Psychedelic pop

Psychedelic pop is a psychedelic musical style applied to pop music settings. It reached its peak during the late 1960s, declining rapidly in the early 1970s. Examples include work by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Byrds, and Pink Floyd.

History

Origins and characteristics

The origins of psychedelic music were in folk and rock music of the mid-1960s, particularly the work of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Yardbirds, and The Grateful Dead. As psychedelia emerged as a mainstream and commercial force it began to influence pop music, which incorporated hippie fashions, drug references, as well as the sounds of sitars, fuzz guitars, and tape effects, but often using the close harmony vocals associated with California-based groups and applying these elements to concise and catchy pop songs.

Development

The Beach Boys under the leadership of Brian Wilson began to experiment with psychedelia, with records such as Pet Sounds (1966) and the single "Good Vibrations", which made use of a Tannerin (an easier to manipulate version of a Theremin). The Beatles followed Pet Sounds with the psychedelically-tinged Revolver (1966), and many subsequent works of psychedelia would contain a distinct Beach Boys influence. American pop-oriented rock bands that followed in this vein included The Mamas & the Papas,Electric Prunes, Blues Magoos and Strawberry Alarm Clock; with their first and most famous hit "Incense and Peppermints".

Psych (season 1)

The first season of Psych originally aired in the United States on the USA Network television network between July 7, 2006 and March 2, 2007. Produced by Universal Cable Productions and Tagline Television, the series was created by Steve Franks, who served as executive producer with Kelly Kulchak and Chris Henze.

The comedy-drama series focuses on Shawn Spencer (James Roday), a police consultant who pretends to be psychic, and his assistant Burton "Gus" Guster, a pharmaceuticals salesman. The season consisted of fifteen 43-minute episodes, which aired at 10:00 p.m. on Fridays. Franks conceived the idea for the show when producers at Columbia Pictures requested he pitch them ideas for a TV program while he was working on the film Big Daddy. Initially rejected, the concept was shelved for several years until Franks collaborated with Kulchak to create an hour-long TV show. USA Network picked up the program, initially ordering an eleven-episode season.

Overall, the first season has received generally positive reviews from critics. Initially, the show was met with mixed reviews, with episodes later in the season receiving generally positive reception. Many critics compared the series to its lead-in program, Monk, leading to negative opinions on the program's originality. The premiere episode was watched by approximately 6.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated scripted series premiere for a cable network. However, ratings decreased for the following episodes, with the next highest-rated episode achieving just 4.76 million viewers, according to the Nielsen ratings. The season finale, "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast", received the best reviews of the season and saw an increase in viewership.

Pop!

Pop! was a British group consisting of Glenn Ball, Hannah Lewis, Jamie Tinkler, and Jade McGuire. The group was formed in the summer of 2003 when they were signed by Pete Waterman. They released three singles on the Sony BMG record label, but disbanded in early 2005, due to poor record sales.

The group had three hit singles, which all reached the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart during 2004 and 2005, but each performed under expectations. Their debut single "Heaven and Earth" was withdrawn from the chart because the single contained a track whose length was longer than permitted for that format. Following singles were "Can't Say Goodbye" and "Serious". A fourth single, "Xanadu" (a cover of the Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra song), was due to be released but was cancelled when the group split. They had also recorded songs for a planned studio album. Their single "Heaven and Earth" was licensed for use in Dancing Stage Fusion by Konami in 2005.

Group members

Pop (U2 album)

Pop is the ninth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Flood, Howie B, and Steve Osborne, and was released on 3 March 1997 on Island Records. The album was a continuation of the band's 1990s musical reinvention, as they incorporated alternative rock, techno, dance, and electronica influences into their sound. Pop employed a variety of production techniques that were relatively new to U2, including sampling, loops, programmed drum machines, and sequencing.

Recording sessions began in 1995 with various record producers, including Nellee Hooper, Flood, Howie B, and Osborne, who were introducing the band to various electronica influences. At the time, drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. was inactive due to a back injury, prompting the other band members to take different approaches to songwriting. Upon Mullen's return, the band began re-working much of their material but ultimately struggled to complete songs. After the band allowed manager Paul McGuinness to book their upcoming 1997 PopMart Tour before the record was completed, they felt rushed into delivering it. Even after delaying the album's release date from the 1996 Christmas and holiday season to March 1997, U2 ran out of time in the studio, working up to the last minute to complete songs.

Ice pop

An ice pop is a water-based frozen snack. It is also referred to as a popsicle (Canada, U.S.), freeze pop (Ireland, U.S.), ice lolly (United Kingdom, Ireland), ice block, icy pole (parts of Australia and New Zealand), or chihiro (Cayman Islands). It is made by freezing flavored liquid (such as fruit juice) around a stick, generally resembling a tongue depressor. Often, the juice is colored artificially. Once the liquid freezes solid, the stick can be used as a handle to hold the ice pop. When an ice pop does not have a stick, it is called, among other names, a freezie.

History

Frank Epperson of Oakland, California, popularized ice pops after patenting the concept of "frozen ice on a stick" in 1923. He initially called it the Epsicle. A couple of years later, Epperson sold the rights to the invention and the Popsicle brand to the Joe Lowe Company in New York City.

Epperson claimed to have first created an ice pop in 1905 at the age of 11 when he accidentally left a glass of powdered soda and water with a mixing stick in it on his porch during a cold night, a story printed on the back panel of Popscicle brand treat boxes in the 80's and 90's. However, the evidence for this is scant.