If you are not a professional writer or editor in your day job I would be surprised. The quality of your writing in specific, and more uniquely, the coherence of your overall vision for the site, reminds me of a special-purpose magazine or scholarly journal.

As a work of advocacy and insight, I’m not sure I’ve seen anything better on any subject out there in the ether.

Had I seen it before I started this little blog, I would have been too intimidated to go on!

My post had been brewing since I first read any comments about the Dead’s music online, and to be fair, to the extent other bands’ fans comment about their bands’ music, there is a tendency to fall into the same thinking.

I have alluded to my own personal history just a little, and suffice it to say my own writing about some music I like has probably been similarly insular. I would say that it has even appeared insular to other fans of the same band who prefer different eras.

The reason for my post was to note, that, given the larger claims the fans of the Grateful Dead have for the band’s influence, claims that I am heartily coming to agree with, the tunnel-vision that appears from time to time can serve to undermine their broader argument.

I was trying to delay some of my own writing about the bigger issues I am feeling, but here goes a teaser: I AM feeling something more than just music when I listen to this band. I have spent the entire weekend doing nothing but listening to the Grateful Dead, and have been furiously acquiring and collecting more music. I am hundreds of hours short of time to listen even once to what I am collecting.

Something is going on. I am finding beauty in things I never paid attention to before. A hillside I pass frequently suddenly seems majestic when I drive by while Jerry is soloing on Scarlet Begonias.

I am thinking about some Dead lyrics when wrestling with real life questions.

So, I am “on the bus”. And I am starting to see the bigger picture, I think.

But with my post I am warning myself, more than anything, that I need to explain why something is great musically, not just declare it to be so because it’s harder to write about the “spiritual” feelings it might invoke.

As I slide into the rabbit hole of fandom, I am reminding myself that, yes, there used to be a time when I found much about the Grateful Dead’s persona (as interpreted by fans) to be ridiculous.

My small goal is to prove to myself that there is a generally applicable reason for music fans to incorporate the Grateful Dead into their listening, one that does not require a mystical element or spiritual quest, or even a lifestyle change.

Recognizing that not every solo transcends or that a undistinguished song (El Paso) isn’t made better by an undistinguished jam four times its length is important for me in retaining my ability to distinguish the truly great moments when I stumble upon them.

I hope that I can indeed hold your and others’ interest in my writings. I also hope that you get time to go back and review and enjoy your own, because your writing is amazing. Think book.

I got a shiver reading this post, afraid that my entire site contributes to that “the Dead invented everything” wormhole you reference. Though, I suppose if you saw fit to link to my Guide, perhaps I’m not lumped in with that crowd. Whew!

First of, welcome to your Grateful Dead travels. As eye opening as I try to make my content for guys like you, your writing does much the same for me. I look forward to reading more as you travel.

Second, the Dead can certainly be all consuming musically, but I think for the most part people who really appreciate the band’s music either come from a history of hearing things in all kinds of music, or (and?) have an inborn thirst to let the Dead lead them to more diverse music.

I am right in your age pocket, and was into my early 20′s before I “got” the Dead. I listened to a ton of non-Dead music then, and while I certainly entered a period of listening almost exclusively to them about 10 years later, I did (and still do) find non-Dead music equally moving.

Maybe in my coming to, living in, completely leaving (I stopped listening for a good 5 years), and then returning, I buck some trend? I don’t know. But I do know that at most 10% of my listening time goes to the Dead now, and I might still be on my hiatus if it weren’t for my love of writing the GDLG.

As I constantly struggle to give adequate words to describe it, the Dead seem to have had an all access pass to the pure musical energy that expresses itself through all forms of creative, soul-piercing music. Whether in jazz, tribal chant, classical Indian, or ambient electronica, there’s that throbbing aura tickling its way through the musical mist – that “something” that brings you to tears in Comes A Time – and the Dead became close friends with that fire within.

I can see how the line becomes blurred when one expresses an appreciation of these moments. Under it all, I think it is the Dead’s gift of being a conduit for that creative expression that is being honored. And that then, removes the layer which allows us to attribute inventive ownership to any of it.

Happy listening,
Noah (www.deadlistening.com)