Bloggerhythms

Country Joe McDonald - who died March 7, 2026 at age 84 - and his band, The Fish were almost entirely known for "The Fish Cheer" and its accompanying song "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die-Rag," but McDonald had a long career. He recorded over thirty-five albums and EPs with his group and as a solo artist, none of which are familiar to me. McDonald used his fifteen minutes of fame at Woodstock for his performance of the infamous cheer that leads into his still well-loved, anti-Viet Nam war protest song. Along with Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" the "Rag" was a strong statement against the war and was even more pointed than Guthrie's sidelong, LP narrative. Just like Guthrie, McDonald used dark humor to get his point across even though the subject matter wasn't the least bit funny. I remember snickering the first time I heard it way back in prehistoric times when I was a teenager and ...

I wasn't at Woodstock but here are my thoughts on the historic festival. I was only sixteen that summer of 1969. I didn't have a car or my driver's license yet, and I had no other means of getting to Max Yasgur's farm in rural Bethel, NY. Nor did I know anyone from my hometown or high school who ventured there for the infamous three day event. Even if I had been able to catch a ride with someone neither one of my usually easy-going parents would have allowed me to go. I don't blame them. It's fine that I wasn't there. I would have been miserable. I've never been a fan of standing in the rain or wallowing in mud, not bathing, going without adequate bathroom facilities, a lack of food, smoking mind altering plants or ingesting harmful chemicals. I was too straight for Woodstock but I was deeply fascinated by the whole 60s counterculture movement as a sideline spectator. A lot of it had to do with the music. I've ...