A Psychedelicious Corner

With all of the fuss about what is legal to download and what isn't, it can be a little confusing. With iTunes asking users to pay .99 to $1.29 a song and other websites offering you a monthly fee this may not sound so appealing. Aside from the precarious act of illegal downloading, what is a music lover to do? At gratefulbbreed.blogspot.com they have seemingly found a loophole to providing users with music from live and bootleg shows legally. However, there is a catch.

Bragging almost 600,000 users from over 170 different countries, I'd say Grateful Breed is on the map. Established in 2007 and proclaiming his blog as a ‘psychedelicious corner,' one user has truly found an interesting niche providing users with free music from live shows or unreleased music. 

As one may guess from the title of the website, the user is a serious fan of the Grateful Dead and actively hosts an abundance of their concerts. The blog also includes music from other classic or psychedelic rock artists such as bootleg music from Pink Floyd or unreleased material from The Byrds.

There is a lot to choose from as the blog owner puts up a new album with the track list and an album cover every few days. There are already 99 posts this year alone. At the bottom of the show or album's information are links to download the music. The site also offers three suggestions to other recordings on the blog. With each download, Grateful Breed gives you information on the background of the show posted or brief synopsis about the artist.

How can all of this be legal and how can I do this too, you may ask? The disclaimer on the website states that it legally provides users with music because it shares recordings that "as far as they know, have never been officially released." The user claims the music he provides for users is to act as a "supplement for the artists' current recordings" as opposed to "a substitution." At small print at the bottom of the site the claimer also states that if you download the music you are only to keep it to listen to it for 24 hours and delete it after that as they are "for educational purposes."  This means that it is up to you to decide what you want to do with your downloads.

Albums on Grateful Breed to Check  Out:

Grateful Dead Featuring John Fogerty (of CCR)- Dead Moon Rising 11/3/91 This album is features prime songs from both artists including, "Hell in a Bucket" and "Born on the Bayou."

The Kinks- Live at the Filmore West 11/13/1979. This recording features the group playing many of their great hits such as "Waterloo Sunset" and "Sunny Afternoon."

Rolling Stones- Could You Walk on Water, 1966. This is a rejected album from The Stones but that doesn't mean it's not still great!