The Story of Psychedelia, pt. 1: The Beat Generation

[@geneobrien8907]

Its 2020 and I'm 70, I lived in New York through what you're describing and to connect the dots of my experience, I have read over 100 books on the era. The 60's counterculture died from assimilation and its demise mirrored your assessment of 1930's swing. After the Woodstock documentary was released nearly everyone let their hair grow and started getting high but they lacked the understanding of why, rituals were lost and everything declined, art, music, etc. When people lose any connection to the roots of their culture, it becomes just a fashion for new adherents and as with every fashion it eventually loses popularity and gives way to something new. You've done a great job with these videos, they are quite insightful.

[@FlamingoJones843]

exclent assesssment. im 50 and the same thing happened to hip hop misic and culture.

[@tolfan4438]

Any movement that starts as outsider will eventually self-destruct if it catches on it becomes mainstream.

[@Sognafar]

Bout to be 29 here. I got to live through and watch both metal AND hip hop die :/​@@FlamingoJones843

[@positivelivingmusic5497]

People get high to escape reality. You don't have to have deep, mystical "roots". They were young, mostly white middle-class and spoiled. Now, we have the late grandchildren of this era. They are hopelessly lost and have nothing of significance to say. Kerouac was a good writer surrounded by street hustlers and pimps...too bad.

[@philiprife5556]

I think this is the best explanation of what "BEAT" was meant to be. It brings together all the necessary elements that were required for "Beat" to be born. Well done! I'm now 70 years old in 2024 and I was a bit too young and lived in the wrong environment to fully appreciate the "hippie" experience, although I tried to experience it vicariously. I've tried to understand the factors that shaped the counter-cultures that emerged after World War II, and this summary has shed a bit more light on the subject." Thank you.

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

Thanks. Have you watched the rest of the series?

[@Naturephile55]

I will, as soon as possible.

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

Well, it took an entire week to resolve all the copyright claims, and the next parts are going to be even harder. I'm not sure this is going to work. EDIT: four years later, and the series is still up and popular! For those who enjoyed it, check out my series on glam. And if you want to help me make more musical series, please consider supporting me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/ZarathustraSerpent

[@emeraldingot]

Zarathustra's Serpent Don't give up! I love videos like this, and it's so prevalent throughout the videos you produce. It's just the way you take an incident and dive into the motives and cultural phenomena that slowly simmered and developed into something new and unique. You connect disparate facts from society, like music and art and the economy and so on, reaching far beyond the boundaries of traditional areas of study (almost intersectional... :P) and pull together threads of thought to weave a beautiful tapestry that tells the true story, not just what happened but also why it happened. I love what you're doing here, so you know you've always got at least one fan.

[@JavierSanchez-mo2ef]

Oh thats too bad. I can't think of a topic I might be more interested by than this one!

[@iDEATH]

I do hope you keep at it. Fascinating and well presented, plus all that nice jazz. I'm certainly looking forward to the next installment, guess I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed. :)

[@1110-s1t]

Zarathustra's Serpent I haven't watched yet, I noticed the very long disclaimer and expected a comment like this. Fight the power my man. love from down under.

[@youareivan]

i hope it works out as i found the first episode very interesting.

[@sdefonta]

Neal Cassady, in the 60s, joined the Merry Pranksters. The Grateful Dead was their house band and became good freinds. Thus the bridge between the Beats and Psychedelic Rock.

[@vincentscotto081]

man psychedelics changed me from inside out. IT SLOWLY CLEANED ME OUT PURITY OF MIND GOD EVERYWHERE WHIRLING DERVISH DANCING TO THE JEFFERSON AIRPLANE GRATEFUL DEAD SANTANA WE GREW UP WITH THE BEATLES WE WERE THE BEAT WE DUG THE POETS WE WERE NEXT GENERATION. THE BEAT GOES ON

[@KingSolomonsTemple]

I've watched the whole series and I can't describe how brilliant it is. So many insights and such a cultural depth. great job!

[@briansmith2163]

I feel like Ferlinghetti belongs here. Seldom mentioned, he was magnificent.

[@yourmother2739]

Love his work - Coney Island of the mind - Its touching that he puts his dog in his work.

[@Panteni87]

wow.... i might have had the beat generation philosophy ingrained in my life... i just didn't know this was the name of it.

[@JamesGowman]

Absolutely love your stuff. "Nuanced" political and social commentary that isn't afraid to criticize "your side", plus original and fascinating history of culture. Bravo.

[@scaredfolks5923]

Well Well, Let me say just now, Wait, If you harken back to that time we both agreed in the deepest darkest depths of our souls. -- Something Neal Cassidy would say. God I love his speech pattern.

[@davidwright8432]

Extremely clear and helpful narrative! In some way my Dad's generation - and their gift to us kids. Of course, you had to have the right kind of dad!

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

Glad you liked it. Are you talking about this video, or the entire series?

[@shea086]

This is definately one of the best documentaries I have viewed on KZbin. It goes straight to the heart of it's subject. It's also educational and gives encouragement to those interested in making art and those attempting to create art in the modern world. I cant speak highly enough of it. A rare thing in KZbin,s output. Thank you. It makes up for a lot of sub stanard content I,ve waded through over the years. Thanks again.

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

Thanks. Please watch my series on glam as well. A series on punk is in the making.

[@jflauto3917]

this is incredible. i did a project on howl specifically but also touched on the beat generation as a whole and this is exactly what i wanted to convey but could not. wonderful job.

[@The1nOnlyDood]

Your intro explains it perfectly. I've thought the same for years. Just starting the series and it connect lots of dots. Thank you for putting this together!

[@walterfechter8080]

Swing/Big Band, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Byrd, John Coltrane, Bo Diddley, Duane Eddy -- and then on to the early/mid Sixties. The Beats and Folkies to bands such as The Charlatans, The Byrds, The Daily Flash, et al.

[@wighatsuperreggie]

Thank you for the clarity. This is really well done. I write this from Shattuck and Stuart in Berkeley, where, apparently, the full length final version of Howl was first performed...

[@superserioes]

Thanks for this video !

[@pariaheep]

Congratulations! As an old & avid observer of pop culture I learned a lot! Like, the connotation of being "beat" by the system like Burroughs introduced it, never occured to me before! ☮

[@jerrywatt6813]

Parker was a genius I use his lines on my guitar but it's not the same he was an alien me thinks peace !

[@Dionaea_floridensis]

This is so fascinating! Thank you so much!

[@three69]

This was truly a outstanding presentation and well executed; and for that, I thank you.

[@connorleahy2585]

And here I was thinking the narrator from Fight Club was totally unrealistic, no one in real life could be that way haha. Fantastic video, can't wait for the next!

[@davidflaneau2810]

"Three people does not a generation make." - Gregory Corso

[@simonhanson5990]

Fascinating, informative, interesting, beautifully presented; thank you

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

Thank you for the comment. Is it just for this video, or the entire series?

[@helbersavio9550]

@@zarathustrasserpent1850 I can speak only for myself; absolutely the entire series. Brilliant and very complete compared to the other videos dedicated to the subject.

[@Revolver2100]

Thankyou for such an enlightening story of psychedelia. Your research is extremely insightful.

[@jeffr6062]

Just watched the entire series over a few days. Absolutely loved it. I can tell you put alot of hard work and effort into it. Lots of attention to detail and very well thought out. Also very entertaining. Thanks for all the hard work. I'll be checking out more of your other stuff

[@Tungadunger]

Well done, Luv the Beats and can't wait for the Psychadelics.

[@helbersavio9550]

Wow! Just saw right now that , after all, it DID WORK right? A lot of episodes! Amazing man, THANK YOU AND CONGRATS!

[@youtubehatesus2651]

I highly enjoyed this series. Watched it as you relased over the years. Story of Glam also very good. Thank you for doing this. It's a delight. I first encountered you in a chat with Sargon.... yes, that long ago. Cheers. +_+

[@youtubehatesus2651]

thoughtful man

[@jayburdification]

This part 1 isn’t what I expected, but it’s excellent.

[@dennisdolan7250]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@HenriFaust]

I can't wait to see more.

[@theideareview2081]

If you like Ginsberg or the beats, you might like this discussion on his work 'Television Was a Baby Crawling Toward That Deathchamber' kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGnSlIWqotOVhK8

[@seanocalaghan2225]

i saw the best minds of this generation downloading apps to get access to more apps

[@bwanna23]

You said it, man.

[@timursalikov5911]

This is great dude, keep em coming

[@ex-muslimlibertarianatheis9008]

Psychedelic EDM is the future! 😍

[@briteness]

it's Charli, baby

[@simonhanson5990]

I have yet to look at the rest of the series, but so enjoyed this episode i look forward to watching the rest.

[@thatiafilatia]

Awesome, cant wait for the next peace. =)

[@bigfat6strings]

great job. very good

[@bryansmith4735]

Fr om Uncle Albert's Bicycle day to Ken Kesey's Cook-coo nest, no greater and no lesser than what will be won by a piece of dried turd. It's a reward beyond thought. It is the stuff that all mad-hatters are made from, same cloth of Psychedelia, I am so humble proud To be from that cloth. Rock on Brother Zarathustra into the madness, and out again.

[@shombie2737]

6:12. That guy isn't Ginsberg, but Gregory Corso, standing with Burroughs

[@nakedrobot20]

very informative. thank you

[@KalimanOxcuro]

This is a great topic, and you're on the right track. I happen to be reading a book on the subject right now by a Mexican author who experienced the rise of the beatniks and their influence on Mexico's youth culture. The book is "La contracultura en México : la historia y el significado de los rebeldes sin causa, los jipitecas, los punks y las bandas" by José Agustín Ramírez Gómez; he goes beyond the black & white racial binary and explores the influences on the beats from south of border. He also contends that the "rebel without a cause" persona (a characteristic of the emergent youth culture) actually originated with the Mexican-American (Chicano) zoot-suiters known as Pachucos. As 2nd and 3rd generation non-white Americans, they were the ultimate rebels who didn't fit in the country of their birth nor the land of their forebearers. Or as Octavio Paz put it in his harsh critique of them in "The labyrinth of solitude" (1950): "The purpose of his grotesque dandyism and anarchic behavior is not so much to point out the injustice and incapacity of a society that has failed to assimilate him as it is to demonstrate his personal will to remain different" (14-15). A brief exploration of this pre-beat rebel youth culture, i.e the "Zoot-suit Riots", might add some useful insight to your analysis. Looking forward to the next installment!

[@stephenhenion8304]

The Electric Koolaid Acid Test,...Man......

[@juanmonroy966]

Why is the rest of the series hidden???????I would love to finish watching all of the other videos, it’s a great series and I hope it comes back to KZbin soon

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

I received two copyright strikes on it, and one more strike will terminate my channel. So I have to hide it until I resolve the issue. In the meantime, you can watch it on Bitchute.

[@zaq55]

Thanks for the true derivation of the term “beat”. Always thought it had to do with a musical beat, but no.

[@stephenhargrave7922]

If it Is done well enough and you generate enough interest attempt to get the rights and sell the thing. Artist deserve a living. Despite what the entitled trolls of the internet may opine

[@TribeWars1]

Awesome video

[@barbarapineda5730]

I'm a baby boomers, born 1950s cold war, the beat generation, cames up the 1960s

[@hermit7903]

Good job!

[@prashobprakashan7877]

✌️

[@rashodlewis2918]

😎✌🏿

[@ainslieberrafella]

I read On the Road when I was a teenager and thought Kerouac a loser and a jerk, but it's interesting to hear the story framed this way. I'm off to watch the next video. :)

[@scaredfolks5923]

Odd, I just read it for the first time, and he seems oddly down to earth compared to most people leading revolutions these days. I think that was his style. He didn't want people to think he was smart or anything, so when one day he became a legend, it would come out of nowhere and surprise everyone. These days it's all false prophets trying to sell you a fake dreams on FB or Instagram. Even KZbin is a cesspit. I'll take a Loser before someone cool any day.

[@sunkintree]

Are you sure you actually formed your opinion, or did you embrace the opinions of others? I read Kerouac in my late 20s for the first time and loved it. But then again, I came into it knowing that everyone is a flawed human being, not something many young people are ready to understand

[@philipsanders9192]

What is that sparkling before the video ??

[@TilveranWrites]

Crazy how cyclical everything is. No wait, cycles are normal... yeah it's straight lines that are crazy. "Progress" is doing what our great-grandfathers did already.

[@margaridaveiga438]

Hey there! I'm an communication design MA student, developing a thesis about the psychedelic aesthetics and I would like to know if you could tell me what bibliography did you use to create the "Story of Psychedelia" series. It would be really helpful! Thank you!

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

Lots of texts. What exactly are you interested in?

[@margaridaveiga438]

I'm interested in understanding the psychedelic aesthetics but it is a theses so I do need to have a really good background about all the psychedelia. I'm actually interested in almost everything that you are talking about on the series. The bibliography is very important for the Master's thesis, so if you have a list of articles, links, whatever that was fundamental to create this project it would be perfect. I also would like to have some information about this you and this work to include it on my research and to make the proper credit.

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

Oh crap. I wrote this a long time ago, and then I did have a list of relevant books, but I can't find it now. I must have deleted it sometime. Anyway, the best way to learn about the aesthetics of psychedelia is of course to listen to the music and watch the footage. You can also learn a lot from reading the biographies of the bands. Every rock band and artist have plenty of books written about them. Just do a search and choose the ones that are most suitable for your needs. Essential readings: Tom Wolfe - The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test Timothy Leary - The Psychedelic Experience Aldous Huxley - The Doors of Perception Suggested: The Penguin Book of the Beats Timothy Leary - The Politics of Ecstasy Richard Neville - Playpower Jeff Nuttall - Bomb Culture There are more, but I can't remember now.

[@margaridaveiga438]

Thank you so much, it will be very helpfull! Do you have so kind of schollar connection with psychedelia of are just an enthusiast?

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

I explore pop culture.

[@anthonybarnes2355]

Far out man !

[@superfuzzymomma]

It was Herbert Huncky who first coined the term Beat, not Burroughs.

[@octaviopez6082]

I saw the entire series and I think there is one omission, you didn't mention HEAD The Monkees psychedelic film and its music

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

You didn't see the entire series, because the series isn't done. Next episode is abut psychedelic cinema.

[@octaviopez6082]

Thanks, a documentary about psychedelic cinema will be interesting to watch

[@stevebutler812]

Dude, I liked everything you said up until 12 and a half minutes. You did not grow up in an area where hippies we're happy. Kerouac isn't saying people need to literally live every single second like they're on fire or else life itself is dull and boring. It just means that you live with a lot of energy towards that which you are actually motivated. That you live fully. And the people who do such things as adults over the age of 30, must be "mad" or crazy. Because by age 30, people are supposed to be settling down having kids and waiting another 20 years for their gold watch at retirement. Burroughs was rich. It was easy for Burrows to access heroin, which is no different than opium being used a hundred years before by the Chinese, and the Opium dens, but Kerouac had access to money. Like Theroux figured out:, you can paint yourself purple, run naked and screaming through the woods, and nobody cares.. But if you want to live in society,, you should probably wear something else besides purple paint, keep your voice to a reasonable level, and only run where it's reasonable to do so during reasonable times. You think too much. 12 1/2 munutes... That's cool. ✌ You seem to have missed a big sign from the French Impressionists who smoked boatloads of cannabis so they could unlock their eyes and see the way the world is in a split-second, as if between frames of a camera, all blurry and moving and alive. The same way a baby under the age of 6 months would see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. You also seem to be leaving out the ancient Greeks who would sit around all day trying to Define reality, well they drank or took whatever drugs were available in those days., 2000 to 3,000 years ago. I tell you what I'll do, the next time I talked to Barry Melton, who you might want to look up as one of the inventors of psychedelic music, lives near by me, re Keroyac. I'll try to remember to ask Barry, who is famous for being the "Barry and the Fish" who sang at Woodstock a certain song which epitomized the entire Generations attitude towards the Vietnam War, and used the letters f. U. C. K., if he was influenced by Jack Kerouac at all in his music. I'll ask him. But I already know the answer.

[@larryboyle1249]

✌️😁👍

[@cesareantinellipickinup]

No report between beat generation and psychedelia . The beat were exhystentialist,and much of their drugs were sinthetics Hippie were the first to get another side of perception and life. The room full of mirrors of Jimi Hendrix is an example. The doors of perception of Jim Morrison another example..... Etc

[@poetryjones7946]

Thank you for your hard work.🌹 Intelligently written, but difficult to understand your words. Next time, could you narrate a bit slower? No need to hurry, this is a fascinating subject, you’ve obviously done your research.

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

I did learn to talk slower and clearer over time. But if you are struggling to understand, I add captions to all of my videos.

[@AjayGupta-tr7vz]

And now we hv pop music

[@jemen1709]

So here (12:00 - 12:05) David Bowie stole his inspiration for his bandname "Spiders from Mars"...

[@johnathanyoung100]

this whole movement is very Nietzschean

[@0utsidetheasylum]

The Amboy Dukes with Ted Nugent

[@cesareantinellipickinup]

Dean Moriarty and the m.p. was after the beat generation

[@Atr-bv1wq]

what is this video about im so confused

[@91jubaku]

LSD culture, primarily, I would imagine.

[@yourmother2739]

@@91jubaku Beat.

[@lobosolo7675]

If moloch is evil and stops us from imagination does that mean kek is our liborator?

[@user-zb5qn4pt6b]

Happy that you won't go to prison for smoking weed anymore?

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

I don't smoke, but I am for legalization

[@markbrinton6815]

while reading On the Road, I kept asking myself, what does Beat mean? Kerouac kept saying that's real beat. well after reading it through, I realized it means DEADBEAT. The whole tale is about the lives of deadbeats.

[@tutenvanman2715]

Sorry to drive a bus through the beginning of this. But you started with black music of the 30s and 40s yet they were playing on instruments created in England and Europe. So you are saying as an example DVDs brought movies into homes without mentioning without television and then videos it wouldn't exist.

[@PAppMundo]

Ex KGB agent and later Soviet defector to America Yuri Bezmenov claims that these early Beatnik / Hippy movements were no accident and were directly planned and orchestrated by Moscow. This along with Rudi Dutschke - “Long march through the institutions” doesn’t seem such a far fetched idea. Subvert the Youth of your enemy, after all the youth are the future of your enemy. It’s just a shame the Soviet Union couldn’t have waited a little longer to see the successful damage they have done to the US society. Dose anyone know of any connection these early influential Beatniks had with the Frankfurt School? I’m just curious.

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

No connection whatsoever. The Soviet propaganda worked on those youngsters that took sixties rebellion to a Marxist direction, which I discuss in later chapters. Since many of these youngsters adopted a Hippie look, Bezmenov may have confused them with the Hippies.

[@TabithaReminiec3399]

Aren't you going back just a little too far ?

[@stacyblue1980]

jack kerouac = freedom with OUT this stereotypical garbage no offense you made an honest video but please,,,,?? Jack is better than this..always. ** cheers ** ....hiccup ! =D

[@lastunctives2095]

Jagger and Richards were manufactured just like the Monkees ( Brian Mick Taylor Bill Charlie were the real talent ) the rest is 2nd rate riffs and heroin Jagger was so fake - after the Hell's Angels saved his life at Altmont - not so much as a thank you- nothing

[@jessehatch4085]

but all that psychedelic music sucked

[@stevevirginia308]

It's different from what came later. The technology was limited

[@premchand828]

jazz is not music

[@sabrinasjourney]

Prem Chand are you insane?

[@Zizzyrae]

🤨

[@yourmother2739]

Jazz matters.

[@johnnyxmusic]

🎶

[@squidfartz]

Nicely done. Keep up the good work.