5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a lot of words about the self-obvious, November 6, 2008
This review is from: There's a Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars, and the Rise and Fall of the '60s (Hardcover)
In taking a line from The Beach Boys' `Student Demonstration Time'- to name but one reference - as its title, author Doggett makes it clear his massive tome is directed at describing the relationship between what I will call popular music and the multi-headed beast of socio-economic-political action. It's not a new topic, nor is it a topic not already in the consciousness of many - if not most folks. Music has always been a medium discourse - both pro and con. It is also part of the fabric of our lives as a means to expression, both individually and in groups. The issue of what music means - both as a manifestation of our culture and as a tool of change - has also been addressed before; some of Ian Whitcomb's books come to mind immediately.
What Doggett has done is take the period from roughly 1950 to 1975 and provide a narrative history of how music and - more importantly - the musicians were involved in the politics of change taking place. So, it is really much more a story of the music industry and its participants than a history of change.
What we find is not surprising in that those involved, more often than not, had their own agenda. In fact, often these self-interests were at odds or even totally opposed to the events. Bob Dylan never became the anti-war/antiestablishment leader that his iconic stature implied. John Lennon may have sang "Women are the [......] of the world," but his actions indicated that his heart (maybe [....] is a better choice of words) lay in maintaining and enjoying a feminine-servile condition. In fact, Doggett repeatedly complains - to the point of carping - that misogynistic attitudes permeated the music scene and its spillover into politics.
None of this should have been surprising to Doggett or anyone else, for that matter, as books, films, plays, songs, newspaper and reality television have all addressed this issue. Yes, there are exceptions; there always are. But, this period in rock 'n' roll - a period before Heart, Hole, The Runaways, Fanny, The Slits and Madonna - was a male playland.
To make the failure of our music idols to embrace the "revolution" the centerpiece of a book this sprawling is an exercise in the self-obvious. There are better ways to learn about the history of this period. What happenhs here is that the author castigates failure to live up to the dogma and doctrines of revolution. How could you excpect otherwise from a medium like popular music where excess is applauded?
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Recounting of the Faux "Revolution", October 4, 2010
This book does a very good job of blending the counterculture movement of the 60s and early 70s with the music scene of the time. More importantly, it personalizes the iconic music figures, such as Bob Dylan and John Lennon, as the antitheses and embodiment of the often-confused, inconsistent bandwagoners of the proto-revolutionary fervor that stemmed from the Vietnam war, the Cold war and the civil right struggles. Dylan, despite his lyrics, refused to be used as symbol of the leftists, all the while toying with Zionism, whereas Lennon experimented with drugs, eastern religious figures and Yoko Ono in order to configure himself as some kind of spokesman for disillusioned and idealistic youth. The Black Panthers play a role in this process also, though the book tends to minimize the influence of music in the movement and focuses on their internal, fratricidal struggles. The counterculture celebrities, like Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, even got caught up in the rock star imagery, with the predictable result that their dedication to the "Revolution" became less and less a focal point in their lives. The book ends with the terminal event of the Proto-Revolution That Wasn't with George McGovern's devastatingly brutal defeat in the 1972 presidential election versus Nixon, the personification of conservative, reactionary American evil. It is a long book, but well paced and full of the quirky rock star-counterculture anecdote, such as Dylan's struggle with the Dylan Liberation Front, that spent a good deal of time going through his garbage. I recommend this to rock music historians and anyone interested in the countercultural movement.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Revolution of the 60s & 70s, November 2, 2008
This review is from: There's a Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars, and the Rise and Fall of the '60s (Hardcover)
One of the best books I've read in months. A sweeping inclusive view of history of the "revolution" from the mid sixties through the end of the Symbionese Liberation Army. If you lived through these times, this book will help put it all into perspective.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
