My memories of the 1960's aren't as fond as I would like. Although some would use the word "turbulent", I remember being worried a lot and frightened some. I also remember feeling confused nearly all of the time. Actually, to me, the sixties really started in 1963 with the assassination of JFK and ended in 1974 when Nixon resigned. Not so much bound to the calendar as to the chaos of the times.
Through it all we had the music. The musicians were able to express our feelings for us. They explained our frustration with the many grievances of the day. They forced us to think about uncomfortable things and demanded that we do something. The music also was in the background when we fell in and out of love. It comforted and encouraged and, most of all, understood. Like pop music from every era, sometimes the lyrics were pure drivel (My baby does the Hanky Panky). But other times they were poetic and compelling (Hello darkness my old friend...).
It was a time of great energy and creativity. The business people who ran the music industry always seemed to be about two or three steps behind. They knew enough to get out of the way and made a lot of money for themselves, but they still didn't have much of a clue about what was going on.
That music business doesn't exist anymore. In today's music business a small handful of executives with little or no music experience run the whole thing. They help write and produce the music, control distribution, and influence concert tours. Everything in the process is designed to increase profits. If an artist has an opinion about social issues they will issue a statement. But taking on injustice via their art seems quaint.
Interestingly, many of my young students today want to learn music by the Beatles. There are occasional songs by today's artists that they like, but they prefer sixties pop/rock. This music still speaks to the human condition. But they no longer know the music of Bob Dylan and have never heard of Phil Ochs. Music that not only reflected the times but attempted to change the course of history.
Today's times are as turbulent as they were fifty years ago. But art has become commerce. Although some artists have cancelled performances in protest of certain actions, they have yet to put their creativity on the line.
Every older generation criticizes the music of their children. My parents generation, raised on big band pop music, didn't understand rock 'n roll, and for the most part didn't care for small combo jazz. I realize that I'm treading dangerously close to that line myself. But as an old man raised in the fifties and sixties I think I've earned the right to complain, "They don't write 'em like that any more".