Post #523093 by tiki mick on Fri, Apr 9, 2010 2:40 PM

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The Beatles and other long hairs after them

All these and more happenings created disillusionment about old ways and inspired new modes of thinking and acting. This was a good, necessary way of maturing as human beings. It was just too bad that in the wake of it Tiki culture was not recognized for its unique qualities and left in the dust.

What other historic events -social, political, or cultural- can you think of that relegated Tiki to the old fart heap?

I have been saying it for a long time now....and I make enemies every time I say it! But it is something I firmly believe in!
The Beatles and other long hairs after them were the DEATH OF TIKI and LOUNGE CULTURE!

And that's a truly unfortunate thing, because the style, music, architecture and music was excellent.

really, I can't think of any other historic events that helped it's demise other then hippy-rock culture. The Hollywood celebs and other "cognoceti" who had previously been into Dave Brubeck now latched onto the stones and the Beatles as the next big thing. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Even artists I love like Frank Sinatra and Sergio mendes started playing Beatles songs. Of course, I like their versions better! (But that's another story).

Perhaps it was the adoption of youth pop/rock culture by Hollywood that helped kill Tiki and Lounge culture. We see how influencial hollywood still is, noteably in the world of Hip Hop. Hip Hop use to be an underground movement, now it is mainstream. Watch the Disney channel and see how many cartoons and characters are from the hip hop world. It's pervasive, and kills what came before it, same as rock music did.

I need to make a disclaimer, because I am separating the style of the 60's rock culture with an actual long hairsyle worn by many today. I have many friends who have long hair, so it is not about that, per se. Why, look at a guys like Spermy or Big Tiki Dude. They both have long hair, but are heavily into Tiki culture, and know and understand it and it's roots. So this is not anti-fashion, ok? If you have long hair, don't be offended by what I am writing.

It's just that the old lounge scene was a vital and wonderful scene, in a wonderful time period. The generation gap between that and what came after could not be deeper or sharper, as Sven pointed out. Why is that?

Start with slogans like "don't trust anyone over 30" and go from there.

Nowadays, you watch a show like "Icarly" (Yeah, I watch because of my daughter) and the characters use words like "Old Dudes" referring to anyone older then them. But these same old dudes can take their children to a rock concert and both young and old will enjoy the music. Just go on youtube and read the comments from so many kids liking old clips of REO Speedwagon, for example.

This kind of co-habitation never happened in the 60's. The Beatles wiped the past clean for these people, as sure as a Tsunami can wipe out a whole town like it never existed. Sad, really, because they killed Arthur Lyman in the process!