Greatest Guitar Songs: Bridges and Riffs

In the process of listening to these many songs, and wondering what else was out there, I came across a few videos that got me thinking about the riff:

100 Famous Guitar Riffs in one take: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNq94ZaZ0Yk

(see list at http://www.brodiecumming.com/events.html)

100 Riffs: A brief history of Rock and Roll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiC__IjCa2s

(see list at http://www.chicagomusicexchange.com/100riffs/)

200 Greatest Rock Guitar Riffs - One Take!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X4rTRA5uxQ

They all have their own approaches. Honestly, the last one is probably a bit show-offy, and he comes up against some technical issues, but also, he is doing something that I totally can't, and it is difficult - I'm not going to look down on him for that.

The history one does go in chronological order, and sometimes you can hear some correlation and evolution. Sometimes it is less obvious, and maybe what you would need is more than 100 and some notes to really make it great, but I like that someone did it that way, and is thinking about the history.

My favorite is the one by Brodie Cumming. I think the sound balances well, and I like listening to it. As a teacher, looking for students, I believe his approach is "Look what this guitar can do." That seems like a reasonable approach.

At the same time, there are really cool riffs that you can learn, but there is this work that goes into playing the whole song, which may not be as cool. I think this is why you get the disagreement on Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" and Boston's "More Than A Feeling". The riffs are better than the rest of the songs.

So with a song like Metallica's "Master Of Puppets", there is this composition that does all of these amazing things, and you know why it makes the list, but I'm not sure I could point out a hook in it.

I have been thinking about this, and if I were to create my own list, what would be on there. I don't believe it is possible to come up with anything definitive. Even in the video with 200 songs being sampled, there are things missing, and that is due partly to the subjectivity of the issue, but also due to the richness of the material available. The historical riffs started in 1953; that's 60 years of music in between.

As impossible as a finite answer is, it is not a useless undertaking because I keep listening to rock. Revisiting things has been fun, and there are two of those things that I wanted to cover today.

One is an observation I made shortly after college. It was that the most obnoxious bands had the best riffs. The specific bands behind that were Green Day, Blink 182, The Offspring, and The Warlock Pinchers, though I thought that the Warlock Pinchers might be The Offspring. My introduction to them was that someone in the dorms played their Morrissey song a lot. I didn't know who was playing it, or what band they were playing, and I didn't want to ask around too much because my roommate liked Morrissey and she did not like the song.

I actually kind of agreed with their sentiments, but I wouldn't state things in that way, and, you know, that was their thing. Once the internet caught up and I did learn more about them, they are not really my type of band, and they are obnoxious on a level that the other three did not even aspire too. Good guitar players though.

(For the others, I believe the key reasons for the thought were "Basket Case", "Dammit", and maybe the Americana album, but it's been a while.)

The other thing I was thinking about is my Best Bridges playlist. I should have picked a different name for it anyway. It started with "Desolation Row" by My Chemical Romance. At points it reminded me of Jimi Hendrix's "Star-Spangled Banner", due to the use of feedback, and it did not remind me at all of the Bob Dylan version of "Desolation Row" despite lyrics, but also, it reminded me a little of "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister, and that took me to "Cum On Feel The Noize" by Quiet Riot and "Run Runaway" by Slade, and those four ended up belonging together for me, except that Spotify did not "Run Runaway", leaving it incomplete.

Are those actually the best bridges out there? Probably not. If I were to truly do that list, it would need "Summertime". "Songs that go together but missing one" is a clumsy title though, so it has stayed. There are some pretty cool things going on in those songs though. There may be recognizable riffs, but it's beyond that. Honestly, "Cum On Feel The Noize" should have made the regular list, between the solo and the accompaniment. It is an excellent guitar song.

So, I said this post is about riffs, and that is kind of true, but it is also moving beyond that into the different parts of songs, and why we choose songs, and maybe this is when we address one more comment that has been bugging me.

One of the comments arguing against the inclusion of "Eruption" by Van Halen was really down on it, calling it something along the lines of a masturbatory ego trip. I see where he's coming from, but I disagree.

Listening to accounts of the impact it had on people who were into music, and got more into music, like Henry Rollins and Jim Abrahamian, and I have to feel like it is more along the lines of "Let's see what this thing can do!" There may be some ego in that, but there is also joy and wonder. There is appreciation of music and love for guitar, and it makes more sense to make that its own thing rather than tack it on to another more basic song.

Therefore, if I am going to call anything a masturbatory ego trip, it will be that guitar solo at the end of "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince and the Revolution.

Band Review: The Cornerstones

The Cornerstones is a four man band based in West London. They have the four same songs on ReverbNation and SoundCloud, but there is additional material available via Youtube. I have primarily been listening to SoundCloud.

What's interesting about that is the first song that comes up, "Smack Me In The Face" has a somewhat different sound than the other three, so you think you are getting into something a little more moody and almost psychedelic. It's not that it sounds drug-infused, but there is an otherworldly sound to it, where you start to feel a little untethered from the earth. Add to that the lyrics, which bring to mind space exploration and questions of what love and life means, and there is just kind of a sixties vibe, but modern. Then "My Mind" kicks in, and it's rock. Sometimes there is more of a classic rock, throwback to earlier days feel, but yes, basically rock.

I do recommend watching the video for my mind, because even though it's not particularly fancy, it gives an extra feel for the song, which is a pretty good song.

One of the things I like about The Cornerstones is that they build in these intricate little textures that aren't particularly showy, but they keep up the auditory interest.

Videos indicates that the songs are available through iTunes.

https://twitter.com/TheCornerstones

https://www.facebook.com/Thecornerstonesuk

https://soundcloud.com/the-cornerstones

http://www.reverbnation.com/thecornerstonesuk

http://www.youtube.com/user/THECORNERSTONESUK?feature=watch

Band Review: Wildon Ash

The biggest criticism I am going to make about the band Wildon Ash is that they don't seem to be very good with technology. I know, it's not much of a bloodbath, but I think it's important.

One minor issue is that several of the tracks on Reverb Nation cut off abruptly, and it is jarring as you are listening. It is more of an issue that you can't find links really easily and that their tweets are boring and repetitive. Even the Twitter profile led me to think that it was one person named Wildon Ash, but it is not.

Their music is pretty excellent, and while that is the most important measure of a band, being good musically is not enough to get you heard. It never was, but that is even more true today.

In addition to that, they seem to inspire a lot of loyalty. Listening to one interview with the singer, and another interview about the band, the radio personalities responded very positively, wanting to promote the band and make it happen. Some of that could be showmanship, but if they do have the ability to win people over via their music, then it's sensible to work really hard on getting more people to hear that music, and social media can be a valuable tool for that.

Actually, their Facebook site is set up pretty well, so the first step may be to replace the link to Reverb Nation with a link to Facebook on the Twitter profile, so Facebook may be the best place to start. Also, this video was kind of helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgL-QQA0z0Q&feature=youtu.be

But other than that, yes of course you listen to the songs. Of the ten tracks on Reverb Nation, I would say there's not a bad one in the bunch. On is a more rock take on Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game", which is kind of a cool way to go with it, but they have enough solid material on their own; they don't need covers. "Crutch" is a good sample of the vocal range and a more upbeat feel, and then "Anti-Matter" takes it darker and more techno. There's a good variety among their songs.

I would like to see them succeed. Music is available via Amazon.

https://www.facebook.com/wildonashrocks

http://www.reverbnation.com/wildonash

https://twitter.com/WildonAsh1

https://www.youtube.com/user/WildonAshRocks

http://www.amazon.com/s?_encoding=UTF8&field-artist=Wildon%20Ash&search-alias=music

Greatest Guitar Songs: History Lesson

Sometime between making my way through the original 100 and getting into the comments, I decided that perhaps the most glaring omissions were Django Reinhardt and Robert Johnson. Some of that could have been that they are regarded for a larger body of work, without having particular songs stand out.

That reasoning kind of works, and actually Robert Johnson did make the list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists if I recall correctly, but Reinhardt is still left out, and this is just wrong.

(That list is on the Rolling Stone site, but navigation is a chore: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-of-all-time-19691231)

With this post it is mainly that I want to pay some homage to them, but as it was turning in my mind it became more about the history. Thinking of the two lists, with "Johnny B. Goode" as the greatest song, and Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist, I believe part of that is because of their impact. Hey, we didn't know a guitar could do that. There is an influence that comes not just because of being good, but of being new.

Part of the last go around, and I know I did mention is, was seeing via Wikipedia (which has been pretty helpful), that the intro to "Johnny B. Goode" was a note for note copy of the lead guitar riff on "Ain't That Just Like A Woman". The first time I listened, I did not hear it, but I tried again and I did.

It still sounds different when those notes are amplified and electrified. Chuck Berry heard something there and did something different with it, and it was something new. It was the lifted to open The Beach Boys' "Fun Fun Fun", which again is something I had not noticed on my own.

Knowing all that, maybe there also needs to be some credit given to Louis Jordan, or to Carl Hogan, who played the riff. Berry mentions both Jordan and Hogan when talking about it. It is also worth noting that a similar riff is used for "Roll Over Beethoven", leading to a larger pattern of taking music and innovating with it, learning from it, and remembering those who came before.

And you know, I do not know enough. I can't pick out which Django Reinhardt song should be added to the list. I lean towards "Djangology", because the name invites me to think of this as the class on him, and the way to get acquainted with him. Actually, the song does kind of work for that, but I don't think it's his best. Really, I don't know.

What I do know is that he saw something new. He created a new technique and a new sound, and it is really an intricate sound despite having two fingers that he could not use. Therefore he was not only an influence on his contemporaries, but is still an inspiration for various guitarists who have to overcome physical issues. And no, I don't listen to a lot of hot jazz, but it doesn't change the influence that he had, and as I want to understand music better, I can't ignore the history.

I also don't listen to a lot of blues, but that does not change the influence of Robert Johnson. You could argue that he was a bigger influence on rock than on blues, and Sam Dunn called him "the great grandfather to all things heavy metal" which sounds crazy to me, but I suspect if I start heading down that path, I'll discover that it's right.

There is innovation here too, with pulling a boogie bass line from the piano and playing it on the guitar for "Believe I'll Dust My Broom". You can do that? Why not? And sometimes all you need is someone to show the way.

I would like to be able to say something more profound here about them, and give them their due. Other people have, so maybe it's okay that I can't. What I do feel profoundly is this awe at how much can be done and has been done, and how there is always so much more to know and to hear.

Greatest Guitar Songs: Women Rock

Not all of the comments were suggestions of other groups or songs. Some were just criticism of the existing choices (lots of Cobain backlash). One that struck me was a criticism of the Sleater-Kinney offering, "Dig Me Out", placed at number 44 by Rolling Stone. The criticism is that it was merely an effort to include some females, though if I recall correctly, the inclusion of "I Love Rock N Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, at 89, was considered legitimate.

I was inclined to agree at first. Sleater-Kinney does nothing for me, but I have to admit that it is a good guitar song, and probably not just pandering. However, I wondered if there might not be better choices. Perhaps women are underrepresented in rock, and you can see why the obstacles that they have to deal with would make talented women doubt whether it's worth it, but still, there are women in rock. There have been some really good ones. I wanted to spend some time on other contenders.

One early thought was Heart. I'm surprised no one suggested them. I thought it might be because Nancy Wilson was playing rhythm guitar instead of lead guitar, so perhaps if you were looking for a token female, that would not be the most obvious choice. Having recently read their book, those would be inadequate reasons. First of all, Ann and Nancy were just so important to the feel and ethos and sound of that band; other musicians came and went, and some stayed for a long time, but Heart really is the Wilson sisters.

(The collaboration between Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo is also interesting to read about, but while they are both a part of the overall sound, it is more obviously Neil for the guitar part of it.)

As far as who plays which part goes, when Nancy described her reasons for staying with rhythm guitar, it deepened my appreciation for that role. How many of the best guitar bands don't have both lead and rhythm going on? And maybe they trade on some songs, or maybe their roles are really clearly defined, but it is that ability to cover multiple levels that gives you the fuller, richer sound.

Perhaps no one considered any Heart songs to be worthy. Trying to think of powerful guitar songs, my first thought was "Alone", which kind of is slower but quite dramatic. However, I had actually called a friend on the Bowie question, and when I brought up this part she immediately suggested "Crazy On You". I have to agree. There is some good guitar playing in multiple Heart songs, but there is a sophistication and versatility going on with "Crazy On You" that really stands out. Good call Karen. That would be a very solid entry.

One of the other thoughts that I'd had was The Go-Go's, and then I kind of dismissed them because they are really more pop than rock, and the list was geared towards harder stuff. I did some listening anyway though, and while they don't necessarily stand out for guitar, there is a really good combination of guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard. Their sound really works, and I appreciate that. Maybe they just needed to add a second guitar player.

(I did also briefly consider The Bangles here, but I don't remember any of their songs rocking that much, and half of the songs I remember were not written by them, so I didn't pull them up.)

The other obvious places to look were The Vixens and Lita Ford.

With The Vixens, the guitar didn't really stand out to me. I loved their drums though. Lita was better for guitars, but I'm not sure she would crack the list. As much as a sentimental favorite as "Kiss Me Deadly" is, we would be looking at "Playin' With Fire" or maybe "Shot of Poison" for this. They are fancier.

Then, realizing that Lita was in The Runaways with Joan, I remembered that was another female line up. First of all, let me say that I have no objection to the inclusion of Joan Jett or "I Love Rock N Roll" - they should be in there. So it could be a little repetitious to put The Runaways in there, but I am not necessarily against it. I am not as familiar with them. I had never heard of them before the movie, and I didn't go see it. That being said, "California Paradise" might be able to crack a top 100. "Cherry Bomb" is more vocal; I don't think it shows the same guitar strength.

(This is not relevant, but "Dead End Justice" is just weird.)

Let me just put two other random thoughts out there. One is that it did occur to me to look up Holly Knight, because as a songwriter she may have written some of these songs, even if she is not the one playing them. She has written some songs I love, though not necessarily for the guitar parts, but also, even if you had a blistering guitar solo on one, she might not have written that part, which could just be how the band arranges it.

Also, I am treating bass as separate from the guitar (or seriously, "Blister In The Sun" would need to be on the list), otherwise there would kind of be another inclusion with The Pixies and Kim Deal. If we were going that route, I would possibly want to throw in a Talking Heads song for Tina Weymouth, and it would probably be "Burning Down The House".

Greatest Guitar Songs: Mission Creep

I know many things I say may reveal my tastes as suspect; I can live with that. Anything that I say I like or don't like is honest, and not an attempt to appear cool. In that spirit of honesty, there was a time when I thought maybe Matchbox 20 would be added to my list of favorite bands.

On the strength of "If You're Gone", I requested Mad Season for my birthday. The first time through, I did not like it, but was struck by how bad the breakup behind it must have been. I listened again, though, and liked it better. For a while I played it a lot, and thought maybe they could be in the top bands. Guys would tell me no, I was wrong. Depending on how overbearing they were about that, I would either be irritated with them, or wonder if maybe Matchbox 20 was a band for girls.

A few months ago, someone tweeted a picture with Kyle Cook, their guitar player, but admitted in sharing that picture that he did not like the band. I thought about that, and tried listening to Mad Season again, and I could not do it. It's not even that I liked it less; I was so irritated with it I had to stop. I guess I still like some songs, but my feelings have changed.

It's not just that music taste is subjective, but it's also a moving target. There are moments when a song works for you, but they may not last. That's been one of the interesting things about this last review, along with that tendency for things to expand.

For example, one of the groups mentioned in the comments I was going through was Fall of Troy. I listened to them early on, while I was still doing most of the listening via Youtube. (Towards the end I was using Spotify more.)

I was impressed with Fall of Troy, and still am, but one of the other videos that came up as a suggestion was by Circa Survive. I clicked on it and was amazed. I had never heard of them before, they did not appear anywhere in the comments, but I knew I wanted to hear more.

While out buying CDs one day, I found a copy of Juturna and bought it. Great! Now I can listen to more Circa Survive. I do not like Juturna.

I have tried listening to some of their other stuff, and I am just not feeling it. Sadly, I did not make a note of which song it was, and it wasn't an actual video- just the song with a single screenshot. I feel like I am not finding it, or maybe it was just something that hit me right then, and now that need is gone. Honestly, that makes me wish even more that I could remember the name, because those momentary connections are important too. Maybe someday I will hear it again.

There were some other similar situations. I don't remember whom I was listening to when Jack Rabbit Slim came up as a suggestion, but I did have in my notes "Kind if liking Jack Rabbit Slim." Listening to them now, I hear why I liked it, but the sleaze factor may be a reason not to listen. (And the sleaze is important to them; they keep mentioning it on their web site.)

Also, when I was talking to Lisa about liking Gang of Four and Richard Hell and the Voidoids, she said I should give Johnny Thunders a chance, with and without the Heartbreakers, so that was another diversion. They're okay, but I don't know that I will go back to them. Still, she is the one who introduced me to the Misfits, so I always have to take her seriously.

Another odd thought came when I was listening to Pink Floyd's "Mother", which was on the list. I had recently become aware that John Lennon had one with that name as well, as did Glenn Danzig. So, I thought I should listen to the three of them together, along with "Mama" by My Chemical Romance. The three "Mother" songs really did kind of go together. "Mama" did not, but that is a different word, isn't it? They are technically synonyms, but we use them differently, and those different connotations lead to them being used for different kinds of songs. I'm sure one could dig deeper there, but I'm not sure if I want to delve that much into Danzig's personal life.

The last one was not directly related to the list and comments. Once upon a time, Frank Iero tweeted about listening to "Meanderthal" by Torche, and I think he mentioned the guitars. I brought it up. It was okay, but I clicked on "Triumph of Venus" by them, and that was amazing. It was like "how do you ever not mention this song" amazing. When I first started looking through the comments, that's the song that should have been there. I can't believe it was missed.

(Recently I realized that both tracks are on the album Meanderthal, so he could have meant the album, not just the song.)

Anyway, because of this, Torche was on my radar, and another tweet last October was about them playing a show with Converge, Kvelertak, and Coalesce. That was interesting to me, so I checked for other shows, and almost the same lineup was coming to Portland, only it was going to be Nails instead of Coalesce. Based on Frank's endorsement of that lineup (he is an amazing guitar player and has a good ear for music) and my own admiration of Torche, I was going to have to listen to all of them.

Sadly, I could not go to the show. That was the one where I doubted my ability to get there and back without getting murdered or at least barfed on. Actually, if I can bring Frank up one more time, he has been writing about some shows lately, and he makes them all sound kind of terrifying, but he always goes with a buddy. So, I will go to shows alone, and I will go to scary venues, but not both at the same time. I was pushing my luck with the show at The Haunt as it was.

Still, music can be appreciated in other ways than live, and so I listened to all of them. Torche is still amazing. I admit it is more of an intellectual admiration than an emotional affinity for me, but I'm okay with that, and I still feel like more people should be mentioning them and how great they are. I don't know why that's not happening.

Other than that, I liked Kvelertak quite a bit, despite never being able to type their name right on the first try. The other three did not resonate as much, but I intend to listen to Coalesce more somewhere between The Get Up Kids and New Found Glory, due to the James Dewees connection if nothing else. There may be real differences between their sounds, but sometimes you notice interesting things nonetheless, and I am always interested in that.

There were some other things that required extended listening, beyond the comments, but that was due to two categories of glaring omissions, which we shall get into Tuesday and Wednesday.

Band Review: The Energy

I had been listening to The Energy this week, getting ready to write this, and yesterday saw a tweet from Gone By Daylight, another band, about going to the Jimmy Eat World concert with James (Clifford, The Energy's bass player). I found that cool. I like Jimmy Eat World, and they put on a great show.

Also, with no clear reason for it, The Energy's song "American Disaster" reminds me of the Gin Blossoms' "Don't Change For Me", and someone else had recently suggested a Gin Blossoms/ Jimmy Eat World tour (both bands originated in Arizona), and I would pay to see that. Usually that's an expression, but literally, I would totally buy a ticket to that. (Gin Blossoms are currently on the road with Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, and Vertical Horizon.)

My point, rambling though it may be, is that I enjoy this camaraderie between musicians, where band members are not too cool to like other bands, or get excited about a show. It keeps them human. The Energy (who lists Vertical Horizon in their "Influences" section) may not be well-known, but are very much pros in this fellowship, logging thousands of miles and hundreds of venues.

You can tell. They sound professional. Footage of them at the Gramercy Theater shows them looking very comfortable. They know what they're doing. They could use a bigger audience. And more gigs.

The band's Facebook page is a great place to start, with 9 tracks, 4 videos, and some photos. The only regular video is for "Go To Girl", which works pretty well for the content. Then there is the previously-mentioned performance, as well as two lyric videos, for "Free" and "American Disaster". The lyric video for "Free" suits the tone better, but there are come clever pairings in the slide show for "American Disaster".

Musically, I love "American Disaster" the most. It builds and feels upbeat, while nonetheless being about failure. Perhaps its natural follow-up is "Hanging On", though I am also pretty fond of "Until I Fall". The lyrics are smart, often going somewhere other than you would expect. There is a bit of a tendency towards the carnal.

The genre is pretty much rock, but with a good range. "Free" is very funky, with a possible gospel influence. Having gone through the nine songs several times, it sounds to me as if each song has its own texture, which I appreciate, and there are some very decent guitar solos. They're a solid band. They deserve their audience.

Music is available on iTunes.

http://www.theenergy-music.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheEnergyband/app_2405167945

https://twitter.com/theenergyband

Band Review: The Fever Cadence

The Fever Cadence is a three-person band from Queens New York, occasionally bringing in other members. Their Facebook profile lists them as alternative/indie/pop rock. I would say they are fairly low-key, with good energy but nothing bombastic.

It also says that they are currently writing new songs and getting ready for a new album, but they already have a pretty decent output. You can listen to seven unique tracks on their main web site, along with an acoustic version of "Behind Closed Eyes".

They are a good band to cover while I am going through the guitar comments, because I really like what they are doing guitar-wise. In addition, I find that their lyrics are often poignant, as the deal with emotional honestly and human connection.

The sound quality on some of the tracks is not great, but as they begin work on the actual album that will be something they can pay more attention to. Also, vocals are sometimes a little flat. That is fairly common with young bands. One thing I have been thinking about recently, not specifically in relation to The Fever Cadence, is that while it seems like it would be hard to pick up an instrument by ear, you are probably at least hearing what it really sounds like, and with your voice you don't. Listening to recordings may help, but I am really seeing the value of vocal coaching.

Anyway, it's not something to hold against the band. There's a good amount of variety in what they do. I like how "Fasten Your Seatbelts" starts off a little Western, then goes kind of Eastern European and gets a little blues-y. That one reminds me a little of the change-up you get in "Hang 'Em High" by My Chemical Romance, but I would say that each intro is unique. "The Distance Between Us" is probably my favorite.

The band's home page is the best starting point, with links to everything else, but you can purchase their 5-track EP for $3.00 on Bandcamp, which I intend to do.

http://www.thefevercadence.com/

https://twitter.com/TheFeverCadence

https://www.facebook.com/TheFeverCadence?v=app_178091127385

http://thefevercadence.bandcamp.com/

Greatest Guitar Songs: You get a gold star!

As you may have guessed, trying to keep everything straight was a challenge. Once I had the list in a document, I changed all of the text to red, and then as I listened to something I changed it to black, so the ones I hadn't listened to were easy to spot.

Sometimes I would write notes, but often I would think that I should get back to something later, after I had listened to more. I would designate these with an asterisk. Sometimes I would even wait to mark something as black. Like, with "Chick Magnet" by MxPx, I liked it so much that I thought I would like more by them, so I kept them red. I also waited to mark off Dinosaur Jr. and Link Wray. Fall of Troy got a star, without having a specific song, as did Wolfmother. I want to listen to them more.

Going back through my stars, I see some that were because I really liked them, and some more because I can see where they really do have legitimate claims to the list, and sometimes both, but not always.

For example, one person suggested "Love Like Anthrax" by Gang of Four. I did not care for the song, but there was something about the band where I wanted to listen to additional songs. "Natural's Not In It" came up, and I really liked that. Based on my listening, which was rudimentary, "Natural" is more typical of their style than "Anthrax", which probably explains why it stood out to the original poster. (Actually, I thought they were more bass-centric in everything else, but I am not sure. More listening required.)

Here are a few songs of which I was completely unaware, but knew on hearing them that I would need to go back to them:

"Blank Generation" by Richard Hell
"Through The Fire And Flames" by Dragonforce
"Bolero" by Jeff Beck
"Oh Well" by Peter Green
"Surfing With The Alien" by Joe Satriani
"La Villa Strangiato" by Rush
"Black Masquerade" by Rainbow
"Rock Box" by Run DMC
"FFF" by P.I.L
"Shot By Both Sides" by Magazine
"Plug In Baby" by Muse
"Seasons In The Abyss" by Slayer

Yes, I am embarrassed that I had not heard of some of these bands, and some of these songs by bands I do know. I know Run DMC, I just didn't know this song. Again, sometimes it is worth going back.

I am well familiar with Queensryche - I've waited in the rain for an hour to see them - but I hadn't thought about them from a guitar point of view. I'm glad that people put them on the list, because there was sort of a reunion there.

Listening to the Eagles again, I don't know that any of those songs should count as "greatest", but they do really have their own individual sound. Lindsey Buckingham had not stood out to me in Fleetwood Mac, but listening again, his playing is very unique. I wrote down that it has an almost banjo-like texture. I'm not sure that I can back that up, but that's what I thought when I was listening.

I am not a fan of Nine Inch Nails, but of course "Head Like A Hole" stays with you, and "Discipline", which I had never heard before, is pretty good. I had never heard "Just Because" by Jane's Addiction either, but I like the intro.

My most embarrassing moment from this? "Highway To Hell" is a cooler song than I remembered, and it is by AC/DC, not Judas Priest as I had thought. If we are putting AC/DC on the list, I think that "You Shook Me All Night Long" is a better candidate, but it's good to have the memories cleared up. (If we are putting Judas Priest in there, I think I would vote for "Breaking the Law".)

For a fairly random revelation, even with all of the Dinosaur Jr. songs that were mentioned, my favorite by them was "Been There All The Time", which no one mentioned, though I certainly agree with the sentiment of so many, including Stereogum's Brandon, that they should have been somewhere in the Rolling Stone list. That's not the part that was weird though.

In comments on the "Been There All The Time" video, someone mentioned J Mascis's resemblance to Sauron, and I started thinking that every time I saw him. Well, last week I saw a clip where Mascis is being interviewed by Fred Armisen's feminist bookstore character from Portlandia, and there is another resemblance pointed out, and I am not going to be able to forget that one either:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG8pSsUyrl8

(J does not look as similar to Candace here as he has at other times.)

And for an unexpected development, it turns out that I do like Black Sabbath! I just prefer them with Ronnie James Dio; my brother listened to the Ozzy Osbourne version. Now, as vital as Tommy Iommi is to the Black Sabbath sound - both as a songwriter and as a performer, with the detuning and everything - Osbourne has such a distinctive voice and personality that there was no way that change would not be significant. I'm sure my preference for Dio ("Iron Man" aside) is an unpopular opinion, but still, finding out that I like them at all is a surprise, and a pleasant one.

It looks like Sabbath Keepers is a go.

Greatest Guitar Songs: What were they thinking?

Back when I had finished just the Rolling Stone list, I wrote a little about the question of what would make a great guitar song. Does it have to be difficult to play? What if it is really catchy, and gets under your skin, but a beginner can pick it out?

It is tricky to explain how music makes you feel, and why you respond to it - often you only have an idea that cannot be fully expressed or understood verbally. Isn't going beyond words kind of the point of music?

Because of this, justifying the place of any songs on the list, as well as justifying the existence of a list, is questionable. However, there are a few things where I could totally see why, and a few where I think I know why, and I kind of want to explore those a little.

The one that was most baffling was the inclusion of Rachel and the Lawn Grower. I did finally find a couple of videos on Youtube. Now, it is certainly possible that they have a larger body of work that I just couldn't find and their inclusion was based on that. I only know that my comment by their place on the list was "No, that's insane."

Yes, there was a guitar, but that was it. It was like a duo playing for tips in a coffee shop, like Nicole Parker and Jordan Peele on MADtv, but without the racial tension. And there is nothing wrong with that, but for "Greatest Guitar" it just didn't fit. So, the only thing I can think is that this is someone's favorite band, or they are emotionally invested in them, and so they are just going to add them to every discussion in the hopes of getting their names out there.

I can sympathize with that desire, but adding them to inappropriate discussions is ineffective. For something like that, most people probably aren't even going to look, and then the ones who do will be grossly disappointed. Even internet comments should make sense. I mean, I will be mentioning some of my favorite songs and bands and some point, but I will not be throwing in "Take On Me" by A-ha, even though the music video clearly showed a guitar, because it just doesn't belong there. (If we are going into great keyboard songs, on the other hand...)

Some I believe were added because of their unique sound. I get that, but I also did not end up liking most of them at all. I guess I had always intended to give Buckethead a listen, for Viggo Mortensen's sake, so I don't regret listening, and having specific song suggestions to listen to. It was interesting listening to some tracks by the Russolo brothers, trying to figure out which the original poster meant, but it was only interesting. The music did not hold me.

That doesn't mean that it didn't hold the people who suggested it. Yes, there is a part of me that wonders if they didn't just post those names to show how smart they are, but I know that tastes vary. This project has taken me from knowing that Tool is a band to really hating them, but not everyone feels that way. I have a friend who is a big David Bowie fan and I called her for advice, so we were discussing all of it, and she works with someone who is a huge fan of Tool. He wears the shirts, and does not get the jokes about labeling himself. So there could totally be people who consider Keiji Haino to be the greatest, and not ironically.

(Though I still feel that anyone who did not suggest specific songs was missing the point.)

One thing with the experimental musicians is that even if I do not find their sounds pleasing, they do convey that they are thinking about what music is, and can be, and often they do have some expertise. That leads to the final type of inclusion that I am getting to today: players with mad skills.

They were names that I recognized, and have heard good things about, and there was nothing wrong with listening to them, but again, most of them didn't grab me. The one exception was "Surfing With The Alien" by Joe Satriani.

The interesting thing to me about that is this is a case where someone recommended a specific song, and it was totally deserved. Usually they just put the names, and there was nothing wrong with listening to their tracks, but I think the most magic comes from bands. The different players, with their instruments and their personalities, come together. Maybe it will be the guitar that stands out, but it is fitly framed, and all goes together.

Tomorrow will be some of the ones I really liked.

Greatest Guitar Songs: The trouble with internet comments

There is a Twitter account whose spirit I kind of admire: https://twitter.com/AvoidComments

Don't Read Comments is dedicated to reminding people that nothing good comes of reading internet comments, which are overrun with ignorance, racism, and misogyny.

They are not wrong, and yet I have a hard time resisting. Sure, you expect news stories about crime and politics to bring out the worst in people, but just this weekend I was fascinated by how much hate was being directed towards Jack White's soon-to-be ex-wife. She was the shameless hussy who could clearly not be trusted, even though he was the one who wanted to make his kids switch schools so he would never have to sit next to Dan Auerbach.

So yes, internet comments can make you hate people and weep for the fate of the world, but sometimes they are also kind of funny and interesting and I am glutton for punishment. And that's pretty much how we got here.

To review, at some point after Valentine's Day 2012, I got really into My Chemical Romance, and started remembering how great guitar can be. On April 5th 2012, Jim Marshall, the inventor of the Marshall Stack and the "Father of Loud" died, and the 8 at 8 picked songs from Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time in his honor.

This was before I read that issue of Rolling Stone on the cruise, so I was not disillusioned with them yet, and the idea of such a list was very intriguing. I found a copy of it on Stereogum, and started working through that:

http://www.stereogum.com/10114/rolling_stones_100_greatest_guitar_songs_of_all_ti/list/

http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2012/04/rolling-stones-100-greatest-guitar.html

Quite honestly, it started out horribly. It did get me listening to different things, and a lot of it made me think, but I disagreed with much of it strenuously. Naturally, so did the commenters. Much of that was merely hate for what was included, especially Nirvana, but there were also alternate suggestions.

There was so much that I had never heard of, or where the name was familiar but I really didn't know anything about them, that I decided to go through. Internet comments are very disorganized. I am going to post the list I was working from below. Don't be afraid, but it's a monster.

First of all, no one reads anyone else's comments, so there were many duplicates, and it took a while to weed all of those out and consolidate, but some duplicates stood, because one person mentioned a specific song, but another put them as part of a list, or put it in a quote that was worth capturing, or maybe I just didn't notice the duplicate because monster! (I think I counted 179 line items, but I can't vouch for it.)

Also, Rolling Stone gave you all specific songs with titles and artists. Some people were much less helpful. I thought I had a song title, but it was an album title, or they had the title wrong or not specific enough, or the name of an artist but not his band.

Magic Band: was that the album by Howard Roberts? No, it was probably the Captain Beefheart thing. Crimson Red could have been "Red" by King Crimson, or The Crimson Red, or the song "Crimson Red" by Seikima?.It was probably King Crimson. Similarly, did "Spacemen" mean The Spacemen, or Spacemen 3?

In all of those cases, I preferred the ones that were probably not the intended ones, so it may have been in my favor that the comments were not clear, but still, it also made things take longer.

(For whether "Russolo" meant Luigi or Antonio, they probably meant Luigi, but I care for neither.)

The worst, though, was whoever put Bowie. Seriously. Do you realize how vast his output is, and not particularly focused on guitar, and I am just supposed to figure it out?

Plus some things led to other things, which will be another post, but I did want to clarify one thing. The first name on the list is Erik Rutan, and although he does play guitar, he was listed not as a contender for a song, but as a Stereogum rebuttal to Rolling Stone referring to Bruce Springsteen as the angriest lead guitar on record.

I do think it's fair to say that Erik Rutan, of Hate Eternal, Ripping Corpse, and Morbid Angel, does come across as angrier, but actually, I think a lot of guitarists do. James Hetfield might be angrier. I think of Ted Nugent more as crazy and vile, but yeah, I guess he's angry too. Johnny Ramone is dead, but still strikes me as angrier than Bruce.

I'm not saying that Springsteen doesn't have any anger in him, but it seems like kind of a stupid comment, and that one is by a professional!

Anyway, the next few posts come from working my way through the following. I did copy and paste, which is why there are different orders, syntax, and punctuation.

Erik Rutan
Teenage Riot, Candle, Sonic Youth
Dinosaur Jr (freak scene) Living All Over Me album, Sludgefeast
Pavement (summer babe, grounded, watery domestic ep, frontwards, wowee, slanted, shady lane, carrot rope, rattled by the rush)
Television
Hell, Blank Generation
Gang of Four Love Like Anthrax
Tool, parabola
My Morning Jacket One Big Holiday, Mahgeetah
John Mayer No Such Thing, others that are not gravity
Pixies other than Debaser, Dig for Fire, holiday
Pearl Jam Yellow Ledbetter
Coheed and Cambria Welcome Home
Dragonforce Through the Fire and Flames
The Spill Canvas, Black Dresses
Pantera Walk
Dire Straits, So Far Away
Eric Clapton, Cocaine
Lindsey Buckingham
Springsteen Born in the USA
My Iron Lung but not Paranoid Android? Solo at the end of Just? Paranoid Android should be over My Iron Lung (Radiohead)
Gang of Four, and Link Wray should be higher
Stone Temple Pilots
Smoke on the Water, All Right Now, The Boys are Back in Town, Mississippi Queen
Stevie Ray Vaughn, Couldn’t Stand the Weather
Van Halen, Ain’t Talking about Love, Mean Street
Pink Floyd/Gilmour, Comfortably Numb, wish you were here, One of these Days instead of interstellar overdrive, Mother, Shine on you crazy diamond
Rush, Limelight
Robert Cray, Time Makes Two
Built to Spill (Doug Martsch)
Stooges, Search and Destroy
Bowie
Hawkwind
Magic Band maybe album by Howard Roberts? Captain Beefheart
Keiji Haino
Don Caballero
Mick Barr (Orthrelm)

Mark Ribot

Kings of Leon Four Kicks

Black Keyes, All Hands Against His Own

Karate Ice or Ground

Les Savy Fav The Sweat Descends

Magazine, Shot by Both Sides

Elvis, Mystery Train

Dale Hawkins – Suzy Q;

Duane Eddy – Rebel Rouser

Beatles Taxman

Husker Du’s “New Day Rising”

Sonic Youth, but not the ones they picked, Sonic Youth covering “Touch Me I’m Sick” by Mudhoney., Cross the Breeze

Search and Destroy

Velvet Underground

Who, My Generation
Boz Scaggs, Loan me a Dime

Soundgarden, Outshined

Jeff Beck, Bolero

Crimson Red

Amboy Dukes, Journey to the Center of the Mind

Santo & Jonny

REM, Begin the Begin

Rapeman, Steak and Black Onions

Jesus Lizards Monkey Trick

Modest Mouse, Never Ending Math Equation

Guided by Voices, Everywhere with Helicopter

Chavez, Break Up Your Band

run dmc: “rockbox”
dinosaur jr.: “start choppin’
p.i.l. : “fff”

Berry, Roll Over Beethoven

Iron Butterfly, Innagaddadavida

Black Sabbath, Iron Man

Jethro Tull, Aqualung

Beck Stewart People get Ready

Hendrix, Still Raining Still Dreaming

The Faces, Sweet Little Rock and Roller

Santana, Soul Sacrifice

Procul Harum, Whiskey Train

The Outlaws, Green Grass and High Tides

Ozzy, No More Tears

Yardbirds, Heart Full of Soul

Kinks, All Day and all of the night

Black Sabbath, Sweet Leaf

Steely Dan, My Old School

Chicago Transit Authority, I’m a man

21^st Century Schizoid Man, King Crimson

Jefferson Airplane, We can be Together

Foghat, Driving Wheel

Humble Pie, I don’t need no doctor
Van Halen “Unchained
Iron Maiden “Alexander The Great”
Aerosmith “Love In An Elevator”
Whitesnake “Still Of The Night”

Slayer

Iron Maiden, Number of the Beast

Spacemen

Nine Inch Nails

Jane’s Addiction, janes’s addiction: “ocean size”, Stop by Jane's Addiction (would've been Mountain Song if it weren't for the damn Coors Light ad! Maybe I'll get over it one day)

Cocteau Twins

Instead of Only Shallow by MBV To Here Knows When or Soon

The Chameleons

Cream

Cat Power’s “He War,”

Archers of Loaf’s “Last Word,”

Slint’s “Breadcrumb Trail,” or

Big Black’s “Kerosene.

Albini

Von LMO
John Fahey
Russolo

Rachel and the Lawn Grower

MXPX “Chick Magnet”
George Lynch (Dokken)
1. Smoke on the Water
2. Iron Man
3. Sunshine of Your Love
4. Welcome to the Jungle
5. Enter Sandman
Robin Trower. Bridge of Sighs, Too Rolling Stoned, Day of the Eagle.

The Fall of Troy
Deep Purple, Highway Star
All Right Now – Free
Born To Be Wild ? Steppenwolf
The Boys Are Back In Town ? Thin Lizzy
Kashmir ? Led Zeppelin
More Than A Feeling ? Boston
Rockin? In The Free World ? Neil Young
School?s Out ? Alice Cooper
Smoke On The Water ? Deep Purple
Wild Thing ? The Troggs
Won?t Get Fooled Again ? The Who

Boston More than a feeling
Wolfmother

Queensryche
Guns N’ Roses – Since I Don’t Have You, Ain’t It Fun, November Rain
AC/DC – Highway To Hell
Aerosmith – Cryin’
Rainbow – Black Masquerade

Muse, Hysteria, Plug in Baby
Mott the Hoople, All the Young Dudes

Paul Mccartney, Band on the Run
Rush, La Villa Strangiato
Daytripper
Satriani, Surfing with the Alien
More BB King, Lucille, 3 o clock blues

Megadeath, Tornado of Souls
Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony (consists of Becker and Friedman), Racer X (well executed, but did not grab me), Judas Priest
Michael Angelo Batio, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani

Ted Nugent, Stranglehold, Cat Scratch Fever

Led Zeppelin

Golden Earring, Radar Love

Buckethead, Sea of Expanding Shapes, Padmasana, The way to Heaven

Lou Reed, Intro/Sweet Jane from Rock n Roll Animal

Eagles - they really have their own sound.

Santana, Hope you’re feeling better

Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) Oh Well

Stones, Satisfaction, Start Me Up, Gimme Shelter, Beast of Burden, All Down the Line

YaYas Sympathy for the Devil, Bitch

Mick Taylor, Slow Blues

Bo Diddley

For what it's worth, the hastily-thrown-together FtY Top Ten Guitar Songs:
10) Badge by Cream
9) The Plan by Built to Spill
8) The Only Moment We Were Alone by Explosions in the Sky
7) Silverfuck by Smashing Pumpkins (this was nearly Siva)
6) Alone by Dinosaur Jr. (that no Dino was on RS's list is yet another travesty)
5) Supernaut by Black Sabbath (really, this whole list could be all Sabbath now that I think about it)
4) Stop by Jane's Addiction (would've been Mountain Song if it weren't for the damn Coors Light ad! Maybe I'll get over it one day.)
3) Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry
2) Maggot Brain by Funkadelic
1) Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) by Jimi Hendrix

Band Review: Crash Midnight

Crash Midnight is a basic rock band out of Boston, and they are really solid. They cite influences from Aerosmith to the New York Dolls, and many others, but I was most reminded of AC/DC and Sammy Hagar. It is a  definite classic rock feel.

So far I have only found five songs, but these songs can be heard via Youtube, Spotify, and Reverb Nation, though each of those places only had four, so you will need to hit more than one. Can't-miss songs "151" and "Welcome to Boston" are available at each, but only Spotify has "Made For The Money", and it does not have "Somewhere Yesterday."

On Youtube, there are two official videos (the other two are more slide shows), and both of those concentrate on performance. It's hard to imagine the band doing much else. The music is so straightforward, it feels like trying to obscure the performance with anything else would be wrong. The one possible exception would be fast cars heading down open roads. Maybe the reason I thought of Hagar and AC/DC was "I Can't Drive 55" and "Highway To Hell".

Listening to this music just feels good, so I recommend it. Tracks are available for purchase via Amazon and iTunes.

http://www.crashmidnight.com/

https://twitter.com/CrashMidnight

http://www.youtube.com/user/CrashMidnight?feature=watch

https://www.facebook.com/crashmidnight

http://www.reverbnation.com/crashmidnight

Band Review: Eva And Her Virgins

We are back to going through bands who have followed me on Twitter for a while now (my next live show is September 8th), and that brings us to Eva And Her Virgins, a dark electro-pop band from New York.

I'm afraid I don't like them. I hate writing off bands like that, but it is not working for me. It is mainly the "dark" part. There is just kind of a nasty vibe, with a cynical vulgarity. Actually, they remind me a little of Romeo Void.

Singer Emily Powers is a performance artist, which makes total sense watching them perform. (There are a few videos on Youtube, though they do not seem to have an official channel.) It also means that I can't rule out that I am missing their point.

Looking at one video of  "Disrespect", one commenter said the song was a play on words of growing out of being disrespected. So, when she is singing about him beating her, but her staying, and her loving him for disrespecting her, that the message is actually that she is growing out of this unhealthy mindset.

This may be true, and the band could actually be working to subvert some of the more unhealthy trends in relationships. However, subversion done ineffectively can reinforce what it is trying to fight, and I am not sure this is working. It seems like it would be very easy to ogle Powers in her teddy and hope for his own woman he can treat badly.

Band co-founder Jabbath Roa is a classically trained composer and producer, and so the music performance is solid. Every now and then there are some musical surprises, like a different groove on "Hammer" or a change of pace on "Johnny". It's just not enough for me. If you are more into electro-pop, or more into dark, it might be.

https://twitter.com/EvaHerVirgins

https://www.facebook.com/evaandhervirgins