Morbid thought

What song (other than kingdom melodies) would you want to be played at your funeral ?

under the radar - guitar

name one "famous" guitarist who is very underrated or doesn't get the respect they deserve despite their talent.

keep it to national recording acts with relative fame (a recognizable name) and maybe even provide a specific example or even a link to a song or video as proof.

for research purposes check out this list with included audio samples from rolling stone's 100 greatest. (i changed the link to make it easier to read)

What inspired you?

What inspired you to play an instrument? Were there songs or an artist along the way that sent you in a different musical direction? My path:


1) Randy Rhoads (guitarist for Quiet Riot and Ozzy) - I was 15 years old and my buddy played me the Tribute album by Ozzy...specifically the guitar solo for the song Suicide Solution. The solo gave me chills, so the next day I went and bought a Hondo guitar and a small amp. Still can't play the solo to this day but I'm getting there :-D


2) Stevie Ray Vaughn - I was 21 years old, watching MTV unplugged and this very ugly man sits down on the show and starts playing Pride and Joy. Next day I go to Quantum Music on State Street and begin taking blues guitar lessons from George Ogg (John Forbing was teaching down the hall). /end heavy metal influence /begin blues influence.


3) Classical - This was always there but kind of in the background because I didn't have the dexterity at the time to play any of it. There were always pieces of heavy metal or hard rock songs that I would learn such as the Love Song intro by Tesla, When the Children Cry intro by White Lion and Dust in the Wind by Kansas. My focus on classical shifted when Johnny5 and I took a music class at IPFW. The prof taught us the correct traditional fingering and Linda bought me a classical guitar. This is most of what I'm playing/learning these days.


4) Cirque Du Soleil - The Beatles Love @ The Mirage - Las Vegas - A couple of years ago Linda and I saw this show in Vegas. I was always pretty closed minded about the Beatles but I found that I did actually like quite a few of their songs. Also, I wanted to learn easy to play popular songs for gatherings and such and the Beatles fit the bill. There is much more depth to their songwriting and playing than I would have ever imagined.



What inspired you?

Try This!

So with all of the talk about new music I am curious what is in your CD/.mp3 player at the moment? What album would you recommend that I should pick up? Right now I am listening to Kings of Leon's "Only By the Night". Personally, from beginning to end I think it is a four star record. I have their other stuff but I didn't like it all that much. The singer has a really unique voice and I don't think he got a handle on it until this album. They are a Tennessee band so perhaps some of you have already heard of them.

music is like an old friend

I was listening to a cassette that i haven't listened to in years. It brought up some old memmories and feelings. so ,I was thinking that we should list our cd or cassette or album that we used to listen to all day long when we were teens. heres mine........Sports (huey lewis and the news)1983............favorite song "walking on a thin line"..............so whats yours?

Across the Universe: Romance, history lesson, musical.

As a romance, Across the Universe is unspectacular. Why did Jude find Lucy so attractive? She was blonde, I guess.

As a history lesson, it is trite.

And as a musical, it is, well... a musical. Which is to say it is sometimes fun, and oftentimes embarrassing--kind of like a crazy mom.

On the plus side, the film does feature covers of and references to one of the great bands across the universe.

Tom Waits.

Tom Waits should appear an interesting figure to almost anyone. You know who he is, you've seen him in movies, his songs have been (some would say unfortunately) popularized by Spingsteen ("Jersey Girl"), Rod Stewart ("Downtown Train"), and the Eagles ("Ol
55"). You're perfectly aware of him... A perpetually old, perpetually hat-wearing pathological liar, who, after returning to music from a 7-year stretch without an album, told every single interviewer who asked what took him so long: "I was stuck in traffic." But there's STILL a wall around the music itself. It's almost like a big inside joke, because you can't just pick up a record and get into his music.

First of all, there are 20 records between 1973 and today. Ignore the "gravelly voice" thing for now, everyone either gets over it or comes to appreciate it. The first thing to do is provide some chronological context, so you know which end of the spectrum you're in if you decide to listen. Between 1973's Closing Time and 1980's Heartattack And Vine, you have genuine bar sleaze, foraying into the seedy underbellies of jazz and blues. Most recommended from this era is 1976's Small Change, including "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)" and "Invitation To The Blues."

In 1983, Waits was pushed into experimental territory in a reversal of the usual paradigm: by sobering up and settling down with wife/faceless collaborator, Kathleen Brennan (to whom he's still married today). Swordfishtrombones was the first of a trilogy of albums, followed by Rain Dogs and Franks Wild Years. Check out "Gun Street Girl," the linguistic evolution of traditional few-strings-short-of-a-guitar blues. "Jockey Full Of Bourbon," "Hang On St. Christopher," and the title track to Swordfishtrombones are other easier-access highlights of the era. After this came Bone Machine, which won a grammy for Best "Alternative" Rock performance, to which Waits responded, "Alternative to what?" The song "Goin' Out West" is most memorable for its appearance in Fight Club, definitely the peak of Waits' growly rock songs.

OK, now, a little soundtrack work, stage productions, and 7 years later we arrive at 1999's Mule Variations. Lots of people like it, I'm not sure about it. More folky than Waits' older work. Next we have two albums released at the same time... Alice. From Robert Wilson's experimental twist on Alice In Wonderland, which figured into its stage context the fact that Lewis Carroll wrote his Alice stories for the eponymous 9-year-old girl who had captured his affections. Listen to the title track, and that's about it. Now this is important: if you only listen to one Tom Waits song, listen to "All The World Is Green" from Blood Money. The album has plenty to offer in between its less accessible pieces, but this is, above all, the doorway to Tom Waits. Then from 2004's Real Gone: "Dead And Lovely" and "Green Grass" are most recommended.

So now that you've gotten your bearings, hopefully you can appreciate the rest of the catalog. Admittedly, nothing is truly accessible, but there is a certain difference between Tom Waits and many other performers. With most, even if you can't get into it at first, there may be a moment when it all clicks and you understand it. With Tom Waits, these things click very gradually... Maybe first it's the lyrics, which lead you to appreciate the voice... Maybe then it's the more traditionally-constructed songs from Small Change or Blue Valentines, and by the time the 80's records roll around into your music collection, you see the transition and understand those a little better, and then you come to understand the more folk-oriented records coming from Waits' growing domesticity.

Before you know it, you'll be bothering your coworkers or your wife or whoever comes into the room with music they probably won't like. I dunno, though, I always liked that feeling.

does rock make you ugly?

or is it that rock just allows the ugly to succeed? (see possible evidence in pic below)
although i'm not sure if eddie van halen was even decent-looking in his prime, i can easily say that he is far from it now if this pic from 2006 is allowed into evidence!
fortunately, more recent pics show a bit of improvement from his 'meth-mouth' look of 2006. i especially enjoyed some of the defensive comments from people on the blog.... wow those are some die-hard fans!

interesting comparison

for a very interesting discussion including a comparison of two heavy-weight rock songwriters check out this post by one of our own contributors

a theory in the works

the initial idea of creating a blog like this came from a conversation with nathan about the state of music today and a personal theory of mine which partially involves the topic of why some people stop listening to new music as they age. i believe the theory will eventually involve many possible reasons for this all-too-common occurrence and i will be working on fleshing out the general outline of my theory in coming days and look forward to hearing if you have any such personal insights right now. is it more than just the human tendency to look with disgust upon incoming generation's culture? is it that overall music generally devolves each year? is it the form and way we listen to music because of changing technology? is it genetic? etc...

charter statement

welcome! as you can see this is a work in progress. my purpose is to provide a forum for myself, other musicians, and general lovers of music to post and catalog the many daily observations that come with the blessing (curse?) of being music retentive.

therefore, please feel free to post any music related comments, and please comment on other peoples posts, regardless if you agree or disagree with their thoughts. DEBATE IS ENCOURAGED BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINIONS---so try to post your feelings without belittling any others opinions. otherwise, post it all: long or short, sophisticated or sophomoric, silly or serious, rock-solid or undefined. my purpose it to create a safe haven for all thoughts musical and to gain insight into my fellow fools fantasia of thoughts.

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