While the age-old image of "mods vs. rockers" wars was largely tabloid nonsense, it really does appear that the hip thing to do in the 60s was to jump on your Vespa and go see a Who show. Which is just absurd.
It's possible I'm just prejudiced against rock 'n' roll being played in suits. I remember being crushed when I found out Nation of Ulysses was a bunch of teenagers in nice outfits being assholes to people who wore jeans to their shows. But it's also telling that nothing from the "mod" culture has carried over to the present, while the evil "rockers" remain iconic figures to this day.
It's almost beyond debate that the only lasting artifact of the mods is their music, but even then, the fact that they were "mod bands" is negligible at best. The Who really only played to that style for an album or two, and bands like the Kinks, the Yardbirds, and the Stones were always aiming higher than the mods. Really, the only true mod band worth listening to are the Small Faces.
It's also worth mentioning that the Small Faces sound like every other mid-60s rock band--they're just a pretty good one. Surely no one would ever suspect them to be the soundtrack to a middling, over-hyped culture war. Aside from the (slightly overrated) psychedelic classic Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake and that visceral feedback solo on "What'cha Gonna Do About It," there's nothing particularly groundbreaking about their career. It's fairly generic stuff, and in my opinion, the best thing they did was form the rhythm section for the Faces. But what do I know.
The mods clearly aren't for me (unless we're talking about the Back From the Grave-Mods--they're pretty cool). But clearly they were for someone, because for some reason there have been multiple "mod revivals"--the most recent of which seems to have influenced such breathtakingly mediocre bands as Oasis and Kaiser Chiefs. There's also a school of thought that ties the mod revival to the ska revival of Madness and the Specials fame. If that's true, then hey--they did something right. Beyond that, you can just call me a rocker, and if the war against the mods ever decides to kick up again, I'll see you on the battlefield.
Note: I'm back. Decided to start writing again. Got pretty goddamn sad around January, and the blog was the first thing to go while I went on a little wallowing spree. Weather's getting warmer and I'm feeling like a real person again, so I'm back to doing stuff. Brewing beer, exercising, updating the blog--whoa! Living life! Exciting stuff!
