In this episode, Dara finds himself stirred up after watching Trainwreck, the Netflix documentary series about the ill-fated Woodstock festival of 1999, an event that went off the rails for a variety of reasons, not least among them the driving motives of the organisers, one of whom was Michael Lang, who was behind the original festival 30 years earlier.
Before revisiting the key factors of what went wrong, Dara recalls the circumstances that informed the first Woodstock festival and why it was inspired by a much more coherent counter-cultural movement that was a response to an America that desperately wanted change after the promise of the early 60s had been extinguished by bloody assassinations of epoch-defining figures and an overseas war that very few wanted.
Looking at the dominant demographic in attendance at Woodstock ’99, Dara examines the idea of changing zeitgeists and the inevitability of generational clashes around what is and isn’t cool. Into this mix he adds the issue of flawed father figures, young men at war, and the absence of meaningful rites of passage that signify a maturation to be proud of.
Throughout the episode Dara tries to weave a thread of disparate quotes from historic orators, thinkers and writers which he uses to illustrate some of his observations. He concludes with an extended piece from Joni Mitchell that he expects will impress.
Adam Buxton talks economics with Mariana Mazzucato: https://play.acast.com/s/18dcd5db-f898-42c6-ab31-3a1853c1a645/62ecd5e8e3ba3b00135d1dc1
Firsthand account of attending Woodstock ’99: https://screenrant.com/woodstock-99-documentary-accuracy-real-life-experience/
Joni Mitchell sings her song ‘Woodstock’ live on BBC in 1970: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRjQCvfcXn0