20 Songs That Make Me Happy

Many of you have probably seen the “Name 20 songs that make you happy” thing going around the social medias. Well, I took the time to make a quick playlist of 20 songs that make me happy. Listen/stream/download below.

Hope you enjoy.

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1. Manchester by Kishi Bashi

2. I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Time) by Jaimie xx

3. Funky Kingston by Toots and the Maytals

4. Love, Love, Love 2 (Reprise) by Akron/Family

5. Mustt Mustt (Extended) by Kiran Ahluwalia

6. Konkon by Oki Dub Ainu Band

7. Scenario by A Tribe Called Quest

8. Baba O’Riley by the Who

9. Here Comes Sunshine by Grateful Dead

10. Sweet Jane by the Velvet Underground

11. Sun Hands by Local Natives

12. Reality Used to be a Friend by P.M. Dawn

13. Swerve . . . The reeping . . . by Shabazz Palaces

14. Bam Bam by Sister Nancy

15. Lalo Schifrin by Blue Scholars

16. I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Creedence Clearwater Revival

17. Baby Baby by the Vibrators

18. Love of My Life Worldwide by Erykah Badu

19. Boogie on Reggae Woman by Stevie Wonder

20. Ooh La La by Faces

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• Download a PDF of some pretty bland CD artwork

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Grateful Dead: Playing In The Jam (A Holiday At The Sea Mix)

Ever wonder what “Playing In The Band” might sound like as an extended instrumental free-jazz-space-rock suite? Well, I did.

Inspired by Save Your Face and their various Grateful Dead mixes, I edited six different performances of “Playing In The Band” into an instrumental suite.

I’m not entirely happy with a couple of the transitions, but I dig how it turned out overall, seeing as how I am not a professional, I didn’t actually spend that much time on this, and I really only made this for myself to listen to either while I work or commuting. Enjoy.

Here are the deets for the six pieces making up the Suite:

• 00:00 - 11:39 :: 09.21.72 at the The Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA (released as Dicks’s Picks 36)

• 11:39-25:45 :: 03.24.73 at the The Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA

• 25:245 - 34:47 :: 11.10.73 at Winterland Arena in San Francisco, CA (released as part of Winterland 1973: The Complete Recordings)

• 34:47 - 44:09 :: 05.17.77 at Memorial Coliseum, U of Alabama, MS (released as part of May 1977)

• 44:09: 52:31 :: 05.28.77 at at Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT (released as To Terrapin: Hartford '77)

• 52:31 - 56:27 :: 05.28.77 at at Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT (released as To Terrapin: Hartford '77)

I chose these performances for no real reason other than that this is the time-period of the Dead that I listen to most and these shows happened to be on my laptop when I decided to try out this idea.

And if all that weren’t enough goodness, here’s an instrumental edit of the mammoth “Playing In The Band” from the Pacific Northwest '73-'74: Believe it If You Need It (Live) set (Live at Hec Edmundson Pavillion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 5/21/74).

Enjoy.

• Visit the Grateful Dead’s official website.

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Hamza El Din With The Dead

This post originally appeared at the now disappeared Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow website on June 26, 2018 and is now posted here for posterity and because who doesn’t need more Hamza El Din With The Dead in their lives, right?!

In September 1978, the Grateful Dead traveled to Egypt to play three shows at the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza, under the gaze of the Great Sphinx. 

The shows were the culmination of a band of seekers being drawn to places of power. In many ways, the shows were Phil Lesh's personal project. He says: 

"it sort of became my project because I was one of the first people in the band who was on the trip of playing at places of power. You know, power that's been preserved from the ancient world. The pyramids are like the obvious number one choice because no matter what anyone thinks they might be, there is definitely some kind of mojo about the pyramids."

The shows also lived out the ideal of international collaboration, The Dead were famous for having other people sit in, from jazz musicians like Ornette Coleman to Nubian Sudanese composer, oud player, tar player, and vocalist Hamza El Din (Listen to "Did Nura Remember (Gillina Nura)" by Hamza El Din. From the 1965 album Al Oud featured on Episode 02 of the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow).

El Din had already garnered international recognition by this time, having played the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 and we are happy to feature his 1965 track "Did Nura Remember (Gillina Nura)" on Episode 02 of our podcast. 

In October, El Din returned the favor and played with the Dead at Winterland:  "El Din opened the show solo, offering his divine percussion before the Grateful Dead slowly emerged to join him for an ecstatic rendition of “Ollin Arageed”, a number based off a Nubian wedding tune, before embarking on a soaring half-acoustic, half-electric jam."

Watch "Ollin Arageed - Egypt 9-16-78:

Listen to the Dead with Hamza El Din 10/21/78:

• Visit Hamza El Din .com

• Follow the Hamza El Din fan page at Facebook

• Purchase Hamza El Din's music at Amazon

• Visit the Grateful Dead’s official website

• Purchase Grateful Dead music at Amazon

• Listen to "Did Nura Remember (Gillina Nura)" by Hamza El Din. From the 1965 album Al Oud featured on Episode 02 of the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow.