Counterculture Mugs
Description: Cult leader and crazy person Charles Manson had a bit of a resurgence in the late '80s, though not as a speaker, writer, or musician. Charlie's mug showed up on t-shirts in head shops and record stores, and were a hit with the alternative crowd. This one featuring a Charles Manson/Jesus mash up that was lovingly recreated in all of its late '80s glory.
Description: The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers is an underground comic about three stoner freaks (similar to, but distinct from, hippies) from San Francisco. The trio first appeared in The Rag, an underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas, beginning in May 1968, and were regularly reprinted in underground papers around the United States and in other parts of the world. Later, their adventures were published in a series of comic books. The lives of the Freak Brothers revolve around the procurement and enjoyment of recreational drugs, particularly marijuana. The comics present a critique of the establishment while satirizing counterculture. The freaks consist of Freewheelin' Franklin Freek, Phineas T. Phreak, and Fat Freddy Freekowtski.
Description: The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers is an underground comic about three stoner freaks (similar to, but distinct from, hippies) from San Francisco. The trio first appeared in The Rag, an underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas, beginning in May 1968, and were regularly reprinted in underground papers around the United States and in other parts of the world. Later, their adventures were published in a series of comic books. The lives of the Freak Brothers revolve around the procurement and enjoyment of recreational drugs, particularly marijuana. The comics present a critique of the establishment while satirizing counterculture. The freaks consist of Freewheelin' Franklin Freek, Phineas T. Phreak, and Fat Freddy Freekowtski.
Description: On September 13 and 14, 1969, a selection of the finest folk singers and musicians in the world convened on the edge of Highway 1 in Big Sur, California for a rather intimate gathering of peace, love, music, and a farewell to summer. Set to a backdrop of some of America’s most glorious scenery, the sixth annual Big Sur Folk Festival continued to be an 'anti-festival festival,' considered by attendees as the antithesis of the more commercial events, though the artists considered it an antidote to them. The non-profit 1969 event maintained the tradition of staying small through minimal advertising. It's estimated that 5,000 paid to enter the festival each day, and another 2,000 or so listened freely by camping along the highway out front.
Description: Hunter S. Thompson quote: Like most of the others, I was a seeker, a mover, a malcontent, and at times a stupid hell-raiser. I was never idle long enough to do much thinking, but I felt somehow that my instincts were right. I shared a vagrant optimism that some of us were making real progress, that we had taken an honest road, and that the best of us would inevitably make it over the top. At the same time, I shared a dark suspicion that the life we were leading was a lost cause, that we were all actors, kidding ourselves along on a senseless odyssey. It was the tension between these two poles — a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other — that kept me going.
Description: The IoW Festival was a British counterculture music festival which took place annually in England from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early festivals and the unexpectedly high attendance levels led, in 1971, to Parliament adding a County Council Act preventing overnight open-air gatherings of more than 5,000 people without a special license from the council.
Description: Embrace the grit of the underground with this minimalist black-on-white protest-style design. Featuring a heavy horizontal rule and aggressive letter-spacing, the layout mimics vintage varsity and radical zine aesthetics. Ideal for goths, punks, and activists who prefer a clean yet high-impact look. It’s an authentic expression of resilience and attitude for the modern rebel.
Description: WBCN 104.1 FM went on the air in 1958 as a classical music station in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1968, a new rock format was implemented that would stick around for the next 41 years. WBCN became a legend in the industry for breaking many new bands through an eclectic mix of modern, alternative, and classic rock genres, eventually becoming known as "The Rock of Boston." In addition to rock music, WBCN began supporting non-mainstream investigative reporting and alternative news coverage, including live reports from demonstrations and highly produced montage news reports. The 2000s saw older listeners leaving in droves, and WBCN played its last record shortly after midnight on August 12, 2009, leaving WBCN as a legend of American rock radio.
Description: Inspired by DIY punk posters and varsity lettering, this two-part structure creates a visually striking balance of "Raised on Chaos" and "Sustained by Spite." The use of heavy horizontal lines and varying font weights offers a sophisticated take on traditional protest art. This artwork is designed for the bold individual who values high-energy, text-based visuals. It serves as a modern badge of honor for the resilient and the defiant.
