He wear no shoeshine, he got

On September 26, 1969 the album Abbey Road was released in the United States.  I remember waiting in line to buy my copy.  I took it home and after dinner my friends and I listened to it.  The song "Come Together" (originally written as a campaign song for Timothy Leary's run for California governor against Ronnie Raygun, among others) had been on the radio for a while.  I listened to that album over and over and over.  It is still on my playlist and it always makes me happy these days then when a song from the album plays in my ears on my walk to work.   Abbey Road and the Stones Let it Bleed made it clear that things were going to be a little different in the 1970s.

September 26, 1971--Christiana first occupied and free state established

In 1971, the freaks of Copenhagen occupied an empty military base and established the Free State of Christiana.  The cops and other authorities responded with clubs and arrests, yet eventually came to an agreement.  It survives, albeit in different form, with both police and gangs challenging the residents and the area's status.  Meanwhile, real estate interests encourage both.  Here are a couple links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9MyVUXjuOA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0kcNUdsycE

Two Movies released the week of September 21, 1975

The first film is one of Al Pacino's best.  Based on the true story of a Deadhead who tried to rob a bank in the Village and, when it failed, turned it onto a hostage situation, director Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon remains a classic that truly captures a certain essence of the time....This clip is one of my favorite moments...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB6Gk5EtunI

The second film, Nashville, directed by Robert Altman and featuring a cast of mostly unknowns, is a point on look at US presidential elections, US culture and its absurdities and racism, among other things.  Film critic and Literature professor Bob Niemi has a great take on this film in his 2016 book

The Cinema of Robert Altman: Hollywood Maverick .  Here is a clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjnRX__xyMs

Welcome to Hollywood--Leon Russell Live 1970

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bwMqliLXZQ

Enjoy!!

Chilean Musician Victor Jara Killed by Chilean Military in 1973

On September 15, 1973, the Chilean musician Victor Jara was tortured and murdered by the Fascist military under the direction of dictator Augusto Pinochet.  Pinochet took power in a military coup against the popularly elected socialist government of Salvador Allende.  The White House, CIA, Anaconda Copper and ITT were intimately involved in the coup and the economic and political disruption leading up to the overthrow.  Jara's supposed killer was found guilty in a Florida courtroom in July 2016.  However, the major architects of the coup in the Chilean military, finance and political systems got away with Jara's murder and the murder and torture of thousands of others.  In addition, those in the US who were involved, including Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, have never answered for their crimes.  Nixon, of course, is dead.  Kissinger's death will draw few tears.

A tune from Victor Jara...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q2_zOfuGcA&list=PLjGY1Q5b_IbnNWuinaSrPNaKFTwyQPhwW

Letting it Bleed: Joel Selvin Takes on Altamont

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/09/09/letting-it-bleed-2/

Some nice words from a brother out west...

Somebody sent me this link the other day.  It's a post from a blog by a fellow traveler who lives in the American West....

http://scottrthequillayutecowboy.blogspot.com/2016/07/those-good-ole-days.html

Reclaiming the Dead--- A Modern US Socialist Looks at the Grateful Dead

One of the better analyses of the Dead's meaning that I've read in quite a while...
http://www.redwedgemagazine.com/online-issue/deadrec