Episode 116 — What is Psychedelic Music? The Radical Research Answer to a Vexing Question
Radical Research PodcastShow Notes
When it comes to a difficult-to-define concept like psychedelia in music, it's subjective. It’s not all hippies with sitars and lava lamps and bongs…but that’s not wrong either. With a little help from author Michael Hicks and his parameters for what makes music psychedelic, we pose the question: “What is Psychedelic Music?” and offer the Radical Research answer.
Note I:
The Radical Research Patreon page is now set up and ready for your patronage. We are offering tiered subscription levels for those who want a set-it-and-forget-it donation option. As ever, if you choose to support us, we are humbled and grateful! patreon.com/RadicalResearchPodcast
Note II: Our friend Tom Hailey counts Stupid Dream as his favorite and only truly loved Porcupine Tree album. That’s fine. We love it too. But we love many other Porcupine Tree albums. So, when Hunter said “I’ve gotta be honest with you, I’ve gone full Tom Hailey, there’s really only one Porcupine Tree record that I really love anymore,” it blew Jeff’s gaskets. And then it appeared Hunter said that one album was Signify (“and maybe Sky Moves Sideways”). The whole thing became maddening. After listening back to this torrid exchange (starting at the 1:03:25 mark), Hunter wants to clarify: “Stupid Dream is my favorite Porcupine Tree album, and like I said, I like all ‘90s Porcupine Tree.“ He was being oblique in the recording and it all got a bit out of hand. This is the sort of first-world relationship problem that Radical Research can occasionally suffer. And the world keeps turning!
Note III:
All past Radical Research episodes can be found here, where you can also find Jeff’s Peter Steele and Fates Warning books…and more to come soon! Radicalresearch.org
Music cited in order of appearance:
Can – “Halleluwah” (Tago Mago, 1971)
Miles Davis – “Rated X” (Get Up With It, 1974)
Steve Hillage – “Meditation of the Snake” (Fish Rising, 1975)
Joy Division – “Decades” (Closer, 1980) Seefeel – “Time to Find Me (AFX Slow Mix)” (Pure, Impure, 1993)
Beherit – “Summerlands” (Drawing Down the Moon, 1993)
Emperor – “The Loss and Curse of Reverence” (Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, 1997) Coil – “The Dreamer is Still Asleep“ (Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1, 1999)
Portal – “The Endmills” (Seepia, 2003)
Steven Wilson – “Significant Other” (Insurgentes, 2008)
Melvins – “The Bunk Up” (Hold it In, 2014) Arcturus – “Crashland” (Arcturian, 2015)
Cynic – “Mythical Serpents” (Ascension Codes, 2021) ep. 117 preview: Crispy Ambulance – “Are You Ready?” (The Plateau Phase, 1982)
Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest
More from Radical Research Podcast
Our third in the Permeable Lines series takes a query from a Radical Research listener regarding Voivod's "Rise" and Dodheimsgard's "The Snuff Dreams Are Made Of." We're game...and we invite you to send in your bids for comparison in this ongoing Point 5 series.
Much like their hometown of London, England, Akercocke at once embody urbanity and the bucolic, depravity and erudition -- constantly blurring the lines between seemingly opposite poles. In Akercocke’s world, nothing is quite as it seems. Herein, we dissect the most recent half of their discography, which is some of the most adventurous, beguiling metal we have EVER heard.
We conclude our 2-part, 4-hour deep dive into one of our favorite bands in the universe, the mighty Anathema. This second part looks at their 2001-2017 phase, surveying the six albums they released in that 18-year span. They are no longer active, but they’re very much alive in our hearts and sound systems, an eternal source of inspiration for the hosts of this podcast and their legion of fans across the globe. This is a love letter.
Liverpool, England’s Anathema are one of the bedrocks of the Radical Research musical adventure. It’s why we’ve chosen to commemorate our 150th episode with a two-part dive into their entire catalog, from the harrowing wretchedness of their early demo work to the graceful final statement of 2017’s The Optimist. We rejoice and weep, praise and cry, as we explore all of their 1990s output in episode 1 of this 2-part indulgence.
It's back to Norway for Radical Research, although this time, it's not about weirdness, unless you consider us covering an album like this a little weird. But we adore this band, especially this 30-minute masterpiece. And for years, we’d talked of spotlighting Tell No Tales with none other than Bryon Dudley and Aaron Alcott of the excellent Hair Metal Memories podcast. We finally got down to business and in this episode, we dissect all the beauty, joy, audacity and high, higher, highest of this great band’s greatest album. This collaboration felt really natural, and we might do another one with these guys, dudes who aren’t quite at opposite poles as much as one might assume. As Aaron says here, Tell No Tales is “something that should be known beyond the borders of its genre.”