Sixties/Oldies

[Ronkarate at aol.com]

As someone who was born in 1970, I'd like to add a completely different
viewpoint to this thread. The fascination with the past was something that
has always baffled me. The sentimentality of "Classic Rock"  and oldies radio
during my teens was the thing that sent me scurrying to the punk movement
(which, ironically, has undergone it's own nostalgic resurrection in the last
few years, sending me, not so much scurrying as lumbering, toward the free
jazz of the 60's).

I feel that this popular fascination with oldies, and pop music of almost
every era since the 60's, is truly Brock Vond-ian. It shows a desperate need
for familiarity. When I was at UCLA, I remember having long arguments with my
dorm-mates about music. They were mostly (all 5 of 'em) of the classic-rock
variety, champions of the "they just don't write songs like that anymore"
variety. The proliferation of "hippie" fashion on the campus also fed into my
fascination with this subject. 

I came to this conclusion: as we all know, for better or for worse, humans
tend to be nostalgic, the baby boomers who were adolescents during the
sixties maybe more so than others. While oldies radio was an attempt to cash
in on this, it has had a much more pervasive effect. Many of today's youths
are going through a displaced nostalgia, constantly fed by watered down
images of the 60's era through radio, TV and Oliver Stone films. 

It's scary really: my generations "movements" have all been second-hand. 

-Ron Dulin