That is, I'm a poser.
Fine.
The early 1990s were my coming-of-age and I was all over the place. Eventually my internal scales came to a fragile balance between the cool of indie/punk rock and the hippie-dippy tie-dyed Age of Aquarius faux-revival that was happening at the time. In hindsight, it was really no contest (see: almost all other past and future entries on this blog). If nothing else, indie wasn't as explicitly derivative as neo-hippie stuff was, and derivativity was at least a misdemeanor in the 1990s. Plus I didn't and had no intention of doing drugs. Game over.
As far as I was drawn to the Dead, it was because at least this was the original upon which the false sentimentality was based. Plus, a huge subculture openly defiant of established authority (albeit with its own uniforms and sets of rules)...what more could a 17 year-old want? And there's no question there's an appeal, musically. It's a laid-back album, it's a sing-along album, it's a carefree album. Beyond that, the fact that I find it difficult to say about the music tells me that my fondness it (and Workingman's Dead, which doesn't quite merit an entry here) remains as a testament to a time when things felt easier.
Best Song
"Ripple". How about that? What a poser.
Released
November 1 1970.
Acquired
Late 1991 or early 1992.
Next Closest
More Grateful Dead and GD offshoots. Their reputation to the contrary, I defy anyone to name three musical acts, important in their own right, who were heavily influenced by the Dead.
Brush with Greatness (note: may include name-dropping):
None.
1 comment:
This Grateful Dead album helped to confirm what your musical identity would become. There's something cool about that. I too have never been a Dead guy. Just not my bag. Respect them, but was never into them.
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