Even in the Legoverse, Keith gets cropped out of the picture.
Also, the longer you stare at Lego Garcia, the funnier he gets.
Musings on the Most Ridiculous Band I Can't Stop Listening To
Tag: phil lesh (Page 41 of 105)
There aren’t many photos of Bear, not compared to his friends, and not enough for the impact he had on huge swaths of American society. He built the Wall of Sound. (Others helped, but Bear would gladly take credit for it.) He invented the Paleo Diet. Bear was also both the best and worst drug dealer that ever lived: best because his name was a mark of quality; and worst because everyone knew his name.
Once Steely Dan writes a song about you, it’s time to go legit.
Or, get out of town. Bear took “getting out of town” to operatic levels, moving to the part of Australia so desolate and barren that even the Aborigines stayed away from it.
There was gas in the car.
Anyway, it’s the Bear’s birthday today, so jam some mind-altering chemicals you ordered off the innertubes up your butt and raise a cheek to the man.
Also: no matter how many photos of the man I see, Bear will always be played by Curtis “Booger” Armstrong in my mind.
Also also: this pic was sent to me by Jesse Jarnow, whose new book Heads features the Bear, and can be pre-ordered right here.
The Boys, when they were boys, and clearly not ready for New York City. All of them were mugged before and after this picture was snapped.
“Bobby–”
“AAAAAAAAAHHH.”
“Bobby–”
“AAAAAAAAAHHH.”
…
…
…
“Bobby–”
“AAAAAAAAHHHH.”
“Fuck this, I quit.”
I’ve never seen more of Precarious Lee’s handiwork in one place. This stage setup (from the Dead’s first Giants Stadium show on 9/2/78) goes beyond a lack of interest in the visual aesthetic. This was a deliberate decision.
“How raggedy-assed can it possibly look?” the Dead said.
And the Greatest Roadie of All Time, Precarious Lee, answered, “Gimme an hour.”
Rock stars got a lot of perks–they still do–and they must get jaded, but having Sir Jackie Stewart drive you around is special.
Speaking of terrible mustaches, the Powwow Festival, and spoons, here’s this pic. There was a good four or five-year period of this bands life when they were trying to out-hippie one another through the cunning use of facial hair and strategic deployment of vests. Mickey’s vest seems like it might come with a long story about Native Americans, too.
Hey, Garcia. I see you back there.
“I’m the Babadook, man.”
How do you even know what that is?
…
Are you using the Time Sheath to go to the movies?
“You get so much more popcorn in the future.”
Goddammit.
Phil looks like “Hippie #2” in a terrible biopic about the Sixties; I don’t want to talk about the others.
Zoo World was some sort of brief and unmoneyed competitor to Rolling Stone for a few minutes in the early 1970’s and I can’t imagine why it folded.
“Jenkins!”
“Yes, Boss?”
“How’s the cover for the January issue coming?”
“Not great, Boss. We couldn’t decide between fonts, so we just used all five.”
“Okay.”
“Plus, you cannot read half the words. Just can’t make them out, and that’s before we print it onto that second-hand newsprint you bought from your friend, Rudy.”
“Big Rudy! Cheapest paper in town.”
“There’s a reason, Boss. There’s a reason Rudy is so cheap.”
“What else?”
“Picture’s rough.”
“How rough?”
“Only one of the guys in the band is even human-looking.”
“Which band is it again?”
“Grateful Dead.”
“Oh, that’s not the picture. That’s how they look.”
“Jesus.”
“Not a Deadhead, Jenkins?”
“I like hip-hop.”
“Jenkins, it’s nineteen seventy-fucking-four: you most certainly do not like hip-hop.”
And, so on.
PLUS, if you knew nothing about the Dead and looked at that picture and I told you that the guy on the left was about to leave the band, you would believe me.
ALSO PLUS, the men on either side of Billy are protecting their dicks. That’s muscle memory.
Nothing to add to this one: just like the picture. The high angle and swatches of yellow light in the fore and back grounds give the home team a grandeur that doesn’t come across in some photos.
Also, if you wanted to snipe the Grateful Dead, this would be the angle to do it from.
© 2026 Thoughts On The Dead
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
Recent Comments