Moonshot, Columbus, Now Woodstock a Myth Too? Oh No!

We baby boomers have lost too many cultural icons. Don't take away Woodstock.

Some nut shot John Lennon. Good journalism -- or was it reality? -- took away our faith in institutions. We've pretty much lost Ford, Chevrolet, General Motors, Wall Street, faith in television news, trust in doctors, air, water...hell, they even took away Christopher Columbus, who went from great explorer to racist exploiter, all in one generation. There are people who say the 1969 moon walk was faked. But Woodstock too? no!

I turned 21 in 1969. I wasn't at Woodstock. I was in California, working a summer job, wishing I was there.

Still, news of Woodstock seemed  like triumph of good over evil. It was cultural affirmation. Half a million people gathered for three days in a muddy field with no money, no violence, no hierarchy, no police, no authorities, and no problems. And it proved what we'd been saying to ourselves, to our parents, to our teachers, bosses, and anybody else we could find to say it to.

It felt like a turning point. After Woodstock, "Hippy" was no longer a bad thing to be. It wasn't the event, it seemed to me, as much as a marker of change accomplished, like a graduation.

But was that really Woodstock, or just the movie they made of it? I wasn't there. I saw the movie the next year. A triumph of good over evil, or a triumph of good marketing? Gulp. Say it ain't so.

Disillusion number one: marketing? The narration says "the Woodstock nation was born, ushering in a whole new area of marketing." True, I'm all grown up now, I get marketing, my company depends on it like the rest of small business, but jeez, marketing at Woodstock? That's Woodstock's legacy?

No, I hope not; but then John Scher, CEO of Metropolitan Talent, explains:

"You had a new brand. It was called Woodstock. And you had music that was associated with a mass movement: A social, cultural, and political movement. Music could be marketed, differently, than it was before. And then you had people who had no soul, just trying to sell product, trying to figure out how they could latch on."

(If you can't see the video, click here to go to the source at wsj.com)

But wait: it gets worse. The narrator implies that the legacy was more the movie than the event, and in the movie ...

"Not all the performers fared so well.  The order of performers was changed, some were left out, in some cases songs performed elsewhere replaced songs performed at the event.  It all helped to create a memory that wasn't necessarily true to life."

And still worse. The five-minute piece finishes with WSJ Music Critic Jim Fusilli:

"There's a lot of really terrific performances that received no exposure. For the past 39 years, they've gotten very little bounce. A lot of Columbia artists didn't get into the film. A lot of Capitol artists didn't get into the film, or onto the album. You had a giant label in Warner Brothers, who had possession of the music at Woodstock.

"I don't remember what actually happened anymore either. I've been struggling against the myth of Woodstock. I've probably read 10 books, I've listened to (I bet you) two thirds of the music that was at Woodstock. I've talked to probably 20 people who were at Woodstock or involved in Woodstock. And I don't really know what happened anymore. The only thing I have that I can trust is the music.

"This is a debate that I have with myself all the time, as to whether things like Woodstock, and the Beatles, and the Stones, will continue into the future. Whether people will have the same affection for them once the social context has changed. And I think it's hard to say. The truth is that as long as a single hippy remains alive, the myth of Woodstock will be perpetuated."

Sigh... so it seems we've been rewriting history for a while now. Next they're going to say there were only 400,000 people there, instead of 20 million. Is nothing safe? 

Follow Tim Berry on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Timberry

Comments

[Json]

Then can we rewrite the 1999 Woodstock as well? I was at the 1999 one and does anyone ever ask me about the music? Nope. All anyone ever says is "Isn't that when they lit everything on fire?"
Yeah, they/we did, but that was during the last performance on the last day on the concert. So when we rewrite that story, let's downplay the flaming cars and billboards and start talking about the music.

[BlackJAC]

You forget that the concept of Teenager didn't exist until the 1950s when companies figured out it was a demographic they could sell stuff to. None of those bands at Woodstock would've been known to anyone had some suit-wearing square employed by a record label discovered and signed them. And don't even get me started on the whole payola thing.

[Durango]

Payola was a generation earlier.

FM radio went around all that anyhow.

As far as the suits go, don't think they were the ones dancing at the Filmore or Avalon.

They were the ones who avoided meetings with the Grateful Dead.

They were afraid of getting dosed.

No, the music of the 60's and early 70's was good because the SUITS didn't have a clue what the "kids" wanted.

Which left opened a huge vacume that talent filled.

[pfc1369]

I grew up and came of age in the 50's and can recall reading an article in one of the popular mags of the day (Collier's, S.E. Post, Life?) titled " Big Business Invents the Teenager," and I was one!

[loucheish]

Could someone explain Woodstock to me? I mean go past the "you're too young; you weren't there; you can't understand" rubbish and actually explain how exactly a few hundred thousand filthy and stoned hippies writhing about in a field "proved" anything other than the young people of the 60s were a self-centered and self-indulgent lot. Boomers, listen up: You didn't stop a war. You didn't change the world (at least, not for the better). All you did was usher in an era of "if it feels good, do it" reckless pleasure seeking. Your 'idealism' was never anything more than garland strung-up to hide your monstrous collective ego.

[WorkingClass]

You don't need anybody to explain anything to you. You already know everything. Take a hike.

[Durango]

I can only feel sorry for you.

Growing up in the 60's was the best time to be young. Not before. Not since.

And obviously you are determined not to get it.

Don't worry. Most of the people growing up in the 60's didn't "get it" either.

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney come to mind.

[pfc1369]

WorkingClass said it better.

But I'll add I'd like to see you and your tribe in similar circumstances, and get through 3 similar days without a shootout, much less in a spirit of cooperation and good will.

[Daniel Brooks]

For those who are capable of respecting such things, Woodstock may be seen as a good example of what happens when Hippie Idealism (or, if you will, Judeo-Christian Idealism) becomes the guiding principle. Despite a crowd ten times larger than anticipated, despite rain and mud and bad acid, despite inadequate supplies of food, water, toilets and medical facilities, there was not even a single report of any violence. The disaster that might have befallen a less inspired crowd never happened at Woodstock. The ideals to which we have been paying lip service for thousands of years, Peace, Love, Creativity, Community, Compassion, Joy, Transcendence, etc. turned what might have otherwise been a miserable disaster into a celebration.

And the Music was, often, awe inspiring.

[RFWoodstock]

WOODSTOCK LIVES ONLINE!!!! We're a small group of folks based at Utopia Studios in Woodstock who are keeping the spirit of Woodstock alive.

Listen to RADIO WOODSTOCK 69 which features only music from the original Woodstock era (1967-1971) and RADIO WOODSTOCK with music from the original Woodstock era to today’s artists who reflect the spirit of Woodstock.

Win a Woodstock special limited edition white Stratocaster guitar (like the one Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock) and Collector's Edition Woodstock DVD.

Go to http://www.woodstockuniverse.com for details and to join our Woodstock Universe online community.

Peace, love, music,
RFWoodstock
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