Someday I oughtta learn dis
Showing posts with label tunes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tunes. Show all posts
Monday, March 24, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Off You
Been working on "Off You".
Here's a helpful live version. Two basses and one electric guitar. She plays some of the chords in much higher positions than I was (the Cm and Dm in particular).
Here's a helpful live version. Two basses and one electric guitar. She plays some of the chords in much higher positions than I was (the Cm and Dm in particular).
Monday, January 6, 2014
SOS on Bass
Speaking of Breeders shit I've been working on....SOS on bass...here's good view of Jo's left hand around 0:23:
Looks like a 1-4 finger pattern on the 2nd -5th frets starting on E string and moving up
Another ok shot
Looks like a 1-4 finger pattern on the 2nd -5th frets starting on E string and moving up
Another ok shot
Flipside
I've been goofing around playing Breeders tunes on drums for about three years now. At one point I was gonna record a tribute album with me playing all the parts, but gave up on that when I figured out that #1) I can't play rhythm guitar like KiD #2) I can't really sing like KiD #3) I probably don't have the right effects pedals or even know how to figure out what the correct effects pedals are.
Since I saw the band play in concert five times this year, and the same basic set with different encores, I watched Jim more closely on the drums. And I got the idea to try playing Last Splash front to back on drums.
It is harder than it seems.
"New Year" and "No Aloha" and "SOS" are still pretty tough for me...but the most interesting song might just be "Flipside." It sounds like a stupid simple song, but there's some kind of weird shit going on. What drew my attention to it is that it looks exhausting when Jim plays it live.
He's just "Ringo-ing" along for a while and then...HERE'S THE MELODY with both hands. Who knows what his feet are doing at that point. It's weird. I can't quite play it right yet.
I think there's a lot to be learned from Jim. Mastering this album is a worthy exercise.
Since I saw the band play in concert five times this year, and the same basic set with different encores, I watched Jim more closely on the drums. And I got the idea to try playing Last Splash front to back on drums.
It is harder than it seems.
"New Year" and "No Aloha" and "SOS" are still pretty tough for me...but the most interesting song might just be "Flipside." It sounds like a stupid simple song, but there's some kind of weird shit going on. What drew my attention to it is that it looks exhausting when Jim plays it live.
He's just "Ringo-ing" along for a while and then...HERE'S THE MELODY with both hands. Who knows what his feet are doing at that point. It's weird. I can't quite play it right yet.
I think there's a lot to be learned from Jim. Mastering this album is a worthy exercise.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
That Thing You Do
For reference
This is only a few of them...there's a whole page of links. Who knew?
This is only a few of them...there's a whole page of links. Who knew?
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Cannonball Cover
http://wn.com/Cannonball__The_Breeders_Guitar_Cover#/videos
Holy crap this is awesome.
It's so freaking clear to see what they are doing. Love it. More here.
Check out this one with him playing in a room with himself
Holy crap this is awesome.
It's so freaking clear to see what they are doing. Love it. More here.
Check out this one with him playing in a room with himself
Monday, June 11, 2012
Faghatland
There are some songs that are just mental blocks for me. Who knows why. Swingtown is in that catagory...as is Baracuda. And so it is with Faghatland. I've been trying, off and on, to learn it for about a year and a half now even though it hasn't been on the active set list. Sounds like it is coming back into action...so I worked on it this week...and again it is just...brutal. I'm not sure why. It isn't hard...I just can't get it. I think it is a case that I really ought to just scrap the old part EH played and make it my own with something new. He has go to moves that aren't in my toolkit, so why bother. But I think I also just hate drum solos...and the fact that this song has TWO isn't helping matters. Alas.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Son of Three
First song! Son of Three
I'm starting with this song because I have already figured out the bass part.
Goes to figure that I can't find any live footage of this song though. And apparently also no guitar tab/chords.
Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Dig, bitch, dig!
This is pretty helpful. There's a moving part lower on the neck and then there's a part where everybody is hanging out around the 12th fret a bunch of the time. Kelley seems not to be playing power chords but barre chords. It's a pretty bass line driven song after all and so I guess it is good that I'm starting with that. The only hard part about the drums is how repetative they are and how hard it is to keep that kind of beat consistent for a whole song.
I'm starting with this song because I have already figured out the bass part.
Goes to figure that I can't find any live footage of this song though. And apparently also no guitar tab/chords.
Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Dig, bitch, dig!
This is pretty helpful. There's a moving part lower on the neck and then there's a part where everybody is hanging out around the 12th fret a bunch of the time. Kelley seems not to be playing power chords but barre chords. It's a pretty bass line driven song after all and so I guess it is good that I'm starting with that. The only hard part about the drums is how repetative they are and how hard it is to keep that kind of beat consistent for a whole song.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Detroit 442 and 11:59
Two songs are giving me fits. Neither are ones I knew existed prior to a month ago, and so had no idea.
Detroit 442
11:59
They've ended up surprising me. As soon as I heard Detroit 442 I knew it was fast and would be tough. I thought 11:59 was gonna be relatively easy though. Turns out that Detroit 442, while fast and full of fills and strange timing issues...is actually the easier of the two once you figure out how to play a double stroke roll (which I'm still learning to do).
But 11:59...it's harder than it sounds.
First off, it is faster than it seems. It swings and so seems slow...but over the top of the loping bass drum beat is 8th notes on the hi hat...and man those cook. I think the song comes in around 200 bpm. And then the real kicker...an open hi hat foot pattern pretty similiar to Heart of Glass (or any number of Blondie songs, I'd say this foot pattern is Clem Burke's signature move). It took me a long time to learn the pattern for Heart of Glass...but now I'm solid on it. But only with a four on the floor bass drum beat. Stick that swinging bass in and it all goes to hell.
I spent a good half hour working this last night. I can play the snare with the bass (with a quarter note hi hat hand and no hi hat foot)...the snare with the hi hat hand 8ths and foot pattern...but putting all four together is a bear. It's one of those things that, if I can ever get it, it will be a revelation...but right now it feels impossible. I know I just gotta keep working it. It's just really, really tough.
Detroit 442, which I thought would be impossible due to the speed of the rolls, ends up being hard for different reasons. The rolls are double strokes, so those go by half as fast as I thought and so are half as hard (once I get the double stroke thing down...particularly on the toms, which have less rebound). My main struggle now is that I can't quite figure out what the pattern is during the choruses. It is a floor tom pattern with quick snare fills. I'm not sure if the snare rolls are two handed or one handed...if they are two handed than the sticking pattern really matters because it is so fast and you're moving back and forth between snare and floor tom. I just can't wrap my head around what is happening, it passes too quickly for my brain to dissect.
It doesn't help, of course, that he rarely seems to play live what he played on the recordings. He takes short cuts and plays easier things live. No fair. You wrote it you ought to have to play it.
UPDATE: Just watched video REALLY carefully. At 1:44 is the part in question. He's definitely playing the snare rolls two handed and doing 8th notes on the floor tom. I can't really tell what the technique is, but it seems like he has the sticks pretty loose between thumb and finger, so he's probably using rebound to get that speed and not wrist motion for every hit...like a double. I wonder if he's keeping a constant double stroke with the right hand and a constant single stroke on 2/4 with the left hand and just moving one of the floor tom beats (two notes with one hit) to the snare...or if he plays one than one note of the roll with the left hand...it's hard to hear if it is 3 notes or 4. Probably 4.
So
Floor tom with right hand: 1 + 2 + 3 +
Snare with left hand: 2, e a (on 4th beat)
Snare with right hand: 4 +
So the right hand pattern never changes and it is just the left hand that changes (just a fill, no big deal). Then it is just about the speed and getting between the drums in time. Bass can just play along with whatever comes natural.
Detroit 442
11:59
They've ended up surprising me. As soon as I heard Detroit 442 I knew it was fast and would be tough. I thought 11:59 was gonna be relatively easy though. Turns out that Detroit 442, while fast and full of fills and strange timing issues...is actually the easier of the two once you figure out how to play a double stroke roll (which I'm still learning to do).
But 11:59...it's harder than it sounds.
First off, it is faster than it seems. It swings and so seems slow...but over the top of the loping bass drum beat is 8th notes on the hi hat...and man those cook. I think the song comes in around 200 bpm. And then the real kicker...an open hi hat foot pattern pretty similiar to Heart of Glass (or any number of Blondie songs, I'd say this foot pattern is Clem Burke's signature move). It took me a long time to learn the pattern for Heart of Glass...but now I'm solid on it. But only with a four on the floor bass drum beat. Stick that swinging bass in and it all goes to hell.
I spent a good half hour working this last night. I can play the snare with the bass (with a quarter note hi hat hand and no hi hat foot)...the snare with the hi hat hand 8ths and foot pattern...but putting all four together is a bear. It's one of those things that, if I can ever get it, it will be a revelation...but right now it feels impossible. I know I just gotta keep working it. It's just really, really tough.
Detroit 442, which I thought would be impossible due to the speed of the rolls, ends up being hard for different reasons. The rolls are double strokes, so those go by half as fast as I thought and so are half as hard (once I get the double stroke thing down...particularly on the toms, which have less rebound). My main struggle now is that I can't quite figure out what the pattern is during the choruses. It is a floor tom pattern with quick snare fills. I'm not sure if the snare rolls are two handed or one handed...if they are two handed than the sticking pattern really matters because it is so fast and you're moving back and forth between snare and floor tom. I just can't wrap my head around what is happening, it passes too quickly for my brain to dissect.
It doesn't help, of course, that he rarely seems to play live what he played on the recordings. He takes short cuts and plays easier things live. No fair. You wrote it you ought to have to play it.
UPDATE: Just watched video REALLY carefully. At 1:44 is the part in question. He's definitely playing the snare rolls two handed and doing 8th notes on the floor tom. I can't really tell what the technique is, but it seems like he has the sticks pretty loose between thumb and finger, so he's probably using rebound to get that speed and not wrist motion for every hit...like a double. I wonder if he's keeping a constant double stroke with the right hand and a constant single stroke on 2/4 with the left hand and just moving one of the floor tom beats (two notes with one hit) to the snare...or if he plays one than one note of the roll with the left hand...it's hard to hear if it is 3 notes or 4. Probably 4.
So
Floor tom with right hand: 1 + 2 + 3 +
Snare with left hand: 2, e a (on 4th beat)
Snare with right hand: 4 +
So the right hand pattern never changes and it is just the left hand that changes (just a fill, no big deal). Then it is just about the speed and getting between the drums in time. Bass can just play along with whatever comes natural.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Rapture
It takes a while for them to pan to Burke long enough to see what he's doing. Again, the recording seems more finessed than this performance.
I'm beginning to think that not even Clem Burke reproduced Clem Burke's recordings live. And so I shouldn't feel too bad about not nailing something precisely right so long as the feel is correct in general.
I'm beginning to think that not even Clem Burke reproduced Clem Burke's recordings live. And so I shouldn't feel too bad about not nailing something precisely right so long as the feel is correct in general.
Call Me
From the recording I was convinced that Burke played a jazzy shuffle on the hi hat with his right hand on this. I've now seen multiple videos where he plays two handed on the hi hat. I wonder if he changed it at some point. I kind of like the way I hear it on the album better, though admittedly that is harder to do with enough force to come out at a live show.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Blondie
We are a go for playing a Blondie tribute for Halloween...in addition to the Flaming Lips tribute.
I don't actually have a band to do this with yet...which seems kinda crazy, but also I'm not real worried about it. The key piece, besides the lead singer which is nailed down already (MW), is the keyboard player. I don't know many keyboard players. I asked Dr. K, but I think he's leaning against doing it. Which is too bad. I think he could pick it up with nearly no rehearsals. Keeping my fingers crossed. Looks like KS is in on bass and I'm gonna try to convince CT to play guitar. Not sure if we need a second guitar or not. Suppose I should figure that out.
I had been a little worried about learning the drum parts, but I'm starting to feel better about it. The whole reason I wanted to do this was to learn Clem Burke's drum parts...particularly the open hi hat stuff. I don't know if I'll nail everything perfectly by October, but I think I can get the point across.
Maybe I'll even get as good as this kid:
Call Me
Dreaming
I don't actually have a band to do this with yet...which seems kinda crazy, but also I'm not real worried about it. The key piece, besides the lead singer which is nailed down already (MW), is the keyboard player. I don't know many keyboard players. I asked Dr. K, but I think he's leaning against doing it. Which is too bad. I think he could pick it up with nearly no rehearsals. Keeping my fingers crossed. Looks like KS is in on bass and I'm gonna try to convince CT to play guitar. Not sure if we need a second guitar or not. Suppose I should figure that out.
I had been a little worried about learning the drum parts, but I'm starting to feel better about it. The whole reason I wanted to do this was to learn Clem Burke's drum parts...particularly the open hi hat stuff. I don't know if I'll nail everything perfectly by October, but I think I can get the point across.
Maybe I'll even get as good as this kid:
Call Me
Dreaming
Friday, March 4, 2011
Olivia Newton-John
The last couple of days I've been on a nostalgia trip.
From about 1981 until about 1984 Olivia Newton-John was the most important person in my life. Like so many situations in my life...I conflated my sexuality with other burgeoning interests. I was a preteen and first discovering pop music...and also first discovering my sexuality. I'm sure there were plenty of men who found Olivia Newton-John good looking back in the day...but if she wasn't a lesbian icon (though not a lesbian herself) than I don't know who was.
Now the music is dated. It was mass produced country...then pop...in its day. And now that seems old and quaint. She wasn't cool then...and now she's kitsch-y.
But when I loved her I loved her with no sense of irony.
What IS ironic is that I've drifted far, far away from liking vocalist-centered music, particularly with female vocalists. I'm not a fan of bands that aren't bands...but are rather studio musicians backing a big name star.
But in the way that repeated listens in one's formative years will do...I still like the songs. I have every word memorized whether I want to or not.
I've always thought it was throw-away music...but last night I listened to it in a different way. The backing bands were high quality studio cats. They are right on the mark. They are so good that you don't notice them. They fade into the background. But without them the music doesn't exist.
Some of the drum parts are simple(Let Me Be There and If You Love Me Let Me Know)...
but some are more unexpected than you'd think (Heart Attack puts the crash on 2)...
and Make a Move on Me has an almost jazzy shuffle groove.
So much of this would be done with drum machines today (particularly the post Grease stuff). It is refreshing to know a real person was playing these drums even when they are machine precise.
There's actually a fair amount to be learned here. About serving the music. About dead on pocket playing. About how to make music interesting without being distracting. They were there for nothing more than to highlight the voice and to create hooks and grooves that would sell records. They did an excellent job at it.
For the record...my favorite ONJ lps (in chronological order), more here:
Clearly Love (1975)
Come On Over (1976)
Don't Stop Believin' (1976)
Making a Good Thing Better (1977)
Totally Hot (1978)
Xanadu (1980)
Physical (1981)
From about 1981 until about 1984 Olivia Newton-John was the most important person in my life. Like so many situations in my life...I conflated my sexuality with other burgeoning interests. I was a preteen and first discovering pop music...and also first discovering my sexuality. I'm sure there were plenty of men who found Olivia Newton-John good looking back in the day...but if she wasn't a lesbian icon (though not a lesbian herself) than I don't know who was.
Now the music is dated. It was mass produced country...then pop...in its day. And now that seems old and quaint. She wasn't cool then...and now she's kitsch-y.
But when I loved her I loved her with no sense of irony.
What IS ironic is that I've drifted far, far away from liking vocalist-centered music, particularly with female vocalists. I'm not a fan of bands that aren't bands...but are rather studio musicians backing a big name star.
But in the way that repeated listens in one's formative years will do...I still like the songs. I have every word memorized whether I want to or not.
I've always thought it was throw-away music...but last night I listened to it in a different way. The backing bands were high quality studio cats. They are right on the mark. They are so good that you don't notice them. They fade into the background. But without them the music doesn't exist.
Some of the drum parts are simple(Let Me Be There and If You Love Me Let Me Know)...
but some are more unexpected than you'd think (Heart Attack puts the crash on 2)...
and Make a Move on Me has an almost jazzy shuffle groove.
So much of this would be done with drum machines today (particularly the post Grease stuff). It is refreshing to know a real person was playing these drums even when they are machine precise.
There's actually a fair amount to be learned here. About serving the music. About dead on pocket playing. About how to make music interesting without being distracting. They were there for nothing more than to highlight the voice and to create hooks and grooves that would sell records. They did an excellent job at it.
For the record...my favorite ONJ lps (in chronological order), more here:
Clearly Love (1975)
Come On Over (1976)
Don't Stop Believin' (1976)
Making a Good Thing Better (1977)
Totally Hot (1978)
Xanadu (1980)
Physical (1981)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Planet of Sound
EDIT 2/23/2011: I have gotten the part. It is now in the complete fakebook.
This SEEMS like a ridiculously easy song...but because of that no one has posted the full tab online. Most videos tend to not stay on Kim...but this one keeps her in frame and you can actually make out the part pretty well...at least where the shifts and transitions are...
EDIT:
Found 120 Minutes...she's not in frame the whole time, but it is a better close up when she is. Around 0:36 seconds there's a clear shot of her part. Also...Black Francis signals sound guy for more lead vocal in the monitor.
Super clear shots of the guitars (same part as bass in the "tough" section) in Brazil...plus you get to hear Joey and Charles detune.
Paradise:
This SEEMS like a ridiculously easy song...but because of that no one has posted the full tab online. Most videos tend to not stay on Kim...but this one keeps her in frame and you can actually make out the part pretty well...at least where the shifts and transitions are...
EDIT:
Found 120 Minutes...she's not in frame the whole time, but it is a better close up when she is. Around 0:36 seconds there's a clear shot of her part. Also...Black Francis signals sound guy for more lead vocal in the monitor.
Super clear shots of the guitars (same part as bass in the "tough" section) in Brazil...plus you get to hear Joey and Charles detune.
Paradise:
Monday, January 10, 2011
Dig for Fire
This song is a major pain in the ass. For some reason we don't seem to be able to communicate the timing to each other at all at the start. Every time I or the others think we've got it nailed, it's still wrong.
Here's a live version from Santiago, Chile last year. I think it is a useful video because it shows DL counting off the time and then his part...and how the others enter. It's hard to figure from studio recordings because there's no count off for when to start counting.
Here's a live version from Santiago, Chile last year. I think it is a useful video because it shows DL counting off the time and then his part...and how the others enter. It's hard to figure from studio recordings because there's no count off for when to start counting.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Progress
CJ had its first rehearsal March 25, 2010 I believe. I first was aware of the potential of the band forming in January 2010 (prior to that knew nothing about The Pixies). Here's where I am at now:
Songs learned ("learned" means I can play it and have it memorized):
Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons (band hasn't learned it yet)
Bone Machine
Break My Body
Brick Is Red
Broken Face
Cactus
Caribou
Crackity Jones
Dead
Debaser
Down To The Well
Ed Is Dead
Gigantic
Gouge Away
Here Comes Your Man
Hey
I Bleed
I'm Amazed
Into the White
Isla De Encanta
I've Been Tired
La La Love You
Levitate Me
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Mr Grieve
Nimrod's Son
No 13 Baby
Oh My Golly
River Euphrates
Sad Punk
Silver
Something Against You
Subbacultcha
Tame
The Holiday Song
There Goes My Gun
Tony's Theme
U-Mass
Vamos
Wave Of Mutilation
Where Is My Mind?
TOTAL: 41 songs
In process (know how to play but not memorized yet):
Alec Eiffel
Allison
Dig For Fire
Head On (cover)
Winterlong (cover)
TOTAL: 5 songs
Still to Learn:
Ain't That Pretty at All (cover)
All Over The World
Ana
Bailey's Walk
Bam Thwok
Blown Away
Boom Chicka Boom
Born in Chicago (cover)
Build High
Cecilia Ann
Dancing The Mantra Ray
Distance Equals Rate Times Time
Evil Hearted You (cover)
Hang on to Your Ego (cover)
Hang Wire
Havalina
I Can't Forget (cover)
In Heaven (cover)
Is She Weird
I've Been Waiting For You (cover)
Letter to Memphis
Lovely Day
Make Believe
Manta Ray
Motorway to Roswell
Navajo Know
Palace of the Brine
Planet of Sound
Rock A My Soul
Rock Music
Santo
Space
Stormy Weather
The Happening
The Thing
Theme from Narc (cover)
Trompe le Monde
Velouria
Velvety Instrumental Version
Wave of Mutilation (UK)...don't think bass varies significantly from original
Weird At My School
Wild Honey Pie (cover)
TOTAL: 42 songs
Songs learned ("learned" means I can play it and have it memorized):
Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons (band hasn't learned it yet)
Bone Machine
Break My Body
Brick Is Red
Broken Face
Cactus
Caribou
Crackity Jones
Dead
Debaser
Down To The Well
Ed Is Dead
Gigantic
Gouge Away
Here Comes Your Man
Hey
I Bleed
I'm Amazed
Into the White
Isla De Encanta
I've Been Tired
La La Love You
Levitate Me
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Mr Grieve
Nimrod's Son
No 13 Baby
Oh My Golly
River Euphrates
Sad Punk
Silver
Something Against You
Subbacultcha
Tame
The Holiday Song
There Goes My Gun
Tony's Theme
U-Mass
Vamos
Wave Of Mutilation
Where Is My Mind?
TOTAL: 41 songs
In process (know how to play but not memorized yet):
Alec Eiffel
Allison
Dig For Fire
Head On (cover)
Winterlong (cover)
TOTAL: 5 songs
Still to Learn:
Ain't That Pretty at All (cover)
All Over The World
Ana
Bailey's Walk
Bam Thwok
Blown Away
Boom Chicka Boom
Born in Chicago (cover)
Build High
Cecilia Ann
Dancing The Mantra Ray
Distance Equals Rate Times Time
Evil Hearted You (cover)
Hang on to Your Ego (cover)
Hang Wire
Havalina
I Can't Forget (cover)
In Heaven (cover)
Is She Weird
I've Been Waiting For You (cover)
Letter to Memphis
Lovely Day
Make Believe
Manta Ray
Motorway to Roswell
Navajo Know
Palace of the Brine
Planet of Sound
Rock A My Soul
Rock Music
Santo
Space
Stormy Weather
The Happening
The Thing
Theme from Narc (cover)
Trompe le Monde
Velouria
Velvety Instrumental Version
Wave of Mutilation (UK)...don't think bass varies significantly from original
Weird At My School
Wild Honey Pie (cover)
TOTAL: 42 songs
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)