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From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: net.music.gdead
Subject: Re: Are they political?
Message-ID: <1147@opus.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 9-Apr-85 00:51:05 EST
Article-I.D.: opus.1147
Posted: Tue Apr  9 00:51:05 1985
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>, > >> = Cliff Matthews, > > = Don Stein
> 
> >> Hmmm... the Dead are also one of the few bands that started in the 60's that
> >> were decidedly (as a band at least) non-political.  Perhaps that is one of
> >> the reasons they lasted so long.
> 
> > I wonder about the non-politicalness or apoliticalness of the Dead, even
> > in their early days. Songs like "Morning Dew", "Cumberland Blues", and
> > "Throwing Stones" come immediatelly to mind...

Dew and Cumberland are political statements, to be sure...but they're not
quite direct political commentary, which may be what Cliff had in mind.
Stones is a little bit more direct, but it still lacks a real direct attack
on the current political situation.  As I'm writing this, the radio is
playing the Bruce Cockburn song "If I had a rocket launcher..." in the
background.  Now THAT'S overtly political--as is a lot of what Cockburn has
done recently.

The Dead have been comparatively (for a 60's band) apolitical, but they're
certainly not amoral.  Their music makes a lot of judgment calls on a lot
of subjects.  Think about "Jack Straw", for example.

The fact that they've done things like benefits for Viet Nam vets (at times
when the country was trying its hardest to forget the war and ignore the
vets) speaks more directly to the moral-vs-political point I'd like to
make.  It was difficult in the late 60's, early 70's to say something
AGAINST the war without having a bunch of people think that you were also
AGAINST the country and particularly AGAINST the guys who were over there
fighting.
-- 
Dick Dunn	{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd		(303)444-5710 x3086
   ...At last it's the real thing...or close enough to pretend.