Musings on the Most Ridiculous Band I Can't Stop Listening To

Tag: 1989 (Page 3 of 4)

Unstuck In Alpine Valley

ark_38305_g4833r1h_is_1OH, COME ON.

“My friend, you are troubled.”

How can you tell?

“The public shrieking.”

Well-spotted.

“The cops are looking.”

Over there looks like a nice place to be.

“Yes, much nicer than here.”

Thank you for the help. Listen, man: I don’t want to insult you, but you are the biggest, hairiest motherfucker I’ve ever seen.

“Yes.”

But you radiate such chill and good cheer.

“Yes.”

Who are you?

“They call me the Wook of Wisdom.”

Wow. Hi.

“Hey now. Doobie?”

I’d be honored.

DOOBIE SOUND, DOOBIE SOUND.

Can you help me get back to 2015, Wook of Wisdom?

“Do you have access to Time Sheath technology?”

Does everyone know about that?

“Things get around fast on the lot, man.”

Apparently.

“Plus, you know: you see Billy vaporate on one side of the RVs naked and being chased by a mixture of Huns and Time Cops, only to evaporate 100 yards later? One time, you write it off to the drugs. But it happens a lot.”

Huh.

“They are not discreet men.”

No.

“Anyway: can you get a hold of the Time Sheath?”

No.

“Then this will be difficult.”

Damn.

“Couple options: we can possibly drum circle you into the Dreamtime, but I am assuming you are not an Aborigine?”

I am not.

“Then you would be eaten by the Spiders of Thrag’na’r’r.”

Let’s avoid that.

“Yeah. Do you know any shamans?”

Not licensed.

“Shoot. How many nipples do you have?”

What answer do you want to hear?

“Five. If you have five nipples, I can get you home immediately.”

Just two.

“Shoot. I didn’t want to do this.”

What?

“We must leave the sweetness, light, and kind grilled cheese of Shakedown Street to find what you need. We must journey to Rat Cat Alley!”

Huh?

“It’s from Throwin’ Stones.”

Is that what he’s been saying?

“Yeah: Rat Cat Alley.”

Oh, okay. Good to know.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Billy And The Pilgrims

16860958-large
Oh, Godammit.

“Hey now.”

Yeah, yeah: hey now.

“You here for the Dead show? With Garcia, who is alive?”

Odd way to phrase that. I was here for a Dead show, yeah. Well, kinda.

“Kinda? What are you, some kinda time traveller?”

“An accidental one?”

“Like, usually the one who’s in charge of the time travelling, but now you’re stranded in the first Bush administration?”

“And your smart phone doesn’t work, even though I do not know what a smart phone is?”

You are some observant motherfuckers, I’ll say that.

“There’s a guy selling fatty burritos over there who also does fatty time travel.”

Shakedown Street is much weirder than I remember it being.

“Everything is.”

Thanks for the help, anyway.

“No worries.”

Guys: short Communism. Borrow everything you can and go short on Communism.

“Good looking out, brother.”

Hey now.

A Noodle In Time

Joanne Jaspen of Chicago gets some rest while wrapped in a sleeping bag in front of her car after the ìGrateful Deadî concert at J.F.K. Stadium in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 8, 1989. Hundreds of the bandís followers, or ìDead headsî, used the parking lots as campgrounds before traveling to the next concert, which is on Sunday in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Hey, get up. I want to talk about mortality’s shadow, and show business’ relationship to the Divine, and the way memory de-platonicizes the ideal.

“What?”

Post-war America and the Defeat of Community; the Eschaton of the Technodigm; the decline of the independently-owned fried chicken joints.

“Sleepin’.”

Can authenticity even be talked about in a football stadium without laughing? Can the Grateful Dead survive as a non-corporeal corpus of work? Whither Treyvon? Whither!? Hither? Thither? Jesus, man: whither?

Answer me, young lady.

“Iss 1989. Year. Iss 1989.”

Our walk through the lot seems to have taken a weird turn.

“Shh.”

You sure about sleeping right under the car?

“Shh.”

Someone stole your engine.

“Iss the past. They built shit wrong now.”

Right.

Crockett & Tubby

jerry bobby happy 89

You guys look in good spirits.

“We’re having a good time.”

“Big Guy and the Bobber.”

“What’d I tell you about that, man?”

“Not in public. Sorry, Big Guy.”

“Dammit, Bobber.”

“You did it! We’re having a good time!”

“We are, Bob.”

Garcia, you look–and don’t take offense at this–clean.

“I showered. I mean: not specifically for this, but recently enough so that I can claim to have showered.”

What’s going on behind Bobby’s head?

“The ponytail?”

Yeah.

“It’s a thing, man. Bobby really wants to be on Miami Vice. Every week, he sits there and there’s another musician guest star and Bobby loses his shit. You know: he was okay when Miles Davis and Zappa were on, but when Glenn Frey showed up, Bobby had to be restrained and drugged. Well, drugged further, I suppose.”

“Garcia, I can’t make this clearer: if Glenn Frey’s allowed on the show, then I should be allowed on the show. He’s, like, the Los Angeles version of me: an Asian person could not tell the two of us apart.”

(Walk Me Out In The) Morning Zoo

For Brent: 10/25/89 in Miami.

The transition between Standing on the Moon and Truckin’ is the Dead summated in seconds: from a pulsing, churning beast with Garcia soooooooaring over the top–not a note out of place–to the stumblin’ bumblin’ that rumbles your tumble! Right HERE on WBBB, brothers and misters, lovers and sisters, YEEEEAH!

Not this shit again.

Weeble WOOB, weeble woob a ringa DEALIO!

Now you’re just making noises in a disc jockey’s cadence. You do realize they can’t actually hear you, right?

We play the hits, we take the shits, we oil the mitts, we pop the zits, we smooch the tits, we pitch the fits–

Your family is starting to worry.

–we pick the nits, and we PUT ON THE RITZ, BABYSNAKES and even my little serpents.

You finished strong, at least. 

WHO ON MY PHONE?

Again: not this shit again.

Who this talking to Johnny JOHNSON right here on WBBB? Is it one of the big bad ballers; the busty, buxom belles; the big braggadocious beasts; Beulah’s beauty biscuits–

At this point, I’d actually prefer you answer the phone.

–bounteous, bulbous booga-boogas? Identify yo’SELF!

This is Beauregard St. Phillips. I represent the 6th level of Hell: I am its Man on Earth; my sins are legion and complete. My voice is your regret; my gaze is your judgment. I’m the sound of The Universe not even caring enough to say ‘So What?’ I’m the tumor. I make orphans. And then I make orphans a warm meal of comfort food, because it’s only the 6th level: we’re not complete dicks. 

Stan? Stan?! STOP LETTING THE WEIRD INTERN WRITE THE PHRASE THAT PAYS. IT’S FREAKING EVERYBODY OUT.

Okay: new rules, fuckers.

PLUS: a Close Encounters tease from Garcia with his farty MIDI oboe at 8:45 into Space.

« Older posts Newer posts »