Saturday, January 30, 2010

No, HE Wrote Holden Caulfield

A couple days ago, J.D. Salinger, the man best known for "Catcher In The Rye", died. If you don't know what that is, then welcome to the Rhythm Bastard Experiment MY ONLY READER UNDER FIVE.

You mention that book, and you'll hear basically 2 different opinions:
1. "It was an awesome book! It changed my life!"
2. "I hated reading it. I only went through with it for English class."

And this all boils down to your opinion of the book's protagonist, Holden Caulfield. The people in Camp 1 see him as an anti-hero for the masses. A rebellious, unappreciated, misunderstood intellectual who doesn't care for the world society has imposed upon him.
The people in Camp 2 see him as a spoiled brat, who's very nature predicted both the emo AND the hipster.

Either way, you have read it, because it's considered a classic.

Which camp did I fall under, you ask?
I first read that book in the 8th grade, and I didn't put Holden in either of the two groups. To me, he was like a cool older brother who told you stories of all the crazy stuff he's done.
So, gun to my head, consider me in the Pro-Holden camp. I didn't think he was great because of his "intellect", or whatever Mary Sue powers the fanatics give him. I thought he was great because he was at least out there, on his own.

Now, what I REALLY brought you here for is some Green Day:


This was the song I wanted to teach you, but it's simple enough. Instead, I'll use this to highlight something I always liked about Green Day:
e-------------------------------------|
b-------------------------------------|
g-------------------------------------|
D---4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---|(x2)
A---4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---|
E---2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5---|

Those chords aren't played straight through, there's always a lot of swing, like it's blues.

I dunno. I'm in a weird mood today.

More tribute videos? Of course.



You guys can just shut up.

OK, never mind, I like that song...

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Pachelbel's Canon in COPYCAT



Pretty interesting video in chord progressions.
Other Songs in the video:
"Graduation" by Vitamin C
"Cryin'" by Aerosmith
"One Tin Soldier" by Original Caste
"Hook" by Blues Traveler
"Basket Case" by Green Day
"Push" by Matchbox 20
"Good" by Better Than Ezra
"Machinehead" by Bush
"With or Without You" by U2
"Torn" by Imbruglia
"Sk8r Boi" by Avril Lavigne
"We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister
"No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley
"Let It Be" by The Beatles

See also:


It's very interesting how ALL THOSE songs have the same few chords. I wouldn't say it's a bad thing when it makes sense musically (since some chords played together sound weird). BUt it does provide an insight into how the brain perceives music.

Think about it. What would happen if the first caveman guitarist went with something like II,IV,VII, and that was the standard?

Monday, January 25, 2010

Good To Be Home

WELCOME HOME

FINALLY.

I really don't have time for a "lesson" right now, but the first part of the solo:
B--15p12----15p12---15p12-----15p12-----15p12---15p12---15b---
G---------14---------14-------14--------14------------14------14-----

I found good practice for pull-offs and string switching.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

REMEMBER WHY I'M HERE

This is to remind ME of all the stuff I've done/will be doing.

So right now, I'm finishing up another original and "Welcome Home".
I'm also looking into the RBN stuff which is open beta.

So I'll also include updates if I'm working on a song.

Friday, January 15, 2010

NewGrounds Audio Portal

I posted up some of my stuff on the NewGrounds Audio Portal That way I can get feedback from more people.

Usually on the AP, you'll find a lot of techno and drum/bass, because that's what's easiest to make in Fruity Loops. But there are a few standouts. So, without further ado, here's some of my picks:
Hollywise
It's a good pop-punk, and tells a story. The solo fucks up a bit toward the beginning, but other than that, I love it.

Hopeless Drunk
This is a nice peppy number that sounds like "Drunk Beatles" (scientifically speaking of course)

White Houses
If the Smashing Pumpkins and Cream had a baby, this song would be the end result. The vocals are really fuzzy, which seems to be a big problem with all these recordings. Either way, all of these guys are good, independent music that cost the ever so attractive price of zero.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

REVIEW: Why AC/DC Matters

Got this and a couple other books for Chirstmas. The book's by Anthony Bazzo.

Why AC/DC Matters is all about AC/DC: it's history, it's rhythms, even a story about a SECRET AC/DC Concert that happened around the release of Black Ice.

It's pretty interesting, and breaks the band all the way. It gives some pretty good analysis, such as giving a breakdown of what happens to your vocal chords when you scream like Brian and Bon, and their recording techniques (you hear each one of The Brothers Young in a different speaker). I loved learning about the history of all the members, even the ones that don't get as much "screen time", Phil Rudd (drums) and Cliff Williams (bass). Also, Slash and Kerry King contribute their quotes about the band.

The only real problem I can find is that it gets a bit fanboyish at times. A great band? Yes, by far. The greatest band? You're writing a book, not a blog post.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

What I Hope to Do in 2010

-Finish Rock Band 1, or 50 total songs before I move on to Guitar Hero 1.
-Videos
-Original Songs
-Post more often
-Abuse Phil