the 60s

The Beatles, the Stones, and Remembering Yesterday

Eric Green

Despite their humble origins growing up in working-class Liverpool, nothing could hold them back, even as sophisticated Londoners looked down their noses at these lads from the supposedly uncouth British north country. Their fantastic commercial success was something as a teenager I could dream about for myself either in music or some other still-to-be-determined pursuit.

Joan Baez: 60 Years of Sound and Still Counting

Sandra Bertrand

A film about such a folk legend must include highlights of performances to satisfy the fans, especially those whose own lives have witnessed the messy, yet often glorious days that Baez’s own life reflects. These clips are golden moments, surely, with memorable songs performed by Joan and Mimi; one of Dylan’s hits sung by the pair at the height of their performing together; and on the Farewell Tour, “There But For Fortune” by Phil Ochs.

1960s-Style Civil Disobedience Fuels Present-Day Activism

Raj Jayadev

This August marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington -- that watershed moment of the civil rights era that showed how mass movement could force the nation to address issues of inequality and change the political direction of the country. Had America not recently experienced some of the most poignant, traumatic, and racially-charged episodes in years, this march anniversary may have only been a nostalgic, obligatory, nod to the past. 

Generation Y: Counterculture, Cynicism & Progress

John McGovern

Today, the average American has less money, as wages for most of the population continue to stagnate. In the 60s, it was not too difficult to drop out and tune in without risking future economic turmoil. Gen. X and the generations since are not so fortunate (relative to the rest of the world, of course, they were), and their worldviews, dreams, expectations, heroes, and fashions vary as a result. 

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