How the Beatles Use of Drugs Impacted Their Lyrics and Society

The Beatles were a well-known rock and roll band that formed in England in 1960 and revolutionized popular music as a highly innovative and lucrative art form during the next decade (Beatdom 2015). The band was a well-known collective at the time, producing hits such as Hey Jude, With a Little Help From My Friends, Penny Lane, and Day Tripper (Everett 102). The four members of the band arrived in New York City, USA, on February 7, 1964, two days before their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Thousands of their fans screamed at them and with a burning group wave towards fabulous four, successfully buried all in the preceding heartthrob vocalists. However, it is not all who were present that were shameless admirers of the new blokes in town. In the first months of the Beatles visit, they instantly became idol in America (Egendorf 61). Later in the same month, they went back to Britain. The songs of the Beatles monopolized the pop charts for the better part of the year. They at a certain week had the top five songs, and in most concerts, and press conferences, they found time to write some of the liveliest, most dynamic pop around for beginners. The Beatles were aiming at getting to the top like most other bands. They like all others bands aimed to become the leading Rock and Roll band in the world (Egendorf 56). When they attained that, they had the goal of promoting love and peace throughout the world. However, almost in 1970, Paul McCartney, George, and Ringo were aiming at just keeping the band together (Everett 102). Finally, Paul and John had a bit of issues and Paul quit the band.
Although the Beatles were embraced by the Americans, they were never the shrill-clean boy band. The band was sampling and openly using drugs throughout the 1960s, which made many people to think they tarnished their image of decent boys (MacDonald 96). What is evident is that the four boys used their music to spread the drug culture, which increased with time.
Though most of the religious practices and societies encourage entheogenic drug practices, the 1960s introduced use of drugs for recreation purposes to the front of the trendy culture (MacDonald 103). The 1960s were a phase of transformation, and mind-changing things that were essential to the change. Even through the real proportion of users of drugs was not as lofty as it may have appeared drugs radically transformed the fashionable esthetic and conversation of the period.
The Beatles were well-known public group. Their fame enlarged any fashion that they participated in, as well as substance abuse. The band, for majority of people especially youths, marked the transforming times. The changes during the Sixties usually appeared representative of the real change in outlooks and in politics in the artist culture and movement (Sheffield 115). The artistic of drugs high had an influence on the music of the Beatles, which passed the drug culture to the masses. The decade was defined by the interconnectedness of music, and drug culture.
The Beatles cared about their image. The development of unmistakable and cohesive characteristics proved to be very effective for their profession (Martin et al. 112). After the evolution of their music, their image also improved for better. In the beginning of the Sixties, their image was by now their main concern in the accomplishment of their goals as a band. The band members hired Brian Epstein as their manager who assisted them in shaping their look. The Beatles had a cleat-cut, wore similar outfits and shaved their hair in a similar manner, the moptop. This phase of their career is described by most people as the _x0093_naive_x0094_ stage. The hair style they adopted made them seem younger than their real age. They embodied young cuteness and innocence. Most girls flocked to them for their safe manliness compared to the other rock groups like The Rolling Stones. At that point, the Beatles were already conscious of their image management.
Nonetheless, the Beatles began departing from their iconic virtue. After being popular, they became more thoughtful of themselves. In their song, _x0093_Help!_x0094_ they sarcastically comment about A Hard Day_x0092_s Night based on an adult perspective (Stark 98). The transformation in character and artistic corresponds with the use of marijuana for the first time. When Bob Dylan paid the Beatles a visit in 1964, and spent time with them, at the Airport, he was astonished by the fact that they did not smoke pot. Following the introduction, there were numerous stories of them regularly using weed as they made Help! Aesthetics by now had begun to change in the movie, which presents a lot of strange situations and a weird plotline (Stark 98). Though the transformations in the art were not because of drugs only, the introduction to marijuana appears to be timely. In 1966, they shifted into a recording studio, where the change in production of music let the drug aesthetic effect to be extra distinct, as better artistic management was permitted in the recording of sound.
The album Rubber Soul that was produced during 1965 had clear musical influence of the transfer to the recording studio. The resonance and appearance of the Beatles diverted from their previous work. The cover of the album marked a fresh look. The moptops has long hair, and their goofy smiles had disappeared. Their fashion was also new. They wore flowing tops and earthly shades. They had taken on a fresh rock artistic that was an influence by Dylan and the American people restoration, which marijuana contributed to. In these songs, the Beatles indicated a clear transformation.
The Beatle_x0092_s song, _x0093_Nowhere Man_x0094_ is an indication of a turn towards more complicated lyrics (Stark 107). The song talks about a system dropout rather than relationships and love. According to the lyrics of the song, a man who has gotten out of the coordination is really nowhere, he is seated nowhere, creating his nowhere strategies for nobody_x0094_ (Stark 107). The song portrays an approach that reflects the attitude of someone who smokes pot. Marijuana can place someone in a misty condition. Once one gets incredibly stoned, they often portray behavior like the lack of activity or motivation. The words of the song appear to be referring to a _x0093_burnout._x0094_ Artistically, the song is corresponding to the notions of feeling _x0093_high_x0094_ on a drug like marijuana. Marijuana has another side effect of slowing down of reaction time. In comparison to the previous songs by the Beatles, this song is significantly sluggish in its tempo. The beats of the drum fail to drive forward with the vigor, but instead, it sounds relaxed and lazy. The voice slides slowly from between the notes when the background voices sing _x0093_Aaaalalala._x0094_
In comparison to those songs found in the album, Please Please Me, (Stark 71) the words on the album Rubber Soul (Stark 72) are complicated and less traditional. They look into additional thoughtful matters that appear to be directly related to the lives and personalities of the members of the band. The early Beatles were exceptional at creating their influence into their music. However, following the release of Rubber Soul, they began pushing the cover into unlicensed musical area. Next they explore sounds that are remarkably inventive. While prior to looking for encouragement in the trendy music, they started turning to ultramodern and the existing opposing culture for their thoughts. The Beatles introduce new reverberation to the people that most of them are yet to familiarize with. There occurs a mutual correlation between them and the youth culture (Martin et al. 32). The band perceives what is happening in smaller or secretive sights, and rapidly creates music representing their findings, transmitting the music to the majority. Most people usually make observation on how the band is moving with the change in trends. They were not only trendy, but also defined the period.
The use of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) also influenced the music by the Beatles. In April 1965, Dr. John Riley introduced LSD to George Harrison and John Lennon. It was common during this era for people to slip LSD into drinks and foods of others. After all, the drug was still legal. The _x0093_pranking_x0094_ idea was usually from the users of LSD who played the part of disciples of the cause of the drug. The ones who were changed by the experience wanted others to have an experience too. In the same way, George and John were introduced to it by Dr. John Riley, who sneaked it into the coffee during a party (Turner 82). Although Lennon was initially shocked by the expedition, he later became a passionate drug fan. Eventually all the members of the Beatles used LSD. That influenced their songs in Revolver, in which _x0093_Dr. Robert_x0094_ refers a person who supplies LSD to his pals. The figure may perhaps be motivated by Dr. Robert. According to the song_x0092_s lyrics, if one is down the he will be picked up by Dr. Robert. One should take a drink from the doctor_x0092_s special cup (Stark 59).That indicates an illusion to the abuse of drugs. The _x0093_extraordinary cup_x0094_ refers to the acid drug. The Revolver that was produced in 1966 is an in indication of a shift towards an artistic influenced by hallucinogenic drugs. The Beatles violate mysterious production dominions to broaden their world of sounds; LSD augments the manner in which sounds are perceived. The album is followed by Sgt. Pepper_x0092_s Lonely Heart Club Band, which is even more psychedelic. The album is released in the Summer of Love in 1968. The model album characterizes the psychedelic art of hippie counterculture.
Although LSD was initially meant for government and medical purposes, it was attractive to the artist_x0092_s masses, which were drawn to it due to its sensory stimulation. LSD affects the brain in two key parts: cerebral cortex, that is involved in cognition, perception, and disposition; and the locus ceruleus a part that gets sensory indications from the whole body. Superficially, the LSD dynamically affects the aural and visual experience. It is reported by most LSD users that it intensely changes their physical experiences of the surroundings. In contrast to Marijuana, it generates hallucination characteristics. Its strong impact can last for an extended period of time than marijuana. It creates madness for 12 or 8 hours, although the user is very logical and lively when high on it.
The psychedelic aesthetic emerged in the Beatles_x0092_ songs after 1965. The artistic reproductions of the drug trips are evident in their content, music, and video. Aesthetics have been constructed by musicians such as the Beatles during the 1960s that developed stylistic reunions that signify psychelic expeditions for the listeners. In the cultures after the 1960s, it is common to hear something being described as being _x0093_trippy_x0094_ irrespective of whether they have ever has a taste of LSD (Beatdom 2015). However, without using the drug, the Beatles could not have made it to represent the aesthetic skill that successfully. They work as messengers of the aesthetic of the drugs to the broad population.
Starting with the Revolver, the techniques of music start imitating the manner in which one would experience a song on a journey. Fresh kinds of auditory appearance made the albums to divert from the original _x0093_rock n_x0092_ roll,_x0094_ which preceded them ("Making of Sgt. Pepper" 1). One of the ways in which the band attained original music is by using new methods of recording and technologies (Turner 201). The studio technician was important in assisting them establish the fresh sounds they thought they could hear in their thoughts. As the songs engineers, the technician established technical ways of making their thoughtful dreams feasible. When evaluating the different accounts of the LSD expeditions, some comparable aesthetic of the auditory experience come into view (Sessa 156). That is an ordinary characteristics that most explain as being an echo-like bend of sound. The echo of the instruments and the voice is symbolic of most of the songs from the Revolver forward. The amplified echo was due to the inception of the Automatic Double Tracking (ADT) ("Making of Sgt. Pepper" 1). The sound technician established how to construct a complete vibrant resonance through duplication of a song and slightly holding it up for some milliseconds. The tape holdup was then joined with the initial one. Instead of recoding another track manually, the ADT made it possible to reproduce a precise reverberation of the initial take. The procedure was applied on musical appliance and vocals. On the song _x0093_Within You, Without You_x0094_ from the Sgt. Pepper, ADT is supposedly applied on each song ("Making of Sgt. Pepper" 1). On some of the track such as _x0093_Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite_x0094_ ("Making of Sgt. Pepper" 1), a broader ADT applies additional break between the original and the delay. The final creation is an extreme buzzing of the resonance.
The techniques augment the extraordinary timbre in the psychedelic composition of the Beatles. Timing and flanging are the audio impacts that automatically develop the big space to accommodate the resonances. The sound technician would speed up and slow down the tape reel. That would create an effect of a _x0093_sweeping sound._x0094_ The song _x0093_Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,_x0094_ that was liked with LSD due of its title, applies the disorienting characteristic ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" 1). Whereas the voiced line found in verse begins off unchanged, the voice following the _x0093_kaleidoscope gaze_x0094_ increases in echo and space. The music generates a sensation of being in a hallucination. The tambura_x0092_s buzz converts the verse into a mysterious chorus. The sound with an elevated pitch of the guitar as well as the cymbals bestows on it an outrageous, polished rattle. Psychedelia in the track is stressed by the otherworldly characteristic of the sound, like one was flying.
On the album Revolver, the song, _x0093_Tomorrow Never Knows_x0094_ applies much back-masking (Turner, Tom, and Dennis 1). The loops of the reversed tape create an effect that is extremely disorienting. The artificial resonances project a changed condition of mind. In the mix, it is difficult to discern where the sounds are originating. The voice of John Lennon is on a Leslie speaker that develops the resonance by making use of the Doppler result. The voice is thus given a rotating character as the pitch is lowered and raised. The buzz on C that is possibly impacted by the music from India makes the track have a chant sound (McQueen, Sandy, and Dennis 1). The whole effect is unearthly. The instruments_x0092_ electronic bend and the melody are particularly eliminated from the traditional aesthetic in the Rubber Soul. In the same song, the element of the psychedelic artistic arises, which is the change of a person_x0092_s temporality. The LSD can considerably deform a person_x0092_s view of time. In _x0093_Tomorrow Never Knows,_x0094_ the drum beats loop makes the listener feel as if time is recurring in a vicious circle or in a continuous loop (McQueen, Sandy, and Dennis 1). The utilization of backmasking in overturned cymbal crashes upsets rhythmic orderliness. In the other songs, the Beatles confuse time by using delay or sudden changes in meter. For instance, in the song _x0093_Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,_x0094_ the tempos are altered suddenly from the chorus to the verses ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" 1). In the song, Happiness Is a Warm Gun,_x0094_ the meter is altered at least six times.
_x000c_Works Cited
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