TheDigitalGardener said:

They were beige as fuck.

Richard Pryor

The uniqueness of HORRIBLE DECOR!!!!!

As someone stated the orange and brown combo.

Can't forget about the avocado green and harvest gold appliances.

That God awful wallpaper

On a positive note...TUPPERWARE!!!!

The music was the absolute best during the 1970s. From funk, disco, pop, rock, lite rock, to country, variety, variety, and more variety was the word. The music was actually music and it was full of rhythm and fun. People got serious in some of their songs but music was still made as an outlet for escaping the day to day problems and just having some fun. It was for entertainment. I consider the early 1980s as an extension of the 1970s.

Televison was also at it's best. Like music, televison was full of variety from sitcoms, crime shows, dramas, science fiction, to music variety shows. And Saturday mornings had cartoons on all three networks for hours. The 1970s was also the time when people started pushing the envelope and getting away from the fantasy world that very few real people lived in back in the "Leave It To Beaver" days. Shows like "All In The Family" exposed racism in a very comical way. Everyone had an Archie Bunker in their family so people could really relate to the show. And "The Family" sketches on "The Carol Burnett Show", which eventually led to "Mama's Family" in the 1980s were hilarious to us down South. Every one of us had a Thelma Harper, Eunice, and Ed in our family so we could really relate to those shows. TV wasn't afraid to show families arguing because everyone doesn't live like The Cleavers all happy all the time with minor problems and a happy ending. The 1970s also got rid of that rediculous foolishness of married couples sleeping in twin beds.

The 1970s were also a great time for modern technology. With the exception of the CD player, I can't think of any new inventions that have came out since the 1970s that weren't an expansion of something that already existed in the 1970s. Cell phones....no, take a look at the old "Charlie's Angels" episodes. Every one of them had a phone in their car. They looked like house phones except they were in the car. They just expanded on the idea and made them smaller throughout the years and also made them where you could take them anywhere. Computers...no, computers were around in the 1970s, they were just in businesses. They expanded also on that idea and eventually made them for individuals in their homes. Microwaves came out in the 1970s and also answering machines which eventually led to voice mail over the years. VCRs came out in the 1970s which eventually led to DVD players over the years.

As for fashion, I hated the fashion of the early to mid 1970s. All that double knit itching material, loud colors, and bell bottoms. I liked the fashion in the middle of the decade when disco came around and a lot of that hippie looking stuff went out. Clothes fit the body better and a lot of that big loose material on the legs left and started to fit more tapered down on the legs. And materials got better. Shine, shine, and more shine. Flashy and shiny materials such as satin, leather, velvet, and sequins. Anything with some shine to it, I love.

What was considered sexy back then was the best era of sexy ever. Women that were considered sexy had natural looking breasts and they weren't skinny and annorexic looking. They weren't fat but they had some natural meat on their bones. And men...oh hell...men were at their alltime sexiest in the 1970s! A hairy chested man was considered the ultimate in sexy back then and they wore their shirts open to flaunt their chest hair. And there wasn't any of these sissified looking shaved dicks either. They had extremely hairy dicks, hairy balls, and hair growing all in the crease of their legs and coming out of the bottom of their underwear onto their legs. Lord, I'm getting rock hard just thinking about it! Going swimming back then was the most ultimate fun also because most men wore those bikini bathing suits back then. Those little skimpy bathing suits with all that hair going into them from the top and coming out from the bottom and when they got wet, you could see their dick print, head and all, through the fabric sometimes. I used to love to see a man in a wet white bathing suit. I used to go swimming just to go dick watching.

debbiedean2 said:

The uniqueness of HORRIBLE DECOR!!!!!

As someone stated the orange and brown combo.

Can't forget about the avocado green and harvest gold appliances.

That God awful wallpaper

On a positive note...TUPPERWARE!!!!

I don't appreciate the horrible decor of that decade.

JowiiCoco said:

For one, there was no such thing as "retro" in the 70's.

Oh yes there was. Both "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley" were 1970s shows that were set in the 1950s.

RodeoSchro said:

As an aging hipster who was 11 - 20 in the '70's, let me tell you what I liked best.

1. The cars. The cars were the BOMB. Especially muscle cars. The Plymouth Superbird, the Mustang Shelby, the Chevrolet Camaro Z-28, the Dodge Challenger, the Pontiac Trans Am SD 455, the Plymouth Hemi' Cuda, the Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 - the list goes on and on. These are the most desirable and valuable performance cars on the market today. A '71 Hemi 'Cude convertible can go for as much as $2 million. Other cars were great, too. Personally, I think the 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix is the greatest two-door sedan ever built. But the cars were just awesome.

2. The music. Even Prince has referred to the '70's as the Golden Age of music. Rock and roll was never better (and, sadly, probably never will be). The '70's was the peak of the "Real music by real musicians" era. There were NO electronics, samplers, hard drives, or programmable anythings. If you wanted music, it had to be played by an instrument. So the players were way, WAY better than what we have today.

But it wasn't just their playing, it was their musicology. Since you had to be able to play, you naturally came to understand music theory - chords, melodies, harmonies, etc. And since you understood that, if you had even one iota of imagination, you expanded on what had been done in the '60's. That's why the music of the '70's still sounds fresh today. "Complicated" isn't necessarily the best word for it - maybe "developed" is a good adjective. I don't mean to offend, but there's no argument that music stopped progressing, and started REGRESSING, after about 1990. Call me a hater if you want, but the advent of rap and of electronics made making music way too easy, which killed music's development and growth. There aren't four popular artists from the last ten years that would have gotten record deals if they played that kind of crap in the '70's. They would have been laughed out of the building.

3. California was the nuts. It was exploding in every conceivable way. EVERYONE wanted to move to California, and whatever happened in California set the tone for every aspect of popular culture. Hollywood was the greatest symbol ever, and we had real movie stars that could act. The surf movement of the '60's had infused the entire country with the notion that life was groovy on the West Coast, and all you had to do was slap "California" on whatever you had, and it was a hit. This holds true today. Just look at the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Katy Perry. Every time they want to sell some records, they throw "California" in the title (especially the RHCP).

4. Fashion-wise, there really wasn't all that much going on. The '60's were the decade that blew everyone away with their clothes. About all the '70's will be remembered for are the disco outfits, which were OK. But if you've noticed, the stuff they wore in "Saturday Night Fever" never did come back around as a popular style, even though the music in it did.

5. Drugs and sex were much different. There wasn't much in the way of drugs in the beginning of the '70's, although that changed later on in the decade. My entire high school and half my college was in the '70's and about all there was out there drug-wise was pot. There were other drugs, sure, but very few people used them. I never knew anyone in high school or college that did heroin, LSD, speed or anything else hard. I only even heard of cocaine once, and that was in college.

As ZombieKitten said, there was no AIDS. There wasn't even herpes (davetherave, you were born too late). Those that participated in pre-marital sex had nothing to worry about that a shot of penicillin wouldn't cure right away. Oddly enough, though, I think that promiscuity among high school students is far more prevalent today than it was in the '70's. I don't think the attitude of boys has changed - they've always wanted the same thing. But nowadays, it seems being known as one who sleeps around isn't a detriment to the girls. In the '70's, if a girl got around and everyone knew about it, EVERYONE considered her a slut. The girls that gave it up tried their hardest to keep that a secret. Today, it doesn't seem that way. But maybe I'm just looking at that from a different perspective.

.

I hope this helps!

[Edited 6/12/11 6:32am]

Great description. I also love the look of the Cadillacs and Lincoln Town Cars of those days. Cars back then had their own unique look. Almost all cars look alike these days.

tinaz said:

Here is a pic of my brother and I in late 1970's... He has my roller skates Everything about this pic is so 70's! Look at the house decor!!

I still dont understand my hair.. I think its a shag..

[img:$uid]http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab320/vicantq/scan0021.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 6/12/11 6:52am]

Skating was real big back then. It was my favorite activity in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

And look at the wood paneling. I hated wood paneling. In the place I was before I moved into my apartment, it had wood paneling and it costs too much to renovate such I just painted over it and painted it white. I could still see those creases but by the time I got through hanging pictures and mirrors, it wasn't very noticeable.

ZombieKitten said:

AIDS was still unheard of

I've heard about some really early AIDS cases from the 70s, although I think they didn't start to really document the pandemic til the 1980s.

vainandy said:

tinaz said:

Here is a pic of my brother and I in late 1970's... He has my roller skates Everything about this pic is so 70's! Look at the house decor!!

I still dont understand my hair.. I think its a shag..

[Edited 6/12/11 6:52am]

Skating was real big back then. It was my favorite activity in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

And look at the wood paneling. I hated wood paneling. In the place I was before I moved into my apartment, it had wood paneling and it costs too much to renovate such I just painted over it and painted it white. I could still see those creases but by the time I got through hanging pictures and mirrors, it wasn't very noticeable.

Oh me too! I would spend HOURS in our garage with the radio on skating like I was a disco queen! I loved going to the roller rink... put my big comb and bonnie bell lip smacker in my back pocket and skate the nite away!

the 70's

at the age of 8 i used to go do grocery shopping with my sisters, we were often left home alone, and would either walk to school or catch public transport...... now this is unheard of

money seemed to go a long long way, compared to now…

we used to get hit at school by teachers

we used to go home and get belted

kids in the playground used to beat us up cause we were 'different' and teachers said nothing

we used to have 'fag' lollies... they looked like smokes, but were candy

we used to buy fire crackers and let them off where ever and when ever…. I often used throw downs 4 protection against playground bullies

most kids carried matches and or pocket knives

trying to recall something positive it not easy, except i remember the first ever colour tv we got... that was cool...

to b honest i try my hardest to forget the 70's being a kid back then really sucked 4 me

JerseyKRS said:

um, they were unique because of these awesome things:

wood panelling

mustaches

headbands

The Bronx in the late 70's

and The Ramones

Wood panelling! Like the Griswold´s car?

The Bronx.....Kool Herc...Bambaataa...Melle Mel...the Cold Crush....ahhhhhh.

Mustaches!

Don´t really care too much about the Ramones.

Can´t have a 70s thread without my childhood heroes:

KoolEaze said:

JerseyKRS said:

um, they were unique because of these awesome things:

wood panelling

mustaches

headbands

The Bronx in the late 70's

and The Ramones

Wood panelling! Like the Griswold´s car?

The Bronx.....Kool Herc...Bambaataa...Melle Mel...the Cold Crush....ahhhhhh.

Mustaches!

Don´t really care too much about the Ramones.

You can't get any more unique than this:

RodeoSchro said:

As an aging hipster who was 11 - 20 in the '70's, let me tell you what I liked best.

1. The cars. The cars were the BOMB. Especially muscle cars. The Plymouth Superbird, the Mustang Shelby, the Chevrolet Camaro Z-28, the Dodge Challenger, the Pontiac Trans Am SD 455, the Plymouth Hemi' Cuda, the Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 - the list goes on and on. These are the most desirable and valuable performance cars on the market today. A '71 Hemi 'Cude convertible can go for as much as $2 million. Other cars were great, too. Personally, I think the 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix is the greatest two-door sedan ever built. But the cars were just awesome.

2. The music. Even Prince has referred to the '70's as the Golden Age of music. Rock and roll was never better (and, sadly, probably never will be). The '70's was the peak of the "Real music by real musicians" era. There were NO electronics, samplers, hard drives, or programmable anythings. If you wanted music, it had to be played by an instrument. So the players were way, WAY better than what we have today.

But it wasn't just their playing, it was their musicology. Since you had to be able to play, you naturally came to understand music theory - chords, melodies, harmonies, etc. And since you understood that, if you had even one iota of imagination, you expanded on what had been done in the '60's. That's why the music of the '70's still sounds fresh today. "Complicated" isn't necessarily the best word for it - maybe "developed" is a good adjective. I don't mean to offend, but there's no argument that music stopped progressing, and started REGRESSING, after about 1990. Call me a hater if you want, but the advent of rap and of electronics made making music way too easy, which killed music's development and growth. There aren't four popular artists from the last ten years that would have gotten record deals if they played that kind of crap in the '70's. They would have been laughed out of the building.

3. California was the nuts. It was exploding in every conceivable way. EVERYONE wanted to move to California, and whatever happened in California set the tone for every aspect of popular culture. Hollywood was the greatest symbol ever, and we had real movie stars that could act. The surf movement of the '60's had infused the entire country with the notion that life was groovy on the West Coast, and all you had to do was slap "California" on whatever you had, and it was a hit. This holds true today. Just look at the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Katy Perry. Every time they want to sell some records, they throw "California" in the title (especially the RHCP).

4. Fashion-wise, there really wasn't all that much going on. The '60's were the decade that blew everyone away with their clothes. About all the '70's will be remembered for are the disco outfits, which were OK. But if you've noticed, the stuff they wore in "Saturday Night Fever" never did come back around as a popular style, even though the music in it did.

5. Drugs and sex were much different. There wasn't much in the way of drugs in the beginning of the '70's, although that changed later on in the decade. My entire high school and half my college was in the '70's and about all there was out there drug-wise was pot. There were other drugs, sure, but very few people used them. I never knew anyone in high school or college that did heroin, LSD, speed or anything else hard. I only even heard of cocaine once, and that was in college.

As ZombieKitten said, there was no AIDS. There wasn't even herpes (davetherave, you were born too late). Those that participated in pre-marital sex had nothing to worry about that a shot of penicillin wouldn't cure right away. Oddly enough, though, I think that promiscuity among high school students is far more prevalent today than it was in the '70's. I don't think the attitude of boys has changed - they've always wanted the same thing. But nowadays, it seems being known as one who sleeps around isn't a detriment to the girls. In the '70's, if a girl got around and everyone knew about it, EVERYONE considered her a slut. The girls that gave it up tried their hardest to keep that a secret. Today, it doesn't seem that way. But maybe I'm just looking at that from a different perspective.

.

I hope this helps!

[Edited 6/12/11 6:32am]

i was only 10 in 1970 but i do remember the sweetish smell of mary jane floating on the air in random parks and walkways, wafting on the summer breezes along with the smell of grilling hot dogs and brats. back then everyone was doing it and the smoke from woodstock stayed in the air for years after 1969.... i asked dad what the heck was that stuff and he told me when you're older, which was a key phrase for ask me later and hope you get an answer cause he sure didn't volunteer any information about weed when i got older.

honestly, as i remember even the early 1970s were rife with drug use. certainly timothy leary and his pals were turning on, tuning in and dropping out in the 1960s. heck, that isht began the entire counterculture movement and even at the tender age of 8 i knew what the beatles were referring to when they sang about lucy in the sky with diamonds. although, obtaining a clear definition of what it meant did take a couple of tries, since my older brother kept telling me there was a flight attendant for Pan Am who wore sparkly things.

ah. the 70s. i used to think, like other young girls my age back then, that it was only a matter of time until the Equal Rights Amendment would actually be enacted into legislation. (Ha!) it was a time when women felt free to burn their bras since we all knew we would be equal partners in our own futures. it was an era of hope, above all, and an age when things just seemed to be getting better.

[Edited 6/13/11 10:34am]

I didn't realise the 70s were unique until I left them and was in the 80s

I liked the 70s more now than when I was in the 70s.

Muhammad Ali "The Greatest"

Here are two major wins of many fights Muhammad Ali won.

The Rumble in the Jungle (1974)

Thrilla in Manilla (1975)

He is considered as "one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time."

(I wish I could post his pix, my computer needs updating)

No freakin' reality shows!

(other than PBS)

How did people manage without Lady Gaga? I would die.

Random thoughts . . .

The 70's, for all of the oil shocks, tragedies, crises, malaise, et cetera, seemed to me to be a time of transition. The postwar movements that began in the 50's were taking root. Politics as we "knew" them were changing. Global politics was kind of recalibrating in ways not appreciated until years later. Technology was changing.

People who grew up in the 70's, like me, remember a lot about the transitions. My folks were young, and had grown up in the segregated South and being in college during the late 60's. That made those eras more "immediate" to me, and now, they're treated in some ways as distant memories. I can remember leaded gas and 8-tracks. There are a lot of other examples of how during the 70's was moving into the future while pretty rooted in the past. But here are a few cultural things I can say about the uniqueness of the 70's:

1. It may be the most integrated era in the history of television.

2. Its musical legacy is as rich as that of ANY other decade in the 20th century. 70's music, on the whole, takes a back seat to nothing else. Every decade has its novelty songs and one-hit wonders. But beyond that, it was a great time for music.

3. The movies were fantastic. I didn't know a lot of them until after the decade. But the generation of directors and actors that came up during that time are icons. 15 of the AFI 100 were 70's flicks. Many others are classics.

Huge afros

long, yet dorky hair

Farrah's nipple

Bo's cornrows

plaid bell bottoms

wide ties

unbuttoned shirts, with gold medallions lost in chest hair

patches on your elbows

red white & blue

moms smoked while pregnant

ABC's Wide World of Sports

The Godfather

Stevie Wonder

Steve Martin was a comedian

NDRU born

Alej said:

How did people manage without Lady Gaga? I would die.

People lived off the artists she rips off to create her music?

What I remember best about the 70's besides the music, and the bell bottoms, and the drugs, San Francisco was the fact that you could go to a party in someone's home, and have a clean good time. Didn't have to worry about guns.

If you fought it was with your fist.

I was a disco queen

babynoz said:

And don't forget horoscopes, back then the first thing to ask when you met somebody was "what's your sign?"

Then of course you had your mood rings, streakers, pet rocks.

Does anybody remember earth shoes?

i do not have beads hanging in the doorway, nor is the carpeting underfoot that green shag. but ding diddly dang it to heck there is a lava lamp in the room here with me as i type this

Alej said:

How did people manage without Lady Gaga? I would die.

We had Elton John!

PDogz said:

Alej said:

How did people manage without Lady Gaga? I would die.

We had Elton John!

we had bowie!!! gaga is a pale imitation of david bowie

Cocaine and free sex were hip, which explained the polyester pantsuits.