60s music, and why is it so enduring?

[Webmaster]

I watched "Pirate Radio" last night, a movie about the "pirate" radio stations that broadcast rock music from ships off the coast of the UK in the mid to late 60s. I remember those pirate music ships well, and the movie was terrific and funny. And, of course, I loved the music.

I've often wondered why the music of that era is so enduring. The music is still being played, some of the bands are still touring (who'd have thought hard-living dudes like the Stones and some of the others would be able to tour 40 years later!?!), and it's like it was some sort of golden era for music.

I wonder if it's perhaps just because 60s music is "my" music. Perhaps someone who was born in the 70s thinks as lovingly of 80s music which, to me, has little identity beyond a bit of Blondie, the Cars, B52s and some other New Age. Perhaps whatever we grew up with becomes "our" music. Then again, I love 50s music as well, and was too young to listen to it at the time.

So were the Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Doors, Animals, Byrds, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Zappa, Creedence, Hollies, Turtles, BS&T, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Procol Harum, Small Faces, Supremes, Mamas & Papas, Union Gap, Cream, Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Yethro Tull, and all really that great or was it just a rare perfect storm of talent, social movements, artistic expression, emerging technologies, etc., that made it all possible, as never before and never again?

As is, I can still listen to, say, 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' or 'Nights in White Satin' or any number of songs from that era and instantly be transformed back, almost like time travel.

[imfree]

I've pondered the phenomenon of great 60's music, myself, being a peer of yours by age. I think you nailed it by describing it as originating from a perfect storm environment, as all the factors described, did enhance a restless kind of creativity.

There are technical factors in those recordings that are even being discovered and enjoyed by young people of today. The old music was mixed to have more dynamic range and the analog recording systems gave greater power and clarity in the highs, resulting in music that is exciting to hear.

[Ernest Nagel]

MLK said "Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."

I think the 60s were a perfect environment not just for nurturing the creatively maladjusted but for allowing them to gather openly and share their ideas and art. It was a brief, unique overlap between the end of the epoch of content and the dawn of the epoch of context. The music was transcendent because everyone wanted a glimpse of what things would look like when we got to the other side. For the most part there was a sense of cautious but irrepressible hope in the midst of all the evidence to the contrary. I think the music helped keep that alive.

[Dr. Feelgood]

Remember, too, that this was before MTV, DVD's, or even videotape. You put a record on the turntable and listened to it, and the sound was all-important. The visual has eclipsed the auditory, and sometimes it seems more important to look pretty than to sing on key: besides, they can edit the cracks out of your voice. Most of them, anyway.

[imfree]

Originally Posted by Dr. Feelgood

Remember, too, that this was before MTV, DVD's, or even videotape. You put a record on the turntable and listened to it, and the sound was all-important. The visual has eclipsed the auditory, and sometimes it seems more important to look pretty than to sing on key: besides, they can edit the cracks out of your voice. Most of them, anyway.

Worse yet, autotune can yank a dog's howl on key!!!

[Surlysomething]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

I wonder if it's perhaps just because 60s music is "my" music. Perhaps someone who was born in the 70s thinks as lovingly of 80s music which, to me, has little identity beyond a bit of Blondie, the Cars, B52s and some other New Age. Perhaps whatever we grew up with becomes "our" music. Then again, I love 50s music as well, and was too young to listen to it at the time.

I think it's mainly this. But the rock n' roll and Hippie revolution really bust open the music scene and introduced such a wide variety that it's really hard to replicate that.

[LeoGibson]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

.I've often wondered why the music of that era is so enduring. The music is still being played, some of the bands are still touring (who'd have thought hard-living dudes like the Stones and some of the others would be able to tour 40 years later!?!), and it's like it was some sort of golden era for music.

I think there are several reasons for this. One being that the mid 60's started the metamorphosis that became modern rock-n-roll. If you look at the 50's, There wasn't a whole lot of difference between blues,rock,and country. Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins were both considered rock-n-roll during their Sun studios days, but as the 60's came on there were more delineated lines between the two and you can see where they both eased more into country music. I mean in the 50's Pat Boone was a rock star. So because it is the beginning of that loud crunchy sound with more grit and attitude, it is still looked on fondly.

I also think you had more variation of musical tastes between band members back then. They could easily go back to the root source of whatever their influences were and the bands of more recent years go back to the ones from the 60's as influences, and you get a situation where everyone has the same basic influences whereas in the 60's there was more of guys having different influences apart from each other and only certain areas where they overlapped.

You also had more fractional radio stations that were independently owned and programmed by themselves. So the consumer got to hear more and choose only what was good. With most radio owned by so few corporations these days you only get what they deem safe and a good bet for a hit, and they program all their stations across the country with the same playlist, further limiting our exposure to new experimentation.

Originally Posted by Webmaster

I wonder if it's perhaps just because 60s music is "my" music. Perhaps someone who was born in the 70s thinks as lovingly of 80s music which, to me, has little identity beyond a bit of Blondie, the Cars, B52s and some other New Age. Perhaps whatever we grew up with becomes "our" music. Then again, I love 50s music as well, and was too young to listen to it at the time.

This is a part of it as well, I remember reading somewhere that our mid-teens is where we shape and identify with music the most strongly. So that which you discovered as you were becoming a young adult will probably always be considered the "best" in our minds when relating to other eras.

Originally Posted by Webmaster

So were the Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Doors, Animals, Byrds, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Zappa, Creedence, Hollies, Turtles, BS&T, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Procol Harum, Small Faces, Supremes, Mamas & Papas, Union Gap, Cream, Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Yethro Tull, and all really that great or was it just a rare perfect storm of talent, social movements, artistic expression, emerging technologies, etc., that made it all possible, as never before and never again?

Something to think about in looking at this list of artists is that for every one of these there were a Monkees, a Lulu, a Bobby Lewis, Sam the Sham, The Archies etc. etc., that while they were good at the time, their music really doesn't hold up today like the above mentioned.

There are always in each decade or generation if you will that will stand out. The 70's gave us some gems, like the first Van Halen record, it still sounds as if you could put it out today and it would fit right in,U2 with their out put in the 80's still sounds fresh, Appetite For Destruction, or Nirvana's Nevermind could be released today and be a hit. These are but a few examples but you get the drift. There is excellence in each generation, it just has gotten harder to find it these days in the corporate radio world. But the times, they are a-changing and the grip of the major labels and corporate radio are being broken and the filtered excellence is beginning to emerge once again as the artists are beginning to take control over their art once again and realize they can do it better without a major label and that since commercial radio is wheezing out it's death rattle they don't need to subjugate themselves to that medium either.

[jcas50]

This does not speak specifically to the sixties but to pre-90's music in general. With the dawn of the internet age, we now can download music in many forms. Often without any charge, or minimal cost. This means that making and producing music is less profitable, at least from previous payment streams. And music is less profitable, the music industry will spend less money developing the music. This means more repetitive themes, less reliance on instrumental and lyrics driven pieces, more reliance on machine made, hook-laden works. The fact that one of the important revenue streams is from ringtones emphasizes the importance of hooks. This gets boring for someone weaned on poetry set to music. However, capitalists are always good at figuring out how to make money from new sources. Some day the music industry will learn how to make money from its product.

[Webmaster]

Way back in the late 60s I discovered Leonard Cohen, and recall many nights in the camp by a lake in Southern Switzerland where I worked during a couple of summers sitting together with friends, listening to Cohen's unique and haunting tunes.

So it's 43 years later and for my birthday I got Cohen's brand-new album "Old Ideas." At first it's shocking how much of his voice is gone (it's now more like a whisper), but the drive and soul of the music is the same.

[CleverBomb]

"An 'American Tradition" is anything that happened to a baby boomer twice." - R. Munroe

The link is specifically about Christmas music, but may well be more generally applicable.

-Rusty

[riplee]

Frank Zappa had an opinion (yeah, right?) on the unique nature of the music industry of the 60s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZazEM8cgt0


Cool thread!

[SuziQ]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

So were the Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Doors, Animals, Byrds, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Zappa, Creedence, Hollies, Turtles, BS&T, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Procol Harum, Small Faces, Supremes, Mamas & Papas, Union Gap, Cream, Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Yethro Tull, and all really that great or was it just a rare perfect storm of talent, social movements, artistic expression, emerging technologies, etc., that made it all possible, as never before and never again?

As is, I can still listen to, say, 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' or 'Nights in White Satin' or any number of songs from that era and instantly be transformed back, almost like time travel.

You've mentioned some of my favorite groups, I love the classic rock stations and I am taken right back into my feelings and experiences of the time.

I think one reason the music is so unique is that it came from a transformation in our society -- the women's movement, Civil Rights, flower children, peace love and light and the antiwar movement. Along with Civil Rights, the black music of Motown and rhythm and blues had a huge influence. I didn't just love Credence and the Beatles, but also The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, B.B. King and Sam Cook to name a few. Those were exciting times, idealistic, full of exploration of life with passion.

I saw Diana Ross and the Supremes in concert in the late 60's. Yowza! They all wore short sequined dresses of different colors with fringe all along the dress. They came out on the stage twirling and singing and you could hear the audience gasp. The music was so new and different than before.

Fun topic!

[RabbitScorpion]

Forgive me for posting "out of age" (I'm 48), but I felt an urge to talk about my love for the music of the 1960s.

I loved the rock of the mid-1960s since the late 1970s, and, to this day, most of my favorite songs were recorded in the 1960s.

The mid 60s were great for rock music that was neither "soft" nor "hard", with both beat and melody, great use of harmony, and wonderful chord changes.

It also was a time with a great deal of variety - folk, instrumentals, lounge, British rock (which goes far beyond just the Beatles), Sweet Soul, Motown, garage rock, sunshine pop, country crossovers that had broad appeal - great music, all of it.

Other than 1960s music, I guess the runners up would be the 1950s, and the mid 1980s (during the brief resurgence of top 40 influenced by new wave and ska).

[SuziQ]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

Way back in the late 60s I discovered Leonard Cohen, and recall many nights in the camp by a lake in Southern Switzerland where I worked during a couple of summers sitting together with friends, listening to Cohen's unique and haunting tunes.

Leonard Cohen didn't hit my radar at all! I just listened to Dance Me to the End of Love and I like it, but I don't know if I would've liked it in the 60's or not. The Beatles were always my favorite. I can remember the first time I heard a Beatle's song, I Want to Hold Your Hand. I was in HS in Indiana and was with a group going to the basketball sectionals when it came on the radio. I was electrified. I can still remember the people in the car and where I was sitting -- just a flash of the memory when it came on the radio.

By the time I was in college I was still listening to fairly mild music like Simon and Garfunkle, but quickly graduated to the Doors, Four Tops and all the ones I've mentioned.

Now I have CCR and some of the albums from the 60's and 70's, but I also like have some Celtic music, Enya, Secret Garden -- the haunting, mystical songs.

Thanks for introducing me to Cohen. I'll have to listen to some of his other songs.

[SuziQ]

Originally Posted by RabbitScorpion

I loved the rock of the mid-1960s since the late 1970s, and, to this day, most of my favorite songs were recorded in the 1960s.

The mid 60s were great for rock music that was neither "soft" nor "hard", with both beat and melody, great use of harmony, and wonderful chord changes.

It also was a time with a great deal of variety - folk, instrumentals, lounge, British rock (which goes far beyond just the Beatles), Sweet Soul, Motown, garage rock, sunshine pop, country crossovers that had broad appeal - great music, all of it.

You were so young when you heard that 60's music! I agree with you about the variety of music from that time. I think the breakout that opened up to that variety was the popularity of Elvis in the late 50's along with the popularization of black music into the general market along with the cultural revolutions that occurred in the 60's and 70's.

I love to hear personal stories. Anyone answering, I'm curious. Did you see any of the groups live? Who are your favorites?

[SuziQ]

Originally Posted by SuziQ

I love to hear personal stories. Anyone answering, I'm curious. Did you see any of the groups live? Who are your favorites?

Please ignore this. I just realized this was hijacking the thread and I should start a new thread on this topic. I didn't see a way to edit the comment. I'm really enjoying the topic though!

[Indy]

Conrad, I had a similar experience with Dylan's music. I was first exposed to him in college, my English lit professor invited me to his communal farmhouse and we enjoyed a little weed and I listen to my first Dylan album, it truly changed my life...I had never heard such powerful lyrics. I get a little teary sometimes listening to the music of my youth, I went to see Elton John a couple of years ago and every song got to me. Ticket prices were outrageous but his voice is as great as ever!

[largebob280]

Originally Posted by RabbitScorpion

...It also was a time with a great deal of variety - folk, instrumentals, lounge, British rock (which goes far beyond just the Beatles), Sweet Soul, Motown, garage rock, sunshine pop, country crossovers that had broad appeal - great music, all of it.

I think this variety was one of the key reasons for (some) of the 60s music's endurance. By the end of the 60s and the beginning of the 70s, radio stations - especially the FM rock stations - played everything: Simon and Garfunkel followed by the Stones followed by the Temptations followed by Sinatra (both Nancy and Frank). Music that wasn't very good didn't last long in that environment.

Also, formulas hadn't crept into the industry yet at that time. Top record executives had no idea what made hit music, so they were willing to try most anything. I watched a bit of a special about the band No Doubt a couple of days ago, and Gwen Stefani was saying they couldn't get a record contract in the early 90s, because they were a band fronted by a woman in the era of Grunge Rock. That situation probably wouldn't have happened in the 60s - as long as they had some pretty good songs, they'd get a contract.

[Webmaster]

Speaking of 60s and 70s music and all, Don McLean is 67 today (Oct. 2), and Sting's 61.

[imfree]

Originally Posted by Webmaster

Speaking of 60s and 70s music and all, Don McLean is 67 today (Oct. 2), and Sting's 61.

Cool! They're both great musicians with a lot of nice stuff!

Don McLain-Empty Chairs

Sting-Fortress Around Your Heart

[KittyKitten]

I'm in my 20s, but I adore 60s music. The melodies, the laid back style, the lyrics, those are what made 60s music so enduring. The 60s were also a very turbulent decade with the war, the civil rights movement, the whole general activism that occurred. The passion of the youth those days. I always felt that I was a 60s girl at heart. I feel like crying because so much of music today is all about 'bend over b&**$, and let me.....". I hate it.