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Music 80N: The and the Long 1960s – Syllabus Department of Music, University of – Santa Cruz, Spring Quarter 2018

Instructor: Dr. Melvin Backstrom [email protected] Teaching Assistants: Marguerite Brown [email protected] Ike Minton [email protected]

Class Schedule: MWF, 12pm-1:05pm, Music 101 (Recital Hall)

OFFICE HOURS & LOCATION INSTRUCTOR Room 126 Mondays 2-3pm or by appointment TEACHING ASSISTANTS TBA

Course Description This music history survey course uses the seminal Bay Area rock band/improvisational ensemble the Grateful Dead as a lens to understand the music and broader history of countercultural music from the 1950s to the present. It combines an extensive engagement with the music of the Grateful Dead, as well as other related musicians, along with a wide variety of readings from non- musical history, political science, philosophy and cultural studies in order to encourage a deep reflection on what the of the 1960s meant in their heyday, and what their descendants continue to mean today in both musical and non-musical realms. It aims to be both an introduction to those interested in the Grateful Dead, though largely born after the group’s disbandment in 1995, as well as to appeal to those with a broader interest in recent cultural history. Because the University of California – Santa Cruz is the home of the Grateful Dead Archive, students are encouraged to make use of it. However, given the number of students in the course and limitations of UCSC Special Collections its use will not be required.

Readings All texts will be available through UCSC’s online system.

Grateful Dead Research Guide This is a valuable resource for all things related to the Grateful Dead put together by UCSC Library staff: https://guides.library.ucsc.edu/c.php?g=119716&p=781075

Listenings Undoubtedly one of the most helpful aspects of studying the music of the Grateful Dead is the plethora of available recordings of their live from ’s entire 30-year existence. See https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead for free access to all publicly traded recordings. Students are encouraged to listen (and sometimes watch) above and beyond what is assigned for the class. Note – There are three types of live recordings: soundboards, audience, and matrix. Soundboards were recorded by members of the band’s crew and can only be streamed. Because they were recorded directly from the band’s live sound, they have a clean, but arguably “dead” (no pun intended) sound. They are not available for download from the (IA). Audience recordings, in contrast, are much more “alive” but have a wide range of sound quality, from excellent to practically unlistenable. They are available for download from the IA. Matrix recordings are mixes of soundboards and audience recordings intended to give the best possible balance of good sound quality with a “live” sound. They are also unavailable for download.

Grading 1st response 10% 2nd response 15% Essay 20% Midterm 20% Final 35%

Assignments The two responses are opportunities for students to express themselves in a relatively informal manner on one or more of the assigned readings, listenings, videos, or lectures. The format for both is one to two pages, 12-pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced (approx. 600-1,200 words). No other research or references are necessary. Although lacking the length and formal structure of an essay, writing quality (i.e. spelling, grammar, sentence construction) is important.

The essay is a lengthier (3-4 pages, double spaced, 12-pt Times New Roman font), formal piece of writing requiring an argument, evidence, and proper citation. Some suggested topics will be given out, but students are encouraged to formulate their own although they should be cleared with the instructor or a TA. The only limitation is it has to engage with the subject matter of the course, whether readings, lectures, or listenings. Students are encouraged to make use of the Grateful Dead Archive, but its use is not required.

The Midterm and Final examinations will be a combination of multiple choice and written responses.

Policy on use of electronic devices The use of electronic devices during class time should only occur in such a way as to not distract others. Phones should always be in silent mode and you are encouraged to not check them for the entirety of each class. Students will learn much more during the 65 minutes of class time by giving themselves a break from their personal electronic media than otherwise.

Some Relevant Online Materials http://www.deadlistening.com/: Ongoing discussion of Grateful Dead recordings https://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/: “Identifying and illuminating live Grateful Dead shows (and shows by band members) that are unknown or poorly documented.” http://cryptdev.blogspot.com/: “Reflections on the Music in the Bay Area in the 60's, 70's and Beyond” http://hooterollin.blogspot.com/: “Insight and speculation from the penumbra of Grateful Dead scholarship, an appendix to Lost Live Dead.” http://deadessays.blogspot.com/: “An ongoing series of articles on songs & performances of the early Grateful Dead. https://www.gdao.org/: Online home of the UCSC Grateful Dead Archive

Class Schedule All audio/video examples are by the Grateful Dead unless otherwise specified.

Week 1: History Monday, April 2: Introduction

Wednesday, April 4: 1) Richard Cándida Smith, “Introduction,” Utopia and Dissent: Art, Poetry, and Politics in California (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1995), xvii-xxvi. 2) Tony Judt, “The Age of Affluence,” in Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 (New York: Penguin Books, 2005), 324-53. Watch: 2) (https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=URtCml8FHrU) Optional Listening: Aug. 27, 1972 is the performance recorded for Sunshine Daydream. The entire can be listened to here: https://archive.org/details/gd72-08- 27.sbd.braverman.16582.sbefail.shnf/gd72-08-27d2t04.shn.

Friday, April 6: 1) Warren Bareiss, “Middlebrow Knowingness in 1950s’ : , Beat , and the Production of ‘Authenticity’,” Popular Music and Society 33, no. 1 (Feb. 2010), 9-33. 2) The Kingston Trio, “Tom Dooley”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb6I0YkSjb8 3) The Weavers, “Goodnight Irene”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSDyiUBrUSk 4) Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, Live at the Top of the Tangent – 1964: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU3x5svmo78 Optional: Various, The Roots of the Grateful Dead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdTiNAaCE74&index=1&list=PLGPrUIiNkFFs0GxEPTdQ AyJ-t-tMbzQU4

WEEK 2: HISTORY CONT. Monday, April 9: 1) David W. Bernstein, “The San Francisco Tape Music Center: Emerging Art Forms and the American Counterculture, 1961-1966,” in The San Francisco Tape Music Center: 1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde, ed. David W. Bernstein (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2008), 5-41. 2) Ramon Sender (featuring Pauline Oliveros on accordion), Desert Ambulance: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxjn2iKIRUk) 3) Terry Riley, In C (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRaa34E8tXQ) 4) , Phase (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0345c6zNfM) Optional: 5) Ross Cole, “‘Fun, Yes, but Music?’ Steve Reich and the 's Cultural Nexus, 1962–65,” Journal of the Society for American Music 6, no. 3 (August 2012), 315-48. 6) Documentary on Pauline Oliveros: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ2W42bOQxY)

Wednesday, April 11: 1) William J. Craddock, “Morgan’s Acid Test,” in The Grateful Dead Reader (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 8-16. 2) Ralph J. Gleason, “Dead Like Live Thunder” and “ the Guru,” in The Grateful Dead Reader (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 17-38. 3) Jay Williams, “Bohemian Nationalism,” The Grateful Dead in Concert: Essays in Live Improvisation, eds. James Tuedio and Stan Spector (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010), 232-50. 4) The Grateful Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJeTl6KoJUE&list=PL2A0F5F9D67FF3424) Optional: 5) March 18, 1967 (https://archive.org/details/gd67-03- 18.sbd.fink.10282.sbeok.shnf/gd67-03-18d2t05.shn)

Friday, April 13: 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A : The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 247-66, 273-90. 2) Anthem of the Sun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLPsZoF8q1U) 3) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LY7yBoQDms) Optional: 4) February 14, 1968 (https://archive.org/details/gd1968-02- 14.sbd.miller.89676.sbeok.flac16)

WEEK 3: EXPERIMENTALISM/IMPROVISATION Monday, April 16: 1) Steve Silberman, “Primal Dead at the : February 1970,” in The Grateful Dead Reader (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 40-49. 2) Dennis McNally, excerpts from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 299-312. 3) Live/Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL-dUZJydcw) 4) February 13, 1970, Fillmore East, New York, NY (https://archive.org/details/gd1970-02- 13.sbd.miller.fix-97613.97639.sbeok.flac16/gd70-02-13d2t12.flac especially “Dark Star” through “We Bid You Goodnight”) Optional: Video of some of the “Dark Star” as well as some other songs from this performance are available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmPhb-tWgBg&t=1207s. Mary Goodenough, “Modeling Improvisation” in The Grateful Dead in Concert: Essays in Live Improvisation, eds. James Tuedio and Stan Spector (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010).

Wednesday, April 18: 1) Eric F. Levy, “‘The Sound of Thick Air’: The Grateful Dead as Experimental Composers,” in Studying the Dead, 33-43. 2) Andy Childs, “A Conversation with ,” ZigZag (September 1974: http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=118) 3) October 18, 1974, Winterland Arena (https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10- 18.111459.gems.BOSWELL-SMITH.flac24/gd1974-10-18t16.flac, especially tracks 14-17, “” through “”) Optional: 1) Video from September 21, 1974, Palais des Sports, Paris, France (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-G_mOM5LbQ) 2) Sept. 11, 1973, Alexandra Palace, (https://archive.org/details/gd1974-09- 11.135802.sbd.miller.flac16/14-EyesOfTheWorld.flac, especially tracks 12-15, “” through “Wharf Rat”) 3) Watch “Space>Morning Dew” from 10-18-1974 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8FE03J_bNw)

Friday, April 20: TBA

WEEK 4: TRADITION Monday, April 23: 1) Tony Judt, “Diminished Expectations,” Postwar, 453-83. 2) Dennis McNally, excerpts from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 316-25, 332-55. Workingman’s Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJhIG8wc3Ok)

Wednesday, April 25: Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 360-84 Blair Jackson, “Hunter/Garcia, Words/Music: An Interview about Songwriting and Inspiration,” in Goin’ Down the Road: A Grateful Dead Traveling Companion (New York: Harmony Books, 1992), 205-234. American Beauty (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9TF8xtHq68)

Friday, April 27: FIRST RESPONSE DUE 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 403-17 2) Ed McClanahan, “Grateful Dead I Have Known,” in The Grateful Dead Reader (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 53-85. 2) “Roots: Under the Dead’s Covers,” in Goin’ Down the Road: A Grateful Dead Traveling Companion (New York: Harmony Books, 1992), 235-39. 3) Grateful Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaYfA7tfT1g&list=PL94gOvpr5yt2QVsgiz1YKOe Hd-36bC67X) Optional: Jerry Garcia, Garcia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqauQmyDxjc) , Ace (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GLsyWdWAyY)

WEEK 5: TECHNOLOGY AND THE PASTORAL Monday, April 30: Special guest 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 424-60 2) Europe ’72, tracks 1 (“Cumberland ”) to 12 (“Tennessee Jed”) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDWRZEd3Ouc&list=PLCC2EEDF80A02206A) For track 10, “Sugar ”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fdLeYHjZ0U 3) “Truckin’>The Other One>Drums>The Other One>Jam>Morning Dew>The Other One>Sing Me Back Home” (Optional: the entire performance, which is widely heralded as one of their best ever) https://archive.org/details/gd1972-05-26.sbd.waddell.89641.sbeok.flac16/gd72-05- 26.GEMS.d3t07.flac Optional: April 21, 1972, Beat Club, Bremen, West Germany (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6Uu57h7H18&t=1700s) April 8, 1972, Wembley Empire Pool, London (https://archive.org/details/gd1972-04- 08.sbd.miller.83714.sbeok.flac16/gd72-04-08d3t01.flac, especially “Dark Star” through “One More Saturday Night”)

Wednesday, May 2: 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 468-92. 2) “Grateful Dead: November-December 1973,” The Modern (https://moderndeadhead.blogspot.com/2011/07/grateful-dead-november-december-1973.html) 3) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-qZxV0dWsE) 4) Tracks 16-21, “Here Comes Sunshine” through “,” Dec. 6, 1973, Cleveland Public Hall (https://archive.org/details/gd1973-12-06.sbd.miller.105560.flac16/gd73-12- 06d2t03.flac) Optional: Entire performance

Friday, May 4: 1) Brian Anderson, “The Wall of Sound,” Motherboard (July 5, 2015): https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wnnayb/the-wall-of-sound. 2) Ned Lagin interviewed by Davis Gans (on Canvas) 3) From the Mars Hotel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLRwFkipvns&t=82s) 4) Seastones (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW370_ETZ4Y) Optional: June 23, 1974, Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, Fl, with Ned Lagin (https://archive.org/details/gd74-06-23.moore.weiner.gdADT.14265.sbeok.shnf)

WEEK 6: THE POLITICAL Monday, May 7: 1) Tony Judt, “The Spectre of Revolution,” in Postwar, 391-421. 2) Jesse Jarnow, “Schrödinger’s Dead: The Grateful Dead’s 1975 Retirement,” (August 12, 2015), https://www.relix.com/articles/detail/scrodingers_dead_the_grateful_deads_1975_retirement 3) studio (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE_hm9qKRyc) 4) Blues for Allah performed live on August 13, 1975 (https://archive.org/details/gd75-08- 13.fm.vernon.23661.sbeok.shnf) Optional: Detailed information on August 13, 1975 performance: https://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2014/08/august-13-1975-great-american-music.html 5) Jerry Garcia & Friends, SNACK Benefit, March 23, 1975 (https://archive.org/details/gd1975- 03-23.sbd.miller.110126.flac16/gd75-03-23d1t01.flac) 6) Corry Arnold, “March 23, 1975: Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA: The SNACK Concert with Jerry Garcia And Friends (FM VIII),” Lost Live Dead (October 4, 2012): http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/10/march-23-1975-kezar-stadium-san.html.

Wednesday, May 9: MIDTERM

Friday, May 11: 1) Mark McGurl, “Learning from Little Tree: The Political Education of the Counterculture,” The Yale Journal of Criticism 18, no. 2 (Fall 2005), 243-267. 2) Charlie Haas, “Pinup Uglises: Still Grateful After All These Years,” The Grateful Dead Reader (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 120-38. 3) Alison Fensterstock, “‘Do You Want To Talk To The Man-In-Charge, Or The Woman Who Knows What's Going On?’ Stories Of The Women Of The Grateful Dead,” NPR Music (March 20, 2018: https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593958534/do-you-want-to-talk-to-the-man-in-charge- or-the-woman-who-knows-what-s-going-on)

WEEK 7: COMMERCIALISM Monday, May 14: 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 493-520. 2) Brian C. Drobnik, “‘Truckin' in Style along the Avenue’: How the Grateful Dead Turned Alternative Business and Legal Strategies Into A Great American Success Story,” 2 Vand. J. Ent. L. & Prac. (2000), 242-66. 3) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwAEZmOl6to) 4) May 8, 1977, Barton Hall, Ithaca, NY (https://archive.org/details/gd1977-05- 08.111493.mtx.seamons.sbeok.flac16/gd77-05-08d2t03.flac) Optional: http://www.deadlistening.com/2008/10/1977-may-8-cornell-university.html May 7, 1977, Boston Garden (https://archive.org/details/gd77-05- 07.sbd.eaton.wizard.26085.sbeok.shnf/gd77-05-07d2t06.shn) May 9, 1977, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (https://archive.org/details/gd1977-05- 09.mtx.seamons.98168.flac16)

Wednesday, May 16: 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 521-35. 2) Brad E. Lucas, “Bahktinian Carnival, Corporate Capital, and the Last Decade of the Dead,” in Perspectives on the Grateful Dead, 79-88. 3) Vic Garbarlnl, “In Search of the Grateful Dead,” Musician, Player, and Listener 36 (Oct 1, 1981): 60-63. 4) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmnY2FYt3HA) Optional: Nov. 24, 1978 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaQ1vXdf1Q0) Feb. 5, 1978, Uni-Dome, Cedar Falls, IA (https://archive.org/details/gd1978-02- 05.123360.mtx.set2.dusborne.flac16/s2t05.flac)

Friday, May 18: 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 541-76 2) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNtnJrowvZo&list=PL3D7AF88EA01973D3) 3) In The Dark (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mnhlt0Gz9w) Dec. 5, 1979, Uptown Theater, Chicago, Il (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrsUybWVg0Q)

WEEK 8: TRANSFORMATION/TRANSPORTATION Monday, May 21: SECOND RESPONSE DUE 1) “Jerry Garcia: In Search of ‘X’ Factor,” Musician, Player, and Listener 36 (Oct 1, 1981): 64- 67, 69, 72, 74. 2) Blair Jackson, “Dead Heads: A Strange Tale of Love, Devotion, and Surrender,” The Grateful Dead Reader (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 150-64. 3) Dennis McNally, “Meditations on the Grateful Dead,” The Grateful Dead Reader (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 165-74. 4) Grayfolded (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl0-f1Vt6aE)

Wednesday, May 23: 1) Nancy Reist, “‘Counting Stars by Candlelight’: An Analysis of the Mythic Appeal of the Grateful Dead,” Journal of Popular Culture, 183-209. 2) Blair Jackson, “: Drums and Dreaming,” Goin’ Down the Road, 188-204. 3) Infrared Roses (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4R1eTFH44M&t=784s)

Friday, May 25: 1) Eric K. Silverman, “‘Mysteries Dark and Vast’: Grateful Dead Concerts and Initiation into the Sublime,” in The Grateful Dead In Concert, 214-231. 2) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 579-93. 3) Oct. 30, 1989, Miami, FL (https://archive.org/details/gd1989-10- 26.125695.mtx.dusborne.flac16/gd89-10-26s2t04.flac – especially the second set)

WEEK 9: COMMUNITY Monday, May 28: 1) Rachel Wilgoren, “The Grateful Dead as Community,” in Perspectives on the Grateful Dead, 191-201. 2) Horace L. Fairlamb, “Community at the Edge of Chaos: The Dead’s Cultural Revolution,” 13- 25. 3) Reckoning (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYgy5gOy2ho&list=PLJNbijG2M7OzlkhyuvThgm90ZpFiH bZUu)

Wednesday, May 30: TBA 1) Amanda Diederich-Hirsh, “Examining Grateful Dead Improvisation as a Catalyst for Creating Sustained Communitas,” in The Grateful Dead In Concert: Essays on Live Improvisation, eds. James Tuedio and Stan Spector (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010), 294-309. 2) Matthew Christen Tift, “Grateful Dead Musicking,” in All Graceful Instruments, 72-91. 3) Dead Set (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f- TaP0N7IMI&index=1&list=PLWclTtYiHSxdDgG27qWcwOcd5EkHKky-t)

Friday, June 1: TBA

WEEK 10: WRAPPING UP Monday, June 4: FINAL ESSAY DUE 1) Tony Judt, “The New Realism,” in Postwar, 535-58. 2) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 558-76 3) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuL20Mvd5aA&list=PLJNbijG2M7OyVkrTlwF2C7c_upF uEnFvn&index=1)

Wednesday, June 6: 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 579-93 2) Rob Weir, “Tie-Dye and Flannel Shirts: The Grateful Dead and the Battle over the Long Sixties,” Journal of Popular Music Studies 26, no. 1, 137-61. 3) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P0-3vGVfNU) Optional: September 20, 1990 show, Madison Square Gardens, New York, NY: https://archive.org/details/gd1990-09-20.mtx.dan.30868.sbeok.shnf/gd1990-9-20-mtx-d2t03.shn Video of September 20, 1990, “>I Know You Rider,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IxOfAxg4ks.

Friday, June 8: 1) Dennis McNally, excerpt from A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead (New York: Broadway Books, 2002), 600-20. 2) Steve Silberman, “The Only Song of God,” in The Grateful Dead Reader (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 306-14. 3) “Stella Blue” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJfNxsBsCPE)

WEEK 11: FINAL EXAM, TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 12-3 PM