Everything was better in.....

[Nicko]

According to [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/284943-have-we-all-become-wimps-or-is-it-a-sign-of-an-ageing-population/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/284943-have-we-all-become-wimps-or-is-it-a-sign-of-an-ageing-population/[/url] everything was better in the 70s.

As a child growing up in the 70s I can safely say from my point of view Haircuts, Music, Cars, Summer holidays and Fashion were definitely not. By the end of the 70s I'd had a few illicit half pints of ale, and that definitely wasn't better either. And the food was pretty ropey, especially if you wanted something exotic like a Vesta curry.

I'm coming round to the conclusion that of my 5 decades the noughties was actually the best, at least until 2008. How free we were spending other peoples money. What a fantastic mix of cultures we enjoyed, we'd discovered wines of the new world, food of the new backpacker destinations and were gorging ourselves on a post punk indie revolution that had jettisoned the worst of britpop.

Or maybe its an age thing.

[discreet]

I don't usually link to the Daily Mail Online, honest Guv, but...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2361857/Why-1978-year-world-good-We-perfect-balance-wealth-work-happiness.html

[operative451]

The 70s sucked. Ok, i was a kid, but i hated it. All the adults smoked, and then beat their kids for being soft by having asthma. You had to sit in the back of a ford cortina because you were a kid, but they didn't have seatbelts and as all the adults drank all the time too, you got bounced around all over the place. Fortunately the cars were so slow you were unlikely to actually die. There were 3 TV channels but at least one was on strike at any one time. And there were probably paedos presenting the programs.

80s? Still a bit crap but improved. Technology was starting to work, people were actually getting the idea that racism and sexism were a bad idea, and the Young Ones was on the telly. The tascam 4 track was invented.

90s? Bit better. No minimum wage, the internet became a thing you could use. A whole bunch of musicians i liked killed themselves.

2000s? War. Without end. Big Brother. Digital TV. Star wars prequels.

2016? Tech is now so cheap you can get a mobile phone for £3.50. Same with clothes as primark exists. There is a permanent space habitat with a UK astronaut who goes on instagram. Planet's pretty knackered though and nobody seems to care.

The past is rubbish, why do you think we keep moving away from it? I like the future, if we're lucky it'll have spaceships in...

[discreet]

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1463491396' post='3051756']
...All the adults smoked, and then beat their kids for being soft by having asthma. You had to sit in the back of a ford cortina because you were a kid, but they didn't have seatbelts and as all the adults drank all the time too, you got bounced around all over the place. Fortunately the cars were so slow you were unlikely to actually die. There were 3 TV channels but at least one was on strike at any one time. And there were probably paedos presenting the programs...
[/quote]

See!? It was great!

There were also no mobile phones, no email, no internet, no CCTV, no UKIP and no lightweight bass gear! Men were REAL men, women were REAL women and small furry animals lived in fear.

Edited May 17, 2016 by discreet

[CamdenRob]

70s - Wasn't born...
80s - Was a small child... Was OK. Played with lego etc.... think my mum had a perm.
90s - Was a teenager... Was great. Played in bands, played computer games, got high all the time and never went to school.
00s - Had to work for a living... Was epically sh*t in just about every imaginable way
10s - ditto
20s - will be the same
30s - ditto
40s - Will be dead

[discreet]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1463491970' post='3051762']
70s - Wasn't born...
80s - Was a small child... Was OK. Played with lego etc.... think my mum had a perm.
90s - Was a teenager... Was great. Played in bands, played computer games, got high all the time and never went to school.
00s - Had to work for a living... Was epically sh*t in just about every imaginable way
10s - ditto
20s - will be the same
30s - ditto
40s - Will be dead
[/quote]

70s - Ages 10 - 19, lived in provinces. Music and weed. Happy days!
80s - Moved to London and made a big stack of cash. Happy days!
90s - Disillusionment, cocaine, fear and loathing
00s - Ages 40 - 50: Slightly grumpy
10s - Ages 50 - 59: Definitely grumpy - and probably more grumpy still towards end of decade
20s - Ages 60 - 69: Predict very grumpy indeed - then Alzheimer's & death.
30s - Who cares? I'll be brown bread.

Edited May 17, 2016 by discreet

[operative451]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSNSTerj2Kc[/media]

[discreet]

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1463493747' post='3051778']
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSNSTerj2Kc[/media]
[/quote]

Holy Mother of God! This was the first record I ever bought, aged 11.
The chorus bass line made me feel funny in my pants. At the front, this time...

Edited May 17, 2016 by discreet

[leftybassman392]

Ahem:
[b]'50s[/b]: (some have been around a while) Too young to remember much, but I do recall my dad being a gifted artist made to work as a bus driver to feed his family - took his frustrations out on them from time to time. Still, at least he wasn't an alcoholic...;

[b]'60s[/b]: Discovered recreational drugs and as a consequence don't remember much about this decade either. On the upside, I discovered rock music at the hands of Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane.

[b]'70s[/b]: Left home on my 20th birthday in 1973 at very short notice. My mum was devastated, and it still pains me to this day. Spent several years in the wilderness (on numerous counts). Punk music (which ought to have been right up my alley) passed me by completely. Saw the light for the first time in '76 and picked up on the education I had so precipitously cut short some years previously.

[b]'80s[/b]: Got my degree, trained to be a teacher and got a proper job at the age of 29.

[b]'90s[/b]: Saw the light for a second time, got out of a pretty good teaching job (head of department - the 3rd such posting) and lived the dream as, um, a guitar tutor . Didn't have two pennies to rub together for the next 13 years, but I was my own man and was happy (and without wishing to sound unduly immodest I was pretty good at it).

[b]'00s[/b]: Offered (and turned down) a nice teaching job and continued to be poor but happy. After years of spending money we didn't have I finally saw the light for the third and final time and set about getting the household finances in order.

'[b]10s[/b]: Major back injury and some psychological issues (that had been bubbling under for a while if I'm honest) put paid to the music career. More or less happily retired now. Sound domestic fiscal management (plus some good fortune courtesy of a substantial PPI payout) means that we are now completely debt free and with a nest egg that should allow us to see out our days in relative comfort. Hoping to live long enough to spend most of it too.

[RhysP]

There were a couple of years in the 80s that I thought were OK, all the rest of it has been sh*t.
The 21st century so far has been the worst of all of it & there's no sign of it getting any better.
Looking forward to death quite honestly.

[Geek99]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1463495362' post='3051788']
There were a couple of years in the 80s that I thought were OK, all the rest of it has been sh*t.
The 21st century so far has been the worst of all of it & there's no sign of it getting any better.
Looking forward to death quite honestly.
[/quote]
Being s kid in the 80s was rubbish compared to now
Clothes were awful, food was awful and tv was awful

Edited May 17, 2016 by Geek99

[Dave Vader]

There was a week back in 1996 that i was quite cheery, it passed though.

[Cato]

I'm very happy with now.

When I look back on my childhood in the 80's it's like some hazy black and white pre internet nightmare.

I almost feel privileged to have been born at a time that allowed me to witness the human race move into a new technological era, its like crossing over from the stone age to the steam age, all in a couple of decades.

Everythings better now, plus all that classic music from previous eras? It's never been so easy to find and listen to.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Cato

[Lw.]

I wasn't born in the 70's so don't know for certain but the music & fashion certain seemed better than today's.

80's were fine as a child.
90's were sh!t in every way, especially being poor
00's were quite fun whilst being devoid of anything culturally important
10's are ok, though working all day is boring
20's onwards, I can't see anything constructive happening

[leschirons]

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1463493747' post='3051778']
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSNSTerj2Kc[/media]
[/quote]

She lived opposite my sister.

[KevB]

Said it before, I was born about 10 years too late. I liked what I experienced in the 70's but it would have been so much better to have been old enough to have seen the likes of Yes, Deep Purple, Led Zep, Tull etc etc at their peaks in the early to mid 70's. I was only 9 in 1973, would have loved to be 19 in that year. By the time I was taking serious notice of music it was the rise of punk and music had, for me, turned quite crappy.

[SpondonBassed]

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1463493747' post='3051778']
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSNSTerj2Kc[/media]
[/quote]

I take your point. That really WAS rubbish.

[bartelby]

70s - Coventry. Cold winters and hot Summers, Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and Kate Bush
80s - bullied through school, Iron Maiden, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat and Thrash. Booze and drugs, Girls (late developer)
90s - More booze & drugs, Djing, left home and moved to Wales. Industrial and exprimental music
00s - More booze no drugs. Work, travel, marriage, home owning, exponential growth in numbers of bass. All kinds of music
10s - Still work, kids...

Obviously the past was more carefree as I had less commitments. Was I happier? Still haven't worked that bit out...

Edited May 17, 2016 by bartelby

[leschirons]

Born in the early 50's, and didn't have a bad childhood apart from an overbearing and verbally violent father.

60's Were cool, discovered smelly Afghan coats and music courtesy of older brother and started going to the Marquee every week. It was great. Met the wife and I had BIG hair.

70's Played loads of gigs as a drummer then switched to guitar. Music was great (I was into rock so plenty of it)

80's I loved the music but not the Club-Sport track suits that everyone seemed to be wearing. Started a business. Took up bass.

90's Company went well so wasted loads of money on exotic cars, guitars and Italian restaurants. Loved every minute and no regrets.

00's Kids left home so we decided to move to France.

10's Still here and although we miss family and old friends, probably won't go back due to all the crap you lot have to put up with on a daily basis.

I don't see it as remembering the past and waxing lyrical about the "good old days" so much as just realising I enjoyed what was the present time, at the time.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1463491396' post='3051756']
80s? Still a bit crap but improved. Technology was starting to work, people were actually getting the idea that racism and sexism were a bad idea, and the Young Ones was on the telly. The tascam 4 track was invented.
[/quote]

There were Tascam 4-tracks in the 70s. Even the Portastudio.

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1463491396' post='3051756']
2016? Tech is now so cheap you can get a mobile phone for £3.50. Same with clothes as primark exists. There is a permanent space habitat with a UK astronaut who goes on instagram. Planet's pretty knackered though and nobody seems to care.
[/quote]

The planet's fine. It's just the human infestation that needs sorting out.

[Twincam]

I've had a pretty hard life with some horrific experiences along the way, some have been well documented.
And all I can think is some of you lot really really need to lighten up.

[ColinB]

The 70s were great. I was born in 1960 so Glam Rock was my intro to music and punk was my later teenage years. I got to see lots of great bands (Thin Lizzy, Sabbath, Quo etc) - a great, carefree time to be a teenager.

[leftybassman392]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1463499603' post='3051845']
I've had a pretty hard life with some horrific experiences along the way, some have been well documented.
And all I can think is some of you lot really really need to lighten up.
[/quote]

I'm happy. Look:



It's just people documenting stuff from their lives, if it's crappy then it's down to them to say so if they want, and (if I may be so bold) not your place to criticise. Life isn't always happy clappy (as you seem to know already), so why make it seem so?

[Twincam]

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1463500946' post='3051858']


I'm happy. Look:



It's just people documenting stuff from their lives, if it's crappy then it's down to them to say so if they want, and (if I may be so bold) not your place to criticise. Life isn't always happy clappy (as you seem to know already), so why make it seem so?
[/quote]

Wasn't necessarily a critism.
Just why not title the thread it was crap in the past and let me tell you about that. Surely it would be better to have more balanced opinion sometimes. But some members have basically said everything was crap and we should top ourselves as the present is crap and the future will be crap too.
I would like to hear about good times as well as the bad things.

Let's look at past times that were good. Music shops, people talking to each other face to face, more bands being formed, new music on actual instruments being discovered, more live acts etc etc.

[bobpalt]

Born in the 50's. Can't remember much except playing on bomb sites and being locked in my bedroom every night so I didn't wake my parents in the morning. They were fine, just very strict.
1960's. Joined the Freddie and The Dreamers fan club, discovered The Beatles and Manchester United (I lived in Old Trafford), Subbuteo and speedway. Life was great.
1970's. Discovered girls, A levels and curry. Work then spoilt everything for 40 years. Still no mention of a musical instrument. Got married.
1980's. More work, got moved to Gloucestershire (nice), hated the music, discovered Steeleye Span and Folk Rock. Excellent.
1990's. Changed jobs a couple of times. Tried self employment but was pants at it. Paid everyone on time except me. Dabbled with guitar. Discovered I could cook.
2000's. Picked a bass up for the first time. Later that week played my first gig to 80 people with every (root) note written down in front of me. Loved it. Band got better, played lots of weddings etc., and got paid quite well. Changed job again so home working, got much fatter as a result. Still enjoying Man Utd.
2010's. Who could have thought that Van Gaal could totally ruin my life like this? I hate football now, and it's all his fault.

Edited May 17, 2016 by bobpalt