Why the Seventies Will Always Be My Decade

A few weeks ago, my lovely English professor, referencing to my blog's uncommon focus, expressed a bit of confusion over my intense interest in the 1970s: "I must say, I've had students who are really into a certain period, like the Civil War era, but I've never had someone who is so interested in the 1970s.  It's...interesting."

At the time, I hadn't given my passion for this peculiar decade much thought, and since "I like it because I like it" doesn't really have a nice ring to it, I just smiled and agreed that indeed, it is..."interesting."  But it got me wondering, why do I have such an interest in the 70s? So now, seeing as this is my last post on Gospel of the Piano Man (trust me, I'm much sadder than you are) I feel like answering this question will be a nice way to wrap up this series.  So without further ado...

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To be honest, the 1970s don't look so great on paper.  They're a collection of years tainted by so many tragically memorable events.  The violence of the Vietnam War caused an incredible wave of distress and disillusionment.  Watergate dethroned our nation's leader and unveiled the ugly truth of corruption in America.  The Munich Massacre.  The energy crisis.  The Kent State shootings.  The break-up of the Beatles.

And if that wasn't enough, the decade also has the misfortune of being sandwiched between the psychedelic sixties and the glamorous eighties.  I mean, who cares about earth tones and rusty orange when we can talk about Woodstock or the rise of the supermodel?

The common sentiment might be best summed up by Elizabeth Wollman of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History who writes:

"The 1970s gets a bad rap.  Rarely revered as a glorious- or even particularly memorable- time in contemporary American history, the seventies is more often seen as the sad stepchild to the 1960s, which is celebrated as a decade of peace, love, and revolutionary social change.  In sharp contrast with the 1960s, the 1970s was painted, even as it progressed, as an era of crushing disappointment: defeat in Vietnam, bad or downright corrupt political leadership, staggering economic problems, disenchantment, disenfranchisement, and inane fads."

And yet, the 70s remain my decade of choice.  I've done some soul searching and uncovered some reasons why the seventies, despite all its faults, will always be my decade, and the first place I travel once we finally master the art of time travel.

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Roots
If you listened to my This I believe podcast or read my post about my favorite place on Earth, you know that my love of history really stems from stories of my mom's 1970s childhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia.  So I guess that's where you can say my love of the seventies stems from too.  After all, it was from my mom that I grew to love the wonderful 70s music scene, and from my grandparents that I was able to spend time in a home that could have passed for a museum of the home decor and technology of the decade.

Music
This one probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise, seeing that I usually can't go more than one week without writing about my favorite singers of the decade.  And can you blame me? The 70s had it all when it came to music.  On the west coast you could chill with the likes of the Eagles, Joni Mitchell, and CSNY, then hop over to the east coast and disco the night away (or rock out with the one and only Billy Joel).  Whether you want harmony and good vibes or something a bit grittier, the 70s are your one stop music shop.

Hair

Randy Meisner, ca 1970s

I don't have very much to say on this topic, other than that a very surreal moment for me was watching the Eagles documentary shortly after getting a foot of my hair chopped off and some legit fringe added to my forehead and realizing that I had just gotten the same haircut as guitarist Randy Meisner.  I consider this both a great honor and a testament to the amazing hair of the 70s.

People
Ugh, I know.  It's so hard for me not to be cheesy in these posts (but then again it's my last, so I don't feel that bad about it).  In this blog, I've always tried to focus on the people behind the events, the cultural phenomena, the one-hit wonders, and the movements that changed history.  Despite the war, despite the economic struggle, despite the corruptness of politics, there were some beautiful things that came out of that decade.  Like the cliche classic metaphor of the flower growing out of the crack in the pavement, the people of the 70s made it a decade worth remembering and celebrating.