Confessions of a Closet Deadhead

Once again, I find myself listening to the Grateful Dead on my daily commute to work. That means at least two hours of great music, and it's always something new, even as it's familiar. It's addictive.

So much to like. Jerry's guitar leads. Phil's wandering bass lines. Bob's enthusiastic singing. Lots of drumming by Bill and Mickey. Pigpen's down-and-dirty blues. Multiple keyboardists. A disco period. A post-disco period. Nearly 500 different songs by the Dead--and more by the guys as individuals. Covers.

What I like best, though, is the group musicianship. These guys, even at the beginning, but  always later--play together. I feel like they are different parts of one entity. I've read quotes from the guys saying that they just sensed when to come in or when to change songs or play a certain way. It's a feeling.

I appreciate hearing the same song done dozens or hundreds of different ways. God bless the tapers. I know most of the standard recordings, but when another version of Bertha comes on or I hear yet another version of Dark Star it's always exciting.

The band went through different periods, but is still around, in a way, with Furthur, so it feels like they've been playing forever. I guess in 2015 we'll celebrate 50 years.

In one hour this afternoon on Sirius/XM's Grateful Dead channel, I heard Blow Away, featuring Brent Mydland singing, then the harmonies of a version of Jack Straw. Then there was Pigpen wailing away on Promised Land. And on and on...

The first Dead I heard was The Golden Road on KFRC AM - the big 610, in 1967. They stood out then! I then received a gift of Anthem of the Sun (who was it that gave it to me? Can't remember...). I listened to that one on headphones in my bedroom over and over again in early 1969. Then, it was Truckin' on the radio and this and that. But it wasn't until I started playing the bass in 2003 that I began to appreciate Phil's inspired work and started buying the CDs. Now, Workingman's Dead and American Beauty are favorites, but I like the freshness of Terrapin Station, too, and put on the other discs periodically.

Even though I have always identified with and appreciated the Haight Ashbury and the 1960s, I regret that I missed out on the live shows. I'd like to be there with the people, sharing the music in person. Luckily, thousands of hours live on. There are bands who play the music, too, and I've heard a few. So nice.

Maybe I'll find a way to get to a Furthur show. I did see Jerry with Merle Saunders at San Francisco State in the 1970's. Maybe I'll find a way to play some of the Dead's songs myself, too, with some other interested musicians.

What a long, strange trip it's been.

Motormouth! - Fast Talkin' DJs from the 60s - and Today

If you're of a certain age, you enjoy at least an occasional walk through yesteryear's happy memories. I have to confess that I take those strolls more often than I really should. I like the accidental quality of radio, where you wade patiently through the familiar and the popular for that moment of surprise when they play your favorite old song--or maybe one that you'd forgotten about.

Now I have an iPod so I can download whatever I want--and I have. But there are plenty more nuggets out there. Just today, I heard the beautiful Bowling Green by the Everly Brothers--their last song to get Top 40 airplay. That was 1967 -- you almost NEVER hear it.

Often, on afternoon drives home, I hear the crazy DJ that works that slot--Terry Motormouth Young, on Channel 6 on Sirius XM. The guy made a reputation for talking faster than anyone else. Now, he mumbles more and sometimes sounds a little lonely and even nutty, but he does conjure up the wild DJs of yore in between the songs. He also complains about being underpaid (satellite radio has been a money loser since it started) and being lonely while picking on his ex-wife. All well and good. That's entertainment.

He also likes to insert those boings, bongos and braking sounds that you'd hear in Hanna Barbara cartoons like the Flintstones, into some of the songs. Sometimes it's hilarious--often just annoying. But I still tune in to lift my spirits when I'm tired and driving in commute traffic.

The iPod plays my 2,533 songs in a perfect shuffle, but there's nobody stirring the pot. That's what these crazy DJs do, with their scrambled song contests, name that voice competitions, and historical brain teasers. It's fun.

Then, I'll switch to the Pulse, channel 10, for something from the last decade to clean out my brain. Or maybe to classical on Channel 76. My iPod can shuffle all these genres too.

Happy listening!

It's Wonderful ('67)

Funny how a certain song can stop you in your tracks. I sometimes (perhaps too often) find myself lingering on the 60's channel on Sirius XM Radio. They love to play the big hits of the day, like "Satisfaction" by the Stones or "Stop in the Name of Love" by the Supremes--great songs, but suffering from overexposure.

Then, up comes "It's Wonderful" by the Rascals (note: you have to wait for it on the YouTube video). The psychedelic musings, four/four keyboard rhythms and odd marching outro are so much a part of that surprisingly short period from 1966 to early 1968 in which acid-themed odd (and long) songs suddenly appeared (and quickly disappeared). They play the Rascals' "Groovin'" all the time, but you rarely hear "It's Wonderful." It's a favorite--along with Tomorrow by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Yeah, they play that band's "Incense and Peppermints" all the time, but not "Tomorrow."

It's for those little chestnuts that I wait through yet another Four Seasons or Gary Puckett and the Union Gap tune.

Christina Perri--Jar of Hearts

I was listening to the oldies channel on Sirius today and got bored so I switched over to The Pulse--"Two Thousands and Today." I listened to a few fine tracks by recent artists and then Christina Perri's Jar of Hearts came on. What a song! Despite its mood, it has a freshness that's at once familiar but also new--certainly to me.

It turns out that 23-year-old Christina is just getting started. Jar of Hearts, a beautiful but bitter song about her ex-husband, is her first "hit."

I think I'll leave it on The Pulse for a while longer--maybe catch some more exciting new artists like Christina.

Coffee House on Satellite Radio Offers a Tasty Blend

I sat down in my borrowed car yesterday and turned on the audio system. It was tuned to Sirius Channel 30--The Coffee House (also available on XM Radio Channel 51). It was just what I felt like listening to. I've heard this channel before but had forgotten how enjoyable it is.

It's mellow--singer songwriters. That could be anyone from "seasoned" acts like Paul Simon or Bob Dylan or brand new artists like Peter Himmelman (Impermanent Things) or Cas Haley (Better).

Also, you'll hear live acoustic versions of songs that were originally scored for a full band or even an orchestra. I just heard Maroon 5 a half hour ago on my way home doing a song I didn't recognize. I heard Boz Scaggs singing Lowdown with just a couple of accompanying instruments.

What really impressed me was the "Coffee Covers." Think Elvis Costello performing Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire. Or, how about the Rolling Stones' classic Mother's Little Helper by the young Irish singer Eleanor McEvoy?

Of course, there are many young artists just arriving on the scene, which makes it all a real treat. Satellite radio, branded as Sirius XM, is a combination of XM Radio and Sirius--the original two options for getting your radio broadcast from a satellite transmission. The beauty is, you get it every where--you can hear it in New York or New Orleans, Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine.

The only drawback is that you have to pay for it on a subscription basis and it has drop-outs when you drive under an overpass or a thick stand of trees and driving in a tunnel--forget it? You get well over 100 stations, including a wide range of music from Classical to Swing to Hip Hop to Bluegrass. The Rock is separated into multiple categories beyond the 50's (Channel 5), 60's (Channel 6), etc. And many stations have NO COMMERCIALS!

A highlight? Hearing the California duo The Weepies.