Thirty years ago, I posited whether we could simply burn down the world through noninterference. It was a question of whose lives meant more: Our soldiers, or those they fought for.
I guess we have our answer.
Queen, with Bohemian Rhapsody.
"...I shall resign the Presidency, effective at noon tomorrow..."
No president in the history of the Union has ever resigned until just now. I remember when Nixon and Kennedy squared off against each other in '60. Looking back now, nobody ever expected both men to become president, much less that neither one would leave the office conventionally.
Funky President, by James Brown.
And so it ends. The last American troops are leaving Vietnam as we speak. Maybe now, after all these wars that were supposed to end all wars, this could really be the one. Yeah, Dream On.
This is Aerosmith.
This entire war was a containment policy against China. This whole time, it was never about securing a democratic Vietnam, we were just getting another bargaining chip against China. President Johnson deceived the American public, and sent thousands of soldiers to their deaths in the process.
President Nixon, in response, is finally beginning the process of withdrawal. Thousands of troops are already safe back home, and many more are expected to return next year. Australia and New Zealand ha
...announced today that the United States would be entering neutral Cambodia, effectively creating another front in the Vietnam ground war...
...four students killed in Ohio protest by members of the national guard. The incident is under investigation by...
...claiming Nixon abandoned his promise to deescalate the war in Vietnam...
...Led Zeppelin coming up next. This is their latest hit: Immigrant Song.
As the big band era draws to a close, as Neil Armstrong walks on the moon, as Nixon begins his game-changing term in office, we sing out the end of the decade that changed everything. The 1960s were the end of the American golden age, and the start of the years we called home up through the end of the cold war. Welcome to our silver years.
There were alot of songs I thought about using for this year. I wanted to play Fortunate Son by CCR, because it was such an important song for the latter
Vietcong forces launched a surprise attack on American forces today during the ceasefire observance of the Vietnamese holiday of Tet. Though the VC reported far greater losses for the late-January fighting, more than five hundred American troops were killed as a result of the battle...
...In wake of the tragic murder of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. only two months ago, democratic senator and presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy is gunned down in Los Angeles by...
...P
According to frontman Paul McCartney, is seems all four band members have "dropped acid." It definitely shows. These boys used to be the heartthrobs for half the female population. Now they're little more than junked-up hippies. Disgraceful.
See for yourself. This is The Beatles' trippy new single, All You Need Is Love.
Every message I write into this blog is a time capsule, arriving weeks or even months after it is written. This is a double mind-screw when I'm writing in-character and discussing an event from several decades ago. That said, at the time I wrote this, School had just started back up for me, and is going to be a serious strain on me. I'm going to try to marathon through as many years as I can to see if I can get to the end before I get overwhelmed.
That said, I shall now take you, future peop
President Johnson revealed today that our involvement in Vietnam will be escalated by the end of this year. We are no longer treating our involvement as a support role. This is now a ground war, and our forces are tasked with doing what the South Vietnamese can not: ending Ho Chi Minh's reign of terror.
Let's give our boys a send-off. This is the Rolling Stones. Satisfaction.
Back when this song was first released in 1964, it strangely wasn't nearly as iconic as it would become later. Hell, even 51 years later, I bet very few have you have seen the film.
Viva Las Vegas, Elvis Presley.
I feel as though we are at the end of an age.
Just like the German death camps we found 18 years ago, there will be people in the future who will not believe the events of today. President Kennedy is dead, gunned down by a lone sniper during a campaign event in Dallas, Texas. 98 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln was similarly gunned down following his own battle for african american rights. Though the killer's motives are as yet unknown, it has been speculated that he was some sort of Sov
The moral of the story today is that culture doesn't typically pay attention to what year it is. What we know today as "The Fifties" actually didn't end on January 1st, 1960. Quite the contrary, the cultural "decade" of the 1950s extended well into the early-mid 1960s. Arguably, not a thing changed until some years into the Vietnam War, and the resulting sharp political shift.
Here's Dion demonstrating my point beautifully. Runaround Sue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeVx1C73o8k
Let's start the new decade off with perhaps the greatest guitar solo in history. Top 10 at least. Fitting, since the 60s were the decade where people seemingly got the most creative with guitars.
This is Barrett Strong, with Money (That's What I Want).
I find it fascinating that an old-fashioned swing piece could top the charts even as late as 1959. Actually, there is one example I can think of that was even later, but that's a topic for another year.
Beyond the Sea, by Bobby Darin. Yes, the same guy who sang "Splish Splash, I was Taking a Bath." This guy really has a thing for water...
I have investigated the rumors thoroughly that this song was first performed three years ago at a high school dance in Hill Valley, and I'm sorry to say they don't hold up. Calvin Klein, the supposed performer of the song, apparently vanished into thin air the next day, because he hasn't been seen or heard from since. To make matters even stranger, it was Chuck Berry's estranged younger brother Marvin who was playing that night, not this mythical "Calvin Klein."
So stop with your silly specu
If there was one year I could move to and live in all my life, it would be 1957. The height of the rock and roll era, where a good number of the archetypes we associate with the 50s were at their strongest.
Now, I could have chosen to feature Elvis this year, given this was the year Jailhouse Rock came out, but I decided against it. Buddy Holly died tragically only two years later, and I have songs planned for both of those years. Elvis will have to wait 'till the 60s.
In the meantime, h
There's gonna be alot of young fools out there tonight, all falling in love with people they have no business falling in love with.
Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Why Do Fools Fall in Love.
Ever since they brought down McCarthy last year, it feels like I can finally breathe. Give it time, let's see what else we can change in this crazy, crazy world.
In the meantime, here's Little Richard, singing a song that had to be cleaned up immensely to serve contemporary audiences: Tutti Frutti.
As the jazz age wanes slowly, the age of rock and roll begins in full force. And we can thank Mr. Bill Haley for that.
This is Shake, Rattle and Roll, by Bill Haley and His Comets.
While I was browsing through the hits for this year, I had a revelation. I think I know what the pick for 1999 is going to be.
If you want to try and figure it out for yourself, go right ahead.
Or, you could just sit here and listen to Dean Martin perform (what I consider to be) his most famous song. That's Amore.
Like Louis, we all knew Peggy Lee had to make it to this blog, but I bet few predicted which song I would use.
This one's an energetic little number. It's called Lover.
Fuck, I love 30th century music.
You 3015 millennials forget that we didn't always have genres like "literally getting shot in the ear with a handgun." There was a time when music was simply terrible, and didn't liquefy your spinal cord in 7.2 femtoseconds. Dare I say, there was even a time when it didn't cause painful, gory deaths at all. Why, I remember one crazy party where they played a piece as old as 2016, and I only vomited three pints of blood! Those were the days.
Here's The Ine
