It was 40 years ago today....
...that the Monterey Pop Festival showed the band how to play....ah well.... a wordplay on a Beatles song. I hope you don't mind. Time for a nice nostalgic flashback. This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. 2 years before Woodstock, it was The Summer of Love. Mamas and The Papas, Hendrix,Janis Joplin,Otis Redding.... okay, I was only 7, and I remember the music... but the cultural shockwave of those days was something even this then-7 year-old-in-California, was not immune from feeling. It changed the way we think, like ripples in the pond, across the time continuum. It became part of our cultural history for better or worse depending upon one's view. And I remember *seeing* Flower Children!!! Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco-Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair" was humming in my mind. It still hums. At seven, I knew Viet Nam was a travesty.(Don't ask why- I'll tell you my late brother's story, you don't want to hear it, trust me.) I'll just say, remember those times. History has this crappy habit of repeating itself, especially the rotten stuff. We'll never have The Summer of Love again, but, in our hearts...it's part of all of us. Stay artsy, stay cool...grow your hair and wear your flowers and your tie-dye. No matter what "they" say! A little bit of my heart, to all of you.
More paintings, more art...soon. Politics is momentary. Art is forever.
A movie plug here-the DVD of The Monterey Pop Festival is alot of fun. Highly recommended!!
posted by Bob Eggleton (Zillabob) | 7:37 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for some of your heart.
I found a five pack CD collection of 70's songs that will be flying on it's way from Down Under very soon.
You've prolly got them all, but these ones seemed a little more ecclectic. I thought of you straight a way. There's even some for Mare, with Johnny Farnham and Ross Ryan. Mind you, there are some clangers that may have you running from your studio (Ann Murray).
I don't often think highly of politicans, but I give great thanks to a former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, as he ended conscription for the Vietnam war.. Without him doing that it was on the cards that my Darlinge Peter would have been called up. A thought that still send shivers down my spine.
Take care of yourself, and do a hair thang for me!
When did the Draft end in Australia? About 1970? In the film THE DISH it was still on, and that happened in 1969. I hope they never bring it back here,both Repubs and Dems claim it is "dead" but you never know what yahoo will suddenly decide we have an "emergency" and need thousands of troops fast. Economically it would be a disaster. I escaped it, despite Jimmy Carter bringing back "Selective Service" in 1979 as a "show of force" against the Russians for invading Afganistan(!! My how times change!). They never activated The Draft fully but the numbers are still on file. Mine expired in 1986 as prime combat age ends about 26. They have raised that however now to 42(and I'm 47 and still out of it). God knows what will happen with the US doing the "Team America World Police" bit these days. Not everyone is like that here, no matter what you might hear or see.
Post a Comment
<< Home