School of Rock

Elements of Songwriting - Take your time

Some songs hit hard, hit fast and get it over with. But sometimes a song needs to meander through, giving itself time to build, to change, to "find itself". This next song is a great example of this. The band, Death Cab for Cutie, was actually kind of finding their own way through the song as they recorded it.  Stick with it - the vocals don't even start until about 4 1/2 minutes into the song.  And listen closely.  One note on the guitar can change the whole feel.  Listen to the echoes.

"I Will Possess Your Heart" - Death Cab For Cutie

I love the way the drummer fades down to nearly nothing during the first verse.  And the bass just stops for about a minute.  Often in song-craft silence is the most powerful thing one can play. 

Click here to watch an interview by the band on the recording of this song.

 

Here's another song that I like for taking it's time.  The band Boston was born in the seventies, and "progressive rock" or "art-rock" at that time did not trim the length of songs down to fit radio.  What do you think this song would be like (it's actually two songs - they are always played back to back)  if it had been cut to 4 minutes?  (Listen to this one with your finger on the volume knob.)

"Foreplay/Longtime" - Boston (audio only)

I dig that quiet organ right before the transition into "Longtime".  Also, all of those spacey sound effects are made with a guitar - NO SYNTHESIZERS.  I'll blog more about Boston in the future.

Which of these long songs do you like best?  Why?

Bass Guitar - 2 Funk Legends

The bass guitar is one of the main rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums).  To be a good bass player you must have a good sense of time (rhythm) - keeping the rest of the band locked into the drummer's tempo, and an idea of what notes or lines to play to help establish or embellish the cords.  Being a bass player myself, the principals that I try to follow are K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) and Serve the Song.  Now here are videos of bass players in the funk music tradition.  Both are excellent slap bass players; we will discuss this bass technique in a later post.

Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station talks about when to keep that bass playing simple and when to bring to to the front a little more.

In this next video Bootsy Collinswho has played with James Brown, Parliament and Funkadelic explains his "basic funk formula"

 

Now here is an excellent performance by Bootsy Collins.  I love this video - it makes me happy every time I watch it.  The song is "Stretchin' Out"by "Bootsy's Rubber Band".  (I'm not sure what show or year this is from; the ensemble include Hiram Bullock on guitar, Omar Hakim on drums and David Sanborn on Saxophone.)

This post may not be terribly interesting to you if you don't play an instrument; bass technique is not something that the average listener really picks up on.  But the bass player's style and approach can totally change the way a song "feels" and moves along.  The bass makes or breaks a song without getting much credit often.

Who's your favorite bass player or song with a cool bass line?

 

U2 - Just Kids?

Rock and Roll as a musical form lends itself well as form of expression to teens and young adults.  It's cord structures and arrangements tend to be easy enough to understand and the basic instruments (guitar, bass and drums) are not difficult to play with a little practice.  Rock could be considered the "folk music" of our culture, meaning a musical form that bubbles up from the people and requires no special training (and sometimes little talent).  It's all about passion.

The rock band U2 is arguably the most famous band on earth.  But everyone has a beginning and everyone starts as a child.  The members of U2 were first playing together in 1976 when Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. were 14 and 15.  Here are a couple of early U2 videos that show the group as teenagers.  Although these songs arguably aren't too good yet, they are fun to watch and see how one of the biggest bands in the world got started.

"Street Mission" - U2

"Life on a Distant Planet" - U2

Stories for Boys" - U2

What'cha think?

Influential Album: Nirvana's Nevermind

It was 1991.  The musical evolution of the '80's was played out.  Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Wilson-Phillips and Garth Brooks topped the charts.  R&B was boring, unfunky.  Hip-Hop had not yet found it's footing.  Heavy Metal kept repeating the same tricks.  What was an angry "gen-x" white male to do?

Along came Nirvana with their second album NEVERMIND.  Released in late 91 it landed on radio and MTV harder than anyone had expected, band and record lable included.  Nirvana was a "grunge" band from the Seattle, Washington area.  Led by Kurt Cobain, Nirvana and the popularity of their extremely influential album are credited with dynamiting the flood gates that kept scores of "alternative rock" bands working in near anonymity.

The first single released was "Smells Like Teen Spirit", widely adopted as the anthem of this generation.  Kurt Cobain picked up this lyric when a girlfriend wrote on a wall "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit".  He claims to have not known that this was a brand of girls' deodorant until months after the song became popular.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana

Heres a live performance of "Lithium" another song from Nevermind that Nirvana gave at the 1992 MTV music video awards.

"Lithium" - Nirvana (Live)

Kurt Cobain fell into heavy drug addiction and mental illness when he couldn't cope with fame and fortune.  He commited suicide on April 5, 1994.  Drummer Dave Grohl formed the Foo Fighters after Kurt's death.

I will write more about Nirvana in a future entry.  Although I was never a big fan, I appreciate Kurt Cobain's honest songwriting and passionate delivery.  In the end he was a badly messed up person with a terribly negative outlook who destroyed himself when his circumstances changed so dramatically. 

What'cha think?

The Beatles - The Summer of Love

The summer of 1967 was popularly known as the "Summer of Love" in America .  Here's some Beatles songs from this time.  Check out the links to AllMusic.com to read in more depth.

All You Need is Love -This was a world wide live broadcast on June 25, 1967 that was viewed by 350 million people in 26 countries.  While many were violently protesting the Vietnam War the Beatles were reminding everyone just to love each other.  If you listen closely you can hear John Lennon chewing his gum.

If you've never heard the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album by the Beatles you are missing out on understanding a key moment in rock history, a turning point in the way music was crafted and recorded, and a very enjoyable album.  We will talk about Sgt. Peppers more in a future post.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - First 3 Songs (Audio)- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, With a Little Help From My Friends, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.

What'cha think?

This blog...

I've thought about doing a blog for a while now.  But for a specific reason.  I am under no illusions that anyone (but my closest friends and a few deviant weirdos) cares about the daily minutia of my life.  This will not be that sort of blog.  Although I may occasionally post on my daily observations - this web log is purposeful.

And that purpose shall be rock.

Now before I lose those of you with brain function higher than your common primate, let me expand.  I am not the Beavis and Butt-head type of guy with fist in the air and AC/DC tee-shirt on.  I have a different purpose here that to tell you what is cool or great or ... whatever.  This blog is about (maybe) broadening your musical horizons, about (maybe) enriching your understanding of the art-form known as rock and roll, and about giving you a (maybe) fun and interesting way to waste a few minutes in front of the 'puter a couple times a week.

How bout that?  Come waste some time with me...