… geographically, culturally and age-wise. Here’s a youtube about bands refusing to play Woodstock … interesting in itself … and here are some comments on the bands who didn’t:

I read in comments that Joni Mitchell was ill that weekend, who knows? It’s not the theme of this post. This post is about why I’d not have gone, had I known it would turn out as it did … the social scene for a start, the mud, the diseases, the drugs. Even the music … live is not always better than studio … occasionally it’s better, ya takes yer chances I suppose.

For a start, I was never into that “free love stuff” with people about whom you’d think … don’t know where they’ve been. Was always after possibilities … not for nooky but for stepping out one-to-one if you could find someone similarly minded … even at 15, that had been my thang and there were certainly still girls around also of that mind.

Festivals, as in weekend away? Three times at various universities I was at … lean pickings really, plus one festival I went to with mates and matesses … one gathering in the woods rather than festival … that was my list … poor result?

That’s looking at those days through the eyes of my younger self … not quite as fussy as now but much of this fussiness now is knowing about things such as Laurel Canyon, Topaka, the CIA/FBI/psyops, the drug pushers, the chem labs, about John Phillips who was a major player at getting drugs distributed, along with wife Michelle, Mama Cass, rest of that scene … Melcher, Manson, filmmakers, murdered singers … and so on and so on … let alone the NY scene on the other coast.

Plus my thoughts now on the leftist or laissez-faire mindset, let it all hang out … call me Attila the Hun.

Which does not mean I was not involved in ‘scenes’ … I was a young man, there were so many events on all the time … I tried most things … but with two of us, four of us visiting somewhere.

Woodstock? Sounds hell on earth to my mind now. The music? I’m halfway towards DAD but also halfway away, musically … I do think popular songs of the day are important, are even good quality … thinking back to In The Mood … don’t like the Am GI big band swing sound … too contrived, prescribed, few solos, not my rhythm … while Vera Lynn and songs such as Lily Marlene were evocative … highly so.

Andrews Sisters? I liked one of em (not the blonde). Maybe three Animals’ songs. Spencer Davis but not Manfred Mann. Loved quite a bit of southern or roots rock … Marshall Tucker, JJ Cale, some Elvin Bishop. CCR of course … they had talent. Brit invasion bands? Nah. Bus Stop maybe, Waterloo Sunset … evocative.

I’ve mentioned before that imho, it died, popular music, around 1964/5 … became big and complicated … it could be traced to the Beatles’ swami phase, the Stones’ Ruby Tuesday. I still remember one scene where I was … when that came on the radio … but it was close to the end for them imho. We had no idea at the time just how early it all was compared to 2025 … I mean, be serious about the years … take WW1 through to the mid 50s … massive demographic changes … how long? 45 years?

Now look at 1973, for example … till today. 52 years … I mean, what did we expect? Where TH did all those years go? All those generations? Last I looked, Gen X were the new whipper-snappers, callow yoof. Disco? Techno? No thanks. Glam? Ugggh.

Last bit of this rant … when did we become irrelevant? Meaning, when did we cease to affect decisions? That’s for another post.