Rewind to 1969
The summer of love is a distant memory, but these things endured
The first email message was sent, man went to the moon and Woodstock rocked the summer of love. Gadgeteers were digging these…
Gadget – Seiko Quartz-Astron 35SQ
It’s a timekeeping technology we all take for granted, but it took Japanese watchmakers 10 years of non-stop tinkering to develop the world’s first quartz watch. Released on Christmas Day, 100 of the 18-karat timepieces sold in the first week. It cost the same amount as a car, but it was accurate to one minute a year.
Movie – Easy Rider
No one sticks it to the man better than doobie-smoking duo Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda. On a motorcycle journey that puts Ewan McGregor to shame, we are shown a vivid slice of counterculture life. With an appearance by Jack Nicholson and a killer soundtrack, Easy Rider defined the decade. We’d be lying if we said it didn’t look a bit dated now, mind.
Album – Led Zeppelin
The debut album of the world’s most commercially viable rock band took 36 hours to record and is considered a harbinger of the heavy metal genre. Like the bluesmen they were influenced by, the Zep were adept at musical theivery, but they brought it before a new audience and, backed with killer guitar riffs and punishing percussion, it was the start of a rock and roll legacy.
TV – Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
They didn’t know how to punctuate a question, but those meddling kids (and their eponymous craven dog) sure knew how to solve seemingly spooky goings on at creaky old mansions when the Mystery Machine broke down nearby. It was always the janitor.
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Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief