Listen to Jimi Hendrix and his inimitable rendition of Star Spangled Banner, Joe Cocker getting by with a little help from his friends, and the ever-popular Fish Cheer from Country Joe and the Fish. For a truly authentic Woodstock experience, listen to it in the rain. In the mud. Naked, with friends. While Woodstock has some of the best acts and most memorable songs of the sixties, don’t neglect other music of the era as you build your hippie cred. (Actually, hippies never used the word “cred. “) Groove to some of these other great artist that tapped the toes of the Biggest Generation: Bob Dylan. There’s a dichotomy here, one you must resolve for yourself. Do you go with Acoustic Bob, or Electric Bob? Either way, Mr. Dylan is one of the key ingredients in any hippie repertoire. The Beatles. Especially during their psychedelic period, when they’d moved from “She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah)” to “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. " Jefferson Airplane. Before the watered-down, glitzed-up popsters that were Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Airplane took us down a rabbit hole, and gave us somebody to love. The Grateful Dead. If you don’t know the Dead, then you just don’t know the meaning of the word “hippie. " These guys gave birth to an entire genre known as the “jam band,” exemplified by bands like Phish, String Cheese Incident, and Widespread Panic (actually, The Allman Brothers Band gave birth to Panic). They also gave birth to an entire volume of jam band jokes, like “Why do Deadheads wave their hands in front of their face when they dance? So the music doesn’t get in their eyes!” Janis Joplin. If there is an archetypal “hippie chick,” it would have to be Janis. Of course, she had her hair, her beads, and her wild-abandon ways, and she also had a voice that could sear, soar, cajole, seduce, and stun with its power. While there are far too many excellent hippie bands to list individually, you must become familiar with Crosby, Stills, and Nash (with and without Neil Young); Joni Mitchell; Judy Collins; Sly and the Family Stone; The Doors; Donovan; The Who; The Stones; The Byrds; Buffalo Springfield, and, arguably, Frank Zappa.
So much of the history of hippie subculture can be found on the internet today; possibly more than any other subculture. You can gain much insight into the Hippie subculture from watching the original Woodstock movie, “Celebration at Big Sur”, “Monterey Pop”, and so on. These are shown on Sundance and the Independent Film Channel, or you might be able to rent them from Netflix. Don’t just glue yourself to the History Channel (like wow, how to make a hippie feel old, man!). Read the words of the poets and authors and other cultural touchstones that defined hippiedom: Electric Kool Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe about Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters is required reading, and when you’re done, you will know if you’re on the bus, or off the bus. Learn to howl, and read the poetry of Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. While they themselves preceded the hippie culture, their works sparked the creative spirit in such icons as Hunter S. Thompson, and Bob Dylan (among many others). Don’t forget to laugh at the comics, and yourself. One of the greatest comedians to come from that era was the guy who gave us the “hippie dippy weatherman with your hippie dippy weather, man. “: George Carlin. Unlike many hippies of the era, Mr. Carlin stuck to his beliefs throughout his life.
Ask your parents what it was like while growing up in those days. You may be surprised—and, at turns, appalled—learning about your parent’s bag was. They might surprise you, as they were once young and wild, too, and experienced many of the same things you are experiencing today, including love, war, a divided country, and a persistent existential threat.
Do volunteer work and learn about barter. Hippies in the 60s believed in trade or barter rather than money.
1-A, closely related to Draft Card: This would determine whether you would have to go to Vietnam, unless you could get into the National Guard (hard), get CO status (harder), or move to Canada. Babe, baby, chick, old lady: These were affectionate terms for women and wives or girlfriends. Bag: Your thing. What you were or weren’t into. “Like wow, you know, needlepoint just isn’t my bag. " Blow your mind: Be really impressed by something almost unbelievable. “Man, it blows my mind that your old lady used to be my wife!” Bogart: Not sharing a joint. Bummer: A very bad thing. “Oh, bummer, man. I’m out of bread. " Bread: Money Cat: A hip hippie. Cop out: Bagging responsibility and taking the easy way out. “He loves the war, but joined the National Guard. What a cop out. " Dig: To grok; to understand, or to like. “I like really dig Sgt. Pepper, man, you dig? Your thing. What you do. Your bag. You dig? Far out: Like totally cool. Gone: Really, really far out. Flashback: An unexpected replay of a drug experience, without the drugs. Freak flag: Long hair. Fuzz: Police. Also, pigs, cops, and “the man. " Grok: To dig. Coined by Robert Heinlein in Strangers in a Strange Land. Grooving: really enjoying something. “Man, I’m grooving on these new tunes by Dylan” Groovy: Very cool. It’s a good thing. Head: Somebody who enjoys drugs. High: What a head usually is. If it feels good, do it; Make love, not war; Give peace chance; : Hippie mantras Joint: A marijuana cigarette. Killer: Really good. “That was some killer weed in that joint. Acapulco gold?” Rap: To converse. Split: To leave. “Man, it’s been great rapping with you, but I gotta split now, gotta get ready for my gig at the Fillmore. " Wow: An expression that shows excitement. “Wow, man, bummer you have to leave. Me and my old lady have some killer weed that will really blow your mind, you dig?”
Wear clothes made of natural materials, especially hemp. Hemp is the plant that releases the most pollution-preventing oxygen. Colorful ponchos and the Baja Jacket are a great hippie clothing staples, too. Look into second-hand stores, thrift shops, garage sales, and making your own clothes and jewelry. Hippies are known for their tie-dye attire, Native American jewelry, peasant skirts, and bell bottom pants. Men grew out their hair and facial hair, such as goatees and mustaches. Women usually went places without a bra and no makeup. The image of the barefoot hippie is real, but they also wore sandals, soft boots or moccasins, even tennis shoes. Hippies were not immune to the weather. Some staple items to create a modern hippie style include tiered, floral maxi dresses and short flowy shift dresses. [5] X Expert Source Natalie TincherStyle Strategist & Wardrobe Specialist Expert Interview. 4 June 2020. High-waisted flare jeans and loose, blousy tops are a part of this style. [6] X Expert Source Natalie TincherStyle Strategist & Wardrobe Specialist Expert Interview. 4 June 2020. Besides this, you can wear brown suede boots, hats, and fashion scarves to dress like a hippie. [7] X Expert Source Natalie TincherStyle Strategist & Wardrobe Specialist Expert Interview. 4 June 2020.
Most hippies think that drug prohibition hurts more than drug use. Google LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), or NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).
Given that, you don’t have to take drugs to be a hippie! Remember, many hippies—Frank Zappa, notably—avoided drugs and preferred the “natural high”, which they sought through meditation, listening to music, colored lights, dancing, backpacking, and other healthy activities. Also, recreational drug use (barring alcohol) is illegal in many countries, so do be careful.
Today’s organic foods, free-range and health food stores are a legacy of the hippie movement; you might find hippies at your local one.
