1977

[Rokkr]

I've had an urge to write about this for a while now, so it may as well be here.
Thrash me for being a nostalgic old fuck if you want.

I've always been a music freak. Go back to The Beatles, The Who and The Stones and The Kinks, Led Zep, Hendrix, from the early 60's on, if it was rock, I listened to it.
And I loved all those bands and more.

But in 1977, living in Boston, I heard the Sex Pistols and the Jam and the Clash and the Buzzcocks and a lot of other bands that changed the way I listened to music, changed the way I looked at others, changed the way I thought.

Suddenly I was in the middle of a lot of people I understood. I hadn't experienced that before. Sure, a friend here, a friend there, but not a common mentality with a large group of people.
I was 25 and for the first time I felt like I belonged somewhere. I'm going to fail to convey how it felt because I don't know if words can do it.
But I'll try.

We had our uniforms, we liked to think we didn't, but the leather, safety pins, ripped t-shirts and buttons were a uniform of a sort. But they didn't matter that much, many of us just wore jeans and t shirts or whatever.
Hundreds of us out almost every night. We didn't always know each others names, but the faces we did. And we knew where we wanted to be.
And it wasn't the happy hippie shit of Deadheads or Phish fans. There was definitely an undercurrent of anger, but not at each other.
And yes, we had our share of idiots and troublemakers. But they never had a great affect on most of us. Even the idiots got along well.

Yeah, there are plenty of club scenes etc. that can be said the same of. But I've seen them over the years between now and then and they just aren't the same.
I'm not knocking anyone else's experiences, but I still go to clubs to see bands and it's different.

I remember all of us waiting on pins and needles for these bands to come to town or for their next record. It was heady stuff for an entire community of people to be almost of one mind about something like music.
When the Sex Pistols toured they skipped Boston and I still recall hundreds of us networking to find ways to Birmingham, AL or Texas to see them. It was insane.

I saw most of the bands from that time, the Clash, the Pistols, the Jam. And if you missed them you were an object of sympathy.
Bands popped up among us, people who had no experience playing music suddenly picked up guitars and began to play.
And it didn't matter if you were any good or not, what mattered was you had something to express, you were inspired.

I still follow music closely. I love a lot of music that's come out in the years since and much of it means quite a bit to me.
But no bands since that time have had my stomach churning waiting for more.
Hundreds of people's stomachs churning.
A little over a year ago Joe Strummer died. I remember Hendrix, Lennon, Morrison dying. All their deaths saddened me, but I never shed a tear.
But when I heard about Strummer I suddenly found myself crying like a baby. Joe was my age when he died. I'm still not sure if I was crying for the times, for Joe or for myself. But I think it seemed like the end of an era to me.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade what I have now to return to then or to have that feeling again. I've been blessed with children I love and good things in my life.
But.
I dearly miss that time in my life.
I miss the unity of thought and purpose even if we didn't exactly know what our purpose was.
I miss belonging.

[Frau_Blucher]

Great, great stuff Rokkr. Would love to hear more. Can we drag you out to see Gang of Four in NYC? [:D]

[Rokkr]

You tempt me mightily. I saw them twice back then and they blew me away both times.
I'm more out of it than I used to be. I didn't know they were doing a reunion tour. What are the dates? I live in upstate NY.

Hah, the last show I saw in NYC was The C

[ben_at_work]

Cool post Rokkr, I know what you are talking about. I've never had friends like the friends I had back then. I keep in touch with some of them and all we talk about is the music and the concerts. It was a great time for music and friends. I miss my mohawk

[bpdp3]

Born in '66 in a small town, I was a little too young to catch the initial onslaught in '77 - - but I know it was something special. I get my hands on every record/magazine from that era I can find. And you can see what it started - look how many bands/s

[Rubbeet921]

Whew!!! Great post Rokkr! Very touching too esp. remembering the demise of Joe Strummer...

[newwavepop]

but there are still cool kids around with unique thoughts and ideas, who go out of there way to define themselves as individuals, you can find them at the mall standing around hot topic.


i remember 77, punk, star wars, my fifth bday

[UniversalRadio]

Wow it was really cool to hear first hand what it was like to be a 25 year old in Boston in 1977! Man, you could have seen the Cars (or perhaps did) in small clubs back when they were practically almost still Milkwood![8D] Seemed to me Boston in the lat

[Rokkr]

Yes, I saw The Cars at the Paradise in Boston, Greg Hawkes was a customer of mine. He loved european synth bands and I managed a record store.

I remember the Cars show not for themselves but because Suicide opened and though I enjoyed them very much, t

[ekahob]

[quote][i]Originally posted by newwavepop[/i]
<br>but there are still cool kids around with unique thoughts and ideas, who go out of there

[Quite Life]

That was a great post! Those were the best of times. Though I didn't pop up into the scene until 82-83 seeing shows at the Mabuhay Gardands, On Brodway, The Stone, Keystone Berkeley and Berkeley Square or old now defunked clubs out here in SF like The Omn

[firefall]

Great memories from all of you guys,for a kid of 90s like me!It's very nice to share your music passion that was also a passion for life,independence and tight,stable ideas!Music makes better people,and i wish everyone to explore its personal heaven thro

[ben_at_work]

Keep the faith Firefall. Hey is that Firefall like the 70's band that sang "Strange way" and "Just remember I love you" or is it something else? Just curious.

[i_like_lectric_motors]

Strange Way is a very weird song if you really listen to it.

[firefall]

no,it's not that firefall,ben at work!it's only a name i like,nothing else.Icouldn't find something better...