Jerry Garcia Week 2011. Let The Music Begin!

I’ll try and jump in here throughout the next 9 days encapsulating Jerry’s birth (Aug 1) and Jerry’s death (Aug 9) with some fun music and other discoveries. In the meantime, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JERRY! We certainly do miss you!

I started the day off with a terrific ’74 EYES OF THE WORLD->WHARF RAT from Seattle 5-21-74 while camping in the mountains just outside Idyllwild, CA. The music set the tone for another amazing day.

Here’s another 1974 EYES OF THE WORLD, this time from the Parc des Expositions in Dijon, France on September 18th. It’s a creative vid that someone out there put together. Quite meditative. Enjoy…

Happy 71st Birthday, Phil Lesh!

What better way to celebrate Phil’s birthday than with a taste of the man’s work from just day’s ago. Here’s the first part of THE OTHER ONE, with terrific sound and video quality, showcasing Phil’s always startling and thrilling bass work. This just shows that the man and the band have never been better. This is from the Best Buy Theater in Times Square New York on March 10, 2011. Enjoy! And watch out for that bass intro!

 

American Shame & Alienation

This video will be replayed for generations. And our shame will be insurmountable.

Jerry Garcia Week 2010: Day 5 – Mountains Of The Moon

In 1969, the Grateful Dead hopped on Hugh Hefner’s Playboy After Dark TV show. After a short, but incredibly entertaining conversation between Jerry and Mr. Hefner wherein Jerry clearly confuses the simultaneously hip and square Hef, the band takes the stage for a rare and beautiful acoustic MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON. This is also a rare opportunity to watch Tom Constantin work his magic on the keys.

As always, enjoy…

Weekend Flashback: Grateful Dead @ Monterey Pop 1967

Per usual, the Grateful Dead were never happy with their performances at the”big” festivals so they asked not to be included in D.A. Pennebaker’s Monterey Pop film. But here they are anyway, more than 43 years later, performing a scorching Viola Lee Blues!

Scorsese Talks Blu-ray

Martin Scorsese was the head speaker at this year’s Blu-Con 2.0 symposium in Beverly Hills. And he seconded what those of us already hooked on Blu already know:

“Blu-ray is going to extend the lifetime of a movie… I have a daughter who’s 10, and she can’t tell the difference between old films and new films. [That makes me] very excited and optimistic as a filmmaker and a film lover.

BD’s potential to replicate the original theatrical experience is the best I’ve seen in forty years of [movie] collecting. Blu-ray offers the ability to see the film as it was intended.”

He also added that Blu-ray has the potential, when mastered correctly, to offer:

“a film grain texture which I think is very important in recreating the film experience.”

He then went on to praise Criterion for their hi-def remastering of the brilliant and sumptuous 1948 Powell/Pressburger film THE RED SHOES, due for upcoming release on Blu-ray:

“It’s like experiencing the film for the first time again. It’s not just the details of the eyes or such; it creates a completely different experience.”

Scorsese talked about how a poor presentation can greatly alter a movie-watcher’s experience of a film:

“There are subtle things, like not being able to see the actor’s eyes. With Blu-ray, you don’t have that problem.”

As a Blu-ray collector and filmmaker myself, I can personally attest to just how incredible Blu-ray is. When used correctly. There are a few Blu-ray discs out there that don’t live up to the potential of the medium, but the majority of films I’ve watched and own are simply outstanding. It is genuinely a very different experience from watching standard DVD or, lord help us, video.

Criterion’s new release of Wim Wenders’ WINGS OF DESIRE is a revelation. I owned the previous DVD release and I can tell you right now that these are two very different film-watching experiences. Same goes for the newly remastered Blu-ray edition of the Hitchcock classic NORTH BY NORTHWEST, which was given a stunning new 8k transfer. The detail and texture now possible in the Blu-ray format has opened a door to allowing people of all ages to experience films, both new and old, in ways not possible since the time of a film’s original theatrical release. For anyone who loves film, or simply enjoys watching a movie now and again, Blu-ray is the only way to go. Unless you own a 35mm projector and a damn good print of your favorite film.

Robert Reich’s New Video On The Public Option

From Reich himself:

We’re closer than ever to winning a historic victory on health care.

I should know: I served as Secretary of Labor under President Clinton during the last health care fight. And I’m sure that this time around we’re within reach of passing a real health care reform bill—one that includes a public health insurance option.

Unfortunately, some conservatives in the Senate are still pushing a “trigger” plan that would kill the public option through indefinite delay. And they may even be finding support within the White House.

So now’s the time to redouble our efforts. I’ve recorded a new video explaining why I think this is an absolutely pivotal moment, and what we all can do to win.

Want To Understand Health Care Reform? Watch & Listen…

The short version:

Watch and listen to Robert Reich, an American politician, academic, writer, and political commentator, as well as the twenty-second United States Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton, from 1993 to 1997, as he spells out exactly what the public option is.

His video here spells it out simply and succinctly. Yes, he sounds a bit like he’s talking to children, but in many ways and in many instances, he is. Hopefully, even the most confused will understand what’s on the table.

And for the longer, far more detailed version of what President Obama and others are trying to achieve for all Americans, listen to the words of the President himself as he addresses Congress and the nation earlier today. You can read the full text or watch the video (at the bottom of the page following the text) HERE.

Ted Kennedy…

Musical Synchronicity: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Thanks to Facebook and the reconnection to friends from my past, the music of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals found its way into my consciousness. A video sent to me by an old high school mate showing Ms. Potter singing and playing her heart out on a version of Neil Young’s CORTEZ THE KILLER instantly captured my attention.

Since then a series of unusual and quite astounding “coincidences” have taken place. You know, the kind of moments that prompt you to question the make-up of the universe just enough to squint up at the heavens with a sly smile and a nod of the head.

I’ll save the details for another time, but meanwhile, here’s a clip of Grace Potter and her extraordinary band The Nocturnals performing STOP THE BUS earlier this year at the Bonnaroo Music Fest:

And going back a few years to Baltimore 2006 and a smoking PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN that culminates in some truly wild feedback slightly reminiscent of a pre-1970′s Grateful Dead:

And finally Potter’s version of CORTEZ THE KILLER that captured my attention in the first place. With Joe Satriani, Steve Kimock, Reed Mathis, Willy Waldman and Stephen Perkins. From the Jammys: