All Written by Doug – the northlondonhippy
The Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll Collection is a loosely connected series of the northlondonhippy’s most recent written pieces. It was all produced in a 5 week period.
Think of this new, inter-linked collection of material as the hippy’s second book. Effectively it is the sequel to his first book, Personal Use.
You can read all this brand new material for free right now.
December 2023 Update:
The hippy has added another piece to the collection, called “Now, Hear This”.
“Now, Hear This” was first published in November 2023, but the original idea was conceived back in March. It belongs here with the rest of the collection, and is now the introductory piece.
Now, Hear This
The hippy looks back at the roots of his lifetime love of modern music, through the songs he grew up with, and technology of the day that played it for him.
His journey began when he was 2 years old, and it started with the Beatles, and a couple of years later, Motown and more.
You’ll see, these memories turned out to be a lot more bittersweet than expected, as you read, and listen to “Now, Hear This”.
My Summer of Springsteen
During the Summer of 1982, when the hippy was still living on the Jersey Shore, he ran into Bruce Springsteen regularly.
Bruce wasn’t just a local hero back then, he was already a major, international rock god. He’d released his first five classic albums, toured the world repeatedly, and only played the largest venues available.
That summer, the hippy saw the Boss hanging out, and performing in small bars down the shore, nearly every weekend. Some nights, more than once. And Bruce saw the hippy, too.
These are his memories of “My Summer of Springsteen”.
MTV Redux
In this four part series, the hippy takes you back to a fairly amazing period of his young adult life.
In the mid 1980s, the hippy was loosely associated with MTV Music Television as an intern, and then occasionally employed by them as a freelance production assistant.
It’s also a tale of unrealised potential, and squandered opportunity, but it has taken the hippy a while to work all that out.
Part One – What? And Give Up Showbiz?
Part Two – Name Dropping
Part Three – Crappy New Year!
Part Four – The Death of the Dream
Time Aside – A Short Story
***Bonus Content***
Let’s pause the real life nostalgia briefly, and take a deep dive into some alternative personal history.
There’s no sex, drugs, or rock & roll in this one. “Time Aside” is a twisty tale of time travel, anti-natalism, and regret that’s rooted in the hippy’s real life back story.
It’s bonus content, so check it out! Or you could wait for the movie?
Tales from the Pre-Internet
Everyone thinks of dating apps, and websites when they think of meeting people online, but before the internet, in the 1980s, some folks were already playing around online. People were meeting up, and having naughty fun too. And the northlondonhippy was one of them.
The hippy refers to this period of time as the “Pre-Internet” in his recent series called MTV Redux. Thinking about that time was the inspiration for this series.
In the three part series, “Consenting Online Adults”the hippy overshares about many of his experiences.
And in Bonus Part Four, the hippy shares an additional tale from the Pre-Internet that deserves to stand on its own. This piece will leave you with one big question, but in Part Four – “I’ll Never Tell”.
Consenting Online Adults
Part One – The Prologue (1975-1983)
Part Two – Connecting (1980-1987)
Part Three – All Good Things (1985-1997)
Bonus – Part Four – I’ll Never Tell (1986)
Historic Hippy
Here’s a short selection from the hippy’s archive, if you want to know more…
I was a Background Artist on the BBC 10 O’Clock News – That’s who he was for the longest time
Piecing It All Together – This is why he is not that guy any more. TLDR: Epilepsy
Countdown to the End of the World – This is what the hippy would like to be doing next, if he had a choice.
Doing Some Good
While we’ve got your attention…
The Ceasefire Initiative – It’s just a small, simple idea to begin the process of finally putting an end to the pointless, useless “war on drugs”. We’re not seeking donations, just your support.
Follow us on Twitter: @ceasefire4good
#ceasefire4good #ceasefire4ever
(All words © Copyright 2023-2024 – Doug – the northlondonhippy. All rights reserved)
