, glorifying the good and forgetting the bad, but the 'love generation' has spent so many years patting themselves on the back for 'changing the world,' they fail to notice that the world today is not really that much better off for their effort.

The real (and organic) Summer of Love in San Francisco had already come and gone by the year 1967. The hordes of youth who had heard and read of the kooky happenings of their earlier counterparts began descending upon the epicenter of the city's underground community, an area now forever saddled with the name of a once benign intersection within, the 'Haight/Ashbury.' Many were earnestly searching for the "peace, love, compassion and the unity of mankind" they had come to share in, but many more were simply looking for free sex, ready dope and easy opportunities. By year's end, Haight Street was a wasteland. The neighborhood and all it came to represent lay gasping, choking on it's own vomit. In the following year, overpopulation, crime, bad drugs and worse vibes had conspired to kill the 'flower children's' Utopian vision and by 1969, the dream was over. The Summer of Love had dissolved into a summer of shame.

Perhaps shame is a harsh assessment, but I believe that most of the idealism and dreams held by the 'Woodstock nation' failed to materialize. Noble as those idea's were, most dismally missed their mark as we still live with oppression, violence, racism, materialism and misunderstanding today. Although I do admit that some positive achievements came as a result of the 'hippies' agenda (environmental measures and women's rights to name a few), I honestly believe that those social 'revolutions' were destined to have occurred. The 'love generation' merely accelerated the process by their sheer numbers rather than their collective willpower. Now failure can be understood, but what makes their failings so shameful in my eyes, is that today some 40 years later, the aging generation comprise many of the doctors, lawyers, politicians and 'power brokers' who actually can make a change in our society (if not the world) and they continue fall short; too distracted by their own self-interests*. Equally shameless are select members of the original 'tribe' of kooks who have made a life-long career out of congratulating themselves for their roles as 'architects of the revolution' with endless "I was there and lived to tell the tale" recollections.

To truly commemorate the Summer of Love involves acknowledging of the entire legacy of the 'love generation;' the good with the bad, the victories and the missteps that where both borne from that fabled summer. Without that reality check, this year's commemorative events should otherwise be referred to as the 40th Anniversary of the Summer of Self-Love.

Of course, one of the biggest and most enduring cultural contributions from the Summer of Love was the music. The explosion of the arts in the late-60's created a timeless body of work that continues to resonate for young and old alike. Despite it's origins, the following music mix called 'Granny Takes A Trip' is intended neither to celebrate, nor commemorate the Summer of Love in San Francisco, but rather to showcase the enormity and diversity of the overall sounds of the era. Hoping to avoid the obvious and expected names, I've compiled a mind expanding compendium of well-known to marginally and little-known purveyors of British paisley pop and American psychedelia, along with a single dose of acid rock featuring the 38 tracks listed below:

1. small face/green circles 2. buff organization/upside down world
3. firesign/interlude 4. bee gees/the earnest of being george 5. firesign/interlude
6. psychedelic hal blaine/wiggly (november) 7. demons of negativity/resurrection
8. kevin ayers/clarence in wonderland 9. projection company/kimeaa
10. smoke/my friend jack 11. red crayola/hurricane fighter plane 12. firesign/interlude
13. gates of eden/elegy 14. dantalian's chariot/madman running through the fields
15. fleur de lys/circles 16. who/disguises 17. firesign/interlude
18. rolling stones/she smiled sweetly 19. hollies/king midas in reverse
20. purple gang/granny takes a trip 21. firesign/interlude
22. bubble puppy/hot smoke and sassafras 23. firesign/interlude
24. tomorrow/my white bicycle 25. nirvana/rainbow chaser
26. interlude 27. spencer davis group/time seller
28. crazy world of arthur brown/spontaneous apple creation
29. pythons/interlude 30. status quo/ice in the sun 31. firesign/interlude
32. quicksilver messenger service/dino's song 33. tyrannosaurus rex/a day laye
34. left banke/lazy day 35. firesign/interlude 36. lemon pipers/my green tamborine
37. peter pan & the good fairies/kaleidoscope 38. ...we love you

To download, click here and trip out!

*In another example of so-called progressives determined to repackage their relics for resale is the exclusion of any younger bands in the musical line-up by organizers of the San Francisco commemorative event; bands who have been influenced by and carry the torch of their psychedelic forefathers. According to the official press release, the music stage consisted entirely musicians of the period, reunited seemingly for nostalgia's sake. The author was not in attendance however to confirm whether this may have changed by the day of the event.