Mars Volta and Grateful Dead
 

I just recently got around to checking out the mars volta, the album deloused and while I hear where people are coming from with their comparisons to Led Zeppelin, Floyd, Zappa and stuff, the number one thing it reminds me of is psychedelic grateful dead jams of the late 60's, before they got a country twinge, anybody else thought this while listening? I just wanted to get into a discussion to talk about how these bands are related in sound and how they think when they make music.

Hmm.... interesting. There are moments on Deloused where I see the comparison you're making, but GD's psychedelia was much more improvisational and laid-back, but I do think you're on to something. my first GD references for people making such a comparison would be pre 70's Dead like The Eleven and That's it for the Other One....for starters. Its a loose comparison, but stylistically I see the similarities you're talking about.

Other than the two bands specializing in extended jamming sessions, I don't hear too many similarities.

I think we have an annoying habit of comparing new bands to bands we already know about. Its what the critics do and its just pointless.

I think MV are unique enough to belong in their own little category.

"I think MV are unique enough to belong in their own little category."

So do I, the GD are also, but damn if some of the parts in roulette dares are definately inspired by GD jams to my ears, and thats why I said 68-69 dead, because in the 70's and later they did get way more laid back and the comparison wouldnt work, but yes, The Eleven, Other one, and especially the Viola Lee Blues, man, what two awesome bands, I'm really diggin these mars volta guys

Absolutely!!! The more I think about it, the more I see it.

and boo boo, why wouldnt a band be compared to one before it? especially if they really ARE influenced by/similar to them, arent comparisons inevitable? I mean its not like its a bad thing, right? they do have different sounds, but the way they approach their art is really kinda similar, so might it warrant even a little discussion?

Not too familiar with 60's Grateful Dead, any similarity to Jefferson Airplane jams?

Well its like how Radiohead were often compared to Pink Floyd, even though most of the bands members don't even like Pink Floyd from what I've heard. I'm sure there is some Dead influence on the Mars Volta, I just find it odd that you picked that of all comparisons.

I think Jack White said it best.

Critics have an undying urge to compare everything to something else. Every riff has to be compared to another band's riff, and every chord change is compared to every other band's chord change. Anything kind of powerful is Led Zeppelin. Anything kind of poppy is the Beatles.

And anything kind of trippy is The Grateful Dead. =D

The ironic thing is that on a superficial level The Mars Volta and The Grateful Dead are about as far away from each other as you can get. No one would ever make a reference to one as a means of describing the other. However, Stylistically, in the realm of musical rhetoric, their are some uncanny similarities and that's what surfdaddy and I have picked up on. Its not really a comparison of the two bands, because that would be kinda' futile.