Dark Side of the Hippies

Originally posted by seaside sky
reply to post by Lazarus Short

 

Thank you so much for that, you really made my day. It seems you also had the same uneasy sense about the '60s counterculture I had, and the same reaction to reading those articles.

It sure answers a lot of questions that have been bugging me for a long time. How was it that a supposedly "anti-establishment" subculture managed to have the benevolent support of the corporate media establishment ? How did they get away with so much that they could have been imprisoned for and today's protestors are getting abused and persecuted for far, far less ?

There's plenty of real musical talent around these days- why no major label record contracts and music festivals promoting real protests now ? All the old hippie cultural icons from the 60s who haven't overdosed yet ought to be stepping up to the plate now, but they aren't.

I don't intend this to be a diatribe against an entire generation. I've known quite a few hippie types who are genuinely principled and these days they're furious with the hypocrisy of many of their peers and their former cultural heroes.

Again, thanks so much for your comments.

Greetings:

All the old hippie cultural icons from the 60s who haven't overdosed yet ought to be stepping up to the plate now, but they aren't.

Perhaps that is not the case.

What would you say if we said we have had positive response from David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard?

EARTH AID[color=cyan] is dedicated to the creation of an interactive worldwide event to raise awareness about the challenges and solutions associated with nuclear energy.

BTW, we grew up in Laurel Canyon and can verify many of the things spoken of and can fill in more color that the author may not have been aware of from his POV...

Anybody remember Eddie 'Nash', Starwood, The Red Velvet, Over the Rainbow, Rock Magazine, Tony's kitchen after the 'Bo, The Troubadour, Larry Parkers, 'Uncle Bill' Gazzari, Flipper's, etc etc.?

We did flyers for many bands like Sorcerer, The Pennies, Motley Crew, Pegasus, The Yellowjackets, Guns & Roses, Flo and Eddie, Satyr, The Seeds, Fleetwood Mac, Three Dog Night, Poco, GoGo's, Leon Russell, etc... oh, to be young in Hollywood again... Diamond Dave's apartment was across the street from ours in West Hollywood.

In Peace, Light & Love

tfw

Originally posted by Lazarus Short
reply to post by Malcher

 

Hey Malcher, I hesitate to tell you this but [nyuk, nyuk] I'm going to tell you anyway. Many years ago I was also a big time fan of the Doors, and several other bands, including Blue Oyster Cult. After I became a Christian, I found I didn't like the music anymore, so I took all that hard rock, slipped each LP out of its slipcase, and ran a sharp awl across the grooves. Yes, even my nearly-complete Doors collection, including the post-Morrison albums. I even destroyed a serial-numbered White Album, and a copy of that Rolling Stones album with the 3D cover (you know the one). A copy of Jim Morrison's book, The Lords and the New Creatures fared better, as I gave it to a friend. No regrets, but lately I have been shocked on listening again to some of that music on EweToob, that Blue Oyster Cult was really not a very good band, but the Door were.

I still love old rock and blues music. That said, i still believe music and lyrics plays much less of a role in opinions than people give it credit for. I never cared for a musicians opinion on politics or lifestyles anyway because they can be a great musician and not exactly geniuses in other areas. I never thought that was the point of music anyway. Often times the main point is getting enough tracks to fill a record and the lyrics need to rhyme and sell so in a way it is society that drives what gets put on records more than the other way around...imho. You mentioned Jim's poetry, i never was a fan of his poetry and yes the lyrics in music can leave a little to be desired as far as content but the same can be said for literature and movies. Compared to movies and television these days the lyrics from decades ago is rather mild.

Originally posted by seaside sky
reply to post by DJW001

 

Of course there was no single driving force. I do understand that. It was a complicated time, and no major social trend ever has a single cause or direction. This thread is just about one of them.

From one who lived in those turbulent times, I agree with you there was no real leadership, or direction, what was wanted was a Freedom, but even that was undefined. There were Forces of both Light and Darkness at work, and in the end we just lost steam, I reckon. With Camelot dead, our Rock Idols dead, and Woodstock over.....people just went into the studios, corporate offices, Biker clubs, truck drivers. The 70s was mass confusion and identity crisis issues. Outlandish clothes and great music, after Tom Petty killed off Disco for good.

We all thought that the people of the world would revolt against the leadership, and overthrow the Establishment. It didn't happen. Like I said, it all ran out of steam.