THE DECADE THAT WOULDN’T DIE: We speak--of...

THE DECADE THAT WOULDN’T DIE: We speak--of course--of the ‘70s, the epoch which brought us “You Light Up My Life,” Billy Beer, macrame and Barry Manilow. And worse. Here’s a more frightening thought--the ‘70s are back. A few scary reminders: The charts are full of comebacks by Elton John, Rod Stewart, Jimmy Page, Eric Carmen and Patti Smith. . . . Amy Grant’s new hit is “1974 (We Were Young).” . . . The local hipsters from the Limbo Lounge and Ground Zero have opened a new club called (gasp!) 1970, which features incredibly loud dance music from Abba, T-Rex, Donna Summer, the Sex Pistols and the Tramps. . . . And ultra-hip new Erasure magazine went hog wild in its new October issue with a package called “The ‘70s: Back to Cool.” With a cover featuring ‘70s siren Peggy Moffitt, the issue capsulized high points from the decade (“Son of Sam Terrorizes New York”) and supplied profiles of everyone from Richard Nixon and Evel Knievel to Patty Hearst and Lance Loud. Don’t get too nostalgic. As another ‘70s kingpin, deejay Rodney Bingenheimer explains in the same issue, the decade had its share of dreadful moments. Bemoaning the 1976 demise of his glitter-rock club, he said: “There were Afros everywhere! People were asking me to play Donna Summer instead of Patti Smith. I hated it!”