Jimi Hendrix Experience "Are You Experienced?" [1967]

I'm sure white people of the 60s knew it was only a matter of time before black dudes were going to try to take over in the wake of the Civil Rights movement. On the Jimi Hendrix Experience's debut "Are You Experienced?" a full-on assault of all things decent was launched by an out of-control afro-wearing trip-head who played his guitar backwards. When the Southern politically-elected bumfucks warned everybody about "nigra music," this must have been their worst nightmare -- especially seeing that Hendrix had two white co-conspirators (good thing they were English, at least). In retrospect, "Are You Experienced?" sounds accurately like a guy falling apart piece by piece, starting with whatever constituted his brain before he turned it to mush with noise volume and hallucinogens. Even worse, it spawned scores of white imitators for the next several decades, all of whom tried to dismantle themselves just as Hendrix did, signifying the biggest onslaught of self-destruction this side of reporting to the draft board to be sent to Vietnam. So if you find this collection of dashed-off tracks -- more haphazardly thrown-together than Hendrix's ridiculous thrift-store clothes -- worthy of its long-standing lofty status in the rock music lexicon, the question stands: why you trippin'?