Happy New Year.
I know it's late
Clearly, I am unable to do anything on time.
It' s a curse, I know.
I am quite aware that it's been some months since my last update
It's not because I don't practice playing my guitar
but rather that I don't have a personal studio.
When I record something, it's usually for a purpose.
And well...here doesn't always feel like a purpose.
Sometimes it's hard for me to think that I'm growing as a guitarist and as a musician.
It doesn't always feel like I'm making progress.
I've had Maiko for a year and a half now, at least,
and while I can play some songs
it doesn't always feel like I'm becoming better at it.
I don't often write songs
I find it to be...a...well, I don't know the word for it
But there's usually a lot of balled of papers or deleted things.
I'm sure this is normal
I suppose writers and musicians do it all the time
But sometimes I get so frustrated with it that I just give up.
And I know that's terrible
I should write
I should try to write
But I'm not a lyricist, I never feel like my words have flow
Nor do I know how to communicate them with other people.
When I think about song lyrics, I am of course forced to think about the music that "inspires" me.
I say "inspires" because I don't exactly know what that means.
I don't hear guitar solos and think "man I want to sound like that"
...well, sometimes I do
I want to play my own style, mostly.
...I don't know.
I think about the groups and artists that I consider my favorite or to me are the greatest of this generation.
Like the way people consider Jimi Hendrix to be a guitar god.
(Honestly, I've never listened to that much Hendrix...not because I don't believe the hype,
I was just never interested.)
And I came up with this list:
1) John Mayer
-I'm not entirely sure he gets the credit he deserves
John Mayer is a brilliant musician and he often changes his sound
I can't just shuffle through his songs on iTunes or Winamp.
Particularly, his album Continuum, probably my favorite by far
If for no other reason than it seems more bluesy has a more earthy feel and tone.
He plays with all kinds of musicians, rappers, singers, crazy people
...it always fits so well.
And he's just a funny guy.
2) Liam Finn
-You may or may not know who Liam Finn is
You can certainly check out his Last.FM page
I found his music by complete accident
I was in a CD store in another town and it dropped on my foot
I saw the cover and it said "I'll Be Lightning"
I thought it was clever
So I gave it a listen
and I was hooked by the first track.
"Better To Be" has made itself into the list of songs that I will stop and listen to every single time.
I don't know much about how musicians play with sounds and vocals to achieve a certain sound
But damned if he didn't do it.
3) Nick Drake
-It's fricken Nick Drake.
And of course I would not know who Nick Drake is
If my friend did not possess his music and encourage me to add it to my "Sleepy" playlist.
While the sounds of Nick Drake have put me to sleep on many occasions
There are also songs on there that make me feel like they were written for specific or times.
Like...it belongs in the personal soundtrack of everyone's life.
Yes he died young, but his music still finds appreciation 30 years later.
(Amazing finger picking...truly remarkable)
4) José González
-Because "Veener" was a brilliant album
Because I love the song "Hints"
and because I like the way his name sounds.
And that's all I will say.
5) Carlos Santana
-Honestly, I don't know that much about Santana
I don't own any of his albums
But he's featured in a lot of songs that I have.
He plays with many, many, many different people
And he's been around the block more than once.
Whenever he's added to a track
That's a reason to turn the stereo up.
His fingers move like a spider moving about it's own web
There's a sense of beauty, outstanding rhythm and a personality all its own.
Sometimes it seems like he interprets time in the form of music.
He could play the the collapse of the economy and it would be the shit.
6) Jehro
- I love Jehro's music because it's been stuck in my head for 4 years.
I used to sit in Barnes & Nobles reading Japanese Animation Comics (Manga)
for hours on end. (It killed time very well.)
Every now and then I'd hear a song that would make me tap my foot and sway a bit
Eventually I stopped sitting in the bookstore but I found the song stayed in my head.
It was terribly annoying to have part of a song by an artist that I didn't know stuck in my head
All I could remember was a line that said "Kings and their Queens" and the melody.
...those aren't very good search terms, trust me.
But, eventually I found what I was looking for.
"All clad in silk and gold, I have seen Kings and their Queens
And with one single golden thread, I could've woven dreams
I've dug for gold it's true, and those Kings granted loans
But I'm still empty handed, now I'm heading home
...Long is the way."
And of course, to this day it's one of my favorite songs ever.
His album, I found, is also full of pure genius...and other songs that repeatedly get stuck in my head.
...I realize that 6 is an odd number to stop.
It's not because there aren't more
But rather because there are many more
There are so many musicians that I've left out that I almost want to go back and change these
But
When I think of the acoustic guitar, and the reason I want to play
These are the people that come to mind.
I suppose these musicians are part of my inspiration
as well as the various bands and groups that I listen to.
Maybe someday I will find a sound that I can call my own
But for now I just listen to these over and over and over again
And I wonder if I will ever appreciate the guitar the way they do.
""The guitar is the human soul sending a message through six strings"
-From the Japanese Anime series "BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Now, after all of this talking it's only safe to assume that I will add my own music to the end of this post
Which I will.
The first of which will be my cover of
"Big Casino" by Jimmy Eat World
(Mostly because I love the line:
"And they'll say, all the salt in the world couldn't melt that ice")
The second of which will be my cover of
"Girl" by Beck
(...I don't know how he does it. He's a fucking Wiz)
And the last of which (today) will be
"ATWA" by System Of A Down
...because my girlfriend loves this song.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It's a new year
It's a new day
I can't see into the future
No, I just play.
I know it's late
Clearly, I am unable to do anything on time.
It' s a curse, I know.
I am quite aware that it's been some months since my last update
It's not because I don't practice playing my guitar
but rather that I don't have a personal studio.
When I record something, it's usually for a purpose.
And well...here doesn't always feel like a purpose.
Sometimes it's hard for me to think that I'm growing as a guitarist and as a musician.
It doesn't always feel like I'm making progress.
I've had Maiko for a year and a half now, at least,
and while I can play some songs
it doesn't always feel like I'm becoming better at it.
I don't often write songs
I find it to be...a...well, I don't know the word for it
But there's usually a lot of balled of papers or deleted things.
I'm sure this is normal
I suppose writers and musicians do it all the time
But sometimes I get so frustrated with it that I just give up.
And I know that's terrible
I should write
I should try to write
But I'm not a lyricist, I never feel like my words have flow
Nor do I know how to communicate them with other people.
When I think about song lyrics, I am of course forced to think about the music that "inspires" me.
I say "inspires" because I don't exactly know what that means.
I don't hear guitar solos and think "man I want to sound like that"
...well, sometimes I do
I want to play my own style, mostly.
...I don't know.
I think about the groups and artists that I consider my favorite or to me are the greatest of this generation.
Like the way people consider Jimi Hendrix to be a guitar god.
(Honestly, I've never listened to that much Hendrix...not because I don't believe the hype,
I was just never interested.)
And I came up with this list:
1) John Mayer
-I'm not entirely sure he gets the credit he deserves
John Mayer is a brilliant musician and he often changes his sound
I can't just shuffle through his songs on iTunes or Winamp.
Particularly, his album Continuum, probably my favorite by far
If for no other reason than it seems more bluesy has a more earthy feel and tone.
He plays with all kinds of musicians, rappers, singers, crazy people
...it always fits so well.
And he's just a funny guy.
2) Liam Finn
-You may or may not know who Liam Finn is
You can certainly check out his Last.FM page
I found his music by complete accident
I was in a CD store in another town and it dropped on my foot
I saw the cover and it said "I'll Be Lightning"
I thought it was clever
So I gave it a listen
and I was hooked by the first track.
"Better To Be" has made itself into the list of songs that I will stop and listen to every single time.
I don't know much about how musicians play with sounds and vocals to achieve a certain sound
But damned if he didn't do it.
3) Nick Drake
-It's fricken Nick Drake.
And of course I would not know who Nick Drake is
If my friend did not possess his music and encourage me to add it to my "Sleepy" playlist.
While the sounds of Nick Drake have put me to sleep on many occasions
There are also songs on there that make me feel like they were written for specific or times.
Like...it belongs in the personal soundtrack of everyone's life.
Yes he died young, but his music still finds appreciation 30 years later.
(Amazing finger picking...truly remarkable)
4) José González
-Because "Veener" was a brilliant album
Because I love the song "Hints"
and because I like the way his name sounds.
And that's all I will say.
5) Carlos Santana
-Honestly, I don't know that much about Santana
I don't own any of his albums
But he's featured in a lot of songs that I have.
He plays with many, many, many different people
And he's been around the block more than once.
Whenever he's added to a track
That's a reason to turn the stereo up.
His fingers move like a spider moving about it's own web
There's a sense of beauty, outstanding rhythm and a personality all its own.
Sometimes it seems like he interprets time in the form of music.
He could play the the collapse of the economy and it would be the shit.
6) Jehro
- I love Jehro's music because it's been stuck in my head for 4 years.
I used to sit in Barnes & Nobles reading Japanese Animation Comics (Manga)
for hours on end. (It killed time very well.)
Every now and then I'd hear a song that would make me tap my foot and sway a bit
Eventually I stopped sitting in the bookstore but I found the song stayed in my head.
It was terribly annoying to have part of a song by an artist that I didn't know stuck in my head
All I could remember was a line that said "Kings and their Queens" and the melody.
...those aren't very good search terms, trust me.
But, eventually I found what I was looking for.
"All clad in silk and gold, I have seen Kings and their Queens
And with one single golden thread, I could've woven dreams
I've dug for gold it's true, and those Kings granted loans
But I'm still empty handed, now I'm heading home
...Long is the way."
And of course, to this day it's one of my favorite songs ever.
His album, I found, is also full of pure genius...and other songs that repeatedly get stuck in my head.
...I realize that 6 is an odd number to stop.
It's not because there aren't more
But rather because there are many more
There are so many musicians that I've left out that I almost want to go back and change these
But
When I think of the acoustic guitar, and the reason I want to play
These are the people that come to mind.
I suppose these musicians are part of my inspiration
as well as the various bands and groups that I listen to.
Maybe someday I will find a sound that I can call my own
But for now I just listen to these over and over and over again
And I wonder if I will ever appreciate the guitar the way they do.
""The guitar is the human soul sending a message through six strings"
-From the Japanese Anime series "BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Now, after all of this talking it's only safe to assume that I will add my own music to the end of this post
Which I will.
The first of which will be my cover of
"Big Casino" by Jimmy Eat World
(Mostly because I love the line:
"And they'll say, all the salt in the world couldn't melt that ice")
The second of which will be my cover of
"Girl" by Beck
(...I don't know how he does it. He's a fucking Wiz)
And the last of which (today) will be
"ATWA" by System Of A Down
...because my girlfriend loves this song.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It's a new year
It's a new day
I can't see into the future
No, I just play.
No comments:
Post a Comment