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I just finished a class titled Artists & Audiences. It was taught by Robert Christgau, and was a combination music history and music criticism class. The first paper was a short discussion of one of your favorite bands (I did Mindless Self Indulgence), the second was about a pre-rock figure (I wrote about Richard Wagner and The Ring Cycle), and the final was again writing a long discussion about a band.
For this third paper, I had a tough time deciding who I wanted to write about. I'd already tackled They Might Be Giants, so they were out. The Dresden Dolls have also appeared in papers for two separate classes, so they were also out. I thought about writing about Led Zeppelin, as they were the first band I got really obsessed with, but a part of me decided I didn't want to. Then I realized that since this was supposed to be partly a research paper, I should do The Grateful Dead.
My parents are Deadheads. I've always known that. I know the basic members of the band, and many of the songs, but I never actually knew the full history of the band. So, I decided I could use this as a way to maybe figure out my parents a little better. I did, but not in ways I expected because I decided to focus the paper on the Dead's attitude towards the bootlegging of their shows and how it greatly differed than most other bands' views on the subject. I went and found some really interesting articles on the subject, and even formally interviewed my mom. It's been fun, and multiple of my parents friends requested copies before I even had decided what I was focusing on. I decided to reproduce it here as well.
( Be warned: It's 9 pages long in my word processor )
It was also a lot of fun to write this because I'm heading to my first Dead show three days after I get home. May 16th they finish up the tour they're currently on at The Gorge in George, Washington. I'm not completely positive it will be my first Dead show, but the concert I do remember was when I was small. I can really only remember being surrounded by my parents' Deadhead friends and tye-dye. It was at Memorial Stadium in Seattle, so it may have been during Bumbershoot, but my dad thinks it also might have been The Jerry Garcia Band or several other acts that attracted the same Seattle hippie scene. So, this May will be my first official Dead show. It's going to be a great time, and researching for and writing that essay has given me a nice anticipation.
For this third paper, I had a tough time deciding who I wanted to write about. I'd already tackled They Might Be Giants, so they were out. The Dresden Dolls have also appeared in papers for two separate classes, so they were also out. I thought about writing about Led Zeppelin, as they were the first band I got really obsessed with, but a part of me decided I didn't want to. Then I realized that since this was supposed to be partly a research paper, I should do The Grateful Dead.
My parents are Deadheads. I've always known that. I know the basic members of the band, and many of the songs, but I never actually knew the full history of the band. So, I decided I could use this as a way to maybe figure out my parents a little better. I did, but not in ways I expected because I decided to focus the paper on the Dead's attitude towards the bootlegging of their shows and how it greatly differed than most other bands' views on the subject. I went and found some really interesting articles on the subject, and even formally interviewed my mom. It's been fun, and multiple of my parents friends requested copies before I even had decided what I was focusing on. I decided to reproduce it here as well.
( Be warned: It's 9 pages long in my word processor )
It was also a lot of fun to write this because I'm heading to my first Dead show three days after I get home. May 16th they finish up the tour they're currently on at The Gorge in George, Washington. I'm not completely positive it will be my first Dead show, but the concert I do remember was when I was small. I can really only remember being surrounded by my parents' Deadhead friends and tye-dye. It was at Memorial Stadium in Seattle, so it may have been during Bumbershoot, but my dad thinks it also might have been The Jerry Garcia Band or several other acts that attracted the same Seattle hippie scene. So, this May will be my first official Dead show. It's going to be a great time, and researching for and writing that essay has given me a nice anticipation.
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