A decade ago a musician friend and fellow music commentator Esteban Cisneros interviewed me for his blog, La Trampa del Bulevar as part of a series called Chicos del siglo XXI, which translates to Kids of the 21st Century. He speaks both Spanish and English and conducted the interview in English and translated it back into his native Spanish. I decided to revisit this interview because it was done during a transitional point in my life. This was in the autumn of 2014. I was 20, I was on study abroad and I recently got a boyfriend who is now my husband and I was doing radio and on the verge of starting this blog that you’re reading this blog post on right now. Yeah, I’ve been here a while and I’m stubbornly still here. I guess like how Pete Quaife called show business like a drug, writing is like a drug for me, even if I am really just talking to myself 99% of the time.
A lot has changed since then and I thought now would be a good time to revisit it, like a time capsule of sorts. So what I’ll do is go through each of the questions and show you my original answer versus what I’d say now. Let’s see how what I’ve said has aged and let’s see how I’ve evolved as a writer and as a thinker. My Tumblr has been deleted a long time ago, but my love of classic rock is as strong as ever.
You can read part 1 of the interview in Spanish here, but if you don’t speak Spanish I’ve translated it back to English, so you can see my old answers and my new answers. Part 2 of the interview can be found in Spanish here. Hope you enjoy!
Intro: She is Angie Moon. She is a lost fan of classic rock, a lover of mod culture and pinup style. Her obsession is with, as she says it, anything midcentury: the ideal lifestyle of the 50s, 60s, and 70s that can be seen in the music, film, art, clothing, and idiosyncrasies. She collects vintage clothing like any self-respecting mod chick and her Tumblr is full of iconic images and has many views and reblogs. But what is really special is that Angie Moon, at 20 years old is a DJ on the radio that has gained a following through hard work and good taste. Despite being North American (of Latin American descent), she lives and studies in Ireland, where she broadcasts on the University of Limerick radio station. You gotta listen to it, it’s worth it. We discussed some things that she’s obsessed with, and personally it brought back some great memories of candour and enthusiasm, which is something Angie has plenty of. More people like this please!
Esteban: Where are you from? Is your last name Moon, like Keith? Incredible!
Angie 2014: I don’t really have a place I can call home, really. When I was a kid I moved around a lot and I’m still moving around. If I had to name a place, it would be Chicago, where my family live. No, my last name isn’t Moon. I got it from Keith, of course, my favourite drummer from a band I love. And I was a huge fan of Sailor Moon when I was a kid.
Angie 2024: I’m American by birth. I’m a dual citizen of the US and Ireland. Currently I live in England and hopefully, I’m here to stay. My husband and I have bought a house here so let’s hope we don’t need to move again because I’ve decorated the house the way I like it and moving is a pain in the butt.
Esteban: How did you get obsessed with music?
Angie 2014: When I was a kid, my dad would play a lot of soul and disco music. He was a “soulie” in the 70s when he was my age. He had his own soul and R&B ratio show. Of course my dad was my inspiration to become a DJ. When I was 14, I got into the 60s thanks to the Austin Powers trilogy of movies. From there, I haven’t looked back, I fell in love with The Beatles and then the rest of the 60s music.
Angie 2024: The answer’s pretty much the same. No more lore to share here.
Esteban: What was your first record? Was there one that has changed your life?
Angie 2014: Dark Side of the Moon. it was a gift from a secondary school friend of mine who loved 60s music and The Beatles. There wasn’t just one album, but multiple that have changed my life: Quadrophenia got me into the mod subculture. Tommy was a big influence. Dreamboat Annie is another one of my favourites from the 70s because I relate a lot to Ann Wilson.
Angie 2024: I’d say some albums that really have stuck with me over the years would be The Kinks’ Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On – that one really saved me when I was in an extremely dark place, The Moody Blues’ Days of Future Passed and To Our Children’s Children’s Children, John Martyn’s Solid Air, Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter, The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle, Kino’s Posledniy Geroy, Everything Led Zeppelin released from Led Zeppelin I to Houses of the Holy, Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak and Black Rose, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, The Beatles’ entire discography. I could go on and on for days.
Esteban: What were things like where you grew up?
Angie 2014: It wasn’t really good and for that reason I fell in love with the 60s. It was my happy place. I dreamed of Swinging London. My classmates made fun of me a lot for that, by the way.
Angie 2024: Not much else to add. I grew up in some really conservative small towns and any bit of difference would get a target placed on your back. There weren’t any vintage clothing shops and in those days you’d be made fun of for thrifting or liking old things. 1960s London was where I was mentally.
Esteban: How did you get into the Mod World?
Angie 2014: Thanks to The Who and Quadrophenia.I loved how they dressed in the 60s and the life in Quadrophenia looked cool to me. I read about Carnaby Street and saw documentary clips of the shops on Kings Road in London.
Angie 2024: At that time I was also a really big fan of Paul Weller and The Small Faces. Still love them! Also wanted to add that younger me really romanticised the whole mod subculture and Quadrophenia is really not a celebration of it, but a coming of age story that is about a young mod named Jimmy Cooper. I still like a lot of that style, but I now prefer the midpoint between mod and hippie, which is called dandy or Peacock Revolution. It was only popular for a short period of time, but I love how it’s a fusion between the timeless classiness of the mod and the colourful flamboyance of the hippie. I love how men got in touch with their feminine side through that style.
Esteban: How do you see the world today?
Angie 2014: I would like to meet more mods. I think it’s something that has survived because it’s a look that is very classic and doesn’t go out of style. I only wish I could find more affordable and accessible clothing. If mod style was more accessible, i think it would be very popular. As for music, i find it difficult to find well-written, well thought out music these days. Music tends to follow a formula, but there is always hope. There are some bands today that I really like. For example, The Strypes or Miles Kane.
Angie 2024: i don’t really care much for subcultures anymore these days and I just want to meet people who have an appreciation for old music and movies and fashion too. I think it’s really cool to have friends with different hobbies and interests and I like learning about them. There’s so much more to the world than mod and life is too short to limit yourself. They don’t have to dress any way, but the most important thing is the love of the music. I don’t really dress like a mod as much anymore even though it’s a big influence in how I do my makeup. I love so many other styles now, but my main loves now are gothic and dandy. I think that’s an evolution that came with me dying my hair back to its original colour, black (although I have a lot of greys now!). Back then I was a redhead and I wanted to look like Jane Asher or a ginger Pattie Boyd. But that’s really hard to maintain and super expensive!
These days the vintage community has never had it better style wise as far as buying new clothes! There are so many repro brands out there and I’m really glad that style is more accessible to people. Back in my day it was try your luck with vintage, which didn’t work very well for those who were plus sized, curvy (as in shape, not size!), or any deviation from the median. I don’t think anything beats true vintage finds, except for made to measure clothes. I love my made to measure dresses. I’m not underweight like I used to be and I’m not the typical fit model pattern so i need a couple alterations for the right fit.
As for music of today, I actually have opened my mind and I like some modern music. Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan have some catchy songs. I especially like Lana Del Rey and I love her appreciation for midcentury Americana aesthetics – Born To Die is a classic! As for modern music, there’s a lot of classic rock era (60s-80s) inspired music I love: The Lemon Twigs, old Tame Impala, old Temples, Blac Rabbit, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The Babe Rainbow, The Allah-Las, Molchat Doma, Ghost, The Routes, The Jack Cades, Dea Matrona, She Past Away, The Crystal Teardrop, and Los Bitchos, just to name a few.
Esteban: How active are you in your scene?
Angie 2014: I’m very shy and I don’t go to a lot of parties. The majority of my friends aren’t mods, but they like hearing me talk about it. I’m more quiet, but I love talking about mod things and classic rock
Angie 2024: I go to gigs and some 60s themed events once in a while, but like when I was younger I’m still quite shy and not at all a party animal, although I love getting stoned, I’d rather be stoned at home with my music and copious cups of tea. Now that I’m 30, I definitely don’t have the stamina I had before my chronic illness. I prefer to save up my money to travel and see other parts of the world and show off my cool outfits wherever I go. I’m a bit of a foodie so that’s a big reason I love to travel, trying food from all over the world, as long as it’s vegan and tastes good! I have a cat named Bowie and I love spending time with her and lounging on my divan.
Esteban: How did you get started in radio?
Angie 2014: The first time I worked in radio I was 17 and I interviewed a Canadian band while studying at university in Toronto. But I really got into radio when I moved back to Chicago, having my own radio show. Now I do radio here in Ireland on ULFM (The University of Limerick student radio station). And I love it! I love playing 60s music and entertaining you guys.
Angie 2024: I kept doing radio until I graduated from university. I haven’t returned to radio, instead moving onto another dead format, writing! That’s enough self-deprecation. i would love to go back to doing radio and I have just the idea, but I need to find a radio station that would get on board. I would love to do a show based on my classic rock and true crime work from Crime of the Century for those who prefer to listen rather than read. I just want to share classic rock stories with the world. I’ve even developed a pilot playlist for a book I’d love to write one day about celebrity trials, beyond classic rock! Yes, I really like writing about celebrities and true crime. The playlist is inspired by the two trials that inspired me to look into the history of celebrity trials: Oscar Wilde and OJ Simpson, 100 years apart and it’s fascinating comparing and contrasting those trials.
Esteban: What are your best experiences in radio?
Angie 2014: I can play all the music of the 60s and 70s and talk about the artists. I love to teach my listeners new things about their favourite bands to make their listening experience better. I want to make your listening experience the best ever.
Angie 2024: Nothing really to add. I really loved sharing facts with people and I loved making connections between songs and musicians. Classic rock is really a small world, isn’t it?
Esteban: And the worst?
Angie 2014: Some awkward moments here and there. I can’t remember exactly, but at times I forgot what I was going say or I played the wrong song. But you gotta keep going.
Angie 2024: I didn’t want to say it at the time because it was still fresh and I didn’t want to piss anyone off, but the programme director in Chicago told me that the music I was playing was straight white guy music and I was like no it isn’t! However, there’s a silver lining, that’s what inspired me to start The Diversity of Classic Rock. My goal was to show how classic rock is not just straight white men. Au contraire! LGBT people, non-white/mixed people, and women have been there from the very beginning. Johnnie Ray, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Esquerita, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mary Ford, Wanda Jackson, Cherry Wainer, just some names of musicians from the 50s. And the 60s and 70s had even more LGBT people and women in the scene.
Esteban: What does Angie’s future look like?
Angie 2014: I definitely want to be a classic rock DJ and travel around the world. I’d love to do a working holiday somewhere. I’d love to go to Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. I would love to keep building up my vintage clothing and record collection.
Angie 2024: While I didn’t become a DJ, I have done well enough for a completely independent writer and I’ve published a book. I have interviewed so many musicians and I’m incredibly proud of that. Not bad for someone who has suffered from crippling anxiety for ¾ of their life! Since then I’ve travelled to Australia and Japan, but not yet New Zealand. I think the biggest travel dreams for me now are going back to Japan for sure and going to Russia. Russia’s the big dream for me. I’m a huge fan of the rock band Kino and I love the Russian language and culture. I’d love to ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway: Moscow to Vladivostok. My great grandparents were Russian citizens before they became American citizens, so I guess that’s kind of a factor too. I also really liked learning about the Soviet Union when i was in school. I certainly wouldn’t go there now, but I really hope one day there’s world peace and Russia and the west get along better again. Never say never, I guess.
Esteban: What are your best experiences in the music world, and which have been the most frustrating?
Angie 2014: I got to meet Pete Townshend at a book signing and Temples signed my copy of Sun Structures. Very cool! And I got to go to the Juno Awards when I lived in Toronto too. At times it’s frustrating being under 21 because there are age limits for certain concerts and sometimes concerts happen while I’m travelling.
Angie 2024: Those highlights are still my favourites and those weren’t the only cool experiences I’ve had. I’ve gone to Dave Davies’ book signing in London and he gave me a thumbs up. I also met and interviewed The Fontaines D.C. before they got famous. I’ve also interviewed quite a few musicians from the classic rock era, like Graham Parker, Tony Valentino of The Standells, and Don Dannemann of The Cyrkle. Lots of cool stories and insight into the industry and how it’s changed. I’ve met a lot of local musicians here in England and have reviewed quite a few classic rock books I got in PR and that’s really awesome too.
As for the most frustrating moment meeting a musician, I went to a concert and I bought a record by this garage rock band and I wanted them to sign it but they pooh-poohed me. Not gonna name names, but yeah that sucked and it kinda soured me on their music. Be nice, show appreciation for your fans!
Esteban: Vinyl, CD, or MP3?
Angie 2014: Vinyl is great and it’s always good to have a physical copy of the album. Besides, it’s nice to display on a shelf. For portability, CD is better. I have an iPhone and I put my favourite music on it. It’s always good entertainment on the bus, on the plane, or when you’re travelling.
Angie 2024: I still favour vinyl as far as physical media goes, but I still have yet to get a record player, but hopefully that will change soon. I’ve moved quite a bit and I’m not in the same country as I was when I did this interview originally. I have some CDs though and it’s great because you can easily rip them to your computer… if you have a CD drive of course! Annoying thing is they’re not as much on laptops anymore. The obsession with thinness isn’t in the body, it’s also in electronics, but I digress. I have had Spotify Premium for a few years now and I love Spotify Wrapped season. It’s like the Met Gala for music fans! I love seeing your Spotify Wrapped and I love sharing mine with you.
Esteban: How big is your collection? Do you ever vinyl them for DJ sets or on your radio show?
Angie 2014: I think I have around 50 or so vinyl records, I can’t remember. My dad has a few hundred. I never took my vinyl to the radio station because I don’t want to risk damaging them. Besides, they’re at my parents’ for safekeeping, as I don’t have a record player.
Angie 2024: I still have the bulk of my record collection at my parents’ house and thinking about the cost of shipping it overseas is painful. Still, it’s gotta happen eventually. I have some records here in England, so it’s not like I have nothing here. I think my collection is about 100 records or so, but I don’t know. I guess I’ll do an inventory someday!
Esteban: How is your life now?
Angie 2014: Great! I love studying abroad and I’ve gotten to know a lot of people and I’ve made some friends. While here I’ve planned trips to Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and The Canary Islands. I’d love to go to Scotland too.
Angie 2024: Well, I’ve gotten what I’ve wanted ever since I was a teenager and that is living in England. I definitely prefer it to Ireland. Ireland has been falling apart basically and it’s not as nice now as when I was living there. It’s very expensive. I think of it as the Canada of the UK, if that makes any sense. I’m glad not to be in the US and it’s crazy to think that at this point I’ve spent most of my adult life outside the US. I know I’ll always be American, but I’m not sure if I feel it since whenever I go back people think I’m a foreigner.
I’ve been happily married for seven years. I love my cat, Bowie. My husband and I bought a house last year and we’ve been having fun decorating it after so many years living transiently. I’m lucky to have travelled to so many places with my husband. My writing has taken me some places, but I hope to go more places with it. It’s been difficult getting my name out there and I often doubt myself and think I don’t know what I’m talking about or I’m a bad writer.
Esteban: What are your favourite movies and books?
Angie 2014: My favourite movies are Disney and Pixar movies and comedy movies. But really I like all kinds of movies. I love documentaries. If I had to pick some: Finding Nemo, My Cousin Vinny, Mean Girls, Airplane!, Inglorious Basterds, The Breakfast Club, Toy Story, and Alice in Wonderland. As for books, Harry Potter, Scott Pilgrim, and The Outsiders.
Angie 2024: I love Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino movies. I don’t know why I forgot to mention it originally, but I love Rush Hour. I love Chinese martial arts films in general. Some more movies I really love: Shrek, Velvet Goldmine, Breakfast On Pluto, Goodfellas, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Taxi Driver, The King of Comedy, A Hard Day’s Night (of course!), Tommy, American Psycho, Idiocracy, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Esteban: What’s your favourite drink?
Angie 2014: Tea and almond milk.
Angie 2024: I still drink a lot of tea, but I really like coffee too, well extremely milky. And of course like a lot of people, I love boba! When I was in Japan I was obsessed with those bottled iced green tea drinks.
Esteban: This is probably a bad question, but what are your 20 favourite albums?
Angie 2014:
- The Who, Tommy.
- Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon.
- The Who, Quadrophenia.
- The Who, Who’s Next
- The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses.
- Cream, Disraeli Gears.
- Curtis Mayfield, Superfly.
- Heart, Dreamboat Annie.
- Led Zeppelin IV.
- The Beatles, Rubber Soul.
- The Beatles, Abbey Road.
- T. Rex, Electric Warrior.
- Yes, The Yes Album.
- Small Faces, Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake.
- The Zombies, Odessey and Oracle.
- Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow.
- The Doors, The Doors.
- Wings, Band on the Run.
- Fleetwood Mac, Rumours.
- Traffic, John Barleycorn Must Die.
Angie 2024:
Largely the same, but with some swaps, but I’ll do one per musician
- The Who – Tommy
- Thin Lizzy – Black Rose: A Rock Legend
- The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
- The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle
- The Beatles – Revolver
- Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
- Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
- The Kinks – The Village Green Preservation Society
- John Martyn – Solid Air
- Tatsuro Yamashita – Ride On Time
- The Pretty Things – SF Sorrow
- Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
- Nick Drake – Bryter Layter
- The Moody Blues – To Our Children’s Children’s Children
- David Bowie – Low
- Kino – Posledniy Geroy
- Budgie – Bandolier
- Rush – 2112
- Rory Gallagher – Irish Tour ’74
- Small Faces – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake
Esteban: And singles?
Angie 2014: I can’t think of any.
Angie 2024: I’ll give a list of 20 faves. A little twist, singles that weren’t part of an album, and each one by a different musician.
- “She Loves You” – The Beatles
- “I Can’t Explain” – The Who
- “Days” b/w “She’s Got Everything” – The Kinks
- “Wonderful Land” – The Shadows
- “The 2000 Pound Bee” – The Ventures
- “Love Will Tear Us Apart” – Joy Division
- “This Charming Man” – The Smiths
- “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” – Buzzcocks
- “Going Underground” – The Jam
- “Midnight To Six Man” – The Pretty Things
- “Fly Me High” – The Moody Blues
- “Blue Monday” – New Order
- “See Emily Play” – Pink Floyd
- “Fools Gold” – The Stone Roses
- “20th Century Boy” – T. Rex
- “Junior’s Farm” – Wings
- “Hong Kong Garden” – Siouxsie and the Banshees
- “Cum On Feel the Noize” – Slade
- “Virginia Plain” – Roxy Music
- “Black Night” – Deep Purple
Esteban: Any other recommendation you can give us?
Angie 2014: Anything from my Perfect Albums list from my Tumblr blog meanwhileinthe60s. I love 60s and 70s music: British Invasion, psychedelic rock, surf rock, ska, R&B, disco, prog, glam, punk, mod revival. Everything!
Angie 2024: I think that covers it, but I’ve broadened my horizons since then and love a lot of 50s and 80s stuff too. I’m into more gothic stuff too and I think you can really see that more in my aesthetic now. It’s kinda Barbenheimer. Lots of bright colours, but some darkness. What can I say, it’s the duality of Moon! Two Sides of the Moon, so to speak.
End of Part 1
Intro: Continuing my conversation with Angie Moon: blogger, radio DJ (at the University of Limerick), 21st century kid. Her love of the 60s and 70s reminds me of my self once upon a time, but it also throws me off guard. Where does this love for a past era come from, could it be it be over-idealised? What does the present mean for a girl of the internet age? How does she view the past and the present? And the future? Frankly, I was impressed by her conviction and that she has such clear ideas. For me, my arms and legs would be shaking and I would have been rambling nonsensically within three questions in. In fact, delete “would have”, because these are questions I ask myself all the time. Here’s what Angie has to say.
Esteban: There’s a theme that really interests me. Why do you love the 60s and 70s?
Angie 2014: I love the style, the music, the entertainment, the aesthetic of the era. Swinging London was a cool place and I’m sure the music festivals were a blast!
Angie 2024: I love the 60s and 70s for the same reasons, but I love so many more eras now. I wouldn’t say the peak design aesthetic was during the 60s anymore though, but rather the psychedelic era’s grandparent,.art nouveau and the belle époque. Younger me was all about Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Current me is more Aubrey Beardsley and Alphonse Mucha. But I think both younger me and current me can unite over our love of the art of Roger Dean and Jim Fitzpatrick. Another thing that’s changed about me is I’m married and I realised deep down inside in my personal life, I’m more old-fashioned and traditional. I love married life and I really don’t like hookup culture. It’s not for me.
Esteban: Why did you decide that you loved this era?
Angie 2014: It looked like a place where I’d fit in. I would have had a great time at concerts and clubs. I like how young people were getting involved and changing society. I like being involved in my community.
Angie 2024: I don’t doubt that I’d fit in. I know I’d definitely love to see my favourites in their prime. I’d love to shop at the boutiques. The boomer in me definitely thinks young people then were definitely a lot better at activism than this generation of young people and there will never be another generation like the past. However, I think back to this quote from Ray Davies’ book X-Ray about how the 60s was really just a distraction from all the corruption going on, and I think he’s absolutely right. Thinking about it, a lot of the hippies were posh types and they were LARPing as revolutionaries, much like the posh college kids today. Like Woodstock was the Breadtube of its day. After Bernie lost twice, I felt like Phil Ochs after 1968, defeated.
Esteban: Is it a question of nostalgia?
Angie 2014: I didn’t grow up in that time, but I tend to like older pop culture more than current stuff. I still enjoy TV shows from my childhood.
Angie 2024: Still largely feel the same, but I think that nostalgia can be a form of escapism and that’s really why I turned to the 60s and classic rock. It was escapism from a humdrum life and being surrounded by normies. It’s weird. I feel nostalgic for a time I’ve never lived in and I really get that feeling when I watch old footage of that time.
Esteban: Do you consider yourself retro?
Angie 2014: You could say that. As much as I love my computer and my blog, I try to make my life as 60s as possible through my 60s looks.
Angie 2024: Yes, still the case, but I don’t care these days so much for historical accuracy, but more creativity and putting my own spin on things. I see it in a lot of modern takes on psychedelic rock and garage rock. You have to innovate, grow, and change with the times and you can’t be a tribute to someone else, in order to be a true artist. I don’t limit myself to the 60s anymore and I dress how I want, but that 60s undercurrent and spirit is still very much alive in my style and everything I do. Mixing eras is fun. I love a good 1950s New Look silhouette with a psychedelic print.
Esteban: What does the 60s and 70s have that the present doesn’t?
Angie 2014: Better concerts, seeing the original lineups of the bands. More record stores – I can’t always find record stores everywhere. Better clothes – vintage clothes can be really expensive and modern clothing isn’t my style.
Angie 2024: Largely I’d agree, but things have changed in 10 years so I’ll share some thoughts. I think the west can learn a few things from Japan. I love how in Japan there’s still an appreciation for physical media. In this day and age media companies are trigger-happy with erasing media, especially TV shows. When it’s in the cloud and available for streaming, it isn’t really yours.
I’m gonna sound like a boomer, but I miss being able to own things. With physical media, short of a fire or a flood or a break-in, it’s yours, you got it. I hate that everything is a subscription these days. Monthly charges add up! Still I love my Spotify Premium, but I think it’s important to support independent musicians so I make it a point to buy merch and vinyl from them. As far as concerts go, I don’t like going to big stadium shows. I prefer more intimate gigs at clubs and I’d much rather go see an indie band at a club than a legacy act at a stadium.
Esteban: How have you incorporated these loves into your social life?
Angie 2014: At times I have trouble connecting with people my age because I don’t know a lot of people in real life who have the same interests as me. I’ve definitely made more friends online and I’ve gotten to meet some of them in real life.
Angie 2024: Pretty much the same. In real life, my friends are more into nerdy things like video games, board games, and RPGs. Thanks to my husband I’ve played a few video games, but mostly the “Weenie Hut Jr.’s” type like Pokemon, Animal Crossing, and Stardew Valley lol. I also am a huge fan of Life is Strange. The thing keeping me from playing RPGs is I need to play something 60s or classic rock themed. I’d love to LARP as a 60s dandy. While at a gaming convention, I did see a punk rock themed TTRPG that looked interesting! I like taking an interest in things my friends like and I hope that they’ve taken an interest in things I like. One of the friends in the group is a big rock music fan and we saw King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Bob Dylan together. He and I got the friends group to go to Stop Making Sense when it played in the cinema.
Esteban: Do you think you would have been happier living in the past?
Angie 2014: I probably would have been happier in some ways for a little while. I would have loved shopping and going to concerts. I would have had an easier time relating to people my age because we’d like the same music, movies, and clothes. But I don’t know if I would have felt accepted as a bisexual, mixed race, atheist.
Angie 2024: It’s gonna sound funny, but I still feel mixed about it. And now that I’m older, I have a different perspective about the practicalities of the era. Yes, I would have had a blast at the concerts and shopping until I dropped. Economically, things were a lot better back then. Cost of living wasn’t insane like it is now. Jobs would have been easier to get. There’s no doubt I would have had a better life then. Homeownership would have been a lot more affordable then. In spite of all of the things I am, yes I’d pick living in the 60s over today. No question about it. Maybe I could have been a trailblazer.
Esteban: Don’t you think that the golden era is something idealised and it only seems better in retrospect?
Angie 2014: I think it’s natural to see the best in your situation and stay positive. There were obviously bad things in the 60s and 70s. I try to see the best in every situation, even today in 2014. I have made friends from all over the world thanks to the internet and something like that wouldn’t have been possible back then.
Angie 2024: Largely I’d agree. And now that 2014 is a decade ago, we’re starting to idealise the 2010s since we’re removed from it now. The pandemic was a real shift and the 2020s were really a decade that has found its identity just as it started. Really weird times we live in. I don’t doubt that people will idealise the 2020s in the future. I mean, I’m already seeing people on social media getting nostalgic over lockdown. I really don’t understand that, but on a personal level that time was awful for me. I was chronically ill during that time. I was physically disabled! There’s no doubt that I would have had a worse life in the 60s when it came to my health. I had a hard enough time getting a hysterectomy in 2022. Imagine trying that in the 60s! And don’t get me started on mental health! If I were born 50 years earlier, I could have ended up lobotomised or getting electroshock therapy. My great grandmother had severe depression and my family sent her to hospital to get ECT, I doubt it was much help. The real benefits of the present are in the technological and medical advancements. Only thing is that it should be accessible and available to all, not just the elites.
Esteban: Looking at the past, is it revolutionary or reactionary?
Angie 2014: I don’t see it as one or the other. Each decade has its pros and cons. In 50 years we’ll be talking about how the present day was really bad. We learn and grow from the past and we have to fix the mistakes we’ve made in the past. That is very important.
Angie 2024: It really depends on how you do it. In more recent years, I think starting around 2020, there’s been this movement of “vintage style, not vintage values” thanks to a historical costumer/jazz musician named Dandy Wellington. He takes a lot of inspiration from the past, but he also looks to the future and takes that aesthetic, but makes it better this time with more inclusivity. Look through the vintage communities and you’ll see a tonne of LGBT people, a lot of women, some disabled people, and people from all different countries and ethnic backgrounds uniting over their love of old music, movies, media, and fashion. I think people into more pre-1950s style make it more of a point to be outwardly “vintage style not vintage values” because it was an even more conservative time than the 60s and 70s classic rock era. Especially, re-enactors into Edwardian and eras before that have to emphasise the “vintage style, not vintage values” because that was a time when women were truly second class: couldn’t vote, couldn’t go to certain universities, needed permission from a man to do all sorts of things.
I’m particularly sick of the elitism and exclusion in the 60s and 70s vintage community. Only a couple of looks are promoted above everything else. If you deviate from the Pattie Boyd ideal, you’re not cool, you’re not worthy. All the Pattie lookalikes get all the brand deals and I don’t like how consumerism and capitalism have taken over. Vintage style is supposed to be about sustainability and creativity, not about flexing your PR hauls. Most of the fun in clothing shopping was the treasure hunt in the charity shop! We’ve lost ourselves as a community, I’m afraid. I’m tired of constantly feeling like I’m being sold to. How is it sustainable to “buy, buy, buy”? Look after yourselves first. No point of going into debt to keep up with the vintage queen bees.
Not to bring up Ray Davies for the umpteenth time, but I really love how he is a socialist who loves old things and his work like Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur really show you that you can love old things, but still be socially progressive – The Kinks wrote a lot of pro-LGBT music. There isn’t anything inherently conservative about wanting to preserve historical buildings or old cultural traditions. Rebellious women have always existed throughout history. LGBT people have always existed throughout history. Non-white/mixed people have always existed throughout history. Disabled people have always existed throughout history. And we’re still here, in spite of everything. We shouldn’t oversimplify the past. Speaking as a bisexual, we should create a world that our LGBT forefathers and foremothers would be proud to live in.
Esteban: You’ve said before that today’s music is very formulaic. But I’d have to say, don’t you think 60s and 70s music is formulaic too? Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but what makes that music so interesting to you?
Angie 2014: The sound of the guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards. There were more concept albums and I love listening to stories told through music and the music flowing along with the story. Sure, there were a lot of love songs and 2-3 minute pop songs, but the vocals sounded great and they were memorable songs. They had good lyrics, sometimes thought-provoking, they were beautifully written. To be honest, I haven’t heard anyone write lyrics on the same level as Townshend or Lennon-McCartney.
Angie 2024: I definitely think the 60s and 70s musically, if we’re talking mainstream, is a lot more diverse than today’s chart music. Mainstream music today is very pop/dance/hip-hop dominated, and I’m missing rock and roll! Once in a blue moon there’s something new that’s pretty good like Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” or Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” Thinking back to 2014, Taylor Swift’s 1989 had some catchy songs like “Style”, “Shake It Off”, and “Blank Space”. Since then she has re-recorded her old albums and those songs have stood the test of time and people still love those songs. Those songs are ones that can get stuck in my head, but a lot of chart music these days is forgettable to me. I remember interviewing a power pop musician who felt the same way. It’s all about the riff and the hook and it being tuneful and memorable. That’s what makes a good pop song.
Esteban: Do you think that today’s music can reach a level of creativity that matches that of your favourite era? Or has it already achieved this?
Angie 2014: Maybe. There are groups like Tame Impala, The Strokes, Foxygen, The Strypes, and Temples who make amazing music. They’re influenced by older bands, but they put their own spin on the music and I like that. The music needs to change with the times to stay relevant, but it can have some elements from the past so as not to alienate their fans.
Angie 2024: I’ve been very lucky to have interviewed and featured some talented musicians on my blog and I’ll shout out some whose music I think is reflective of the spirit of the classic rock years, but they’re making it their own: Looking Glass Alice, The Jack Cades, Janique James of Not Soup, The Crystal Teardrop, The Routes, Dea Matrona, Jiminil, and Mick Cantone of Children of Minerva.
I got a whole playlist on Spotify called “This isn’t classic rock?” which features a lot of newer songs that are very classic rock era like.
Mainstream wise, I think no one embodies the classic rock era like Lana Del Rey. That vintage Americana. As my depression has gotten worse, I’ve found her music so much more relatable. There’s some hip-hop influences in her music, but you can see nods to classic rock in her lyrics and a bit in the sound. Like on “West Coast”, you can hear the riff of The Beatles’ “And I Love Her”. She appreciates classic rock. Can’t believe it’s taken me that long to appreciate her music. She’s brilliant. I listened to Born To Die and Paradise recently and those albums really hold up well.
Before Lana, there was Amy Winehouse, RIP. She really had that 60s R&B vibe. The music video for Duffy’s “Mercy” is an homage to Northern Soul. We need more mainstream musicians like them.
Esteban: What would be your “ideal present” for music?
Angie 2014: A diverse scene, full of fresh faces and with less of an importance on image. I listen to music for the sound, not the musicians’ looks.
Angie 2024: Agree, but realistically, show business is always going to be looks based. I’d also want to add that I’m tired of nepo babies and posh kids dominating the arts, that’s really what I mean now by fresh faces.
Esteban: What’s your ideal future for music?
Angie 2014: More blues rock, psychedelic rock, ska, soul, and R&B!
Angie 2024: More 60s, 70s, and 80s inspired sounds and music with a conscience. To piggyback off the last answer, I want to see more funding for the arts so the working class can have opportunities to contribute to the vibrant music scene. The arts shouldn’t just be for the children of the (petite) bourgeoisie. Internships in the creative fields in general must be paid to give all aspiring creatives an opportunity. Wages and standard of living is falling and that means that the working class only focus on working to survive. There is more to life than work and people need to have free time to do as they wish, including pursuing artistic endeavours. Art is for all to enjoy and it’s what makes life worth living.
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