Putting My Girl In The Limelight

Here it is, DOUBLE SONG UPDATE!!!!

LIMELIGHT
FYI, I'm skipping Creep for the sake of my wrist, and because I hate the song. Everything I've struggled through, but not Creep. It's not like it's a hard song, it's that I shouldnt be attempting barre chords like that when I'm recovering.

Hardest part was a -GASP!- Three way tie!

The chorus riff:
B------------------------------0------------------0-------
G-----------4----6------------------3------------------2--
D--------4------------------2------------------4----------
A-----6------------------2------------------4-------------
E--4------------------0------------------2----------------

The first triplet (three notes played in two beats) in the solo:
E-11----------14----------11----------14------------11------------------
B-----12--11------12--11------12--11--------12--11------14~-------11--
G----------------------------------------------------------------13------

The second triplet
E----14-16-18---14-16-18-16-18-19-16-18-19-18--19--21--21b-------

The triplets I have no advice for other than slowly work your way up. The frets are closer together that high up the neck, so it's easier to user you index, middle and ring fingers to fret those.

The chorus is an arpeggio between a modied G#minor (hold it like a power chord, but lift yuour finger after you pick the A string, then bring it back down over the Gstring), a modified E chord (on the third fret instead of the first) and and F# minor chord.

Fun to play, but you need to have fast hands.

And now that I'm done with Tier 3, on to Tier 4's first song...

ARE YOU GONNA BE MY GIRL
If you have any rhythm at all, it's really easy. Fast, loose, and only one hard part:
THE KEY HOOK.

I link to people if they can describe it better than I can. But that hook:
A. Is hard to transfer to
B. The one part you shouldn't fuck up when playing live.

However, there is one part I figured out on my own: the solo. I have done such a thing before.

E-10------------12--------------10--------------------------------
B----10-12b-10----10-12b--10----10-12b-10-8-10---10-12b-10--

Why this song is so damn popular is for another time...

SETLIST UPDATED



SETLIST UPDATED

We Don't Need No Stinking Wings!

My last song update was December 14th.

Yeah, I think you guys deserve another one.

LEARN TO FLY
Ha-ha!
OK, there is one HUGE thing I have to get out of the way first:
The real problem from this song comes not in the actual playing or instrumentation, but how the songs is mixed in Rock Band, versus the original song.
Here's a video of Learn To Fly in Rock Band:


Here's the music video for Learn To Fly (featuring Tenacious D). Sorry, embedding was disabled.

When it goes to the chorus ("I'm looking to the sky to save me..."), in Rock Band it's a repeat of the verse (more or less). In the original version, it's a repeat of the intro.

It was remixed (they have all the master tracks, and rhythm/lead guitar was broken up) for the sake of changing up the difficulty/patterns, but it's still interesting to note.

Might as well give you the whole damn song now anyways (or at least a fair chunk of it):
INTRO/CHORUS
G--4--44-444-/-6-66--6b-6-6/4-4-444-444-----
D--x--xx-xxx--/-x-xx---x--x-x/x--x-xxx-xxx-----
A--2--22-222-/-4-44--4b 4-4/2-2-222-222-----


Real simple: index finger on the second fret of the A string, held against the D string (just touch it) and ring or pinky on G string (heh, G string). It's shaped like a power chord, but it's called an octave chord (hitting the same note (B), on the next higher octave). Slide up, bend the strings up, then slide back down.

VERSE
e-------------2---------------------- 0--------------- 0--
B-----------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------
D-----4-----------------------4---------------2----------x2
A---2---2-------------------4---4-----------2---2--------
E--------------------------------------------------------

The verse give us our good old friend Mr. Arpeggio!

The chords you're going to need to know are:
Bsus2 barre chord (-24422: index on 2nd fret, ring on 4th fret D-string, pinky on 4th fret G-string)
F#5 power chord (244---: all you need to know is ring on 4th fret A string, pinky on 4th fret D-String)
E chord (0221--: We should all know this by now)

INTERLUDE (ripped off from here):
-G5---------------A5-------E5
Only me, I can't quite make it alone
G5---------------A5-----B5
Try to make this life I own, fly

G5: 355---
A5: 577---
E5: 022---
B5: -244--

Whew!
Reader DL Choices tomorrow

SETLIST UPDATED

When We ARE Young, Please?

Fine, fine, fine:

WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG
Main verse: (all major barre chords)

E (022100), G (244322), A (466544), C (799877)

Hardest part: The verse-

D------6------7----8-------9---------2--
A----6------7----8-------9---------2----
E--4---4--5----6-------7---------0------

Hold your hand in power chord position, arpeggiate, and slide up and down.

Not that hard a song, actually. Shame, since I'm putting off the real bastards like Limelight and Creep.

SETLIST UPDATED

Bonked With The Jousting Stick

If you too were a fan of this recently revived show as a kid like I was, you'd get the reference. Especially if you notice that some of the ladies are actually...um... hot, this time around. Hooray, science!

Even with this being the busiest week I have ever experienced so far, I managed to eke out a new song update. Technically I finished this Wednesday night

CRUSHCRUSHCRUSH
I first heard of this band when my friends brought me to Warped Tour 2007. I hadn't really heard of any "new" punk bands at the time, but I figured I'd go anyway, see if anything tickled my fancy. Not a whole lot did, except for Paramore. They sounded like the punk/pop-punk I listened to (Blink 182, Offspring, Green Day) only going a teensy bit into emo. Just enough to intrigue, but not enough to turn me off. Anyway here's the lesson kids:

It's in Drop C# tuning. Tune everything 1/2 a step down, then tune the low E-string one step further. I'll provide tabulature for standard tuning.

Hardest part:
The end-

e-12--11--12p11--9--11--12--11--9--9-----------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------9---6---------
D----------------------------------------------------6-----9--6 ----------------
A----------------------------------------------7--7-----7-----------------------
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

e-----------------------------9\-------
B---------------7-9-7-9---------------
G-8-9--8--9----------------------------
D---------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------
Index finger on 6th fret, pinky on 9th.

Now, for the sake of it, here's the chorus in standard tuning:
e--------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------
G---------------4~----2-2---------4--
D--0-0---2-2---4~----2-2---2-2--4~-
A--0-0---2-2---2~----0-0---2-2--2~-
E--0-0---0-0----------------0-0------

e------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------
G-----------4~--2-2-2-2-2--2-2-2-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4--
D-0-0--2-2-4~--2-2-2-2-2--2-2-2-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4--
A-0-0--2-2-2~--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--
E-0-0--0-0--------------------------------------------
Pretty easy, would be easier is you tune it down first, but it sounds good in standard tuning as well.

Now for something insignificant:
-Next Team Fortress 2 Update is the Scout. Hooray for bonking! Boo for Red Sox fans!
-Guitar Hero: Arcade coming soon! My setlist speculation coming tomorrow!

SETLIST UPDATE

A Report On Jerry Brown By The Rhythm Bastard

I know I'm supposed to be writing about stuff like thermocouples and galvanic series for school, but I figured I'd write about a great man in history: Jerry Brown.

Jerry Brown is the attorney general of California (2007-present) and used to be the governor (1975-1983). There's other crap about him, but all that matters is this:

CALIFORNIA UBER ALLES
I am Governor Jerry Brown,
My aura smiles and never frowns,
Soon I will be president.

Awesome. California Uber Alles in the bag!

Very simple song. just fast. The hardest part is these bridges in time:
e----------------------
B---------------------
G-8-88888-666------
D-8-88888-666-77-4-
A-6-66666-444-77-4-
E----------------55-2-

And for the part where it slows down ("Now it is 1984..."), just play the root notes (the ones toward the bottom of the tab)

And this part at the end is tricky:
e-------------------------
B-------------------66---
G-8-8888-8886-666666-
D-8-8888-8886-664466-x3
A-6-6666-6664-44--44-
E------------------------

Another part I had to re-tab because it didn't sound right.
Strum up and down for this last part, just like the Fake Plastic Rock games we all know and love.

I "beat" this to the tempo on Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death album, which is slower than the version on Fresh Fruits For Rotting Vegetables (also on the Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Soundtrack, where I first heard the Dead Kennedys).

Also just found this: an updated version with Schwarzenegger as the object of "affection". Hear it here.

SETLIST UPDATED

They May Not Be Satan's Best Knights...

Hey!

DETROIT ROCK CITY
Quick one this time. Fun songs, some good stuff in there. The solos aren't too hard, and are actually kinda fun to play when you get them memorized. Only thing I hate is that this songs has a lead and a rhythm, so while it may be easy to switch between the two on a Fake Plastic Guitar, the two parts are too far away on the fretboard to combine easily. It's possible, but tricky.

Surprising the solo wasn't the hardest part about this song. It actually feels natural once you play it a time or two.

Anyway, hardest part is right here at 1:29-
e|------------------------------------------
B|------------------------------------------
G|-----------------------------------------
D|---------------------------1---------1---
A|----3--3-1---1-3---3-1-3---3---1-3---3-
E|------------3------------------3----------

Easy enough, right?
Play that one and a half times (11th note) then go into this:
D--10-10-10-10-8------
A-------------------10--

Repeat for another one and a half times, then take it up one full note:
e|---------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------3-------3---|
A|----5--5-3----3-5----5-3-5---5---3---5-|
E|------------5------------------5-------|

And the kicker:
e|--------------------------|
B|--------------------------|
G|--------------------------|
D|----------3--------1------|
A|----5-3-5---5----1---3----|
E|---------------3----------|

Looks simple, but switch positions at the speed the song is played is pretty tricky.

SETLIST UPDATED

Tomorrow I start a series I call "Weekend Of Hell", where I try to write my song for the Rock Revolution contest. I might get a couple songs knocked out of the way while I'm already on the guitar.

Tasty

All right, I don't have a song for you today. After I finish "Detroit Rock City" I'm going to work on "Creep", since I HATE that song.

Open Mic Night was a bust.

Figured I'd try to break my record of consecutive posts, and give a little info on what CDs I'd get given the money/asking for Christmas:
"Black Ice"- AC/DC
"Runnin' Wild"- Airbourne
"Charge!"- The Aquabats
"Fire"- Electric Six
"When We Were Young"- Akira The Don
"The Colour and The Shape"- Foo Fighters
"JoCo Looks Back"- Johnathan Coulton

Granted, this is outside my usual COMPLETELY LEGAL downloading shenanigans, I figured If I had the money to buy these CDs, I might as well be decadent and just get whatever BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL THAT SPECIAL.

Not my most eloquent posts, but I got stuff to do.

Go Wit It

Wow. That was a longer break than usual. Anyway, here is a song lesson:

GO WITH THE FLOW
I hate these songs because it requires a rhythm and lead guitar part.

Rhythm part here: E, C5, Amin
B------------------1-----
G-1--------5------2-----
D-2--------5-x8---2-----
A-2-x16---3-------0-----
E-0----------------------

It never stops.

LEAD part: EASY AS HELL. You know that scale I showed you in the Mississipi Queen update?
Move it down a bit, and you get this:
e-------------------------------------------12--14--15----
B--------------------------------12--13--15---------------
G------------------------12--14--------------------------

Exactly all the notes you play over the chords is some where in here.

There weren't any really tricky parts, I guess it's this high because the chords come at you so fast.

For a bit of extra spice, toward the end, these three notes are played:
e-15----------17--------16--------

Because I'm such a bastard, play it with tremolo picking.

"Crushcrushcrush" is the Reader's Choice DLC song.

SETLIST UPDATED

Electric Skin!

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!

Remember, don't cook your turkey in an electrical oven, or else you'll get the titular result

Also, a DOUBLE SONG UPDATE? Haven't seen one of those in a while!

ELECTRIC VERSION
The problem with this song isn't that it's hard, it's just fast. The only part that I had to fudge around a bit on was the pre-chorus and chorus.

Pre-Chorus:
G--------9-9-9-------------------------
D-777---9-9-9--9---9-9---9-9-9-9
A-777---7-7-7--9----9-9---9-9-9-9
E-555------------7----7-7----7-7-7-7

Chorus:
E-----------x-x-7--x-x-9-----------
D---x-x-7--x-x-7--x-x-9---x-x-9
A---x-x-7--x-x-5--x-x-7---x-x-9
G---x-x-5--------------------x-x-7

CELEBRITY SKIN
Everything else can be mastered if you have a pulse, the bridge and last verse (using the same progression),... yeesh...

Basically, it's an arepggio of the A and D open chords, but it get pretty fast, and I find it hard to coordinate.
Start by switching positions every four beats, then get used to the string order.

Bridge
E----------------2---------------------2----------------------2-----------------------
B------2------------3-------2-----------3-------2-------------3--------------------
G---------2----2--------------2----2---------------2----2------------------------
D----2------0-----------2-------0-----------2--------0----------2b-----2b-
A-0------------------0--------------------0-------------------4--------4----
E------------------------------------------------------------2----------2--------

E---------------2---------------------2----------------------2-------------------
B------2-----------3-------2------------3------2-------------3-----------------
G--------2----2--------------2----2---------------2----2---------------------
D---2------0-----------2------0------------2--------0----------4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-
A-0------------------0-----------------0-------------------------4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-
E-------------------------------------------------------------------2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-

Look at this, Creep's going to be a bitch.

I've Been Thinkin'...

Tier 3 DLC poll is up. I might add new features soon. Hopefully new song tomorrow.

I've been thinkin', there's this Cafe place on campus that holds Open Mic Night. Next one is December 3rd, gonna try to perform at that. See the setlist, suggest a song.

Double Duty

Duty 1:
I FOUGHT THE LAW
The Clash: Punk Without Power Chords

Main riff is the D chord strummed quickly 5 times (x2) followed by the G chord 5 times, then the D chord again.

A pretty simple song, it's the quick strumming that's hard to get down.
As per the the hardest part, it's this lick at the end on the chorus:
E--0--------2-
B--2--------3-
G--2--------2-
D--2--0-------
A--0--2--4---
E-----3---2---

Try it now, go ahead!
...
Yeah, quite a lot to change positions that quickly, and sadly, there's no trick to it. The only recommendation I can make to do the A chord with the first three fingers since your index finger only goes up one string.

Also, there's this one part at the end that's kinda fun to play, and easier than the chart implies:
B-------------------------------------------7--
G-----------------------------------------7---
D-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0----------0-0-0-0-7-----
A--------------------0-0-0-0-----------------

Repeat Twice, then before you play the 7s again, play the lick mentioned above.

---------------------------------
DLC Time!
MY CHOICE- "Limelight" by Rush- Seems like a fair Rush song, with plenty of good riffs. Thank God I don't have to drum.

READER SONGS-
1. "Breaking The Girl" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers- Looks pretty straightforward, with a hypnotic melody

2. "Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore- I've been a fan of them ever since I went to those 2007 Warped Tour.

3. "Die, All Right!" by The Hives- Tick Tick Boom I knew how to play prior to this actually, and it's a lot of fun, with plenty of energy. This looks no different.

4. "Fortunate Son" by Credence Clearwater Revival- The band's name makes no sense, but it's about time we got some folk rock with some edge to it. FUN FACT: It was used in a Wrangler Jeans commercial, because it sounds patriotic, but if you listen to it, it's really about the privlages politicians and the rich get:
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, dont they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,
It aint me, it aint me, I aint no millionaires son, no.
It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no.

5. "Juke Box Hero" by Foreigner- In the words of that drunk chick at a party: "THIS SONG IS SOOOO ABOUT ME!!" Shit, I might have to weasel those lyrics into the mission statement somewhere...

6. "Message In A Bottle" by The Police- I eventually plan on featuring the Guitar Hero games as well, and I'm not too sure if I should do this right now, but if it gets voted on, I'll do it.

7. "More Than A Feeling" by Boston- See above.

8. "Pretty Fly For A White Guy" by The Offspring- I'm 20, meaning I was growing up when they were on the radio ALL THE TIME, and I used to think that this stuff was the hardest rock in existence. This song takes me back to the days of Darkwing Duck and long afternoons of Goldeneye 007 with my friends, listening to these guys share airspace with Blink 182's "What's My Age Again?" and Smash Mouth's "All Star" as we drove in my Dad's beat up minivan to Little League practice. So now, more than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back. Where was I?

9. "Still Alive" by GLaDOS- Make no mention of the cake and move on.

10. "Syncrinocity II" by The Police- It was between this and "Limelight", but since I already chose The Police for Tier 1 DLC... Oh, and see "Message In A Bottle"...also by The Police

11. "Teenage Lobotomy" by The Ramones- This is about as hard as their songs are going to get, but it's one of their lesser knowns. Speaking of which, "Blitzkreig Bop" has been in, what 3 music games since the release of Rock Band 1? Why not every other game have "I Wanna Be Sedated"? I know the Ramones are simple, and everyone loves them, but dig a little deeper! The only exception is "Rock and Roll High School" from the recent Alvin and the Chipmunks game and don't ask me how I know that...

12. "This Ain't A Scene..." by Fall Out Boy- Yes, Fall Out Boy, the most tolerable Emo band. Still, I like how it switches up tempos and intesity, so IT'S NOT THAT BAD!

What did I say? DOUBLE DUTY!!!

SETLIST UPDATED

THE SETLIST

Note: Some song tabs require Power Tab software
Numbers in Parenthesis represent difficulty transcribed to RB store.
+V means the backing tracks have vocal sections.

GUITAR HERO 1 SETLIST
1. Opening Licks
"I Love Rock N' Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones
"Thunder Kiss '65" by White Zombie
"Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple
"Infected" by Bad Religion
2. Axe Grinders
"Iron Man" by Black Sabbath
"More Than A Feeling" by Boston
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" by Judas Preist

3. Thrash and Burn
4. Return Of The Shred
5. Fret Burners
6. Face Melters

ROCK BAND
Tier 1 (0)
"Blitzkreig Bop" by The Ramones
(full tab) (backing track +V)
"Here It Goes Again" by OK GO
(full tab) (backing tracks +V)
"In Bloom" by Nirvana
(full tab) (backing track)
"Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
(full tab)
"Mississippi Queen" by Mountain
(full tab) (backing track +V)
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" by The Clash
(full tab)
DLC- "Girl U Want" by Devo (full tab)
DLC- "Roxanne" by The Police (full tab)
BONUS DLC- "21 Guns" by Green Day

Tier 2 (1)
"I Think I'm Paranoid" by Garbage
(full tab)
"Orange Crush" by R.E.M.
(full tab)
"Say It Ain't So" by Weezer
(full tab) (backing track)
"The Hand That Feeds" by Nine Inch Nails
(full tab) (backing track +V)
"Wave Of Mulitilation" by The Pixies
(full tab)
"Sabotage" by The Beastie Boys (full tab)
DLC- "She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult (full tab)
DLC- "I Fought The Law" by The Clash (full tab)
BONUS DLC- "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day

Tier 3 (2)
"When You Were Young" by The Killers
(full tab) (backing track +V)
"Celebrity Skin" by Hole
(full tab) (backing track +v)
"Creep" by Radiohead
"Detroit Rock City" by KISS
(full tab) (backing track)
"Electric Version" by The New Pornographers
(full tab)
"Go With The Flow" by Queens Of The Stone Age
(full tab) (backing track)
"Learn To Fly" by Foo Fighters
(full tab) (backing track)
DLC- "Limelight" by Rush
DLC- "Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore
BONUS DLC- "California Uber Alles" by The Dead Kennedys

Tier 4 (3)
"Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" by Jet
(full tab) (backing track)
"Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden
(full tab)
"Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
(full tab)
"Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult
(full tab)
"Main Offender" by The Hives
(full tab)
"Reptilia" by The Strokes
(full tab)
"Suffragette City" by David Bowie
"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones
(full tab) (backing track)
DLC- "Ten Speed (God's Blood and Burial)" by Coheed and Cambria
DLC- "Toxicity" by System Of A Down
BONUS DLC- "East Jesus Nowhere" by Green Day

Tier 5 (4)
"Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet
(full tab)
"Dead On Arrival" by Fall Out Boy
(full tab)
"Epic" by Faith No More
"Next To You" by The Police
"Vasoline" by The Stone Temple Pilots
(full tab)
"Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who
(full tab) (backing track)
"Paranoid" by Black Sabbath
"Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi
DLC- "Breed" by Nirvana
DLC- "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC

Tier 6 (5)
"Cherub Rock" by Smashing Pumpkins
"Enter Sandman" by Metallica
"Flirtin' With Disaster" by Molly Hatchet
"Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston
"Highway Star" by Deep Purple
"Tom Sawyer" by Rush
"Train Kept A Rollin'" by Aerosmith
"Welcome Home" by Coheed and Cambria
"Joker and the Thief" by Wolfmother

Tier 7 (RED)
"Run To The Hills" by Iron Maiden
"Green Grass and High Tides" by The Outlaws

Bonus
"Clash City Rockers" by The Clash
"Desolation Row" by My Chemical Romance
"I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by Dropkick Murphys
"Jogging Theme" from Mike Tyson's Punch Out!
"Holiday" by Green Day
"A -Punk" by Vampire Weekend
"Knowledge" by Operation Ivy
"Time Warp" by The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Original Music
"Force Of Nature"
"Radio Days, Pt. 1"