June 25, 2000

10:29 AM

«Êtes-vous un mod ou un rocker?»At the earsplitting industry schmoozefest I attended this week (which I am forbidden to link to because I blogged it at one of my sites), I beelined toward the more interesting-looking people. One fella had a full-on mod look. I listen to the show Mods & Rockers on CIUT, and I claim to understand Blow-Up. But I was impressed as hell by an explanation of the origin of the terms mod and rocker. It's the sort of cultural introduction I wish more people would write – after you teach yourself what a concept is, you document that self-teaching for others. Hey, it's the Internet gift kulcha, innit? (Also: Mod films!)
posted by joeclark (1 comment total)

The films on show aren't representative at all. "Blow-Up", like "Austin Powers", is about 60s London and urban hipsterism: the mods/rockers culture was about coming from the provinces, and driving your Lambretta from the suburbs to the seaside for a bank holiday scrap, not about being shag-a-delic.

The definitive mod/rocker film: Quadrophenia.
posted by holgate at 11:54 AM on June 25, 2000