What're the best five songs of America's worst decade (1970s)?

Who killed the Kennedy's wrote:

survey says wrote:

Not from the 70's.

Saw them before it May of 79 in London .

It was recorded for Still album May of 80 .

Hence it is 1970s .

It's a great song, but there are others actually written and recorded in the '70s you could choose from.

headislikeasieve wrote:

all things considered wrote:

Earache My Eye - Cheech and Chong

Wow, can't believe anyone else even knows this song. It was my favorite at one point during my teen years in the 70s ....

"The world's comin' to an end, I don't even care. As long as I can have a limo and my orange hair."

Sounds like someone we know now, LOL

Every time I see someone wearing high heeled sneakers I think of it.

My take on the OPs mindset when posting this thread:

If the song charted in the '70s it is part of the soundtrack of the '70s

Stagflation wrote:

Long and Winding Road and Bridge over Troubled Water are '60s.

The Long and Winding Road was released May 11, 1970. Bridge was released January 26, 1970. Most people go with release date as the standard.

survey says wrote:

Who killed the Kennedy's wrote:

Saw them before it May of 79 in London .

It was recorded for Still album May of 80 .

Hence it is 1970s .

It's a great song, but there are others actually written and recorded in the '70s you could choose from.

What is your definition of the word actually ?

Of course if you choose to dwell enough on those negatives, then of course you can make the decade look bad. But you don't dispute any of the positives I pointed out in my previous post. I was a small kid in the 1970s so I was oblivious to anything going on in the wider world . But my parents' standard of living only increased throughout the 1970s. Over the years I've compared notes with others about their everyday lives in the 1970s and its generally positive. Watergate was historic but nobody was that disillusioned over it. The early 1970s represented a drastic draw down of troop levels that America was happy about. The Iranian revolution and hostage crises was no big deal in the big scheme of things. . quote]Stagflation wrote:

ryan foreman wrote:

I'm curious, do people actually believe the 1970s were so bad?

Its only come to my attention in recent years that many people really do believe that. Its absurd, nonsense.

I get it that the 1970s is a fun decade to tease and ridicule. But the fact is, the economy of the 1970s did fine by today's standards. Yes, inflation ran high. But wage inflation largely kept up with it unlike the decades that came after.

Culturally I would argue that the 1970s was better the 1960s or the 1980s. Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead were at their best in the 1970s. Springsteen released his best albums. The Stones were doing their best live performances in 1978. Bowie was doing his thing. Punk Music was better than anything that came after. The best and most innovative movies in history came out in the 1970s.

1. Watergate destroys all faith in American institutions/government

2. Loss in Vietnam, Iranian hostage crisis and strengthening Soviets cause America's decline on world stage

3. Extremely expensive energy, stagflation causing domestic economic woes

4. War on Drugs, Prop 13; roots of the disastrous "conservative revolution" of 1980s

5. Disco

I agree, there are some positives from that decade people ignore. Income equality was at its high-point, great films and songs were released, politics were still largely civil, the media was reliable/objective, race-relations were fine, sex was plentiful (pre-aids), college was cheap, running was in its golden age.

But all in all, the 1970s was a decade-long hangover from the drunken excesses of Pax Americana. And, in my opinion, we would've recovered had we not tried to cure ourselves with the "cocaine" of 1980s tax cuts, deregulation, and democratization.[/quote]

Obviously you're going to remember your childhood days positively...

Stagflation wrote:

70s punky funky wrote:

Need some Ramones on this list.

Dead Kennedys >>> Ramones

while that is debatable (Ramones clearly had a bigger influence). the DKs were really an 80s band. I don't think they even released anything in the 70s

ryan foreman wrote:

I'm curious, do people actually believe the 1970s were so bad?

Its only come to my attention in recent years that many people really do believe that. Its absurd, nonsense.

I get it that the 1970s is a fun decade to tease and ridicule. But the fact is, the economy of the 1970s did fine by today's standards. Yes, inflation ran high. But wage inflation largely kept up with it unlike the decades that came after.

Culturally I would argue that the 1970s was better the 1960s or the 1980s. Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead were at their best in the 1970s. Springsteen released his best albums. The Stones were doing their best live performances in 1978. Bowie was doing his thing. Punk Music was better than anything that came after. The best and most innovative movies in history came out in the 1970s.

I lived through it. The 70s were pretty bad. The only good memories were the fact that you could still leave your doors unlocked and let your kids run around the neighborhood without watching them like a hawk. But the economy was pretty terrible. Interest rates spiked to stop inflation and no one could sell their house. There was a pretty bad recession from 1973-75. Gas shortages had people waiting in line. The Vietnam war roiled in the early 70s. The US was embarrassed by the Iran hostage crisis. Tensions with the USSR were at their worst. Unemployment exploded during the 70s as the US auto industry went into decline and cheap foreign made goods flooded the US. Wages did not keep up with inflation. That is what "stagflation" is. Stagnant growth + inflation.

Yes, there were some great cultural icons at work in the 70s. Early 70s were a renaissance for American filmmakers. There was a lot of good music and ground breaking stuff like Punk, metal and early new wave. But by and large, 70s culture was dominated by disco, bad hair and terrible fashion. Funky mid century modern designs in architecture and decor gave way to bland contemporary and post modern garbage. I cannot look at a single picture from family picture albums and think "boy did we look good back then."

Fndbzvx wrote:

Dod they even have music in the 70s? There wasnt computers to make it with

Oh they had computers making pop music as far back as 1972. Here is one of the first. Popcorn by Hot Butter

WALTER MURPHY- A Fifth of Beethoven must beon someones list

Agree with others that the 70's was my FAVORITE decade for music! My five:

1. I Came to Dance: Nils Lofgren

2. Born to Run: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

3. L.A. Freeway: Guy Clark

4. Powderfinger: Neil Young

5. Solisbury Hill: Peter Gabriel

" I cannot look at a single picture from family picture albums and think "boy did we look good back then."

But look at the color combinations we could wear. Not just on the same outfit but on individual articles of clothing! A rainbow of colors. Man we could look groovy!

I'm glad someone put a Trower song in there. The seventies encompassed a lot of genres. There was some crap music but there was also some really good stuff through the entire decade from start to finish. Heck, Hendrix and Morrison were still alive for a bit at the beginning.

I can't stick to five....

1) Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits

2) The Passenger by Iggy Pop

3) Bloody Well Right by Supertramp

4) War Pigs by Sabbath

5) Machine Gun by Jimi Hendrix (from band of gypsies album released March 1970, performed New years so that's cutting it close but it still counts as most people had access to it after march).

6) Saturday Night Special by Lynyrd Skynyrd. (Yes, I know there's Freebird but I like the grittiness of this song).

7) Sails of Charon by the Scorpions (along with Lots of songs by the Scorpions who I think were at their best in the 70's. Listen to the live album Tokyo Tapes from 1979 and if that album doesn't stir anything in you, then you are dead)

8) Black Dog by Zep

9) Brick House by the Commodores

10) Mighty Mighty by Earth Wind and Fire

And so much more.....

That's pretty much how I remember that decade, too. The running boom was kind of neat, though. And, as you and others have indicated, the early '70s were a great renaissance for American filmmakers. (In fact, as I type this, I'm listening to a lecture on '70s films, particularly those of Robert Altman. ("McCabe & Mrs. Miller" and "The Long Goodbye" are two of my all-time favorites of any era.) The mid-'70s brought in the "summer blockbusters," notably "Jaws" and later "Star Wars" -- perfectly decent movies, for what they were, but ushering in a period of big-budget, mass-appeal action/fantasty/superhero sameness that continues to this day.