No more flowers in your hair

I was sorry to hear this morning that Scott McKenzie has died. Everyone my age knows all the words to his 1960s hit San Francisco. What has surprised me is that all news media are claiming the song as ‘an anthem of the counter culture’. To me it seems totally mainstream, middle of the road, practically easy listening. If you want something really subversive, check out Frank Zappa’s Flower Punk. The song satirises Hey Joe, yes, but also the whole weekend hippy thing Zappa despised so much and which San Francisco typified.