The Spirit of '66

1966 was a pretty awesome year in the world of popular music in general, with some of the most important (& revered) albums of all-time coming out left & right: The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, The Beatles' Revolver (which was their longest-running album at this point), Simon & Garfunkel's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde just to name a few. (And of course, Dylan loved defying convention: Blonde on Blonde is about 73 minutes worth of great music, as opposed to the half-hour or so of power which could be found in just 12 or so songs during that era.)

Indeed, popular music was a sacred institution unto itself & every release of monumental value was seen as a sacred book, scriptures full of comforts, assurances & truths folks would so desperately need as the '60s began not only to draw to a close but also descend into its downward spiral (which the never-ending Vietnam War helped bring on in full force). By the end of the decade, popular music was never the same again, its status as something sacred demolished, imploded, never again to regain its luster & glory.

But 1966 was a very good year, a very good year for popular music in general, a far cry from the current assessment held about popular music overall. There was life, meaning, symbolism, truths in those songs back then; even the most schmaltzy stuff carried some fabric of sincerity & truth which today's material unfortunately is in need of. If that isn't enough, the music has still found ways to endure (especially the above albums I listed) for four decades straight. Not only was it born out of necessity, but out of experience, being able to articulate one's concerns, emotions & feelings - in short, much of the most important music from that year was made out of risk-taking, breaking the norms & conventions of the day. Buying a record in 1966 was like buying an inspirational book in hopes that you could be enlightened, that it could bring sparks of hope & joy into your life. With albums like Blonde on Blonde, Parsley, Sage..., Revolver, & Pet Sounds, the main premise of each artist was to speak the truth in their own way, on their own terms.

And they would also leave us wanting more.

That was the Spirit of '66 as viewed from the world of popular music, a vast receptacle of all things cultural, political, mystical & spiritual.