We Are The Mods! - Mod and Mod revival - Clean living under difficult circumstances.

[Harbinger of Kali Yuga]

Mod is a subculture that began in London and spread throughout Great Britain and elsewhere, eventually influencing fashions and trends in other countries,[1] and continues today on a smaller scale. Focused on music and fashion, the subculture has its roots in a small group of stylish London-based young men in the late 1950s who were termed modernists because they listened to modern jazz.[2] Elements of the mod subculture include fashion (often tailor-made suits); music (including soul, rhythm and blues, ska, jazz, and later splintering off into freakbeat); and motor scooters (usually Lambretta or Vespa). In the mid-1960s, the subculture listened to power pop rock groups with mod following, such as The Who and The Small Faces, after the peak Mod era. The original mod scene was associated with amphetamine-fuelled all-night dancing at clubs.[3]

During the early to mid-1960s, as mod grew and spread throughout the UK, certain elements of the mod scene became engaged in well-publicised clashes with members of a rival subculture: rockers.[4] The mods and rockers conflict led sociologist Stanley Cohen to use the term "moral panic" in his study about the two youth subcultures,[5] which examined media coverage of the mod and rocker riots in the 1960s.[6]

By 1965, conflicts between mods and rockers began to subside and mods increasingly gravitated towards pop art and psychedelia. London became synonymous with fashion, music, and pop culture in these years, a period often referred to as "Swinging London". During this time, mod fashions spread to other countries and became popular in the United States and elsewhere—with mod now viewed less as an isolated subculture, but emblematic of the larger youth culture of the era.

The mod revival was a subculture that started in Scotland in 1978 and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence lasted for decades. The mod revival post-dated a Teddy Boy revival, and mod revivalists sometimes clashed with Teddy Boy revivalists, skinhead revivalists, casuals, punks and rival gang members.[3]

The late 1970s mod revival was led by the band the Jam, who had adopted a stark mod look and mixed the energy of punk with the sound of early 1960s mod bands. It was heavily influenced by the 1979 film Quadrophenia. The mod revival was a conscious effort to harken back to the earlier generation in terms of style and presentation. In the early 1980s in the UK, a mod revival scene influenced by the original mod subculture of the 1960s developed.

(from wikipedia)

I have a slight obsession with the mods since they dressed so well and looked so cool, and a lot of their music was fucking kickass. Not to mention, The Who immortalized the subculture in their magnum opus, Quadrophenia, and it's one of my favorite albums of all time. (The movie is pretty great, too, definitely better than what Hollywood churns out today, though that's a low bar to cross). Given how many of the UK's subculture's came to America (punk, rocker, goth...) mod somehow never really did, but the greater culture quietly assumed a lot of its fashions. Despite "mod" being unknown to most Americans today and many other people outside the UK, if not within the UK already, the influence in their taste in music and fashion is very important in rock and roll history yet somehow passed over pretty easily.

Maybe sometime I'll even post some of my mod or retro-style suits in this thread I've gotten online.

​

 

[Dom Cruise]

I was disappointed to learn that Rockstar games was going to make a game about the Mods, but it was canceled.

 

[Ultrapenguin]

The music's alright. It's not really my style but I certainly wouldn't be offended if I had to listen to it.

But while we're on the topic, what the hell does music and fashion have to do with each other?
This isn't directed specifically at you, and I know tons of teenagers and tards treat the two as inexorably linked, but it's a complete non-sequitur. Yeah, as a musician when you play live you're performing and for a performance you might dress up, but it's like some chimp brain shit where they go "When Grog see music people wear leather pant. Grog like people music, so grog must like people leather pant!". That's basically the most superficial and insulting thing a person could take away from musical performance.

It actually reminds me of when autists like women but are too stunted to understand or relate on a deeper level, so they just start wearing dresses and talking in a falsetto about their periods.

 

[Ed Special]

But did they do it for free?

 

[Harbinger of Kali Yuga]

The music's alright. It's not really my style but I certainly wouldn't be offended if I had to listen to it.

But while we're on the topic, what the hell does music and fashion have to do with each other?
This isn't directed specifically at you, and I know tons of teenagers and tards treat the two as inexorably linked, but it's a complete non-sequitur. Yeah, as a musician when you play live you're performing and for a performance you might dress up, but it's like some chimp brain shit where they go "When Grog see music people wear leather pant. Grog like people music, so grog must like people leather pant!". That's basically the most superficial and insulting thing a person could take away from musical performance.

It actually reminds me of when autists like women but are too stunted to understand or relate on a deeper level, so they just start wearing dresses and talking in a falsetto about their periods.

I actually didn't care too much for some of the music initially, same with older soul and stuff. But as time goes on my tastes change, usually to be more inclusive, though these days my interest in things like Throbbing Gristle, if I ever really had one, has dissipated. I tend to prefer the mod revival sound a bit more since it tends to borrow a little more from later styles and is just more developed than music was in the first half of the 60s. My favorite music is alternative 80s and such (such as Nina Hagen in my avatar).

What does music and fashion have to do with each other? I've been thinking about this one a looooong time. I think the reason is along the lines of what you're suggesting, but a little different. You know how the internet has turned everything into one big, singular state with a global focus (or at least, is taking us there?) Now everyone is mentally ill and neurotic and everyone is competing with the guys on instragram, the 10s on tinder, everything. In the past, people would develop their own interests, fall into social subunits, and then fall into groups where the sexual and social competition is more tilted to their favor. How a fashion becomes associated with a sound is stuff taken from the present cultural consciousness. Goth obviously took on a spooky or somber sound so they adopted B movie horror tropes in fashion. Mod was a phenomenon of increasing consumerism, and maybe a touch of cosmopolitanism as they looked to American Jazz, Soul, and RnB and Italian cut-suits and scooters among largely working class youth that wanted a more sophisticated existence where they felt in control of their lives. Cool, calm, and collected was part of the mod mentality.

I used to joke in high school that I it would have been funny if there was a subculture where people actually just wore suits and dressed nice, turns out they existed but not in America.

Also, the mods and rockers rivalry is just some ridiculous funny shit and I use that as a running joke. (and was to a large degree overexaggerated).

---

Here's an unrelated cover of a song by The Coasters, Poison Ivy, by mod revival band The Lambrettas.

 

[Mikoyan]

"Mods are fags", the other meaning of the phrase.

 

[Mark Knopfler]

I prefer mockers really.

 

[Harbinger of Kali Yuga]

I prefer mockers really.

I thought it was cockers.

 

[All Cops Are Based]

Given how many of the UK's subculture's came to America (punk, rocker, goth...) mod somehow never really did

Can confirm, am American, read about this subculture in liner notes and punk rock lyrics and stuff, then on the internet, but have never actually met anybody who knows what mod is in real life

and I know it's a bit of a canard, but bongs can't really take credit for punk when New York Dolls/Ramones/The Stooges et al existed

 

[Harbinger of Kali Yuga]

Can confirm, am American, read about this subculture in liner notes and punk rock lyrics and stuff, then on the internet, but have never actually met anybody who knows what mod is in real life

American culture assumed a lot of the music and fashion (polos, etc) unknowingly, though. I'm the kind of person that likes hunting for the unknown and stuff and then try to get others into it. Few people get that but I expect the Farms to understand since most of us are very depressed about the state of our current culture and arts in general.

 

[Daniel Wallace]

I liked Mad Mod on the Teen Titans cartoon, and I liked in Austin Powers when he was in the 60s and how everyone was dressed in what my stupid American brain assumes is mod. I didn't know The Who are considered mod. As an American who was born long after the Who disbanded, I always just considered them as classic rock.
That's all I can really contribute to this thread.

 

[Harbinger of Kali Yuga]

I liked Mad Mod on the Teen Titans cartoon, and I liked in Austin Powers when he was in the 60s and how everyone was dressed in what my stupid American brain assumes is mod. I didn't know The Who are considered mod. As an American who was born long after the Who disbanded, I always just considered them as classic rock.
That's all I can really contribute to this thread.

The Who sort of adopted mod, but it wasn't really authentic; though they had enough of a flirtation with it to write the album Quadrophenia which was turned into a movie. Remaining mods to this day are obsessed with that film, at least some of them are.

I was disappointed to learn that Rockstar games was going to make a game about the Mods, but it was canceled.

In GTA V Online you can outfit the scooter with a ton of headlights and rear-view mirrors and make it look exactly like a mod scooter, by design. The mod target symbol is in the assets, and you can see it in the house of that obnoxious hacker guy when you visit.

 

[John Entwizzle]

Oh good, finally an off-topic thread to pull me out of hibernation. I just love this stuff.

I'm more into the 60s, but the Revival is fun too.

Spoiler: 60s

You've already brought up my two favorites from the 60s (the Who and Small Faces) and the Jam so I'll talk about some groups you didn't mention.

Here is one that sadly didn't really make it big (foreshadowing for what happened with the Revival, in a way.) The Creation. These guys worked with Shel Talmy, who worked with the Who, the Kinks, etc. and Pete Townshend apparently asked their guitarist to join the Who, but he declined...so if you like either group you'll probably like these guys too. They didn't make it big back home in Britain and the group's confusing lifespan was short (they started out as another group entirely, then after the name change switched singers and musical styles... it was messy) though weirdly enough they sold well in Germany. Oh well...

They're definitely worth a deep dive.

And I would also say the Kinks may deserve a mention here too. Even though they were more like the Beatles (the self-admitted "mockers") doing their own thing entirely, they did have a mod following. Partly because I'm fairly sure their original bassist, Pete Quaife, was a proper mod. I've got pictures of him with his scooter, and one of my old records, in a biographical blurb on the back, makes a point of mentioning that he was regarded as THE mod of the group. Makes sense, I guess.

That's just a straight-up song about a mod girl running from home to pop purple hearts in London.

Spoiler: Revival

If you're more into the 70s/80s revival stuff, you might already know them, but check out the Vapors. You know, their songs other than "Turning Japanese". I think they were managed by the Jam's manager and they sound... a lot like the Jam. Unfortunately they fizzled out very fast, but their first album is good listening.

The sad thing about the first Mod Revival was that besides the Jam not many of the groups really had much staying power. I mean, you didn't have to know anything about the mods to like the Jam, but for the other groups, that wasn't really the case. Secret Affair is pretty cool though.

 

[Harbinger of Kali Yuga]

Oh good, finally an off-topic thread to pull me out of hibernation. I just love this stuff.

I'm more into the 60s, but the Revival is fun too.

Spoiler: 60s

You've already brought up my two favorites from the 60s (the Who and Small Faces) and the Jam so I'll talk about some groups you didn't mention.

Here is one that sadly didn't really make it big (foreshadowing for what happened with the Revival, in a way.) The Creation. These guys worked with Shel Talmy, who worked with the Who, the Kinks, etc. and Pete Townshend apparently asked their guitarist to join the Who, but he declined...so if you like either group you'll probably like these guys too. They didn't make it big back home in Britain and the group's confusing lifespan was short (they started out as another group entirely, then after the name change switched singers and musical styles... it was messy) though weirdly enough they sold well in Germany. Oh well...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Tl7T5GCfEL0https://youtube.com/watch?v=odqU58i8PM8They're definitely worth a deep dive.

And I would also say the Kinks may deserve a mention here too. Even though they were more like the Beatles (the self-admitted "mockers") doing their own thing entirely, they did have a mod following. Partly because I'm fairly sure their original bassist, Pete Quaife, was a proper mod. I've got pictures of him with his scooter, and one of my old records, in a biographical blurb on the back, makes a point of mentioning that he was regarded as THE mod of the group. Makes sense, I guess.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qU5ftzDJ4X4That's just a straight-up song about a mod girl running from home to pop purple hearts in London.

Spoiler: Revival

If you're more into the 70s/80s revival stuff, you might already know them, but check out the Vapors. You know, their songs other than "Turning Japanese". I think they were managed by the Jam's manager and they sound... a lot like the Jam. Unfortunately they fizzled out very fast, but their first album is good listening.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QgL1hEX-7Gshttps://youtube.com/watch?v=ICSw3x3HbjcThe sad thing about the first Mod Revival was that besides the Jam not many of the groups really had much staying power. I mean, you didn't have to know anything about the mods to like the Jam, but for the other groups, that wasn't really the case. Secret Affair is pretty cool though.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vfhGzuhlI3g

Fuck yes! I cannot believe the Farms--so many people with varied interests unlike in real life where everyone says the same old fucking shit. You know far more than I do, I'm sure, so I'll love seeing you add more to this thread!

Absolutely the Kinks deserve a mention here, and it is both The Who and The Kinks I prefer over The Stones and the Beatles, respectively. The Kinks may have even been the best out of all four. I think they're certainly better than the Beatles (some people may kill me for that statement).

I'm just a weirdo Yank looking in from the outside with curiosity and admiration of some of the music and fashion, anything you could add to this thread would be much appreciated.

 

[Grub]

Not so much into mod itself. Though I do like a lot of the music posted so far. I also like the later ska and reggae scene that grew from the mod scene. Stuff like The Specials.

If there's one thing I'll say about the UK is their music scene is still pretty good. There's a lot of underground music that's a lot better than what mainstream American music turned into or even a lot of underground American music.

 

[John Entwizzle]

Fuck yes! I cannot believe the Farms--so many people with varied interests unlike in real life where everyone says the same old fucking shit. You know far more than I do, I'm sure, so I'll love seeing you add more to this thread!

Absolutely the Kinks deserve a mention here, and it is both The Who and The Kinks I prefer over The Stones and the Beatles, respectively. The Kinks may have even been the best out of all four. I think they're certainly better than the Beatles (some people may kill me for that statement).

I'm just a weirdo Yank looking in from the outside with curiosity and admiration of some of the music and fashion, anything you could add to this thread would be much appreciated.

Ah, well, actually, for me, it's the Who and the Beatles as my top two... But the Kinks come in as such a very, very close second to the both of them, love them a lot. They never really got their due for all they did (and they did a lot.)

Admittedly, I'm in a similar position as you, as an outsider looking in to all this, but I've been a fanatic of the whole mod mythos for years on end (because I'm an Invasion nut) so there you go. I'll see what else I can drop in. I'll tell you something that will make the whole Rockstar situation worse: I heard the game they were going to do was going to be, gameplay-wise, a spiritual successor to their Warriors game, which was really great. A Quadrophenia'd version of that would have been a dream come true.

Anyways, I'll be back in time. Hopefully...I'll leave for now on some mystery mod freakbeat, since you've got me digging through my collection.

Spoiler: Mystery Band

This band is just...an enigma. They put some singles out in England in the mid 60s, and that seems to be the end of the available information about them. Yet they always pop up on those obscure compilations I dig through and try as I might I can't find anything about them. The Creation, you know, even though their band got shafted, there's information on them because they had connections to the big guys and they had at least...something of a presence. These guys... nothing. But they're pretty alright though, if you like that punchy, organ heavy sound.

 

[Harbinger of Kali Yuga]

Ah, well, actually, for me, it's the Who and the Beatles as my top two... But the Kinks come in as such a very, very close second to the both of them, love them a lot. They never really got their due for all they did (and they did a lot.)

Admittedly, I'm in a similar position as you, as an outsider looking in to all this, but I've been a fanatic of the whole mod mythos for years on end (because I'm an Invasion nut) so there you go. I'll see what else I can drop in. I'll tell you something that will make the whole Rockstar situation worse: I heard the game they were going to do was going to be, gameplay-wise, a spiritual successor to their Warriors game, which was really great. A Quadrophenia'd version of that would have been a dream come true.

Anyways, I'll be back in time. Hopefully...I'll leave for now on some mystery mod freakbeat, since you've got me digging through my collection.

Spoiler: Mystery Band

This band is just...an enigma. They put some singles out in England in the mid 60s, and that seems to be the end of the available information about them. Yet they always pop up on those obscure compilations I dig through and try as I might I can't find anything about them. The Creation, you know, even though their band got shafted, there's information on them because they had connections to the big guys and they had at least...something of a presence. These guys... nothing. But they're pretty alright though, if you like that punchy, organ heavy sound.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pIotnryPyTshttps://youtube.com/watch?v=hEzbhQ7JUdI

Yeah, I know it's a controversial statement, but I've really always just liked the Kinks way more than the Beatles. Just my taste.

Well, you have a comrade in arms on the Farms. Fucking cool shit, dude, it's not everyday you talk to someone else with a mod fetish. I'm still kind of blown away that only on the Farms would I find people to talk about this shit with. Do you own any suits? I bought some mod-style suits (skinny lapel, three button, ticket pockets) off the Internet and have a small collection, though I haven't gotten anything tailored yet.

I was able to get leather handmade winklepickers made in Europe for $50 on ebay because the seller didn't use the proper search terms. I have a lot of knit ties to go along with. I'd post some of my suits but some of them are so unique that I would potentially be identifying myself.

I'll be posting some random things I've found here and there I've enjoyed...

I'll ask in some group if anyone knows the band (The Soul Agents) and get back to you.

 

[Harbinger of Kali Yuga]

Actually, I found The Soul Agents info for you. They renamed to The Lonely Ones and this dude has a whole page on them! This is really in depth--you got lucky, a legit rock historian looked into them and this page has everything he could find. Real, actual academic work.

The Soul Agents

The Soul Agents

brunoceriotti.weebly.com

 

[Leghorn]

The one thing I know about the mods as someone into militaria is that they drove up the price of fishtail parkas and it still hasn't gone down. I'm not paying $300 for a beat up m1951 parka without a liner.

This thread is the first time I actually listened to their music. Honestly, it's pretty good. I don't have much else to say.

 

[Poppavalyim Andropoff]

Mods like inhaling mens dicks

Rockers like inhaling bugs & birdshit going 100mph