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What's your favorite Grateful Dead song?
Submitted by John S. Meddaugh, III
WELL. Quite a bit of presumption from the peanut gallery! I wouldn't say I despise the Dead, I just don't like them even a little bit. I'm a neo-classicist at heart. I love structure, even if it's set up just to tear down. Jerry's cool! He reminds me of Ornette Coleman, who's basically just playing some broke-down blues. It's like those dudes imply the notes you want to hear but play the ones you aren't expecting. But the rest of the Dead just makes a lot of noise, all the time. They're clearly great musicians, but they're a prime example of "just because you can doesn't mean you should". I prefer my "jam" or "noise" bands to use a little more restraint and keep me guessing. I like it to be sloppy and in the moment, and not be weighed down with musicians simply making noise til they think of something interesting to play. Anyway, a mea culpa moment if I may; The Dead came through Chapel Hill when I lived there for a year and the streets were filled with deadheads. On the way to a hardcore show I encountered this filthy kid selling grilled cheese sandwiches on the sidewalk for a dollar. I was feeling really real in my steel-toed boots and kicked his sandwich grill pretty hard and loffed and loffed when it skittered into the street. Dude, if you're one of the 3 people who reads this column, just know I still feel bad about that.
Why don't you name some of your favorite Dead songs and maybe I'll listen to them. PS Who farted
listen to the Phil Lesh Quintet
Cat,
I love your contribution to the Nocturnals. Y'all put on a hell of a live show.
I recommend that you give the Dead songs a chance by listening to the interpretation of them as performed by the Phil Lesh Quintet (PLQ), which comprised Phil Lesh (a trained classical musician and Jerry's only musical equal in the Dead), Warren Haynes (I assume he needs no introduction), Jimmy Herring (Col Bruce Hampton & Aquarium Rescue Unit member - ask Derek Trucks about the musical skill of the Colonel and Jimmy), Rob Barraco and Joh Molo. Their versions of the Dead songs are bluesier and harder rocking, more up tempo and have much better vocals. You can find their live recordings here - http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=phil%20lesh - start with the 7/21/2001 Hartford show and the 11/17/2001 show and go from there. The "Quintet" played together from the fall of 2000 (after Allen Woody's death) through August 2003 (when the remaining Grateful Dead members regathered as the "Dead"). I guarantee you cannot listen to these recording and say you don't like the music of the Grateful Dead!
"I wouldn't say I despise the
"I wouldn't say I despise the Dead, I just don't like them even a little bit."
That warmed my heart a little and makes me think about buying steel-toed boots.
re: favorite Grateful Dead Song
I rarely comment on these boards, but I have to take a moment to applaud your bold criticism of what is possibly the most over-rated band in history. I listen to the Dead and think, wow, that shit is SO out of tune! And there isn't much cool about Jerry either. Crappy tone. Bombastic over-use of effects pedals that just cloud the fact the he isn't really sure of what the fuck he is playing! Never understood why he was taken so seriously in bluegrass circles, playing with high-caliber musicians like David Grisman. Whenever I hear him, I think, whoa, this guy really sounds like a charlatan...
"Jack Straw," "Cumberland
"Jack Straw," "Cumberland Blues," "He's Gone"...in fact all of Europe '72 is worthy of checking out. Very Dead-like playing but with a good amount of restraint and composition. It's a whole different ballgame compared to where the band was musically when their career ended.
How do you practice? Routine? Do you have warmups you do pre-gig?
wow, reading that makes me
wow, reading that makes me think you are not very nice.
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