Three films over the last year captured my heart because, I belatedly recognized, they’re set in the 1960s music scene. Make no mistake, The Boat that Rocked, Taking Woodstock, and Nowhere Boy are all superbly crafted movies, but what tugged at my emotions was their overt affection for the period. Nostalgia had struck me!
Nostalgia is big business in the the 21st century music biz. Us hippies and wannabe hippies shell out big bucks for reunion tours, retrospectives and biographies. I’m happy to do my part . . . but only to a minor extent.
Nostalgia is too easy a reflex sentiment. Far better to retain the sharpness of one’s critical faculties, to search for the new. The next time I’m in front of the big screen embedded in the 1960s, I’ll be on my guard.