Completely Conspicuous 498: Aoxomoxoa

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's third album, Aoxomoxoa. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - Aoxomoxoa was released in 1969 - A big year for rock music - Tons of legendary albums came out: Zeppelin, Who, Beatles, Neil Young, Stooges, MC5, Stones - First two Dead albums were commercial failures - Went way over budget in studio, stuck to their guns - Very experimental sound - Robert Hunter contributed lyrics to most of the album - Songs featured eccentric characters, way out lyrics - Plenty of drugs were part of the process - The old West, the devil, the rose were recurring themes - First album ever recorded using 16-track technology - Band spent $180k on the album - Jay: A lot to like about this album - "Dupree's Diamond Blues" sounds like a Kinks song - "What's Become of the Baby" is 8 minutes of weirdness that should have been left off album - When bands release unnecessary hits compilations - There was a definite '60s resurgence in the mid-80s that led to growth in popularity of the Dead at colleges - And then jam bands really caught on: Phish, Allman Brothers, Blues Traveler, Widespread Panic - Iconic Dead skull and lightning bolt logo was released in '69 - Phil: Band was very good at mobilizing fanbase - Dead merch is so unique and well-known - The confounding popularity of "Africa" - "China Cat Sunflower" is a Dead classic - Some songs evolve in concert, some don't get played at all - Aoxomoxoa sounds like the Dead - Jay: Jams can be fun, but you don't necessarily want to put them on a record - We'll listen to more live stuff vs. studio albums going forward - Next up: Live/Dead Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.