haha,
Last day at the job julez.. I go to miami tomorrow for a week then I
start at BMG around the first of the month.. Doing a bit of a career
change and selling out to work for a big 5! What can I say..
>Anyways.. I really don't have any more to ask. ;) or question.. but
>I will see what I can come up with from your comments.
>
>> 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?
Hahah, yes.. Jimmy would not be proud of me.. I didn't mention
Lammys.. On the other hand.. I can't say I am a big fan of them..
Vespa man more so..
>
>> Thoughts behind the actions is what I am trying to find..
>Instinct. Habit. Letting one musical or sartorial lead follow on to
>another.
Hmm that's a fair answer.. That's kind of how I found myself here...
One thing just leads to another.. and before you know it.. Bam.. but
I have no regrets.. lifes little surprises are the reasons for living
I think..
> >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.
yeah thats what I was getting at.. I was seeing if I could get some
heart felt dramatic response out of you.. ;) but I mean I could
answer it myself. Plus, I will answer any lame question I have
myself.
I just feel that if you take away the scoots and all the material
stuff.. in many cases you have some very lost people.. And in many
cases you will find some secure people.. because they don't define
themselves by what they wear or do.. they define themselves from
within.. and what they wear or do.. is just the physical
manifestation of the mental process.. Does this make any sense to
you.. More or less do you think mod or just following the cookie
cutter..
Then again.. we could sit here and discuss "what came first the
chicken or the egg" and probably come to the same conclusion.. hehe
And in the end it really makes no difference.. if you are either
because when it all comes down to it.. these little things mean
nothing. All that means anything is that you are happy and having
fun. Knowing the music, knowing the scooters, knowing all the
history.. is important.. but when you step back and look at the big
scheme of things.. Its all just a big fucking social grouping. its
an idea, look, and group that people who are like minded want to
belong to..
The behavior of one upping in dress back in the day truly is no more
important then all the kids on the block wanting starter jackets
because the cool kids (The Faces!). had the really cool ones...
puts it into perspective huh? people really should take it so
seriously and just have some fun. That's my conclusion.. doubt you
thought that's where I was going.. heh. I don't always believe in
what I question..:) Living briefly on the wrong sides of hypothetical
discussions is one of the most educational things one can do.. When
you actually have to defend a position you don't really agree with..
you only learn more about it.
So I just think people should have fun, and not worry about all the
little things.. Acceptance is important to everyone.. but why kill
yourself trying to attain it. That's my way of looking at life.
>
>> 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?
Yes, aren't all mods gay fashion whores? ;) just kidding..
>
>>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.
Well you have made a very good point.. in all the writing we have
done.. I think at times we forget the "human factor".. people are
leaders or followers.. and it takes both to have a social movement.
Of course I would not slag them.. To be honest with you I am probably
one of the most accepting people in the world. hehe.. For me
honestly.. if you are having fun.. great.. life is too short to worry
about who is real and who isn't.. You get over that in your teenage
years.. I think the "Keeping it real" thing that goes on in your
18-20s is very productive, but at the same time equally destructive
to cultural movements.
And in the end.. who really cares what the guy from ID magazine seez
anyways. hehehe..
>
>> 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.
Well my take on social movements and social psychology is that you
have a overall social tone.. the Aura of a city if you play sim city
3000. Anyways.. this aura can be carved, molded, shaped,
conditioned, and misinformed.. These will change the aura.. In the
end I think seeds of thought are present.. the correct social climate
and conditions of the aura serve as catalysts to thoughts in the
mind.. How this rebellion manifests itself is completely dependent
on the environment the rebellion.
So i guess I want to say this now.. Rebellion of youth is not just a
british thing.. Mod was just one way they did it.. its all the same
in the end.
>
>> 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.
I guess. but I just figured that 500 people subscribed to a list
would have some sort of interst in it. But you are right..
Statistically that is inaccurate.. You can never assume though
without a good experiment to back it up. The sig. other in my life
is a phd in Statistics.. we battle like this all the time.. Guess who
loses.. hehe
>
>> 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).
Much less.. know it exists at all..
> >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?
>
Nah most of them are shite.. to be honest with you.. its really hard
to find people arguing tastes entertaining.. fuck electronic music..
anyways.. I am fed up with the whole lot and scene.. many many
retards.
> > 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?
I agree.. Rave was a bust.. basically in the end showed the world
that we like to do drugs.. but in away it did do a blow to the club
establishment. But ultimately rave became ultimately what it was
first against. About money..
John
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