I know this weekend everyone was all excited about the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. I'm not taking anything away from people who do observe Woodstock, but I would just like to put it out there that there are some of us who were brought up to celebrate alternate concerts. I'm not saying that we need to change the entire concert worship system, but it would just be nice to be acknowledged sometimes. Not everyone has the same belief system, and that's what makes this country so great.

I'm aware that it might not be very popular to celebrate the concert at Altamont. However, that is just the way I was raised and even if I'm not as strict a follower as my parents are, I like to honor their tradition. Belief systems are complicated, so yes, while celebrating Altamont means acknowledging the uncomfortable fact that someone did get murdered, we can all appreciate the fact that the Stones did in fact rock, and aside from that unpleasantness, the Hell's Angels did a fine job guarding the stage by and large. Plus, whenever Altamont season rolls around we like to put on a bunch of Maysles brothers documentaries and watch those and get nostalgic.

Every belief system has those little elements that are hard to explain in the modern era, but we do our best. So maybe Altamont signified the end of the 60's. But to me, that's not such a bad thing, because the '70's would prove to be a very significant decade itself, featuring the births of myself and many of my contemporaries.

I know people find it overbearingly "politically correct" to be forced to acknowledge that not EVERYONE celebrates Woodstock, but when someone makes that little effort, it makes me feel more included in this holy season of honoring concerts that 99.99998% of the population did not attend. So Happy Woodstock, everyone. Happy Altamont. Happy Lollapalooza. Happy Lilith Fair and Happy Horde and Happy Warped.

But not Happy Woodstock '99. I hear the people who celebrate that sacrifice goats and whatnot.