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I’m now old enough to read about and contemplate the history I grew up in, the polyester 1970s. Two books I’ve read so far:
Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class by Jefferson Cowie
I grew up in an industrial blue collar region in the 70s so this book’s title alone had immediate appeal.
Stayin’ Alive is a concise overview of the politics, culture, and economics of the 1970s with a focus on the concept and experience of the American working class as created by the New Deal which faded away due to stagflation and other economic and social shifts during the decade. Also good are Cowie’s analyses of the films Taxi Driver, Saturday Night Fever, and Norma Rae as stories about the shifts taking place through the decade and his analysis of Bruce Springsteen albums as records (in both senses of the word) of the era.
Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture by Alice Echols
Music is a vital part of my life. In the 70s, I had a little radio and I dialed up and down the FM and AM bands. I watched Soul Train and looked at pictures of the glamorous people at Studio 54. And yes, I loved disco.
Hot Stuff is a fantastic deep dive into the soundtrack of the 70s, that thump thump on the floor beneath the spinning shiny ball. Echols travels through the history of disco from its R&B, funk, and club beginnings, and how women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ each played a role in disco’s creation and popularity.
I’ll be playing my favorite songs this weekend.
Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class by Jefferson Cowie
I grew up in an industrial blue collar region in the 70s so this book’s title alone had immediate appeal.
Stayin’ Alive is a concise overview of the politics, culture, and economics of the 1970s with a focus on the concept and experience of the American working class as created by the New Deal which faded away due to stagflation and other economic and social shifts during the decade. Also good are Cowie’s analyses of the films Taxi Driver, Saturday Night Fever, and Norma Rae as stories about the shifts taking place through the decade and his analysis of Bruce Springsteen albums as records (in both senses of the word) of the era.
Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture by Alice Echols
Music is a vital part of my life. In the 70s, I had a little radio and I dialed up and down the FM and AM bands. I watched Soul Train and looked at pictures of the glamorous people at Studio 54. And yes, I loved disco.
Hot Stuff is a fantastic deep dive into the soundtrack of the 70s, that thump thump on the floor beneath the spinning shiny ball. Echols travels through the history of disco from its R&B, funk, and club beginnings, and how women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ each played a role in disco’s creation and popularity.
I’ll be playing my favorite songs this weekend.