📰 The Kids Are… / not necessarily alright – Feature: Mar. 1975

A two‑page New Musical Express cultural critique examining how 1970s rock drifted from the radical ideals of the 1960s into commercial spectacle, generational confusion, and self‑congratulatory cool.

Published on March 1, 1975, this two‑page NME feature argues that rock music has lost its revolutionary edge, becoming absorbed into the establishment it once challenged — a shift reflected in artists like Alice Cooper, David Bowie, and the fading countercultural icons of the previous decade.

📰 Key Highlights

Two‑page cultural essay in New Musical Express, Mar. 1, 1975

Written by Mick Farren, one of rock journalism’s most provocative voices

Critiques the commercialization and depoliticization of 1970s rock

Contrasts 1960s activism with 1970s spectacle and escapism

Includes photographs of Alice Cooper, David Bowie, and Bob Dylan

Frames rock as a closed circuit of “self‑congratulatory cool”

Explores generational disillusionment and cultural fragmentation

📰 Overview

By 1975, rock music had undergone a profound transformation. The utopian dreams of the 1960s — civil rights marches, anti‑war protests, communal idealism — had given way to a decade defined by glam theatrics, corporate tours, and a growing disconnect between artists and audiences.

This two‑page NME feature captures that shift with unusual clarity. Mick Farren, himself a veteran of the counterculture, dissects the ways in which rock had become absorbed into the very establishment it once sought to disrupt. The article is both critique and lament: a recognition that the revolutionary promise of rock had been diluted by fame, money, and spectacle.

The companion page, “not necessarily alright,” expands the argument, examining how authenticity, rebellion, and generational identity had become muddled in a decade of stylistic excess and commercial pressure.

📰 Source Details

Publication / Venue: New Musical Express

Date: March 1, 1975

Issue / Format: Two‑page cultural feature

Provenance Notes: Based on the provided scans and NME’s 1975 editorial style.

📰 The Story

The feature opens with a stark thesis: the ideals of the 1960s have been “sold out,” replaced by a limp, commercialized version of rebellion. Farren argues that rock has become:

less political

less dangerous

less connected to real social struggle

more theatrical, more profitable, more detached

• Rock Becomes Establishment

Farren writes that rock is no longer a threat or a challenge — it has become a “closed circuit of self‑congratulatory cool.” The music is slick, professional, and plentiful, but no longer revolutionary.

• The Split Between Rich and Poor

The article traces the historical divide between the music of the working class and the music of the affluent, arguing that by the mid‑1970s, rock had drifted decisively toward the latter.

• The Icons of the 1970s

The photographs reinforce the argument:

Alice Cooper — “more to do with dollars than Dada?”

David Bowie — “libido liberation or irrelevant role‑playing?”

Bob Dylan — “They don’t make ’em like this anymore,” a symbol of lost authenticity

These images serve as visual commentary on the decade’s contradictions.

• Generational Disillusionment

The companion page, “not necessarily alright,” expands the critique to include:

the commodification of rebellion

the rise of rock as escapism rather than activism

the fading of the 1960s counterculture

the emergence of new, uncertain identities in youth culture

The tone is reflective, critical, and tinged with nostalgia for a time when music felt like a genuine force for change.

📰 Visual Archive

Two‑page New Musical Express cultural critique, March 1, 1975 — “The Kids Are…” and “not necessarily alright.”

📰 Related Material

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📰 Closing Notes

This two‑page NME feature stands as a sharp snapshot of mid‑1970s cultural anxiety — a moment when rock’s revolutionary promise seemed to fade into theatricality, commercialism, and generational confusion. It captures the tension between nostalgia for the 1960s and the uneasy realities of the decade that followed.

📝 Copyright

© 1975 New Musical Express / IPC Magazines.

Reproduced here for archival, research, and educational purposes.

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