mad and bad.
Ladies and Gentlemen Mr. Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Like this one. This could not have happened at any other time:

The first, Michael Bentine's Potty Time which was a TV version of Look and Learn on acid

The second is Focus. You want yodelling and heavy rock? You got it.

The fact that their performance is introduced by Gladys Knight is indicative of the fact that concepts of formats - in music and in TV - were yet to shackle either medium. There seemed a willingness to look at creating content in music, film and TV from other sources, from way outside of the medium itself. Nowadays artists seem to limit themselves to making music from the narrow experience of other people's music rather than from "art". You listen to Joni Mitchell and you don't think of her music coming from music. Or I don't anyway.

..a classic example of how even the pop charts (these days a blind alley of conservative marketing) could be dominated by the quite insane,,"Rock On" "Ride A White Swan,"..and check this out from Kevin Ayers, it only bruised the lower reaches of the charts, but..

when we had long hair and good looks. Perhaps. When else would you get songs about giant hogweeds?

I remember watching this stuff with my little brother. of course he was more into it than I was. But luckily it didn't damage us too much, though I sometimes wonder. Outside there were 3 days weeks, power cuts, the IRA on the rampage and Arabs putting the squeeze on the price of oil. Wheen's book is indeed very enjoyable.

Can you imagine how this film would be reviewed today? It's bonkers and as one reviewer put it "a trip into a future that seems ruled by perpetually stoned set decorators".