Grateful Dead

Mark me as a convert to the legions of the depressed. I do the low-tech mp3 download, write to CD, head out on the bike for a spin 'n listen. Alas, no more. Hauling a laptop so I can stream and listen wirelessly is just a doomed proposition. Anyways, thanks David for all the years. I remember tuning to listen up in Ak. as well as desperately trying to find signal across the Altamont in Tracy CA. The downloads were a true miracle and I'll miss them. -mike-

lethedoom The same sentiment of dismay I expressed about the policy ending the possibility of downloading the Taper's Section selections as mp3 applies here. Please let us make these lovely selections portable enough to mesh with how we actually live our lives.

Merde !

Ooops... Flashback to last week... My bad... Brilliant MOVe Rhino... Can you smell my sarcasm...!!!

yo david!i must say i was floored when you posted my first request of the "rain" special....but posting 2 requests in a row! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! really....THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! when i first heard this show it was a "rain" special outside here in jacksonville and static destroyed my listening experience....now...here it is in all its glory CAL EXPO 86!!! from wht i did hear through static originally sounded like some fierce playing ...especially the Jam>UJB>playin' thanks again david! you really made my day...on top of making my day last week! awesome! ....THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! sincerely mike singal jacksonville, florida

This is after all a business website. I guess if I demanded free music it would put me on a par with the gate-crashers on the summer '95 tour. Thanks for keeping it going as long as you did. Peace. Brian Michaelson

With the outpouring of disgust towards the recent decision made towards the Tapers Section and the GDH, I can't help but to think that the decision to surrender the Dead vault to Rhino/Warner Brothers was the worst business decision ever made by GDP. Not only the streaming debacle but even worse, the lack of new release output. Going from 3 Dicks Picks a year, monthly new downloads and a couple major vault releases a year compared to whats been coming out over the last year or two shows a true lack of vision and continuity the key demographic has come to expect over the last decade. Basically it appears Warner Brothers/Rhino has reverted back to it's reputation of bad business practices. The Dead should never have sold the Vault to them. I predict years of legal litigation between the band members and their respective family trusts with WB/Rhino.

hey fellow/picky deadheads,last time i checked they are still "GIVING" us free music....the streaming audio works just fine for me... I'll take what I can get...and streaming audio is much better than NO audio. Thanks to folks like dave...at least we get SOMETHING...he's doing us a favor...in light of the flow of new releases..this weekly post of GDH fills the void for us. Don't let me preach to you, but why waste time complaining? "ain't no time to hate, barely time to wait"

But it is nice to be able to take this with you on the go..... This is truly sad!

No, I won't get violent, not even rude, but hey, BUD... Are we all going to have to wear this forced Rhinoplasty the rest of our miserable days between then & what now?

Please note that beginning today (08.22.2007) I will divorce myself from the selfish, self serving bad business practices of this site and the former Grateful Dead. I have spent significant sums of money over the past 40 years supporting the institution, and now in their vast ignorance I feel stung after streaming only is possible within the website. Bad choice guys! First archive.org, and now the band's own site. The tapers section & GDH were nice gifts, and trust me, it did not keep me from spending $ on product. So, adiós my friends, I doubt this community / site has much more to give except a black throated wind, so I will beat it on down the line feelin' bad.

Let's keep a few things in mind here folks. The remaining members ditched the vault so they didn't have to worry about business so much anymore. I'm sad to see it go this way, and I'd like to see more releases faster but let's give the new folks a chance. If you need gdhour shows, stuff previously available from the archive etc. it's all out there. As usual, you just have to poke around. I for one, am up for buying lossless downloads and I'm glad to see progress in this area. Thanks to all who have worked so hard on the new site.

These shows are great! I love brent! more brent! Thanx ink

Mr. David Gans, thank you for the many many many years of GDHour, we are truly grateful. As we have been grateful for all GD has given us, thank you. That being said, WHERE ARE THE RELEASES??? WINTERLAND 1973?? What about Gans' Picks I, or Dave's Picks I? OR how about another set of Dick's Picks?? BULLETIN TO RHINO: US DEADHEAD'S AREN'T GETTING ANY YOUNGER!! DO THE MATH.

Say it aint so, please say it aint so, or, if you cannot say it aint so then at least say something. You may have noticed that the vast majority of comments this week pertain to the change in format and the apparent inability of listeners to download the music, yet no explanation as to why. WHY? People are coming to conclusions that may or may not be off the mark, is there any possibility of an official explanation? Or are we to conclude that you just don't care? And I know that can't be true. Or at least I hope that can't be true. Admittedly I was as happy as a pig in *%"+ when I was able to download and listen at my discretion, though, on occasion, I would think that this was just too good to be true. A well of the Deads music for me to record as I wished, for free, wow! When I spell it out it does sound implausible. Anyway, thank you for Eyes of the World in the tapers (listeners) section this week, though it just aint the same if I can't download and listen later, but thank you anyway, though I will not buy, on principle.

"So, adiós my friends, I doubt this community / site has much more to give except a black throated wind, so I will beat it on down the line feelin' bad." Seems like this is just a BIT rash country-don. This "community/site" is really great for discussion with kind people about all sorts of things. Information, etc. People who have PLENTY to offer on many subjects. Your statement is like comparing apples and oranges, and somewhat insulting to this "community" as you put it.

Neither David Lemieux nor I are in a position to make any public statements about this stuff. We're here for the music, but we don't run the business. GD Hour blog Station list

Rhino, please let up on us. How long is this screwing going to go on. Glad I have my 8.5 GB of the music from Tapers Section, I'll share it with my bros for sure. I guess at some point your company will want to sell us some music. You have really spit on the fans this week. I was glad when I learned that Rhino was going to handle THE VAULT, was I wrong. I miss the good ole days. I guess sooneer or later this screwing will end. Cococnut Phil, SC.

None of this week's Taper's Section selections are from this week in Dead history, but include, to quote one of the more eloquent feedbackers on the Taper's forum, a "'bare-bones Dancing in the Streets" wirh only Donna on vocals!?!' Great googly-moogly!" LMAO, but thank you again, David Gans, for jumping into the breach and communicating with the fans. Peace out.

>On August 23rd, 2007 dgans said:>Neither David Lemieux nor I are in a position to make any public statements about this stuff. >We're here for the music, but we don't run the business David, That really says a lot, thanks for saying something. The first "official" comment/uncomment so far. Not under your control, appears that the folks with the $$$$$ are under control of this change. Usenet, BitTorret, and old fashion trading is still around to get the music passed around for free. wondering who is running the business? dgans -- thanks for what you provide, always interesting and welcome! Bob Anderson, Eugene Oregon

Thank you for all your years of deadication in bringing some fine, fine Dead tunes to us hungry fans. And thanks for taking the time to post a response to all the harsh feedback. I realize that there are things taking place within Rhino that you have no control over, but it sure would be nice if the people responsible for these decisions would at least communicate with us and give us a reason for what they're doing. I'm sure Rhino/WB paid quite a bit for the rights to The Vault, but they sure don't seem to be puting it to good use. This is very confusing. Why pay millions for a Picaso if you're just going to hang it in a closet? Thanks again David.

You are the only one who used profanity in your post as far as I can see. Now that is a Violent Act With No Class PikesPeak

huh?

Hey PikesPeak, what profanity are you talking about? Did I miss something? I'll second what jackJONES said, "huh?".

Jason Sigur All those of you that want to talk trash about this system sould be ashamed of yourselves.We have been given a chance to listen to the Dead via the internet.So be greatful that we have a chance to listen threw this wonderful website.With that being said I want to send my deepest thanks to all the families and friends for setting up this wondeful website for all to listen and keep up on all that is going on.

Living in Australia, I only knew of the Grateful Dead Hour by reputation. I was pretty stoked to be able to download the 6 Hours that were made available in mp3 format, burn them to CD, incorporate the microphone logo into some neat looking jewel case artwork and file them away on the shelf to listen to at my leisure. Likewise, the weekly downloads. I don't have the time, inclination or, indeed, bandwidth to stream real time audio. I'm extremely disappointed in this switch to say the least. Fact is, Dead fans have been very well served in recent years but now the well seems to have been completely fenced off. Listen up Rhino, people here want product: complete shows and complete runs - not repackaged compilations. Give us something to buy (at reasonable prices and reasonable postage) and we'll buy it. Free downloads were fantastic. If it can't be free, then why not offer a (reasonably priced) annual subscription service. And, by the way, the existing Downloads are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE! How much overhead can you possibly have on these things. Why not give us a heads up on what is going on from time to time, while your at it. Thanks for reading!

Instead of bashing Rhino, I am requesting the show from Stony Brook in 1970 you aired last August. I think it was the last Viola and the boys cut it short and went into Cumberland Blues. I thought this show had great historical significance and the band was smokin'. Amazing how two of my all time favorite shows were from SUNY gyms in 1970. Too bad I didn't attend Harpur until 1977. Thanks once again David and keep fightin the fight.

Alpine89 I hope you dont mind the repost but you said it best On August 23rd, 2007 alpine89 said: David Gans made the following comments on August 21, 2007 (my comments, to his statement, are in ALL CAPS): ~Changes at DeadNet~ “Many of you already know that on Monday morning the GD Hour archive and Taper’s Section downloads at DeadNet were changed from downloadable MP3s to streaming-only. The change was made without explanation, and of course it has caused an uproar. I’ve posted this in two places on DeadNet today [WHERE? - I COULDN’T FIND EITHER POSTING - BUT THEN AGAIN THERE ARE MANY POSTS TO SEARCH THROUGH], and I thought I’d share it here as well: I’m in New Jersey mixing a CD this week, and I found out about this change Monday morning, the same time everyone else did [MAYBE - BUT I'LL GIVE YOU THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT]. I don’t have a lot of information at the moment, and it’s not my place to make a public statement about it in any case [YES IT IS YOUR PLACE TO MAKE A PUBLIC STATEMENT - IT WAS SIMPLY WRONG FOR RHINO TO MAKE THE CHANGE - IT IS ‘not your place’ ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU ARE RECEIVING MONEY FROM AND/OR ARE EMPLOYED BY RHINO RECORDS - THIS IS CALLED A CONFLICT OF INTEREST DAVID, YOU MAY NOT THINK THAT IT EXISTS, BUT MANY OTHER DEADHEADS DO], but I can assure you it’s a good deal more complicated than it might appear [NO IT'S NOT - IT'S EITHER RIGHT OR WRONG - IT COMES DOWN TO (i) MONEY and (ii) A COMPLETELY LUDICROUS BUSINESS/MARKETING DECISION]. I’ve been working with these people at Rhino and the new DeadNet for several months [TWO COMMENTS - (i) I WOULDN’T EXACTLY BE BRAGGING ABOUT THIS FACT GIVEN THE # & QUALITY OF RELEASES PUT OUT BY RHINO DURING THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS and (ii) DON’T QUIT YOU’RE DAY JOB], and I believe they have great respect for the music and the community [EITHER (i) YOUR ARE LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH, (ii) HAVE BEEN DRINKING WAY TOO MUCH OF THE KOOL-AID THEY SERVE OVER AT RHINO/WARNER BROS. or (iii) YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION AT RHINO NOW INCLUDES PUBLIC RELATIONS]. It hurts me to read the violent [NONE OF THE POSTS HERE HAVE BEEN VIOLENT] and venomous [VENOMOUS MAYBE, BUT MANY WOULD ARGUE JUSTLY DESERVED - & HOW DOES VENOMOUS COMPARE TO YOUR ‘original' (prior to you're 'editing' of it) PROFANITY INCLUDED, POST YOU MADE REGARDING THE STARBUCK’S COMMENT] posts I’ve seen from some people in these pages, although I can understand why folks are upset. I agree that it’s a bummer [PLEASE STOP USING THESE COLLOQUIALISMS - THEY DO NOT MAKE YOU 'ONE OF US'] the change was made abruptly and without explanation, but I trust that there is a reasonable [REASONABLE TO WHOM - THE SUITS (which likely includes you David) OR THE DEADHEADS] explanation and we’ll hear it soon [MAYBE - EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES & CONNECTIONS TO FIND OUT THE EXPLANATION NOW (OR AT LEAST WITHIN A FEW HOURS TIME)].” David - I do enjoy your grateful Dead Hour, however I think that either you have sold out to Rhino or are just blind. First it was your defense of the Dead’s move regarding the SBD’s and archive.org, then the defense of Starbuck's (which is a pure money grab by Rhino) and now this. Please wake up - yes Rhino and the GD Inc. have every right to make money and no one here denies that, however, there are right ways and wrong ways to make money - just because the other record companies don’t ‘get it’ doesn’t mean that you & Rhino have to go with the flow. Either do it right or disassociate yourself with Rhino - you can’t have it both ways. As someone noted before - ‘ALL HAIL TO CHARLIE MILLER!!!’ - in my opinion, Charlie is quickly replacing Mr. Gans as the ‘go-to’ man in the Dead community - both for his contributions of music and, more importantly, his embodiment of the selfless actions/attitude that define the Dead community by making such contributions that appear to be flying in the face of what Gans, GD Inc., Rhino & Bobby have been trying to do - restrict the music. Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read my rant - Anthony PikesPeak

I have nothing more to add. I hope someone makes an official statement soon so all this speculation can come to an end. pomo1, thank you for the request. GD Hour blog Station list

.... and I can't get this to even make any noise at all! Here or in that confoundit now worthless Taper's section. Whether I choose Qtime or Windows media. Nada. Just sits there. Zero. And yes I do have all those gosh dang up dates and latest software versions et cetera. But man those dang mp3s I took em out on that iPod contraption and ROCKED! Somthin that WAS cool is now a stinky dag gone mess. Anyone there care?! Hello? Pokey

Hey David, I believe you know that most of us appreciate your position, especially in light of all you've brought us over the many years. Peace

As someone who is too young to have attended a Dead concert, recordings are all I have to enjoy this music. Also I'd say that most people of my generation are used to music in digital files, so stopping the downloads seems like a very backwards move. Way to alienate the people who can continue enjoying this music into the next century. Guess I'll have to buy some blank tapes so I can listen to Scarlet/Fire while I go running. Pretty amusing in 2007, huh?

You people are ridiculous. You get the chance to listen to Grateful Dead Hour's past that you might have missed, get to listen to great stuff from the Vault, yet you still complain. The "Archive" incident happened two years ago, get over it. If you have the ability to comment, you obviously have the ability to listen. Just do that, listen and enjoy. Thank you the two Davids, and Rhino. It could be better, but what the hell, it is still the best. Samuel Glen (Jönköping Sweden)

I never got to listen to GDHour. Being able to tune in once a week is a pleasure I will always cherish. Thank you, very much.

This GDH was near the top of my list for requests, so thanks for reading my mind. I could have sworn I saw the word "Download" when this new feature was announced last month.

....and the rest of us, PLEASE use this comment area to discuss the gdhour, request/recommend/beg for upcoming postings. We got our reasons for the change, they are more than legit and it is time to remember our own advice. RESPECT the site, respect the efforts of our benefactors and respect this community enough to live and love. Bask in the glory of the music, leave the negative pressing to the NFL and Senate reporters.

....that when I hook my computer up to my stereo, the sound is pretty darn good, so I'm not missing the MP3 as much as I thought I would. David, thanks again for this GDH 341. I swear this was in my Top 3 "wish list". That 5/4/86 segment was one of the best played jams from that era. And that Unbroken Chain....whew! These Grateful Dead Hours are near and dear to my heart and I'd love to hear these again... #328 (3/21/81) #345 (5/7/80) #333/334 (7/29/88) #354 (8/1/94) #317 (9/17/94) #320 (3/31/73) I have more but that's enough for now. Thanks!

....Jerry's voice had improved quite a bit in 1986 as compared to 1984/85? He no longer sounds like he just swallowed a bottle of draino....

Jerry's voice did get better in '86, and even better after he returned from his illness at the end of the year. Thank you for your requests. You're going to like the one that goes up today! GD Hour blog Station list