Does every Viet Nam montage HAVE to use Buffalo Springfield?

[Fenris]

I mean, Jesus, just now on Hardball, they were about to do a story on AWOL and a certain veteran presidential candidate, and sure enough, Viet Nam montage begins and so does "For What It's Worth." Is there some kind of law somewhere that every time any shots of Viet Nam are shown that song has to be played? And further, on montages of the whole 1960s, is there a law requiring "Turn! Turn! Turn!" to be played?

[trumad]

1. They need to change it to Fortunate Son!

[bobthedrummer]

18. CCR

or Hendrix...
Jimi served in the 101st Airborne, so Jimi was a vet...

[On the Road]

21. I Think Hendrix's "Back from the Storm"

is the perfect accompaniament for a violent 60's demonstration. Perhaps the Democratic convention.

[codegreen]

2. they should be using "Fortunate Son"

[mr_hat]

3. Dubya's pledged to make "Ballad of the Green Berets" mandatory.

[bowens43]

4. Yes, it's the law.

[Champion Jack]

5. That law was passed by both the senate and the house late last year

In a secret vote.

[madrchsod]

6. how about

"i- feel- like-i`m-fix`n- to- die,rag"

[Fenris]

7. JESUS! They did it again!

Hardball. 2nd time in 15 minutes!

[rfranklin]

8. It was formally adopted by the National Association of ...

Broadcasters in 1978 at the annual convention. There were also a few votes for Country Joe MacDonald's "Fixin to Die Rag."

[TahitiNut]

9. "We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place" by the Animals

There was absolutely no song more emblematic of Viet Nam than "We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place" by Eric Burdon and the Animals.We've gotta get out of this place
if it's the last thing we ever do
We've gotta get out of this place
Girl there's a better life for me and you

In any gathering of troops where this was played, every single swinging d*ck was singing along with this chorus at the top of his lungs, many with tears in their eyes. (Anytime I hear it, I remember. Whooee, do I remember.)

[central scrutinizer]

10. we need Country Joe and the Fish

gimme an F...

but didn't Country Joe somehow lose the copyright to his own song?

[rustydog]

11. Yes, it is an FCC ruling that is held up to this day...

:bounce:

[RebelOne]

12. This is getting ridiculous

"There is a man with a gun over there." If I hear that one more time, I will scream.

[RebelOne]

15. Aarrgh, they did it again. I'm screaming at the TV.

[PragMantisT]

13. Good observation

How can they forget that Cristy Lane was in Vietnam with Sgt Barry.
And wasn't "FWIW" about a riot in LA.

[Fenris]

14. SONOFABITCH! There is was AGAIN!!!!!!!!

MAKE IT STOP!

[eileen_d]

17. LOL - I agree, it seems like a legal mandate

See if you can find an MP3 of a song by a guy named Sport Murphy - title is something like "Beatles Stepping Off The Plane" - it's a parody of how every documentary on the 60s contains that footage and other predictable stuff. Makes me laugh every time.

[DemPopulist]

16. The Daily Show did a hilarious parody of this just a few days ago

They played FWIW over a slow-motion montage of reporters questioning Scott Whatshisface about Bush's National Guard service. I'm guessing no one on the Hardball staff saw that bit.

[mitchum]

19. That's one of my main beefs with documentaries and fictional films...

about Vietnam. I have asked numerous veterans about the music listened to while in country. The answers included: soul, rhythm and blues, country and western. These seem to reflect the demographic makeup of the troops. No one remembers Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, or the Doors on the Vietnam hit parade. Although they did listen to a lot of CCR. Once again, demographics.

[ldf]

27. i don't think these songs were listend to by the soldiers

but instead by the protesters here at home.

and yes, FWIW was definitely one of the anti-war anthems. but there were so many.

great song. still gives me chills. it had a touch of ominousess (?) to it that fit the times.

[regnaD kciN]

33. FWIW wasn't an "anti-war anthem"...

...it was about a 1965 (?) demonstration in Hollywood/Beverly Hills that turned violent, mainly due to police over-reaction.

[mitchum]

34. a demonstration brought about by a teen curfew...

I guess the guys in Buffalo Springfield were rightly outraged by this devastating loss of their more nubile "fans"

I think it was 1967

[leesa]

28. But it's what we were listening to back here, and the question

was what the hell was going on? Much like today. With so much to be angry and annoyed about, why this?

[mitchum]

31. It becomes a question of aesthetics and verisimilitude

if the groovy pop soundtrack doesn't reflect what the soldiers were hearing, but instead the tastes of the middle class/collegiate protesters back home.

[Brian Sweat]

20. YES!

Is there some confusion here?

[arewethereyet]

22. hey, those guys gotta eat

its not like they've had a any recent success.

[fishnfla]

23. Springfield, CSNY, Neil Young

Yes, dont forget it.

[markus]

24. What about Hendrix' All Along The Watchtower

Another old chestnut for footage, preferably shot from a helicopter.

[Djinn]

26. a fav of mine

or atleast this bit is a fav

I Was Only 19 (A Walk In the Light Green) - Redgum

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me - I was only nineteen

[DianeG5385]

25. Yes. Maybe we will remember where we were back then

There was no internet and voices were frustrated, the only outlet was protest.

[Jacobin]

29. You had to have been there

I can still hear it echoing. When I hear it I remember marches against the Vietnam war.

It just is part of it.

[DrBB]

30. It's a statutory requirement, under the US Federal Code

Can't cite chapter number, but yeah, they passed a law about this. Failure to initiate Viet Nam montage without "There's somethin happenin here...." playing under in the soundtrack is punishable by stiff fines, possible loss of license and even jail time. I think there's a requirement to have the photo of the crying woman at Kent State appear during that particular lyric, but it may not be as strictly enforced.

[MrPrax]

32. Yeah it's a cliche alright...

They should be forced to play 'Paint It Black'...(like Kubrick did at the end of Full Metal Jacket)