>>>Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 17:16:38 GMT From: "RedWith PurpleFlashes"
>>><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: I remember when scooters were
>>>ha'penny a dozen... Couldn't agree more Dom,particularly as charity shops
>>>are full of smelly old people and the Sound Of Music and Harry Secombe
>>>records.
>>>===================================================================== >.
>>>It is is good that records are reissued , you can buy decent >new clothes
>>>at decent shops(charity/thrift shops are in the main >shite anyway). You
>>>ultimatly still need to make the deciscions >yourself. > >Cheers >Dominic
>>> ><<<
Heh, heh. This is exactly the kind of attitude that means I can loot and
pillage your local charity shops for all the finds! (for they are still
there - it just takes some dedicated sifting and searching further afield,
and yes, I am that obsessive) Keep up the good work ;)
As far as thrifting goes, it may not be strictly mod, but years of poverty
have made me a charity shop/fleamarket/car boot sale addict. And there is
always the prospect of that one-of-a-kind find How very mod - no, really,
this makes me think of Bowie dying his hair orange as early as 64 or 63 or
whenever it was (Bill - help...) to try and push himself ahead of the other
mods. Style and taste, certainly, but neither are anything special without
the edge of individuality. (Not that dying hair orange is necessarily mod,
but hey, I won�t laugh at it till I see it...)
As far as it being easier to become a mod nowadays, well, of course I�m
completely jealous of these young 'uns that can find out about the whole
thing - and buy it so it seems - over the net, almost as soon as they see
their first OCS or Weller video on MTV or the O-Zone, but what�s intriguing
is that it doesn�t seem to make the whole business of being a mod any
easier.
Aged 12, my mod outfit (and gawd, I feel like the granny who�s told this
story far, far too many times...)consisted of a prince-of-wales check mini,
a red turtleneck, leather coat and black pumps and that was about as
interesting, so it seemed, as the modette look got at that time (82/83 -
yes, I�m old :)). The mod boys, who were the proverbial peacocks (although
even at that time their standard issue outfit seemed to be basically parka,
mohair suit and a very dull skinny tie - in Scotland at least). Being a
modette inevitably felt like being reluctantly let in the gang and being
forced to wear frumpy clothes for the privilege. Similarly, I would never
have called myself a mod in the mid-Eighties, because there was still a very
strict line on what that was, and wearing paisley mini-skirts, dancing to
Love and having a beau with a bowl-cut and winklepickers was definitely not
it, as I well knew. We were �6ts kids�. Well, actually we were �pop kids�
because we were usually into modern, mostly 6ts inspired stuff, at the same
time and, besides, we just couldn�t be bothered going to the lengths of
calling ourselves beatnik/mod/garage punker/hippie-dippie/whatevers. Well,
it was the generation who would become slackers.
Anyhoo... really, I continue to puzzle over this, but it seems to me that
it�s both easier and just as difficult to become a mod nowadays. Easier to
get into, but just as difficult to figure out where to take it and how to
live a �mod� life, because of the almost overwhelming variety of options.
John Drefahl�s comment about sub-cultures having to redefine themselves
comes to mind. Back then it was a case of �how the hell do I find out more?�
(To say nothing of �please say I don�t have to look like Leslie Ash in
Quadrophenia?) Now the question is more �how the hell do I choose between
what�s on offer?�, fer instance: early mod, Carnaby St mod, mod-rock, mod
revivalist, �modern-dressing� mod...
Oh, but these are just quickfire thoughts. I could wonder about this until I
turned into a bongo-drum and beat myself to death, so, please, don�t shoot
me down too hard...
Katrina
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