From the mailbag

Posted with permission, natch: David, I just wanted to drop a note to thank you for selecting the Ratdog 7/17/07 Columbus OH show on the GD hour replayed on Sirius satellite radio on 1/13/08. Keep up the great work! I have enjoyed the GD hour since the late ’80s and always reflect back on those … Read more

Grateful Dead Hour #1008

Week of January 14, 2008 Part 1 28:15 Grateful Dead, Live at the Cow Palace New Year’s Eve 1976 PLAYING IN THE BAND Ian and Sylvia: The Complete Vanguard Recordings LADY OF CARLISLE Part 2 27:10 Grateful Dead 12/10/71 Fox Theater, St Louis MO NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME TENNESSEE JED EL PASO BIG RAILROAD … Read more

Dead to the World 1/9/08

Bertha Me and My Uncle Mr. Charlie Loser Beat It on Down the Line Sugaree Jack Straw Next Time You See Me Tennessee Jed El Paso Big Railroad Blues Casey Jones – Grateful Dead 12/10/71 Fox Theatre, St. Louis MO Never Date a Musician – The Bobs, Get Your Monkey Off My Dog Trying to … Read more

Thinking about Obama

I still haven’t made up my mind who to vote for in the California primary. But I am feeling pretty inspired by what I have seen from Barack Obama of late, and so is Gary Kamiya of salon.com: In November 2004, American voters reelected the worst president in modern history. That election did more than … Read more

Rubber Souldiers ride again

Rubber Souldiers ride again. Photo by reet. From left: Chris Rowan, Lorin Rowan, Paul Knight, David Gans. It’s Paul Knight and Friends at the Station House Cafe in Point Reyes Station, but it’s also a reunion of Rubber Souldiers, an occasional collaboration of the Rowans and me with a strong emphasis on songs of the … Read more

“The Wire” returns tonight

I think it’s the best thing that has ever been on television. A brutal, clear-eyed, compassionate, profound, and deeply affecting work of fiction that tells some immense truths about the state of American society. It’s The Wire, and its fifth and final season begins today on HBO. Heather Havrilesky at Salon: The fifth and final … Read more

Grateful Dead Hour #1007

Week of January 7, 2008 Part 1 16:00 Grateful Dead, Two from the Vault (August 1968) THE ELEVEN Part 2 39:25 Grateful Dead 12/10/71 Fox Theater, St Louis MO BERTHA ME AND MY UNCLE MR. CHARLIE LOSER BEAT IT ON DOWN THE LINE SUGAREE JACK STRAW