Thoughts On The Dead

A Message from the Comments Section

Hey there Enthusiasts- Dreamflower here. With Dead & Company’s tour starting next week, I’m sure we’re all going to be thinking of Rick and missing his one-of-a-kind commentary. In light of that, myself, Mr. Completely, and a few others wanted to find a way to show our love for Rick and connect with other enthusiasts out there.  So, in collaboration with Rick’s wonderful family, we’ve cooked up…

By the Waterside, I Will Lay My Head

  Morning, Enthusiasts, BoTD here with a sad guest post.  Our esteemed captain, ToTD, Rick Harris, passed away this morning at the the terribly young age of 46. Cancer is a savage beast and it took him quickly and, at the end, brutally.  He left here surrounded by his family and embraced by the love we have for him.  I wish he had left behind a draft post so that you could all hear his voice one…

I’ll Be Gone 500 Miles When The Day Is Done

  It ain’t no metaphor, son; song’s about a train.

Requirements For A Movie Set In Rome

Food is eaten by suspending it above one’s face, and lowering it sensually into one’s mouth. Togas worn despite social status, time of day, or whether it’s really sweaty or not. One big outdoor scene; everything else takes place indoors. Boots from the Second Century BC, swords from 150 AD, playing cards from wait there were no fucking playing cards for around 1700 years. Slavery, but not the…

Back In The Pokey

Already used eight of my lives. Also: This is the single gayest thing ever filmed, and I am including actual homosexual pornographies.. Generally, one does not place the butt of a rifle against one’s party-area. This is because of physics. Equal and opposite reaction and all that. But that’s not what puts this over the top. (And Chuck Connors is most certainly a Top.) It’s the look he gives the…

Things Bobby Is And Isn’t

IS: A Grateful Dead. A handsome sumbitch. A family man. A Ratdog. A picker. A grinner. A lover. A sinner. A non-non-playing motherfucker. A Wolf Brother. ISN’T: A Flying V guy. Seriously: That shit just looks wrong. I wish I hadn’t seen it, honestly. But I did, and so now you have to. We have a complicated relationship, don’t we, Enthusiasts?

No place like it. (And, yes, I know I’ve posted this video a million times. There’s a simple reason: It’s the greatest video ever made, and Ranveer Singh is a fucking Movie Star. How has Marvel not hired him?)

God Help All Of Us…

…but I’m getting into Neil Young. (Although I didn’t need to “get into” Freedom. I played the shit out of this record in high school. Hell, my band–A Bunch Of Guys From France–even covered Rockin’ In The Free World, but that may have been due to how few chords were in the song.)

I Am Enjoying This

Maybe you will, too. That cover art grabbed you, didn’t it? Masayoshi Takanaka is Big In Japan, and insanely prolific. Check out his discography: Which title’s your favorite? The Rainbow Goblins is the obvious answer, but I’m going with Gaps! Why so excited, Masayoshi?

If you can, just keep on. No one told you it wouldn’t hurt.

Hope all you rootin’-tootin’, six-gun shootin’, frown-on-pollutin’ Enthusiasts from Texas are getting by. If you’re stuck inside and looking for something to read, here’s some great history from Lost Live Dead about the Dead’s relationship with the Lone Star State. And if you need something to listen to, try this: 11/23/73 from El Paso County Coliseum, where–shockingly–they actually played El…

Crankin’ Stevie

Join me, if you’d like. And here’s something neat: Stevie sans hat! Remember, Enthusiasts: The tragedy of Male Pattern Baldness can be cured! Just be a Bluesman, and you can get away with wearing whatever ridiculous hat you choose.

Happy Live At Leeds Day, E’rybody!

May we all be forgiven.

My Valentine’s Day Gift To You

This is Bob Seger (and his Silver Bullet Band) live at Cobo Hall on 6/15/80. This is not Bob Seger (or his Silver Bullet Band), but don’t hold that against it. LISTEN TO THIS SHIT. TRUST ME. This is a YouTube-to-MP3 ripper that’s been working well for me, and it’s free. The file gets added to your computer as one big chunk instead of as individual tracks, but I mostly use it for live shows, and…

For those of us of a certain age (old as fuck), this is never coming out of our heads. Dementia, decapitation, come-what-may: This is in there for good.

Hooterollin’ And Rockin’ And Researchin’

New Hooterollin’! Is my body breaking down in new and exciting ways? Yes! But there’s new Hooterollin’. Are some of the emergent nightmares far too disgusting to even mention in mixed company? Yes! But there’s new Hooterollin’. Am I living through the second act of a David Cronenberg film? Yes! But there’s new Hooterollin’. Did you know that Bobby–in addition to being a guitarist, singer, and…

1969 was the Lost Quintet, so-called because the five musicians–Mr. Davis, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, and Wayne Shorter–never made a studio recording. Chick joined up in September of ’68, and was dragooned into playing the electric Fender Rhodes piano against his will. Redundant. FUCK OFF. “Dragooned” implies that it’s against one’s will.  I said “fuck off.” I yelled it, as a…