Imagine listening to your favorite music on an x-ray. I was speaking to someone who was born in the U.S.S.R. We were discussing x-rays, and he noted that x-rays used to be used as record albums there. I asked him for an explanation, and this is what he told me. Record albums were banned there…

The Grateful Dead album “American Beauty” was released in 1970. The album included ten songs, including concert staples like Truckin, Box of Rain, Friend of the Devil, and the third song, Sugar Magnolia, The album version of Sugar Magnolia is ok, but nothing special. It lasts 3 minutes and 19 seconds, and has a nice…

The Grateful Dead played more than 2300 concerts beginning in 1964. They took a different approach to making music and selling music than their contemporaries. Most other bands recorded albums, and toured in order to support the album. The Grateful Dead toured, and occasionally recorded an album to meet contractual obligations. They preferred playing live…

My family and I have had cable TV for as long as cable TV has been available.  It is finally time to stop paying the cable company.  We are cutting the cord. For those of you who don’t know, “cutting the cord” means cutting ties with cable/internet/TV providers.  What was once a few people is…

Bruce Springsteen played Citizen’s Bank Park (home of the Philadelphia Phillies) on Friday night, September 9.  He is coming to the end of The River Tour. For those who have not attended a Bruce Springsteen concert, there are some things that he does that are different from all other musical artists.  Four examples: 1) He…

My wife and I play a game called “Name That Band”.  When we hear a song, the first one who can identify the band (or artist) challenges the other one to “name that band”.  For example, if “Stairway to Heaven” is playing at the supermarket, I will challenge her, and hopefully she knows that the…

I love to see live sports and entertainment.  One of my favorite things in the world is the buzz in the crowd right before the show or the game begins.  The seats are full, the crowd is electric….and then the house lights go down. I love that feeling because at that moment, anything is possible. …

I attended the retirement shows for the Grateful Dead in Chicago, from July 3-5, 2015.  What follows are some impressions, written about 3 weeks after the shows. In summary, I think the shows were very well played.  The Grateful Dead were fit, focused, and appeared to be having a lot of fun.  They played better…

I’ve attended a lot of rock concerts.  My first concert was on June 11, 1977 at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, with 100,000 of my closest friends.  I’ve been to several hundred rock concerts. Concerts have changed a lot over the years. Back in the day, concerts were announced on WMMR (93.3) or WYSP (94.1).  I’d…

I am attending the Grateful Dead’s final shows in Chicago.  These concerts will be the their retirement shows, and they are entitled “Fare Thee Well”, named after a lyric in their song “Brokedown Palace”. There aren’t too many performers who retire this way. —– In the mid-1970s, the Band recorded a movie (filmed by Martin…