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Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir planned out only two things before each of the thousands of concerts they played together in the Grateful Dead: The song they would begin with and the song they would end with. Everything else was decided in the moment. “While Jerry was singing, I had plenty of time to think about the next tune that I was going to do,” says Weir. “And while I was singing, he had plenty of time to think about what tune he was next going to do. We developed a feel for that.

Grateful Dead co-founders Phil Lesh and Bob Weir began a three-city, six-show run, dubbed the Bobby and Phil Tour, with a pair of sold-out gigs at Radio City Music Hall on Friday and Saturday. In classic Dead fashion, the concerts moved between magical jams and charming discombobulation, never losing their sense of real-time fun. During their debut as a “duo,” Lesh and Weir were augmented on and off by percussionist Wally Ingram and, for Saturday’s thrilling, improv-packed second set, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio. But even with the guests, the...

"Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds."

John Perry Barlow (3 October 1947 - 7 February 2018) - American poet and essayist, a cattle rancher, and a cyber-libertarian political activist who was associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He was also a lyricist for the Grateful Dead via Bob Weir and a founding member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Freedom of the Press Foundation. He was Fellow Emeritus at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, where he had maintained an affiliation since 1998. The above tune -- "The Music Never Stopped" -- was co-written by Mr. Weir for The Dead and appeared on their album Blues For Allah (1975). He passed away in his sleep at the age of 70. Rip, Mr. Barlow.

John Perry Barlow, the longtime Grateful Dead lyricist, died Wednesday at the age of 70. John Perry Barlow Dies At 70 His cause of death has not been released, but NBC News reports that Barlow had been ill since suffering a heart attack in 2015. The writer penned many of the classic Grateful Dead tunes, […]

Source: uInterview

The post John Perry Barlow, Grateful Dead Lyricist & Internet Pioneer, Dies At 70; Tributes Pour In appeared first on uInterview.

John Perry Barlow, a lyricist for the Grateful Dead and internet pioneer, has died. He was 70.

Barlow, who co-founded the non-profit digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation and Freedom of the Press Foundation, died in his sleep on Wednesday, according to the announcement shared on Eff’s website.

Grateful Dead also shared the news of Barlow’s death on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, posting a link to a Spotify playlist titled “Remembering John Perry Barlow” with ten tracks including “Cassidy,” “Mexicali Blues” and “Black-Throated Wind” songs Barlow helped pen for the band.

Barlow, who also created Grateful Dead anthems “Estimated Prophet,...

The moment she married JFK Jr. in 1996, Carolyn Bessette became one of the most famous women in the world.

The sudden spotlight wasn’t always easy for the new bride. Whereas John’s mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, had time to grow accustomed to her fame, first as a senator’s wife and then as First Lady, Carolyn’s transition was far more abrupt. “It was much slower for Jackie,” says friend John Perry Barlow, who knew both Jackie and Carolyn. “And it was a different kind of celebrity, too. Because people tended to be favorably inclined toward Jackie.”

In this week’s People,...

When JFK Jr. asked Carolyn Bessette to marry him, her response was not quite the one he had been expecting.

While the Calvin Klein fashion publicist was eager to accept, she didn’t want to make any specific plans. “She held the proposal off for about three weeks, which I think just made him all the more intent on marrying her,” a close friend of John’s tells People in this week’s cover story.

The glamorous pair would ultimately pull off a top-secret wedding in 1996, but the marriage was to be tragically short-lived: On July 16, 1999, John, 38, Carolyn, 33, and her sister Lauren,...

Long Strange Trip (Amazon Video)

I was stoked have scored a ticket for the limited-run (one week) theatrical screening of the new Grateful Dead documentary at IFC Cinema in the West Village. A four-hour love fest for Deadheads young and old, and more importantly for those music fans and the curious who just never got "it" and what it means to be a Deadhead. Expertly handled by director Amir Bar-Lev, there is so much to mine here that I can't imagine how much was left on the cutting room floor. (Props to executive producer Martin Scorsese, too.) Jerry's Frankenstein story frames the movie in a way that initially seems odd but by the end of the film makes perfect sense. After all, like the Monster, the band was "assembled" by the various parts (members, friends, fans, staff) that comprised it. Messy, joyous entropy in action; seemingly random, but actually spiritually...

You could argue that most folks – or at least those who'd care enough to nab tickets to a documentary about the Grateful Dead – already know the band's story backwards and forwards. They can tell you that Jerry Garcia started out as a boho banjo player in a jug band, and that he enlisted avant-composer Phil Lesh, fresh-faced folkie Bob Weir, blues aficionado Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and drummer Bill Kreutzmann to form a band. They'll tell you about the acid tests and becoming the San Francisco scene's poster boys. They'll chart...

Seventeen years after JFK Jr.'s death, his closest friends reveal never-before-told stories about his life and final weeks. Subscribe now for an inside look at the JFK Jr. you never knew, only in People!While close friends say John F. Kennedy Jr. was not one to directly address his father's infidelity, one confidante believes it's one of the reasons the young Kennedy focused on becoming a consistent and loyal partner. In I Am JFK Jr., a new Spike TV documentary to air Aug. 1 and featured in this week's People, close friend John Perry Barlow, a Wyoming rancher and Grateful Dead lyricist,...

Seventeen years after JFK Jr.'s death, his closest friends reveal never-before-told stories about his life and final weeks. Subscribe now for an inside look at the JFK Jr. you never knew, only in People!While close friends say John F. Kennedy Jr. was not one to directly address his father's infidelity, one confidante believes it's one of the reasons the young Kennedy focused on becoming a consistent and loyal partner. In I Am JFK Jr., a new Spike TV documentary to air Aug. 1 and featured in this week's People, close friend John Perry Barlow, a Wyoming rancher and Grateful Dead lyricist,...

The Ecuadorean embassy's celebrity refugee is used to living in what Assange likens to a space station as he battles extradition

Vivienne Westwood has paid a visit, as have the American civil rights activist Cornel West and the "cyberlibertarian" campaigner and former Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow.

Lady Gaga popped in while in town to launch her fragrance, after the singer Mia tweeted that she would supply tea and cake. On Thursday, René "Residente" Pérez, the lead singer of a Puerto Rican rap duo called Calle 13, called round to collaborate on a song about free expression.

And on Sunday, 362 days after Julian Assange first asked Ecuador to grant him political asylum, the WikiLeaks founder hosted his most senior visitor yet, the country's foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño. The politician's meeting with his British opposite number, William Hague, was the first ministerial-level talks of a five-nation diplomatic tangle that to...

The life of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy continues to fascinate the American public.

In a new expose, People magazine has learned details of the fiercely private woman through interviews with her confidants and the recently published interviews Jackie gave four months after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

These interviews "were hard for her to do. But she felt it was important," her former Secret Service agent, Clint Hill, told People.

Her friend...

In the three-plus decades that she appeared on the world stage, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy captivated the country's imagination. But little personal information was known about the fiercely private widow of President John F. Kennedy. No longer. People has learned intimate details about Kennedy's life through interviews with her confidants. They come on the heels of recently released tapes - seven interviews a bereaved Jackie gave historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., four months after she was widowed. These interviews "were hard for her to do. But she felt it was important," says her former Secret Security agent, Clint Hill. Her...

Conceiving Ada, directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson and starring Tilda Swinton, is an award-winning 1997 movie that was the first to use an all virtual set. You can finally snag it on DVD for the first time. Ever.

In this award-winning film, which was the first to use "virtual sets," Tilda Swinton embodies Lady Ada Lovelace, daughter of Romantic poet Lord Byron, and the mathematics genius who developed what became the world’s first computer language 100 years before computers were invented. Ada’s story is channeled through Emmy (Francesca Faridany), a contemporary computer scientist researching artificial life. By using her own DNA genetic code, Emmy collapses time and is able to communicate directly with Ada. Realizing how parallel their lives are, she embarks on the task of "saving" Ada. In the process, the borders between past and present, virtual and real, blur and Ada and Emmy both recognize the implications of their place in time.

Barbershop Punk is a new punk rock, anti-censorship documentary by directors Georgia Sugimura & Kristin Armfield having its world premiere at South by Southwest 2010.

Keeping the independent/punk spirit alive, barbershop quartet fan Robb Topolski takes on the nation’s largest cable company, only to find himself at the center of a federal investigation, inspiring a larger story of censorship, individual voice and access. Featuring interviews with Ian MacKaye, Damian Kulash of Ok Go, Henry Rollins, Janeane Garofalo, John Perry Barlow among others.

Barbershop Punk Directors: Georgia Sugimura & Kristin Armfield (Co-Director). Screenwriter: Georgia Sugimura Keeping the independent/punk spirit alive, barbershop quartet fan Robb Topolski takes on the nation’s largest cable company, only to find himself at the center of a federal investigation, inspiring a larger story of censorship, individual voice and access. Featuring interviews with Ian MacKaye, Damian Kulash of Ok Go, Henry Rollins, Janeane Garofalo, John Perry Barlow among others. (World Premiere) Barry Munday Director and Screenwriter: Chris D’Arienzo Barry Munday wakes up after being attacked to realize that he’s missing his family jewels. To make matters worse, [...]...

The South by Southwest Film Festival announced its 2010 feature line-up Wednesday night, and I couldn’t be more excited. The nine day event starts March 12, 2010 here in Austin, Texas, and I’ll be covering as much as I can from start to finish. Though, if it’s anything like last year, I’ll be asleep on my feet by the end of it.

The 2010 list includes 119 films (55 world premieres), but here are a few notables: The previously announced Kick-Ass will start the festivities. Elektra Luxx, the sequel to the underseen comedy Women in Trouble, starring Carla Gugino, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and too many more to name. Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass in which Edward Norton plays identical twins. A documentary titled People vs. George Lucas that I will be seeing. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs. Plus the “SNL” spin-off movie MacGruber in its world premiere, possibly before the MacGyver creator shuts it down.

Not all of the great film festivals are outside of the U.S. Even if you can’t book a ticket to Cannes or Berlin, you should be able to afford a flight out to Austin, Texas for SXSW, which is a festival for not only movies, but music and video games as well. Like the years before, the line-up for the 2010 SXSW Film Festival is the goods. Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass will open up the fest and then there will be other great-looking films throughout including The Duplass Brothers’ Cyrus, SNL’s hard-r adaptation of MacGruber, Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass, and Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways, just to name a few. If you’re going to this year’s SXSW, let me know so I can steal your identity and go in your place.

The 2010 SXSW Film Festival will run from March 12-20. Check out the...

Less than a week worth of recovering from the Sundance Film Festival, and we are already looking forward to our next, big film fest coverage. That would be the South by Southwest Film Festival held annually in Austin, Texas. Last year, Scott and I brought you all kinds of coverage from the Lone Star State, and this year doesn’t look to be much different.

With that, the announcement came last night of the feature films that will be playing at the SXSW Film Festival. Previous announcement were already made about films like Cold Weather, Electra Luxx, Hubble 3D, Lemmy, Saturday Night, and The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights making their debut. Kick-ass was recently announced as the opening night film, as well.

Among the other films being presented this year are some Sundance darlings, a few, highly anticipated premieres, and MacGruber.

Check out the full list...

I was so excited at seeing the SXSW line up last night that I completely forgot to post it and started searching the interwebs for cool content to go with it. Oops. Yes, I wish I was there but alas, it wasn’t mean to be (though don’t despair. We’ll be bringing you wicked awesome coverage).

But enough rambling, you want to know what’s all playing. Well, for a start there’s the much anticipated McGruber (trailer), the Duplass’ semi-mainstream comedy Cyrus, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs (trailer, review), Daniel Stamm’s horror flick Cotton and that’s on top of the previously announced titles which include Electra Luxx (Carla Gugino as a pregnant porn star? Bring. It. On.) and Kick-Ass (trailer). That’s already a great line-up but dear me, some of the other titles are pretty awesome too.

There’s Clay Liford scifi drama Earthling (trailer...

Late yesterday the SXSW Fim Festival, which runs from March 12-20 in Austin, TX, announced the full lineup of films that will be screening at this year’s event. And baby, it’s quite a list. Mixing big name films with intimate indie gems, the sheer number of films and the vast array of talented filmmakers is sure to be a hit with attendees and critics alike.

This lineup includes premieres of studio films such as Universal’s MacGruber, Lionsgate’s teen superhero actioneer Kick-Ass and smaller films like Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs, Michel Gondry’s The Thorn in the Heart and Steven Soderbergh’s And Everything Is Going Fine. With so many films to watch, it will be very difficult to find time to seem them all during the events nine days. But hell, we’re going to try.

For more on...

The 2010 SXSW Film Festival and Conference has announced its initial slate of titles. The list is rife with hot world premieres (Kick-Ass), films fresh from Sundance (The Runaways, Cyrus), hot titles from the 2009 editions of Tiff and Cannes that haven't had much U.S. play (Enter the Void, Dogtooth, Trash Humpers), interesting documentaries (Lemmy, The People v. George Lucas) and much, much more. Simon Rumley's Red, White & Blue, which has received much praise on Twitch based on its Iffr screenings, will have its North American premiere.

Midnight programming courtesy of Fantastic Fest is also back with titles like Higanjima, Monsters, Serbian Film, Outcast, and a yet to be announced special film. Keep eye out for SXSW coverage at Twitch, but for now, pursue the massive list below (descriptions courtesy of SXSW).

Headliners

Big names, big talent:  Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film...