The Early Issues

The Pros And Cons Of Skeletons In The Closet

Nothing but bones. Cemetery echoes and a half-remembered nightmare.

Jeremy Rapini was a Deadhead, carrying the band’s spirit with him on every mile of open highway. He kept his rig spotless, his schedule tight, and his attitude easygoing, earning a reputation as one of the most reliable truckers on the road. With the Grateful Dead through his speakers, he turned long hauls into something peaceful, almost poetic.

“Truckin’” emerged in 1970 as the Grateful Dead’s road-weary reflection on constant touring and the very chaotic freedom of life on the move. The band pieced the song together from real experiences — including their infamous 1967 drug raid in New Orleans — turning their misadventures into sly, good-humored storytelling with an edge.

Good music. With its rolling groove and the now-iconc line “What a long, strange trip it’s been,” the song became a defining anthem of their identity.

Skeletons In The Closet Playlist
Beyond Skeletons Playlist

And “Skeletons From The Closet” is heavenly. Simply the first and best compilation album from the rock band, the Grateful Dead, and it’s available on vinyl. I am “mostly” alive listening to a brilliant jam band, psychedelic rock, country rock, folk-rock, blues rock, metal rock, acid rock, psychedelic folk. I open “Skeletons From The Closet” then wonder if “Skeletons In The Closet” is real. I don’t know too many cons, but I made a friend of the devil and found out he’s also in subtitles.

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