I'm Eighteen and I Like It
7 months ago
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Tribute to Frank
This track is off Frank's classic work 'We're only in it for the money'. When I bought this album in 1968 it said it all for me really. The hippy scene was blossoming, but inevitably 'business opportunities' were opening up and we could see that the seeds of destruction were already well germinated by this time.
By the early 70s the game was up, but we did make some impression. Small it may have been in the great scheme of things, but it's good to get down a marker every now and then - helps keep the monster in check!
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Frank? Zappa?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of business opportunities?
What seeds of destruction? Oh my
Tell me. (Hehehe, I'm sure you have a lot to tell about it).
When you bought this album I was still a project. Even less than that, a project's dream! (*sits down ready to listen*)
Amen to that!
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Here's to you Frank, and all your business opportunities.
Sweet Leni, Let me tell you all about the 60s - how long have you got? We were a bunch of dreamers who thought we could be free. We abandoned all restrictions, at least in theory. We wanted to live beyond money, beyond trade, and so on. What was valuable to us, or what was our currency was freedom and love.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun for sure and if truth be told I still strongly hang on to those principles - of course now I know it is an impossible dream to achieve, but as I say, we were young.
As more and more people joined in, the market place was formed and that was that, the businessmen moved in, or in some cases, the businessmen morphed from within the populace. People realised they could make money out of such a big scene and it all pretty much got hi-jacked by conventional society. They all started wearing hippy clothes and calling it 'fashionable'. It hurt pretty bad! There were role models for people to follow, successful pop stars to be imitated and so on. A steadfast bunch remained true to the cause but by 1971, I'd say after that years Glastonbury festival, it was over. I came back from India in 1972 and it was all glam rock and utter bollocks. I retreated to the welsh hills and mourned the death of the dream.
But good has come out of it - the 50s culture in the western world was shite and something had to change. Some of our beloved dream lives on, and loads of what we said about the environment and war etc has proved true.
Now I know freedom and love are within (thank god!)
Frank Zappa was a good guy. His album, 'We are only in it for the money', kind of sums up what I'm saying here. It's pretty hard to listen to so don't rush out and buy it. Frank died in 1993. There are some good interviews of his on youtube.
The 60s (I was a schoolboy) was the last time that enlightenment seemed like a viable alternative to avarice. I still believe that 68 killed the movement when Bobby and Martin were assassinated..it was also the first time that I became aware of the word Palestinian thanks to Sirhan Sirhan.
ReplyDeleteLast night I was watching the story of India with Michael Wood and I was struck by the ongoing thread in their History of Princes abandoning the trappings of wealth and power to find inner peace. That is how I look back at the 60s..except after the murders, over half of the youth morphed into Yuppies and instead of seeking inner peace, sought a bigger piece of the pie!
My fave Zappa is still 200 motels..it just stuck...it's a shame that young people only know Valley Girl...although it was a fantastic social commentary...
like O-ma-gawd.... really saaad...grody to the max..I'm shurrrr....totally!
Thanks for your explanation, Tom. I had heard about Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, but I'm not familiar with his music -just with a picture of him in a music magazine that I've read long ago-.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your references about hippy culture (you may prefer to call it alternative culture) and how it was 'swallowed' by consumer society. I guess money has always ruled the world and it's quite hard to not surrender, even for the hippies. Some say sex is the second force to rule the world, but I think this is debatable.
Hopefully some principles remained -not only environment anad war- but the beginning of equality of opportunities between men and women (so called, and very imperfect, women's lib) and sexual revolution.
Generation Xers -like me, brought up on TV and personal computers- are described in the book "Generation X" (Douglas Coupland) as "underemployed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable." Quite different to the hippy stereotype. Basically a lot less idealistic and indolent, but times change.
Take care. And would love to read a master lecture again from you! :)
PS.-I'll google+youtube Frank Zappa. You made me curious.
India in the 70s ... eh Tom. I was there for about 8 months in '78. Ive got a few faded snapshots I should dig out some time. I loved it there but couldn't adjust when i got back. Anyway, that's another story.
ReplyDeleteI love you, you old hippy... hugs :)
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