Leaders of a New Generation - First Draft

The youth of America in the 1960s had begun an era of total disregard of the government and any other form of authority. They saw the country, which their parents so much believe in, was following a path of corruption and was simply playing games on Capitol Hill from the McCarthy Hearings to the war in Vietnam. Musician Bob Dylan expressed the young people’s feelings when he stated, “All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie.” Their response was to “rock out” and take the upcoming generations down the path of freedom with them. Take drugs. Make unacceptable music. Wear inappropriate clothing. Within ten years from the launch of this whole idea, it would swallow the American youth whole which led to a defiant era of American history throughout the sixties and seventies. The following is a description of the period by Paul Kantner of the legendary, hippie band, Jefferson Airplane:
“But the situation was very open and very Renaissance like, a Leonardo da Vinci kind of time, in the sense of just opening up all those arts and letters and hedonism and sex-drugs-rock ‘n roll and freedom. It’s the American ideal gone bonkers.”
The leading pop bands of this time were the ring leaders in the revolt against authority and the search for personal freedom. There were a specific few who helped music become such a great influence on the culture of the sixties and seventies, yet each had their own way of influencing the rebellious youth of that generation. Jimi Hendrix proclaimed, “I try to use my music to move these people to act.”
The music of Jimi Hendrix can be labeled as the psychedelic blues which is sustained guitar feedback over a bass thumping out 1-4-5 note progressions. The older generations firmly believed this was not music, rebellious and not beautiful, but the youth loved it. It was different and powerful. It was no longer men in pressed suits with neatly cut hair standing on a small stage. They were rocking out in tie-dye, draped in jewelry while listening to Jimi’s revolutionary music which made them feel free.
Another musical influence was the band, The Doors, which included famous vocalist Jim Morrison. They were able to bring a theatrical feature to the stage and truly knew the power of entertainment which was seen during the Monterey Pop Festival, the Human Be-Ins in San Francisco, and Woodstock. These music festivals were reinforcements of the mass movement that was occurring in the 1960s, a place where the followers were together, united in a cause of rebellion. The youth desired for musicians to go out of control, and that is what they received from The Doors. Not only were they open on stage, but this band was open about their disgust with the government and their desire to see the war come to a close. The youth felt that it gave them power to make changes if the famous pop stars of their time were fighting for them too.
The Grateful Dead was different in the way that they did not take strong stands on hot issues that were fueling the movement in the sixties and seventies such as civil rights and the Vietnam War. They were just modern transcendentalists, using the contemporary tools of electronically amplified music and, yes, large quantities of psychedelic drugs. They laughed at the social movement, and Jerry Garcia once stated, “Why enter this closed society and make an effort to liberalize it when that's never been its function? Why not leave and go somewhere else?” But they were a part of it in a way by encouraging the upheaval with their famous Acid Tests, loose morals, and hippie style of clothing.
What Janis Joplin did was to fuel the fire in the fight for women’s liberation in the sixties, another leading social issue of that era. The expectations of what a woman could give as a musician were changed when Janis was a front runner, the star, not a back up singer, but a premiere, white, female vocalist. She sang from within and “there was something about her. She was sensuous. She almost made love to a song. Actually, she didn’t almost make love to a song, she almost fucked it. She was powerful yet feminine.” She inspired many during her short life, and even today female performers still try to live up to what Janis was able to give to her audience, which was music, along with passion.
This free spirit movement mainly led by the musicians and their compositions caused the youth of this particular era to be widely regarded to this day as the pioneers of anti-conformist radicalism. Because of all the political and social issues during the sixties and seventies the idea that public interest could never be served by blind obedience to authority was fueled by the musicians of the day. Music was the tool of expression the people used to show that they were no longer going to sit back; they were going to see changes.

Research Findings

“All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie.” - Bob Dylan

“But the situation was very open and very Renaissance like, a Leonardo da Vinci kind of time, in the sense of just opening up all those arts and letters and hedonism and sex-drugs-rock ‘n roll and freedom. It’s the American ideal gone bonkers.” - Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane

“I try to use my music to move these people to act.” - Jimi Hendrix

“Why enter this closed society and make an effort to liberalize it when that's never been its function? Why not leave and go somewhere else?” - Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead

Social issues of the 60s & 70s:
Women's Rights, Feminism - Janis Joplin
break out female artist, solo & white, of a rough background

Political issue of the 60s & 70s:
Vietnam War - The Doors
voiced opinions against political policies

Entertainment isssue of the 60s & 70s:
Changes in Pop music due to technology - Jimi Hendrix
sustained guitar feedback over a bass thumping out 1-4-5 note progressions
Interactive performances and Music Festivals - The Doors, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead

I found information on Janis Joplin by reading The Night I Met Janis Joplin by Jeffery Beyl who found on a website for a group of writers named HackWriters.

An old Blues radio program called The House of Blues had a series on Jimi Hendrix. I listened to an old episode and learned a few things about Jimi using technology in order to create his own style of music.

Reason Magazine published an article titled, Come Here Uncle Sam's Band: The hippie capitalism of the GratefulDead which went into detail about the band and it's cultural influence in the 60s & 70s, not necessarily political nor social.

I read another college student's research paper online, which focused on The Doors.

Research Plan

Since my first idea was shot down about the Grateful Dead :) I decided to create this question for my research: Music was a great influence on the culture of the sixties and seventies, so who were the great bands and musicians and how did they each specifically influence the rebellious youth of that generation? I would include Jimi Hendrix and his new style of guitar playing, The Doors and their engaging performances, The Dead and their middle of the line social stances and use of drugs, and Janis Joplin, the breakout female artist.

"IF CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT THEN WHY AM I CURIOUS GEORGE?"

Vision Quest - pg. 90

What are you curious about?

What a good question. I am curious about:
Middle-Eastern culture
God & and the original language/meanings in the Bible
Jamaica
The Peace Corps.
What the girl in the 5th floor lounge in the other building that I can see through the window is laughing so hard about
My father's childhood
Modeling
What's going through my love interest's mind when we are together
My future
The heart of a rebel or insurgent in a war-torn country
Africa
How good the food really is at Tavern on the Green
My lover's past
Scuba diving and the world underneath the water
Why I have such a hard time attempting to quit smoking pot that is said to be so "nonaddictive"
The life an American-Chinese gang member

I'm sure there's more that I'll post later.

Intelligent Self-Direction

Vision Quest - Pg. 79

What does "intelligent self-direction" mean to you?

Ironically, this is something that I have been thinking about and discussing with one of my friends over the past week. I think the phrase really spells it out for you anyway though. It's the just the path towards intelligent self-direction is unclear as Dr. Marsh noted in Vision Quest. My simple answer to what "intelligent self-direction" may mean is having the ability to make your own decisions and direct yourself, but making those decisions based on what is best for you. Having intelligence is to be smart, therefore making smart decisions can only be what is best for you. Having that ability is often difficult for some to obtain and often comes with maturity and help from others who are intelligent themselves. That is why teachers are so necessary in the development of their student's "intelligent self-direction." I am just glad to have a teacher who encourages people to practice "intelligent self-direction."

Print Object #1

As I was making the trip to the UN headquarters early Tuesday morning I entered the subway at Kew Gardens and was handed a newspaper. While sitting on E train I felt like a true New Yorker, reading my newspaper while smashed up against ten strangers all making their way to downtown Manhattan. I flipped through the paper only to see a perfect print object for English class. An advertisment for Crunch Gym. In the picture, a man holds six woodpeckers tightly up against his chest, and underneath it reads "TIGHT PECKS." I thought it was a nice play on words that put a smile on my face, and made me continue reading the rest of the minimal information about the gym at the bottom.

My Band, The Dead

I am enthralled by the music of the Grateful Dead. Not only is it their unique, "jam band" style that I love, but the Grateful Dead was different in the way that they did not take stands on hot issues that were fueling the movement such as civil rights and the Vietnam War. They were just modern transcendentalists, using the contemporary tools of electronically amplified music and, yes, large quantities of psychedelic drugs. They laughed at the social movement, and Jerry Garcia once stated, “Why enter this closed society and make an effort to liberalize it when that's never been its function? Why not leave and go somewhere else?” I just appreciate the stand off position that the Dead took when it came to social or political issues as I read about the flamboyant stances many popular bands are taking today amidst the Iraq War.