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Why were the 70s such a tacky decade?

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13,452
Location
Orange County, CA
Disco Demolition Night was the brainchild of Chicago disc jockey Steve Dahl who also famous for this song parody.

[video=youtube;lLFMELubizU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLFMELubizU[/video]
 
I have too much respect for you to question your statistics, but for a few years in school '76 - '78 or there about, it seems that there were a lot of kids into disco and a lot not into it, but it definitely was a "big" genre for a short period of time. For me, what we call classic rock today was always my favorite from that era - and it was clearly fading by the later '70s. I grew up in a house where my father was always listening to Big Bang music and Sinatra, King Cole, etc. - so I always loved that stuff, but that was clearly not '70s music.


I recognize it existed and was popular, I just don't agree with the often-used characterization of 70s music as "the disco era". Yes, disco was in the 70s, but the 70s weren't disco. And for the record, I don't hate disco, though I enjoy the side of disco that leaned more towards soul and R&B. I'm more Nile Rodgers and Earth, Wind & Fire than I am ABBA or the Bee Gees.
 

ChiTownScion

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,247
Location
The Great Pacific Northwest
Disco Demolition Night was the brainchild of Chicago disc jockey Steve Dahl who also famous for this song parody.

Dahl's wife, Janet, was a law school classmate of mine. Excellent student. Very bright and hard working.

A few years out of school, I had a particularly rough but rewarding day at trial. I was driving home exhausted but satisfied, and Dahl was talking on the phone to his oldest son Patrick, who was about three. I knew that Janet had elected to put her career on hold for a while to take care of the kids. Patrick was relating the day's events with his little brother, Michael. ".....and then he pooped all over the toilet seat!"

And then I heard Janet's voice in the background, shrieking, "Awww! Don't talk about it on the AIR !!

It struck me then how divergent our two paths had been.
 
Disco became legendary more because of the hatred it generated from its opponents than for any actual impact it had at the time. I paid no attention whatever to rock, pop, punk, disco or any of the other contemporary music at any point in the '70s, but even I knew all about what happened when they had "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park.

Music was good thing ignore in the 1970s. In fact, the whole decade is a good thing to ignore.
Disco was hideous stuff and it may not have encompassed all those years---it just FELT like it did. :doh:
 
I recognize it existed and was popular, I just don't agree with the often-used characterization of 70s music as "the disco era". Yes, disco was in the 70s, but the 70s weren't disco. And for the record, I don't hate disco, though I enjoy the side of disco that leaned more towards soul and R&B. I'm more Nile Rodgers and Earth, Wind & Fire than I am ABBA or the Bee Gees.

Hmmmmm......
https://youtu.be/Lrle0x_DHBM
 

GHT

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,757
Location
New Forest
Music was good thing ignore in the 1970s. In fact, the whole decade is a good thing to ignore.
Tell me about it. We had a trend of the shirt and tie being of the same fabric, and dress shirts had frills down the front coupled with an oversize bowtie, in naff velvet. Worse, we thought it to be the height of chic.
 
Messages
11,362
Location
Alabama
Music was good thing ignore in the 1970s. In fact, the whole decade is a good thing to ignore.
Disco was hideous stuff and it may not have encompassed all those years---it just FELT like it did. :doh:
Grew up in the 70's, graduated high school in 75, end of Viet Nam, the Nixon years, the economy and Disco. All things we'd like to forget but can't ignore. Disco sucked, to use a cliche, unless I was trying to get someone above my pay grade to dance. To me there was still a lot of good music, rock was doing ok and country was going Outlaw, thank you Willie, and there was a rockabilly (new wave) revival of sorts.

To dump the 70's into one big pile seems wrong to me. I think we are the original generation X.
 
Messages
11,362
Location
Alabama
Oh, and would you rather go back to the hair bands of the 80's. Talk about a decade. I can still remember the Ratt, Poison tour.:rockon:
 
Grew up in the 70's, graduated high school in 75, end of Viet Nam, the Nixon years, the economy and Disco. All things we'd like to forget but can't ignore. Disco sucked, to use a cliche, unless I was trying to get someone above my pay grade to dance. To me there was still a lot of good music, rock was doing ok and country was going Outlaw, thank you Willie, and there was a rockabilly (new wave) revival of sorts.

To dump the 70's into one big pile seems wrong to me. I think we are the original generation X.

Dump and pile seems quite apopos for the 70s. It may seem wrong to you but I want nothing to do with it. In fact, it is the one decade that I would pay money NOT to go back to.
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
Tell me about it. We had a trend of the shirt and tie being of the same fabric, and dress shirts had frills down the front coupled with an oversize bowtie, in naff velvet. Worse, we thought it to be the height of chic.

But, as you point out, at least we still put a suit and tie on for special occasions! Remember in the 80s, when men started wearing Tracksuits ans sweat pants everywhere? :eusa_doh:
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
One problem is, people don't even know what Disco is! Watch Car Wash, and I bet you think every song on their is Disco? Well, it's not! [video=youtube;M5Z9-QCmZyw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Z9-QCmZyw[/video]
 

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