I read yesterday that the "perennial" Grateful Dead played their last concert at Soldier Field. The four surviving members will apparently hang up their Fenders and drumsticks. Finally. Jesus fellas, took you long enough. Now, I'm not against anybody making a living. We all need to pay the light bill. But these guys were a cliché thirty years ago...and I'm glad they've decided to put it down.
I can remember the sixties, sort of...There were lots of musical groups that purported to epitomize or signify the "movement". The movement being that rebellion from cookie-cutter-neat-line-predictable-regimentation that seemed to squash the creative hearts and souls of all us young born-after-WWII-baby-boomers. The "Establishment" licked its chops as we all came to our majority, awaiting our peasant contribution to the corporate-retail-social-machine. It seemed as if we had just been born, and now we had to get a number and stand in line to help out the horrible monster that was gobbling us up...making us cut our hair and get real jobs.
"No way, man!" was our cry. And young folks that have a cause need a rebel cry. And the music of the day was our anthem.
I never cared much for the "Dead". The entire side of an LP filled with a senseless jam could only be understood by someone that had their mind somewhere else..if you know what I mean. Out of all the good damned music that was cranked out back then, the world choses to remember those years with the "Dead Heads". It's kind of repulsive to someone like me that actually survived those years.
I don't know what the draw was that kept their fans so loyal. And when Jerry Garcia passed away I was pretty sure they were finally going to "sit down and shut up". Boy was I wrong. They got worse. The original fans had kids and grandkids....VW Microbuses were being handed down from generation to generation. I can only hope that this time they really mean it. We'll see.
I did have a "Dead Skull" painted on a motorcycle tank back in the early seventies. That's about as far as I ever got being for the "Dead".
If I remember right, that bike was stolen and I never saw it again. Fitting. I was standing in line at the store the other day and a young girl in front of me had this skull tattooed on the small of back. I'm thinking to myself that Garcia was really dead before she was born. Sheeesh.
No, this old hippie hated the "Dead". And as courteous as the world was for all that music and hub-bub back then; I feel we need to pay it back by letting the young folks nowadays have their time and their music in the limelight. Let them stand up for what they feel is their cause. Let's let them create their own rebellion, whatever it may be...
...and it might happen, if one or two of them will ever look up from their damned phone.
A coworker went to a Stones concert. He said they have devolved into The Rolling Stones Incorporated. He won't be back. He said Keith Richards just started playing something else entirely in the middle of a song like he was bored, probably is.
The private civil engineering firm I worked at had several Dead Heads, including one of the partners. They went to the concert when the Dead came to Cal Expo, it was a big deal to them. It was somewhat of a nostalgia thing, smoking pot at a big hippy event, sort of thing. Personally the music did nothing for me like most modern Christian "praise" music, boring. Americans tend to be lacking in the taste department.
Chill out dude and reminisce a seven year old kids favorite tune. B-)
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The British General, Pakenham, was killed at New Orleans after the war was over.
I want to know who wrote the book of love?
FL/GA PLS., post: 325903, member: 379 wrote: Chill out dude and reminisce a seven year old kids favorite tune. B-)
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Remember , that one real well, was a senior in high school, at the time. Long time ago.
Ah, yes. Those were the days, my friend........or something like that. All young people needed to rage against the machine.......whatever that meant. Make love, not war.........an invitation to the latter was easier to come by than the first.
The so-called music of the day wasn't exactly music. Much of it was screaming and wailing. "War! Death! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again (like a hundred times in the same song)." Then there was, "Blinded by the light. Wrapped up like a douche in the night (or something like that)." Who can forget, "I'm 'enry the Eighth I am, 'enry the Eighth I am I am"? And, the 13 minute version loved by live dance bands of, "There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Risin' Sun". Those were the only coherent words in the entire 13 minutes.
Doug Crawford, post: 325905, member: 9 wrote: Remember , that one real well, was a senior in high school, at the time. Long time ago.
I did a lot of sweep'in when I was a kid and remember lot's of Roger Miller tunes!
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:-)Goodness, Paden.
You forgot to say "Rant Off!" at the end there.
I will share an old joke:
What did the Deadhead say when he ran out of dope?
Man, this music sucks!
Having said that, though, as someone who lived through, cherished and survived the '60's, I've got to say now, those guys meant a lot.
They meant a lot then and they still mean a lot, although maybe the Grateful Dead Retirement Fund performance doesn't add a thing to their legacy, they still have one and it's a great one. They are not standing in anyone's way, but a lot of kids are standing on their shoulders.
I'm sorry, Paden, you are definitely one of the good ones, more biker than hippie perhaps:-), but I just needed to respond.
No offense intended.
Don
P.S. I'm reading a book by Ivan Doig called The Whistling Season that so far seems like it was written about the Cash boys
https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead&tab=collection
A great resource for listening to shows.
I've never been a Dead Head, though I liked some of their older work and a few that came later. But as to "I'm 'enry the Eighth I am," that song was written sometime around 1910 and was popular in British music halls, so you can't really blame that on the '60s generation.
I am a lover of music; there are some types of music I love less than others, but I can't say I hate any particular song or singer or group. I mean; who am I to judge.
When my mother passed away; I caught a flight to Grand Forks; rented a car and drove it to Morden Manitoba. On the drive back; I took a secondary highway, crossing the border at Maida North Dakota. It was a Sunday and nobody, I mean absolutely nobody was on the road.
The car I rented had a Sirius radio, so it was just me, the open road and the Greatful Dead Channel. It was a great time to reflect; mindless, soothing music in the background; only my thoughts for 2 hours.
Thank you Jerry, for letting me and my mom have those last few hours.
God bless you.
Dougie
Never a hippy but always loved The Dead. 'Drums in Space' I can live without. Still enjoy tuning in, cranking the windows down and cranking it up.
Remember the day Jerry died. It should have ended there. It was not the Grateful Dead without him.
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Some of the Dead music was good, some not worth the time for me. American Beauty was a classic, more good ones than not.
The best music Jerry made, though, was in his collaborations with Grisman and friends. I wish I could have several more hours of that.
Never a Dead Head but I did like some of their tunes especially cuts from American Beauty & Workingman's Dead. Box of Rain & Ripple are still on one of my play lists.
Garcia's roots were in jug band and bluegrass and he was a VG at both.
Their psychedelic jams from the acid test time of the 60s still live on through groups like Widespread Panic and Phish.
I had a family member who worked for them in the 80s and she liked them but resented being IDed as a Dead Head.
I got to hang backstage and dressing room at a show once and they were pretty down to earth folk. Believe it it not. Ate pizza with Pigpen and drank Liebfraumilch with Garcia. It was just before the Workingman's Dead release. I was 19 at the time.
Many years later, I also thought it was cool that they helped launch the Neville Bros into a national act by having them open for their big New Year's Eve Bay Area shows.Plus they did an ok Iko Iko too.
I have two Jerry Garcia neckties. Nice ties and I wore one of them when I was married 15 years ago. Red tie that went with the red rose in the lapel.
Uncle John's Band is a good tune too.
Bill93, post: 325929, member: 87 wrote: . I wish I could have several more hours of that.
I always liked that side of Gerry too. Here you go Bill -
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Ken
It amazes me that my 18 year old son absolutely loves the old rock and roll that i grew up listening to.... As I've told him... his generation got robbed of any musical talent for the most part! And he agrees with me!????? He loves EVERYTHING that I liked growing up...
paden cash, post: 325898, member: 20 wrote:
I read yesterday that the "perennial" Grateful Dead played their last concert at Soldier Field. The four surviving members will apparently hang up their Fenders and drumsticks. Finally. Jesus fellas, took you long enough. Now, I'm not against anybody making a living. We all need to pay the light bill. But these guys were a cliché thirty years ago...and I'm glad they've decided to put it down.
I can remember the sixties, sort of...There were lots of musical groups that purported to epitomize or signify the "movement". The movement being that rebellion from cookie-cutter-neat-line-predictable-regimentation that seemed to squash the creative hearts and souls of all us young born-after-WWII-baby-boomers. The "Establishment" licked its chops as we all came to our majority, awaiting our peasant contribution to the corporate-retail-social-machine. It seemed as if we had just been born, and now we had to get a number and stand in line to help out the horrible monster that was gobbling us up...making us cut our hair and get real jobs.
"No way, man!" was our cry. And young folks that have a cause need a rebel cry. And the music of the day was our anthem.
I never cared much for the "Dead". The entire side of an LP filled with a senseless jam could only be understood by someone that had their mind somewhere else..if you know what I mean. Out of all the good damned music that was cranked out back then, the world choses to remember those years with the "Dead Heads". It's kind of repulsive to someone like me that actually survived those years.
I don't know what the draw was that kept their fans so loyal. And when Jerry Garcia passed away I was pretty sure they were finally going to "sit down and shut up". Boy was I wrong. They got worse. The original fans had kids and grandkids....VW Microbuses were being handed down from generation to generation. I can only hope that this time they really mean it. We'll see.
I did have a "Dead Skull" painted on a motorcycle tank back in the early seventies. That's about as far as I ever got being for the "Dead".
If I remember right, that bike was stolen and I never saw it again. Fitting. I was standing in line at the store the other day and a young girl in front of me had this skull tattooed on the small of back. I'm thinking to myself that Garcia was really dead before she was born. Sheeesh.
No, this old hippie hated the "Dead". And as courteous as the world was for all that music and hub-bub back then; I feel we need to pay it back by letting the young folks nowadays have their time and their music in the limelight. Let them stand up for what they feel is their cause. Let's let them create their own rebellion, whatever it may be...
...and it might happen, if one or two of them will ever look up from their damned phone.
I did a couple summer tours back in 89-92. Sold burritos out of an old school bus my buddies and I found. Only missed about 20 of 60 of those shows (90 shows under my belt before I was 30 and started surveying).... After Jerry died, Phish took over, so you'll still see microbuses, but now days, it's BMW's and the like. We all have to grow up sometime.....
I've been a deadhead for the past 40 years, never to the point of following a tour, but I've seen my fair share of shows.
You either get it or not. It's amazing to me how many younger deadheads there are, and have been through out the years. A lot of us "get it" and a lot of you don't.
I don't like pop music, lots of people do, but not me. Does that make them wrong and open to ridicule? Of course it does! LOL
