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Originally Posted by started with 1
Learning guitar later in life, way past my peak fan obsession, and being able, after a few years of cowboy chording, to play most of the melodic Hunter/Garcia songs, I’m convinced that it’s the songs that make the scene. Like you, my appreciation for the songwriting craft is enormous. One of the best American songwriting pair ever. Bob Weir predicts the music will last for the next 2-300 years. I agree. It’s the songs.
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As much fun as i've had at a number of Phish shows over the years, the thing that makes me a hard-core Deadhead and more of a casual Phish fan is the songs. Most Phish songs are good jumping off points for their jams, but don't really hold up very well as SONGS that really get into your song-loving heart. The Dead wrote SONGS that hold up on every level, that get under your skin and stay there. That can be played by jam-band virtuosos and also by casual hacks like me. I've never even tried playing any Phish songs and can't imagine I ever will, but I play Dead stuff almost every day, certainly no less than weekly. Mostly Garcia-Hunter, but also quite a few Weir-Barlowe. The stuff is timeless. Of American songwriters from my era, I put them right up there with Dylan, Joni, Petty, and Springsteen. And I tend to put the Dead at the top. I'd have trouble rating any of those folks any higher than the others, but the Dead songs are as great (and prolific) as any...
-Ray