Rock Me on the Water: 1974—The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television and Politics
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- Create Date：2021-03-31 11:14:17
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Ronald Brownstein
- ISBN：006289921X
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Summary
In this exceptional cultural history， Atlantic Senior Editor Ronald Brownstein tells the kaleidoscopic story of one monumental year that marked the city of Los Angeles’ creative peak， a glittering moment when popular culture was ahead of politics in predicting what America would become。
Los Angeles in 1974 exerted more influence over popular culture than any other city in America。 Los Angeles that year， in fact， dominated popular culture more than it ever had before， or would again。 Working in film， recording， and television studios around Sunset Boulevard， living in Brentwood and Beverly Hills or amid the flickering lights of the Hollywood Hills， a cluster of transformative talents produced an explosion in popular culture which reflected the demographic， social， and cultural realities of a changing America。 At a time when Richard Nixon won two presidential elections with a message of backlash against the social changes unleashed by the sixties， popular culture was ahead of politics in predicting what America would become。 The early 1970s in Los Angeles was the time and the place where conservatives definitively lost the battle to control popular culture。
Rock Me on the Water traces the confluence of movies， music， television， and politics in Los Angeles month by month through that transformative， magical year。 Ronald Brownstein reveals how 1974 represented a confrontation between a massive younger generation intent on change， and a political order rooted in the status quo。 Today， we are again witnessing a generational cultural divide。 Brownstein shows how the voices resistant to change may win the political battle for a time， but they cannot hold back the future。
Los Angeles in 1974 exerted more influence over popular culture than any other city in America。 Los Angeles that year， in fact， dominated popular culture more than it ever had before， or would again。 Working in film， recording， and television studios around Sunset Boulevard， living in Brentwood and Beverly Hills or amid the flickering lights of the Hollywood Hills， a cluster of transformative talents produced an explosion in popular culture which reflected the demographic， social， and cultural realities of a changing America。 At a time when Richard Nixon won two presidential elections with a message of backlash against the social changes unleashed by the sixties， popular culture was ahead of politics in predicting what America would become。 The early 1970s in Los Angeles was the time and the place where conservatives definitively lost the battle to control popular culture。
Rock Me on the Water traces the confluence of movies， music， television， and politics in Los Angeles month by month through that transformative， magical year。 Ronald Brownstein reveals how 1974 represented a confrontation between a massive younger generation intent on change， and a political order rooted in the status quo。 Today， we are again witnessing a generational cultural divide。 Brownstein shows how the voices resistant to change may win the political battle for a time， but they cannot hold back the future。
Reviews
Suzanne
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I have mixed feelings about Ronald Brownstein’s ROCK ME ON THE WATER: 1974。 Brownstein is persuasive that the 1970’s was an extremely creative， productive period for Los Angeles， signaling a shift in the metro area as well as the entire country。 But the book itself reads like a series of well-researched magazine articles placed back-to-back and formed into a book。 Every time he mentions someone famous， he re-introduces them to readers。 Every time Joni Mitchell is mentioned， and it is often， she I have mixed feelings about Ronald Brownstein’s ROCK ME ON THE WATER: 1974。 Brownstein is persuasive that the 1970’s was an extremely creative， productive period for Los Angeles， signaling a shift in the metro area as well as the entire country。 But the book itself reads like a series of well-researched magazine articles placed back-to-back and formed into a book。 Every time he mentions someone famous， he re-introduces them to readers。 Every time Joni Mitchell is mentioned， and it is often， she is amazing， wonderfully talented and sleeping around。 There’s not a real discussion of her work just the repetition of the same points。 The book is filled with introductions of fascinating people and mini biographies。 But two chapters later， Brownstein will act as though they are new to the book and start over again with the introductions。 Perhaps the chapters were originally free-standing pieces， but greater integration was needed to make this book good。 Otherwise it’s just a list; well-researched and with a great idea， but a list nonetheless。 I received my copy from the publisher through edelweiss。 。。。more
Brandi Pearl Reynolds
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Very well written and informative， "Rock Me on the Water: 1974-The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies， Music， Television， and Politics" by Ronald Brownstein is educational， entertaining and detailed。 I would definitely recommend it to those interested in the history of the last century， especially the mid-seventies。 My copy of this book was won from a Goodreads giveaway and I appreciate the opportunity to read & review it。 Very well written and informative， "Rock Me on the Water: 1974-The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies， Music， Television， and Politics" by Ronald Brownstein is educational， entertaining and detailed。 I would definitely recommend it to those interested in the history of the last century， especially the mid-seventies。 My copy of this book was won from a Goodreads giveaway and I appreciate the opportunity to read & review it。 。。。more
Jennifer Schultz
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Read if you: Want a detailed look at an important year in movie， television， and music history。 I've noticed a slight increase in books that focus on one specific year （Can't Slow Down by Michaelangelo Matos， which focuses on pop music and 1984; next year will bring a book that focuses on 1996 sports history）。 This is an entertaining account of 1974， as well as the city of Los Angeles。 From the Eagles， to Jane Fonda's activism， the popularity of TV shows like All in the Family， MASH， and The Mar Read if you: Want a detailed look at an important year in movie， television， and music history。 I've noticed a slight increase in books that focus on one specific year （Can't Slow Down by Michaelangelo Matos， which focuses on pop music and 1984; next year will bring a book that focuses on 1996 sports history）。 This is an entertaining account of 1974， as well as the city of Los Angeles。 From the Eagles， to Jane Fonda's activism， the popularity of TV shows like All in the Family， MASH， and The Mary Tyler Moore Show， and movie stars such as Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson， 1974 brought about enormous cultural and political changes。 Librarians/booksellers: A great purchase for your entertainment and late 20th century history collection。 Many thanks to Harper and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
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