I remember thinking at the time that music was dead. Not just in the figurative or poetic sense, like in "American Pie," but that it was just going to - had to - stop, be put down, euthenized. All music would just end.

That was a painful time for me.

Of course, I later realized that, like in any era, the bulk is crap, and there's always great stuff being made by geniuses, somewhere at the bottom of the charts.

People always rant about one decade or another being a better time for music, and while there may be a kernal of truth to the overall superiority of one generation or the next's music, basically a 90% shit/10% good blend works for any era.

Here's a funny thing about Kenny Loggins that I will raise without the desire to prompt any discussion of the Dead whatsoever.

The fast-paced "Friend of the Devil" in the recorded version eventually became this very slow, long version of it that the Dead played live.  The reason?  Jerry Garcia heard Loggins and Messina do it in that slow groove, and liked it a lot.

I wonder if Jerry changed any Dead songs as a result of "Danger Zone"?