If you’re a fan of the guitar-led hippy rock of the late 60s and early 70s, we need you to check out the latest track from the self-styled “hippy-dippy drag queen” Megan Black.
From the opening guitar riff – think Thin Lizzy and early Pink Floyd with a sprinkling of Fleetwood Mac – you’ll find yourself transported back to the American west coast of half a century ago where peace, love and flowers in your hair reigned supreme and autotune was something you could only ever find in a motor mechanic’s workshop.
Megan is a queer artist who uses her platform to write about her experience as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in order to celebrate expression and empowerment. Her songs cover themes of feminism, mental health, addiction and many other relevant topics in today’s society.
After self-releasing her debut single ‘Fur Coat Queen’ in April 2019 Megan has caught the attention of many in the music scene within Scotland. This song brought her into the top 10 for the 2019 BBC Singer-Songwriter Award and has recently been used as the theme song on Kitty – an audio play by Samantha Grierson Schwarz and read by Miriam Margolyes.
Hippy rock.
“San Francisco” is her plea for a hippy lifestyle to still exist in the modern world – and a slant at the oppression of modern-day life. The song romanticises the idea of living in San Francisco with flowers in your hair and staying separated from the corporate world. With the lyric “I blame the revolution for keeping us the same” Megan seems to be saying that if hippies weren’t integrated into everyday life, we would get to choose to still be separated from it now.
Upbeat and fun with catchy riffs and powerful vocals. “San Francisco” transports the listener to a different era of music with remnants of old blues, rock and roll in the guitar, as well as some scat singing. There is a sense of rage and need for change and – a longing to live in Megan’s idea of a perfectly hippy-dippy world.
San Francisco is released on all the usual platform on 27th August.
Find Megan on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp or visit her website here.
Read Rob Harkavy’s review of The Garden Left Behind.
