Were the Hippies right?
LAST MONTH I reviewed a children’s publication – https://countercultureuk.com/2019/03/20/peter-paula-and-the-pelican/ – for Counter Culture. That was a first for me as it’d been years since I’d read a children’s book let alone review one. This is another first because – to the best of my knowledge – I’ve never reviewed an individual music track before now.
I can’t recall exactly how I came across The Dirty Fucking Hippies Were Right!
but as soon as I heard it I was absolutely hooked. I’ve absolutely no musical talent whatsoever, but I was soon tapping my feet, nodding my head and playing both an imaginary guitar and drumming away at the same time. Have a listen to it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKEZoY-TMG4 and I bet you’ll be doing the same!
Whenever I come across an album (or a single) that really appeals to me I like to find out more about it. I’m always interested in who wrote and performed on it – and particularly what inspired the track. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be too much information available relating to this single. However, I’ve been told that it probably was the work of George Carlin.
For those who don’t know, George Carlin (1937 – 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author, and social critic. His website – https://georgecarlin.com/ – indicates that he did recordings, but I get the impression that they’re live recordings of his comedy gigs. There’s nothing to say that he was (or wasn’t) involved in some way with this track. (On saying that, I haven’t conducted too much in-depth research on him – indeed, until his name was mentioned to me I was only vaguely aware of Carlin.)
To some extent, it doesn’t matter who was involved with the track. It’s remarkable for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, it’s strangely hypnotic. This is because of the ‘swirling’ sound of a the guitar throughout the entire track. (Not being a musician I couldn’t tell you what sort of guitar it is or what the correct technical term name is for the ‘swirling’ sound it makes.) This ‘swirling’ sound is very pronounced during the chorus, but I also like the way it continues in the background throughout the track.
Secondly, there’s no singing on The Dirty Fucking Hippies Were Right! It just features the spoken word, which makes its message very, very clear indeed. I also liked the way that it was simply impossible to categorise the track as it doesn’t really fit any genre or sub-genre of music that I know of. (Don’t we just love to put individuals, bands and even single tracks into boxes?!!)
Much like 19 by Paul Hardcastle – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRJFvtvTGEk – The Dirty Fucking Hippies tells a story. But whilst Hardcastle’s masterpiece just looked at Vietnam, this track covers a multitude of subjects. War – and particularly Vietnam – is up there, but so is the environment, pollution, the power of multi-nationals, political corruption, Big-Pharma, the destruction of small town America, capitalism and so on. Remarkably it provides quite a lot of information about each subject matter. It’s also the first time I’ve heard the term ‘Banksters’ (a mixture of the words bankers and gangsters) on a track – but the term Banksters is a really great description of these vultures.
Whist listening to the track I realised that I know next to nothing about hippies. It made me want to find out about more about the origins and objectives of this counter-cultural movement from the 60s. The Dirty Fucking Hippies Were Right! also made specific references to the Vietnam war and also Abbie Hoffman who ‘baited’ the Banksters by throwing cash onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Again, it made me want to find out more about Vietnam – about which I know very little – and Abbie Hoffman – who I wouldn’t know, even if I pulled him out of my stew!
It’s not very often that listening to one track opens up so many other avenues of further study. I’d highly recommend that you listen to the track and take in its core message. At 6 mins 30 secs it’s longer than many tracks – but it’s well-worth the effort.
- Reviewed by John Field
Counter Culture 