cyberdad wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
The ‘Deadheads’ (Grateful Dead) emerged at the same time if not predated the ‘Kiss Army’ in this realm. Before there was certainly fanatics and fan clubs but that was “we love the same band” rather then group identity based on being fans of a band. Wikipedia dates the term to the name of a mailing list and its identification as a phenomenon to 1971 which predates KISS. I don’t remember any self identifying Deadheads in high school(1971-1975). My classmates were into British Progressive Rock groups especially Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Led Zeppelin also. I can not say for sure in that in other high schools and in colleges people did not self identify as deadheads. I first remember people calling themselves Deadheads when I was in college which cooccurred with the ‘KISS Army’.
entAll true, but at least in Australia KISS were the first real "supergroup" with a massive fan base that i remember. Don't forget this is pre-internet so the negative reputation they generated went viral but through newspapers and television news. It was easy to pick the makeup/costumes - they were scary to an older generation > Led Zeppelin or Deadheads, Kind of like the how the punk movement had a bad reputation.
Over here prior to KISS it was Alice Cooper not only with makeup but with the female name and the horror themed stage shows that terrified parents. KISS was treated by the media more with bemusement than fear. Thinking back the late ‘70s the conservatives had nothing. The war they had backed ended in humiliating defeat, Their “Law and Order” president had resigned in disgrace, despite two decades of trying to cancel rock music it was as popular as ever so complaining about it seemed pathetic. Disco was hated and canceled but that was intergenerational, adults kind of liked it because it brought back elements of older style dancing.
“Rock and Roll all Nite” hit big when I was starting my freshman year. It was the perfect anthem for its time. At that point we had not seen what they looked like. During the remainder of my college years they were played a lot on the radio, written about a lot but I have no recollection of anybody playing their albums or talking about them.
Off Topic
The Grateful Dead and Southern Rock were the biggest things. Besides the Dead, another 60s rooted group that was big despite being defunct were ‘The Doors’. Some people were into jazz rock artists like Chuck Mangione. Disco had a following among women. Guys had the hots for Linda Ronstadt while her posters adorned dorm room walls I don’t remember anybody playing or claiming to like her music.
Now when we think of 1976, 1977, 1978 musically we think of punk and new wave. At the time those genres had once a week one hour show on the college radio station. It was the wrong time for it here. It was political music during an apolitical inward looking era, it emphasized raw amateur ethos at a time when the classical music trained progressive rock era had just ended, the DIY and experimental nature of it clashed with the “corporate rock” emphases on mass appeal. Besides what was appealing about people spitting at the musicians, bondage gear and swastikas? The music was much more that is what the press discussed and since they were not played on the radio that is all we knew about it. It would be ‘The Cars’ the most Classic Rock sounding of the New wave bands would break through in late ‘78.
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DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
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08 Mar 2024, 1:34 pm
