The Music Notation Modernization Association ... or possible ways to simplify reading chromatic music (as opposed to diatonic music). Of course, Arnold Schoenberg beat them to it.
posted by persona non grata on Aug 9, 2006 - 20 comments

Eyes Of The World A 14-minute Google video of the Grateful Dead playing a mid-70s classic in New Jersey in 1991.
posted by persona non grata on Jul 19, 2006 - 59 comments

Hamza el Din, hailed as "the father of Nubian music," has died. El Din's death has not yet been reported in the news, but I'm told he passed away from complications of brain surgery. It's a great loss for music lovers all over the world. "Escalay," performed on oud with the Kronos Quartet on their album Pieces of Africa, is probably his best-known work, but "Ollin Arageed," his haunting piece for handclaps and tar -- a goatskin drum -- was played numerous times onstage with the Grateful Dead, who championed el Din's music and jammed with him at the Great Pyramid in 1978. Eclipse provides an excellent introduction to his work, the ethereal sounds of one of the oldest continuously-inhabited regions on the planet. In the 1960s, el Din's own home village in Egypt was drowned underwater by the construction of the Aswan Dam, as archeologists tried to save what they could.
posted by digaman on May 23, 2006 - 21 comments

Outrage in Deadheadland: fans are furious since the Grateful Dead pulled thousands of freely available concert recordings from Live Music Archive. Some threaten boycotts. Are the Dead really looking out for "Grateful Dead Values" or simply protecting their commercial interests? Have Deadheads been spoiled by free access to the music? Bassist Phil Lesh says he had no say in the matter, Barlow thinks it's "like finding out that your brother is a child molester," and heady bloggers are torn. Or is it all moot anyway? "The idea that they could stop people from trading these files is absurd... It's no longer under anyone's control. People have gigabytes of this stuff." (Previously on Mefi.)
posted by muckster on Nov 30, 2005 - 109 comments

Today is the 10th anniversary of the death of famed guitarist Jerry Garcia. He remains one of the top earning dead celebrities through his name branded sales of ties, wine and action figures. To commemorate his passing, fans put on Jerry Day in San Francisco on Sunday. Love him or hate him, his legacy lives on through his music. What's your favorite Jerry memory?
posted by grateful on Aug 9, 2005 - 109 comments

While the Grateful Dead were pioneers in the sharing of music, it wasn't too long ago that fans had to meet in-person with other DeadHeads at taping parties to grow their library of "bootlegs." In the late 1990s when CD burners became more prominent, The Dead again led the way. They went on record to say that fans were still welcome to copy, share and trade their music as long as no money changing hands—including no advertising on web sites with downloads. Yesterday, the band again made history when they announced they are releasing the contents of their vast vault electronically (and simultaneouly) on iTunes Music Store and their very own Grateful Dead online store, the latter making the songs available in mp3 (128 and 256kbps) and FLAC .
posted by terrapin on Mar 2, 2005 - 74 comments

A Kind of Innocence We'd Never Seen Before: Thoughts on the Grateful Dead, the Beatles, and Collective Consciousness
posted by moonbird on Aug 29, 2004 - 17 comments

The Leeching Never Stopped! Archive.org is adding the complete live catalog of the Grateful Dead. There are still a few gaps, but they already offer over 1,300 shows for download. Get early favorties, all-time classics, famous guests, the last show, and nearly everything in between, in lossless and mp3 formats.
posted by muckster on May 20, 2004 - 38 comments

HE's Gone Jam>Cryptical>Other One>Stranger Bird Song Lazy Lightning>Supplication Aiko Estimated>Casey Jones Do you know what that means? A very nice, suprisingy rockin' good concert. What did you think of the Terrapin Station 'reunion/tribute' show? Does anyone care (besides me; be gentle) ?? Rolling Stone sure doesn't care about it...deadheads are not a good demo anymore.
posted by msacheson on Aug 4, 2002 - 34 comments