Two books revisit late 1960s culture

Popular culture readers will find two new books just out as darkly fascinating. Both weave rock with political and social history, both specifically make reference to the Grateful Dead.
Peter Doggett’s There’s a Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars, and the Rise and Fall of the ‘60s (Canongate, 2008) looks at the period of 1965-72 when music “fueled the revolutionary movement with anthems and iconic imagery,” and the stars were asked to respond to, endorse and defend (sometimes reluctantly or defiantly) political action. Steve Morse in a Boston Globe review of Nov. 7, 2008 finds this book “brilliant,” “ambitious,” and “wrenching”.
Journalist Mikal Gilmore (whose pieces frequent Rolling Stone) has just published Stories Done: Writings on the 1960s and Its Discontents (Free Press, 2008), a collection of essays examining the lives of several of the era’s cultural figures. Often visionary, these figures may be publically engaging though personally tragic. As noted in a NY Times review of Dec. 30th, Gilmore has a “keen sense of the dark undertow of the American dream.”

Jamband psychology

Research on jamband subculture and psychology continues to be a topic of interest and the Grateful Dead of course, continues to be cited. Pamela M. Hunt has just authored an article, “From Festies to Tourrats…,” on this topic. It appears in the December 2008 issue of Social Psychology Quarterly (Vol. 71, No.4). Additionally, in his new book Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us (Portfolio, 2008) Seth Godin credits the Grateful Dead as helping us to understand how people become connected to one another, how shared passion is inspired, and how groups can effect lasting and substantive change.

Yipee Rosalie!

Mickey is in good company. Our very good friend Rosalie Sorrels has also been nominated this year for a Grammy. Rosalie's Strangers in Another Country (on Red House Records) is up for Best Traditional Folk Album! It's Rosalie's special tribute to Utah Philips. (see:http://www.redhouserecords.com/214.html.)
Special Collections holds the Rosalie Sorrels Papers documenting her life as songwriter, musician, performer, and peace activist.

Grammy good news

First, congratulations to Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju and Giovanni Hidalgo. Their Global Drum Project (on Shout Factory) has just been nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album!

This week also marks the opening of the long awaited Grammy Museum. It's located on Olympic Blvd & Figueroa in Downtown LIVE L.A. And like the town and the industry, it's really big: 30,000 SF with four floors of exhibit space for displays of artifacts, instruments, photos, room for film screenings, and lots of interactive exhibits. There is the promise that exhibits will capture the "legacy of recorded music and reveal the many ways in which it intertwines with social and cultural history." See www.grammymuseum.org for lots more.

Traveling on a High Frequency

"The Grateful Dead is where it all started for me," says Jay Blakesberg about his launch as a rock photographer. His new book Traveling On A High Frequency: Jay Blakesberg Photographs 1978-2008 is a retrospective look at performers and performances, lavishly illustrated with works from his photographic archive. It's just out from Rock Out Books. Blakesberg, a San Francisco based artist is also known for his Between the Dark and Light: The Grateful Dead Photography of Jay Blakesberg (Backbeat Books, 2004.)

Best buttons

Steven Heller gives honorable mention to Deadheads for Obama in 2008, in his Nov.1, 2008 article in the New York Times The Best Buttons of 2008, In One Man’s Opinion.
In the opinion of another however, as much as we really like it Deadheads for Obama should come in a very close second for best political swag right behind Shephard Fairey’s Obama Hope button.

Passing

The passing of two close collaborators of the Grateful Dead was noted this last week. Please see LA Times obituaries on keyboardist Merl Saunders and on lawyer Hal Kant, respectively at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-saunders27-2008oct27,0,5811025.story

and http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/news/ny-kant275899735oct27,0,7099644.story