I.G.Y.

Standing tough under stars and stripes
we can tell
this dreams in sight.
You've got to admit it
at this point in time that it's clear
The future looks bright.

One aspect of my recently birthed quest to enjoy the aesthetic things of life more, is spending time with music. In thinking about the blog-template question under "profile" of "favorite music", I realized it has been a very long time since I intentionally listened to anything, not even my favorites. And not being an "early adopter" in terms of tech toys (more like a reluctant, late, catcher-upper) I'm as much as 2 formats behind with lots of my music collection. (No, I don't have 8-tracks.) I have a fair amount of vinyl LP stuff that I couldn't listen to with my current equipment if I wanted to. I also have alot of cassette-only music-still of use in my cassette only car, but I rarely do so. Partially updating to CD has made me feel progressive-"with it". But today, of course, CDs are quickly becoming the new 8-track as digital downloads take over the musical software scene. I must admit, I love my I-pod and I-tunes (although I frequently have to ask one of my boys "How do I...?" They always know.) Just as I begin to feel smuggly modern, the boys talk about "Bit-torrent" and "file sharing" sights that I know not-one-thing about. I'll stop at I-tunes for a while and catch my breath before I progress further.

On that train all graphite and glitter
undersea by rail
ninety minutes from New York to Paris
well by seventy-six we'll be A-OK.
What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free
Here at home we'll play in the city
powered by the sun.
Perfect weather for a streamlined world
there'll be Spandex jackets-
one for everyone.
Anyway....The other day I was looking through my meager CD collection for one of my all-time favorite albums (is that still a valid term? Or is it like my stepfather referring to, say, Led Zeppelin as an "orchestra"?) Donald Fagen's 1982 The Nightfly. Donald Fagen, as everyone except those who call Led Zeppelin an orchestra, knows is/was half of Steely Dan. I did not find it. I'm not 100 % certain I ever had it, but I don't now. (CDs, like socks, drinking glasses that are part of matched sets, sunglasses, and, once, 8-tracks are subject to Spontaneous Dissipation wherein they revert back to to separate, individual molecules and no longer exist as themselves in our universe.) So being the techno-savvy hipster that I am, I bought it again from I-Store.
The Nightfly is a "theme" album, in that all the songs are snapshots of the late 50s early 60s period. For instance there is a song about a teen's party in his parents backyard bomb shelter; another is a remake (more a salute than a copy) of Dion's Ruby Ruby. There's a song about being in Cuba as Castro is about to come to power, and one about escaping back to Miami in a motorboat. The first song on side 1 (isn't that anachronistic) is called I.G.Y.-International Geophysical Year (some lyrics of which are strewn through this post). The song lists some of the predictions futurists of that period made for the far-off end of the century period. Fagen, of course, was, correctly more concerned with rhyme, rhythm, and musicality than with an accurate recounting of those predictions. So, I decided, after listening to the newly downloaded recording, to investigate I.G.Y. and see what it's all about, Alphie.
International Geophysical Year, I learned, was a very real event, but it had nothing to do with "futurists" or visions of lifestyle 35 years in the future! I.G.Y. was, in fact, an international assemblage of scientists from 67 countries over a one year period from 1957 into 1958. The goal of the 200 some scientists was to research areas such as seismology, gravity, oceanography-a total of 12 scientific disciplines, most sort of falling into the "earth science" basket. So, not finding any forecasts of sun-powered cities or undersea trains I continued digging (meaning Googling) to find such visions. I found thousands! There are lots and lots of magazine article reprints, newspaper clippings, and advertising from the late 50's thru mid 60's offering ideas that surely will have come to pass by the year 2000. A few...
......will we find planets with only...vegetable life or...robots controlled by super-intelligent beings? (Walt Disney)
....bankers envision nationwide system...identification card in place of checks or cash...(1968 Cashless Society, Jack Leffler) .
...by 2000 our houses will move with us when we change locations, just as our furniture does today...assembled of interlocking rooms...(Chris J. Witting, Westinghouse)
....the kitchen of tomorrow does everything but put the cat out...dishwashing becomes a pleasure...the "little woman's" work can be done while seated....(!!!!!!!!!!)
....disposable clothes...just around the corner...American public is still hamstrung by the idea that waste is bad...(1961) (!!!!!!!!!!)
.....physiologist sees mile run in 3:41 by the year 2000....[record in 2000 was 3:43.13]
....it's my opinion....readjust...concepts of what a person should do with his life...used to believe work was ennobling, virtuous...different attitude because there is not going to be all the jobs that used to be...(Chet Huntley, '66 radio documentary)
There are lots more, but this is turning into the post that never ends. But I must make one observation. There are many, many ideas in these predictions regarding labor saving devices, or time saving devices, or innovations in travel and housing and entertainment. Some are close to correct (microwave ovens, cell phones, personal computers) some are absurd (jetpacks, domed cities). But I found NOTHING indicating forethought or even thought about evolving social structure. Mrs. Jetson (Jane?) still stays home like Beaver's Mom (June) and doesn't drive. In the various homes of the future I found the kitchen and shopping are the domains of the "little lady" while the man earns the dough, and pays the bills. And, apparently, from 100 % of the futurist literature I perused, the future is all white. How ironic, as I type this on my "personal computing device" at my desk at Spacely Sprockets we are this very day honoring the life of a black American, and in less than 24 hours we will have a black President! That, in 1960, would perhaps have been met with more incredulity than colonizing Mars.

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free
jls