40 Years After Woodstock - The Woodstock Festival and Its Devastating Wake

The Ignorant Fishermen Blog ^ | 8/17/09 | DJP I.F.

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

The Baby Boomers and those of the post sixties generation are joyfully celebrating the 40-year anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival which took place in 1969. Since then, the event has been glorified, glamorized, sensationalized and etched into the very fabric of our American consciousness and youth culture. This festival was the defining point against “the Establishment” and America’s core Judean/ Christian values. This festival was the brown acid of the radical Left’s agenda, whose goons in the reprobate (godless) music industry have steadily pushed the boundaries of morality over the past 40 years. In the wake of Woodstock and the Moral and Political philosophy of Crowley and Nietzsche, the destructive shock waves from this era have been felt in every facet of American society and culture.

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

God saved me out of this sewer. I know it like the back of my hand. TGBTG!

[Choose Ye This Day]

Devastating Stench is more accurate...

[dfwgator]

And most of those who went to disco, wound up embracing disco in the late 70s. Most of them were just following whatever the latest trend was.

[dfwgator]

“And most of those who went to disco”, should say

“And most of those who went to Woodstock”

[Niuhuru]

They then converted to “Greed Is Good” and then in the nineties several committed suicide after Cobain and then now they are currently squealing about Global Warming while humping each other in worhsip of Gaia.

[Marysecretary]

Our country has gone to hell in a handbasket ever since.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Some pathetic aging hippie on DUmmie Underground was extolling the virtues of “the Woodstock Generation” and telling the young whippersnapper “progressives” that they owe a great deal to the hippies.

I guess that DUmmie doesn’t realize that 80% of the people at Woodstock were there for the sex and acid, and couldn’t care less about “propgressive ideals.”

[Dilbert San Diego]

Bill Clinton once said that, if you like the social changes that came out of the ‘60s, odds are you are a Democrat. And if you think that a lot of bad changes had their start in the ‘60s, then odds are you are a Republican.

I agree with his specific statement, though don’t agree with which side of the ‘60s debate he is on.

[dfwgator]

Yeah, illegally crashing a “pay for” concert is a real virtue.

[Frantzie]

I was in a store and a local radio station was prattling on about Woodstock. The bands largely all sucked except The Who and maybe Hendrix & CSNY. The rest were garbage.

The baby boomer hippies whining about this were spolied children and became self-centered ego manical adults. They constant go on and on about how self important they are. Give it a rest booms. Woodstock sucked, it wasn’t important and your are tedious and elderly now.

The people of that era that did something important were the young men and woman who got stuck fighting JFK & LBJ’s Vietnam War. They did something. Woodstock losers rolled around in the mud, smoked dope and, in retrospect, listened to laughingly BAD bands.

[AceMineral]

The Establishment must have been mighty flimsy to have been undone by a bad rock concert.

[dfwgator]

The damage was done at the 68 DNC Convention, the radicals took over the Rat Party after that.

[Mr. Bird]

Woodstock was basically a huge protest against America’s Judean/ Christian heritage and society/ government (i.e., “the Establishment”).

Funny, I thought it was a concert. Woodstock may be emblematic of certain values prevalent among the youth in the 60's, but it does not resonate as a significant historical moment, politically speaking. At its heart (and boy, will the left hate my saying this), Woodstock was the hippie-left's equivalent of a kick ass frat party. They just had more attendees.

[dfwgator]

Look at it this way, when Abbie Hoffman tried to make it political, he almost got beheaded by Pete Townshend’s guitar.

[Mr. Bird]

And there you go....then consider The Who's prominent presence in post-9/11 NYC benefits, and I'd like to think that even if Pete and Roger were in the wilderness in 1969, they were still smart enough to join the good fight 30+ years on.

Loved the visual of hundreds of NYPD/FDNY in the front row during Won't Get Fooled Again.

[dfwgator]

And when Michael Moore tried to use “Won’t Get Fooled Again” in one of his movies, Pete turned him down.

[research99]

Why criticize anyone’s form of “free expression” (especially when you don’t agree with it)? Isn’t that just lowering yourself, to the level of those who now criticize “tea party” attendees (without considering the merits of their arguments)?

Didn’t the repeal of mandatory service in the 70’s, implicitly acknowledge the unfairness of a conscripted draft in the 60’s? Hasn’t the military changed for the better since then (as only those who chose to sign up, are in uniform now).

How just was Vietnam to those who had to fight it (when the Tonkin Gulf resolution was based on LBJ’s lies)?

Have you considered that some of the most vocal protestors on the stage at Woodstock had paid their dues (Fogerty and Country Joe were Army veterans, and Hendrix had done airborne) and therefore had the most right to speak about it?

[Billthedrill]

The bands largely all sucked except The Who and maybe Hendrix & CSNY. The rest were garbage.

Carlos Santana.

[sushiman]

I went for the music , The Who in particular . Nobody bothered me . Never felt threatened . That huge alfalfa farm field became a huge city of half a million for those 3 days in 1969 and there was hardly any trouble . Drugs were done , sure ( but not be me ) . They were being done in every other city and small town across the heartland as well .

[dfwgator]

I thought Sly and the Family Stone’s performance was amazing. They said that most of the people there when they started were half-asleep, but their performance woke them up.

[Seruzawa]

I was piloting a gunboat in Nam when Woodstock happened. Later I had my Navy work jacket with patches of every country I visited stolen by a hippie. Hippies can KMA.

Oh, by the way, Country Joe, all you f***ers signing didn’t stop the war. Nixon did.

[sushiman]

Sly didn’t come on until 1:30 a.m. Woke ME up that’s for sure ! Funky ! The Who followed at 3-3:30 !

[Mr. Bird]

If I understand correctly, Richie Havens was a big freedom fan...did he say any other word?

[hellbender]

“Country Joe” was an affectionate nickname for Stalin among American commies, which is what Country Joe McDonald’s parents were. So his opposition to the Vietnam War was ideological.

[dfwgator]

Richie was there for "Old Aid"

We are the old, we've got arthritis
Our gums are weak (so weak), from gingivitis

We are the old, we've got arthritis
We are the ones who wear bifocals, and have bursitis

There are people younger, but we heed another call
We really need the money, our accountants took it all
We sing to you, those who have money
Once we was cool, but now we just dress funny
We need your help, so please please dig deep
Don't call after ten, 'cause we'll be asleep
We have medicare, and anti-gas pills
But without your help, we can't pay our alimony bills

We are the old, [they are the old]
We have arthritis [they have arthritis]
Once we were gods, now golf excites us [golf excites 'em]
So write a check (a really big one), for our December
There's one more verse, but we can't remember...

[Col Freeper]

The Baby Boomers and those of the post sixties generation are joyfully celebrating the 40-year anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival which took place in 1969.

I fully understand the key thrust of your posting, but I completely disagree with your first line.

I am a "Baby Boomer", and I am not celebrating Woodstock now, nor did I celebrate it then.

I suspect you didn't intend to generalize this much, but it is a common problem by authors writing about Woodstock, and sends (IMHO) the wrong message to younger readers, i.e., that all Baby Boomers were weirded out hippies and druggies dying (literally) to go to Woodstock.

BTW, I'm very glad to hear that God lead you away from that dark place. May he continue to Bless you.

[sushiman]

I was 17 . Arrived at the site when Havens was finishing his set . Friday - with the exception of Arlo Guthrie - was a drag musically for me as I was no folkie .

[ThreeYearLurker]

If you were there right now in Bethel, NY, you would see Ten Years After, still performing their pointless solo “Going Home”.

[RVN Airplane Driver]

Many of us were associated with America’s finest....so sad that you missed that calling by being a part of that sewer experience.. Our sewer was a two-holler that we shitte into on top of JP4 (jet fuel...a derivative of diesel). Trust me you would have been better off with us....

[dfwgator]

LOL, I was also thinking of Grand Funk’s “Closer to Home”, after the first 20-something refrains of “I’m Getting Closer to my home...” I’m thinking, “Would you just get home already, geez!”

[sushiman]

I repeat - I was 17 and the music was my impetus for going . I was not a hippie then nor did I ever become one , although there were a few things with which I sympathized , at the time anyway .

[Mr. Bird]

That’s comedy! I note Peter Noone in the upper right, or as a college buddy put it, Peter No One.

[dog breath]

I was a few years younger then my oldest sister the die hard democrat and now aging hippie. I thought everything she did was pretty cool back then. I watched Mod Squad, read her radical books and went to see the movie Billy Jack at least four times. I then ended up getting to see what a flood of drugs and free sex did to the younger siblings of the flower children. I saw so many things going horribly wrong. It is hard to say when growing up I realized it was all just a illusion that the flower generation believed in, but those spoiled children have no legacy. Reality is a bear.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

It may be deeper than Woodstock.
Robert Johnson Highway 61/49 Crossroads Curse

And things did get creepy after that Sax episode on Arsenio.

Nixon is forced out of office after shaking hands with Elvis in the White House
(Elvis dies during spooked Jimmy Carter presidency).

Carter confers with adviser Greg Allman.
Runaway inflation and soaring interest rates run Carter out of office.

Bush, Sr. jams with GOP soul man Lee Atwater.
Breaks promise on raising taxes, leads to Perot candidacy and loss to Bill Clinton.

Clinton confers with Jacko in Jan. '93, as Stevie Nicks looks on.
Enough said.

Obama confers with policy adviser Bono.
By August '09 polls plummeting.
Messiah racket implodes.

[dfwgator]

And what was up with Robby Krieger and the pink hat?

[Madame Dufarge]

At its heart (and boy, will the left hate my saying this), Woodstock was the hippie-left's equivalent of a kick ass frat party. They just had more attendees.

Exactly. Why, back in the day, two "friends" came roaring into Woodstock, New Hampshire on their motorcycles looking for the big party. They were so high, they couldn't even get the location right - LOL!

If they'd managed to get there, they would have fit right in.

[radioone]

Couldn’t make it. Had just gotten by draft notice.

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

it was..

[Revolting cat!]

I thought the Woodstick movie was garbage, just as I thought Martini Scorcese’s recent Rolling Stones movie was garbage as well. Just gimme the stupid 50s rock and roll movies with Bill Haley and Fats Domino, dude!

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

Free expression with responsibility. not free expression of anarchy.

The Vietnam vets got burn by the Gov politician's who micro managed the war. My hearts goes out to them and have the greatest respect for them. We will never let what happen to to the Vietnam vets happen again They may have served but were quite vocal against the war, America and the soldiers much like Kerry was.

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

Thanks my friend for your service!!! You were laying it all down while these reprobates expressed and saught to destroy our country. The Military are the true hero’s. Look what these hippie reprobates have done to our country!

God save America!

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

thanks for your service!!!

[stevio]

Thank you for your service to our country.

[dfwgator]

“Rock n’ roll’s been goin’ downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.”

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

Col. Sir,
Right you are... there are a few who did not drink the Woodstock Kool aid. I will fix that asap..

God Bless!

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

I’m only 41.. I was not at Woodstock... but was in the sewer of the music industry. Sorry if I gave that impression that I was there. Woodstock though was the mother of the music revolution as we were taught by all in the late 70’s and 80’s till now.

[driftless2]

"frat party"

What you said. I'd bet most attendees were just looking for a good time i.e. lots of sex, drugs, and music. Kind of like todays generation. Most probably approved of Townshend bashing Hoffman over the head with his guitar. I certainly liked it, and I was a confirmed Dem at the time. But I wasn't at Woodstock. The film was enough.

[driftless2]

"pointless solo"

That endless solo was absolutely the most boring part of the movie.

[Col Freeper]

I repeat - I was 17 and the music was my impetus for going . I was not a hippie then nor did I ever become one , although there were a few things with which I sympathized , at the time anyway .

Understand. It was intended to be a music concert, and initially had paying customers, as I understand it.

Stereotyping all attendees as drug-crazed hippies was not my intent.

I just wanted to point out to the author that he was making the same mistake many do, i.e., giving the impression that Baby Boomers could all be fitted into one spot on the social and political spectrum.

Have a good week sushiman.

[sushiman]

Thanks . And my friend and I were two of the 25,000 paying customers who ended up paying for 475,000 people’s free ride . : (