Ted Nugent on the "Summer of Drugs"
Ted Nugent is one of the greatest all time rock musicians; in recent years he has become one of the most eloquent statesman in America on the topics of personal liberty and personal responsibility.Ted's latest essay, this one for the Wall Street Journal, takes to task romantic notions of the Summer of Love (not to be confused with this Summer of Love) that took place some 40 years ago. Short of the civil rights movement and some great music, Nugent finds absolutely nothing of value from the decade of the 1960s and successfully traces many of our current ills to the half-baked notions developed by the so-called "counter-culture." Indeed, the 60s was the petri dish for the malignant narcissism that is rampant today.
Nugent - who has never gone in for alcohol and drugs - said the following of his experience amongst the "tuned-on, tuned-in and dropped-out" generation:
I literally had to step over stoned, drooling fans, band mates, concert promoters and staff to pursue my musical American Dream throughout the 1960s and 1970s. I flushed more dope and cocaine down backstage toilets than I care to remember. In utter frustration I was even forced to punch my way through violent dopers on occasion. So much for peace and love. The DEA should make me an honorary officer.Nugent connects rising rates of divorce, high school drop outs, drug use, abortion, sexual diseases and crime as well as "the exponential expansion of government and taxes" to the "if it feels good, do it" lifestyle of the 1960s and "hippies who thought utopia could be found in joints and intentional disconnect."
When our leaders exercise some personal responsibility in their own lives and hold especially young people to higher standards rather than endeavoring to garner them self-esteem, we may eventually get back on track.
Labels: summer of love, ted nugent
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 7/08/2007 08:28:00 PM
26 Comments:
So is Ted saying Antonio is also a druggie?
Actually I never thought that highly of Ted - he was out for the money.
Where did you get that? Ted never mentioned Antonio.
Mayor Sam,
You just don't get it. We owe a lot to the 60's generation, including, but not limited to, the environmental
movement, civil rights, women's rights, open government, and public participation
in local and national affairs. Drugs are always available at a concert setting, that has nothing to do with the advances made by the activists of the 60's & 70's.
Besides, Ted is a moron.
His statements are dead on accurate ... nothing good came out of the 60s and 70s ... a completely destructive, sinkhole of a period... Those today who are the screwed-up results of those decades have no way of understanding just HOW screwed up they and society are because they have never seen or experienced better...
I thought Republicans despised celebrity spokespeople?
Ted sucks. He's always sucked. He needs to do drugs.
Yes, let's forget the 60's & 70's and go back to the good ole days of McCarthyism!
Well, anon, the guy who produced "Muslims Against Jihad" was asked by PBS "don't you investigate the politics of the people you work with?" regarding Conservative Frank Gaffney.
There *IS* a Blacklist of Conservatives in Hollywood. So McCarthyist blacklists exist, simply against Conservatives.
As for the Sixties, it signaled the death knell of the old line working-class liberals. Liberalism became an elitist, upper-class exercise designed to show off status and wealth and power. Nothing more.
Was Villar in da house?
9:32
The sixties brought us the new
activists, concerned with human rights, equal pay, civil rights, etc.
What was an "old time liberal"?
The wealth & power thing is what the right wing likes to say to smear the whole movement, even though they are the most guilty of that very display.
Besides Pet Sounds and a lot of good jazz, the 60s were pretty much crap.
Oh, yeah, and didn't the internet get started in the 60s?
You obviously were not there!
Not bad. 14 comments on a Sunday night about a story that doesn't have anything to do with Tony Villar.
I was never part of the sixties, a little kid then, and think the people look just ridiculous in those flower- power outfits, sex without guilt, and even denying the value of guilt. That's when college professors started wearing old jeans and stringy hair instead of suits and ties, manners were cliche...I do see that a lot here and, yes, in ZD, Dowd and their whole group.
BUT I also think there are aspects of the hypocritical 50's I'm grateful we've dropped, everyone miserable and having their cocktails at 5 into the night, trading wives or sublimating their desires in self-cleaning ovens and big cars. Well, people still do the latter, but it's more okay to divorce, get an abortion, admit you want a life, and I don't want this hue and cry against the Mayor to turn back the clock.
The Latinas much-quoted in Daily News etc. want just that, as do the conservative Catholics (did any of them really, really think Tony was some sort of saint?). One bad thing from the "gringos" is the post-Oprah talk-show mentality, that everyone has to cry on tv and bare their souls and personal lives which to me, is just plain crude. Both on the part of the subject, AND those who demand to see it.
The hippie part of the 60s blew some chunks, but other aspects were pretty solid.
In the 1960s Americans
- cracked the genetic code
- landed on the moon
- discovered subatomic particles
- created lasers, leds and lcds
one of the great all time electric guitar solos came from Ted Nugent in wangdang sweet poontang.
he proves the exception rule. for all the drugged up killer rock guitarists (keith, jimmy page, hendrix, et al) he was the 'straight' exception.
the problem is not the sixties.
the problem is lack of discipline and consistency from the parents.
unless we're creating good people,in the young, there's no hope.
Sorry for the long post, but here is Rolling Stone's Top 100 Guitarists of all time -- anybody see Nugent on it? From what I remember of him, dude couldn't even tune his guitar...
1 Jimi Hendrix
2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3 B.B. King
4 Eric Clapton
5 Robert Johnson
6 Chuck Berry
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
8 Ry Cooder
9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
11 Kirk Hammett of Metallica
12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
14 Jeff Beck
15 Carlos Santana
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
19 Richard Thompson
20 James Burton
21 George Harrison
22 Mike Bloomfield
23 Warren Haynes
24 The Edge of U2
25 Freddy King
26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
28 Stephen Stills
29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
30 Buddy Guy
31 Dick Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
37 Bo Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Queen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townshend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 Dickey Betts
59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead
61 Ike Turner
62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
63 Danny Gatton
64 Mick Ronson
65 Hubert Sumlin
66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
67 Link Wray
68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
69 Steve Howe of Yes
70 Eddie Van Halen
71 Lightnin' Hopkins
72 Joni Mitchell
73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
74 Johnny Winter
75 Adam Jones of Tool
76 Ali Farka Toure
77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
81 Derek Trucks
82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
83 Neil Young
84 Eddie Cochran
85 Randy Rhoads
86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
87 Joan Jett
88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
91 Robby Krieger of the Doors
92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
94 Bert Jansch
95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
96 Angus Young of AC/DC
97 Robert Randolph
98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden
George Harrison, John Frusciante, Tom Morello and Ike Turner better than Steve Howe and Eddie Van Halen? And Joan Jett 12 places above Greg Ginn? That list is retarded.
So, 2:19, you couldn't find Nugent either?
You're right about Steve Howe, tho. I think Guitar Player Mag has him a lot higher.
Historically, you do have to give Harrison props.
Amazing that Curtis Mayfield isn't even on it!
Oh, and sorry to bag on Nuge even more, but he sold SEX to my generation. He wasn't singing about social issues, he sang about getting LAID.
Rather disingenuous of him now, dontcha think?
Nope, didn't see the Nuge there.
I think, though, that the reason they make the list so ridiculous is to piss people off so the magazine gets more notice.
9:52
"The wealth & power thing is what the right wing likes to say to smear the whole movement..."
Ever notice it's white/rich democrats doing the talking? Just like John Edwards speaking about 2 americas. Or gore flying all around the globe telling the common folk to conserve.
"Ever notice it's white/rich democrats doing the talking?"
Uh, no, we're too busy noticing the white/rich republicans lying to us and getting the country into a $12 Billion a month war....
Thanks for asking though!
Jack Hoff, Did you ever notice that all the rich/white democrats signed onto the war? I could dig up their quotes but I understand facts disturb democrats.
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