Music
Fans Revolt on Grateful Dead Comment Thread!
Title like that and ya’ll probably think this is going to be a joke-post, but people who know me know that I am an extreme Grateful Dead-partisan, so dispense with the notion that I am writing in anything but earnest, and turn your attention now to a website you probably haven’t visited lately, Dead.net, where the once-venerable and now Rhino Records-controlled GDP (that’s Grateful Dead Productions) is offering their latest in (what we can only hope is) an endless supply of live-releases from the legendary VAULT.
To give credit where it’s due, most of the vault releases over the past couple years have been fantastic. A lot of people despaired of the fate of vault-stewardship after the death of Dick Latvala (the band’s tape archivist whose eponymous Dick’s Picks series eventually ran 35 multi-disc volumes), but the Road Trips series has won over more than a few skeptics (yours truly included) who at first balked at the decision to move from Dick’s focus on individual shows to a model that sought to provide, over two or three discs, the “highlights” of a run or an entire tour. But nothing really comes close, imho, to the three big–as in nine discs apiece–box sets: Fillmore West 1969, Winterland 1973 and Winterland 1977. So why are the notoriously genial Deadheads so pissed off about Philly ’89?
No Bonus Disc To Dangle, No Business From Me
On March 31st, 2010 leno710 said:I am so glad that I pre-ordered this cd/dvd set from Amazon a couple of weeks ago when it was only $31.99, including free shipping and no tax. Even when you use Amazon’s free shipping method, they at least let you know when it has shipped and give you a tracking number (Not just a wait & wonder game like you get here).
+1
On March 31st, 2010 ivhs72 said:I have to agree, with no bonus disc or material, a lower price and free shipping, it’s a no brainer. Just placed my order with Amazon. Hopefully TPTB will get it through their heads that their current operation only alienates customers, no matter how loyal they are to the band.
I waited for today’s announcement for a month…
On March 31st, 2010 Snark said:When I first saw the “coming soon” teaser on the Dead.net home page about a month ago, I thought that it would be worth my while to wait for the official release here instead of going to Amazon for a lower pre-release price, because the last time this sort of a package was released, (and the product that the teaser specifically compared this one to) was Rocking the Cradle, which DID have a bonus disc for orders from the site. Granted, they have an offer for a limited edition matching tee-shirt here, but that is a HUGE let-down compared to an extra disc, and since Amazon is also offering pre-sale pricing on April 20th new live releases from Hot Tuna (with a couple of GD tunes covered on the disc) and Johnny Winter, I think I’m going to pass on the tee-shirt and get a combo shipment of tunes from not just one, but three fine groups.
As you can see, they’re frustrated with Rhino because “Crimson, White and Indigo: Philly July 7, 1989, comes with a really shitty pre-order package. Forty bucks plus shipping gets you the release in not one but TWO obsolete formats (CD + DVD) and the only bonus incentive they’re offering is that for ten more bucks (bringing your pre-shipping total up to a whopping $50) they’ll give you a crappy-looking white tee shirt commemorating the show in question, which I guess could theoretically be interesting for someone who was actually at said show, but seems singularly pointless for anybody else in the world, up to and including the current spouse of the person who was actually at said show. This is a huge step down, incentive-wise, from the traditional Dead pre-order offer, which is usually of–wait for it–more Dead music, which is really all anybody wants. It might seem silly to you, as a lay-person, that the reward for spending a hundred bucks on a nine-disc box documenting three nights in November ’73 is a tenth disc highlighting shows from December ’73, but that’s exactly what makes you a lay-person. The entire logic of the Grateful Dead is based on the notion that more is in fact more–why play a song for five minutes when you can play it for twenty? Why see one show when you can live in a van for a month and see twelve? (Though to be totally fair, I should mention that there exists a small but vocal anti-bonus-disc faction, who think that the bonus disc incentive unfairly privileges people with the means and wherewithal to immediately pre-order new releases, leaving poorer Deadheads and also Johnny-come-latelies out in the cold.)
In the post-Garcia world, where the music lives exclusively in the form of vault-releases, the fans are willing to purchase more or less as much Grateful Dead music as GDP cares to publish. But Philly ’89’s problem is that the stinginess of the package and incentives has combined with the generally underwhelming caliber of the selection itself. It’s just not that much different, in the end, than “Truckin Up to Buffalo: July 4, 1989” which itself is not exactly a case-study in “magical alchemy,” to borrow a phrase from poor Blair Jackson, whose attempt to give Philly ’89 a write-up worthy of its forerunners just makes him sound tired. I feel for the guy, seriously, because the band had a long and uneven career, and sometimes you just gotta suck it up and put out an ’80s or ’90s show that’s not gonna stack up with 5/15/70 or 12/31/78. But at the end of the day I’m more interested in my feelings than his, and I think most people on the Philly ’89 comment thread feel the same way. Blair’s telling us about the handsome packaging of the release, and the photographs by Bob Minkin and an essay—for God’s sake, another essay?!?!–by Steve Silberman. It makes me want to grab them all by their collars and shake them, because nobody cares about any of that stuff. We just want more music.
I wish that GDP would cut out all of the frills and release shows the way Pearl Jam used to (still does?)– plain discs in brown paper sleeves accompanied by nothing. You got the date and place of the show, a track list printed on the sleeve, and that was it. What else did you need? The average show ran three discs and the whole thing set you back about fifteen bucks. I barely qualify as a Pearl Jam fan, but I think I must own three or four of those, because sometimes I just felt like hearing what they were up to, and they made it really easy to do that.
Historically, the Grateful Dead have always made things easy for their fans. There was an article about this recently in The Atlantic, about how they basically pioneered social networking and giving away content free, decades before anyone else thought those things mattered or knew what they were–and the Dead didn’t either, really, they were just doing what made sense to them: basing their relationship with their fans on a foundation of gift-economics and largesse, which is the root of the whole “more is more” thing. But now that control of day-to-day operations has been ceded from GDP to Rhino, we’re witnessing the rapid decay of nearly a half-century’s fealty and built-up goodwill. Many a time have I bought my Dead direct from GDP, even though it was cheaper on Amazon, could be in my hand this afternoon at Best Buy, and probably mine for free if I would spend twenty minutes on the interwebs. But those were never hard choices for me to make, because I recognize that my support of GDP was a way of voting with my dollars, and ensuring that the company continues to be able to produce what I want–which is sterling-sound-quality remasters of whole shows and runs, chosen from the best eras of the band’s career. That’s all I want. The rest of it–essays, photographs, artwork, little cloth-covered boxes, whatever–I could take or leave. If and when it occurs to me to read or look at any of the stuff that comes with the music, I’m usually interested enough–I like looking at pictures of Jerry Garcia, and sometimes the remembrances of the shows are nice, though they’re almost always sentimental and overblown–but it’s just not what I’m in this thing for, and I think I’m speaking for most GD fans when I say that. We’re all left trying to answer a very unsettling question, which is when we vote with our dollars, exactly who or what are we voting for?
The core issue here really is one of stewardship, and our more-than-reasonable concern that GDP/Rhino is overly interested in manufacturing nostalgia, in order to sell us more tee shirts, license plate frames, and Monopoly knock-offs than music recordings. I personally am always glad to own a Grateful Dead and/or Jerry Garcia tee shirt–in fact I own one of each, but that just about covers my needs. And I’ll even concede that if I had a decent suit, and anywhere to wear it too, I might be inclined toward some sterling silver Steal Your Face cufflinks, though in this scenario I am probably attending my own wedding, in which case my affianced (or, if not her, my mother) is likely to put her foot down in re this.
But back to the nostalgia thing. I’ll grant that there’s plenty to be wistful about, plus apparently no small appetite for that kind of gee-whiz-remember-when attitude among those fans who actually were “on the bus” or whatever, at some point. But for the next generation of Dead fans, people like myself who never saw the band play and whose fandom is based exclusively on our interest in these archives, the whole nostalgia thing is irrelevant and beside the point. It risks making us feel left out, but mostly it’s just boring, and feels like an unnecessary gilding of the lily. The energy is in the wrong place, and that’s a huge concern, especially now that GDP/Rhino is now also running the Jerry Garcia solo stuff, which includes both the Pure Jerry series and the Jerry Garcia Collection series ((kudos, btw, on the absolutely gorgeous acoustic show at Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium 2/28/86).
Tags: Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, Philly '89, vault stewardship
Well said. The Road Trips releases are nice, and yeah, those Winterland boxes were spectacular. My finger hovered over the preorder button for Philly for a second, until I thought, why would I pay for a CD and DVD when what I really want is a Blu-Ray and some FLACs?
One point though: “in the post-Garcia world … the music lives exclusively in the form of vault-releases” isn’t quite true. Especially if you didn’t catch the Grateful Dead, you owe it to yourself to check out one of the spin-off bands. I never had a bad time at a RatDog, The Dead, Phil, or Furthur show, and the music is alive and well outside the vault.
Well said. The Road Trips releases are nice, and yeah, those Winterland boxes were spectacular. My finger hovered over the preorder button for Philly for a second, until I thought, why would I pay for a CD and DVD when what I really want is a Blu-Ray and some FLACs?
One point though: “in the post-Garcia world … the music lives exclusively in the form of vault-releases” isn’t quite true. Especially if you didn’t catch the Grateful Dead, you owe it to yourself to check out one of the spin-off bands. I never had a bad time at a RatDog, The Dead, Phil, or Furthur show, and the music is alive and well outside the vault.
Point taken, Jurgen. I’ve seen Phil & Friends a few times, and the re-formed Dead twice. They’re fun shows–especially one in Tampa in 2005 when the Dead were touring with Dylan. He played first, then Robert Hunter played the setbreak, to a 3/4 empty basketball arena, but I stayed for it, then Dylan did half a set with the Dead and then they did a whole other set and a half just on their own. Hard to go wrong with four or so hours of music for your fifty bucks. But none of those post-GD bands are the same as or interchangeable with the GD itself, so I think my distinction still stands. Anyway, thanks for reading this. Have you checked out the Download Series they offer through iTunes? It’s a whole *other* set of live releases. #4, at the Capitol Theatre in June ’76 is pretty sweet.
Point taken, Jurgen. I’ve seen Phil & Friends a few times, and the re-formed Dead twice. They’re fun shows–especially one in Tampa in 2005 when the Dead were touring with Dylan. He played first, then Robert Hunter played the setbreak, to a 3/4 empty basketball arena, but I stayed for it, then Dylan did half a set with the Dead and then they did a whole other set and a half just on their own. Hard to go wrong with four or so hours of music for your fifty bucks. But none of those post-GD bands are the same as or interchangeable with the GD itself, so I think my distinction still stands. Anyway, thanks for reading this. Have you checked out the Download Series they offer through iTunes? It’s a whole *other* set of live releases. #4, at the Capitol Theatre in June ’76 is pretty sweet.
This reminds me of “Pierre Bernard’s Recliner of Rage.” And I mean that in the nicest possible way.
This reminds me of “Pierre Bernard’s Recliner of Rage.” And I mean that in the nicest possible way.
heh
heh
I’ll take it! Thanks.
I’ll take it! Thanks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKVU3tiBoQ =) =) =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKVU3tiBoQ =) =) =)
You mean there’s records and shit? I thought GD was like a gateway drug for timid white people.
You mean there’s records and shit? I thought GD was like a gateway drug for timid white people.
You’re in NYC, aren’t you? Have you seen the Grateful Dead exhibit at the New-York Historical Society? I only mention it because I work there.
You’re in NYC, aren’t you? Have you seen the Grateful Dead exhibit at the New-York Historical Society? I only mention it because I work there.
Justin:
I would have read this, but I looked at all these words and I thought, “For God’s sake, another blog post???” So I just skimmed down to the bottom, because I prefer my Web pages clean, without all that “commentary.” And here I am. If you know where I can buy some Justin Taylor cufflinks, though, I’m down, as long as they don’t come wrapped in any “information” about the history of Justin Taylor, which just depresses me to read about, because I missed out on so much of his early years.
Steve
Justin:
I would have read this, but I looked at all these words and I thought, “For God’s sake, another blog post???” So I just skimmed down to the bottom, because I prefer my Web pages clean, without all that “commentary.” And here I am. If you know where I can buy some Justin Taylor cufflinks, though, I’m down, as long as they don’t come wrapped in any “information” about the history of Justin Taylor, which just depresses me to read about, because I missed out on so much of his early years.
Steve
I haven’t been there yet, but I’m really excited about it. Planning to go this week sometime.
I haven’t been there yet, but I’m really excited about it. Planning to go this week sometime.
Hi, Steve. Thanks for dropping by. Listen, man, I’m all for history (see above comment re GD at NYHS) and I’m all for more info the on the Grateful Dead- over the years I’ve read a couple biographies, kept up with Hunter’s online journal for a long time, pitched the 33 1/3 series on a Grateful Dead book not once but twice (came really close the 2nd time), and so on. I’m not trying to cast aspersion on your particular essay, which I am sure is a fine piece of work and which, in any case, I haven’t had the privilege of reading–so how would I know? But my concerns about packaging and the nostalgia-industry are neither invented nor overblown. GDP/Rhino jumped the shark product-wise when they started offering commemorative silver rings that could be engraved with the dates of particular shows (“the bus came by and you got on” was the singularly cheesy and condescending tag-line for that product campaign). There’s just a limit to the number of essays a reader (even an avid, sympathetic reader) can read about the special history of a given concert, run, or tour-leg, without losing his credulity. I think of everyone in the GD family, it seems like Hunter probably understands this best. His various liner notes and reflections tend to be the soberest, and least windy, which incidentally also makes them the most interesting, because they read as if they were written by a human being instead of a PR drone (cf his notes to the JG remasters box set, where he talks about not really getting why Jerry likes “Russian Lullabye” so much, and makes the equally strange and fascinating argument for “Cats Under the Stars” as the crowning achievement of their work together). So again, I’m not trying to shit on your essay, or judge it before having read it, but I do believe I’ve offered an accurate sketch of the way in which the deck is stacked against you from the get-go, and attempted to offer my own best assessment of some of the reasons why that is. It’s not a personal attack on you, but it is emphatically an attack on one aspect of the GDP legacy and its management, and you’d be doing us both a favor if you passed this little rant of mine along to someone in the head office.
Anyway, if you’d like to know more about the history of Justin Taylor, all my writing is archived here- http://justindtaylor.net/ . All best, and thanks again for your words.
Hi, Steve. Thanks for dropping by. Listen, man, I’m all for history (see above comment re GD at NYHS) and I’m all for more info the on the Grateful Dead- over the years I’ve read a couple biographies, kept up with Hunter’s online journal for a long time, pitched the 33 1/3 series on a Grateful Dead book not once but twice (came really close the 2nd time), and so on. I’m not trying to cast aspersion on your particular essay, which I am sure is a fine piece of work and which, in any case, I haven’t had the privilege of reading–so how would I know? But my concerns about packaging and the nostalgia-industry are neither invented nor overblown. GDP/Rhino jumped the shark product-wise when they started offering commemorative silver rings that could be engraved with the dates of particular shows (“the bus came by and you got on” was the singularly cheesy and condescending tag-line for that product campaign). There’s just a limit to the number of essays a reader (even an avid, sympathetic reader) can read about the special history of a given concert, run, or tour-leg, without losing his credulity. I think of everyone in the GD family, it seems like Hunter probably understands this best. His various liner notes and reflections tend to be the soberest, and least windy, which incidentally also makes them the most interesting, because they read as if they were written by a human being instead of a PR drone (cf his notes to the JG remasters box set, where he talks about not really getting why Jerry likes “Russian Lullabye” so much, and makes the equally strange and fascinating argument for “Cats Under the Stars” as the crowning achievement of their work together). So again, I’m not trying to shit on your essay, or judge it before having read it, but I do believe I’ve offered an accurate sketch of the way in which the deck is stacked against you from the get-go, and attempted to offer my own best assessment of some of the reasons why that is. It’s not a personal attack on you, but it is emphatically an attack on one aspect of the GDP legacy and its management, and you’d be doing us both a favor if you passed this little rant of mine along to someone in the head office.
Anyway, if you’d like to know more about the history of Justin Taylor, all my writing is archived here- http://justindtaylor.net/ . All best, and thanks again for your words.
Justin:
I completely understand your concerns about price and packaging. For what its worth, Rhino pays me so little for those essays, it’s not like I could make a living from them, and it’s not like their token payments to me have any effect on the price. They decide what they want to charge, sometimes hire a writer or not, and do what they want. I was once asked for advice on future direction, and my advice was to make the whole vault available online for a reasonable price.
For your information, despite the token payments I get for that writing, I put weeks of work into those essays, and not weeks of writing usually, but weeks of *reporting* — finding out more information to lend context to the music. For instance, before I wrote the essay in Crimson, White and Indigo, I had no idea that one of the sounds that Bob Bralove made available to the band via MIDI was samples of Jimi Hendrix. Did you know that? I sure didn’t. And I thought my fellow Deadheads would find that interesting. To me, bare bones packages like “Without a Net,” which featured exactly zero information and context about the music — not even the dates of each performance — were very frustrating, because they made it harder to hunt down the whole shows and know what was going on in the band at that point. A certain former GD employee was always against putting that kind of info into GD releases, and even tried to strip it out of the So Many Roads box set, which we had to fight against for weeks. Similarly, before researching my essay for a recent Road Trips release, I never realized that the whole idea of camping out at GD shows with official permission — which ended up having a huge effect on the culture of jamband shows in general — began with a casual decision to let a couple of Deadheads pitch a tent at Kaiser so they could watch the merchandise booth.
That’s why reading “For God’s sake, another essay?!?!” about my work (when you haven’t even read it!) was so aggravating yesterday. I have spent a significant portion of my writing life trying to uncover historical information that would be of interest to Deadheads. I certainly don’t care if you don’t read it, but I put a lot of effort into writing essays that are not merely “windy,” as you describe them, but that contain useful information for Deadheads who will be drawn to this music long after I’m dead, when the people who made this music are no longer around to answer questions. While I share your concern about packaging and price, I do not share your contempt for Deadhead scholarship, having fought hard to make it part of this scene.
In five years, I imagine the whole idea of CD booklets will seem rather quaint anyway. But I hope downloadable essays are available for those who care.
I look forward to reading your work.
Steve
Justin:
I completely understand your concerns about price and packaging. For what its worth, Rhino pays me so little for those essays, it’s not like I could make a living from them, and it’s not like their token payments to me have any effect on the price. They decide what they want to charge, sometimes hire a writer or not, and do what they want. I was once asked for advice on future direction, and my advice was to make the whole vault available online for a reasonable price.
For your information, despite the token payments I get for that writing, I put weeks of work into those essays, and not weeks of writing usually, but weeks of *reporting* — finding out more information to lend context to the music. For instance, before I wrote the essay in Crimson, White and Indigo, I had no idea that one of the sounds that Bob Bralove made available to the band via MIDI was samples of Jimi Hendrix. Did you know that? I sure didn’t. And I thought my fellow Deadheads would find that interesting. To me, bare bones packages like “Without a Net,” which featured exactly zero information and context about the music — not even the dates of each performance — were very frustrating, because they made it harder to hunt down the whole shows and know what was going on in the band at that point. A certain former GD employee was always against putting that kind of info into GD releases, and even tried to strip it out of the So Many Roads box set, which we had to fight against for weeks. Similarly, before researching my essay for a recent Road Trips release, I never realized that the whole idea of camping out at GD shows with official permission — which ended up having a huge effect on the culture of jamband shows in general — began with a casual decision to let a couple of Deadheads pitch a tent at Kaiser so they could watch the merchandise booth.
That’s why reading “For God’s sake, another essay?!?!” about my work (when you haven’t even read it!) was so aggravating yesterday. I have spent a significant portion of my writing life trying to uncover historical information that would be of interest to Deadheads. I certainly don’t care if you don’t read it, but I put a lot of effort into writing essays that are not merely “windy,” as you describe them, but that contain useful information for Deadheads who will be drawn to this music long after I’m dead, when the people who made this music are no longer around to answer questions. While I share your concern about packaging and price, I do not share your contempt for Deadhead scholarship, having fought hard to make it part of this scene.
In five years, I imagine the whole idea of CD booklets will seem rather quaint anyway. But I hope downloadable essays are available for those who care.
I look forward to reading your work.
Steve
Steve, Thanks for bringing all of this to my attention. It was wrong of me to be so dismissive of your work. As far as that’s concerned, I concede the point entirely and with sincere apology. I think on most of the larger, more fundamental issues re the future of the GD vault, we’re on the same page. I would love nothing more than to see the entire vault made accessible–perhaps in the coming years UC Santa Cruz will be willing to take the helm in re this, though of course you’d probably know far better than me what kind of rights they do and don’t have.
Failing that, I have some specific ideas about what kind of releases I’d like to see. Every fan has these, naturally, but mine are less concerned with specific shows/runs/tours and more oriented by theme. Specifically, I think that we have yet to see a properly expansive and complete treatment of the GD’s (and Garcia’s, for that matter) acoustic repertoire. I’d love to have the opportunity to buy a three-or-four disc collection highlighting the GD’s acoustic sets from the early 70s, and if that same box also touched on whatever was neglected during the Reckoning-remaster for the Golden Road, then so much the better. And the same goes for JG’s solo catalog–I don’t know how much more is in his archives, but my profound hope/dream is that Shady Grove, Been All Around This World, and The Pizza Tapes are just the tip of the Garcia-acoustic iceberg. Let me know if you think there’s anything to these notions. I just finished my next book, so I’ve got a little time on my hands, and if I thought these ideas had any chance of getting considered, I’d immediately start research with the aim of creating a proposal–or whatever; I don’t actually know anything about how records like the ones I’m suggesting get made.
To your comment about CDs and downloadable essays- it’s true that the CD booklet is quaint, but only because it is attached to the CD. I hate to say this, but the CD as a technology is just done. I keep a CD player in my room, and actually play CDs on it, but I’m about the last person I know who does that. I’m 27. Yesterday, I told my roommate he should check out the 73 box, and handed it to him. He said his only CD player was the one on his computer. I would love to have the chance to read your work, in a physical format such as a zine, or to see all the essays collected in a book. It’s not all physical-technology that’s finished–I’ll take a book over a pdf any day of the week–but the CD is getting harder and harder to justify supporting as a technology. It’s gone the way of VHS, etc.
That said, it would be my pleasure to post anything you’ve written on this site as a special guest-post. We don’t pay (anyone, including ourselves) but we do are pretty widely read, and though general readers of this site have a relatively limited interest in the GD (and the site itself is of course a literature blog, only secondarily interested in music) a substantial portion of our readership are interested in creative nonfiction, biography, and reporting, all considered as aspects of literary practice. They would probably be thrilled to hear about your research process etc., and learn things they might be able to put to use in their own work.
If anything I’ve said here is of interest to you, we should probably continue the discussion off of this message-board. There’s an email address on the website I gave earlier. Please, drop a line anytime. All best-
Steve, Thanks for bringing all of this to my attention. It was wrong of me to be so dismissive of your work. As far as that’s concerned, I concede the point entirely and with sincere apology. I think on most of the larger, more fundamental issues re the future of the GD vault, we’re on the same page. I would love nothing more than to see the entire vault made accessible–perhaps in the coming years UC Santa Cruz will be willing to take the helm in re this, though of course you’d probably know far better than me what kind of rights they do and don’t have.
Failing that, I have some specific ideas about what kind of releases I’d like to see. Every fan has these, naturally, but mine are less concerned with specific shows/runs/tours and more oriented by theme. Specifically, I think that we have yet to see a properly expansive and complete treatment of the GD’s (and Garcia’s, for that matter) acoustic repertoire. I’d love to have the opportunity to buy a three-or-four disc collection highlighting the GD’s acoustic sets from the early 70s, and if that same box also touched on whatever was neglected during the Reckoning-remaster for the Golden Road, then so much the better. And the same goes for JG’s solo catalog–I don’t know how much more is in his archives, but my profound hope/dream is that Shady Grove, Been All Around This World, and The Pizza Tapes are just the tip of the Garcia-acoustic iceberg. Let me know if you think there’s anything to these notions. I just finished my next book, so I’ve got a little time on my hands, and if I thought these ideas had any chance of getting considered, I’d immediately start research with the aim of creating a proposal–or whatever; I don’t actually know anything about how records like the ones I’m suggesting get made.
To your comment about CDs and downloadable essays- it’s true that the CD booklet is quaint, but only because it is attached to the CD. I hate to say this, but the CD as a technology is just done. I keep a CD player in my room, and actually play CDs on it, but I’m about the last person I know who does that. I’m 27. Yesterday, I told my roommate he should check out the 73 box, and handed it to him. He said his only CD player was the one on his computer. I would love to have the chance to read your work, in a physical format such as a zine, or to see all the essays collected in a book. It’s not all physical-technology that’s finished–I’ll take a book over a pdf any day of the week–but the CD is getting harder and harder to justify supporting as a technology. It’s gone the way of VHS, etc.
That said, it would be my pleasure to post anything you’ve written on this site as a special guest-post. We don’t pay (anyone, including ourselves) but we do are pretty widely read, and though general readers of this site have a relatively limited interest in the GD (and the site itself is of course a literature blog, only secondarily interested in music) a substantial portion of our readership are interested in creative nonfiction, biography, and reporting, all considered as aspects of literary practice. They would probably be thrilled to hear about your research process etc., and learn things they might be able to put to use in their own work.
If anything I’ve said here is of interest to you, we should probably continue the discussion off of this message-board. There’s an email address on the website I gave earlier. Please, drop a line anytime. All best-
Good article and you hit on a lot of good points, as did many others in their posts. But there is so much music out there SBD available on FLAC that you really can pick and chose what you want anyway. I was overly excited about the Philly 89 show being released, but I’ll get it. Basically the same run as Buffalo (as you mentioned) and Downhill From Here. Yet both of those DVDs have sharp playing and I would imagine this DVD will be no different.
The nice thing about the package is that there is a DVD. I would have to say, I probably would not have chosen to pick this pace up if there was only a CD offering. The essays inside are really more for people who are fans, yet not fanatics like many of us. The packaging is all about marketing. You need to go all the way back and remember that art is very much a part of this band. I like their packaging. Why not make it something in typical GD tradition! I have hundreds of shows sitting in plain white slip sleeves with the setlist on the front. Sometimes I even get inspired and doodle my own drawings on there… Much like we used to do with our old cassettes, which still live in several cases in my garage.
I also agree with you on the wonderful box sets the band has released. 73 is one of my favorite years and that was quite a treat the day I saw they were going to release it! Again both of those have some wonderful atwork and I’d rather have them in that, rather than a slip sleeve or whatever.
My only other point is that I very much agree with a post talking about the music still being alive. Furthur has taken this band up another notch. They’ve taken their approach on the music with a new slant that is really keeping it fresh! I often recalled times during the last NYE run, where you could kind of look around and see everyone getting ready for a traditional (sub) break and they pulled it out differently, leaving some to look in wonderment. Obviously all the main breaks are there right about where they’re supposed to be.
Out of all the Furthur shows I’ve seen, have I walked out and thought, “wow something really magical happened in there tonight?” Not in the same sense of getting a Help>Slip>Frank or DDHNM for the first time in years… But the one thing this band does delivery is top drawer consistency all night and they simply bring it. I do walk out with that sense of magic because everything was tight and I’m proud and very fortunate to still witness the continuation what started “so many years ago.”
Again, enjoyed your piece!
Good article and you hit on a lot of good points, as did many others in their posts. But there is so much music out there SBD available on FLAC that you really can pick and chose what you want anyway. I was overly excited about the Philly 89 show being released, but I’ll get it. Basically the same run as Buffalo (as you mentioned) and Downhill From Here. Yet both of those DVDs have sharp playing and I would imagine this DVD will be no different.
The nice thing about the package is that there is a DVD. I would have to say, I probably would not have chosen to pick this pace up if there was only a CD offering. The essays inside are really more for people who are fans, yet not fanatics like many of us. The packaging is all about marketing. You need to go all the way back and remember that art is very much a part of this band. I like their packaging. Why not make it something in typical GD tradition! I have hundreds of shows sitting in plain white slip sleeves with the setlist on the front. Sometimes I even get inspired and doodle my own drawings on there… Much like we used to do with our old cassettes, which still live in several cases in my garage.
I also agree with you on the wonderful box sets the band has released. 73 is one of my favorite years and that was quite a treat the day I saw they were going to release it! Again both of those have some wonderful atwork and I’d rather have them in that, rather than a slip sleeve or whatever.
My only other point is that I very much agree with a post talking about the music still being alive. Furthur has taken this band up another notch. They’ve taken their approach on the music with a new slant that is really keeping it fresh! I often recalled times during the last NYE run, where you could kind of look around and see everyone getting ready for a traditional (sub) break and they pulled it out differently, leaving some to look in wonderment. Obviously all the main breaks are there right about where they’re supposed to be.
Out of all the Furthur shows I’ve seen, have I walked out and thought, “wow something really magical happened in there tonight?” Not in the same sense of getting a Help>Slip>Frank or DDHNM for the first time in years… But the one thing this band does delivery is top drawer consistency all night and they simply bring it. I do walk out with that sense of magic because everything was tight and I’m proud and very fortunate to still witness the continuation what started “so many years ago.”
Again, enjoyed your piece!
bringing the deadheads into the fold, good idea! they probably have a lot of capital since they can’t smoke weed anymore because it’s too strong for them now and they forget where they parked their volvos
bringing the deadheads into the fold, good idea! they probably have a lot of capital since they can’t smoke weed anymore because it’s too strong for them now and they forget where they parked their volvos
Thanks, Justin. Let’s talk on the phone sometime — email me anytime.
Steve
Thanks, Justin. Let’s talk on the phone sometime — email me anytime.
Steve
also justin, i really don’t mean to be a dick (i was only teasing about heads and such, i live in the bay area, i know they all drive SUVs now – all the volvos are rusting out in the sunset), but the contraction ya’ll should be done as y’all. i’m from texas and, frankly, we find the proliferation of this (mis)punctuation deeply troubling – at least as troubling as gun control.
also justin, i really don’t mean to be a dick (i was only teasing about heads and such, i live in the bay area, i know they all drive SUVs now – all the volvos are rusting out in the sunset), but the contraction ya’ll should be done as y’all. i’m from texas and, frankly, we find the proliferation of this (mis)punctuation deeply troubling – at least as troubling as gun control.
I think they drive Subarus now.
Old rusty junker Volvos are replacing old junky BMW 2001s as the Bay Area hipster vehicle of choice, I think.
I think they drive Subarus now.
Old rusty junker Volvos are replacing old junky BMW 2001s as the Bay Area hipster vehicle of choice, I think.
If you come on a weekday sometime between 12-5pm I can get you in free. Shoot me an e-mail.
If you come on a weekday sometime between 12-5pm I can get you in free. Shoot me an e-mail.
It’s even worse than you describe – try getting any sense at all out of ‘customer service’ when something goes wrong with your order. Shocking.
It’s even worse than you describe – try getting any sense at all out of ‘customer service’ when something goes wrong with your order. Shocking.
*2002s, not 2001s
sorry
*2002s, not 2001s
sorry
Why bother even dealing with the various corporations? Just go on archive.org and feed your head. The tapers that went to the shows and tried their best to capture the sound, and later eventually downloaded to this site, are spreading the vibe in the spirit in which it was intended. Rhino, Amazon, etc. just don’t do it for me.
Why bother even dealing with the various corporations? Just go on archive.org and feed your head. The tapers that went to the shows and tried their best to capture the sound, and later eventually downloaded to this site, are spreading the vibe in the spirit in which it was intended. Rhino, Amazon, etc. just don’t do it for me.