|
I Am 69
By David Tao
In 1969, the first man landed on the moon, Nixon became one of most infamous presidents in US history, students from Harvard and Cornell began mass anti-war riots, Woody Allen wrote his controversial book about sex, gays fought back for the first time against police, the first Rock music festival (Woodstock) was born, the Beatles released one of their most famous records (Abbey Road) and then broke up, Led Zeppelin produced the first heavy metal album, two disturbing and mysterious killing sprees (the Manson family murders and Zodiac killer) unfolded, Punk music was born, Midnight Cowboy became the first X-rated movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture, Sesame Street aired its first show and…
In that same year, on July 11th, I was born.
1969 may have been the end of a decade but it was, in fact, the birth of a new era for mankind. This year was somehow different than previous and was filled with landmark achievements events and cataclysmic episodes that to this day define who we are as a world. But many of us are not aware of this…
The world before 1969 was still a very conservative place. However, in 1969, it seemed that everything and everybody needed to break free. There was an explosion…an explosion of thought, expression, morality and even technology. It seemed like the world as a whole united to rebel. It was the birth of counter-culture as we know it today. My parents, for one, decided to rebel as they acted against tradition and their families by eloping. They ran off, got married, and had me. I, in turn, grew up as a very mischievous and rebellious child which could have been a case of instant karma. In those days, my parents had big hair, wore bell-bottoms and bright, flowered-print shirts with huge collars. My dad even wore a pink scarf. It was the hippie-era and it was cool to wear your hair long. The mid 60’s was all about “peace and love”, embracing a sexual revolution and drug sub-culture. The world seemed so much more “free” than the world we live in today though, comparatively speaking, we now have less restrictions. Or is it really so?
A lot of art and pop culture from today seems very cursory and superficial. It’s meant to appeal only to our senses but doesn’t really generate much thought or discussion. It may seem “cool” at first but when you dig deeper to find a meaning, you find nothing. However, what disturbs me the most is that much of today’s music, art, fashion and esthetic sense is very derivative. It is derived and “copied” from original art forms of the 60’s and 70’s without retaining its soul or meaning. It’s nothing but a shell that looks good from the outside but is empty within. There’s nothing wrong with drawing on inspiration from the past but how can we create something new and original with it? What’s worse than creating something derivative is creating an inferior copy of a copy. We all know it’s difficult to improve upon something that’s already perfect but can we at least copy it faithfully?
I personally feel that understanding the history and origin of things is very important. It is absolutely important if you are trying to create something original yourself. This pertains not only to the creative field but also to the business, technological, political and sociological realms. If you are a car designer, it’s imperative to thoroughly understand the genesis of the automobile from the first Ford to what your competitors are building now. If you write rock songs, then it’s important to understand the depth and width of how rock music evolved, from the history of African tribal music, to the Blues, and to how it evolved into Hard Rock. All things are born out of other things so it’s important to know how they evolved and what their root are.
We must not forget that the 60’s and 70’s were a tumultuous time. The world was engulfed in human rights movements, wars, riots and political upheaval. Perhaps this gave people a reason and motivation to express themselves? Is it that the age defined us and not us that defined our generation?
I’ve always argued that real hip-hop and rap music cannot grow in Taiwan, HK, or China because we don’t have the history and environment to nurture it. It’s not that we don’t like hip-hop and rap as a style of music but that it doesn’t have a “reason” to exist here. Hip-hop and rap’s origins lie in African-American history, repression, gang culture and violence. It is born out of a necessity to speak out and express one’s self and not merely just a genre of music or a particular sound. Do the young generation of Taiwan, HK and China suffer from a repression, violence and discrimination that hip-hop and rap was born out of? Or are they merely adopting a style of music and dress because it’s cool? I frequently see on the streets of Taipei, HK and Beijing kids who are dressed like rappers and hip-hop artists but I always wonder if they really “walk the talk”? Of course, there’s no crime in dressing the way they do but isn’t it important to go deeper and find out if we are merely adopting an appearance or really living true to ourselves? Perhaps this generation is not only one that is superficial and doesn’t have meaning, it doesn’t even know itself anymore. They say the last two generations are named X and Y. This current one is named Z. Does it stand for Generation Zero?
On September 26, 1969, the Beatles released their last album (officially it was Let It Be), Abbey Road. Soon after, they broke up. The album, like the majority of their albums, was a great success. The Beatles’ music always had many traces of blues, classical, jazz, country and a host of other genres. However, it was NOT derivative. It was very original. It was also very creative, expressive and honest. That, in my opinion, is one of the reasons why the Beatles are one of the most influential and greatest bands in history.
But that was the spirit of the 60’s and 70’s. The Eagles’ said it best in their hit song, “Hotel California” with the lyric, ”we haven’t had that spirit here since 1969…
Where were you in 1969? Where are you, today? |
新浪
百度
开心
人人
豆瓣
搜狐
淘宝