IRB Media Summary of Ronald Brownstein's Rock Me on the Water

Annotation

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 Los Angeles in 1974 was a center of pop culture. The city was the birthplace of the New Wave in Hollywood, the smooth Southern California sound that ruled the album charts and radio airwaves, and many other innovations.#2 Los Angeles had several periods of great film, television, and music production, but the early 1970s was the pinnacle of these industries. The art produced in Los Angeles was socially engaged, grappling with the changes and critiques of American life that had rumbled through society during the 1960s.#3 The city of Los Angeles, which was not yet a liberal stronghold, became the center of cultural opposition to Nixon's presidency. The artists of Los Angeles offered an alternative to the martial and material consensus of Nixon's America.#4 In Los Angeles, the city was not yet a cosmopolitan metropolis. The social elite mingled at a small collection of A-list restaurants, and the music scene revolved around a modest roster of clubs.