ON THIS THANKSGIVING, THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOU! HERE IS A GENEROUS HELPING OF SOME HOLIDAY TRADITION: ALICE'S RESTAURANT BY ARLO GUTHRIE. DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS podcast

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DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS »
ON THIS THANKSGIVING, THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOU! HERE IS A GENEROUS HELPING OF SOME HOLIDAY TRADITION: ALICE'S RESTAURANT BY ARLO GUTHRIE.

1d ago 18:31

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Reflecting upon this landmark recording made me realize how much Arlo and his song had been fundamental to my life-long, anti-authoritarian world view. And how, years later, when the war had escalated, and my turn came up for the draft, even though I escaped with a high lottery number, I was already weighing my draft dodging options.

I was only 14 when the song was released, but it hipped me to the absurdity of the war in Viet Nam, the legal system, and petty bureaucrats in general. Arlo accomplished this “us against them” subversion with genial irony, which he delivered with an easy charm - not to mention an impressive Travis picking style. It didn’t hurt that he had the name recognition as the scion of the OG of poetical protest singers, Woody Guthrie, whose song “This Land is Your Land,” almost became our national anthem, and was the adopted relative of “uncle” Pete Seeger, whose signature sing-along method of inspiring social change, which Arlo employs so effectively here.

It was a cultural bombshell, and a first in many ways: At 18 minutes, FM radio usually played it in three separate parts making each rotation an event. It was the longest song to ever gain radio play when spun in its entirety. However, here at the Hotel Bohemia, time has no meaning, so it can be played all the way through on a continuous loop.

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