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The Swingin' 60s on the WWW
Groovy, Baby
By Devin D. O'Leary
JULY 20, 1998:
By my estimation, the 1970s dealt a blow to culture, fashion and
music so devastating that we have yet to fully recover. Sure,
there have been occasional fits of good taste, but they are few
and far between. The last time America was truly infused, top
to bottom, with coolness was in the mid-1960s. Coming out of the
drab culture famine of World War II, our country saw a postwar
explosion of clothing, movies, music, furniture, TV--all of which
were slathered in swank. Granted, I didn't emerge onto this planet
until the decade was fairly well put to bed by a queasy diet of
hippies, acid rock and Vietnam. That doesn't stop me from appreciating
the real 1960s in all their sharkskinned, tailfinned glory.
Thankfully, there are those out there who still carry the (tiki)
torch of 1960s coolness. Where are they? Where else.
Patio Culture (home.texoma.net/~kgreg)--Greg Knight apparently
lived through the tail end of the swingin'est decade. On this
groovy, pop-pastel colored homepage, he's assembled a loving tribute
to "suburban America of the 1960s." Greg's thesis revolves
around the concept of the patio--"Not just a place, but a
state of mind." There are some handy barbecuing tips, a nice
history of the backyard grill and plenty of nostalgic recipes
(like sausage and cheese strata, baked beans and Jello vegetable
salad-Mmmmmmm!). Greg doesn't just dwell on the backyard patio,
though. There are also pages here dedicated to '60s TV, the Cold
War and kid stuff (remember Major Matt Mason toys?). A newly added
exotica page explores the postwar appeal of tropical music (Martin
Denny lives!) and Polynesian restaurants (pork balls, anyone?).
Greg's got it all at Patio Culture--from the beautiful retro design
to the dead-on nostalgic reminiscences of this bygone era.
The Rat Pack Home Page (http://www.primenet.com/~drbmbay/)--Of
course, the very paragon of 1960 savior-faire was that
swingin' bunch of lounge lizards known as the Rat Pack. What would
the decade have been if not for the singing, acting and tabloid
fueling of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Joey Bishop
and Peter Lawford? This page contains not only a wealth of info
about the famous fivesome in question, but an entire Cadillac
full of tidbits on '60s culture. Everything you need to know to
go from hipster to hep cat is contained on these very pages. With
some finger-poppin' prose, some slick photographs and an abundance
of groovy links, the RPHP will clue you with the complete history
of drinks, smokes, chicks and casinos (what more do you need in
life?). There are sad recollections about the long-gone heyday
of Las Vegas. There is a shopping guide for purchasing cool videos
and CDs. There are loads of links to other Frank, Dino and Sammy
pages. There's even a page for sending Rat Pack postcards to your
online pallies. The Rat Pack Home Page is celebrating its third
year on the Web. Over 2 million martini-swilling surfers can't
be wrong!
Swingin' Chicks of the '60s (www.swinginchicks.com)--In
addition to the above honored cats, what would the 1960s have
been without a few groovy kittens? This page is slavishly dedicated
to that pinnacle of womanly excellence--the '60s sex kitten. The
brains behind this site obviously have way too much time
on their hands. Not merely content to post some computer-scanned
pin-up pictures, the creators of this site have actually categorized
each and every '60s icon (from "Bond Chicks" to "Elvis
Chicks," from "Music Chicks" to "Model Chicks").
As if that weren't enough, they've even gone to the trouble of
creating a rather complicated rating system. By taking into account
every possible element--such as Impact, Longevity, Talent, '60s
Look, Costume, Age Factor and Lifestyle (bonus points are awarded
for affairs with JFK, Frank, Elvis or a Beatle)--Swingin' Chicks
comes up with a 100-point scale upon which to judge female "swingability."
Topping the list are Ann-Margaret (with a near-perfect score),
Stella Stevens and Joey Heatherton. Who can argue with that? In
addition to the perfect three, there are 73 other swingin' chicks
catalogued here with over 300 photos to be ogled. They don't make
women like they used to, and this page proves it!
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