Sunday, April 16, 2006

Happy Birthday, Lucy

April 16, 1943: At the Sandoz lab in Switzerland, Dr. Albert Hoffman experiences the first known LSD ("acid") trip: "I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away."

LSD played a key role in the development of the 1960s counterculture, most notably due to the efforts of Harvard professor Timothy Leary. In this recording from 1965-1966, Leary provides instructions for those about to embark on their first acid trip. Should the experience become too mentally daunting, Leary urges the trippers to "turn off your mind, relax, float downstream," an admonition that found its way into the Beatles' first psychedelic song, "Tomorrow Never Knows." (note: I've never been impressed with the drug references in that song as much as the fact that it proved Ringo Starr was a big league drummer.).

Few Americans are aware that during the Cold War the United States government over a long period of time investigated the chemical warfare possibilities of LSD. The Central Intelligence Agency took an active interest in hallucinogenic drugs, with the Cold War era MK-ULTRA project being the chief research program. In 1985 Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain released Acid Dreams--The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, The Sixties, and Beyond (New York: Grove Press), a minor classic exposing how the CIA's obsession with LSD as a potential tool of counter espionage led to the exploitation of human guinea pigs. Lee and Shlain's exhaustively researched book presents scenes that would be too incredible to believe were it not for the fact that they obtained documents via Freedom of Information Act requests to prove them. For example, in 1955 the CIA commissioned narcotics officer George Hunter White to initiate Operation Midnight Climax, "in which drug-addicted prostitutes were hired to pick up men from local bars and bring them back to a CIA financed bordello. Unknowing customers were treated to drinks laced with LSD while White sat on a portable toilet behind two-way mirrors, sipping martinis and watching every stoned and kinky moment. As payment for their services the hookers received $100 a night, plus a guarantee from White that that he'd intercede on their behalf should they be arrested while plying their trade . . . White's harem of prostitutes became the focal point of an extensive CIA study of how to exploit the art of lovemaking for espionage purposes." (pp. 32-33).

While the CIA was running a taxpayer financed whorehouse, the US Army Chemical Corp had, by the mid-1960s, conducted LSD experiements on fifteen hundred military personnel. According to the authors, "Some later claimed they were coerced into 'volunteering' for these experiments by their superior officers. A number of GI veterans complained they suffered from severe depression and emotional disturbances after the LSD trials." (p. 40). In the early 1950s, the Agency had performed LSD experiments on POWs, federal prisoners, Security officers and, according to the CIA's own language, "at least twelve human subjects of not too high mentality." (p. 14).

The late John Lennon was an enthusiastic LSD disciple in the 1960s. In a Rolling Stone interview shortly after the Beatles broke up in 1969, he claimed to have taken over 1,000 trips. Shortly before his death in 1980 he said: "We must always remember to thank the CIA and the army for LSD. That's what people forget . . . They invented LSD to control people and what they did was give us freedom. Sometimes it works in mysterious ways its wonders to perform." (quoted in Acid Dreams, p. 289).

Lennon penned Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds for the 1967 Sgt. Pepper album, a record that was the epitome of the "acid rock" trend of the time. It must also be noted that William Shatner's version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds might literally be the worst piece of music(?) ever recorded in the entire history of the universe. But if you're an old hippie, you might find the video a bit trippy.

Happy Birthday, Lucy.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I beleive I can assume you have never heard Leonard Nimoy (Spock) singing the wistful "Where is Love?" from the musical Oliver then?

It's supposed to have a vaguely "alien" feel. You know -
"whe-e-e-ere is lo-oove?
does it fall from skies above?"

See that reference to the sky and space? Along with the implication that Spock's buried human passions ware struggling to reach the surface? wow.

Also.
I bet you've never seen Tiny Tim perform live. Well, I was among those few present at his "comeback" performance in a super-divey New Jersey bar back around 1980. He is one weird dude. Waaay weirder in person that you can POSSIBLY imagine when you see him on stage. Times ten for his entourage. Miss Vicky was there to show her support in spite of their divorce. Yhere were some other unidentifiable things sitting at the table with them. He sat at the table for awhile, got up on a minute stage, sang a few songs including "The Ice caps are Melting" and then sat back down and drank. Pretty electrifying comeback.

AND I bet you never saw Shatner's tree-humping "Ode to Gaia the Earth Goddess" performance either.

So - you need to be really careful when you claim to have experienced The Worst of anything around me. I smell that stuff on the breeze and arise from the dead.

tony palmeri said...

Hey, welcome back. I'll know for future reference that tales of acid, CIA bordellos, and William Shatner can get you to return.

Didn't Tiny Tim and Miss Vicky get married on the Carson show? I'm pretty sure that is one of my earlest childhood memories.

Anonymous said...

They did indeed get married on the Carson Show.

Speaking of bizarre facts - I was doing some research for an article (hey, I'll bet Stew has nightmares about me getting ahold of nice big blanket-y rolls of paper and beautiful, dark seas full of ink, a little Wagner in the background...
Ah hahhahahaaaaaaaaa. oops! I forgot where I was...)

Oh yeah. So I ran into this ODD fact - that The John Birch Society is based in Appleton?
True?
False?
What's goin' on over there? Is the Oshkosh area just one big hotbed or what?

tony palmeri said...

I believe the Birch Society was founded in Indianpolis, was headquartered for many years in San Diego, and then came to Appleton. I think the Appleton connection probably has something to do with Joe McCarthy, whom they admired and was from a city near Appleton.

I'll actually be sharing a platform with a member of the JBS on April 27th at the Appleton Public Library after a free screening of "Good Night, and Good Luck."