10/19/07: “Power Flower” (1969)We should really be concentrating on horror films right now. Still, we can’t ignore the recent return of the California blownbrains who gave us the MUSE concerts back in 1980. The deep thinkers behind the No Nukes movement—represented by particularly old hippies David Crosby and Graham Nash—appeared this week as guests of Chris Matthews in a bid to remind everybody that, hey, there was this movie called
The China Syndrome, and it was pretty scary, and we still shouldn’t be even thinking about building nuclear power plants.
In response, let’s celebrate Westinghouse Electric’s own celebration of nuclear energy. “Power Flower” is just one tune from the “Perspective for the ’70s” musical extravaganza, presented as part of the Westinghouse Sixth Future Power Forum in 1969. Crosby was still bidding goodbye to his gateway drugs while the good men of Westinghouse composed a musical western about how this town wasn’t big enough for both tired old fossil fuels and shiny new nuclear energy—represented by the Nuclear Kid, who was a good guy with an admittedly violent upbringing.
The tunes, however, aren’t nearly as country as the soundtrack to
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It’s more of a mixed bag, as seen with the glorious overkill of “Power Flower.” It starts like Phil Ochs’ A&M years and ends as a Fifth Dimension-styled aural orgy. It’s music with a message, too, as our hero sets up the meaningful lyrics:
It’s the utilityWho’s got the ability to… Make the power flower Make the current bloom Make the power flower In every home, in every room Now’s the time to start in planting generation seeds That will sprout up in the ’70s, supplying all our needs Make the power flower! Make the wattage bud! Keep the power flowering It's America's lifeblood! You’re the ones we’re counting on to take us all the way! C'mon— sock it to our sockets with your energy bouquet! We'll put violets in the vases And pretty roses in the parks While you’re filling up the outlets With a trillion kilowatts! We’ll be romping in the daisies Out there on the village green Always secure, always pure, Making the high High-voltage scene! Make the power flower Make the current bloom Make the power flower In every home, in every room Now’s the time to start in planting generation seeds That will sprout up in the ’70s, supplying all our needsWe’re pretty sure we got the lyrics right—but we cheated by dropping one verse that mentions the lovely psychedelic lights that we’d be enjoying from our local nuclear power plant. You can hear
the whole song here. (Makes you wonder why we bothered transcribing the lyrics, doesn't it?)
We’re speaking in the past tense, of course, since
The China Syndrome ruined things for everybody. Those No Nukes guys turned out to be basically harmless. That is, until the lead singer from Orleans recently got himself elected to the House of Representatives. Back then, he was starting his solo career and needed the credibility that came from hanging out with Jackson Browne. Who knew that he’d turn out to be the sincere one?
Make it your own: Vinyl copies of the “Perspective for the ’70s” soundtrack are available, but pretty expensive. Fortunately, “Power Flower” was included on the
Product Music compilation CD, along with several other tunes from industrial musicals. That link to the song above—and the actual
Product Music album—is courtesy of the fine folks at New Jersey’s legendary WFMU radio station. They’ve even provided a page with
all of the Product Music tunes. The selections include “Up Came Oil” from an Exxon musical, and that’s worthy of an entry on its own.
