Re: "You might have been fortunate to encounter only Jim Morrison's music while stoned, as opposed to him.":
---In fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com, <turquoiseb@...> wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: > > Best movie to cover that period (actually more early 70s) is a recent French > film called "Apres mai" (ie, After May 1968 - aka "Something in the Air"). It > covers all the bases of the counter-culture and really captures the vibe. > Check it out. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXimuzHv6Ek > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXimuzHv6Ek > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXimuzHv6Ek Another film that does justice to that period is Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers," set in Paris during the student strikes of 1968. It's an odd, sordid little drama in some ways, but it has the redeeming feature of being the film that introduced us to Eva Green, arguably one of the most beautiful women in the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU1brBVMBkM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU1brBVMBkM > ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, s3raphita@ wrote: > > Re "I found myself in Southern California at that most opportune of times, > the beginnings of the Hippie Revolution. It didn't turn out to be all that > much of a revolution, but it sure as hell was fun to be part of.": > > You didn't have to be there. I remember one time dropping acid in Paris and > finding myself heading towards bummers-ville. I mentioned to a French guy > that I wasn't feeling so good and he put The Doors Strange Days album on the > stereo and said: "Just listen to Jim. He's one of us." That did the trick. > You really felt we were all part of one global movement back then. Funny > thing is, years later, I read that Jim Morrison actually hated drop-outs like > me! > > ---In fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb@ wrote: > > I made the term in the Subject line up back in the late 60s, probably > before "trickle down" had entered the public lexicon. The reason was > because I found myself in Southern California at that most opportune of > times, the beginnings of the Hippie Revolution. It didn't turn out to be > all that much of a revolution, but it sure as hell was fun to be part > of. > > We were just college hippies, taking advantage of the lax laws and the > fact that no one had ever promoted rock concerts on a large scale before > to run light shows and promote parties/dances/light shows/concerts > featuring some of the bands that were just showing up on the musical > horizon at the time. Bands like the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger > Service, Buffalo Springfield, The Doors, Big Brother and the Holding > Company (Janis Joplin), and Jimi Hendrix. We had no money, no insurance, > and we didn't know what the fuck we were doing, but we had one shitload > of fun. And we got to party with the bands. > > It was in that setting that I first discovered the quantum mechanics of > Trickle-down Groupie Status. Hot bands attracted hot groupies, hot to > trot. But when it came down *to* trotting, there was a definite "pecking > order" of groupie status. Top of the list -- hottest groupie prize -- > was the lead singer in the band, if there was one. Next came the lead > guitarist, or guitarists. Next, interestingly enough, came the drummer. > Then the bassist and the other sidemen. All of them were pretty much > guaranteed to score at the end of the gig, if 'scoring' was what they > had in mind. > > Next came the band's manager, and after that the roadies. The guys who > produced the concert and manned the light show were dead last. But, even > so, there were more than enough groupies to go around, so fun -- and the > groupies -- were pretty much had by all. It was a fun time, but it was a > fleeting time, and I don't think about it much unless someone brings up > the music of the period here or on another forum. > > So imagine my surprise that my conversations with Ben and his friends at > Le Verbalon have seemed to confer me some kind of Old Fart Trickle-down > Groupie Status. To them, the bands of that era are near-gods, the > pantheon of the modern music revolution. To me, they were just guys and > gals I was lucky enough to party with for a very short time in my youth. > > They're anxious for stories of those days ("So what *was* it like to > drop acid with Jerry Garcia?"), and I tell them a few that I suspect > will entertain them. But afterwards to some extent I can feel them > projecting some kind of weirdass rock star glammer onto me, *just > because I met these people a few times*. > > Me, I know the truth. I stumbled onto the scene by accident, enjoyed my > luck at having done so, and wandered on. None of these "rock gods" would > remember me (were they still alive), and there is no reason why they > should. I was just one of the "entourage," another one of the groupies > (even if they had a legitimate function, like promoting the concert) who > hung around musicians at that time and in that place. > > But for the French, almost warming their hands at the thought of what > California must have been like at that time, me having been there, done > that seems to confer upon me some kinda several-steps-removed groupie > status on me. Weird. > > I suspect that Bharitu is one of the only people here who will get this. > He used to play on the same stage as some of these people, as part of > the opening act. Me, I just hustled to promote the concerts and worked > the light shows and got invited to the after-parties. Big whoop. > > It was just the scene, at that time. You ran into the kinda people you > ran into. If you were smart, you tried your best to have a good time > with them. But -- at the time -- they weren't famous, and neither were > you. You were just people, having a good time together. > > That shouldn't inspire groupies. It should be commonplace, how things > work for everyone, all the time. > > > > > Best movie to cover that period (actually more early 70s) is a recent French > film called "Après mai" (ie, After May 1968 - aka "Something in the Air"). > It covers all the bases of the counter-culture and really captures the vibe. > Check it out. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXimuzHv6Ek > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXimuzHv6Ek > I never liked "pot" so was never stoned. Just the occasional Lucy or mushroom trip. I also never had much interest in rock stars' lifestyles. (Sounds odd in today's celebrity-obsessed times!) You took it for granted the heroes would have feet of clay and probably pretty sordid pastimes. Morisson was more interesting than most, though, as he followed the trajectory of the self-destructive artist as if he was being pursued by demons. Re "Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers": Yes, the movie is not bad - it persuaded me to finally get around to reading Cocteau's Les Enfants Terribles which was a major influence on the film. The problem with the film is that there's no real relationship between what's happening to the trio and the events on the streets. It's more psycho-drama than social history. Something in the Air really captures the deluded idealism of the time and the young actors' performances have that authentic period feel (whereas, for me, The Dreamers' cast seemed like moderns playing at being soixante-huitards). Both films capture the essential narcissism of youthful rebels. But you're in Paris; you presumably parle français; Something in the Air [Après mai] probably made waves over there when it came out last year, no?
