I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's third album, Aoxomoxoa.

Show notes:

• Recorded at CompCon world HQ

• Aoxomoxoa was released in 1969

• A big year for rock music

• Tons of legendary albums came out: Zeppelin, Who, Beatles, Neil Young, Stooges, MC5, Stones

• First two Dead albums were commercial failures

• Went way over budget in studio, stuck to their guns

• Very experimental sound

• Robert Hunter contributed lyrics to most of the album

• Songs featured eccentric characters, way out lyrics

• Plenty of drugs were part of the process

• The old West, the devil, the rose were recurring themes

• First album ever recorded using 16-track technology

• Band spent $180k on the album

• Jay: A lot to like about this album

• "Dupree's Diamond Blues" sounds like a Kinks song

• "What's Become of the Baby" is 8 minutes of weirdness that should have been left off album

• When bands release unnecessary hits compilations

• There was a definite '60s resurgence in the mid-80s that led to growth in popularity of the Dead at colleges

• And then jam bands really caught on: Phish, Allman Brothers, Blues Traveler, Widespread Panic

• Iconic Dead skull and lightning bolt logo was released in '69

• Phil: Band was very good at mobilizing fanbase

• Dead merch is so unique and well-known

• The confounding popularity of "Africa"

• "China Cat Sunflower" is a Dead classic

• Some songs evolve in concert, some don't get played at all

• Aoxomoxoa sounds like the Dead

• Jay: Jams can be fun, but you don't necessarily want to put them on a record

• We'll listen to more live stuff vs. studio albums going forward

• Next up: Live/Dead

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The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.