Thought you were meant to be in Miami!
No.2 asked -
> Never intended to force anything on you.. just was observing and
> questioning.. More so out of curiosity for the reasons why you do
> what you do
> I have to ask, is mod a
> combination of all of these things together.. or is there more behind
> mod then pills, music, suits, and vespas?
Lambrettas?
> Thoughts behind the actions is what I am trying to find..
Instinct. Habit. Letting one musical or sartorial lead follow on to
another.
>What makes a mod a
> mod?? Answer that question without answering with the generic, "A
> mod is a person that likes modern jazz, soul, and early motown. Mods
> ride scooters and wear suits."
I can't. I think we're knee deep in Philip K Dick 'What is human?'
territory here.
I'd suggest that you find yourself a copy of Kevin Pearce's 'Something
Beginning With 'O' ' - a manifesto for EXACTLY what you're talking
about. He doesn't say 'this is the definition of mod' - or even name it
- the common ground / spirit he sees expressed in 60s mods and post-punk
and dance culture and whatever - he just talks about how the tghing
(whatever it is) is expressed.
He also writes regular columns for www.tangents.co.uk.
> After we take all the toys and
> material objects away tell me what separates you from the naked man
> next to you.
What naked man next to me?
>Is there a psychology that
> makes a mod a mod.
Depends what you mean by mod. On a certain level, I think you're right -
there is that common ground mentioned above, that thing you mentioned
about being 'at the cutting edge', an urge not to stay one step ahead,
but an urge/boredom that keeps you one step ahead. But I don't think
it's even something all the mod originators shared - and it's certainly
something that led some down dead ends (psychedelia, hippy dress). At
some point the people who were just stuck in the past become a better
expression of mod values than forward looking hippies - and I think
that's important to remember too.
Also, it's a social thing too. If someone goes the same places as their
friends, likes the same music, dresses in a similar way, but doesn't
think about it, are you going to slag them off? There's a lot of people
who go to mod rallies I'd far rather talk to than the managing editor of
I-d magazine (another non-retro neo-mod) - they're a lot more genuine
and less affected in their taste in music.
> These thoughts behind the actions obviously still exist today..
Is that neccesarily so, though? Could that psychology have existed in a
farming community in 1850? Or could the self-pitying grunge psychology
have existed in the mid-60s? I'm not saying it isn't around today, but
there's no reason it has to be.
> because we have 500 people on this list who consider themselves
> somewhat mods.
But who you consider mostly NOT to be expressing the same thoughts,
because we're not forward looking, so we're hardly evidence.
> But in a day where the availability of the '60s mod
> culture is only available in the major cities of the United States
> and I would assume the world.. how are these mod thoughts manifesting
> in our everyday thoughts and actions.
W/out being rude to our friends stuck in the sticks, it's pretty
difficult to be a mod of any sort without living near a major city
(actually, it's probably easier to hear golden Motown oldies than
cutting edge music).
>Rather then slagging the late '80s movement you should
> hold it as a trophy to another great advancement and achievement of
> British culture and the ongoing mod movement.
I wasn't slagging it off - I said that these people used mod values to
create something new (although the A-J thing was musically just as retro
at it's best).
That maybe the problem isn't with the 'mod scene' but the lack of any
equivalent groups of people today being inspired by mod values - or the
fact that they didn't stick with them (I could not see any mod element
to Duffer's baggy puffa jackets). And that if there were, do you think
you'd find them here - or scattered across cutting edge dance culture
lists? Would you have anything in common?
> Rave. One was such a huge pop culture movement your government made
> it illegal for 5 people to dance in an open space to music.
True, but they were crusties anyway. And who wants to go and dance in a
field? I mean have you ever seen a decent bar with ice in a field? Can
you put talc on a field?
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Enlighten your in-box. http://www.topica.com/t/15
