Music and Sixties

    I realized that there were many songs that expressed social issues especially, war in 1970's.  One of the examples is the song name, "Ohio."

This summer I hear the drummin'
Four dead in Ohio...

Soldiers are gunnin' us down...

    From the lyric of the song, I analyzed that it is based on experience of students who protested Vietnam War in Ken State and four students got killed by soldiers.

    Top ten albums in 1970,

    1.Abraxas - Santana
    2.Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
    3.Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Soundtrack
    4.Chicago II - Chicago
    5.Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival
    6.Deja Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
    7.Easy Rider - Soundtrack
    8.Get Ready - Rare Earth
    9.Hey Jude - The Beatles
    10.Joe Cocker! - Joe Cocker
 

     Top ten movies in 1970,

    1.Love Story
    2.Airport
    3.M*A*S*H
    4.Patton
    5.Five Easy Pieces
    6.Little Big Man
    7.Catch-22
    8.Gimme Shelter
    9.Let It Be
    10.Woodstock

    I recognize only Simon and Garfunkel, and Beatles.  I found out that top ten singles show expression of peace, love, and calmness.  However, the movies are little more various.  Movies that have themes of love and war were ranked simultaneously, such as Love Story and Mash.

        Many songs in 1970's seemed to appeal the masses other than just telling personal emotions like many artists express now days.  Many of the songs were enough to let the masses understand that war is bad and love is good in 70's and the people seemed to follow them actually.  I don't think we take songs or movies too seriously now days, because artists, film makers and we know that the reason why the people experience songs and movies is mostly to enjoy and improve quality of their lives by entertaining.  Back in 70's  seems to be different.  Especially, those songs were like the to reflect social issues in public especially, war.  Opposing war meant choosing love and peace.  That might be the reasons how songs and movies about love and war could be ranked at the same time and why hippies used drug which might get them happiness without concerning any problems at all.

    Kent State Shooting of course, was one of the major issues in the past and Vietnam War actually happened.  By these facts, I realize that people might desire to find out some sort of breakthrough and movies and songs were the ways.  Today, we are living with better qualities of live than 1970's and that may be why the most of the artists express personal emotions that are nothing about major social issues usually.