I’ve posted a few of these before (see bottom of thread for a short handful), but being that this one is extra chunky (19 minutes!), I thought it was worth including.
From the vantage point of 2017, New York City in 1976 looks as gritty and colorful as you might imagine it should, but it also still looks fairly familiar. When this was being shot on Super 8 film, it is the year of the Bicentenial. Abe Beame is still mayor. Son of Sam is still at large. The DNC is being held at Madison Square Garen. Punk Rock is percolating down on the Bowery. Broadway is in thrall to the charms of “The Wiz” and “A Chorus Line.”
Personally speaking, I am 9 years old and living and attending school as a fifth grader on the Upper East Side. I am still recovering from the cancellation of the “Planet of the Apes” TV series, but I’m all psyched up about a movie called “Logan’s Run.” “Star Wars” has not come out yet, but that will shortly change everything. Music-wise, I share my older sister’s adoration for Mothership Connection by Parliament, and I have long since absconded with her copy of A Night at the Opera by Queen. Despite multiple, limp admonitions from my parents, I have cultivated a fervent apprecation for the charms of Kiss, and Destroyer is, to my mind, at the time, the single greatest achievemnt of mankind writ large. This impression will change over time.
The footage beneath seems so familiar, that I half expect to see myself captured playing in Central Park or sitting on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum. I also thrilled to catch a momentary glimpse of the old Sam Goody on Sixth Avenue (which I spoke about way back here).
Enjoy the time warp…
More stuff like this:
The Search for the White Whale
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