Back in early 2020, as we were all locking down for the first time and trying to work out what the hell this 'coronavirus' thing was, someone left a pile of books in the front of their house with a note saying 'please take'. I picked up a book called In Search of the Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea by Danny Goldberg. (The title is borrowed, seemingly without acknowledgement, from a 1968 album by The Moody Blues). Goldberg is a 50-year veteran of the US music industry, managing and publicising musical acts including Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle and The Hives. Although he wasn't strictly 'there' in 1967 - that was the year he finished school, and he entered the music business in 1968 - he was very close, and worked and socialised closely with many of its movers and shakers. Then again, having 'been there' is a somewhat nebulous idea. It's not just that, as many people are credited with saying, 'if you remember th...
"We are tiny specks of life wandering around the edge of this vast expanse of blue, and imagining ourselves on our blue planet can bring us both humility and comfort." Helen Czerski