Los Angeles in 1974 exerted more influence over popular culture than any other city in America. Working in film, recording, and television studios, a cluster of transformative talents produced an explosion in popular culture which reflected the demographic, social, and cultural realities of a changing America. Popular culture was ahead of politics in predicting what America would become. Brownstein traces the confluence of movies, music, television, and politics in Los Angeles month by month through that transformative, magical year. Today, we are again witnessing a generational cultural divide, and Brownstein shows how the voices resistant to change may win the political battle for a time, but they cannot hold back the future.