Grateful Dead

I read, some stuff, mostly dead or drug related, Just finished Electric kool-aid Acid test again, that one fits in both categories, drugs and the dead. Also read Billy's book recently, good read, better than Phil's book in my opinion. I also just got finished rereading Carlos Castaneda's first book about Don Juan, The teaching of Don Juan, this is a great book, forgot how much fun it was to read. I have a signed first edition which has some stories about Don Juan's concoctions and how they were made that were excluded in later pressings. Of course, On the Road is a favorite and everyone should read it at least once, love the way Kerouac writes. Back in the day I visited the house he lived in in Winter Park , Fl and they had the original copy of his manuscript on display, just one continuous page rolled up into a roll, very cool.
Sorry but how could you not like drums>space? Best part of the show imo and the part I always waited for, Micky and Billy's beast with 8 arms was always a good time, especially when Micky played the beam. What can you say about the space section, they made it up right there on the spot, you can't get better improv than that, anywhere. Yes, in the latter years the space section would get a bit sloppy and sometimes, they would lose the crowd, but most of the time, it was brand new Dead music being made up right in front of you. Never met a Drums>Space I didn't like. For some good examples with some fantastic names provided by Mr. Hunter, Infrared Roses is the way to go, it would definitely be part of my lost on a deserted island music stash and one of the first ones I would play when smoking Jerry weed :)
Does anybody use winamp anymore? Plays all my flacs with no problem. Don't you lose a bit of the sound when you compress shows into Mp3? Sure, might take up a bit less space, but at the cost of the sound? not interested. I have no mp3 music unless it's a show that I can't get on any other format. I agree, most dead shows can be found on etree. Get you some.
You are right, no one does it like Jerry, end of story.

iTunes doesn’t play FLAC, it will play AIFF, ALAC, AAC, and possibly WAV on PC’s.

There is free software to convert audio files, probably more for PC than Mac.

If you have a PC then Windows audio player might convert FLAC to WAV.
I think that VLC (the traffic cone video player) will convert audio files.

If you want lossless files in iTunes then you will need to import into iTunes with the import setting to ALAC. The files that you use to get imported cannot be FLAC, but WAV or AIFF will work.
Thus, the torrent FLACs have to be converted to WAV (PC) or AIFF (MAC) before they can be imported into iTunes.

The effort is worth it because there is a lot of music available.

If you have a Mac and need more details on converting audio files let me know.

Edit:
Some people claim that you shouldn’t convert a compressed format (FLAC) directly to another compressed format (ALAC, AAC, mp3) but should first convert it to an uncompressed format (WAV or AIFF).
I can’t confirm whether this is true, but I do convert all torrent FLACs to AIFF first.

If you have never experienced it, go see Dead & Co.
It’s a lot shorter than those 30+ min ones in 93-95 but still fun.

.....i haven't tried it yet. I did listen to Infrared Roses however, then I come here and it's currently being discussed. Imagine that.

As I mentioned earlier, I am currently working through my first reading of Ulysses, and I am treating it sort of like a course I am taking. Prior to starting, I read Joyce's Dubliners (fantastic collection of short stories,) then Portrait of the Artist (characters and themes from both figure prominently in Ulysses.) Now, I read three episodes at a time to see what I can glean on my own, then go to the guides online, read the criticisms, etc., then re-read the same three episodes before moving on to the next chunk. Kind of exhausting, but it is amazing how much I am able to get out of the book that second time through. It really is wonderful, but I don't think I'll be done with the damn thing til' June! :)

I read Moby Dick for the first time this past year, and like many, I was wary of the dreaded "Cetology" chapters. I muscled through though and found those chapters to be some of the best. Melville takes the topic of whales and whaling and manages to turn them into metaphors that touch on seemingly all aspects of human existence. I felt like I was reading a book about Everything, capital E. Without those chapters, the book would be about a fishing trip gone wrong. I feel like those reading M.D. for the plot are going about it the wrong way...doesn't everyone know the story by now? I highly recommend paying a bit more for the Norton Critical edition - the extensive footnotes really helped me with the millions of allusions Melville uses, and they really help with getting more of the big picture Melville is painting.

Happy to see Infinite Jest, Owen Meany, Pynchon, even Hornby getting mentions here. Great books all around. For Owne Meany fans (which is one of my all time favorite books, ever,) I would recommend Irving's The Hotel New Hampshire as well. I read that at a cheap motel in Ft. Lauderdale on Jan. 2nd, 2000 - my buddy and I were returning from Phish's Big Cyprus NYE, and while he slept it all off, I sat on the motel deck and read - one of the best reading experiences I've ever had. Murakami is another fav (Norwegian Wood and Wind-Up Bird are great,) and Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go and Remains of the Day are both absolutely incredible.

Wait a second... which board am I on? LitHub?

What about Gainesville? In fact, I think I'm going to put that Shakedown>Franklins on right now! For those who would like, here's a link to the Miller transfer:

https://archive.org/details/gd1980-11-29.nak700.wagner.miller.90104.sbe…

Bonus, since it's an AUD, you can still download it!

Happy reading, happy listening, and happy Saturday, DeadLand!

Peace

Oh, and count me as another one that genuinely loves Drums>Space.

Peace

Byrds - Fifth Dimension
Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
GD - Lindley Meadows 9/28/75
Jethro Tull - Benefit
Sublime - 40 oz. to Freedom (original full Skunk Records release)

That Lindley Meadows shows from the 30 Trips box is soooo good, one of my favorite shows from that box. 40 oz to Freedom is one of those albums that I listen to from start to finish or not at all, something about it just clicks for me.

How’s it hang’n brother & sisters?!... last 5 Audio Books . An old friend of mine put this together for me and gave it to me for a gift. It even contained a French language version of Arthur’s ‘Seaon in Hell’,which I thought was pretty cool.
#1 Huxley ‘the doors of perception’
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley.
Published in 1954, it elaborates on his psychedelic experience under the influence of mescaline in May 1953. Huxley recalls the insights he experienced, ranging from the "purely aesthetic" to "sacramental vision",and reflects on their philosophical and psychological implications. In 1956, he #2 published ‘Heaven and Hell’, another essay which elaborates these reflections further. The two works have since often been published together as one book; the title of both comes from #3 William Blake's 1793 book ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’.
#4 Rimbaud ‘A Season In Hell’ And lastly #5 Ending with ‘The Teachings of Don Juan’ in 1968, by Carlos Castaneda
...another level of (un) consciousness. 🙏❤️😎💀🌹
..

....Be careful about driving drunk as we are getting close to Christmas. Quite rightly, police are out checking on people.

Last night I went out for a few drinks. Cocktails, then wine. (Not a good idea).

However, knowing I was over the limit, I took the bus back home.

We passed a police check point and I could see they were pulling over drivers and giving them breath tests. They waved the bus past. I arrived home safely and without incident, which was a surprise as I’d never driven a bus before and I’m not even sure where I got it from.

...last 5 listen’s
#1 ‘Grateful Dead ‘ Ready Or Not / Blue & Red vinyl LPs Limited pressing. I really enjoy the sound mix on this editionLP, I believe versions were Also pressed on Black & Yellow(Not GD Productions)as well. Very open sounding on my home system.
I even recently played the CD version. Very happy & grateful for another beautiful mix, even sounded great on my Little purty good Bose’ CD Player in my art studio for inspiration & intertainment enjoyment purposes . I love the song‘Broken Arrow’ ! The version played on March 27th 1993 Knickerbocker arena , Albany NY , released and included in the 30TATS BoxSet is grateful to these ears. This is Listen #2 - 3CD Release
#3 - October 1st 1994 Boston Garden , BostonMA. A mighty grateful show for this age’n Deadhead . Don’t listen to these eras much but Loose Lucy 1993 show got me dancing ! Lol ha ha smiling around and around!
#4 - the Doors ‘50th Ann. Soft Parade’ one of my favorite Doors Records under their belts.
the Bonus Material included is most welcomed I believed by most Doors Fans. I dig the ‘Rock Is Dead’ session Bruce’s up along with the pangant process treatment , sorry for spelling errors, doing my best folks, forgive me.
#5 Love ‘ Forever Changes 50th Ann. Special edition with same media treatment as the doors both being on the Elektra label & wb- 3 CDs and a lp record. Love it, bella mix(s) and unreleased material. Another Qick Shout Out for the Green LP Color For Loves ‘FourSail’ but this version has the album mixed by Arthur Lee. My go to version to date for this primo record and band. Air Thur was a man ahead of his time, his creativity was exploding all over the place like ‘Roman Candles at Night! Highly recomand this Lp pressing and mix / top shelf or tier as the dead folks like to say. Have a grateful night and holiday season everyone.! Rock on ! 🙏❤️😎🌹💀🌹💀👌🏻💀

Dude that was hilarious, well done.

I had to chime in because I am completely against police sobriety checkpoints. Anyone checking on the police to make sure they're sober? These should be unconstitutional. One should have to be demonstrably affected to be pulled over, and then, as was said, rightly so.

The blood alcohol limits these days are criminally low. I can easily go out for drinks and be over the ridiculously childish "limit" and drive great. Yes, not just good, but optimal. Alcohol affects everyone differently. There are drivers out there stone cold sober who shouldn't be behind the wheel, you see them every day - idiots on their goddamn phones at every stop light and even driving on the highways.

I feel for anyone who has lost a loved one to a drunk driver, I do. But the solution is not busting otherwise law abiding citizens who are driving safely and lawfully who may be "over the limit" after a dinner and then hitting one of these eastern-bloc checkpoint abominations. This is the United States of America and I am loathe to give away some of my freedoms - and making my own decision about whether I am fit to drive is one of them, until I demonstrate otherwise.

For anyone who disagrees, I don't mean to harsh your mellow. Carry on.

....i swear it wasn't the absinthe.

I used to be able to fall over better when I'd had a drink.

Is anyone else in this same boat? I am a subscriber in the US and still haven't received my copy. I have no correspondence from dead.net either.

It just seems crazy late to still have nothing.

thanks for any help.

Sorry for the weak pun, but didn't expect to check in and see allusions to Moby Dick and Ulysses here, and Leopold Bloom (I first mistakenly named him Leo Bloom, before doing a quick search as I read it in college, and forgot Gene Wilder's character in The Producers is Leo Bloom) only registers in my memory banks as a very meek and mild Odysseus, even George Clooney's Ulysses Everett McGill in O Brother Where Art Thou is a braver Ulysses/Odysseus. I commend Joyce for having introduced stream of consciousness, but I believe William Faulkner to be the master of it. I read Moby Dick in high school and remembered enough of it to skip it when I was assigned it in college and still get an A on a paper on it. (Could not replicate that feat today, unfortunately.)

If any have not yet dove into the wondrous riches of Faulkner's writing, I would suggest taking a stab at him. Maybe start with As I Lay Dying, which is an easier read for Faulkner, and quite often humorous in its depressing depictions; Jewel's "sleeping spells" being my personal favorite. It still does have one character/narrator who is an autistic/mentally retarded child, so there is still some puzzlement in Vardman's chapters, though it's easy by comparison to Benjy Compson's section of The Sound and the Fury. Or Quentin's section, that's pretty tough in a completely different way. I don't know what draws me to Faulkner more than other writers, but the man cast a spell on me, and though I'm a lifelong Southerner, I do not grapple with the history of the Civil War and its ramifications on the idealized Old South in the way Faulkner and his characters do. Perhaps it's simply the characters, characterizations, and his intense attention to detailing an entire country in Tolkienian fashion long before Tolkien fashioned The Hobbit, then tread upon The Lord of the Rings, and went off on the many tangents and backstories of The Silmarillion. But where Faulkner and Tolkien are both a tough, dense read (excepting The Hobbit and some of Faulkner's short stories and books he wrote for the income), Faulkner's prose shines through. Getting Cliff's Notes to help decipher Faulkner is helpful as well. The Norton Criticals are good, too, if you can find them.

One place where his influence went where Faulkner would have least expected was with another of my favorite writers and employers of stream of consciousness: Hunter S Thompson. His stream was more of the expanded consciousness variety, but his writing is clear, lucid, and powerful. It's an irony of that era, but most political scientists of the era considered the good doctor's Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 to be the very best document on the 1972 election. And that's in spite of the fact he accused several presidential contenders, including Nixon, of being drugged or under the influence. He still was the most perceptive and prescient of those following the election bout. He predicted the nominee, though missed the outcome a bit. Though he was probably correct in trying to get McGovern to wear a Dead tshirt during the campaign, arguing he would get a million votes from the sartorial choice. McGovern didn't and he got trounced. It took a while, but snuck in a Dead reference.

Thanks for the comments; I was just wondering about it, that's all. I agree that watching Drums live was better than listening to it recorded, but Space, personally the only part I really enjoyed was anticipating what would emerge from it.

Alavarhanso...I fell under William Faulkner's spell too, many years ago. Sound and the Fury is one of the greatest novels I have ever read, and one that I go back to on a regular basis. A couple of years ago, I got a copy that was colour coded, so different parts in the first section are framed in different colours. This links to an enclosed card, so you can identify who is speaking, and what year they are speaking in. This is quite helpful, as the novel travels backwards and forward in time without warning-just like our thoughts-and two of the characters have the same name. There is also a 200 page reference book to go with the novel . Truly, the more you read it, the more is revealed. This is a Folio edition-its not cheap-but its well worth getting if you want to carry one exploring the novel.

Thinking of drug books, I re-read Thomas De Quincey's "Confessions of and English Opium Eater" last month. Written at the dawn of the 19th century, you could be forgiven for thinking this has no relevance to contemporary drug culture at all. But it does. De Quincey describes taking opium and walking round London, feeling the pulse of the city. In the evening, Hawkwind not having formed yet, he has to make do with going to the opera- but his habit of getting high and then going out to hear music chimes very nicely with the model of drug taking prevalent when I was growing up.
Incidentally, there are two editions of this book, one published in 1821 and a revised, expanded edition published in 1856. I would definitely go for the first, shorter one. In the second one, De Quincey merely expands on his early, pre opium years going to school, college, finding employment etc etc. The shorter edition includes a briefer account of these years...and then cuts to the chase.

I didn't know that Little Walter had ever played with Quicksilver. It would be fascinating to hear how it went.
I didn't see Muddy Waters, live, unfortunately. My first blues concert, as opposed to blues rock concert, was B.B.King around 1980. I couldn't believe how much more powerful B.B was live, compared to the fairly easy going albums he released in the 1970s. He was dynamite live, and I saw him many times after that.

But I don't think Muddy Waters came to Britain in the 1980s. I do have some great dvds of his concerts. The best features 3 shows from 3 different eras, and the best, by far, is from Newport 1960. During the closing "I Got My Mojo Working", Muddy starts dancing round the stage. Its the most unusual dance I have ever seen in my life! He also plays great guitar on it, and the band is fantastic.

And Little Walter..where to start. On those 1950s recordings with Muddy, he swoops and glides round the beat like a bird of prey. And the sound he got from his harmonica was phenomenal. Most rock harmonica players sound a bit cheesy to me-they hit the right notes-but the sound isn't always that great. But in Little Walters hands, the harp sounded more like a tenor saxophone-deep and rich. Truly in a class of his own.

This is the conclusion I draw every time I read your posts. Maybe it's the fact we're both Daves. :)

Faulkner's original idea was to publish Sound and the Fury with those different colors. Apparently it would have been prohibitively expensive in 1929, and when they published the one you got your hands on, it was a highly limited edition, something us Deadheads know a thing or two about. I would love to read it anew with those colors, to see if that helps or allows me to get some things I had previously missed.

I've heard of Opium Eater, but never read it. I'll put it at the top of my list. And maybe fire up some Hawkwind when I read it. Anybody else like to have music on as they read? That's another way jambands and jazz accentuate the experience of reading to me. Unless I start getting too into the music and have to reread a passage or page, but that can be helpful.

Rock on, fellow Dave!

ETA: I was provoked into searching for that Folio Society Limited Edition, and that thing goes for more than 30 Trips, Europe '72, or Fillmore West. Saw one for sale for $1600!

No.. this is not normal, you should have your Dave's Picks by now..

Send a message to MaryE, she seems best at helping with issues like this. If you have never sent her a PM, it is difficult to contact her as new PM's are not working at the moment.

https://www.dead.net/forum/temporary-fix-pm-problem

The above link shows the best way to reach her until PMs are working again.

Speaking of PMs, there are a couple people I was trying to contact regarding March 77 Winterland (Nitecat and another).. but I couldn't send them a PM. When PMs are working I will circle back on this and reach out to you.

Weird little annoying bug.. I wish they would fix it.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays all..

9/15/72 Boston Music Hall, MA
9/26/72 Stanley Theater, NJ
9/28/72 Stanley Theater, NJ
10/2/72 Springfield MA
12/12/ 72 Winterland. CA

These sound great and fill that 1972 urge.

Jimbo, I believe you're spot-on about the coolness we would have had with a Winterland '74 box set from that Feb '74 run. I always picture it packaged like the 73 and 77 sets, except in red. And Berkeley - what a set that would have been: couple of Dark Stars, Other Ones, Playing in the Bands, China Riders, Bird songs, Truckins' < etc.

.....😍😍😍

while we're talking about BB King, check out his "Live In Japan" release from 1971...he just absolutely shreds it, both musically on guitar and vocally, what a singer...and of course the classic "Live At The Regal" from 1965...it's what sets the standard for live Blues recordings...follow those two up with "Blues Is King" recorded in late '66..."Live At The Regal" gets all the acclaim and rightly so but "Blues is King" is right next to it...you can't go wrong with any of these...And regarding Little Walter, the "Blues With A Feeling" Bio written by Tony Glover is great...the Quicksilver stuff is talked about...

Alvarhanso - thanks very much for the compliment. I have never listened to Hawkwind while reading Confessions of and English Opium Eater, but I feel sure that if De Quincey was alive today I would be rubbing shoulders with him next time Hawkwind played London. In fact, if De Quincey was alive today he would probably be in Hawkwind .

Nappy rags...thanks for the recommendations concerning B.B King live. Curiously, the only live albums I have by him are the three you mention. Blues is King is great...but I never much liked the sound of my cd of it-a bit tinny. I'll have a look later to see if its been reissued at all in the last 10 years or so. I can remember reading somewhere that B.B. was having problems with his throat the evening Live in Japan was cut - which could account for the fact that it has much more guitar playing, and ,much less singing than other B.B. King albums I have heard. Live at the Regal is the biggy...but I think you are right...Blues is King is equal to it.

And yes, that was another thing that struck me when I saw him live...how powerful and expressive he was as a singer.

Here's a fun connection:

James B. Meriwether, the esteemed Faulkner scholar, was the father of our own Nicholas Meriwether, the esteemed Grateful Dead scholar, essayist, archivist, and all-around good guy.

Merriweather? Didn't you mean Bmore Civic Center? RavenSpace?

DaP34?

Also, I think the Lille E72 art is one of the best of the set.

Thanks for always being cool.

Peace

John carter of Mars. Vol. 1,2,3. Awesome.

Merriweather 85
Both shows

....that reminds me.

It was certainly fun at the time.. One of my more liked experiences. I think the tapes for 85 sound better than 83 and 84 too.

For what it's worth, the Garcia Band 89 shows there were spectacular as well and did get released. One of my favorite Lucky Old Sun's of all time.

A Festivus for the rest of us.

I am on board with 85! I have no officially released 85 and have always heard great things about the shakedown st. Come to think of it I do not have an officially released shakedown street either.

If not an 80’s pick make it 68-69 please.

Got to listen to Garcia Live Vol. 12!! Great stuff. You can ALWAYS tell when the band is having FUN!! Would not have guessed that Sarah Fulcher was a white woman on a listening only test. Powerfully strong voice. For that reason, I feel this is a unique entry into the discography. She absolutely TAKES OVER on some songs, but even then, you can hear how the rest of the band is delighted in leading/following her everywhere the tune takes them. A truly joyful listen.

To all: Be safe, Healthy, and (hopefully) Happy this Season of Joy.
Merriweather '85?? I would love that!!

Also really enjoying the new release. From the shows released, it stands out as unique from the others. I agree about Sara's contributions, this is well stated in the liner notes too.

Also, Garcia's playing is strong (as is the rest of the band). Alligator comes though brightly. A great addition.

Garcia
Just to show that dead.net aren’t the only company with disappointing service; I ordered #12 from amazon.co.uk and delivery was expected on the release date 20th Dec. Up to 8pm on the 20th delivery was promised that day. At 8pm I got an email saying that due to an unexpected delay the item wouldn’t ship until mid Jan 2020 at the earliest and possible not until early Feb. You have to wonder how a cd can be delayed, so suddenly, for that long. The saving grace is that the music is available to be listened to on Amazon Unlimited so I’m hoping to find some time over the festive period to listen to it.

Ken Burns
A question for US viewers of the series. I’ve just finished watching the 8 one hour episodes on the BBC in the UK. There is only a DVD version being advertised as released here and it doesn’t give any timing for the series although there are 8 discs. Looking at Amazon.com shows DVD and bluRay versions also with 8 discs. The product descriptions suggest that the series had 8 two hour episodes. Is this correct? I find it hard to believe they would take out half the content for European viewers.

Colin,
The "Country Music" Burns doc was 8 Episodes, most were 2 hours long, but some were longer. I believe I read that the total length of the series was between 17-18 hours. I know it took me 2 weeks to get a chance to see the whole thing. But......TOTALLY worth watching in it's entirety!!
On another note, I have ordered from Amazon UK many times, and my last few shipments have come with an expected date, followed by an announcement of a "new" expected date. These have never been more than a few days, with the notable exception of Miles Davis "The Lost Quintet", which I ordered in July, but release date was changed numerous times(finally received it in November). again, well worth the wait.

P.S. Back in 1994, we Americans were shortchanged on the Beatles Anthology doc, only getting 5-6 hours, as opposed to the U.K. viewers getting 8 or so. I felt truly cheated until the (I started to say DVD) VHS version came out with at least 8 hours of awesomeness!!

Ram Dass

I want to order this but I still have not received the july 78 box. Wow.

Mr Ones
Thanks. Presumably the full version mentioned Gram Parsons death? The BBC showed Gram and Emmylou singing duets and then talked about her first, country, solo album ‘Pieces of Sky’ with no mention of why they stopped singing together.

Edit: I agree, Amazon.co.uk are usually very good with delivery dates which is why this last minute change surprised me. I have bought many items from them over the years and have been happy with the service. Of course, that is also true of dead.net, they always supply the ordered items eventually and that is all I need.

Second edit: the amount of editing may be less than it appears. Does PBS have ads? If they take up around 20 minutes per hour then the actual programme length would be c. 80 minutes. The BBC has no ads so the programs are c. 60 minutes each. If this is the case then only about a quarter of each program has been taken out.

Its interesting how the prices keep changing for some cds on here. I was dead lucky three weeks ago, getting a 7 disc FM recording on the New Years 1972 Winterland show. 1 disc The Sons of Champlin, 2 discs New Riders and 4 discs of The Dead, for a measly £8.77. Its since shot up to £27.25. Its not the best sound quality I have ever heard, but its okay, and for the price I paid something of a bargain.
I noticed last night the recently released three disc Blues set by Rory Gallagher has dropped in price drastically. Hard to resist - I didn't even try.

Nightfall of Diamonds is sold out on this site. You should be able to grab a copy on eBay or Discogs for under $25.

Top notch Fall 89 show! Go for it.
Actually there is one on Discogs for $12.74. What a bargain!

Thanks for the choices but I received an email and the NOD is restocked. I think I will check out discogs.

A beautiful human who helped so many.

Brand New for $22.98 is a can't miss deal.
I see they have added a few other older releases as well. Interesting.
Thanks.

Thanks for remembering the March 77 request. I look forward to messages working again. I was fortunately at those shows! Those were the days...

One of the founding fathers of western psychedelic culture, as I understand it.

Starting the day with the blistering 2/27/69. Where to go after that...easy-2/28/69. Going off the last two years, it looks likely 3/1/69 will be out on vinyl soon too. Happy daze.

...speaking of 1972 , Daves Picks 2020 , a grateful choice/Picks from the 1972 Fall Tour would be gratefully welcomed into my Daves Picks series. performance(s) 🙏❤️😉💀🌹💀🌹

...a performance from the Fall Tour Of 1972 would be grateful in deed! 😉💀🌹💀🌹

I purchased Nightfall on this site because dead.net responded to my July 78 box question and gave me 25% off next purchase which was kind of them. $15 + ship = no brainer. That's how you chip away at a live dead collection.

Zipped you a pm. If its working.