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I’d like to (over-simplifying of course) put the last 80 years into three different periods. Politics, economics, music, movies, culture and fashion. Which one is your favourite? Which one do you “like” the most? In which one would you like to live?
1939-1968 “The Innocent Era”
Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Dean Martin, you know the sound. The era of swing and rock n roll. Of James Bond, cold war fear and rapid economic and social development. During this period the economy was strong, the nuclear family was strong.
But racial tensions, cold war fear and sexism are low points. I personally love this period of music, movies and fashion. Its absolute highlight is 1956-1963.
1969-1999 “The Sex, Drugs and Rock Era”
This is the era of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Queen.
Rock music everywhere, sex everywhere, no censorship on movies, big hair and big bucks. Also, the beginning of Reaganomics and the end of the cold war. Everybody seemed to have so much fun during this era. But, there was also lots of crime and periods of week economic development. Highlight during the 1980-1987 years.
2000-2019 “The Digital Era”
Introducing post-grunge, post-punk, post-garage rock. Everything went online. Music, movies, shopping, economics and social contacts. Everything more accessible then before, but also more polarized. Social issues very important again. Female pop stars and male rappers dominates music. Movies are getting more and more superhero, remake or prequel/sequel. But I most admit, fashion has been at its best since early 80s during last 4-5 years. Absolute highlight during the 2014-2019 years (so far).
94, if I'm choosing which historical period that I subjectively 'like' the most.. I'd pick the period you labelled Innocent Era. Largely prosperous & optimistic era for America..
As far as popular music, the late 1960s/early 1970s. But also some 1940s including Frank Sinatra and big band, the influence of my grandmother's generation. (Outside the time-frame posed in this thread, I also like ancient chanting, medieval music and classical music, especially late 19th/early 20th century.)
To be sure, there is some new good creative stuff after the early 1970s, but my impression is that "favorite" popular music is largely a generational thing; after all, there are only so many chords and after that much of it sounds like a rehash.
As far as economics and politics, the 1980s: economic revival, policies that allowed the information and communications technology revolution to flourish in the ensuing decades, including victory in the Cold War (for better and for worse).
Also for political entertainment/comedy, the 1980s: Reagan's soviet and other jokes are still funny, and also Rodney Dangerfield's career peaked in the 1980s.
Others will disagree, even vehemently, but that's okay.
As far as personal well-being, RIGHT NOW. Digital technology has a lot to do with it: having instant communications, a plethora of information and whole libraries at my fingertips has improved my life tremendously in terms of business, travel/life experiences, health (e.g. food choice education) and intellectual growth.
We truly live in a golden age, I hope people appreciate it, it may not last forever.
I lived through all 3 eras, and the last five weeks of the one before those. I
I was happiest in the First one, when life was pretty good for most but it was artistically weak.
The Second era had a lot of good films and music, mostly drowned out by the junk-rock mentioned by the OP.
The Third era has absolutely nothing to redeem it,and future historians beholding it will just shake their heads.. Despite the information miracle, I don't know anyone who is actually more broadly knowledgeable than they were 20 years ago. We can look anything up, but we don't, because it's alll minutiae. Were like astronomers who have a catalog of 84-million stars, buy how much more do they know?
I lived through all 3 eras, and the last five weeks of the one before those. I
I was happiest in the First one, when life was pretty good for most but it was artistically weak.
The Second era had a lot of good films and music, mostly drowned out by the junk-rock mentioned by the OP.
The Third era has absolutely nothing to redeem it,and future historians beholding it will just shake their heads.. Despite the information miracle, I don't know anyone who is actually more broadly knowledgeable than they were 20 years ago. We can look anything up, but we don't, because it's alll minutiae. Were like astronomers who have a catalog of 84-million stars, buy how much more do they know?
I agree with you cebuan, and have lived all three as well.
The prosperity after WWII ended brought feelings of goodwill...
Both my experience and observation may be skewed by the fact that I lived in NYC, and perhaps by the fact that I worked in a new, large computer center from about 73-74 into the Nineties.
The 1950s of the first era saw one of the greatest shifts in popular music. What Billboard used to catalog as "Race Music" had become Rhythm n Blues in 1949, and was breaking into the white teen audience around major American cities in the East. After some music industry and societal resistance white artists began to participate and the music was Rock n Roll. Post WW II pop music had been largely a continuation of the music styles of the 1930's up to this point. A major revolution in American popular music had occurred. By 1957 it was so complete that all the songs on Billboard's annual list of the years pop hits were rock n roll. In the late 60s/early 70s rock n roll had undergone its own change. What was now called Rock was played mostly by white artists and sold to mainly suburban and small town white audiences; while black musical artists and entrepreneurs developed soul which drew from RnB and gospel (even as RnB continued on its gritty, raunchy own), and the black recording company Motown became a major industry force and these found their major audiences/sales in urban areas and appealed to a racially mixed listening and buying audience.
The second era totally leaves out funk, soul, Motown, disco, Hi NRG and other dance music, and completely misses that this era revived social dancing. Also this was the era of large dance clubs, as well as smaller venues, which sliced and diced the dance/social scene by gay/straight, white/black, rich/plebe, etc., but which at the same time saw African-Americans being perhaps the majority of the entertainers (funk, soul, Motown - and which had been the only music to consistently successfully compete in sales with the "British Invasion".) And many whites were going to racially mixed venues in large numbers. You can check the music sales from the Seventies to the early Eighties to confirm.
The third era really began in the 90s. This was the time that the WWW and the internet took off and in which computers for home use started selling in large numbers, e.g. Radio Shack and DEC. Usenet had a usage that was restricted because of the limited availability of computers for individual use. Once this was overcome the Usenet social groups died under the onslaught of college age kids who descended on it largely as spammers, and there was a major readjustment with the net and a period of dumbing down before things improved and took off in the directions we are familiar with.
Current day is not "history" and I'm not sure the thread is appropriate. The classification of movie types is just wrong. Subjectively, with your taste profile, it might have seemed that way, but anyone involved in the industry doesn't break it out like that. Fashion also has different change points. When Kennedy didn't wear a hat to his inauguration, hats came off men nationwide. Early 1970s were different than late 1970s (remember polyester & disco).
Current day is not "history" and I'm not sure the thread is appropriate. The classification of movie types is just wrong. Subjectively, with your taste profile, it might have seemed that way, but anyone involved in the industry doesn't break it out like that. Fashion also has different change points. When Kennedy didn't wear a hat to his inauguration, hats came off men nationwide. Early 1970s were different than late 1970s (remember polyester & disco).
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