Woodstock and now

So as most people with a TV know last weekend was the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. I actually sat down one night and watched a documentary (that wasn’t Gangland on the History Channel, which that show is awesome.) about Woodstock. The one thing that really stuck out was how it finally came together, and how the politics of the time and the people of the time really made it into something. The whole time watching it, I tried to think of something like that happening now.

Something like that couldn’t happen now. We would get too involved as people wanting the big payoff to let something like that happen again. It’s sad that some of the values of those “hippies” have been lost by now. They ran out of food at the festival, some people stepped up to help feed some of the people there. They introduced granola at Woodstock, not for Woodstock we might not have granola.

So many people showed up they pushed down a fence and the concert promoters decided to just make it a free concert. Not to mention tickets for the whole weekend were just $18. That happened now, police would be called, people would be put in jail, and more than likely the concert would be cancelled. Plus the tickets would be about $200 bucks.

I guess it’s sad that when you think of getting 500,000 people together now, you think of how much trouble is going to be caused. At Woodstock, they just wanted to have a peaceful get together and listen to some music and hang out. Now, it wouldn’t be that easy, and it’s sad. What happened between then and now is the only question I could come up with.

So many people forget (and I do at times) about how to help out other people. Woodstock was put together for a lot of people that believed in the same things to get together and let everyone know there was something more out in the world. I think everyone now forgets that, it’s all about “ME” now. The culture at the time of Woodstock is nothing different than it is now. The Government during then and now is about the same, both are struggling to get the country back in shape, both times had a horrible war going on, and tons of people wanted to be heard then just like now. The only difference between then and now is the “ME” factor comes into play. If we were anything like our parents back then, we would band together and be heard just like they did. What’s scary, we have more resources and we don’t use them. They had less, and were heard much louder than us.

Music for the week:
Well, now I keep having to go back and fourth and remember what music I should put on here. Granted this past weekend I listened to mostly the Woodstock Channel on XM while in the car. Also the dilemma of thinking what I should take off my iPod and keep on it. September is coming up and a ton of great (hopefully) albums are coming out, so I am getting rid of some music to make room for more. Here are a few albums for this week.

The Airborne Toxic Event
I have been on the fence for a while about this band. I think it was the over play of the first single they released off the album that did it to me. A few weeks back Lollapalooza happened and they put on a few acts on the internet to watch for free, and I decided to watch some of them. Well ATE was one of them, and I have to say they were great live. So I got the album, and it is just as good. Some times overplay does not help record sales. Check out the song Wishing Well and This Nowhere.

Flobots- Fight With Tools
This album has been out a while, but I am going back through my iPod and trying to find some bands I haven’t brought up. I always have withdrawal symptoms when I think about Rage Against the Machine. Although the Flobots aren’t anywhere close to the vocals of Zach De La Rocha and the guitar wizardry (had to use that somehow) of Tom Morello, they do fill the void of a good political rant. This band from Denver helps to fill a tiny amount of the void left by RATM not being together. Check out the songs Stand Up and Rise.

Klaxons-Myths of the Near Future
The Klaxons are a band that has been getting some critical acclaim since debuting Myths of the Near Future. I have to admit, this is much deserved. I have been listening to this album for a while, just haven’t brought them up. Check out the songs Golden Skans and Gravity’s Rainbow.

Tanya Morgan- Brooklynati
Ok, granted when you first read the name of this group Hip-Hop is not the first thing you think of. As some of you know, I am a hip-hop fan. I got the luxury of growing up when Hip-Hop was just kind of coming out (yes I am that old). My tastes of hip-hop have changed from hardcore hip-hop (in high school) to listening to more intellectual (if you can say that) hip-hop. Or as a friend of mine called it “college” rap. Tanya Morgan makes me think of Tribe Called Quest, the Roots, De La Soul, and so on. Check out the songs Alleye Need and On Our Way.