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Slate Presents: What Your Favorite Grateful Dead Song Says About You
As I’m occasionally forced to point out to the otherwise-savvy HTMLGiant readership, the Grateful Dead are awesome, and anyone who doesn’t understand that should be put to shame. (Some people don’t understand why they’re awesome, which is a different story; you should ask me to explain it to you some time.) Today, Slate helps us celebrate the band’s much-belated laureling by having John Swansburg offer a run-down of what your favorite GD tune says about who you are, and what your corresponding yearbook quote is/was/will be. Here are a few of my favorites. Click through anywhere for the full article.
“Wharf Rat”: Back when you were in grad school at Cornell finishing up the coursework for your literature Ph.D., you had this great riff about how the structure of “Wharf Rat” mimicked that of Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”—an unreliable narrator relaying a tragic tale through a second, ostensibly reliable narrative voice. At this point, your buddies typically ducked out, ostensibly to pick up another sixer of Genesee.
Yearbook quote: “I got no dime, but I got time to hear his story.”
Yearbook quote: “My landscape would be empty if you were gone.”
It should go without saying, but you are all heartily encouraged to name your own favorite Grateful Dead songs, and corresponding descriptions and quotes, in the comments thread. Mine is probably their cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.”
Tags: Grateful Dead, John Swansburg, Slate
more like grateful dread, hah
more like grateful dread, hah
Jack Straw
Jack Straw
And then anything with Pigpen.
And then anything with Pigpen.
Their cover of Mama Tried
and Ripple
Their cover of Mama Tried
and Ripple
This was the best from the article:
“Dark Star: You consider any Dead song that clocks in at less than 20 minutes a frivolous ditty. You believe the band was never the same after Ron “Pigpen” McKernan died in ’73. You don’t own a Dead T-shirt, but you own several Dead tattoos, including a terrifying Steal Your Face skull on your forearm that renders you unemployable in several service-related fields. You don’t own a motorcycle operator’s license, but you frequently operate motorcycles. You’re familiar with the effects of PCP; you’ve done a little time. You can’t believe what’s become of the Haight. You, my friend, are the genuine article.
Yearbook quote: N/A. Didn’t finish high school.”
This was the best from the article:
“Dark Star: You consider any Dead song that clocks in at less than 20 minutes a frivolous ditty. You believe the band was never the same after Ron “Pigpen” McKernan died in ’73. You don’t own a Dead T-shirt, but you own several Dead tattoos, including a terrifying Steal Your Face skull on your forearm that renders you unemployable in several service-related fields. You don’t own a motorcycle operator’s license, but you frequently operate motorcycles. You’re familiar with the effects of PCP; you’ve done a little time. You can’t believe what’s become of the Haight. You, my friend, are the genuine article.
Yearbook quote: N/A. Didn’t finish high school.”
Maybe I’m an uninformed asshole, but my favorite song was always Friend of the Devil? Am I confused or something? I thought the guy who wrote it’s name was like Richard something, or Robert something, Robert Hunter maybe, I dunno, I always loved that song though, no matter who sang it. Maybe I’m way off base, but Slate didn’t list it.
Maybe I’m an uninformed asshole, but my favorite song was always Friend of the Devil? Am I confused or something? I thought the guy who wrote it’s name was like Richard something, or Robert something, Robert Hunter maybe, I dunno, I always loved that song though, no matter who sang it. Maybe I’m way off base, but Slate didn’t list it.
That’s a Dead song. Don’t know why the article didn’t list that one. They left out a lot of good ones.
That’s a Dead song. Don’t know why the article didn’t list that one. They left out a lot of good ones.
casey jones.
it’s catchy and i like that.
casey jones.
it’s catchy and i like that.
Sugar Magnolia and China Cat Sunflower are solid
Sugar Magnolia and China Cat Sunflower are solid
Friend of the Devil is my favorite hands down. I still listen to it while working out. Robert Hunter wrote it.
“…but it don’t look like me” Greatness.
Friend of the Devil is my favorite hands down. I still listen to it while working out. Robert Hunter wrote it.
“…but it don’t look like me” Greatness.
Sampson and Delilah or Bertha.
Sampson and Delilah or Bertha.
as my friends says, “is it really possible to have a favorite dead song?”
as my friends says, “is it really possible to have a favorite dead song?”
Paul, your friend wins.
Paul, your friend wins.
I agree with Paul’s friend, but will throw out St. Stephen and The Other One just for literary significance sake, maybe. Also, Victim or the Crime for being the darkest Dead song definitely.
I agree with Paul’s friend, but will throw out St. Stephen and The Other One just for literary significance sake, maybe. Also, Victim or the Crime for being the darkest Dead song definitely.
i lied. my favorite’s “casey jones.” sorry paul!
i lied. my favorite’s “casey jones.” sorry paul!
wait, is everyone jk-ing or not, im confused
wait, is everyone jk-ing or not, im confused
just kidding
just kidding
Take the flag down