StoryWorks

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music

Shawn Amos of Yahoo's GetBack blog has an interesting post on the 40th anniversary of Woodstock which looks at the headliners then and now. Amos writes, "The music at Woodstock contained some of the most pure, passionate, and singular performances ever in the history of rock."

Fair enough.

Amos then goes on to write:

"Here's the reality: the Woodstock generation is dying. They're getting old. And when you get old, you get nostalgic. When you get old, you want to chronicle your life and wrap it in a neat bow for others to look at. When you're old, you want people to know your life meant something."

Ouch.

My generation -- Gen X -- has an understandable resentment of the Boomers of Woodstock. They are so large in numbers, they've been the belly flop in the pool of our cultural and work lives. They've had a huge impact on our lives -- not necessarily because of what they've added to our culture is meaningful, but because there are so many of them. (And would some of you please retire so we can get a promotion and better provide for OUR families?)

But in my view, the performances at Woodstock marked a huge tipping point in the history of American music, not so much because of the quality of the music, but because of the performances and those who delivered them so completely departed from what had been the norm prior to that point.

 

Filed under: Getback.com Shawn Amos Woodstock
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