LSD-40: Better Living Thru History
Randy Ray
2006-10-23
Peaches En Randalia #8 For Lou Reed, William Strunk and E.B. White who said, “Get to the point, dumb ass.” No, ‘fraid not. There isn’t a new recipe called LSD-40 to usurp the Sandoz LSD-25 Garden of Eden variety. This month marks the 40th anniversary of LSD’s criminalization. October also marks the occasion when Phil Lesh releases his first solo DVD—the bassist and friends at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre. I was at the second night of the run, which will be featured on the DVD, CD or both. Overall? Strong shows that probably will translate well to tape. This is Phil Lesh; hopefully, a slam dunk is in order. Ironically, what ties this subtle column together is that one of the gigs featured the incident where a friend of mine—unbeknownst to my normal whiskey-drinking self—had, perhaps, dropped something a little more potent down his gullet, jumped the balcony and landed on a few concert goers—injuring them while a fibula was broken in his leg. So…the lesson for today after 40 years of post-October 1966 LSD=PRISON hoopla? Well, history was, is and never will be that simple. Existentialism demands that one find one’s own empirical path—ergo (no pun intended on the ergot derivation) cause and effect always plays a factor. I neither condone nor condemn chemical exploration—choosing, instead, to just say ‘know’ about urban legends, scientific facts, historical evidence and the beautiful and long line of inherited DNA. Indeed, I have polluted my own water supply, as can be the misfortune of the wandering soul. For initial investigation into the complex history of psychedelics, please consider restraint and: Books:
- Acid Dreams by Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain
- Psychedelics Encyclopedia by Peter Stafford
- Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna
- The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot Films:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick
- Head directed by Bob Rafelson
- Solaris directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
- Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola Music:
- The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd
- Odyssey and Oracle by the Zombies
- Live/Dead by the Grateful Dead
- Zeit by Tangerine Dream - Randy Ray stores his work at www.rmrcompany.blogspot.com.
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