Comments on: The Day the Fat Man Died

By: LRuss

LRuss — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:35:27 +0000

*whose. Sorry. Couldn’t go without correction

By: LRuss

LRuss — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:34:47 +0000

I was six years old when Jerry died. And only knew him as Jerry, the man who played beautiful guitar, and who’s music I had already heard live countless times. My parents were those people you speak of, leaving convention, following the circus up until the very end. And for a while, as a child, so was I. I remember my dad cried when Jerry died, and I didn’t really understand that it actually changed life for him. It was fascinating to read this article for several reasons. And I think much of what you say probably is true. But I was most interested because I’d never really thought of the Dead from an outside perspective like this, only as the music that is pretty much mixed in with my DNA. I never thought of Jerry as a symbol, just a genius with incredible talent. Certainly the Dead started out as people just playing the music they wanted to play, and that, to me, is pretty damn awesome.

By: Rosie Palmer

Rosie Palmer — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:33:42 +0000

Aldous Huxley, fool!
“And say what you will about the tenets of national socialism, but at least it’s an ethos… I mean nihilists, they don’t believe in ANYTHING…”
PIZZA! PIZZA!
PL: I’m becoming more and more fond of this short exchange:
“Dieter doesn’t care about anything…” Cut to man in leather on raft in pool. “He’s a nihilist.”

By: Greg Morrison

Greg Morrison — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:13:48 +0000

This is a little off topic, but the mentioning of the Obama show reminded me of a question I’ve been meaning to ask you, PL. What do you think of the current Allman Brothers line up? I’ve seen the post-Dickie Betts ABB live several times, but it’s all I’ve ever had access to since I’m only 20. Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks are both fantastic, and their shows still have the artful highs and lows that make an Allmans concert such an experience, but sometimes when I’m on a long Fillmore kick, I feel like there’s a huge Something missing. I guess I’m not being fair though, comparing the current band to a time when Duane was still alive– my father still shudders at some of the shows he saw in the 80′s.
PL: I saw the group with Dickie and can say only this of Warren: He’s not Dickie. He’s great in Mule, but in my humble opinion, he ruins the Allmans.
The Allmans are supposed to have a sweet sound and Warren makes them way too heavy. He also writes horrid songs and forces the band to cover some awful old blues standards. Which is hard, considering most old blues standards are at least decent. But that’s Warren – he can find a nugget of shit in a vein of gold anyday. He should stick to doing jazzy/heavy shit with Mule. That’s where he shines.

By: Rosie Palmer

Rosie Palmer — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:29:02 +0000

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music…
Tom Wolfe wrote something to the effect that the Dead sounded like a band playing music under a waterfall… I agree.
Considering all this Michael Jackson bullshit, I will only say that if Jackson was a visionary and a pioneer that deserved the hullaballo that he got on his death, we’d better fucking burn down the Haight when Bob Dylan dies… PIZZA! PIZZA!
PL: Where’d you get the first line? Did you just flip that off? That’s awfully, well… profound.
I don’t know who’ll laud Dylan when he’s dead. He’s so inscrutable, contradictory, uneven and “unempowering” worst of all… And though that’s what we’re all like, in this new millenium of self-help, self-analysis and irreducible confusion and umbrage at the fact that we can’t have it all, all the time, if we just will ourselves to positive thought – or follow someone else’s glorious narrative on how to succeed beyond our wildest dreams – well, people might just say good fucking riddance to a voice like Dylan’s. He’s got no ethos! Not only no direction home… No direction at all. What does he stand for?
As if it matters. The music’s good.
And speaking of good music, check this out. I know you’re not a fan of Beatles music, but watch Neil play this, and watch who comes on stage three or four minutes in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6SSR3YY-rc

By: Victor Yuschenko

Victor Yuschenko — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:45:21 +0000

I really don’t want to piss on the grave of a beloved and respected artist, but there was always something about that scene that I found ridiculous and faintly insulting. I couldn’t put my finger on it, until you said the following: “Garcia – what he was and what followed him – represented one of the last fading concepts of total personal autonomy…”
Sure, Jerry and the band had as much personal autonomy as a human could ever hope for. But their followers merely left one world (the “straight” one), with its rules, rituals and hierarchies, for another world whose rules and rituals were no less hackneyed than the ones they left behind (and in many ways, less conducive to artistic innovation). The scene had a lot to recommend it. People were genuinely kind to each other. The music was occasionally great. But everyone chose to express their counterculturalism in pretty much the same way. By the end, it felt less like a collective grounded in the music than a vapid marketing exercise — a brand movement, not an idea movement.
I am, of course, talking partially out of my ass, and would happily listen to any counter-arguments.
PL: The “echo” effect is inescapable. People inevitably copy people. But I don’t think the Dead were cynical enough to deserve the word “marketing.” This was a band that nearly went bankrupt buying the famous “Wall of Sound” set-up they used in the 70s (the Cow Palace Dick’s Pick was one of it’s 1st uses, I think) and drove Warner Brothers nuts with expensive, utterly non-radio-friendly records like “Anthem of the Sun” and “Aoxomoxoa” then turned an pissed on the psychedlic scene with “American Beauty” and “Workingman’s Dead,” which accidentally made them famous by sheer power of the amazing writing, playing and production of the records. And it that wasn’t enough, simultaneously they diluted the band’s marketing thrust by demanding Bobby and Jerry get to do solo records. This, of course, led to another oddity in that Garcia’s “Garcia” turned out to be the greatest studio record they ever did, and the song platform for many of their live shows going forward.
The Dead were a mess and they didn’t start out with any plan but to play the music they wanted to play. The movement they morphed into was a later construction and yes, they used it commercially to their advantage. But even at their most crass, the band was uniquely legitimate in everything it did. That it’s followers did what followers of anything will do is sad, but expected. But that wasn’t the band’s ethos. The Dead told no one how to act and dress. They just played music and people did what they did around them. Wasn’t Jerry’s fault his fans let themselves be marketed. Hell, he never even talked to them. Wouldn’t even speak from the stage for the last decade or so.

By: Victor Yuschenko

Victor Yuschenko — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:12:26 +0000

This wasn’t going to be what I wrote about, but I got sidetracked in the comments again. Have to concur that Mutations is brilliant — Beck’s finest, and one of the top 5 albums of the ’90s. You think it’s depressing? Maybe, but not nearly as bad as Sea Change, which was largely cloying except for “The Golden Age,” which has one of my favorite opening lines of all time: “Put your hands on the wheel, let the golden age begin…” Sad, but wry, sarcastic and defiant as well.
PL: True. “Sea Change” is downright maudlin. His best record, in my opinion, is still “Odelay.” Funky shit. A Dust Brothers, right?

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:20:40 +0000

Though I was never a Deadhead, I like their tunes; it makes for great chill music. I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news of Garcia dying, and within 10 minutes, my diehard Deadhead friend was in tears out on the front lawn hammering a “Honk if you miss Jerry” sign into the ground. With regards to Jackson, his death pissed me off, not just because you couldn’t get any other news for over a week, but also because I had to watch these legions of phony people bawling uncontrollably, as if they actually knew the guy personally. I doubt a lot of these people (many of whom I’m sure hadn’t listened to a Jackson album in years) would have been having that kind of breakdown unless a camera was pointed at them. And these celebrities who exclaimed Jackson was their ‘idol’, ‘hero’ or ‘inspiration’ (yet wouldn’t testify as character witnesses when he needed their help) made me puke. This was the biggest ‘remorse bandwagon’ ever. The only solace I took was when I switched over to catch the end of his funeral, for the few minutes when they focused on his casket; I was praying that he would pull an Andy Kaufman stunt, jump out of the casket dressed in his full makeup and outfit from the Thriller video, and start eating the audience members. That would have been the prank of the century.
PL: Certainly would have revived his career. Personally, I think the MJ shit was a bunch of media wind. He’s been quite quickly forgotten, and the focus has rightly shifted back to his music – his real talent – and away from his sordid, sad life. People will buy a bunch of his discs now and that’s a good thing. The guy had some amazing songs, and that’s the best way to recall him. And only way anyone ought to recall him, considering the rest of what he was.

By: D

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:18:14 +0000

I saw the Dead a few weeks ago and it was actually really cool. However, I think you’re forgetting a more important death – B Mothafuckin Nowell! Anytime the sun’s out, I want to listen to Sublime, to this day. (I would also recommend Pepper’s “No Shame”; less social insight but they’re a good sublime rip-off.) Sublime is a lot more accessible as far as party music goes, because there isn’t any random noodling and dragging on.
The reason I’m commenting is my issue with Mr. Wolfe’s quote. Sgt. Peppers is one of the best albums of all time, and it started the shit. The Beatles created new genres AND made Charles Manson think there was gonna be a race war. Awesome.
p.s. Pelosi did the first rational thing of her life recently and shot down the MJ bill.
PL: I can’t even comment on Pelosi. She’s too ridiculous to warrant consideration.
As to Wolfe’s quote, I wasn’t offering it for the competition it potentially raised. It’s just a great quote and, truth be told, if we’re talking about live music, the Dead crush the Beatles to dust.
And if you look in the comments, I think I got to Brad Nowell. I assure you, no one appreciates the man’s genius more than I do. I consider them one of the all time great classic bands. Not much of a catalog, but what they did do outshines what most long running bands do over several decades.

By: Jais

Jais — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:06:44 +0000

Funny you mention Garcia, the movie Festival Express documenting The Deads and Janis Joplin trip on a train to Canada touring on IFC. Watching as we speak.
PL: I have to see that sober. Or at least not a a hundred miles out of my head. People say it’s a great flick and I know I’ve seen most or all of it, but the recollection is so damned blurry. Mixed up with boxing video games, the sound of bootlegs playing the background and some other stuff. It’s one of those things I might have vividly recalled for a day afterward, but is now mixed up, mere blurs of Jerry walking around the train and playing guitar with Janice or something like that.