I know San Fran was the epicentre of the Summer of Love back in 67, but I'm curious to know what was going on in New York in that year. I know N.Y.'s never been one for the wishy-washy/air-fairiness of sunny California, and I heard it's 'version' of the counter-culture was more politically-fuelled, more down to earth than the West. Artists such as the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol led the scene, with clubs such as Ondine hubs for folkies.etc. What do you think the atmosphere was like in New York in 67? More positive or negative? Any other thoughts?

I know San Fran was the epicentre of the Summer of Love back in 67, but I'm curious to know what was going on in New York in that year. I know N.Y.'s never been one for the wishy-washy/air-fairiness of sunny California, and I heard it's 'version' of the counter-culture was more politically-fuelled, more down to earth than the West. Artists such as the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol led the scene, with clubs such as Ondine hubs for folkies.etc. What do you think the atmosphere was like in New York in 67? More positive or negative? Any other thoughts?


I was in New York at the time, but I was only 8.  I wish I was older.  I'd like to know the answer to your question!  Is there anyone here who was there and was a young adult or teen at the time?

Just wish more Baby Boomers frequented this forum...*shakes head in dismay*

Just wish more Baby Boomers frequented this forum...*shakes head in dismay*


Yeah.  Me too.  We need to invite people.

Yeah.  Me too.  We need to invite people.


Maybe you have friends/know ppl who are knowledgeable about music?

My dad was in NYC in 1967 and was 12 years old...apparently, it wasn't all that hippy-dippy and dominated by "summer of love" type stuff.

My dad was in NYC in 1967 and was 12 years old...apparently, it wasn't all that hippy-dippy and dominated by "summer of love" type stuff.


Yeah, people often forget the whole Hippie Movement was largely a Californian thing. But as with most things in the 20th century, California seemed to lead the country in the media/culture.etc. It's sort of a tug-of-war between California and New York/other major cultural centres on the Eastern seaboard. Both very different scenes.

My dad was in NYC in 1967 and was 12 years old...apparently, it wasn't all that hippy-dippy and dominated by "summer of love" type stuff.


Maybe that explains your Nostalgia for the 80s and 80s music (or is that more DD?)?  ;)

New York was very cutting edge.  You had Lou Reed and Andy Warhol and that whole scene as well as the Greenwich Village Folk scene which was wicked cool and in the throws of it popularity."Alternative" lifestyles were emerging for the underbelly.  Couples lived together without marriage(it was illegal), birth control was made legal, (most of you may not know that it was illegal to use birth control up until the sixties, married women had the possibility of acquiring it, but only with the consent of their husbands). You found the beginnings of the "coming out" of the gay scene.  College political action was in full swing(Columbia University was in the forefront of that).  The Village Voice was "the" alternative newspaper, and printed things no one else would, like a dating page. 

New York was very cutting edge.  You had Lou Reed and Andy Warhol and that whole scene as well as the Greenwich Village Folk scene which was wicked cool and in the throws of it popularity."Alternative" lifestyles were emerging for the underbelly.  Couples lived together without marriage(it was illegal), birth control was made legal, (most of you may not know that it was illegal to use birth control up until the sixties, married women had the possibility of acquiring it, but only with the consent of their husbands). You found the beginnings of the "coming out" of the gay scene.  College political action was in full swing(Columbia University was in the forefront of that).  The Village Voice was "the" alternative newspaper, and printed things no one else would, like a dating page. 


Yes, must've been tumultous times...

I'm still amazed at how white-bread conservative much of the Western world was in the 60s, the decade of liberation and freedom. Now one can see what the hippies/kids in general (of course not all protestors were hippies) were rebelling about. Now compare that to present-day American society. I mean back in the early 60s there were still segregrated toilets/drinking fountains/sections in buses, churches.etc.

Yes, must've been tumultous times...

I'm still amazed at how white-bread conservative much of the Western world was in the 60s, the decade of liberation and freedom. Now one can see what the hippies/kids in general (of course not all protestors were hippies) were rebelling about. Now compare that to present-day American society. I mean back in the early 60s there were still segregrated toilets/drinking fountains/sections in buses, churches.etc.




Yes, and it went beyond that.  Pedolphilia was an unreported, and unprosecuted crime.  I worked in an office that did a study on rape sentencing.  Out of a random sample of 500 prosecuted cases, one perp went to jail, and only because it was in conjunction with homicide.  We were able to read from the hearings and some of the stuff was pretty sick.  We saw the file of a guy who had been arrested for incest/pedophilia going back 30 years, no jail time!  The judge didn't want to break up the family and leave them without suppport! 
Gay bashing was considered a wholesome sport, pregnant women could be fired from jobs when their condition became known.  A husband beating his wife and kids was a personal issue, after all how else was he supposed to control his household?  It goes on and on.  The germ of resistance for a lot of this came out of the civil rights movement, but also out of college political activism, and the "alternative" lifestyles of the "bohemians".

Yes, and it went beyond that.  Pedolphilia was an unreported, and unprosecuted crime.  I worked in an office that did a study on rape sentencing.  Out of a random sample of 500 prosecuted cases, one perp went to jail, and only because it was in conjunction with homicide.  We were able to read from the hearings and some of the stuff was pretty sick.  We saw the file of a guy who had been arrested for incest/pedophilia going back 30 years, no jail time!  The judge didn't want to break up the family and leave them without suppport! 
Gay bashing was considered a wholesome sport, pregnant women could be fired from jobs when their condition became known.  A husband beating his wife and kids was a personal issue, after all how else was he supposed to control his household?  It goes on and on.  The germ of resistance for a lot of this came out of the civil rights movement, but also out of college political activism, and the "alternative" lifestyles of the "bohemians".


So the 'good ol' days weren't so good after all...and all those doomsayers are saying how our society's going down the drain...

So the 'good ol' days weren't so good after all...and all those doomsayers are saying how our society's going down the drain...


Personally, I would rather be here.  Some people look back at how there lives in particular were, without looking at what was going on around them, or they are looking through the protected eyes of a child.

Personally, I would rather be here.  Some people look back at how there lives in particular were, without looking at what was going on around them, or they are looking through the protected eyes of a child.



I think films like Midnight Cowboy capture the essence of this perfectly. The increasing selfishness of society as a whole, and a lack of compassion for your fellow man or woman.

Man, how I'd like to LIVE in a Velvet Underground song... :D