(One of) My Musical Obsessions
So I have a musical Achilles heel. Maybe writing about it will make things better. I’m a cd collector/connoisseur - no doubt about it. But since I married, I truly have tried to cut down on my cd purchases. I now realize I don’t need to have everything.
Unless it’s from the Grateful Dead archives.
I don’t know if I’d call myself a Dead Head. In fact, no I wouldn’t. I think that term should be reserved for all those that actually saw the band before Jerry’s passing in 1995. I suppose I’m a post-Dead Head. Over the past 6 or 7 years I’ve become a big fan. I’ve seen “The Dead” (2003 w/Bob Dylan at Darrien - great show), Phil and Friends a few times, and last summer I made it to my first Bob Weird and Ratdog show. While my live experiences don’t even come close to those that still travel to see their tye-dyed icons, I have amassed a pretty good collection of Dead albums. And at these times when i should be cutting back on the purchases because of both space and saving, every time a new Dead release appears on the band’s official website dead.net, I immediately make my order. I can’t help it - I’m obsessed.
That’s what happened when the band announced a pre-order for their new 9 cd box set “Winterland 1973″. This limited edition collects a classic run of shows at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom at what many would argue was the Dead’s peak period. I can’t wait to hear it! And because I ordered it before April 30th I scored a bonus disc of more music from that time period. A bonus disc!
I have problems.
Tell me I’m not the only one who has a musical obsession. You’ve got to have one too, right?
While there’s no footage out there of the band circa Winterland 1973, here’s a clip of the Dead rocking the Winterland in 1978 (I’ve got this too. I have problems.) As for today’s bonus word, how about: WINTERLAND.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Well I’ve been putting together a 9 part Rheostatics DIY box set on my Northern Wish blog that actually contains more material than the band released over their lifespan. I suppose I’ve got problems too.
http://www.thecanadianmusicforum.com/blog is where its at.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Andrew,
My obsession in music is JACK FM! and Samantha Stevens.
Bob
March 19th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
my obsession’s are collecting all iron maiden & megadeth cds & dvds. anything by them that i can grab, no problem.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
You’re not alone, man. But many of us are boycotting new GD releases just like this one because Rhino (who’s in charge of the vault now and getting stuff out to people) recently closed down Speeding Arrow, an mp3 site with every show and almost every Jerry show, as well. They screwed over so many people who, in a sense, lived there to feed their obsession, me included. From a business standpoint, they had the right to do what they did… but they’re completely mis-managing the vault and that’s a shame.
And if you love the Dead, man, you’re a Deadhead. That’s not a term reserved for those of us who’ve seen Jerry and the boys up close and in person. It’s a term for someone who truly digs the tunes.
Well … garciya later, bro.