the grateful dead's contribution to rock music is understated.

You're way off base here. The rock bands mentioned like tool, radiohead, flaming lips are all influenced by pink floyd also electronic music like the orb and shpongle i know have cited floyd as a main influence and I'm sure countless others in electronica as well.

 

the mind will enjoy what it's conditioned to, or against

 

Thanks DazedGypsy

Typical.

 

In Phil Lesh's autobiography he describes the dead as "the tip of the arrow on the sign that reads 'human evolution - this way'" and states that in 1968 they "invented the sound" of the 1960s hippie era. In the usual pompous and self inflated opinions of the Dead, they were a legend in his own mind.

They certainly didnt understate their own importance, regardless of the fact that they "invented" psychedelic music almost three years after its rise to popularity.



The reason for the Deads influence (imho) is mostly due to the basic truth that they couldnt afford to stop touring! Yes they had some good moments with Pigpen, even if most of them were drug fueled one-chord megajams.

There was alot of great music coming from the sanfran area at the time, for me the dead are no more or less influential than Quicksilver, BigBrother and the Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, The Charlatans..... the list goes on and on.

To say that the dead are understated, well, it just aint true. The Dead is what it is, but they get maybe a little more credit than they should considering their lack of charting hits, rare album releases, and distant removal from their main man pigpen. All in all I think that they get about the credit they deserve, but they did work hard touring endlessly so cheers to that!

 

I got into the GD cause it was country music..

 

They are not as progressive as some may like to think, although it has some aspects. It is heavily rooted in roots music. It's sort of like hating on bluegrass or zydeco because it hasn't been up to date in recent musical advances. Despite the roots, the roots have been subjected to improvisational performance stretching even to likeness of jazz.

It doesn't even need to be said that the Grateful Dead are not for everybody. Especially for the more musical taste elitists.

And as far as influence, especially beyond music into the subject of culture and maybe even beyond... The Grateful Dead don't have significant influence outside of the jam collective but their influence their has in continuum been subjected to various tweaks, and we've come to a point of mind piercing live jams that come in many varieties if you have put the time into listening.

With my current knowledge it seems the Acid Tests were an integral part for kicking off the counter culture of the 1960s. What resulted there was a movement who's influence seen by the mainstream population has been mostly aesthetic and is now marketing slogan food. But that's like the common historical misconception of the Mayan dissipation when in actuality Mayan practice is still very prominent in the hill villages of Mexico.
.. Again though the happening in the 60s was rooted in traditional folk culture and lifestyle.

Let it grow, bitches.

 

I like your post Samson, I like yours even more Orison.

 

It's not much of a point.

 

yea, the grateful dead is more than a band. is it a symbol for haight ashbury and the counterculture movement. the grateful dead played on the campus of the ohio shootings a few days after the event, and blasted out two epic shows might i add. they played at montery and woodstock. there is no doubt that this band was a figure in the movement. it is also a place for people to meet. the band fueled a massive following of deadheads when they toured, there is no doubt that a community formed based around this.

the grateful dead also greatly influenced the sound of any kind of standard instrumental band(rythm/lead as guitar, base, drums, percussion, piano) that stays to a more simplistic classical-esque sound and playing style. honestly when you consider what the music that the dead play sounds like to how good they play it there is no question that it's great.

 

It's ok.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKIEbrd2nG8&feature=related"]YouTube- Liberace Dance of the Skeletons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmT6udys8Tc"]YouTube- Grateful Dead Touch Of Grey Video (Band In Bones)

start them together..