The U.S. Postal Service issued a psychedelic Woodstock stamp as the half-century celebrations continue for the most famous of the 1960s pop festivals.
“We’ve been so happy to get this official acknowledgement of something we’ve felt for 50 years,” Woodstock co-creator Joel Rosenman said. “That is, the spirit of Woodstock is forever.”
Rosenman and fest partner Michael Lang helped unveil the “Forever” stamp at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on Aug. 8.
The Woodstock stamp was designed by Antonio Alcala. An earlier Woodstock stamp was released in 1999. Woodstock artists Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin have their own stamps.
While tributes to the upper-state New York rock festival continue through August, a revival of the event isn’t in the cards. Lang’s efforts to stage a half-century festival collapsed under a variety of problems, both for proposed sites in New York and Maryland. “It was just one bizarre thing after another,” Lang said.
The new stamp features the Woodstock Music & Art Fair’s iconic white dove and the slogan “3 Days of Peace and Music.”
Fathom Events is showcasing the director’s cut of the festival movie Aug. 15 in cinemas nationwide. Rhino just released a massive Woodstock CD collection, which appears to be sold out.
Excellent! A generation of peace, love, and music. The world is a better place thanks to the Woodstock Generation and to those who sacrificed to make it possible.
Perhaps the same cosmic spirits that made the original Woodstock happen in spite of all efforts, human and naturel to stop it, have rightfully stopped this anniversary boondoggle. If I understand right, the closing act for the 50th event was some hip-hop artist. Yee gads! If you haven’t seen it already, check out the American Experience documentary on Woodstock. It is great!
Unlike the original film, which in all fairness was primarily a concert film, not a documentary, the AE documentary really illustrates how gigantic this thing was. The extra behind the scenes shots of the attendees was really cool. There are some scenes of the acts that played there, but more of the people who attended. I especially liked the all too brief footage of Michael Lang in his Florida head shop. Along with that, I’m pretty sure I saw a girl I dated in 1971 who claimed she had gotten pregnant at Woodstock. I think the best celebration of Woodstock possible, is the American Experience production. Check it out!
Yes, Woodstock ’69 was a happening that can never be recreated. Like a lot of things from the 60’s, it had perfect timing and the perfect ingredients. The music industry now is completely unrecognizable compared to 1969. It’s not even the same animal. Not to mention there is really no recognizable “counter culture”, or social tie that binds today either. Everything is segmented and disconnected. There are no tribes to gather. This was just a big money grab like 1994 and 1999, and probably best it will never happen.
Race Baker, please don’t feel so dismal. The spirit of that 60s counter culture is alive and well in places you wouldn’t expect. I don’t think anyone who was touched by that spirit back then has lost it completely. I think it remains deep inside, in some places sleeping, but still there ready to be awakened by some simple act of random kindness or the sound of a long forgotten favorite song.
Don’t get down over not seeing it outside yourself, instead wake it up within yourself. There’s been all this talk about how to celebrate the 50th of Woodstock and I’ve given it a lot of thought myself. Here’s what I’m going to do. Sunday morning, which will be the 18th, I’m going to put my stereo in the front window, put up my American flag, light up a bunch of Patchouli incense to burn on my open front porch and I am going to blast Jimi Hendrix Star Spangled Banner and the other 2 tunes that concluded his cuts on the Woodstock soundtrack, as loud as I can get it. I can’t think of a better way to honor and remember that sacred event. What if we all did that? What a vibe that would send out to the collective consciousness of peace and love and music that Woodstock was all about.
There’s a saying; “Nobody is really dead until they are completely forgotten”. I think that is true for Woodstock and all it represented too.