Thursday, December 31, 2009

The 2009 Show

What have I done this year?
Learned 30 songs.
Played 6 open mic nights.
Saw 2 concerts.
Reviewed 4 CDs.
Entered a couple contests.
Got old enough to drink.
Fell in love.
Broke up.
Got into some new stuff.

Yeah, it's been a good year.

ENTER SANDMAN
The solo for this song gave me a greater appreciation for Metallica. The solo uses a blues scale that I fucking love to play.

B|--9b---9b---9b--9b--9b-----------------10---10--8--7-------
G|--9b---9b---9b--9b--9b---7--9-------7----------------9-----
D|-------------------------------------7h9-------------------------
A|---------------------------------------------------------------
E|------------------------------------------------------------


B|--7/8\7----7------------------------------------------------------------
G|----------9----9--7-----7----9p7---------------------------------------
D|---------------------9-----------9p7----7--9--7---------------------------
A|----------------------------------------9----------9--8--7------------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------------10--7/----------

The Year Of The Bastard starts tomorrow.

SETLIST UPDATED

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

REVIEW: They Came From The Shadows

I followed For Tax Reasons ever since the short "I'M IN UR MANGER, KILLING UR SAVIOR" debut a couple Christmases ago. They haven't put out anything recent, so I've been following their animator, Ben's blog at Kill The Captains.

Recently he's been animating a music video for Teenage Bottlerocket. On a whim, I picked up the CD, after liking the two preview tracks. What did I think?

"Skate Or Die" had nothing to do with the old NES/Arcade game, but was still a straight-forward call to rebellion, and I liked it. "Don't Want To Go" was fast paced, and kept in line with the skate-punk feel of the first two. "Bigger Than Kiss", the song Ben's animating, was pretty intense. The rest of the songs bleed together. I know most punk is supposed to be straightforward, but it doesn't stand to be listened to all in one go. I guess I was kinda spoiled on "21st Century Breakdown".

It's good, it's competent, it's fast, but if you pick it up, I'd recommend burning it onto your computer and putting on shuffle.

ALSO OF NOTE:
1. I'll have Enter Sandman done by the new year.
2. I'm on the PSN Network as RhythmBstrd. Friend me!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Rhythm Bastard 2009 Christmas Mixtape

My present to all of you. Burn on a CD and enjoy. Bring it to a party, and have all your friends kick you out.

DOWNLOAD THAT!


TRACK LISTING:
"Happy Holidays, You Bastard" by Blink 182
"If I Don't Get Videogames For Decemberween" by Brainkreig
"Homestar Presents Presents" by Homestar Runner
"Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You" by Billy Squier
"Don't They Know It'S Christmas" by Fucked Up
"In The Morning" by Akira The Don
"Christmas Night Of Zombies" by MxPx
"Oi To The World" by The Vandals
"Don't Stop Believing (In Santa Claus)" by Jen de Milo from the Something Awful Forums
"Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses
"No Presents For Christmas" by King Diamond
"364 Days" by Murder City Devils
"We Three Kings" by Blondie
"I Wish It Were Christmas Today" by Julian Casablancas
"Fairytale Of New York" by The Pouges
"The Worst Noel" by AM Taxi
"Father Christmas" by The Kinks
"Auld Lang Syne" by The Dropkick Murphys
"Chirstmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)" by The Darkness

Sunday, December 20, 2009

UK Gives The Bastard A Christmas Present

Rage Against the Machine beat X Factor winner in charts

Rock band Rage Against The Machine has won the most competitive battle in years for the Christmas number one.

The band's single, Killing In The Name, sold 500,000 downloads beating X Factor winner Joe McElderry's The Climb by 50,000 copies to clinch the top spot.

Their success followed a Facebook campaign designed to prevent another X Factor number one.

One retailer said it was a "truly remarkable outcome - possibly the greatest chart upset ever".

Speaking on the Radio 1 chart show, Zack de la Rocha from Rage said: "We are very, very ecstatic about being number one."

"It says more about the spontaneous action taken by young people throughout the UK to topple this very sterile pop monopoly," he said.

McElderry, 18, praised the campaign, adding: "It's been exciting to be part of a much-hyped battle and they definitely deserve congratulations."

He later told BBC Radio 1 he did not believe the internet campaign was a personal attack.

He said: "It's more against the show than me and I think if any other person had have won, the same thing would have happened, because the petition was going on before the winner had been announced."

Despite earlier in the week calling the campaign "stupid", X Factor judge Simon Cowell offered his congratulations to the couple behind it, Jon and Tracy Morter.

'Silly idea'

This is not the first campaign the Morters have launched to try to influence the charts - last year they attempted to get Rick Astley to the top spot.

Mr Morter, 35, said he learnt "how the charts work" from that experience, and "what you can get away with".

"When this year came around I just thought, let's have another go. If anything, last year was fun. This year it has gone stratospheric."

His wife Tracy said: "It was one of those little silly ideas that make you laugh in your own house.

"We really love music and remember when were were young the charts were really exciting. We just thought, wouldn't it be funny if that song got to number one?

"It took something really strong and forceful to get people behind it."

De la Rocha said the band would perform a free concert in the UK in 2010 to celebrate their chart win.

The past four Christmas number ones have all been by X Factor winners; Alexandra Burke's version of Hallelujah last year was one of the biggest selling festive singles ever.

Guitarist Tom Morello said it had "tapped into the silent majority of the people in the UK who are tired of being spoon-fed one schmaltzy ballad after another".

---------------------
Santa does exist!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Christmas Light Hero

Not one, but TWO people made a setup set to Guitar Hero.





WOW MUST BE NICE TO HAVE ALL THAT TIME ON YOUR HANDS AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SCHOOL OR ANYTHING, HUH GUYS?

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Finals Star

HIGHWAY STAR

Highway Star was a song written on Deep Purple's tour bus on the way to the show. Shit, that must have been why it was so easy.

Yeah, it's a pretty simple song, except for these parts:
e--5h7h8-(x8)--10h12h13-(x8)--13h15h16-(x8)---

e--0-0-0-17-0-0-0-16-0-0-0-15-0-0-0-14-0-0-0-13-0-0-0-12-0-0-0-11-0-0-0-10--

Repeat the first riff, then continue this pattern down to the first fret, and then back up to the eighth. Most of it is just up to timing and finger speed.

SETLIST UPDATED

Monday, December 14, 2009

The Internet's Inferno

Green Day: Rock Band. It's a real thing. Let's take a look at some of the more... interesting comments, shall we (from Joystiq because Destructoid is done)?

Cyris
@ Dec 12th 2009 5:28PM
No thanks.

What a polite young man!

mspiels @ Dec 13th 2009 9:50AM
When you have to have someone else play your power chords while you run around on stage you are not a "great musician".

You know, I saw a distinct lack of Jason White in the trailer... Hmmm...

Let's see what Something Awful has to say...
I CHALLENGE THEE posted:
I can't believe how obtuse all of you are. Ugh. Don't you fucks realize that they've completely ruined Rock Band by adding Green Day? They've reached Guitar Hero levels of failure. Rock Band used to be respectful to the medium, not like that joke of a series Guitar Hero. They ruined their series by over saturating the market with so many versions of their game. What a mistake. Either way, Activision disrespected dead artists by adding Johnny Cash and Kurt Cobain to Guitar Hero 5. What a joke. Next thing you know they're going to start charting non-guitar parts to guitar like that other series

*checks list of available DLC, which is over 1,000 songs*

*throws Lego Rock Band into the old 360, plays We Are the Champions with minifig Freddie Mercury*

*circlejerks over cool for cats*

Right.
Anyway, here's one of the songs from the upcoming DLC: Christian's Inferno.
Only part I had trouble with was the solo here:
e|-7---7---7---7---7---7---8---8-10------------------------------------------|
B|---7---7---7---7---7---7---8-----------------------------------------------|

And the three note buzz in the beginning, but that comes with time. Just like my next song: Highway Star! Coming Wednesday!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Happy Holidays, You Bastards

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, YOU BASTARD

I figured a quick Christmas special to make up for the fact that I haven't done one yet. Blink 182, ahoy! It's a quick power chord based song just for an update, but when I thought November 30th, "Hey! I should make it AC/DCember!" I forgot shit like finals would get in the way.

G--4--4-4-4-4-4-4-4--------------------------------|
D--4--4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4--4-4-4-4-4-------------------|
A--2--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-4--4-4-4-4-4-------------------|
E----------------------2--2-2-2-2-2-------------------|
Pretty straight forward, start playing on the "Eve", change chords on "two"

D--6--6--6-6-6-6-2--2--2-2-2-2---------------------|
A--6--6--6-6-6-6-2--2--2-2-2-2---------------------|
E--4--4?-4-4-4-4-0--0--0-0-0-0---------------------|
Change chords after the first "I'll never talk to you again"


e--------------------------------------------------|
B--------------------------------------------------|
G--4--4-4------------------------------------------|
D--4--4-4-4--4-4-2--2-2-4--4-4---------------------|
A--2--2-2-4--4-4-2--2-2-4--4-4---------------------|
E---------2--2-2-0--0-0-2--2-2---------------------|
Change chords after "talk" and on the second syllable of "again". Play
the F#5 after "Dad"

G--4--4-4------------------------------------------|
D--4--4-4-4--4-4-2--2-2-2-2-2-2-2------------------|
A--2--2-2-4--4-4-2--2-2-2-2-2-2-2------------------|
E---------2--2-2-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0------------------|
Same deal as before, only keep playing the E5.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Backing Tracks Added To Setlist

Hey, in addition to the best tabs, I'm giving the best backing tracks as well in the Setlist, so you can practice along. I'll even upload a couple of my own.

SETLIST UPDATED

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Green Day DLC Predicitions

Yep, more Green Day coming to Rock Band.

However, instead of publishing 3 songs from each album going backwards, like I thought, it's more from 21st Century Breakdown. Not that that's a bad thing, but fans clamoring for earlier work are sure to be disappointed. In fact, according to the comments in that article, EVERYONE IS DISAPPOINTED WITH EVERYTHING EVER.

So, here are my predicitons:
Viva La Gloria!- The opening vocals should provide a good challenge. Chances are, they're going to chart the piano parts at the beginning, and I estimate it'll be Tier 3 for Guitar. Drums are fast as always, and it gets especially complicated by the end, with those triplets.

Christian's Inferno- Starts of with a very buzzy bass (or maybe it's guitar). Either way, it's very lively. Drums are pretty fast, and vocals, espcially the "WHOOOOOOAAA! Christian's inferno!" will trip you up.

Last Of The American Girls- The words won't make any sense, so don't think to hard about the vocals. They'll be easy. So, maybe then you'll have time to think about it... Whatever. This'll be the easiest of the three songs.

Definitely a more lively and more traditional "punk rock" than the first batch.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Rock Band: Yoko Ono

OK, seriously, they were on the way out LONG before this game happened.

Sorry, no embed.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Drudging Up An Old Post

To kick off December 2009!

To start the mix off with a little swing,
Christmas Time In Tinsel Town by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Fine, fine, if that's not your thing, and you want something you can bug Harmonix about:
"Don't Let The Bells End" by The Darkness
Yes, they had songs other than "I Believe In A Thing Called Love"

"Christmas" by King Diamond

Yes, he had songs other than GRAAAAAAAAAAANDAAAA!!! WELLLCOME HOOOOOOOOME!
See also:
"No Presents For Christmas"

Both are metal as all hell, but don't pay too close attention to the lyrics. Otherwise you might find something out like how suicide rates are up during the holiday and how much it sucks if you have no one to spend it with. Oops...
Uh, something positive...
Ah, that Nostalgic Critic fellow has a song...
...
Ah, fuck it. At least I'm not Phil From Accounting...

Friday, November 27, 2009

Me So Horny Me Love You

After the foreplay, of course

Just for a little bit though, not for a

LONG TIME

'Nother late update. Once NaNoWriMo is over, they'll be a lot more elaborate.

Solos are really nothing special, they just require you to keep within the same four fret range for measures at a time. No, I'm showing you guys the fun part everyone remembers:

G-10-10-x-x-x-x--8-8-x-x-x-x--8--------
D-10-10-x-x-x-x--8-8-x-x-x-x--8--8-8---
A--8--8--x-x-x-x--6-6-x-x-x-x--6-8--8--
E------------------------------------6--6--

Dun nun, chikachika, dun nun, chikachika, dun nun nun!

Well I'm taking my time,
I'm just moving on,
You'll forget about me after I've been gone!

SETLIST UPDATED

Monday, November 23, 2009

Top In Sales, Not In Quality

I recently stumbled upon an article by WizKid Sound "Why I Listen To Top 40". I have about 3,000 jokes lined up for my guess, but I'm going to try to keep this intellectual and shit, y'all. So, basically the point of the article is that he listens to Top 40 Radio exclusively because, allegedly, it's the "best kind" of music. Not his "favorite" music, but the "best", meaning that everything else is inferior.

I disagree strongly, and believe that "Dan"'s attitude needs adjusting.

Let's break it down.
I [listen to Top 40 exclusively] because I like good music. I like well written, well produced, well mixed music. I like hearing the most talented artists. I like hearing the bands and artists who are at the top, because they are the best. This is what top 40 radio affords me.

This statement is pretty generic. There are plenty of talented artists that have gotten the short shaft when it comes to things like awards. So according to this guy, since he assumes Top 40 radio means the best, that the Grammys also represent the pinnacle of music? Then in that case, Jethro Tull deserves his own version of Guitar Hero.

There are certain self-proclaimed music mavens out who would find this view repugnant... They’ve got a music blog where they use ambiguous descriptions like “spatial”, “dichotomous”, and “neo-post-emocore” to describe simple, boring music. If they review an album from a band you’ve heard of, it’s mediocre and disappointing. If it’s from a band you’ve never heard of, it’s amazing. These people get off on criticizing success and promoting failure. Among this community of success hating contrarians, Pitchfork Media is King.

This point I have no problem with. Sometimes mainstream stuff is good, sometime the indie stuff will surprise you. He's appealing to the other extremes for the sake of the point he's trying to make. Fine. I'm just saying that devoting yourself to either extreme is a douche thing to do,
you (mindless, frat-jock, pink polo wearing, Facebook obsessing/obscure and irony worshipping, skinny jeans wearing, trust fund baby) douche.

Check out their Best New Music section. Now take a good hard look at these unknowns because you will never see or hear from them again. Sure, they may continue to record albums for the rest of their lives, but you won’t ever hear about them because they will suck.

Another thing I kinda agree with. Although some indie band names I recognize are all the rage on the campus, like Animal Collective (WEIRD NOISES!) and Bell and Sebastian (a fruitier Coheed and Cambria). Either my school is very liberal (research university, so maybe maybe not), or they get a lot of word of mouth going.
Pitchfork picks losers and parades them around like heroes fighting against the crushing oppression of the music industry and cultural ignorance... Unfortunately, the sad truth is that there is no real oppression, no cultural ignorance, and no conspiracy that keeps these bands underground. They don’t succeed because their music blows. End of story.

Um, every think that the labels of the music Pitchfork reviews are smaller in scale and don't have the budgets the big guys do? Smaller label=less advertising/distribution budget=less money coming in.
It's picking losers, it's picking the best of what you might not have heard of. All the big publications cover the stuff Pitchfork finds "disappointing", so why we can't have a website that exists in it's own little world? There are plenty of bands I read in Good Times all the time, saying that they're huge in their respective scene, or are doing well, does that mean they're total failures because they're not playing along side Rihanna and the like?

If an independent band really has better music than what’s already out there, you don’t have to dredge the gutters of indie blog-dom to hear them. Labels find and sign the best independent artists because they are already setting trends and garnering fans. By necessity, they have to find the next big thing in order to stay in business at a time when music consumers have endless choices.
The difference between "independent" and "indie" is best described here. Plus, there are PLENTY of reasons why an independent band would remain as such: It's the only surefire way to manage all of you own stuff, people might have 2nd jobs, or are still finishing school and don't want to make it big yet. Not the best reasons, but if he were to publish a rebuttal, then I guess I could clarify this point a bit more.

Despite the ramblings of music industry outsiders, record labels can’t control what music people will like. They can’t control what songs people will like. If they could, they wouldn’t spend millions on market research before promoting songs to radio.Major labels still dominate the airwaves because they have a product people want: new music from the best artists.

Actually, yeah they can. The product the major labels are serving isn't what's good, but what's popular. The two don't always coincide. Why? Two words: peer pressure. Entire studies have been done that prove that we will say or do the wrong thing based on the influence of others, such as the Ash Conformity Experiment. TL;DR: 1 in 3 of us will say the wrong thing to go around with the crowd.

Sure, you might say, "I'm a unique flower who likes Top 40 on my own merits entirely". That is a bullshit point.

You know why I don't go around, changing my real name to Rhythm Bastard, wash regularly and walk around in a shirt and jeans as opposed to wearing only a Tie-dye shirt as pants with 50 spiritual necklaces? Because society told me that it was fucking weird, and to knock that shit off. Sometimes these pressures are right: I don't reek, these things called pants fit much nicer on my legs, and (Real Name) will probably taken more seriously than Dick Cheese McFuckStein.
Music is a much more subjective practice. There are no rules. But what Top 40 radio does is IMPOSE rules where there shouldn't be.

He then breaks down the three main criticisms against Top 40 Radio:
“It’s manufactured”
Yes, it is manufactured, in the same way Ferraris are manufactured. Record labels sign the most talented and charismatic artists. Then they hire the very best songwriters. Then they get the most distinguished producers. Then they go into the the best studios, with the best engineers, and have the best studio musicians play on the record. Then the very best mix engineers finish it off. What comes out is as close to musical perfection as you can get.

OK, so then why aren't the songwriters and producers and other people getting all the credit? In fact, the songwriters and artists can actually disagree on some fronts. For example, in her God awful "Party In The USA" (a song the exact opposite of "Anarchy In The UK"), there's a line where Miley Cyrus (IT'S MILEY!) sings "...and a Jay-Z song is on". She hates Jay-Z, and pop music in general.
So in a way, it's not really an earnest piece of creative work, you're getting a product.
Just like, and this was brought up in the comments of that blog post, "McDonalds is a product, a burger is food."
I put more care into my burgers than McDonald's does. That's because I can pick the type of meat I use, what seasonings I put into the meat, the size I make it, and choose how I top it. It's the kind of burger I enjoy because I sought out that particular burger. With McDonald's, I'm getting a McDonald's burger. It's a frozen hockey puck until you use this huge deathtrap smasher grilling thing.
Music's the same thing. I like well written music too, but it's of my choosing within a certain range, like my burger. With Top 40, I get whatever they give me, like McDonalds.

"Simple and Cliched" Good music IS simple and clichéd. Pop songs use the same chord progressions over and over because they sound good. They allow for powerful vocal melodies and hooks. And yes, pop songs often have “trite” lyrics. That is because they talk about universal subjects that people can relate to. A good song doesn’t need an English professor, a classical composer, and some jackass with a blog to explain itself. A good song is self explanatory. You get it the first time you hear it, and you want to hear it again and again.

This I have no problem against. I find a lot of prog and metal stuff a bit masturbatory, but when it's good, it's good.
But think about this "Dan": Pop songs have been getting simpler and simpler. They've fallen into two categories: Either a girl singing over a drum machine ("Poker Face", "Disturbia") or a guy on an acoustic guitar ("Hey There Delilah", "I'm Yours"). There's simple, and then there's minimalistic.

"It All Sounds The Same" Top 40 does not discriminate by genre. On any given day, you can hear Kings of Leon (indie), Kelly Clarkson (pop-rock), Black-Eyed Peas (cross-genre), Beyoncé (R&B), Kanye West (hip-hop), Matt Nathanson (acoustic), and Lady Gaga (electronica). When someone says that popular music all sounds the same, what they really mean is that it all sounds good. They mean it has better songs, better production, and higher sound quality than the music they listen to.

See the point I've made above. In order to boil everything down and make it more platable, it's gotten to the point where only two sounds exist: Club music and "Play at a party to get chicks" music.

My favorite criticisms come directly from the shitty artists that write shitty music that nobody likes except for assholes that have record players. I often hear this statement from such turd makers: “I could write crap like that [commercial music] if I wanted to.” If you had your shit together, you would have a manager who might be connected enough to get you an audience with a major. An if you really truly could write and perform commercial music, you would get signed and get a chance to be on top 40 radio, where millions of people would actually give a shit about your band. But you don’t have any of this. You don’t have anything.

Now is when he really starts getting into insults. There's also the notion that not everyone wants to make Top 40 music because there's always a style that sells at that time. As you mentioned in your previous point, Top 40 is decided via focus group testing and what not. Some artists want to write whatever they want to. These people aren't concerned with writing POPULAR music, they want to write music that they ENJOY.

I'll never write anything that intentionally sounds like Nickelback or Pink or Rihanna, because that's not music I enjoy. I enjoy songs that have power chords and solos in them. I like to listen to stuff you can work out to. I like to listen to stuff that catches me by surprise, like stuff about Gay bars and Star Wars.

That's not what Top 40 radio gives me. And it really pisses me off when just because it's "Top 40" that everyone will enjoy it everywhere. I have to put up with shit in my gym everyday I wear shorts without pockets. I asked around "Do earnestly like this stuff?" Most who were forced to listen to it said "No" either because nobody wants to listen to an acoustic ballad while they squat, or they've heard "Poker Face" 20 times today.
See, the problem is not that bad indie bands don’t want to sell-out, it’s that they aren’t good enough to. Their best songs aren’t good enough. Even if they sat down specifically with the intent of writing a commercial song that would become a smash hit on top 40 radio, they would not be able to. These facts are bad news for the “true artists” who don’t want to “sell out”. Good music leads to money and fans. Not wanting to “sell out” is a self-fulfilling prophecy that can only lead to destitution and obscurity.
Yes, most bands that wear the "indie" label like a swastika suck and revel in their obscurity. But by simply labeling all bands outside of a narrow range "not good enough" then, you're also excluding other artists you might enjoy. Like Kings Of Leon you say? Some of their harder stuff sounds like "The Hold Steady" and "indie" band. Nerdcore rapper MC Lars loves dissecting rap music such as Kanye West and Jay-Z.

But you'll never hear about those guys, because they're not on the Billboard Top 100.

Assuming you only go out and buy the singles, you're also missing out on the other tracks on that album. I've mentioned in a couple of the reviews I've done that I wind up liking a lot of non-single tracks more than the ones released as singles. I'd rather have a CD comprised entirely of great songs, than one comprised of popular, three well-written-by-committee songs that are heard all over the place, and the rest of the album is shit filler.

We need to stop pretending that the top artists are not the best artists.

The top of the charts are determined by music sales, not quality. They're just the best selling. I could write the world's greatest song, but only release it here where only me and some guy from Alpharetta, Georgia hear it.

Next time you want to hear good music, skip the hype and noise from the chain-smoking Pabst Blue Ribbon crowd. Just do what I do.

Spider Jerusalem was a chain-smoker, good sir, and I will not sit by while you diss cyberpunk's greatest Gonzo journalist by lumping him in with hipster fags.

1. Turn on your radio and find the Top 40 station (or stream from that station’s website).
2. Enjoy.
Or my advice, and here's where the insults start for me:
1. Don't listen to cock suckers who work for studio production companies and only listen to what is popular.
2. Listen to yourself.
3. GO EVERYWHERE. Like a certain genre? Troll around Myspace or the Newgrounds Audio Portal for some stuff you might like. Also, Pandora Radio is your friend.
4. Download
5. Enjoy
6. ???
7. Profit
8. Long Time Thursday.
Don’t waste your time on losers.
Such as Nickelback, and Owl City.
Oh wait.

Hey, Phil from Accounting, I found a guy who sucks at life more than you!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Play Foreplay

FOREPLAY
Straight up Power Chords all the way through. Makes sense; this was the first song Tom Scholz, the guitarist for Boston, ever wrote and recorded.

The tab is solid. But, right up until this point:
D-3-5-6---6---6---3------|
A-1-3-4-6-4-6-4-6-1-3-4--|
E-------4---4---4---1-2--|


D-6-8-10--
A-4-6--8--
E----------

It where I bring the legitimacy into question. After this part, play this:

D-3-----6-----3-----6----
A-1---6-4---6-1---6-4----
E-----4-----4-----4------

Then repeat 4x:
D-3----6----
A-1-6--4--3-
E---4-----1-

Then:
D---8-10-10-10-10-10-
A---6-8---8--8-8---8-

That's it, Long Time HOPEFULLY sometime this weekend.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Steven Tyler To Leave Aerosmith

According to the Associated Press, long time singer for Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, is leaving the band to work on a solo project. Joe Perry posted the update through Twitter after Tyler announced it on the WKXL morning show.

I'm willing to voulenteer for either project. Seriously.

In Bastard News, tomorrow's song update will be "Foreplay". "Long Time" maybe.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

An Army Of One... Or Seven

Let's just ignore that "Sunday means new songs" and just move on, shall we?
For National Novel Writing Month, expect the songs to be more skewed toward bonus songs to free up some time.

SEVEN NATION ARMY

A---7---7-10-7-5----3----2----

For the chorus and the fifths, and you're done.

Sorry for such a short lesson, but I'm working on Foreplay/Long Time. Maybe I'll put up the two separately...

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

REVIEW: LEGO Rock Band DS

LEGO ROCK BAND

While I will get the console versions and import if only for "The Passenger", I tried the DS Version, and I must say, it makes me wish for a proper Amplitude sequel, or at least an update for AmplituDS.

The DS version of LEGO Rock Band, instead of using peripherals like it's X Hero Counterpart, uses a control scheme similar to Rock Band Unplugged. The L and R buttons change between the instruments, and Left, Up, X and A hit the notes.

It isn't entirely like Amplitude, since missing a note doesn't screw up your combo, but messing up a streak of note when one of your band members' head is blinking does. Instead of building the tracks by getting entire measures accurate, it's about streaks. Hit a certain number of notes, and one of the notes changes color to purple. Hit it, and that band member is satisfied.

Star power is more or less the same: blow into the mic to activate it, and get double the points.

Whether or not you should buy this game, as always, rests on the setlist:
All American Rejects, “Swing, Swing”
The Automatic, “Monster”
Blur, “Song 2”
Carl Douglas, “Kung Fu Fighting”
Counting Crows, “Accidentally in Love”
David Bowie, “Let’s Dance”
Europe, “The Final Countdown”
Good Charlotte, “Girls & Boys”
Iggy Pop, “The Passenger”
Jackson 5, “I Want You Back”
Kaiser Chiefs, “Ruby”
Katrina & the Waves, “Walking on Sunshine”
KT Tunstall, “Suddenly I See”
P!NK, “So What”
The Primitives, “Crash”
Queen, “We Are The Champions”
Queen, “We Will Rock You”
Rascal Flatts, “Life is a Highway”
Ray Parker Jr., “Ghostbusters”
Spin Doctors, “Two Princes”
Sum 41, “In Too Deep”
Supergrass, “Grace”
Tom Petty, “Free Fallin’”
Vampire Weekend, “A-Punk”
We the Kings, “Check Yes Juliet”

I would have traded out a couple songs, but that's about it.

What's awesome is that you can still play as Queen, Iggy, Bowie and Blur.

FINAL VERDICT: A quadrillion times better than the other games I reviewed for the DS. It's not as fully featured, or well presented as its console counterpart, but it's a pretty worth play.

Tomorrow: "Seven Nation Army"

Friday, November 6, 2009

I'm With The Band and Other Stuff

1. I'm officially in a band now, and we had our first rehearsal today. It was an experience to say the least. I'm not going to say anything optimistic, because as we all know whatever predictions I type on this blog turn to fail. But some highlights:
-Lugging a heavy 30 W amp on the LIRR, to a meeting with a professor to the rehearsal, ON HEAVY LEG DAY. Everyone wonders how I got so jacked. Well, now you know: I lug heavy shit around all day. But do I skip legs in my workouts? NO. All these jackasses who say they don't work legs because "they already walk" are full of shit. Unless you're either me on a day where I play guitar or your job is go give sumo wrestlers piggy back rides, then try a deadlift or two.
-Setting up with a friend of mine and meeting the drummer. He seems cool. We played "Seven Nation Army" while waiting for our singer to show up. Started playing "Tom Sawyer" and "Enter Sandman" while I was messing around with those riffs.
-Singer half an hour late. To be fair, only the drummer knew where this on-campus drum room is.
-Singer bringing his guitar, but not his amp. And we were supposed to be playing a song he wrote.
-DAYMAN!!! AAaaaAAahhh!! FIGHTER OF THE NIGHT MAN!!! AaaaAAaaHH!! CHAMPION OF THE SUN!!! AAAAaaaAAAahh! YOU'RE A MASTER OF KARATE AND FRIENDSHIP TO EVERYONE!!
-Bassist? Ha ha, what bassist?

2. National Novel Writing Month has be motivated to other things, and be more apt to set more strict goals for myself. So I will be shooting for one song a week, starting Sunday, because Saturday I have a review, and Sunday will be a Bonus Song.

Monday, November 2, 2009

HO SHI- A Year and One Month Old?

I know! Well, more like a year and a month, but who's counting?

Man. I can't believe it.

Well, let's see, I'm almost done, with eight songs left.


I know it'll be tough, but I'll try to "beat" another song tomorrow.


Until then, here is Angus Young fighting Darth Vader.


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ultimate Updates

Finally subscribed to the Ultimate Guitar RSS feed, and here's some news I found fit to comment on:

FALL OUT BOY RELEASES GREATEST HITS ALBUM They haven't even been around for 10 years! Although this is the same amount of time that passed since Green Day released their "Greatest Hits", International Superhits!, but there should be a statute of limitations on these things. At least for a radio focused band as they are, it's a collection of all the songs you heard from them. On the radio. Ugh.. God that's an ugly word these days.

U2 TO PLAY IN FRONT OF BERLIN WALL FOR 20TH ANNIVERSARY Shit, 20 years already? I'm not big fan of U2, but you gotta admit that is a pretty awesome venue. I just Bono doesn't get too preachy and just plays "Sunday Bloody Sunday".

Monday, October 26, 2009

Down The River With A Black Guy

TOM SAWYER

Intro, fun as hell, and in convenient Power Chord form!
G-------9-------7--------2-------5
D-------9-------7--------2-------5
A-------7-------5--------0-------3
E-0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-0----0-0-0--

It's an overall easy song, it's just that the solo is on the hard side. Fortunately only one part gave me trouble:
B-5h7p5----5------------5-
G--------7---7-6----6-7---
D-----------------7-------
It's not that my fingers have to change position up and down the neck, but a technical thing.
Looks like I better work the finger permutations...


Nevertheless, what's really great is that how it flows. Every slide leads right into the next part.

SETLIST UPDATED

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Cool Stuff I Just Found Out About

Rock Band Network stuff making software is now online!
HUZZAH!!

Crush 40 has a "Best Of" coming out
While some of their stuff isn't terrible, putting it in the context of Sonic The Hedgehog is just... weird.
Honestly, if they want to do rock BG sounds, fine, at least get someone like Joe Satriani to head it. He does some cool instrumental stuff. A lot of it devolves into wanker, but if he uses the main riffs (that isn't the "LOOK AT ME I AM A GUITAR VIRTUOSO" solos), there's some fun stuff in there.

There's a guy on some UK Music website with the same name...
I'm way nicer than him, and at least I have the balls to completely ruin a person's life in person.

I have a lot of DLC to catch up on:
"Gay Bar", "What's My Age Again", "Bat Country"... It's a shame I don't have a Playstaton up at school...

Monday, October 12, 2009

LEGO Rock Band Full Setlist Makes Me Go Eh...

- All American Rejects, "Swing, Swing"
- The Kooks, "Naïve"
- The Automatic, "Monster"
- KoRn, "Word Up!"
- Blink-182, "Aliens Exist"
- KT Tunstall, "Suddenly I See"
- Blur, "Song 2"
- Lostprophets, "Rooftops"
- Bon Jovi, "You Give Love a Bad Name"
- P!NK, "So What"
- Boys like Girls, "Thunder"
- The Police,"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
- Bryan Adams, "Summer of 69"
- The Primitives, "Crash"
- Carl Douglas, "Kung Fu Fighting"
- Queen, "We Are The Champions"
- The Coral, "Dreaming of You"
- Queen, "We Will Rock You"
- Counting Crows, "Accidentally in Love"
- Rascal Flatts, "Life is a Highway"
- David Bowie, "Let's Dance"
- Ray Parker Jr., "Ghostbusters"
- Elton John, "Crocodile Rock"
- Razorlight, "Stumble and Fall"
- Europe, "The Final Countdown"
- Spin Doctors, "Two Princes"
- Everlife, "Real Wild Child"
- Spinal Tap, "Short & Sweet"
- Foo Fighters, "Breakout"
- Steve Harly, "Make Me Smile"
- Good Charlotte, "Girls & Boys"
- Sum 41, "In Too Deep"
- The Hives, "Tick Tick Boom!"
- Supergrass, "Grace"
- Iggy Pop, "The Passenger"
- Tom Petty, "Free Fallin"
- Incubus, "Dig"
- T-Rex, "Ride a White Swan"
- Jackson 5, "I Want You Back"
- Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk"
- Jimi Hendrix, "Fire"
- We the Kings, "Check Yes Juliet"
- Kaiser Chiefs, "Ruby"
- The Zutons, "Valerie"
- Katrina & The Waves, "Walking on Sunshine"

Eh... I'd rent it, then import it.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

I Officially Support A Family-Friendly Rhythm Game

News has been coming out about Band Hero's full setlist and LEGO Rock Band's celebrity appearances, and I found the whole idea a little ridiculous. More or less everyone savvy enough to own RB2 has to have access to DLC, right? So then why not release these more popular songs on the network?

Maybe I'm just thinking about this the wrong way, maybe I should look at it like a track pack, like the ones that came out for Rock Band.

However, I think one best fits the mission statement here at Rhythm Bastard Central: LEGO Rock Band.

Why? IGGY POP AND DAVID FREAKING BOWIE

Why not Band Hero? After all, they've got Cheap Trick, Devo, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, so what gives?

Yeah, Band Hero has apperances by Adam Levine from Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift. Not one, not two but THREE songs by her.

It does have a few good selections, but while Band Hero seems to go "OK, we'll give you Devo and Styx, now here's some Top 40 shit that kinda has guitar and bass in it sorta" , LEGO Rock Band says "Fine, you recognize Pink and Kaiser Cheifs, 'K kids? Good, here's some classic rock you might have heard somewhere via cultural osmosis."

Open Mic tomorrow. GOING IN EARLY for it this time.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

This Post Would Have Been Better On Valentine's Day...

Sorry bout the wait folks!

CHERUB ROCK
Shit still getting sorted out here at school, but I learned a new song!

The main riff is comprised of octaves, and I think THAT was the hardest part for me. The solo is just a bunch of bends and what not.

G|-11/9-x-x--13/14-13--11/9-----|
D|-x----x-x--x-----x---x--------|
A|-9-/7-x-x--11/12-11--9-/7-----|

SETLIST UPDATED

Friday, September 25, 2009

Open Mic Night/What I Use

So I had an Open Mic Wednesday night, it was a clusterfuck, and I'd rather spare my dignity and not write about it. My guitar playing was fine, but I forgot the words, and it took us forever to set up.

Recently I've been making backing tracks to some of the songs I cover that aren't on GuitarBT.

For the drum parts, I use FL Studio. Working on Clash City Rockers right now, and unfortunately there are alot of patterns to work in that are small fills used exactly once.

For bass parts, I plug my guitar into my PC using a USB-guitar cable, and then tone it down 12 semitones in Audacity.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Cambria and Coheed

Hey everyone, just a quick update or two.

First, I'm working on "Welcome Home", mainly the solo.
This video has shown me a lot.

Also, I just found out that-

Kanye: Yo Rhythm Bastard, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish but Iggy Pop had one of the cameos in a rhythm game of all time!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Beatles Rock Band

I played this game with m' droogies at the Commuter Lounge and I have to say, it's very well put together.

There's this cool stuff going on in the background, called "Dream Scapes" during certain songs. It looks very nice, and it shows just how much work was put into the game.

Work, I'll ultimately ignore. It's not that it's bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that 1. I was expecting a little more song for my dollar and 2. I don't feel the relevance of the Beatles that much.

It's still miles ahead of the competition, but right now, I'll pass.

Nevertheless, you WILL know a lot of the songs, and it's still the same old, fun in a group Rock Band.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Monday, September 7, 2009

The Beatles: Rock Band Cancelled, Activision Taking Over



Found via Joystiq.

First week DLC:
"Wah-wahs" by George Harrison
"Operation Ground and Pound" by Dragonforce
"Crawling" by Linkin Park

Second Week DLC:
"I Am The Walrus" covered by Steve Ouimette

Then no more DLC ever.

Friday, September 4, 2009

THE Punk, Not A Punk's 150th Post

THE FOLLOWING IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF A PHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE RHYTHM BASTARD, AND NOBODY IMPORTANT.

RB: Hey Phil From Accounting, you know what would be awesome for my 150th post? If I played "Tambourine Man" then shot my blog out of a cannon in the middle of Kentucky.
PFA: Mr. Bastard, can you ever call me sober? And with an idea that isn't horribly impractical or expensive?
RB: First off, that's King Bastard to you, and second, thank your lucky stars you're still here.

PFA: Hmmm...
RB: Well, do you have any ideas Mr. Fancy Pants?
PFA: I mean, since the songs you're working on now are so hard and will take a while, why not update with another bonus song?
RB: Like what?
PFA: I was thinking that one song released in later iterations of GH and RB that you won't get to in-
RB: *fap fap fap* Sorry, that was REALLY boring.
PFA: Were you just-?
RB: No, I was making the noises with my mouth. Pretty convincing, huh?
PFA: Anyway, back to my idea, it's a song by an indie band that was at All Points West, called Vampire Weekend called-
RB: Just kidding. It was your ex-wife.
PFA: (sobs)
5 MINUTES LATER
PFA: (still crying)
RB: Hey, I looked it up, and the song you were think of was "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend. It's not very punk. It's like the Diet Coke of Punk: 1 calorie. Not punk enough.
PFA: Did you just quote Austin-
RB: I'd fire you for being so incompetent, but your ex-wife puts out as much as Scout's Mom. I should write a song for one of them...
PFA: (sobbing resumes)
RB: Anyway, I was gonna do a REAL punk song. Something Green Day covered maybe...
PFA: (dook dook dook)
RB: Right-o then.
PFA: I'll update the setlist...

So, without further ado-
A-PUNK
Fast, but easy. In Guitar Hero 5 they felt it necessary to chart the flute parts. The song only has two riffs really, but I'm only gonna type out this part:
E----9-9--12--12--7-7--10-10-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-
B----10-10-10-10-8-8--8--8---3-3-3-3-3-3-3-

Index finger on the 9th fret of the E string, middle finger on the 10th fret of the B string. Strum that twice, then put your pinky on the 12th fret of the e string. Move that shape down 2 frets and repeat.

KNOWLEDGE
Three chord punk at it's finest:
C5 (-355--)
Bb5 (-133--)
F5 (133---)

Like Blitzkrieg Bop, if you have ears and fingers, you can play it.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Lego Rock Band Just Got Interesting

An article on Wired gives us some new insight on upcoming Rock Band songs, particularly some stuff on Lego Rock Band:
"The Passenger" by Iggy Pop
"Let's Dance" by David Bowie
"Ruby" by The Kaiser Cheifs
"We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You" by Queen

And some songs that I didn't know were on it before:
"A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend
"Aliens Exist" by Blink 182
"In Too Deep" by Sum 41
"Tick Tick Boom" by The Hives

Also found a video WHERE YOU DESTROY A BUILDING USING THE POWER OF ROCK

BTW, "Bat Country" is DLC now. I don't know why nobody wants to stop there, it's a kick ass song.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Something Mind Blowing

Kurt Cobain in GH5



REALLY SORRY.

But the use of all these dead rockers makes me a little uneasy. Having Nirvana, Hendrix and Johnny Cash songs are fine; they were great musicians and had some awesome songs. Also, record company distribution deals take some of that choice out of their hands.

But likenesses? How could we know if they really approve of the game experience enough to want to be featured? It's like asking "What Would Jesus Do?" Sure, you have their experiences and words to go off of, but at the end of the day, it's still your interpretation, not theirs.

It's for this reason I approve of the Aerosmith, Beatles and Metallica games (release frequency notwithstanding). They have some degree of control over the matter, since it's no longer "Here's a song by Metallica your pre-fab rocker can play", it's "PLAY AS METALLICA!!!", and they want to make sure that they are done justice. With RB: The Beatles, it sorta matters that John Lernnon and George Harrison are dead, but ultimately that decision was up to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, so the artist has some approval.

I'm too young to know about Nirvana while they were active, and Kurt while he qwas still alive, but from what I've heard, he wouldn't have wanted this. There is the argument that if he didn't want something like this to be a possiblility, then he shouldn't have signed to a major record label or toured or sold albums.

But I think we should leave the dead buried, wouldn't you agree?

Monday, August 24, 2009

U Mad?

Sorry for the lack of updates, but between getting ready for school in a week, and a cruise I just got back from, I haven't had much time for the Experiment.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Les Paul Dies

You know, I always thought Les Paul was just a brand name, but Lester Polfuss, aka Les Paul, died today.



God speed.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Not Practical Problems

As I've mentioned on this blog before, I'm an Engineering student, and this kinda shit blows me away.

Basically, robots that can recognize the color of the fret in Guitar Hero, and "plays" the note by flipping a switch and pressing the button.

You have, of course, the original, SlashBot:


Also, Cythbot:


Now, while both are amazing, I think the BIGGEST flaw is, as the later video shows, fast strums, or really alt-strumming in general. From observation, they seem to have the little piston that flips the strum bar to the perfect distance where the bar goes far enough to recognize the strum, but not so far that it comes back so that it can flip it as fast in only one direction as flipping it up and down.

One thing that I can reccomend to off set the "fast note" problem seen in the CythBot is to also allow for width detection. If the camera detects something the width of a note followed by something of the same color, but narrower, then hold the same fret(s), but if it's followed by something of the same width, then it strums really fast.

But which one is better, you ask?
All right, FACE OFF: CLIFFS OF DOVER!

96%, good job SlashBot!

99%? Cythbot Wins!

Monday, August 10, 2009

This Happened On The Watchtower

JOKER AND THE THIEF

This is one really easy song. All that's really a concern is the hammer-on/pull-off bit right here:

G--------0h5h7--
D-0h5h7----------

Everything else is really simple.

Friday, August 7, 2009

So Epic

EPIC

This song's a bitch because it swings between these really easy whole measure power chords, and sweep picking. It's impossible to play with one guitar, but somehow I managed to learn enough of it to get by. I'm going out in a bit, so I'll leave you with an Epic Mash-up with Faith No More, AC/DC and Queen.

And a proper tab.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

I've Seen A Million Faces...

Yup. Sure have.

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

For some reason, after I've been off a song for a while, I come back to it and it's like "Oh, this is easy!" This is one of those songs.

The chords I've shown you, and that's the bulk of the song.

A tutorial on how to play the intro is here. As well as here.

Spartan update, I know, but I'm busy with other stuff right now.

SETLIST UPDATED

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Week O' Concerts

Nothing better to start August with a confirmation that rock is still alive and kicking, eh?

Monday and Tuesday I saw Green Day in Madison Square Garden, with the Kaiser Cheifs opening.

The only song I know by KC is "Ruby", but then I feel kinda "meh" about them. My biggest complaint though was that every instrument seemed to blend into each other, and not in a good way. They have a nice 80's pop/rock sound with a hefty dose of techno, but I skipped them Tuesday night.

The real meat and bones: Green Day. Let me say this- if you value fun, power chords, or music in general, see them live. Billie Joe Armstrong has enough energy to motherfucker around for 8 people. They hit on a lot of big songs from both the new album ("Know Your Enemy", "21st Century Breakdown") and the old ("Basket Case", "Brain Stew/Jaded", and "King For A Day", which they segued into "Shout", "Longview") and even a few suprises ("Static Age" and "Murder City" from the new album, "2000 Light Years Away", "Dissappearing Boy"). If you were disappointed with the setlist, then congratulation, you're a fucking snob.

There was some cool stuff going on in the background, with a light up city and background depending on the song, like war footage for "Holiday" and lyrics in graffiti for "Jesus Of Suburbia". Also, the Pyro showed up for "Static Age"

The best part was the very loose, fun atmosphere the show had. During "East Jesus Nowhere" they brought a kid on stage to be saved (complete with pyrotechnics), and ensured that kid would either grow up to be messed up or totally awesome. They invited people up to play Operation Ivy's "Knowledge" and "Jesus Of Suburbia". Like, their actual fucking instruments. One kid even got to keep Mike Dirnt's bass. Some kid jumped up on stage during "Know Your Enemy", danced on stage for a bit, then dove back off.

Compare that to AC/DC's show (C WUT I DID THAR) at Giants Stadium yesterday, where the floor security was an immovable force of... something, but it wasn't as, shall we say "intimate" as the Green Day show. But if you've heard an AC/DC song, they played it. The effects kicked ass, with a little movie playing before hand, to the actual Rock N' Roll Train, and all the classic props (The Bell for Hell's Bells, giant blow up Rosie for "Whole Lotta Rosie").

However the biggest moment in my mind was the final solo for "Let There Be Rock", where Angus Young went balls out shredding for a good 6 minutes. Arthritis? What the hell is that?

All in all, a pretty good week. I should have another song for you by tomorrow or Monday.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

No Need To Be PARANOID, Phil's Safe

Phil's safe everyone, even though I posted this song a day late (I threatened to sue). FOR AWESOME REASONS. WHICH YOU WILL FIND OUT ABOUT LATER.

Anyways,

PARANOID

Easy up until the solo, hich even then deals strictly within the pentonic scales. I learned the first half from this thing I got for Christmas one year.

Other than that, this is what you'll be doing for most of the time:
B----------------------------------------------12-
G----------------------------12---------------12-
D-14------14------12------12---12-----14--12-
A-14-x8--14-x8--12-x8--10--12-----14------
E-12------12------10-----------10-----12------pm................................................................................

Sunday, July 26, 2009

DURRR...

THE FOLLOWING IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF A PHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE RHYTHM BASTARD, AND HIS ACCOUNTANT, PHIL.

Rhythm Bastard: Hey, Phil from Accounting, it's me the Rhythm Bastard.
Phil From Accounting: Hello, sir. You can just call me Phil, you know, or Mr.-
RB: Whatever, the page containing my setlist has for some reason went down, and I want a new one.
PFA: OK, then just re-type it.
RB: NO, DAMMIT! I want a blinged out one, made of gold, and, what the hell, throw some spinners on that.
PFA: But this is a website, you can't just-
RB: I saw it on MySpace!
PFA: Yes, but Blogspot doesn't have those features.
RB: I also want a boat!
PFA: A boat? Why? We don't even have enough money for your pod-
RB: If Andy Samberg can have a boat, then sure as hell I can!
PFA: But-
RB: I also want T-Pain.
PFA: To appear in one of your songs?
RB: No, I mean like own T-Pain.
PFA: ...God...
RB: I'll feed him and shit if that's what you're worried about!
PFA: This is an egregious waste of money!
RB: You insubordinate bastard! Remember how I saved you from jumping off that ledge after you got fired from VH1? Or when Alan Moore rampaged through Scotland, and I gave you a job?
PFA: Yes, but-
RB: No! I'm tired of you're shit Phil! You're fired!
PFA: What?
RB: Oh, and by the way, last night, I saw your ex-wife and we [DELETED FOR... EW...]
PFA: [sobbing, gunshot noises heard]
RB: Huh, turns out while adding the Green Day songs, I accidentally saved the Setlist entry as a draft. Silly me!
PFA: ...
RB: Hello, 911?
911 Dispatcher: We'll only save Phil if you update with a song tomorrow.
RB: Jeez, fine!

Yeah, so anyway turns out while adding the Green Day songs, I accidentally saved the Setlist entry as a draft.

All is well.

Friday, July 24, 2009

It's Gonna Be OK...

I just realized all I have to do is look up the tags with the tiers, and I'm good. Unfortunately, it'll probably be up within the next couple days.

Monday, July 20, 2009

West Satan Somewhere

EAST JESUS NOWHERE

Eh, no tips really, but the part that messes up everyone in the chart is that part with all the tremelo picking after the solo. Nothing for that other than PICK FASTER,
but here's the sequence on the high E string for easy transfer (~ means tremelo picking):

E-0~-4~-7~-10~-8~-5~-4~-

I would but setlist updated here, but apparently, it's been deleted. I'll get to work on it.

I'll go see if I have enough money in the budget to make a new one.

Where's Phil from Accounting when you need him?

Friday, July 17, 2009

The Question Is, Do YOU Know The Enemy

Well, ya gotta know the enemy, right? (or Rah-ay if you go by the RB lyrics).

KNOW YOUR ENEMY
We've heard of 3 Chords and the Truth, but this is TWO chords.

G-------------9-9---------
D-9-9---9---9-9----9-9--
A-9-9---9---7-7----9-9--
E-7-7---7-----------7-7--

That's the basic rhythm, the full tab will show you more.

Overall, fun song, but there are alot of part with reptitive notes that have weird timing, like:
e|-7-7-7---7-7------|---7---7-11-7-----|-7-7-7---7-7-7----|-9-9---9-9---9----|| B|-------7-----7-7--|-7---7--------7~~-|-------7-------7--|-------7-----7---7--||

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Fire 'Em Off

Other songs will be coming soon, but I figured it'd be good to throttle down the difficulty for a bit, and cover songs from one of my favorite bands (that are not from Australian and are known for fuck-awesome guitar solos).

First is a song from chord practice:
21 GUNS

Easy:
Dm (---231)
DO YOU
A# (-13331)
KNOW WHAT'S WORTH
F (--3211) OR (133211, barre chord)
FIGHTING
C (-32010)
FOR

And repeat as such.

I find that going from the regular Open F chord to the C is much easier than from the barre chord. Just sayin'.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Green Day DLC Impressions

Know Your Enemy- Pretty easy on vocals, was able to FC it first time around on Hard. Guitar is a bit harder though, as there are two notes between chord changes and than always throws me off. Overall, pretty easy song. Drums are hella fun, though. I love that primal rhythm.

21 Guns- Easy FC for guitar on Expert, haven't tried drums or vocals yet. Overall it feels a lot like "Say It Ain't So"

East Jesus Nowhere- Singing wasn't that hard if my Dad can do it, and drums were OK, but let me tell you about guitar. Pretty easy up until a certain point, in fact it's the best song to practice Voxtar (vocals and guitar) with, because of the green/red chucks whenever Billie Joe is singing. But after the solo, it's "Knights Of Cydonia" from GH3 all over again, with tremelo picks up the wazoo.

So far I'm 75th in the Battle Of The Bands for the Green Day DLC battle.

Lessons to come for the next 3 days, with a special announcement thereafter.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Extremely Wanted In California

Hey everyone!

So recently I've been changing up my training regiment, working on permutations and chord shapes so at least are the skills are there, and one exercise I've been able to complete are the chords to "Wanted Dead Or Alive".

Wanted Dead Or Alive Chords by Bon Jovi, www.Ultimate-Guitar.Com

Send "Wanted Dead Or Alive" to Cell Phone

Wanted Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi

D C G
It's all the same , only the names will change
C G F D
And ev'ry day , it seems we're wasting away
D C G
Another place , where the faces are so cold
C G F D
I'd drive all night , just to get back home

C, G, F, D Progression is used for the chorus. There's still more to the song, and that intro is a killer, but any update is better than no update.

Also, the fact that I happened to find a YouTube video of the Guitar Hero Setlist and bothered to type it up continues to get me dozens of hits, and one of the referalls brought to my attention something called CAX, an arcade expo in California.

California Extreme is an arcade show this coming weekend. I, being in NYC and poor, am unable to attend, but they'll be having a Guitar Hero Arcade tourney, so hopefully those of you can send pics and vids and whatnot.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Finger Permutations

I've done this in practice before, but now I've actually found a name for it.

Basically, take 4 notes, and play those up and down the neck.
Ex: 1,2,4,3
e---------------------------------------------------------1-2-4-3-----
B-----------------------------------------------1-2-4-3--------------
G------------------------------------1-2-4-3-------------------------
D------------------------1-2-4-3-------------------------------------
A------------1-2-4-3-------------------------------------------------
E-1-2-4-3------------------------------------------------------------

Start by working the picking hand, and play one note per beat, then play the same note twice in one beat, then work up to 16th notes (4 notes/beat).

Then work the fretting hand the same way, by playing a note per beat, work your way up to playing the tab above as eights, triplets and 16ths.

A good metronome to use would be Online Metronome. If you have a DS Homebrew card, you can use DSMetronome. You can even change the backing drum pattern.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

We All Know What's Coming...

Michael Jackson
Billy Mays
Farrah Fawcett
David Carradine
Ed McMahon

God, what kind of SICK GAME are you playing here? MJ and Mays, the nicest man to become a meme die, yet Britney Spears and the entire cast of "The Hills" are still alive.

And then we wonder why atheism is on the rise.

I'm a hair too young for Michael Jackson, but event hen I always recognized his songs. He's pretty much the 80's. Looking at what's come out in music since then, you can tell he was the King of Pop.

To remind you of your music royalty, here's a quick synopsis:
The King- Elvis
The King Of Pop- Michael Jackson
The King Of Rock- Run DMC
Prince- Prince

Saturday, June 27, 2009

DLC Choice

Yeah, due to the increased difficulty of the songs from here on out, I'll only be doing one DLC song per tier.

It was a 3-way tie, but I'll pick "Joker and the Thief" by Wolfmother

Monday, June 22, 2009

A Very Rare Occasion...

THUNDERSTRUCK

Hardest part? I dunno, the entire song alternated between easy and cool sounding with complicated and fast every other measure.

The intro riff is of course:
B-0-4p0-7p0-4p0-7p0-4p0-7p0-4p0-7p0 x2 (pull off 4, 7)

B-
5p0-8p0-5p0-8p0-5p0-8p0-5p0-8p0 x2 (pull off 5, 8)

B-
12p0-10p0-9p0-10p0-9p0-7p0-9p0-5p0-7p0-4p0-5p0-4p0-5p0-4p0-5p0-4p0- xAs necessary
(pull off 12, 10, 9, 10, 9, 7, 9, 5, 7, 4, 5, 4, 5, 4, 5, 4)

There's not really alot to say here technique wise. I still love this song.

Two changes to note:
1. Live version and recorded version (which I used the tabs for), have different solos.
2. RB2 and Track Pack version are different. RB2's version requires you to strum every other note in the intro, on the track pack the infamous opening is one long HOPO.

SETLIST UPDATED


Saturday, June 20, 2009

Still Here

I was lurking the Something Awful forums (No, I don't have an account), and I found a thread called "GENERIC LYRICS". Basically, everyone has to boil down an entire bands discography into a few lyrics. Most of them end with, I love this band, but seriosuly?

Some choice ones:
THE ROLLING STONES
(Riff)
I met a black girl
In Louisiana
Or was it Paris
I'm not sure
I was stoned
(Riff to end)

DREAM THEATER


Our lyrics are pretentious
With awkward transitions
And artsy themes that were
Clearly written to impress nubile females
Without actually having any meeeeeeeeeaaaaning






THE HOLD STEADY
Charlemagne deals drugs in downtown Minneapolis
While we were partying in Ybor City
Holly was overdosing on the banks of the Mississippi River
Christianity and drugs are the same things, you see
Here's another reference you don't get cuz you're not from Minneapolis
Now drink a Pabst Blue Ribbon in a tallboy can and listen to this sick guitar riff

WEEZER
I sit around all day.
I sit around and wonder
which guitar I'm gonna play,
when I'm up on stage,
playing my new hit song.

Sometimes I wonder why
I play the same old songs each day.
And even though I try
to write some fresh cool new ones,
still they say:
"Play The loving Sweater Song!"

I'm such a lucky guy
to be in such an awful band.
To churn out such redundant crap,
and still get paid abundantly.

I'm such a lucky loser.
I'm nothing without fans.
I'd be called a total bum,
If not for Pinkerton.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
gently caress you I won't do what you tell me x8
You're a slave to the system x8
Destroy the establishment, free yourself x*
Repeat 5x
Tom Morello Solo
Repeat lyrics 2x

GREEN DAY
I'm sick and tired of politics
The whole thing's a piece of poo poo
We are the products of a dead nation
Nothing left but masturbation

(Chorus in F, C and G)
IIIII won't accept the world for what it is
I wanna get high and wake up the kids
Call me insane and I'll call you right
'Cause I can't live like this another night

AC/DC
(repetitive guitar riff)
:Something about rock and roll:
:Wailing about a girl:
(guitar riff again)
:Repeat chorus:
:Repeat chorus:
:Last two words of chorus:
(Inarticulatie noises/yelling)
(drawn-out outro)

REEL BIG FISH
I wanted to impress this girl, so I joined a band
Then we got famous for like 2 months
And now we're not famous any more and that makes me kind of pissed off
So gently caress you
Alcohol!
Thought guitar was cool, but everybody plays it
Everything's been done and redone to death
Thought ska was our thing, turned out to be a fad
Now when we play live we just dick around and rock it!
(Surprising metal guitar solo while the horns vamp)
Booze!

PuddleofNickelStaindBack


So far away,
A GIRL GAVE ME HEAD!
So faaaaaaar away
MY MOM NEVER LOVED ME!
So far awaaaaaaay

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
California is the best
All things happen in California
Let's go to California
Oh something sad happened in California

[instrumental bit]

California !!!

LADY GAGA
*Generic techno noise, boring 4/4 beat*
I'll wrap you 'round my finger
I know what you want
Cuz I got a catchy voice
I'm supposedta be appealin'!

(Chorus)
I LIKE TO, I LIKE TO REPEAT MYSELF
AND MAKE KINDA COOL CULTURAL REFERENCES
(Repeat 3x)

*Let beat play for 16 bars, naw it's cool, no fill or anything, it's a good beat*

Boys are always looking at me
I know my music's sweet like sugar
My huge sunglasses distort spacetime
Baby you're my fool

(Chorus, 12x)

*Let beat play 24 bars, fade out over the next 32 bars*

DROPKICK MURPHYS
In the hills near Dublin where my great-granddad was born
A man rose from his drink and stumbled out to the morn
Where he came aware of a pretty girl that left him a-stutter
And after she did him wrong our vagabond he did utter

gently caress YEAH. RED SOX. GO BOSTON GO
HEY WE'RE loving IRISH IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW
gently caress INDUSTRY, UNIONIZE YOU BOSTON SKINS, BE A MAN
AND THEN DIE IN EVERY GODFORSAKEN WAR FOR UNCLE SAM

These words our vagrant spoke before his voice died so quicker
So never cross a woman when you're out on the liquor
LIQUOR

Let's drink!

[bagpipes]

INTERPOL
There are city lights on my windshield
And I do not like the glare
I've been sitting here for a while
In the forest there might be a bear

CURRENT ROCK MUSIC ON THE RADIO
I got a girlfriend
and she's a slut
she's a trashy slutty girlfriend oh yeah!

RAP
Yo yo yo yo yo yo
I'm at the club
I'm at the club
me and my friends we're at the club
we are acting really cool at the club
there is some girl there I would like to have sex with
at the club
at the club

JOHNATHAN COULTON
I'm a scientist and I live in space
The world hates me, but that's okay
I live alone except with my girl
I turned her into a robot to do my bidding

Maybe I'm crazy.
Maybe I'm ugly.
Maybe I'm a psycho.
Maybe I used too many monkeys.

Then there was a post apocalyptic zombie robot war
But I'm still alive

One of my own:
AIRBOURNE
We're not AC/DC!
(repetitive guitar riff)
:Something about rock and roll:
:Wailing about a girl:
(guitar riff again)
:Repeat chorus:
:Repeat chorus:
:Last two words of chorus:
(Inarticulatie noises/yelling)
(drawn-out outro)

BOB DYLAN (yeah, I went there)
I see somethin' that's kinda wrong,
So I sit like a minstrel, playin' this song
I'll tell a story, bout a girl or two,
I think I peaked in '62...

Monday, June 15, 2009

It'll Be A Green Day In Hell..

The rumors are true, a Green Day 3 Pak coming July 7th. The songs are from the new CD, 21st Century Breakdown: "Know Your Enemy", "21 Guns" and "East Jesus Nowhere".

In honor of that, the song lesson is the first song I learned on Guitar, "Holiday".

Main Riff is super easy, just power chords:
G|-10-10-10--6-6-6-13-13-13--8-8-8-8-
D|-10-10-10--6-6-6-13-13-13--8-8-8-8-
A|--8--8--8--4-4-4--11-11-11--6-6-6-6-

Strum in a blues rhythm.


Hardest part for me is the bridge, since I always forget it:
G|-------------6----8-----|-----------8-----10-|
D|3-3---6-6-6-8-8-10-|3-3---6-6-8-10-10-|
A|3-3---6-6-4-8-6-10-|3-3---6-6-6-10--8-|
E|1-1---4-4----6----8-|1-1----4-4----8-----|


SETLIST UPDATED

Thursday, June 11, 2009

My Greatest Moments In Rock Band (and Guitar Hero)

Yeah, yeah, I got one of three possible songs comin' down the pipeline, with two more originals to post, but I figured I'd make this worth it.

Might as well spoil what I have left of the RB update:
-This Post
-Green Day "Holiday"
-Other Tier 5 song update.
-Logo/Banner

The tabs will be put up as I find time, a little bit with each update.

Anyway, I got to thinking: smell is the sense most tied to memory, right? What about music? I figured it would be worth it.

-One I already posted about, my 21st birthday. To recap, everyone played Rock Band, most for the first time, and my 4 year old niece tried out the drums. She failed, and I was more upset than charmed, but then again I'm not at that age where the pinnacle of my life is to watch a baby. Still it was nice to have everyone playing and the whole point of Rock Band is the group dynamic, with everyone keeping each other in time. But most important was everyone coming in to my world, in a sense, and common ground. I don't really follow sports, so it was nice to gather around some rock n' roll.

-There was also the time I first played GH and the DigitalLife Expo. First off, with the DLE, the entire cost around 20 bucks, tickets and food for 4, seriously. Second, I remember seeing an ad to have your song in the Guitar Hero game contest, and I didn't think it would go anywhere, just sort of have this little niche appeal like DDR. Then I actually got my hands on one and took a look at the setlist. I've heard all these songs, I know all these songs, and it was a big imporvment going from Amplitude's control scheme to something more real.
Plus I got to see other new games (at the time, this was 2005) like Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Marvel vs. Some Idiots EA made up.

-Me and my girlfriend were playing "Won't Get Fooled Again", and made out through the entire organ solo. I don't think I should have to elaborate, but as a sidenote I find it refreshing when a girl actually has a taste in music, and can explain why she likes it, instead of just going along with the Top 40.

-The first night I brought Rock Band 1 (PS2) home, I got my friend and little brother, and we played for a few hours, getting pretty far along the setlist. The joking around, humiliating ourselves singing, and I learned something that night. My friend can be pretty gay while singing "Ballroom Blitz".

So, there you have, a short little filler. Tomorrow, I'll try and have a song lesson for ya.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Beatles Rock Band Looks Epic

I mean, the opening cinematic alone shows how much effort they put into this. While I'm sure Neversoft would have put in a good effort if the music went to Guitar Hero (they collaborated on a venue with Tool to have 3 of their songs in the game), I don't think they could pull off anything like this.

It's not like AC/DC or The Clash or any of the bands I'm usually a fan of, so I can't say which songs "be better be in there". If I've heard of it, chances are good it'll be included in the setlist. My only disappointment so far is that George Harrison's "Wah-Wah" won't be included as a bonus song.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

SPY'S SAPPIN MY UPDATE!!!

The update foreshadowed in the "Won't Get Fooled Again" update is that I havbe completed a song (thematically) about the Spy from TF2. Well, not yet anyway. The bassline it revolves around is laid out, and all I have to do is layer the guitar over it. However, it's too late for all of that right now, so consider this a space saver.

Also one about the Sniper coming down, as well as "Epic" by Faith No More.

Been busy looking for a summer jorb.


Monday, June 1, 2009

Tabs

SETLIST UPDATED

With all the lessons I forgot to include, as well as the best tabs for each song.
It's not all there, but it will be updated as time goes on.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Tier 6 DLC

I know, I know, but familial and girlfriendial obligations keep me from finishing things up.

My pick? Well, I'm pretty indecisive, so I'll pick from the losers of the poll from this bunch.

"Joker and the Thief" by Wolfmother- This song's in Rock Revolution, but while that game has an awesome setlist, it might be too small time to cover. Still, there's a great opening, and catchy verse, and it sounds a lot easier than it's labeled, so please allow me to chill some?

"My Sharona" by The Knack- Doo doo do do doo do doo do doo doo doo do do doo do bum, My Payola! I mean, My Sharona! But apparently everything after that is really fucking hard to play.

"Billion Dollar Babies" by Alice Cooper- I don't know how this version somehow differs from the version in GH2, but I'm really digging it.

"Screaming For Vengence" by Judas Preist- My thought process: "Wow! This song seems awesome. It'll take some work, but it's pretty good" "OUCH THAT SOLO IS RAPE!!!"

"Snow (Hey Oh)" by Red Hot Chili Peppers- Time to bust the myth that this song is actually easier on a real guitar.

"High Voltage" by AC/DC- Anyone who has read this blog know my feelings for AC/DC

"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC- See above.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

REVIEW: 21st Century Breakdown

Still working on that foreshadowed update, but just so I have SOMETHING, I'll give my opinion on Green Day's latest album, 21st Century Breakdown.

Like American Idiot before it, 21st is a concept album, with some kind of story. I really couldn't tell. The names Christian and Gloria show up repeatedly, but the story's very loose and separating it into 3 acts only adds to the confusion.

In other words: THE LYRICS MAKE NO FUCKING SENSE.

It's supposed to be about the post-Bush days, and given that Armstrong's not rallying against him this album threw his focus off, but there's some really weird shit in there. I'll leave it to Something Awful for some examples.

Having said that, it still kicks ass.

When you first pop it in, and hear stuff like "Song Of The Century" and "21st Century Breakdown", it seems like they've gone to the poppy side. However, when thumpers like "Know Your Enemy" and "Christian's Inferno" come about, they're still the same, they just threw some other stuff in for the sake of diversity. And it is diverse. The seventh track (whose name escapes me) is reminiscent of a Beatles tune, and "21 Guns" reminded me of a Weezer ballad.

It feels so well put together, nonsensical lyrics be damned!

And this, like THe Hold Steady's "Stay Positive", knows when I'm bored. Half the songs start out slow, then kick into high gear the first minute in (like Viva La Gloria! and Before the Lobotomy)

FINAL VERDICT: Get for the catchy and diverse tunes. If you like rock, there's at least one song you'll like. For example, me and my Dad can't stop listening to "Static Age", even though I need someone to explain it me.

I do have faith in their selection of singles, since they, like American Idiot, seem to either be completely self-contained, or have themes that overshadow the story in the song.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

YEAAAAAAAH!!!

WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN
First off, work on your basic open chords A (-02220) and D (--0232) for the verses.
G (320033) is the next most used chord, particularly in the after chorus breakdowns.

-----------A -----------D
We'll be fighting in the streets
-----------A------------D
With our children at our feet
-----------A--------------D-------------E---C-G
And the morals that they worship will be gone
----------A----------------D
And the men who spurred us on
------------A------------D
Sit in judgement of all wrong
------------A----------D--------E----C-G
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
E (022100) and C (-32010) are used here.
The Who is one of those bands where they really don't "sync up", but are still a well composed group. Instead of the drum and bass being the backing rhythm for the guitar it was the other way around. Not to say that they didnt have some sweet solos, it's that the main focus is the drum section.
Now, I "cheated" a bit with this song, and played what could be considered the "acoustic version". Yes, I know I'm anti-everything acoustic, but I just played the chords in the same rhythm. If you look at the tab as well as the note chart on RB, it looks like there's more going on.
The shapes of the chords I played (A and D) are still held, however different sections are picked as if it were a lead guitar.
Now, the solos I can't really help you with, but I can give a tip:
In a section like this:
e---------4---2---0---------7---------4-----2---------4----------7--
B------------------------------------------------------------------------
G--2/4---4---x------5-/7------2/4---4---x-2-/4------2/4-----
Slide from the 2 to the 4th fret using the ring finger, so you don't have to move your hand. Stuff like that. Not a whole lot I can do at this point. The hard parts at this point are the solos, but I still gave something to think about right?
Also, for the interludes after the chorus, refer to "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" for how to switch between G and D efficiently.
Now, how can I foreshadow the next update while still referencing this one?
MEDIC!












Looks like that doctor....










Just got a taste of his own medicine...
YEAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I HAVE ACHIEVED MANLINESS!!!

...Several years ago.

And so the Rhythm Bastard Update Begins!

DAY 1- Atop The Fourth Wall

I mentioned this guy on Sunday, but today he has a new video out (every Monday/Tuesday), New Guardians #2.

That's it.





OK, just kidding, I FINISHED IT AND YOU CAN NOW DOWNLOAD THE SONG!!!

HERE!!

LYRICS:
He is a man who takes pride
in the comics that he keeps,
But have you seen this crap
that he checks out every week?
In the future Superman fights
Adolf Hitler's clones.
90's kid buys Issue #0
and thinks Liefeld owns.
Amazons attack and those doctors
build up Neutro
Then it's take over by
President Insano.
Now sit down, 'cause
he'll tell ya which comics are the worst
Yeah, Atop The Fourth Wall
Unless Deadpool breaks it first

We're all rockin'
Atop The fourth wall
Watchin' The Watchmen
Atop The Fourth Wall
Linkara's reviewin;
Atop The Fourth Wall
Bad comics burnin'
Atop The Fourth Wall

P.S. If anyone can reccommend a better site for uploading music, and can tell me how to stream it, that'd be great...

Sunday, May 24, 2009

RHYTHM BASTARD UPDATE

Ever since I read and watched Watchmen, I've started to get a bit more into comics, particularly everything Deadpool, and Transmetropolitian.

One contributing factor to all this is Linkara of Atop The Fourth Wall which is also on That Guy With The Glasses.

He reviews old comics that are particularly stupid and everything Liefeldian. He's currently looking for a new theme song, and I'M GONNA GIVE IT TO HIM. I'm finishing it up right now, and will have it on by tomorrow or Tuesday.

Also in the coming days, some more updates for really awesome things. Namely other songs on Tier 5, 2 more songs I've written, as well as a couple other site updates. So, in the vein of the recent updates, consider this, THE RHYTHM BASTARD UPDATE.

WHEN WILL IT START?
HOW LONG WILL IT BE?
WHOOOO KNOOOOWS?

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Very Excitable Weekend

Yesterday, I told you about "Sympathy For The Devil" being on the next Guitar Hero.

Then, I find this has been leaked onto the internet:



FORESHADOWING?

Then, I get this news that Green Day might be coming to Rock Band.

Shit, Minority, Brain Stew, and HOLIDAY? THE FIRST SONG I EVER LEARNED ON GUITAR?

BONUS LESSONS ARE IN ORDER!!!

Finals time is all up ons us, so no time for loafing.