Post #67978 by thejab on Tue, Jan 6, 2004 5:17 PM

*On 2004-01-06 16:04, tikibars wrote:*Is it a problem to just like good music, good times, good people, and not pigeonhole yourself? Can't someone have their own identity without having to march under the banner of being a Mod or a Trekkie, or a Goth?

Absolutely not. In the time of a week or 2 I often will attend a "mod" dance event, a rockabilly show, a punk show, and a tiki get-together. And I have a good time at all of them.

But I can't see anything wrong with being part of a group either. Our whole childhood we are formed into not having an identity by our society. Everyone has enourmous pressure while growing up to just conform and be the same as everyone else. Joining a group is often the only way to break away from society's rules in some way, even if it's not totally original (someone's always done it before you) or independent (in a way you're just conforming to a different set of rules). Still, I would rather see punk, goth, or mod kids here and there than see everyone dressing the same and listening to the same music.

I can't deny that some of the best days of my life were spent as a mod. I cut my hair, started wearing 60s clothes, and bought a Lambretta after seeing Quadrophenia because I felt like it was the kind of lifestyle I was waiting for all my life. I was terribly bored before I became a mod with hearing Van Halen music and wearing OP shirts. I hadn't discovered punk yet when I saw Quadrophenia (I had only heard the B52s, Blondie, and the Talking Heads) and I only went to see the film because I liked the Who.

After about a year I ran into a couple guys at a punk show that were dressed in 60s clothes. It turned out they had been inspired in the same way. Soon we met a few more and it just grew. I would have never had so many friends, or dated so many girls, if I had not become a mod. And I was into punk, rockabilly, and surf music all the time I was a mod.