The urban riots of 1967

In 1967, violent, race-driven riots broke out in a score of American cities, with the ones in Newark and Detroit by far the worst. We're still feeling their effects today.  One consequence of the riots was the acceleration of the decline of the inner cities and white flight to the suburbs.

Partial list:

June 2-7:      Boston (Roxbury) riots
June 12:       Cincinnati riots
June 26 - July 1: Buffalo riots
July 10:        Waterloo, Iowa riots
July 12-17:   Newark riots
July 12-14:   Hartford riots
July 12-13:   Erie, PA riots
July 23-28:   Detroit riots

History in the context of the debates over public housing: The Buell Hypothesis

On the music of 1967

If a word characterizes the music of 1967 it is "hopeful." There's also a note of "what's music going to be?," which expresses itself as either scattered or creative.

Scott, Scott Walker, 1967, and Scott 2, Scott Walker 1968, and Scott 3, Scott Walker, 1969

The Jacques Brel songs stand out on these three albums (stand out among a lot of great stuff). Walker does so brilliantly with the Brel songs that I was wondering what Brel himself thought of Walker's versions.  I never found out, but thanks to Spotify I was able to listen to Brel's originals.  And surprise, I almost always prefer Walker's versions.

Walker's great Brel performances (to make it easier to find the originals, I've included the original title):

My Death (La mort)
Amsterdam (Amsterdam)
Mathilde (Mathilde)
Jackie (La chanson de Jacky)
Next (Au suivant)
Funeral Tango (Tango funèbre)
The Girls and the Dogs (Les filles et les chiens)
If You Go Away (Ne me quitte pas)

Walker's "Sons Of" from Scott 3 is a little mawkish for me compared to Brel's "Fils de," and Brel does a good job with "Mathilde." But for every other song he took on, Scott is a better Brel than Brel.

UPDATE: Mouron does some nice Brel interpretations on her album Quinze années d'amour.

"Hello Goodbye", The Beatles, 1967

I was going to say this didn’t hold up so well, but I don’t think I liked it all that much then. Like the strings, though. (Violas, according to Alan W. Pollack.)

Their Satanic Majesties Request, The Rolling Stones, 1967

How wonderful this album is. I had forgotten. Conventional wisdom at the time was that this wasn't a good album. How wrong that was. The Stones cross their normal blues-rock with psychedelia a bit uneasily, but the uneasiness makes for some great music.

On this re-listen, utter love. Loved it in the 70s, love it now. Why are the Stones punished for experimenting (with different instruments, orchestration, looser song structures) when others are rewarded? Unfair! Songwriting, playing and production (the Stones themselves) are great. Brian Jones still around to leaven Jagger and Richards' seriousness.

"Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever", The Beatles, 1967

"Penny Lane"

Fatal McCartney Cuteness Disease.

"Strawberry Fields Forever"

Disregard the psychedelic bafflegab of the lyrics and there’s a good song here, with some interesting musical experiments.

Safe As Milk, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, 1967

This album wouldn't be that interesting if it wasn't by Captain Beefheart. It's a blues record with competent songwriting and playing. Until this project, I thought Trout Mask Replica (1969) was Cap’s first album. Actually it was his third, this one was first. Most interesting song is "Zig Zag Wanderer," which evokes The Fall and also departs from the traditional blues structure.

John Wesley Harding, Bob Dylan, 1967

I know the reputation of this album is that it’s one of Dylan’s high points. Maybe it's over-familiar to me because in the 70's I listened to it a lot. But it seems blah and boring to me. It just doesn't have the emotional commitment of Nashville Skyline or Self Portrait, both of which I still listen to. JWH seems flat. Best song on JWH - "As I Went Out One Morning." Finally Dylan seems awake.

Buffalo Springfield Again, Buffalo Springfield, 1967

Awesome when Neil Young is at the controls  ("Mr Soul," "Expecting to Fly," and "Broken Arrow"). Otherwise a bunch of hippies playing at being country, with one exception -- "Bluebird" (Stills) is pretty good.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Floyd, 1967

This album is one of the pleasant surprises of this project.  I only had Ummagumma back then so only knew the songs from the live versions. And I liked them.  But the studio versions are better. It's rare that a band's live version of a song is better than same band's studio version. Piper really rocks and has humor.

Reflecting on the lyrics. Back in those days there was no Internet. To know the lyrics you would have to puzzle them out yourself, if there was no lyric sheet. To get the music you had to go to record stores. To meet other fans you had to go to concerts or clubs and talk to other fans. To get biographical and other info you had to read magazines (which you got by mail or at a store) or books ( which you got at bookstores). To know when a band was playing you read the Sunday Times or the Village Voice. To get discographical info there were books, or catalogs like Schwann. To share what you were listening to you invited someone over. It was a slower, simpler time.