The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #76784   Message #1365729
Posted By: Peace
28-Dec-04 - 05:48 AM
Thread Name: info pls: 60s music & spirituality
Subject: RE: info pls: 60s music & spirituality
I agree with Art concerning the 'spirituality' statementThe quest for meaning was philosophical. To be sure, the 'age' of 'spirituality' was ushered in in the 1970s. The sixties came to a head and 'died' in Chicago in 1968. After that, many 'radicals' packed it in. The trial of "The Chicago Seven" was a sham, IMO, and although I hadn't agreed with the Yippie Party's 'platform' or the choice of candidate, I understood it. The war in South-east Asia was not going well and the body bags were being sent home to small-town America. The mood of the country was changing, and it was changing fast. And many of the people who had fueled the anti-war movement were dropping out. Recall that a schism occurred between the Black Panthers and the white liberals who had helped 'legitimize' the Civil Rights Movement. Prior to white involvement, middle-class America thought things were just fine, thank you. I am not mocking that or belittling the involvement of white liberals. It is hard to stop being racist and to throw out racial stereotypes. Many of the people who helped black people were Jewish. The view seemed to be that injustice was injustice. Starting in late 1966, many people in Greenwich Village 'took the last train to the coast', and supplemented the numbers of kids who were turning on, tuning in and dropping out. Music itself in the US was getting specialized, Boston had its scene; NYC its scene. The same for Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, San Francisco, LA, Seattle--and other places I am forgetting--poor memory, not lack of a wish to include them all. The age of anti-war protest was ending. Maybe it wa sthe absurdity of arguing over the shape required of the Paris Paece Talks table; maybe it was that people gave up on politics when Nixon won. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Also, electric was coming in, and single singers with only a guitar were beginning to be ignored.

Just putting some thoughts on paper here. I expect your view to be different. We none of us see the same picture, especially when the picture is filtered through memory.

BM