First posted on Mark Is Cranky:
So why does a person wake up and, after coffee, have a hankerin' for some Jerry Garcia? In my particular case, it's because of my recent addiction to satellite radio.
We bought my mom a Sirius radio for mother's day. The boombox part of it is located in our kitchen. Every morning (over coffee) and every evening (during post dinner cleanup) I've been listening to channels like "Swing Street" (older jazz), "Hard Attack" (metal...nothing like a little Meshuga to wake you up in the morning (though neither TheWife nor TheStepkid#2 liked it)), "Chill" (electronica), "Underground Garage" (60's garage rock, this is Little Steven's channel) and "Jam On", the jam-band channel.
A couple of nights ago, I was listening to a show called "One More Saturday Night" on "Jam On". This is a Grateful Dead show hosted by ex-NBA player and uber-Dead fan Bill Walton. The guy sure knows his stuff. He had all sorts of information about particular shows, where to get concert recordings on-line and in general seemed to be in his element.
Then this morning that same channel pulled off a particularly cool seque: a version of Weather Report's "Birdland" done by the String Cheese Incident into Miles Davis' "So What" (from the classic Kind of Blue). Very nice.
One thing that this satellite radio's got me thinking about is how much the phenomenon is reminding me of FM radio way the heck back in the 70's. Not so much the content, but the fact that I'm sitting there periodically thinking "Whoa...that's a cool tune. Who is it?" Not counting college radio, I can't think of the last time that's happened to me while listening to today's shrivelled commercial radio.
Thanks to Walton and Sirius, I'm now back in one of my periodic Grateful Dead phases (and thus, today's highly recommended live Jerry Garcia Band disc).
Article comments
1 - SFC SKI
If I were in the US, I'd be all over satellite radio. I miss the variety and exposure to artists both new annd old that radio once offered.
2 - Eric Berlin
Bill Walton's a Dead Head...? My mind is blown for the rest of the weekend!
I'm experiencing the same phenomenon with regard to music because of podcasting. It's a little more work than satellite (to find shows, subscribe, download, transfer to iPod, etc.) but it's very exciting stuff.
3 - Mat
Walton is a long time head. Apparently, he makes lots of dead references during his sports commentary. I say apparently because I've never actually listened to the guys commentary, but dead friends are always bringing some reference up.