Psychedelic SS

[dvakman]

I watch some of the animated pieces in the old episodes and I'm thinking, how did they come up with this stuff? To what extent do you think the psychedelic/drug culture had an influence on SS, if at all? I'm not just talking about classics like the Racecars/Spies segment that taught about numbers, but some of the others that seemed to serve no purpose other than seemingly scaring the bejeebus out of kids! What was that about? SS was a children's show, but it also seemed to be a great experimental playground for some very creative people back in the day, based on both the animation and the live action material from those early years. Today, they seem to be more rigid regarding the content of the show.

 

[Drtooth]

You know... now that I think about it, the 70's skits did seem a bit like they were inspired by the psychadelic culture of the late 60's early 70's.... you can tell these were coming to an end in the 80's, since we have more.... well 80's style animated skits, like the detective that followed the pattern of Line...dots...line...dots... to a broken street painting machine.

And the music used in those skits were very 80's... specifically one with Gordon voicing over an "R" (R was said twice as the r appeared to run) with very 80's style music...

 

[BWSmith]

To what extent do you think the psychedelic/drug culture had an influence on SS, if at all?

The largest influence seemed to be in the animation style and themes (although there were some "classic rock" moments with the muppets, too).

I was born in '73, so I don't know a lot about the roots of that '60s culture, but a lot of cartoons have that "Yellow Submarine" look to them, with washed-out simple colors, and rounded animated figures.

The "Lowercase N, Standing on a Hill, the Wind is Very Still" cartoon is an example of the double-influence of Yellow Submarine style and the contemporary popularity of the space program.

Some reflect the popularity of counter-cultural eastern religions of the day, like the 1-20 cartoon that is counted by the 4-armed Sikh.

Others look like drug trips, like that "E, E, See Me Eating a Peach" cartoon with the princess and the eagle and the beagle and the easter egg. What "educational purpose" did that one serve? Seems more like one of the animators freaked out when his pregnant girlfriend drove off with his dog and his LSD stash one day.

Others almost seem like inside jokes, like "We All Live In a Capital I", which is performed in the Crosby-Stills-Nash-Young "protest rock" style. Why is it that "all day long" they are "rubbing" their letter I, while they are "so high in the air", and "singing a lively tune"? (The familiar trio of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, perhaps? Nahhh...surely not...)

 

[Drtooth]

That one where the boy is lost and passes a plastic house, a freaky fountain and talks to a Yo Yoing mystery man has to be the weirdest of all (and this is after the "Jazzy Spies" skit where 2 Giant George Washington busts are in elevators). That is clearly inspired by yellow Submarine, especially the beginning of the movie.... things morphing for example.

 

[mikebennidict]

i very interesting thing about SS is the theme song. it was never really used in the opening theme, not even in the 1st season though i heard it in the 1st SS album, the verse that went it's a magic carpet ride etc. anyone who has listened to classic rock from the late 60s know magic carpet ride was a term for drug use. of course Mr. Raposo certainly wasn't advocating drug use he just took a popular term for that and sort of re-inturpeted it. i wonder if that verse might of been in the original recording of the opening theme for the show and for some reason, perhaps because they didn't like the term being used Raposo was forced to edit it out?

 

[Don_Music_2004]

i very interesting thing about SS is the theme song. it was never really used in the opening theme, not even in the 1st season though i heard it in the 1st SS album, the verse that went it's a magic carpet ride etc. anyone who has listened to classic rock from the late 60s know magic carpet ride was a term for drug use. of course Mr. Raposo certainly wasn't advocating drug use he just took a popular term for that and sort of re-inturpeted it. i wonder if that verse might of been in the original recording of the opening theme for the show and for some reason, perhaps because they didn't like the term being used Raposo was forced to edit it out?

You know Iv'e always wondered about this too. and I think you may be right, perhaps the theme song was to originally include the entire song. Although they did sing the entire song on Put Down the Duckie, some lady did. and all the Muppets were there on the street

 

[Mark The Shark]

I watch some of the animated pieces in the old episodes and I'm thinking, how did they come up with this stuff? To what extent do you think the psychedelic/drug culture had an influence on SS, if at all.

Yeah, "those cats were really smokin'."

Oh, sorry, that's "The Electric Company."

 

[JaniceFerSure]

Pychedelic SS

It's a magic carpet ride
Every door will open wide
To happy people like you--
Happy people like
What a beautiful

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street...

To me,most of the old cartoons showed some psychedelica.From the theme,to lowercase n,capital I,E song(Eagle,beagle),yup that one with the yo yo man,daddy dear for the letter D,ladybugs 12,ten tiny turtles on the telephone,willy wimple(every kid did it can't you see,what a ugly awful no-fun world this would be?yuck),pinball song.Of course,there are the muppet psychedelica too:zizzy zoomers,mahna mahna,fat/cat/sat/hat,most of the News Flash episodes. Raposo songs like:It's a long hard climb,chicken or the egg(lol).

I always had a feeling that colors were seen by the creators in the early SS days,just didn't know in what hue,lol.

 

[Mokeystar]

One animated clip that I always thought was very influenced by the drug culture was one from the late sixties-early seventies. You see this creepy-looking face with half lidded eyes and rubbery-looking lips. Very lysergic. A voice from an unseen man (Bill Cosby) starts asking this face questions, to which it replies in a creepy voice, "Yessssssssss...."
At the end of the clip, it pans back to show the face belonged to a big, freaky looking snake.

Speaking of snakes, when I was a teenager, I was deathly afraid of trying any sort of psychedelic drug due to the fact a friend of mine swore I'd definitely hallucinate that Sammy the Snake was chasing after me.

I'd rather not put myself in that position, thank you.

Long live the Zizzy Zoomers!

 

[fuzzygobo]

8 miles high and falling fast

Well, if you were around in 1969, the psychedelic influence penetrated everything. The cartoons from the early years definitely flew the psychedledic flag high, with their vibrant colors, dizzying perpectives, angles zooming in and out. Some of it was uncomfortable to watch, even a bit scary. Kinda like being trapped in a fun house. Still, I seriously doubt the animators had any intentions of slipping any messages in advocating drug use or such. It was all just part of the times. just like today how everything focuses on computer-generated images and synthesized sounds. Not necessarity a bad thing, but part of the time you grew up in.

Sorry to burst your bubble Mike. Despite the fact that 'magic carpet ride' CAN be alluded to drugs, the author of the song, John Kay of Steppenwolf, has stated in interviews that his group was very much against drugs after several bad experiences, as his "Magic Carpet Ride" was inspired by falling asleep in front of the tv.

Close your eyes girl
Look inside girl
Let the sound take you away.

Would Disney ever have made "Aladdin" if they thought kids were gonna watch it and decide to get stoned?