god bless you jerry. thanks for the great music

So long, my how time passes...RIP Captain Trips

I'm just a casual fan of the Dead but for some reason, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.

Now he's gone
Lord he's gone
Like a steam locomotive
rolling down the track
He's gone
He's gone
and nothin's gonna bring him back
He's gone....

A onetime talent who became a wheezing overweight hippie, who in his last years was more interested in his personal desire to shoot up and be a big fat junkie than in his fans, friends, family, or the supposedly trascendent music of the Dead. The myth of Tthe Dead was flower power, acid and pot, but the reality turned out to be heroin and selfishness.

Sorry, but it had to be said.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-08-09 22:46 by 71Tele.

I was working at a country radio station, cracked the mic during
a Merle Haggard song "Mama Tried" to announce his passing
My PD gave me the go-ahead we fired up the Grateful Dead for drive time
lot of country folk enjoyed his music too.
he was only 53 yrs old.

Quote
71Tele
A onetime talent who became a wheezing overweight hippie, who in his last years was more interested in his personal desire to shoot up and be a big fat junkie than in his fans, friends, family, or the supposedly trascendent music of the Dead. The myth of Tthe Dead was flower power, acid and pot, but the reality turned out to be heroin and selfishness.

Sorry, but it had to be said.

could not disagree more strongly . for starters he kept the grateful dead going in spite of all of his ailments(he said in gd board meetings that the dead had to keep going because of all the LITTLE PEOPLE that relied on the gd touring machine for there livlehoods,he did not want to dissapoint all the folks that followed the circus known as the grateful dead, bless his soul!!!!!) .secondly he was a great lover of music ,all music .ole jerry was a GREAT guitarist in a great band , he never failed to put a smile on my face through his great fretwork on the guitar and one of the most sweetest and soulful voice in music .captain trips i miss you so much and your wonderful music .

Quote
copsnrobbers
I was working at a country radio station, cracked the mic during
a Merle Haggard song "Mama Tried" to announce his passing
My PD gave me the go-ahead we fired up the Grateful Dead for drive time
lot of country folk enjoyed his music too.
he was only 53 yrs old.

People act as if he was taken away by some terminal sudden disease, or other such tragedy. Indeed, he was "only 53": when he decided to continue the selfish, self-destructive foolish behavior that any intelligent person would know would someday end in his demise. I am sorry, it really pisses me off when people make these statements about Garcia or Cobain. They had everything in the world going for them, immense talent, people who cared about them. They CHOSE a self-destructive course. They deserve respect for their talent, but no pity for their foolishness.

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71Tele

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copsnrobbers
I was working at a country radio station, cracked the mic during
a Merle Haggard song "Mama Tried" to announce his passing
My PD gave me the go-ahead we fired up the Grateful Dead for drive time
lot of country folk enjoyed his music too.
he was only 53 yrs old.

People act as if he was taken away by some terminal sudden disease, or other such tragedy. Indeed, he was "only 53": when he decided to continue the selfish, self-destructive foolish behavior that any intelligent person would know would someday end in his demise. I am sorry, it really pisses me off when people make these statements about Garcia or Cobain. They had everything in the world going for them, immense talent, people who cared about them. They CHOSE a self-destructive course. They deserve respect for their talent, but no pity for their foolishness.

by your posts i can tell you are a very smart and well read individual ,but you know this is all about addictions which is a illness.not making excuses ok.

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The Greek

Quote
71Tele
A onetime talent who became a wheezing overweight hippie, who in his last years was more interested in his personal desire to shoot up and be a big fat junkie than in his fans, friends, family, or the supposedly trascendent music of the Dead. The myth of Tthe Dead was flower power, acid and pot, but the reality turned out to be heroin and selfishness.

Sorry, but it had to be said.

could not disagree more strongly . for starters he kept the grateful dead going in spite of all of his ailments(he said in gd board meetings that the dead had to keep going because of all the LITTLE PEOPLE that relied on the gd touring machine for there livlehoods,he did not want to dissapoint all the folks that followed the circus known as the grateful dead, bless his soul!!!!!) .secondly he was a great lover of music ,all music .ole jerry was a GREAT guitarist in a great band , he never failed to put a smile on my face through his great fretwork on the guitar and one of the most sweetest and soulful voice in music .captain trips i miss you so much and your wonderful music .

He was a selfish junkie (the only kind there is) who basically said "F off" to all the people who tried to get him to change. There is really no convincing me of the Dead's greatest (I think Bob Weir is an UTTER hack, for example, and don't get me started on their Spinal Tap-like expiring keyboardists), but the point is that Garcia's real life in his last years was very, very far from the hippe myth. How did he help "the little people" by prematurely expiring, and putting the "circus" out of business? This was controllable. He was not hit by a car or assassinated. I just think people should be responsible for their behavior. I also think artists should be viewed as the people they really are (or were) - good and bad - rather than through some bullshit mythology.

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The Greek

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71Tele

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copsnrobbers
I was working at a country radio station, cracked the mic during
a Merle Haggard song "Mama Tried" to announce his passing
My PD gave me the go-ahead we fired up the Grateful Dead for drive time
lot of country folk enjoyed his music too.
he was only 53 yrs old.

People act as if he was taken away by some terminal sudden disease, or other such tragedy. Indeed, he was "only 53": when he decided to continue the selfish, self-destructive foolish behavior that any intelligent person would know would someday end in his demise. I am sorry, it really pisses me off when people make these statements about Garcia or Cobain. They had everything in the world going for them, immense talent, people who cared about them. They CHOSE a self-destructive course. They deserve respect for their talent, but no pity for their foolishness.

by your posts i can tell you are a very smart and well read individual ,but you know this is all about addictions which is a illness.not making excuses ok.

I am not sure I buy the "illness" view. I am not an expert on addiction and don't claim to be. If it is an "illness" it is the only one that people choose to give themselves, or choose not to cure themselves of.

"heroin and selfishness" go hand in hand, alas...

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71Tele

Quote
The Greek

Quote
71Tele

Quote
copsnrobbers
I was working at a country radio station, cracked the mic during
a Merle Haggard song "Mama Tried" to announce his passing
My PD gave me the go-ahead we fired up the Grateful Dead for drive time
lot of country folk enjoyed his music too.
he was only 53 yrs old.

People act as if he was taken away by some terminal sudden disease, or other such tragedy. Indeed, he was "only 53": when he decided to continue the selfish, self-destructive foolish behavior that any intelligent person would know would someday end in his demise. I am sorry, it really pisses me off when people make these statements about Garcia or Cobain. They had everything in the world going for them, immense talent, people who cared about them. They CHOSE a self-destructive course. They deserve respect for their talent, but no pity for their foolishness.

by your posts i can tell you are a very smart and well read individual ,but you know this is all about addictions which is a illness.not making excuses ok.

I am not sure I buy the "illness" view. I am not an expert on addiction and don't claim to be. If it is an "illness" it is the only one that people choose to give themselves, or choose not to cure themselves of.

you have a very strong conviction on this matter for which some time in the future i wish to further discuss this with you.have a great day !!!!!!!

Quote
The Greek

Quote
71Tele
A onetime talent who became a wheezing overweight hippie, who in his last years was more interested in his personal desire to shoot up and be a big fat junkie than in his fans, friends, family, or the supposedly trascendent music of the Dead. The myth of Tthe Dead was flower power, acid and pot, but the reality turned out to be heroin and selfishness.

Sorry, but it had to be said.

could not disagree more strongly . for starters he kept the grateful dead going in spite of all of his ailments(he said in gd board meetings that the dead had to keep going because of all the LITTLE PEOPLE that relied on the gd touring machine for there livlehoods,he did not want to dissapoint all the folks that followed the circus known as the grateful dead, bless his soul!!!!!) .secondly he was a great lover of music ,all music .ole jerry was a GREAT guitarist in a great band , he never failed to put a smile on my face through his great fretwork on the guitar and one of the most sweetest and soulful voice in music .captain trips i miss you so much and your wonderful music .

Agree...Dead and what it evolved into was really not his "schtick" so to say..he was the consumate musician who could go from Bluegrass as easily as going to Blues....

Wow really? 15 YEARS! ..... R.I.P. Jerry!!!

"Well my heavy throbbers itchin' just to lay a solid rhythm down"

I personally am not a fan of the Dead, but do like his pedal steel playing in New Riders of the Purple Sage, and his appreciation for different kinds of music. What he became however as a person, is just sad, and totally his doing.

RIP Jerry...

^^^ I just watched the film that clip is from, 'Festival Express', a couple of weeks ago. Highly recommended (the Buddy Guy song in it is excellent too).

15 years...wow, hard to believe. What a long strange trip its been without ya, Jerry.

WoW !?! Has it really been 15 years? Time really flies by when you're sitting around waiting for that next grat Stones record.

Sam Cutler has an entertaining and honest recount of the Dead and the Festival Express in his book.

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The Greek

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71Tele

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The Greek

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71Tele

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copsnrobbers
I was working at a country radio station, cracked the mic during
a Merle Haggard song "Mama Tried" to announce his passing
My PD gave me the go-ahead we fired up the Grateful Dead for drive time
lot of country folk enjoyed his music too.
he was only 53 yrs old.

People act as if he was taken away by some terminal sudden disease, or other such tragedy. Indeed, he was "only 53": when he decided to continue the selfish, self-destructive foolish behavior that any intelligent person would know would someday end in his demise. I am sorry, it really pisses me off when people make these statements about Garcia or Cobain. They had everything in the world going for them, immense talent, people who cared about them. They CHOSE a self-destructive course. They deserve respect for their talent, but no pity for their foolishness.

by your posts i can tell you are a very smart and well read individual ,but you know this is all about addictions which is a illness.not making excuses ok.

I am not sure I buy the "illness" view. I am not an expert on addiction and don't claim to be. If it is an "illness" it is the only one that people choose to give themselves, or choose not to cure themselves of.

you have a very strong conviction on this matter for which some time in the future i wish to further discuss this with you.have a great day !!!!!!!

I just don't believe in hero worship, not of the Stones, Jerry Garcia, or anyone. We are wiser and better beings dealing with people as they are, not as some kind of myth. Putting aside what one might think of the Dead's music, I find some of the Jerry hero-worshiping rather nauseating, knowing something of the real person behaved. Behind the flower-power myth was a hardcore junkie. That's the truth.

Quote
71Tele
A onetime talent who became a wheezing overweight hippie, who in his last years was more interested in his personal desire to shoot up and be a big fat junkie than in his fans, friends, family, or the supposedly trascendent music of the Dead. The myth of Tthe Dead was flower power, acid and pot, but the reality turned out to be heroin and selfishness.

Sorry, but it had to be said.

The same could ve said for Keith Richards.....And no,it didn't have to be said. You could have just left it alone and allowed people who enjoyed Jerry to pay their respects on the anniversary of his death.

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sweetcharmedlife

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71Tele
A onetime talent who became a wheezing overweight hippie, who in his last years was more interested in his personal desire to shoot up and be a big fat junkie than in his fans, friends, family, or the supposedly trascendent music of the Dead. The myth of Tthe Dead was flower power, acid and pot, but the reality turned out to be heroin and selfishness.

Sorry, but it had to be said.

The same could ve said for Keith Richards.....And no,it didn't have to be said. You could have just left it alone and allowed people who enjoyed Jerry to pay their respects on the anniversary of his death.

If someone enjoys Jerry Garcia, why would whatever I say stop them? Not for me to allow it or not allow it. And yes, the same could be said for Keith Richards, except for that he mostly was able to overcome his selfish behavior.

OK, folks. It has been pointed out to me that this was possibly not the best place to share my views on Jerry Garcia, when the thread was an "RIP" one, and I can take that to heart. I really am sorry if I offended anyone.

Personally, I cannot think of a band more divergent in spirit and attitude from what I like about the Stones than those guys, and I can't really understand all the posts about bands having nothing to do with the Stones here, but I suppose that's my problem. The negativity on my part was uncalled for.

Cheers.

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71Tele

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The Greek

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71Tele

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The Greek

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71Tele

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copsnrobbers
I was working at a country radio station, cracked the mic during
a Merle Haggard song "Mama Tried" to announce his passing
My PD gave me the go-ahead we fired up the Grateful Dead for drive time
lot of country folk enjoyed his music too.
he was only 53 yrs old.

People act as if he was taken away by some terminal sudden disease, or other such tragedy. Indeed, he was "only 53": when he decided to continue the selfish, self-destructive foolish behavior that any intelligent person would know would someday end in his demise. I am sorry, it really pisses me off when people make these statements about Garcia or Cobain. They had everything in the world going for them, immense talent, people who cared about them. They CHOSE a self-destructive course. They deserve respect for their talent, but no pity for their foolishness.

by your posts i can tell you are a very smart and well read individual ,but you know this is all about addictions which is a illness.not making excuses ok.

I am not sure I buy the "illness" view. I am not an expert on addiction and don't claim to be. If it is an "illness" it is the only one that people choose to give themselves, or choose not to cure themselves of.

you have a very strong conviction on this matter for which some time in the future i wish to further discuss this with you.have a great day !!!!!!!

I just don't believe in hero worship, not of the Stones, Jerry Garcia, or anyone. We are wiser and better beings dealing with people as they are, not as some kind of myth. Putting aside what one might think of the Dead's music, I find some of the Jerry hero-worshiping rather nauseating, knowing something of the real person behaved. Behind the flower-power myth was a hardcore junkie. That's the truth.

I'm sorry fans of Jerry (of which, musically at least, I am one.), but everything that has been said here about him is equally true, good and bad. I'm with Tele, I can't stomach the blind hero-worship that so may fans and followers of people of all types of fame and notoriety so easily indulge in.

There are two camps here, those who worship Jerry regardless of his faults, many of which were truly horrid and of his own doing, and those who take Tele's view. Both are equally valid and have the right to express their thoughts.

Personally, I'm not all that sad he's gone because I think he did bring it on himself. Jerry was a gifted and intelligent person, and he knew his lifestyle was wrong, on many levels, over the long-term. Those among his peer group who didn't die, either realized this and grew out of such irresponsible behavior before it was too late, or hit rock-bottom and were able to make their way back. For Jerry, it was too little too late, and regardless of whether or not you see him as the victim of a disease, it was in fact his doing. That is what I'm sad about, that he didn't do the right thing sooner, when his body would have been able to tolerate the stress that getting clean puts on a person's system.

While it could be argued that Tele has been a little harsh and ready to argue the issue, there is nothing wrong in him pointing out the truth. I think you do better by those you admire by acknowledging the good equally with the bad, and seeing them for what they are, instead of putting them on a pedestal and blindly finding justifications for faults you would normally so easily damn other less notorious people for.

<< While it could be argued that Tele has been a little harsh and ready to argue the issue, there is nothing wrong in him pointing out the truth. I think you do better by those you admire by acknowledging the good equally with the bad, and seeing them for what they are, instead of putting them on a pedestal and blindly finding justifications for faults you would normally so easily damn other less notorious people for. >>

Thank you busted, for making my point better than I did. It's the blind hero-worship aspect that is offensive to me. I don't look at Garcia in terms of moral judgments, deeming him "wrong" or "immoral". I was trying to point out the wide disparity between his and the Dead's hippie-dippie flower power, peace & love image, and the much more complex and darker reality, because I think these distinctions have meaning and are important. I think we should understand our world, musicians, politicians, religious leaders, sports figures, as they really are, not just buy the image we are sold. "Jerry Garcia" was a product and image as much as Tiger Woods or George Bush were. There was, however, a real Jerry Garcia, who was much more complex. It does not take away from his talent. I know that is painful or unpleasant for some people to hear. Was I too harsh in expressing my opinion? Probably, and that's a fault of mine.

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71Tele
Was I too harsh in expressing my opinion? Probably, and that's a fault of mine.

Usually not,concerning this tribute thread I´ve to say "yes".

It´s not adoring a hero when paying tribute or remembering just the years someone
passed away.

Who am I to judge about Garcia´s or someone else´s troubles,addictions,illness...

I still like to listen to some good Dead music and Jerry Garcia´s wonderful guitar
playing...

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shortfatfanny

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71Tele
Was I too harsh in expressing my opinion? Probably, and that's a fault of mine.

Usually not,concerning this tribute thread I´ve to say "yes".

It´s not adoring a hero when paying tribute or remembering just the years someone
passed away.

Who am I to judge about Garcia´s or someone else´s troubles,addictions,illness...

I still like to listen to some good Dead music and Jerry Garcia´s wonderful guitar
playing...

bad day and I should have kept my hands off the keyboard.

Quote
71Tele

Quote
shortfatfanny

Quote
71Tele
Was I too harsh in expressing my opinion? Probably, and that's a fault of mine.

Usually not,concerning this tribute thread I´ve to say "yes".

It´s not adoring a hero when paying tribute or remembering just the years someone
passed away.

Who am I to judge about Garcia´s or someone else´s troubles,addictions,illness...

I still like to listen to some good Dead music and Jerry Garcia´s wonderful guitar
playing...

bad day and I should have kept my hands off the keyboard.

Hey,think everyone here knows those days.....nevermind.