Psychedelic Rock

The term 'psychedelic' was "first coined in 1957 by psychiatrist Humprhy Osmond as an alternative descriptor for hallucinogenic drugs" (Murray, 2003 p. 413) while the first use of it in a musical sense was thought to have been by the "New York- base group The Holy Modal Rounders on their version of Lead Belly's 'Hesitation Blues' in 1964"  (Hicks, 2000, p. 59-60)

Typical instruments and effects and characteristics are:

• Guitars often with distortion and extreme reverb. "The guitar, once known as the "Queen of instruments" became an intense masculine tool" (Hicks, 2000, p. 22)
• Non-western instruments, often of Indian origins such as the sitar and tabla
• A keyboard sound - organ/harpsichord
• Electric instruments such as synthesisers of theremins
• Lyrics often referring (directly or indirectly) to drugs or alcohol

As John Lennon once said, "If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, thats a problem. Peace and love are eternal" 
The 60s was all about loving each other and fighting 'the man'. It was about exploration and a general consensus to unite and come together, something that the world had no done in a long time.

With that idea, it paved the way for music to reflect this and to bring about a decade of unusual genres not heard of before. 
If someone was to think of The Beatles and the genre of music that they released, you might say 'pop' or 'rock'. It would be a shock if the word 'psychedelic' was mentioned, a cliche of the 60s and it's portrayal in the media. "''Hey Bulldog' boasts the Beatles' best ever psychedelic riff" (DeRogatis, 2003, p. 50)
During a recording session, "McCartney and Lennon ended up woofing and howling, and the title became 'Hey Bulldog'" (Costello, 2011)

When the members of the Beatles finally went their own ways, Lennon - the biggest user of psychotic drugs - distanced himself from that lifestyle and instead concentrated on writing song of influence and his personal experiences.

The Rolling Stones were the bad boys of the 60's. Publicly smoking, drinking and with society aware of their drug habits, they were the epitome of psychedelic rock. 
With songs such as 'Paint it, Black' having Eastern undertones and 'Something Happened To Me Yesterday' being described as "The most accurate LSD song ever" (DeRogatis, 2003, p. 53)
With several of the members being charged with drug accusations and on bail, they started to write their eleventh studio album 'Their Satanic Majesties Requests'. 
A combination of theremins, synthesisers, a string arrangement, the Stones wanted listeners to open their mind and "let the pictures come".
Albums that followed, strayed away from the psychedelic sounds and instead became less 'Rolling Stones'.