Interesting that you write this the same week the George Carlin documentary arrived. If you want to know what counterculture used to be, he even ranted against "Save the Planet" when that became too much of a mainstream, toothless movement for him. (As a side note, it's scary and sad how relevant even his 80s/90s material still is.)
While the book world is diversifying in the ethnicity of its authors, which is a good thing, the bios of publishing writers remain pretty much the same: graduates of elite colleges and MFA programs. It’s most startling to look at the bios of the people publishing in the small and micro presses and seeing a whole lot of writers with the same elite bios. When I started out, the small
and micro presses had plenty of blue collar writers.
Is anyone else familiar with the Little Village Foundation in the Bay Area? Run by a musician/producer, they produce CDs and concerts for musicians whose music is not in genres supported by the dominant paradigm. My roots guitarist friend Mary Flower literally received a surprise phone call from them a couple of years ago offering to produce a recording for her -- a great experience.
As a fully committed member of whatever counterculture still exists (Burning Ambulance - fully independent since 2010!), all these tweets say to me is that, to quote Irving Berlin, "popular music is popular because a lot of people like it." And who cares? Personally, I have no trouble finding low-profile ("underground"/"counterculture") art, and never have. Sure, a record or a book or a movie with a million-dollar PR and advertising budget is gonna be easier to hear about than something shoved into the world with nothing but the love of its creator to propel it. But that's all the more reason why I choose to write about the latter. Want to support the counterculture? Instead of wasting your time bitching about pop fluff, which ultimately means nothing, spend your finite mortal lifespan alerting people to the good stuff that's everywhere...if you know where to find it. I don't even write negative reviews anymore. There's too much good music I could be writing about instead.
It strikes me that having a counter-culture requires having a culture — that is, having a commonly accepted set of standards and ideals and cultural norms in general. "When everybody's somebody, then nobody's anybody." If anything goes, then there is no grain to go against — it's just a cultural hodge-podge.
Ever occur to you that if you’re not aware of the counter-culture, then you’re not part of it? That, perhaps, you’re the culture they’re currently counter to? It’s not for you, that’s why you can’t see it or recognize it. Why would you expect it to take the same forms it did from 1950 to 2000, or whatever span of time you want to refer to? The world has changed. Alt-weeklies? Seriously? Weekly publications, much less monthly ones, are irrelevant before they hit the press.
You keep on blaming the ‘culture,’ and young people for the corporate consolidation of various creative industries that was largely perpetrated by people in your generation. I went to APW in Portland in 2019 and I was amazed by all the indie publishing that’s happening. Yeah, cinema isn’t what it was, but again, capitalism. At some point they decided that every movie should make a billion dollars and be bland enough to past muster in totalitarian regimes.
And sure, comics are finding it harder to make jokes that punch down at people who have been marginalized or even victimized. You have a problem with that? Personally I don’t. Generally a lot of people are sick of a culture that finds humor in making fun of queer kids, etc. you might even say that they’re “counter” that culture. Oh my, are they part of a counter culture?
Do you think your grandparents’ generation understood or approved of your youth culture?
A fascinating take on a deep-seated problem. This monoclonal culture seems to be everywhere and nowhere; and I think it's "nowhere" only because too few actually discuss it openly. Aren't universities supposed to be where young minds discover new things and are challenged? We all know that's not the case as speakers who are "controversial" are run off campus amid riots, in some cases. And words themselves are deemed unspeakable, without any consideration that a word is a snapshot of an idea, so by extension when you "cancel" words you are canceling ideas. At some point, you start running out of ideas! (That you can talk about.) Very interesting post.
This is great, though it doesn't entirely fit with my experience as a consumer of culture. In the last year I've read a few excellent self-published novels, gone to a few indie rock shows that are decidedly not mainstream, and enjoyed a wide variety of online writing.
I wonder then if there *is* a counterculture but that it is thinly spread across dozens of different niches and genres. Countercultural art is out there, but it can't coalesce. This is no better when it comes to pushing back on mainstream culture, and monoculture amounts to a landgrab against a weak and divided enemy.
Substack is actually then a great example of this. Lots of great nonmainstream writing happens on Substack, but the individual support for writers doesn't easily translate into the Substack Monthly periodical or anything like that.
No one can afford to be countercultural - everything but the air (stay tuned) has been monetized, so it costs too much just to survive. We're all wage slaves now.
I followed the Scorsese thread from Discussing Film to IndieWire. I enjoyed that very much. One's age is definitely a factor in whether or not you view these times as lacking a counter culture. I was in college when one of my best friends was being shot up in Vietnam. I was fortunate to draw a high number in the first draft lottery. My formative years were filled with high profile assassinations. There were people in the streets and an accompanying soundtrack. What I was not aware of at the time was that we were "driving into the future while looking in the rearview mirror." The music that I listen to now, other than straight ahead jazz, blues & funk, is not in English. Around 1990 I discovered a whole new universe of music that I loved. It came from Guadeloupe, Martinique, T&T and Haiti. I then ventured into Africa and found some of the best music that I had ever heard. Some of it was retro like classic pre-Castro Cuban big band. As I age I think my appreciation for various art forms craves authenticity in whatever medium. These are my personal feelings. YMMV. I am sure that counter culture exists and will inform the future in uplifting transcendent ways. At least I hope that this is the case because the soul of the world needs it badly.
I’m glad I grew up in the San Francisco bay area in the sixties and remember what a counter culture felt like. Black Panthers to the Haight. Seriously scary and liberating at the same time.
Interesting that you write this the same week the George Carlin documentary arrived. If you want to know what counterculture used to be, he even ranted against "Save the Planet" when that became too much of a mainstream, toothless movement for him. (As a side note, it's scary and sad how relevant even his 80s/90s material still is.)
Please, please, please give us a long-winded, in-depth analysis!
While the book world is diversifying in the ethnicity of its authors, which is a good thing, the bios of publishing writers remain pretty much the same: graduates of elite colleges and MFA programs. It’s most startling to look at the bios of the people publishing in the small and micro presses and seeing a whole lot of writers with the same elite bios. When I started out, the small
and micro presses had plenty of blue collar writers.
“Music of rebellion makes you wanna rage.
It’s made by millionaires nearly twice your age.” - Steven Wilson
Is anyone else familiar with the Little Village Foundation in the Bay Area? Run by a musician/producer, they produce CDs and concerts for musicians whose music is not in genres supported by the dominant paradigm. My roots guitarist friend Mary Flower literally received a surprise phone call from them a couple of years ago offering to produce a recording for her -- a great experience.
As a fully committed member of whatever counterculture still exists (Burning Ambulance - fully independent since 2010!), all these tweets say to me is that, to quote Irving Berlin, "popular music is popular because a lot of people like it." And who cares? Personally, I have no trouble finding low-profile ("underground"/"counterculture") art, and never have. Sure, a record or a book or a movie with a million-dollar PR and advertising budget is gonna be easier to hear about than something shoved into the world with nothing but the love of its creator to propel it. But that's all the more reason why I choose to write about the latter. Want to support the counterculture? Instead of wasting your time bitching about pop fluff, which ultimately means nothing, spend your finite mortal lifespan alerting people to the good stuff that's everywhere...if you know where to find it. I don't even write negative reviews anymore. There's too much good music I could be writing about instead.
I think this is way underexplored and I’m looking forward to reading more of your analysis. I pulled together some relevant data here: https://experimentalhistory.substack.com/p/pop-culture-has-become-an-oligopoly?r=15aiai&utm_medium=ios
It strikes me that having a counter-culture requires having a culture — that is, having a commonly accepted set of standards and ideals and cultural norms in general. "When everybody's somebody, then nobody's anybody." If anything goes, then there is no grain to go against — it's just a cultural hodge-podge.
Ever occur to you that if you’re not aware of the counter-culture, then you’re not part of it? That, perhaps, you’re the culture they’re currently counter to? It’s not for you, that’s why you can’t see it or recognize it. Why would you expect it to take the same forms it did from 1950 to 2000, or whatever span of time you want to refer to? The world has changed. Alt-weeklies? Seriously? Weekly publications, much less monthly ones, are irrelevant before they hit the press.
You keep on blaming the ‘culture,’ and young people for the corporate consolidation of various creative industries that was largely perpetrated by people in your generation. I went to APW in Portland in 2019 and I was amazed by all the indie publishing that’s happening. Yeah, cinema isn’t what it was, but again, capitalism. At some point they decided that every movie should make a billion dollars and be bland enough to past muster in totalitarian regimes.
And sure, comics are finding it harder to make jokes that punch down at people who have been marginalized or even victimized. You have a problem with that? Personally I don’t. Generally a lot of people are sick of a culture that finds humor in making fun of queer kids, etc. you might even say that they’re “counter” that culture. Oh my, are they part of a counter culture?
Do you think your grandparents’ generation understood or approved of your youth culture?
A fascinating take on a deep-seated problem. This monoclonal culture seems to be everywhere and nowhere; and I think it's "nowhere" only because too few actually discuss it openly. Aren't universities supposed to be where young minds discover new things and are challenged? We all know that's not the case as speakers who are "controversial" are run off campus amid riots, in some cases. And words themselves are deemed unspeakable, without any consideration that a word is a snapshot of an idea, so by extension when you "cancel" words you are canceling ideas. At some point, you start running out of ideas! (That you can talk about.) Very interesting post.
Chris M
This is great, though it doesn't entirely fit with my experience as a consumer of culture. In the last year I've read a few excellent self-published novels, gone to a few indie rock shows that are decidedly not mainstream, and enjoyed a wide variety of online writing.
I wonder then if there *is* a counterculture but that it is thinly spread across dozens of different niches and genres. Countercultural art is out there, but it can't coalesce. This is no better when it comes to pushing back on mainstream culture, and monoculture amounts to a landgrab against a weak and divided enemy.
Substack is actually then a great example of this. Lots of great nonmainstream writing happens on Substack, but the individual support for writers doesn't easily translate into the Substack Monthly periodical or anything like that.
No one can afford to be countercultural - everything but the air (stay tuned) has been monetized, so it costs too much just to survive. We're all wage slaves now.
I followed the Scorsese thread from Discussing Film to IndieWire. I enjoyed that very much. One's age is definitely a factor in whether or not you view these times as lacking a counter culture. I was in college when one of my best friends was being shot up in Vietnam. I was fortunate to draw a high number in the first draft lottery. My formative years were filled with high profile assassinations. There were people in the streets and an accompanying soundtrack. What I was not aware of at the time was that we were "driving into the future while looking in the rearview mirror." The music that I listen to now, other than straight ahead jazz, blues & funk, is not in English. Around 1990 I discovered a whole new universe of music that I loved. It came from Guadeloupe, Martinique, T&T and Haiti. I then ventured into Africa and found some of the best music that I had ever heard. Some of it was retro like classic pre-Castro Cuban big band. As I age I think my appreciation for various art forms craves authenticity in whatever medium. These are my personal feelings. YMMV. I am sure that counter culture exists and will inform the future in uplifting transcendent ways. At least I hope that this is the case because the soul of the world needs it badly.
I've been thinking about this topic after attending a "Start-up" workshop for founders...
They are all standing on the mobius strip believing that they are thinking outside the box. .
What's a "newspaper," grampa?
I’m glad I grew up in the San Francisco bay area in the sixties and remember what a counter culture felt like. Black Panthers to the Haight. Seriously scary and liberating at the same time.