Fly Jefferson Airplane

Hi,

I kinda look at this, nowadays, very much as the same thing as the communes that several bands in Germany had. The idea was to live together, and work together and any other idea that came along. 

Nowadays we only live with our puffers, sun glasses and maybe a doggie! In this day and age of 2024, the idea of a commune is something that Americans do not believe in, as their individuality turns to some form of .... I guess we need more Mr. T's.

I also find it strange, this idea of sex .... so what? It's one of the things that made the time worthwhile, like it did for many of us in our younger days!

Hi,

I second that idea and comment. Considering how many folks copied the extended stuff from TGD, it is rather strange that the PA folks have not extended it to see the history.

It's OK, TGD does not need PA for anything ... they have made their story completely apart from the record companies, and allowed folks to record their shows off their sound board, and kept a lot of people very happy ... not to mention they had the best sound system that nobody inside a progressive/prog show will EVER hear ... PF's quadraphonic sound was close, but it was too hissy, though it helped make sure that people heard the little voices and details in DSOTM that the American LP had made sure to hide with its copy of some master found in a trash bin.

As much as I like, and defend, this time and place in SF, there are a lot of sad things in play here. 

First one, is obvious ... Canned Heat and many other bands were not selling that much and were not played on radio ... and after this show, they became one of the bands that a lot of the FM radio stations played ... music that was not exactly great but in many wyas, it was what was "in the streets", and as such it deserved an audience and play ... but musically, they were very poor compared to many other bands out there. But they were "there" and that makes them seem more important and valuable. At least, when hearing Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Big Brother, Spirit, Quicksilver Messenger Service, It's a Beautiful Day ... and others, you can see the experimental edge and touch that made them well known and special ... but also one of the bands (JA) that could not be "controlled" by a record company because of their lack of consistent output and material that reflected the various personalities in the band.

FM radio became huge and a monster that ate up the record companies big time for several years, until the end of the 70's when it all came to a sort of screeching halt when the stations were all bought out and taken off the hands of independent folks. That was the last time that radio had any influence and the government made sure that the FCC kept its promise to control the public and now allow avenues that provided "freedom" ... as the LA Free Press suggested just before they were shut down.

LA lost its touch, and even bands like The Doors were kinda doomed, though, that is another story. SF managed to hang out a lot longer with many more bands, but it was clear that LA was "controlled" a lot more than SF's apparent independent spirit, which somehow in LA ... it did not really existed, other than The Doors, who could be said to be a much more "educated" band than most of the bands in the area. And UCLA was really well represented in this area. Nowadays, no band is really even associated with a college or University ... and we seem to think that street music is better and more important, and sometimes it isn't.

Sadly, like a lot of things about that time and place, the film has things in the incorrect order and totally off center.  Though it was nice to see a lot of these things, it also showed the lack of respect and appreciation for doing things right and well ... properly!

This is taken off Jefferson Airplane's first album (with subdued drums) And I Like It.