Mr. Heartbreak

I guess if you want to talk about the importance of particular current events, or broad topics like gun control, the discussion of the still-distant 2016 race can seem pretty trivial. Having participated in a couple of presidential campaigns as a volunteer, and being a bit of a political junkie, I find the discussion of presidential politics to be so multifaceted and fascinating, I am always interested and/or horrified by what happens. I would be interested in hearing people's thoughts, predictions, etc. In a way, I'm really more worried about 2014 than 2016, and not just because it's so fa

You may be right, but I will not be surprised if he edges out Christie for the nomination. They may think he can win, because he's not old like his father.

That's true, but for me, the presidential election is always much more than just the horse race. Speculating on the potential of, say, Rand Paul and Chris Christie, is fascinating not only because I think they are both right-wing blowhards who happen to disagree with each other on some fundamental issues very publicly, but also because there is some possibility (gulp) that one of them could some day be the leader of the free world. And it leads to a conversation like, What would it say about America if we elected Barack Obama but then turned around and elected Rand Paul?

Spoiler alert: Vince Gillgan confirms in this interview that Walt's cancer is back (unless, like I said before, Vince is playing all of us). http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/11/breaking-bad-creator-vince-gilligan-spills-on-midseason-season-premiere-s-big-plot-twist.html My predictions: Jesse will go MIA for a bit, and it will be a race between Hank and Walt to find him. Walt wants Jesse to kill Hank for him, of course, and Hank will want him to turn state's evidence against Walt and go into witness protection. Hank will get to Jesse first, and Jesse will roll o

I see that hasn't worked with Honey Boo-Boo or Sarah Palin, so...

Come join us on the dark side. Plenty of room in our tent!

Who do folks anticipate being the nominee? Rand Paul? Marco Rubio? Or someone not well known yet, like Obama in 2008?

Well, he's also taking some kind of meds in the flash-forward scene with the machine gun. Be kind of funny if they turned out to be just sleeping pills or pain pills or something, and the show creator was playing us the way Walt is trying to play everyone else.

You guys cut them a lot of slack. However, as I mentioned above, the Scarlet > Fire is a definite keeper. Those cymbals that were pretty much absent throughout the first set make a welcome appearance, and Jerry is just on fire (no pun intended) through Scarlet and, especially, Fire. I felt ripped off until I got to the second disc. As short as it is, it made the set worth buying, IMHO. Has anyone else preordered Sunshine Daydream? I'm pretty bummed that it is once again available for 33 bucks on Amazon, with free shipping. That means I paid dead.net an additional $20 for 1) a booklet 2)

Seems like it might be true: he was on a chemo drip when Saul called, and he did go throw up in the middle of dinner. I suspect he is at least telling the truth about that.

The second set has some great highlights, but the first set won't even make my iPod.

I am totally digging it. Last night's episode was all sorts of awesome. I can't wait to see how we get from "tread carefully" to "Hello, Carol." Lol

"There's no way to measure his greatness or magnitude as a person or as a player. I don't think any eulogizing will do him justice. He was that great, much more than a superb musician, with an uncanny ear and dexterity. He's the very spirit personified of whatever is Muddy River country at its core and screams up into the spheres. He really had no equal. To me he wasn't only a musician and friend, he was more like a big brother who taught and showed me more than he'll ever know. There's a lot of spaces and advances between The Carter Family, Buddy Holly and, say, Ornette Coleman, a lot of univ

You should have one in your house in case of an intruder.

I just saw this. Actually live in Tampa but drove to Atlanta to catch Bobby w/ Wilco again. Was not disappointed. The Dead had a great repertoire and amazing talent. Sadly, drugs played their part. The first time I knew something was wrong was 12/31/85. I listened to the show live on the radio, and during the Jerry tunes I was like, WTF? It had been a year since I had seen them and the decline was noticeable.

Is the whole show like that, or does ol' Jer just get all jiggy and whatnot for Useless Blues?

Was this the answer to a previous question? And if so, which one?

I'm not crazy about much of anything past '82, if I'm honest about it. I was always more a Jerry head than a Bobby head, and once the Persian (and the smokes!) really started to take him down, it pains me to hear his singing. My sweet spot for the Dead runs from about '70-'77 or so. Right now I've got some stuff from '73 & '74 that I've never heard before in the iTunes queue, and I'm looking forward to it. Don't get me wrong, I love what some of the other guys in the band pulled off in the '80s, especially Brent and Bob, but listening to a full show from the latter years is not something I

Is this thread more accurate than the Magic 8 Ball?

Every time I see the name Sneaky Pete, I am reminded of this: http://youtu.be/t2I7No0xAXU

I did not realize Eternity had been performed by the Dead. I've only heard the version Bobby played live right after Jerry died. I always liked it, but of course it worked well and had a whole extra layer of meaning in that context. Not really into anything post-85 for the most part, but my brother sent me a link to this and it's pretty good: http://youtu.be/zQHE1wtqu4w

For those who are interested in this sort of thing, the ZFT now has a new CD called Roxy by Proxy available for pre-order. I guess they couldn't find a thousand suckers to pony up a grand a piece to become "distributors." I'm sure I'll buy it eventually, but waiting to see some reviews on the zappa.com forum first. It's due out next month.

Are you and sonny feeling the same person?

That's a good idea. Mine: 1. Paul McCartney - I rarely play the Beatles anymore, unless they come up in my iTunes at work. But Sir Paul's nearly 3-hour shows, all 3 times I have seen them, were life-affirming, life-changing events. Amazing. 2. Wilco - Yep. I'd rank 'em that high. They are in a zone. 3. Bruce Cockburn - Still gets my vote for best living guitarist in the world. He could play an instrumental-only show and it would be mesmerizing. But he also has a million great songs. 4. The Who - Well, what's left of 'em, anyway. 5. Buddy Guy - Going to see him for the 5th or 6th time in Nove