I have been reading through a couple of days worth of messages on this thread with more than a little amusement. If there is anything to be learned, I guess it's that offence is in the ear of the beholder.

I remember a lot of advance commotion about Pete Seeger's appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. I also remember hearing "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" in its entirety, which apparently was not done in all areas. This was in Rochester NY which was also one of the few cities where RAINBOW QUEST (please see that thread)was seen. This was a point in time where quite a few people who had been blacklisted in the 50's were finally starting to emerge from under pseudonyms (Dalton Trumbo, Zero Mostel, and others).

I also remember quite a few songs in the 60's that I was told were immoral(Younger Girl), anti-American (Subterranean Homesick Blues), obscene (anything by Frank Zappa), glorifying drugs (White Rabbit), and so on. Naturally, it only fueled our desire for these songs. They are all heard on oldies stations today (except maybe Zappa), and the Republic still stands.

I, like many others during the disco scare of the 70's, discovered that I couldnt dance worth crap. So in order to avoid having to dance, I became a musician. The best defence is a good offence.

I have never been a fan of rap or hip-hop, and never will be. But the drummer I work with gets a lot of notice for having a lot of his drum tracks from the 60's being sampled, and when he works, I work. I have found a lot of it is more fun to play than to listen to, and I can still come home an put on Pete Seeger, Billie Holiday, BB King, or Delbert McClinton.

I try to think of the periodic revivals of things like Disco and social conservatism the same way I think of herpes. With the proper care, outbreaks can be brief and managable. And like Lee Hays once said, "I've been around long enough to know: Be of good cheer, this too shall pass!"