Woodstock Nation by Micael Lang

I got this book from Larry. I passed it along to Susan.

I read it in about 4 weeks–mostly four sittings–finished reading it last night at 10:00 PM.

The book is mostly a gossipy rock biography. Lots of quotes through out tell the real story with Lang popping up to provide commentary. The author in now way acknowledges or addresses his own defects, it is all about how groovy he is and how people did not understand or get in his way–the final chapter (“Epilogue”) left a very dry taste in my mouth.

I really liked the constant mention of Jerry Garcia–it is easy to forget how significant he was. I also like Lang’s reflections on Zappa + the Mothers.

The Abbie/Pete story is retold with a quote by Townsend basically saying he agreed with Abbie. It is very strange and I have been thinking about it a lot.

I took the book to heart (mostly the great Santana quote that Woodstock is every day) and listened to the Soundtrack with the kids on Sunday while cleaning the garage. I also spent time with you tube watching some of the clips–Jack and I really enjoyed the Hendrix stuff.