Hippie Hippie Shake: 1960's Hippie Culture and Modern Incarnations

what do you think?

2006-06-05T15:25:00.000+10:00

hi again,
i have been thinking about what i wrote in my last post about the art work on the polyphonic sprees offical web page and the art work of many of the 1960s album covers. i have been wondering just how similar they are, or if it could just be a coincedence. what do you guys think? i would really love some feed back on this one as im really curious as to wheather this is an obvious link or if i am just trying to see something that really isnt there. thanks, hope to here from you soon.
Rois

Jimi and Janis's Ablum Covers

2006-05-26T16:14:00.000+10:00

Here are images of the ablum covers I mentioned in my last post- make you own verdict! Enjoy

The Psychedelic Artwork of The Polyphonic Spree's Official Webpage

2006-05-26T16:12:00.000+10:00

While making my way through The Polyphonic Spree's official Webpage I could help but think back to some of the psychedelic imagery and colouration of many of the album covers of the late 1960s. Hippie performers such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin as well as may other artists used psychedelic colours on their album cover. I feel eludes to the drug use that occurred in this culture. The introduction page of The Polyphonic Sprees web page shows moving silhouettes of people in robes, flashing between pink, orange, yellow, blue, red, green and white. These flashing images remind me of Jimi Hendrix's Axis: Bold as Love Album Cover. This cover shows the a draw image of Jimi in the middle, with the people and images around which all blend at the edges of the images. The colours used on this album cover are bright, and the imagery has an ethnic flare. As you enter The Polyphonic Spree's official webpage, black lines start appearing on the page as though an image is being draw on an Etch A Sketch. These lines make out the image of a rose and write the name of the band. The drawing finishes off looking similar to a stain glass window as each of the empty spaces is filled with a different bright colour. This imagery is very similar to Big Brother and the Holding Company's 1968 self titled album. This ablum cover also has the image of a multi-coloured flower. Both of these images used on the polyphonic spree webpage seem to be too similar to have occurred by coincidence. I think the Spree and their web design team have consciously eluded to hippie culture through the at work on their official webpage. Check it out for yourself at;
http://www.thepolyphonicspree.com/main.html
enjoy!
Rois

The Cultish Dress Style of the Polyphonic Spree

2006-05-26T15:09:00.000+10:00

The first time I saw the Polyphonic Spree on TV I was quite taken aback. The way they dress and performed their music is a little different to the norm- but in a very good way. The 24 piece band perform all dress in white robes, not unlike the dress of Hara Krishnas, singing gospel inspired songs with uplifting lyrics. All members are dancing and smiling as though they have been given a shot of prosaic. Their

unconventional dress lead to whispers that the band were a cult. When Tim de Laughter was asked if their band was a cult he replied;

"I'm just kind amazed at how people have taken this project. Once you incorporate the robes, people read into it a lot more. All the robes were for was to keep people from being distracted by 24 people up there in street clothes. I thought white robes would unify the band. But it's turned into a lot more than that with the content of the uplifting music it's working in a way that's kind surprising everyone. But no, we are not a cult. "

It saddens me a little that when people see a band that perform inspirational, happy songs and smile while their doing it, many people automatically label them as doing something wrong or suspicious. Have people become that skeptical that when they see a band that is just trying to make someone smile they automatically doubt? I hope not.

New Age Culture or Pseudo- Hippie Culture?

2006-05-26T11:48:00.000+10:00

As I have been looking into New Age Culture it seems to be a much lager philosophy then I had ever assumed. I never new that The New Age movement was influenced by religion, science and philosophy. I found it very interesting how New Age Culture started to emerge in the late 1960s- early 1970's just as the main thrust of the Hippie Movement was coming to an end. Also the influence of Eastern religions on both of the movements suggests to me that many of these baby boomers simply adopted the growing New Age movement as the Hippie Movement was ending. There seems to be many similarities between the two movements, possibly due to the emerging New Age movement adopting many of the ideologies of the Hippie Movement. I think we will find that it is more than a coincidence that the New Age Movement evolved when it did.

2006-05-26T09:57:00.000+10:00

The Polyphonic Spree: Why are they so different?

2006-05-26T09:39:00.000+10:00

While researching information on pop group The Polyphonic Spree, I have found it interesting that there aren't any other bands around at the moment that look or or sound similar. While looking on the internet for possible answers to how they formed their sound I found varying results. On the MTV page in The Polyphonic Sprees artist section it states that they were influenced by Mercury Rev. Now I'm not going to claim I know who Mercury Rev are or what there music sounds like (I'll try and get my hands on recording of theirs in the mean time) I have found out that they were an avant pop band that formed in the late 1980s in New York. MTV also lists bands that they are similar to with the Flaming Lips, Spiritulised, Gork'y Zygotis Mynci as well as other bands. The VH1 website also sites the Flaming Lips as being similar to the Polyphonc Spree, but also mentions The Beach Boys. This isn't the only mention of a 1960s band influencing the sound of the Polyphonic Spree. Other articles mention that the Spree harks back to the psychedelic pop of ''Penny Lane'' and ''Happy Together''. Tim DeLaughter, lead singer, guitarist and founder of the Polyphonic Spree started the group with the idea of making orchestral pop like Percy Faith and Burr Bacharach, which he'd spent his allowance on when he was a child. So many bands have been named as influences or have been identified as having a similar sound to the polyphonic Spree, but I would still day that the The Polyphonc Spree is unique. All these bands that are said to sound similar to them, all sound very different from each other and are from very different era's. Even though I have not heard of all these bands that are said to sound similar, I'm sure none of them have captured the thick rich sound of The Polyphonic Spree.

Welcome!

2006-04-28T12:09:00.000+10:00

Hey Everyone,
This is Roisin here. Just saying "HI" to everyone and welcome to Rois's Blog Page. Hopefully soon I will start putting up some post relateing to 1960s hippie culture and the Polyphonic Spree, but until then,
CYA!