We're on a mission to make a miracle every day. As a token of our appreciation for making 2010 an epic year, we're giving away a high-quality 320Kbps download every day this November. That's 30 days of Dead! Intrigued? We're also going to put your knowledge to the test and give you the chance to win some great music from the Dead.
If, like me you missed the first week and a half of free downloads, you can catch up over here!
On April 27, 1971, The Grateful Dead played the Fillmore East in New York, and put on what I consider to be one of the greatest shows they did that entire year. In fact, the First Set recording of Bertha was the one used on their Skullfuck live album. (Overall, Im generally a 77 man, myself, although 1974 was also a good year.)
But the real keen thing that happened on April 27 was the encore set, where the kings of the three-minute surfpop tune, The Beach Boys, came out and joined with the stoner jamband heroes. The encore set began with the classics Searchin and Riot in Cell Block #9, with the two bands playing together. Then the Dead stepped away and allowed the Beach Boys to play solo, which they did, on their two hits, Good Vibrations and I Get Around. Six minutes must have been just enough time to beam up, because the Dead came back, ready to jam on the Merle Haggard classic, Okie From Muskogee, and finally on the Chuck Berry classic, Johnny B. Goode.
It's been a while since I posted up a Spotify playlist, so I thought I'd follow up the ones I've already posted for 1968-1971 with a playlist for 1967, which is still maybe the most famous year in music history. Home to many of my favourite albums of all-time, the year has much more to offer than just the summer of love. And remember, Spotify doesn't have everything, but if you think I should know about a band or album from '67, then please let me know! Stick it on shuffle, sit back and enjoy. Listen here.
Phil's Announcements, Promised Land, Sugaree, The Race is On, You Ain't Woman Enough, Bird Song, Mexicali Blues, They Love Each Other, Jack Straw, Stella Blue, Big River, Casey Jones Around & Around, Mississippi Half Step, Me & My Uncle, Row Jimmy, Dark Star-> El Paso-> Eyes Of The World-> Morning Dew, Sugar Magnolia; E: Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > One More Saturday Night
Press the skip button to go to the next song or go to archive.org to listen to it in full without having to do so!
"I looked up this show because out of over 100 shows I saw it was one I will always remember as though it was yesterday. For those of you who rate it highly, you nailed it and Im amazed that that you were able to from the quality of these tapes. Some memories: at the end of Casey Jones for the cresendo, the roadcrew released about a dozen fire estinguishers that sent a slow rolling clous of co2 over the crowed and air conditioned the stadium on a ver hot night. Then during the break little 3x5 pieces of paper were sent throught the crowd (alledegedly from the road crew and alledgedly Owsleys finest ) with the verbal instructions to "rip off a piece you thin you can handle" . All I can say is that by the time intermission was over my friends and I were in orbit on the cleanest trip I ever had. Then the second set opened up and fireworks were set off behind the stage and Happy Birthday Jerry fireworks were lit off around the upper deck of the stadium. Jerry's birthday party was on and thats what you all hear in this music. A VERY special show indeed, I just wish you all could have been there."
"The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, (also known as Lapps, although this term is considered derogatory)[7][8] are one of the indigenous peopleof northern Europe inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia but also in the border area between south and middle Sweden. Their ancestral lands span an area the size of Sweden in the Nordic countries. The Sami people are among the largest indigenous ethnic groups in Europe. Their traditional languages are the Sami languages, which are classified as members of the Finno-Lappic group of the Uralic language family."
I recently read 'A YEAR IN LAPLAND: Guest of the Reindeer Herders', which if you're interested can be read below on Google Books, and have spent the weeks since I read it looking at pictures and reading more about the Sami people. My fiancee's mormor (Ida's mother's mother) comes from a Sami family and we spent a week up in the Arctic Circle last year in the house (the one at the top of the page!) she grew up in and although there was nothing particularly Sami about it, there's something special about living that far north that I just can't describe.
If you want to read more about them, check out this website.
Robert Greenfield's Dark Star: An Oral Biography on Jerry Garcia is to be made into a film by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story). The film will focus on Jerry's life before The Dead and according to Greenfield, is set to be "psychedelic in the best sense."
But the big question is, who will/can play Jerry?? Any suggestions???
Check out this awesome collaboration between The Roots and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead! They performed Martha & the Vandella's 'Dancing in the Street', a Dead live favourite, at the Earth Day Climate Rally in Washington, DC. Also be sure to check out the numerous amazing live versions of this classic by the Dead over the years. Here's a best of list of performances if you're not sure where to start! You can listen to most of the shows for free here.
I'm currently washing the pots and thought I'd stick on some Grateful Dead. I'm not a Deadhead by any means, but have really been getting into their live shows over the past few months, thanks mainly to the awesome deadlistening.com. Anyway, this show is often cited as THE greatest Dead show of all-time and I've just read a fascinating post about why over on deadlistening.com, which if you're into the Dead or are new to them, you should definitely read! The post has got me really pumped to delve even deeper into the Deadhead world and the world of tapes and shows and all the stories that accompany them all. Read it here.
You can download the show here or listen to the stream below.
I've been listening to a lot of the Dead's live bootleg's recently and watching anything I can find on You Tube and just came across this BBC documentary and thought I'd share it with y'all! Part 1 is below and you can watch the rest of it on You Tube. Enjoy!
"Fika, a social institution in Sweden, is both verb and noun in Swedish and has a broad definition. Essentially, it refers to a break from one's activities in order to drink coffee or other drinks with friends, family or acquaintances. This tradition of a coffee break with a snack is central to Swedish culture, and Swedes are one of the world's top coffee consumers."
The mix includes tracks from David Crosby, Neil Young, The Beach Boys, The Zombies, Real Estate, Devendra Banhart, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Fred Neil, Traffic, John Phillips, Kurt Vile, Old 97's, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Grateful Dead, The Felice Brothers, The Strange Boys and many more.
Invite some friends over, stick this on and fika Swedish style. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
"Sunshine Daydream is an unreleased movie shot at the Grateful Dead's 1972 Veneta, Oregon concert to benefit the Springfield Creamery in nearby Springfield, Oregon. The film is sometimes shown at small film festivals, and bootleg recordings of it have circulated on VHS and DVD and as digital downloads.
The concert, recorded on August 27, 1972, was filmed using four 16 mm cameras, in the woods of the Oregon Coast Range foothills, on the grounds of the Oregon Country Fair. Originally even more cameras had been planned, under an ambitious scheme: "The plot was to develop a signature visual style of representing the band: a camera for each of the 16 channels (at least!) emphasizing the visual kinetics of the music making itself as well as the enormous open communication within the band.""
Although I now reside in Sweden, I came across this Swedish band today over on Pitchfork and the review completely sold them to me, mentioning Nick Drake, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, The Flaming Lips and fellow Swede's Dungen in the same review. I immediately found the album in Spotify and it was one of the most pleasant listens I've had in a while. The album opens up with an amped up take on Fleetwood Mac's instrumental, 'Sunny Side of Heaven', this time complete with lyrics. Second track 'Dragon' sounds like Nick Drake and Belle & Seastian in equal measures, as does 'Beach House'. That's not to say there's no variation on the album, as 'Beach House' explodes into a fuzzed out stoner rock style haze of guitars, druggy vocals and thundering drums for the 7 minute epic, 'Code II'. The rest of the album pans out in varying fashion, and whilst it's largely an album of laid back, airy folk-rock (see The Byrds/CSNY style 'Deportation Day') it never gets boring, as songs shift effortlessly between grooves like an Albatross soaring high over the ocean. It sounds like a perfect summer album. All I need now is some sun to put it to the test...
Real Estate's album was one of my favourites of last year and I've recently got into Ducktails' album, 'Landscapes'. All of these guys went to high school together in new Jersey and have played together for years. Now we have Alex Bleeker and the Freaks. Alex plays bass in Real Estate and is joined by Martin Courtney on bass and Matt Mondanile (Ducktails) on drums both also of Real Estate and Julian Lynch. Julian Lynch also released his full-length debut last year ('Orange You Glad'), though I haven't heard it yet.
I haven't heard this album yet, but have listened to several tracks on You Tube/Vimeo and really like what I'm hearing. All these guys seem to have a similar sound, but each has their own take on it. Maybe it's just a perfect way for them all to express themselves. Although these are still early days, they kinda remind of Crosby, Still, Nash & Young in the way all the members had solo projects alongside various group offerings. So here are a couple of nice tracks I found on Vimeo...the first being a cover of Mountain Man's 'Animal Tracks' (also included below) which is kinda like a more Crazy Horse style take on the song. The second song, 'Summer>Epilogue' sounds a little Neil Youngesque, mixed with some almost country-style singing and a little Grateful Dead style haziness.
mp3s for sampling only. If you are the owner of any mp3s on this site, and would like it removed, please contact me and it will be taken down immediately.
I'm currently washing the pots and thought I'd stick on some Grateful Dead. I'm not a Deadhead by any means, but have really been getting into their live shows over the past few months, thanks mainly to the awesome deadlistening.com. Anyway, this show is often cited as THE greatest Dead show of all-time and I've just read a fascinating post about why over on deadlistening.com, which if you're into the Dead or are new to them, you should definitely read! The post has got me really pumped to delve even deeper into the Deadhead world and the world of tapes and shows and all the stories that accompany them all. Read it here. 
