The brain is the most important organ … according to the brain. The power of the brain is not fully understood, widely mis-represented, and yet alluring. So many movies state that we ‘only use ten percent of our brain’ - False. Cypress Hill were Insane in the Membrane - True. But then there is the power of thought. Now, as a giant nerd (or geek, I don’t mind) I’m of course attracted to the fantasy and/or comic book powers of telepathy and telekinesis (even though teleportation is the best power). But there are those that think, with their brains, that thinking positively about something long enough and with the right passion can will the thought into being. Kind of like how negative thinking can become a self fulfilling prophecy, but in reverse. This ‘Law of Attraction’ (often called ‘The Secret’) has been dubbed pseudoscience. I like the idea that positivity breeds positivity, but too often people think that’s all you have to do. I’d like to see someone avoid getting run over by thinking at the truck really hard, instead of getting off the gosh darn road. Anyway, today’s song is about a different type of attraction …

The Song(s)
Song: Magnetic
Artist: Annabel Jones
Album: Libelle - 2016 - Crooked Paintings/Atlantic
Method of discovery: Spotify Discover

Theory: Magnetic has a VI-I-V-iv progression throughout, sometimes hanging on the V, which is typical of the pop influence. The synth backing to Jones’ ethereal vocals is metronomic (provided we ignore the wind up music box bit at the beginning). But the Vocals are reinforcing the beat, and it’s a game of stress. Count to four - 1,2,3,4. Each bar has four beats, but certain beats are stronger to lay a lyric over: 1 is the strongest, followed by 3, then 2 and finally 4. The same works for sets of four bars, e.g. the first beat of the second bar is weaker than the first beat of the first or third bar, but stronger than the first beat of the fourth bar. What does this mean? If you click along to the song, you’ll find that the Lyrics always start on the strongest beat of the bar (except when it’s the continuation from a previous bar). This is particularly noticeable when (and I may be wrong here) ‘Darker days will clear the sky’ overlaps ‘Shed your way…’ in the second verse. This rhythmic aspect to the lyric is so important that Annabel had to preserve it when the lyrics got too close. Without a drum, and with the Synth doing the heavy Harmonic lifting, Jones chooses to strengthen the beat by singing directly on top of it. The Libelle version, to my ear, also has a bit more processing put over the vocal, supressing it slightly.

Research: Annabel Jones is the daughter of Davy Jones of The Monkees. After the members of her previous band suffered some personal bereavements, she went through a period of introspection. She made contact with someone her mum had met at a wedding, and then things strated to align. She ended up recording Magnetic and releasing it originally in 2014, and then again as part of Libelle two years later. Libelle itself was naemd as a reference to Marie Antoinette, and the slanderous pamphlets that were handed out as propaganda against her and her French husband, Louis.
Disclaimer: The above is mostly paraphrasing an interview I found from google, link below.

Personal thoughts: Magnetic certainly is. When I listened to this song the first time, I was attracted to it. The strong vocals that end up gliding at the end of a line like the end of a heavy curtain caught in a strong wind. Putting drums on this would be gilding the lily at best. It’s frenetic and sparse all at the same time. But beyond the music, the lyrics really spoke to me. That lyrical pounding, always hitting on the downbeat. It’s something I can’t quite put into words. It’s like everytime I try to get a sense of why I’m drawn into this song, I get distracted by the song itself. There has to be something more to it … like magnetism.

Give it a go: If you’ve never confessed ‘Forgive me father, for I have Synth’d’

Give it a miss: If, besides voice, you need at least one real instrument in a song.

[links]
Spotify: Magnetic, Annabel Jones, Tuesday Tunes
Social: Facebook, Instagram, Magnetic on YouTube
Other: Interview, Feature

Humans always build on what comes before: Apprentices surpass their Masters. New Cities are constructed upon old ruins, advances in technology allow us to more quickly advance technology. It happens in music too, without a doubt you could talk about the influence of one artist on another, you could talk inspiration or juxtaposition between two. More direct forms of building on what’s come before is Sampling and Remix. Today’s entries deal with interpolation…

The Song(s)
Song: ‘Out of My Head’ & ‘Bad Things’
Artist: ‘Fastball’ & ‘Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello’
Album: ‘All the Pain Money Can Buy - 1999 - Hollywood’ & ‘Bloom - 2016 - EST 19XX * Bad Boy * Interscope’
Method of discovery: The radio I used to listen to when I was young and the girl I dated when i was older

Theory: Interpolation, also called Replay, is not sampling, but instead re-performance. To use an office example, sampling would cut out the words you want from one document and paste them onto another, Interpolation is reproducing those same words in your own document. In musical terms this may be taking the existing melody or lyric or both, and reproducing them for a different artwork. This is what links these songs together, the interpolation of the lyric and melody, and to a lesser extent, the Harmony.

Research: ‘Out of my head’ was concieved when Fastball’s Tony Scalzo was feeling like a a self described ‘struggling musician’. The chorus certainly speaks to the recurrent situations he describes in interviews, particularly because it repeats three times with only the Solo to interject between the first and second time round. ‘Bad Things’ takes the melody, and two lyrics from the chorus of Scalzo’s original. The new interpretation of the line ‘I never want to do bad things to you’, replacing ‘never’ with ‘only’ helps to both keep familiarity to the original and support the new subject of taboo desires. Where the original during this time hits a Major II, the new take sticks with a classic minor ii, again reinforcing familiarity. I particularly like that Scalzo is a fan of the Interpolation.

Personal thoughts: I think it’s fitting that a song that has been re-interpreted has lead to a remix of events in my life. I was sitting at work and I played Fastball’s song to break the silence, my colleague showed me the Camila and Kelly’s version in response, which lead to selecting the songs for inclusion as part of Tuesday Tunes. After all, I thought it sounded familiar. During proofing I asked my partner about the office analogy above, and described the songs. She reminded me of when I had played ‘Out of My Head’ for her once, and she had showed me ‘Bad Things’ in response. I suppose if anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing twice.

Give it a go: If you enjoy how influence works, or like Deja Vu.

Give it a miss: If you’ve heard both, or don’t want to think of the theory behind it.

[links]
Spotify: Out of My Head, Bad Things, Tuesday Tunes
Artists: Fastball, Machine Gun Kelly, Camila Cabello
Wikipedia: Out of My Head, Bad Things, Interpolation
Other: SongFacts.com, Interpolation vs Sampling (YouTube), Billboard.com (Interview)

The back of the van always had a mattress in it. The very first blog on this website mentioned my family’s annual trips. We had an old Mistubishi L300 Van, bright yellow, and the mattress was wedged between all of the bags that six people need, a chilly bin full of snacks, and usually one or more of my brothers and I. I’m sure it was highly illegal. To pass the time we would play typical travel games like ‘I Spy’, at some point we had a bunch of magnetic travel games like checkers and chess. But we would also sing. Usually whatever was on the radio, but sometimes things from my parent’s record collection, like the Barron Knights. We never evolved into a full barbershop quartet, but these guys did …

The Song
Song: Little Patch of Heaven
Artist: Crossroads
Album: Crossroads - 2009 - Self Published (As far as I can tell)
Method of discovery: Grooveshark

Personal thoughts: I really enjoy the interplay of voice. When Grooveshark was thing I kept clicking the ‘related artist’ button again and again. I went through several rabbit holes, and one of these lead me to a barbershop phase. I’ve never had the opportunity to sing in a Quartet, but something about them and their presentation lulls me into a false sense of security, and allows them to surprise me with harmonies that I don’t expect. There’s also something beautiful about those long sustained notes at the end of many songs, and also at the end of this, held for just long enough for the rest of the singers to catch up to the final chord.

Theory: Barbershop quartets are classically split between a Bass, a Baritone, a Lead and a Tenor (also known as the Barney). They each serve different functions. The Bass typically sets the root note of any chord the band wants to play with, i.e. the C note in a C Chord. The Lead takes the main melody of whatever the song so they usually are the main voice you’ll focus on automatically. The Tenor usually sings in Falsetto, very high, over the top of the lead. They harmonise with the Lead, and occasionally take part in chordal support. The Baritone, in my opinion, is the funkiest of the roles. It provides lower harmonies for the Lead, higher harmonies for the Bass, and little notes that sit by themselves and either cause or relieve musical tension depending on what is needed. It’s the Jack-of-all-trades, to me at least. But it’s really important to note - pun fully intended - that without any one of these voices the others would lack support, particularly that there are no other instruments.

Research: The song was originally sung by K.D. Lang, written by Glenn Slater and composed by Alan Menken for the 2004 Disney movie ‘Home on the Range’, which I have never seen. Perhaps it’s taht mental tendancy to defend the first opinion you hear, but I prefer Crossroads’ version. Crossroads begun singing together in 2007, and only took two years to win the International Champions by the Barbershop Harmony Society. But considering the members were from previous champion quartets.

Give it a go: If you’ve never listened to Barbershop before.

Give it a miss: If you’ve listened to far too much Barbershop already.

[links]
Spotify: Crossroads, Little Patch of Heaven, Tuesday Tunes
Websites: Crossroads, DisneyWiki
Wiki: Barbershop, Crossroads, Homer’s Barbershop

Tuesday Tunes

“What is this, a cross-over episode?”. Yes. Instead of publishing two blogs on the same day, I have combined them into one, all-powerful mega-blog. Today you get both my (mostly) weekly song recommendation and my guitar building progress. I figure since it’s a guitar centric blog, let’s have a guitar centric song. Also - I have a Gig coming up on the 26th. Check the SHOWS page for the details.

The Song
Song: Sandmonster
Artist: Nick Johnston
Album: In A Locked Room On The Moon - 2013 - No Label
Method of discovery: Spotify Discover 2016

Personal thoughts: I enjoy lyrics. I enjoy the development of ideas they convey. It’s meaningful, then, to recommend a song devoid of lyrics completely. Even ‘Baba Yetu’ has lyrics, albiet in Swahili. It’s so much easier to tell a story with words than an instrument. Where many pure instrumentalist’s pieces tend to strike me as flexing grounds for their chops (I confess ignorance of deeper context), this particular song reminds me of the Hero’s Journey. Nick Johnston seems to possess the ability to state an idea musically, evolve the idea, morph it into something else, and bring it back, changed yet the same.

Theory: Instead of doing only music theory, I’m going to double down on the Hero’s Journey / Monomyth idea by listing parts below (with corresponding Chords). For sake of simplicity I’m going to use Christopher Vogler’s 2007 version. Feel free to listen to the song while reading this and see if you can hear what I hear.

0:00 - Ordinary world (G# - A)
0:16 - Call to Adventure (G# - A)
0:27 - Refusal of the Call (C#m - A - E - #A)
0:42 - Meeting with the Mentor (G# - A)
0:54 - Crossing the First Threshold (C#m - A - E - #A)
1:09 - Tests, Allies and Enemies (C#m - A - E - #A)
1:22 - Approach the Inmost Cave (|:A - D#:|x3 A - G# - B)
1:36 - The Ordeal (G# - A then D# - E)
2:04 - Reward (G# - A)
2:18 - The Road Back (C#m - A - E - #A)
2:30 - The Resurrection (C#m - A - E - #A)
2:44 - Return with the Elixir (G# - A)

… or maybe I’m reading too much into it all.

Research: Because I’d like to keep the blog short, and still have guitar stuff to do, I’ve linked a 16 minute documentary that says more than I can about Nick Johnston. Link where the Links are.

Give it a go: If you like the idea of the Monomyth, or if you enjoy guitars

Give it a miss: If you really can’t listen to a song without lyrics.

[links]
Spotify: Sandmonster, Nick Johnston, Tuesday Tunes
Nick Johnston: Website, Documentary, Sandmonster Video, ‘Artist Spotlight’ Article
Wikipedia: Hero’s Journey

Luthiery Log 04/2019

I’m building a guitar, and logging the progress on the 7th of each month. Here are Months: One, Two & Three.

Session Twelve
I’m going on Holiday in a few weeks, so I’m wanting to get the most out of my sessions before departing. When the Dish comes out again, I attack the protruding supports with gusto. Or maybe just with my guts-o. In the second picture you’ll notice the previously-glued-in supports over the right hand inside edge, on the other side they’ve already been sanded flush. Then out come the advanced tools; chisels and a plane the size of my thumb. I talk about the tools I’ve purchased and promise to bring in my planes next week so Trover can have a look at them. Then I get stuck into bringing the supports down to size.

Here’s where I make a mistake.

I take the firt two supports down to the size marked on the laminated plans, instead of the revised measurement Trevor provided. They should be 8mm, now they are 6mm. I am genuinely worried, but prepared to re-do some steps, starting with removing the old supports. Trevor says to put it away for now and he’ll spend the next week reflecting on whether or not we need to correct it. I leave the session very emotionally low.

Session Thirteen
It’s been a busy week at work, and I’m nervous to see if we need to fix last week’s mistake. Trevor is quick to put me at ease, it should be plently strong enough, but we won’t do any shaping on those two supports, just in case. I breathe a sigh of relief and get stuck into today’s work, most of which is just like the supports for the Back: Measure, measure again, cut, mark for sanding, sand roughly, finish sanding with the dish, grab the next piece, repeat.

After all is ready, I notch the ‘X’ supports to slot together. We glue it in. We speak about our relationships with our Fathers, and with Religion, and with Tools. Trevor sets up my Number 4 Plane. I finish the night by taking a curved piece of metal and sanding a slight curve into the Fretboard. I don’t finish before Trevor calls time, but I leave much higher than last week.

You may think I’m still at home, but I’m actually somewhere else. Do I think that surprises you in any significant way? Well … no. But it’s like a guiding principle of Magic: Misdirection. Most people are surprised when I say I’m into Rap, and today I wanted to showcase why by sharing with you …

The Song
Song: Yesterday
Artist: Atmosphere
Album: When life give you lemons, you paint that shit gold - 2008 - Rhymesayers Enetertainment
Method of discovery: r/listentothis

Theory: Theory, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t disappear with Rap Music. It just changes focus. Instead of the supporting harmony and chords structure, the bulk of the though goes into the lyrics. Atmosphere uses typical rap techniques with the stressed syllables in most lines, but really i want to focus on the rhymes. Perfect rhyme is ‘Blast : Last’. Same amount of syllables, same ending letters, same sound. Perfect. The more you compromise on any one of these, the weaker the rhyme becomes, e.g. Visit : Kitchen. Where perfect rhymes make us feel complete, weaker rhymes leave a niggling worm in our ear, wanting a stronger resolution. In this song, Atmosphere’s use of weaker rhymes helps to mirror the subject of the song.

Research: Atmosphere is a duo from Minneapolis, and Yesterday is from their fifth album, and the only one to my knowledge that credits Tom Waits as having performed Beatboxing. Yes, that Tom Waits. And Yes, Beatboxing. The main piano line is a sped up sample from ‘Love Finds its own way’ by Gladys Knight and the Pips. The members of the duo are named Slug and Ant, although they have powers far beyond the creatures for which they are named.

Personal thoughts: This song is about a relationship that the protagonist wishes they could fix, but it’s now outside of their realm of influence. It’s a classic reflection on regret, and how we might use that regret to learn. I know I’ve definitely felt this way, and I’d make a sizeable bet that most others have too. But by sharing his experience of this feeling with us, Slug is, for me, encouraging us to not repeat his mistakes.

Give it a go: If there is something you wish you could change

Give it a miss: If you’re not in the mood for a bit of reflection

[links]
Spotify: Yesterday, Love Finds it’s Own Way, Tuesday Tunes
Atmosphere: Wikipedia, Website
Other: WhoSampled

Perhaps it’s reverse psychology. Maybe it’s just good songwriting. This week’s entry is a classic if you’re into country, but the more recent version is my favourite, not only because it introduced me to the song, but also because of my fandom of the band’s wider works.

The Song
Song: Sad Songs and Waltzes
Artist: Cake
Album: Fashion Nugget - 1996 - Capricorn Records
Method of discovery: Listening to Cake discography

Theory: This is a typical country waltz, so like every other waltz I know of, it’s in 3/4. The Verses are sung over a musical pattern of I-V-I-I, IV-IV-I-I, IV-IV-I-IV, I-I-V-I. This is stable and simple, and because it’s Country you can chuck an appropriate 7th in when you’re about to change chords. The only Dominant (V) chords are at the start and end of the phrase, helping it to gain a sense of finality in the singer’s words. The Refrain moves away from the simplicity only slightly, starting with a V resolving to a I, which ramps up to a II before coming back down to a another V, driving us back into the second half of the verse.

Research: Written by Willie Nelson, and originally released by same in 1973 on his record ‘Shotgun Willie’, this song was a reflection on Willie’s feelings that record labels wanted ‘sweeteners’ - commercially viable songs that are easily ‘sellable’ by the company. Funnily, he recorded ‘Shotgun Willie’ outside of his usual recording contacts, which contributed to his ability to pen and release this song. This isn’t the only example of songs that were written in response to this attitude from record labels: see also Sara Bareilles “Love Song” and Weezer’s “Pork and Beans”.

Personal thoughts: The thing that really sells this song for me is the instrumentation. The Electric Guitar is there with a nice clean tone, which the lyrics deserve. The Bass respects the first verse, not coming until the Hook. The Drums are even more sparse, last to enter with the solo and first to fade during the outro. The Bass soon follows. But the star of the whole thing is that Trumpet. Starting and ending the song with long-held high notes, I can hear the longing in it’s melody, and the sad resignation in the short low notes at the end of it’s phrase. It’s given up on trying to love, because it knows now, sad songs and waltzes aren’t selling this year.

Give it a go: If you like Comfort Eagle, Go The Distance, or Cake’s cover of I Will Survive

Give it a miss: If you really can’t stand something removed from, yet rooted in, Country Music

[links]
Wikipedia: Shotgun Willie, Fashion Nugget
Spotify: Cakes Version, Willie’s Original, Tuesday Tunes, Sara’s Love Song, Weezer’s Pork and Beans

I’d like you to count to Twelve … no, Eleven. Sharing the name of a piece of medical equipment, today’s song fills me with energy, but is incredibly hard to dance to unless you really know how to count.

The Song
Song: Gamma Knife
Artist: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard
Album: Nonagon Infinity - 2016 - ATO / Flightless
Method of discovery: Triple J’s Hottest 100 2016

Personal thoughts: I know that psychedelic rock is not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, I’m certain psycheledic rock would be something more surreal than a cup of tea, to be honest. Maybe a flask of viscous, colour-changing liquid that looks like it’s softly breathing. Whatever, I’ll drink it if it means I get this song. There’s a basic guitar riff and an impression of a wolf/eagle hybrid before the drums enter and don’t really let up. The beat is relentless, and the distorted guitars thrum you into submission. The whole song is a drug trip in itself, but there’s a brilliant reason as to how it forces you to sink further and further into it’s distorted depths. The real thing that shines here is …

Theory (General): … the Time Signatures. For those who know music theory, feel free to jump down to ‘Theory(Specific)’. For those who haven’t the foggiest: most music you could think of would be in 4/4, which means there are four (4/4) quarter beats (4/4) in a bar. e.g. U2 - With or Without You. If you clicked or tapped along you’d feel these four beats. 3/4 has three (3/4) quarter beats (3/4) in the bar. e.g. Kermit the Frog - Rainbow Connection. Other songs divide further down into six eighth beats (6/8 - e.g. Queen - We are the Champions). The main difference between 6/8 and 3/4 is where it feels like the first beat sits. Try counting three beats for Queen and emphasising the first beat every time. It feels wrong. Most songs stick to one Time Signature, but what makes Gamma Knife a favourite of mine is …

Theory (Specific): … The Time Signatures. The song is in 12/8 .. no wait, 11/8. Well, both. And sometimes neither. It starts with two measures of 11/8, then before you realise what’s happening the song is in 12/8 for the rest of the intro and the verse (‘Milk and Honey…’). The chorus of ‘Gamma Knife” rises over three bars of 6/8, which serves as a deceptive “half bar” that makes your ear tumble forward in the song, expecting more. The second verse (‘Crack the whip…’) is over 11/8, regaining 12/8 stability for the guitar heavy polyrhythm (a whole ‘nother kettle of fish) playing eight evenly spaced notes over the twelve beats in the bar. This whole thing repeats before we get to the instrumental end of the song, which is punctuated by a heavy drum solo over 11/8. I’ve never had so much fun figuring out whether I should have one or two extra fingers to count on. Our brains like balance. The three most prolific time signatures (4/4, 3/4, 6/8) provide a nice sense of balance. But switching them around, or having an uneven number of beats, serve to unbalance us. Gamma Knife stacks these techniques atop one another to create a sense that we are Alice, falling down the rabbit hole.

Research: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (hereafter referred to as Gizz) are one of the busiest bands in Australia. They’ve released thirteen albums since forming in 2010. If you spread them evenly, the speed they release albums isn’t enough enough time to have a baby (8.3 months per album). Their Fourteenth album is due to release later this month, which is their first since 2017, when they dropped their last … five albums. Gizz released five albums in 2017. And I’m still waiting for Winds of Winter.

Give it a go: If you feel like getting confused trying to count to eleven, twelve, or six.

Give it a miss: If you don’t like to think about music while you are listening

[links]
Spotify: Gamma Knife, Tuesday Tunes
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Website, Spotify, Wikipedia
Other: Gamma Knife (Medical)

I’m building a guitar, and logging the progress on the 7th of each month. Here are Months: One and Two

Session Nine
We are not alone. Another luthier-in-the-making is in tonight. His name is Chris, and this is not his first guitar build, but the vigor with which he describes his relationship to music doesn’t give you that idea. He’s been to Nashville (a dream destination for myself) and has growing children, each inheriting their father’s music bug. He tells me this while finishing some unknown step on the newest addition to his family (of guitars), which is a lot further along than mine, but is really encouraging to know I’ll be there soon enough. I’m happily gluing in some Lining, or Kerfing, to the inside of the Body, leaving space for some supports to be later glued in. During the session Chris is calibrating the placement of the Bridge, and to get it correct they need to thread on one of the strings and pluck it. Trevor pauses, addressing Chris with gravitas …

“This is the first sound your guitar will make”

It was beautiful.

Session Ten
The session is filled with more Kerfing, this time to the other side of the Body. When we eventually sandwich the Body between the Face and Back, this Kerfing will be what they hold onto. We break the session in the middle to speak about faceplates and symbols. I need to decide which wood to have on the Headstock, and I can choose between Rosewood to match the neck, or Walnut to match the Back and Body. There’s also a choice of what to put on the Headstock, as there’s typically a symbol or brand name up there. We’ve also started talking about bad movies, and how much we enjoy them. I recommend “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra”, both to Trevor and to you. We end the session by drilling and gluing side-dots into the neck.

Session Eleven
I avoid scoffing at people who name their cars, because I’m one of those people who names their Guitars. I’ve already got a name, which will be revealed at the end of the whole process. But the two weeks since the last Session has been filled with a lot of googling. It’s good that I’ve had a break, because I’m finally able to decide on the symbol that I want on the Headstock. The fact that I want Rosewood was decidedly simpler. When I get in, Trevor celebrates my decisions, noting that he’s not come across the combination of Black Fret-Dots and Rosewood Headstock. I’ve created a monster. But at least it’ll be unique.

Having finished the Kerfing, I glue in side supports and, once dried, attach a small piece of Kerfing overtop to continue the pattern. We also cut to rough size the Rosewood Headstock Faceplate, attaching it to the Head of the Neck.

I don’t call myself religious. I try to stay away from any debate about whole thing, really. And when I turn away from real world conversations, it’s commonly to computer games that I flee. So it’s surprising to find that one of my favourite songs from any video game is actually quite religious.

The Song(s)
Song: Baba Yetu
Artist: Christopher Tin, Soweto Gospel Choir
Album: Calling All Dawns - 2009 - Tin Works
Method of discovery: Playing ‘Civilization IV’

Research: Christopher Tin was a fan of Sid Meier’s Civilization series, where you are challenged to build a civilization that ‘stands the test of time’. At a reunion, Tin mentioned this to his former college roommate, now a game designer working on the latest instalment. Soren Johnson, the roommate, then asked Christopher to write a theme for the new game. But most of that you can find out on the wikipedia page. Christopher took ‘The Lord’s Prayer” (Our Father, who art in heaven etc.), translated it into Swahili, and backed it with Western Strings and an African influenced soundscape. Most of that I found out through various articles years after listening to it originally.

Personal thoughts: I could tell you about the multiple accolades this song has won, and the many praises it’s recieved from critics. OR … I could tell you that I would often load Civ-IV and simply let the song play out in the main menu. It’s such a beautiful composition. There is a thought that video game music is the perfect music to study to, because it’s designed to keep you motivated and engaged, without taking your attention. In this aspect Christopher has failed in the most spectacular way. Baba Yetu captured the feeling of building an empire, and it’s not accidental. I know not everyone is up for the theory, but the short version is: If there were seven steps on a staircase, this song goes from the bottom, jumps five steps, steps up once, then hops up to the top. This Journey of ascending key centres helps to give the song it’s triumphant quality at the end, and has the neat trick of feeling like returning to where it began, making the whole thing feel delightfully cyclical. It felt like you were achieving something just listening to this song. It’s one of my go-to pick me up songs, and I’ve listened to it enough times that I’ve actually begun to learn the lyrics on purpose so I don’t mangle them.

I’m learning a song in Swahili because it’s just that good

Theory: The main Chorus (Baba Yetu) follows a I-vi-IV-V, although the second time it’s transposed up by a fifth. The Verse cycles vi-IV-I-V twice before ending on a II to ease the transition into that transposition mentioned earlier. The Pre-Bridge enters a weird series of changes, that truly change the key center multiple times, but for the sake of ease, if it stuck in the preceeding choruses key, it would be bVII-I-ii-I-iv-III-bvi-bV. The Bridge itself modulates up a step, rounding the Verse chords in the new key before stepping through IV-vi three times and ending in V-bVI-bVII. After that it goes up one more time back to the original key.

Give it a go: if you’ve never played Civ-IV, and don’t listen to things in other languages

Give it a miss: If you’ve played so much Civ that Gandhi nuking you is no longer a surprise

[links]
Spotify: Baba Yetu, Christopher Tin, Tuesday Tunes
Wikipedia: Baba Yetu, Christopher Tin
Christopher Tin: Website

My Father writes weekly emails to the Whanau. For any current or future international readers, whanau is the Maori concept of family, including extended family not related by blood, or a group who come togther for a common cause. Whanau has been at the forefront of my mind lately.

Eleven days ago, our tiny nation was rocked by a terrorist. The slim silver lining of this awful cloud, is that in the wake of this absolute horror we’ve seen a beautiful mourning. A national and global outpouring of grief and togetherness. This blog isn’t built to tackle tragedy, politics, or be a soapbox for my feelings on the whole terrible ordeal. I know that music can help grief. So today’s songs are all about sharing love to all our Whanau.

Song The First
Song: Pulse
Artist: Melissa Etheridge
Album: Single - 2016 - M.E. Records
Method of discovery: Googling songs about tragedy.

Song The Second
Song: What The World Needs Now Is Love
Artist: Jackie DeShannon (written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David)
Album: This is Jackie DeShannon - 1965 - Imperial
Method of discovery: Honestly, “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery”

Research: Etheridge penned ‘Pulse’ in response to a shooting in a club in Orlando in 2016. A Terrorist claimed the lives fo forty-nine people who just wanted to party. ‘What the world needs…’ is also related to the same tragedy. Sixty-Five broadway stars produced a version to commemorate the victims. The proceeds of both songs were sent to benefit the affected communities.

Theory: Just quickly today, because I want to focus on the Lyrics. Verses of ‘Pulse’ I-vi-IV-bVII, drop the third chord to cover the chorus. The bridge is I-iii-ii-IV-iv. ‘What the world needs…’ changes over iii-vi for the tagline and puts a few IV’s and V’s in the choruses. The verses change the key centre down a fifth and start on a iii before rounding a jazzy ii-V-I twice and ending with a rather odd VI-vii and heading back into the chorus, which goes up a full step for the third one, fading out against the iii-iv.

Personal thoughts: The lyrics of these songs have really cemented for me the only reasonable response to this sort of anguish. Support and love for the those affected. In this case, those affected are the community of Muslims, which is geographically within, and emotionally together with, a larger community of Kiwis. When my workmates attended a Mosque for the two minutes of silence, it was strengthening to see everyone mourn as one nation. It’s relieving to see the rules changing, and our leadership’s response. and it all really is encompassed by the messages of the songs. I think the songs are pretty good anyway, but if you don’t like them, please share their messages:

What the world needs now is love …
Love will always win
Underneath the skin
Everybody’s got a pulse

Give it a go: If you want to take a moment to reflect, and feel some feels.

Give it a miss: If you don’t feel in the mood for some reflection.

[links]
Spotify: Tuesday Tunes, Pulse, What the world needs now is love
Wikipedia: What the world needs now is Love, Austin Powers, Melissa Etheridge
Other: SongFacts

There’s a misconception about the Bass Guitar: it’s the easiest instrument to play. It stems from the assumption that you only hit a single note at a time. And when compared to the guitar, you have five less strings to concern yourself with. Compared to a piano, it doesn’t have 88 distinct keys. Compared to a bicycle, it doesn’t have wheels. It doesn’t take long to sound okay at playing Bass. But making Bass sound effortless takes a lot of effort. Keep that in mind as we listen to …

The Song(s)
Song: Mary
Artist: Ivory Hours
Album: Mary - 2014 - Unsigned
Method of discovery: Spotify Discover

Research: Ivory Hours are from London. Not that London. The London that’s in Canada (List of Londons in the links). Although it seems like they’ve now moved to Toronto. They have enjoyed some commercial success and have been able to share stages with several other Canadian Musicians. I’ve read their sound described as ethereal, which I agree with. It’s this ethereal quality, like a Siren convincing you toward the rocks, that allows them to get inside your head and hit you with ‘the feels’. This song is a perfect example.

Personal thoughts: This is one of those dangerous songs that is easy to hear, but tough to actually listen to. The familiar Drumline, the delay on the melodic guitar, the harmonies, and the Bass gluing it all together. Whoo boy! That Siren looks good. They sonically lull you into a false sense of security, too. The guitar drops out when the vocals come in, and comes back to embelish the gaps behind and between the lines. the the chorus comes, and hits with a wall of sound. But not for too long (that’s for later). Back to the comfy quiet quiet place for a second Verse. then again with the wall of sound, but this time it lasts until the very end.

The Lyrics tell the story of the eponymous Mary falling into a drug addled existence, and not even her closest friends can recognise her.

Mary felt a little low
Needed a pick me up
Mary tried a little Coke
Now she can’t get enough

That’s essentially the whole story right there. The rest of the lyrics paint consequences that flow from the start of the song. And the choruses plead with Mary to ‘come home’. The Bass, in my mind, is perfect. It’s unobstrusive, but interesting. Any less and the ear could become bored. Any more and it could take too much of a starring role. The one ‘in focus’ moment is at 1:20. It doesn’t hog a spotlight, it doesn’t even take a step forward. It simply reminds you to listen in as to the singer getting a litte more desperate. This desperation isn’t vocalised as much as it is supported by the structure and chords.

Theory: Like a coal company in the 1800’s, Mary relies on more minors than your average four-chord-song. Verses supplement the typical IV chord out of rotation, opting for I-iii-vi-V. It even stays on the vi longer before slipping through the V. This delays the typical resolution that you would get from evenly spaced chords. Then the chorus comes along with I-iii-vi-IV, avoiding the V entirely, starving us of that juicy resolution that is a V-I inside, or exiting, a chorus. The first time we hear the chorus, it’s only once: short and sweet. The second time we get a chorus twice as long as the first, and then the whole thing drives up another tone and goes around again, giving us fours times the original chorus. I imagine the singer driving round in a car trying to find Mary. This first chorus expresses the simple wish for her to return. But the second chorus repeats and gets more intense. The singer is pleading now, hoping to find her. The song finishes on the I. I hope that means she’s safe.

Give it a go: Two jumps in a week. I bet you think that’s pretty clever don’t you boy.

Give it a miss: Hey, Mickey, you’re so fine. You’re so fine you blow my mind!

[links]
Spotify: Mary, Ivory Hours, Tuesday Tunes
Ivory Hours: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Wikipedia
MISC: List of Londons

Things are best when they are Ripe. This week’s selection is no different. This is a short one, as I’m trying to get a few of these under my belt so that I’ve got breathing space to write more for when I eventually have time away. But here’s the good stuff

The Song(s)
Song: Downward
Artist: Ripe
Album: Joy in the Wild Unknown - 2018 - RIPE
Method of discovery: Spotify Discover

Research: Ripe is the name of several bands. There was a copenhagen based Metal band, an Alternative Australian band, and the ones that I’m talking about now: Boston based seven piece Funk/Pop band. They met at Berklee Scholl of Music, much like The Rescues and The Lonely Heartstring Band, and doubtless a million others I don’t know of. Look for both of those in the future. The seven pieces consist of the traditional rock set (Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums) but are rounded out by a second guitar, and a modest trumpet-&-Trombone brass section.

Personal thoughts: If you compare the latest album to their first foray it seems to be more focused and les frenetic. Ripe are one of those bands that you need to experience the fullness of their sound and persistent groove. By way of personal endorsement, I’ve favourited seven of their songs on spotify, and this particular one I heard about 10 hours ago for the first time. So if I can go from being a fan of the band to recommending you this song in particular, it speaks to the smooth of their groove.

Theory: This is a fairly straightforward song, musically the whole song sits on IV-I-vi-V except for the bridges, which meander around iii-vi-ii-V. The V chord ending both of these patterns, combined with the only I being in the third bar of the first pattern, lends the song it’s sense of movement and motion, which plays perfectly into the lyric …

This love keeps pulling me downward […] and I don’t mind the fall

Give it a go: If you don’t have enough Funk in your life

Give it a miss: If you’ve got a thing against brass

[links]
Spotify: Downward, Tuesday Tunes
Other Media: Website, Twitter, Instagram
Similar Articles: Live for Live Music, WGBH

I’m building a guitar, and logging the progress on the 7th of each month. Here is Month: One.

It was strange looking back on the accomplishments of the first month. So strange I went googling for quotes about progress. Most were about social progress, but this one stuck out.

True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice.     

- St. Francis of Assisi

I’m tempted to put ‘ - Michael Scott’ below. The point is: January started with a decision, and ended with the Face, Back, Sides, Neck, and Fretboard all in recogniseable states. A lot happened, but i never felt like I was doing a lot. Part of the beauty of this course, outlined in part one, is the method Trevor uses. He doesn’t weigh you down with a seemingly endless laundry list of absolutely everything that needs to be done this in every session, including after care instructions. It’s only ever “Let’s focus on doing this job right" and when that job is complete, “Here’s what’s next”. You’ll rarely start a process you can’t finish in the time you’ve booked, which means every night has visible, measureable progress. It’s a great experience.

Session Five
First step is to cut to size some small wood strips, these will become the internal central brace and will strengthen the Back. Once to size, we flex metal rods to hold tension between the underside of the workbench and strips, which are glued ablong the back joint. It' doesn’t take long, and in the meantime Trevor sets a gas torch to heating a metal pipe. I’m mildly worried. But what follows is the coolest part of the process thus far: Side Bending.

The Sides are sprayed with water until soaked, then laid on the heated pipe. As the water evaporates from the wood, the fibres loosen, and you press down on both sides of the pipe to create the curves that form the body. It’s a slower process, and it takes most of the rest of the night. We’re constantly measuring and comparing the sides to the jig, and once it’s pretty much there, we clamp them together and leave it to dry into shape completely. We quickly route the sides of the neck and I retire, ecstatic with the night’s progress.

Session Six
With the Back brace from last week dried, we violently hack into it (with care, diligence and skill) making room for the horizontal braces that will sit perpendicular across the back. There’s a little bit of sizing and measurement, but most of this session is running the pieces across one large slice of sandpaper mounted on a concave dish. This is because the back and front will be slightly ‘dished’ out from the body, instead of perfectly parallel. Trevor assures me it will look normal. This time the flex rods push the Back into that dished shape, as they also apply tension to the glued in horizontal braces. There are a lot more flex rods on this one.

Session Seven
Tonight, I spend a long time sanding the sides. It could be done later, but is easier while the two halves are separate. Now that I’m not power mad by pushing wood into a hot metal pipe, I can see areas where I spent too long making a particular bend. Most of it sands out, so i’m not worried. Besides, according to Keanu Reeves in ‘The Replacements’, “Chicks dig scars”. At some point during this process we talk about how I’m not actually Human, but merely a conglomerate of pop-culture references. We glue the sides together using two blocks that Trevor prepared, and the session is rounded off by drilling some holes in the Fretboard and gluing into position the fret-dots. I’ve chosen black against the lighter Bubinga wood, and I’m happy with how it looks.

Session Eight
Using the ‘dished’ sandpaper from earlier in the blog, we sand the edges of the body, now one piece. This will mean they meet the dished Front and Back properly when it’s all put together. Imagine you have two levers, and as you pull one in, you push the other out. That’s what I’m doing, effectively rotating the sides at the ends. It makes my hips creak and belly jiggle; I’ve never felt more like a washing machine. Trevor calls this ‘doing the dishes’, and as an honorary Dad (eight niblings), I chuckle. To end the month, we put the Neck into a jig, route a dovetail joint in the end and glue the Fretboard to the Neck. Eventually the dovetail will be where the Neck meets the Body, but it’s easier to cut now. And now I may want to buy a router, also.

I mentioned it last week, there is now a playlist with every song from every Tuesday Tunes Blog, it’s called Tuesday Tunes on Spotify (because that’s my primary portal for music discovery since GrooveShark) and the link is nestled amongst the others at the end of this blog. As I continue to build the blog up I’ll add new songs to it. If you follow the playlist, you may even get a sneak preview into the songs i’ll be featuring in the upcoming blog.

For the sake of regularity, the 7th of each month will be the day Luthiery Log goes up. For those outside the know, I’m building a guitar, and Luthiery Log is where I chronicle my rise to power. So look forward to the 7th of each month.

I’m also looking to attend more gigs this year, having already been to the Auckland Folk Fest and Ninja Sex Party / TWRP. But I’m unsure how much value a post-mortem for gigs will be. Maybe I’ll try a couple and see if they feel good. Anyway, song time.

The Song(s)
Song: ‘The Cult of Dionysus’ and ‘NYC Girl’
Artist: The Orion Experience
Album: Cosmicandy - 2007 and ‘NYC Girl - EP’ - 2011, both released by ‘Sweet!’
Method of discovery: Spotify Discover thinking I’m a Hippie, then a Socialite

Research: Cathy Arnold, of PopMatters, described the debut album as follows:

Cosmicandy is an ice cold fruity cocktail in the middle of a summer heat wave.

I think that’s a fair description. The album invokes thoughts of music from the 70s with production values from the future. I had to go deep into google to find that quote too, as in, four pages deep. No one goes that deep anymore. There’s not much on the band that I could find beside the lead singer lending his name to the band, Orion Simprini, which sounds like a child mispronouncing Lion Symphony. Now I want to see one of those. They also put on a show with Costume Designer Andrea Hood, which looks like it was fun judging by Orion’s smile.

Dionysus is the Ancient Greek God of wine, theatre, fertility, and all around having-a-good-party-time. His Roman equivalent was Bacchus, and the Egyptian was Osiris. ‘The Cult of Dionysus’ embraces this attitude lyrically, wanting to rekindle the ‘lust for life’ by suggesting all sorts of drunken sexual activity. It’s not exactly a ‘new religion’, with Dionysian worship starting maybe as early as 1500 BC.

NYC Girl lists some of the places in New York that i’ve never been, but have seen represented in several movies and TV Shows: Brooklyn (Nine-Nine!), Queens (King of), Staten Island (The Other Guys), Harlem (Die Hard with a Vengeance) and the Lower East Side (Men in Black).

Personal thoughts:
Man, these are just boppy good times. There’s a bit of mythology, clever lyrics, great musical devices. This is just very well produced without being cookie-cutter radio pop music. No instrument feels out of place or wears out its welcome. The vocals blend together perfectly, and are tighter than Terry Crews’ Pecs.

Theory: ‘Dionysus’ centres around the persistent Bass and the metronomical drums, carrying the momentum everywhere except the bridge, and the chords are only structurally present. The Verses do hover around vi-I-IV-II for the verses, and are pretty stable with the changes. The chorus speeds up the changes with IV-iii-vi-I, only hitting the 1st and third chord the first time round, and concluding with V-II. The bridge is the solitary calming island in the pounding sea of the song, much more stable, hitting the three primary stable Chords first, cementing the key centre with IV-I-V-vi-III.

NYC is a slower feel, and though the Bass is still more active than only hitting root notes, this is much more a band ensemble, strings swelling in and out, the vocal line is backed up by the guitar harmonising the rhythym … rythm … [furious googling] … rhythm. It’s a rarer song that had the same progression for the Verses and Chorus (vi-iii-IV-ii-V). But don’t worry, the Pre-chorus that separates them provides more variety, first going through IV-I-III-vi-I, it starts the same, but ends the second time on the Dominant (IV-I-V-I-V), and the last time ending with a major/minor shift in the final two chords (IV-I-III-VI-[II-iv]), which gives the song momentum to head back to the chorus. The Bridge goes through IV-V-vi-I twice before finishing with IV-V-vi-II-iv-III, and the whole song ends on a downer of iv.

Give it a go: If you want to hear some new stuff that sounds like it’s turning 50.

Give it a miss: If your religion forbids the musical worship of false idols or lovely women.

[links]
Wikipedia: The Orion Experience, Dionysus
Spotify: The Cult of Dionysus, NYC Girl, Tuesday Tunes
Sources: Pop Matters Article, Andrea Hood
Socila Media: Twitter(The Orion Experience, Orion Simprini), Facebook
Other Music Links: Soundcloud, Bandcamp

I Make Ear Movies. It’s a statement that, although ponderous, holds water. The information about this week’s recommendation is sparse, but it seems to be on purpose, and this sentence defintely stuck out. FYI: I’m building a playlist of all of these songs (or those that are on Spotify) and I’ll be linking to it in next week’s Tuesday Tunes. On with the songs.

The Song(s)
Song: Lovetop & Chinatown
Artist: Starcadian
Album: Sunset Blood - 2013 - No Label (As far as I can tell)
Method of discovery: Spotify Discover

Research: Starcadian has most of this info on their official website, so I won’t go into too much detail here. The artist’s video played at SXSW, and he released Sunset Blood on Halloween 2013. The most interesting thing is “I Make Ear Movies” which is around his YouTube Channel, Bandcamp, and the chief statement on the Press part of his website. There is a degree of anonymity in his material, like the Finnish ‘Lordi’, or the Canadian ‘TWRP’, there isn’t a name behind the artist. The artist, simply, is.

Personal thoughts: I really engage with this type of showmanship. Some people prefer not to compromise their personal identity. They wear a hood or a mask, demon makeup, or dress like robots. For some, like Lordi, it’s part of the aesthetic, and part of the band’s story or lore. For Starcadian though, I feel it’s a lot simpler: The music is the focus. Enjoy this Ear Movie.

When I first heard Lovetop, that’s exactly what I did. I was at work and had headphones in to drown out the rest of the team, listening to my weekly Discover Playlist. Then Lovetop came on. The gradual introduction of the intruments got me. I was tapping my feet already. I looked at who this was, didn’t recognise them, the picture looked like the poster for the original Thing movie, but the sound was more like Tron. I couldn’t do anything but listen to the song. The pause prepped me, and the drum fill and sliding bass rush back into the whole soundscape killed me. I was smiling from ear-to-ear. I found a post-it, wrote the song’s name and slapped it on my nieghbour’s screen. In a few minutes we were talking about how ludicrously good the sound was.

From there I had to listen to the album, where I discovered Chinatown. The synthesized vocals don’t mask simplicity in Lyrics, with words between the songs like ‘indelible’, ‘harrowing’, and ‘entoptic’. I had to look up that last one (it means occuring or originating inside the eye). They aren’t terribly scientific, but they are a step above you’re typical ‘I-heard-it-on-the-pop-radio’ word list. There is clearly a lot of thought behind the music. That’s also clear in the chords below.

Theory: (Note, both songs are more Aeolian, but I’ve noted their Numerals as if from the Ionian)
Chinatown is the second song from the album, and begins with it’s relentless 96bpm thump-thump, a heartbeat for the song. The intro steps through vi - IV - I - V - II. That final Major 2nd chord gives real movement back toward the vi, and lends a dreamlike quality to the soundscape. The verses alternate vi - V, ending with a I - II before repeating, or moving to the Pre Chorus: V - vi - II, V - vi - IV, V - vi - II - iii - bVII. The final flat Major VII sticks arround a serves as a raising, and raised platform from which to dive intot he standard-by-comparison Chorus, which plays around: IV - vi - I - V. The Bridge makes an appearance twiddling around the typical IV - vi - IV - I - V. The chord use is fairly typical, but the few chords that are outside the key centre serve to strengthen the feeling of the song. It’s good work.

Lovetop is quite similar, though with less varitation from the key centre: Verses vi - IV , Chorus I - V - III - vi -I - III - IV, Bridge V - I - V - I - bVI - bIII - V, those flat Major chords in the bridge are a mini-modulation to a seperate key, but with such a quick song at 112bpm, it more ‘borrows’ the chords for a bit, so you don’t notice.

Give it a go: If you want to hear some Ear Movies

Give it a miss: If Daft Punk and 80’s Nostalgia are the opposite of what you are into

[links]
Websites: Starcadian, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Twitter, Subreddit
Video: He^rt
Spotify: Chinatown, Lovetop

“It’s been …”. And anyone who can hear the riff already knows the band. Most people are familiar with “One Week”, and more modern players are likely experienced with “The Big Bang Theory Theme“ song. Barenaked Ladies have had, and continue to have, a crazy journey through the musical world. I guarantee they are more everywhere than you think. This is less about their commercial success, though, and more about a couple of favourites of mine.

I’ve also added a new section below called Theory. Here I’ll put those chord changes that were gumming up the research, so if you’ve not interested in playing the song/s, then you can skip it.

The Song(s)
Song: Falling for the First Time / When You Dream
Artist: Barenaked Ladies
Album: Maroon/Stunt - 2000/1998 - Reprise
Method of discovery: The Internet/My Brother’s CD Collection

Theory: Falling’s verses hover around a I-V-IV with the occasional vi thrown in. The riff before the title is a walking ii-iii-ii-I-V. The bridges (?) begin with “anyone perfect…” and follow a fairly energetic I-V-bVII-IV.
Dream is glacial by comparison. Flowing through I-V-IV again, this time hitting a ii-V during the Pre-chorus, only to resolve to a I-V during the chorus. The post-chorus drifts through ii-IV-I-V.

Research: Barenaked Ladies got their name from a boredom-inspired-off-the-cuff-fake-band-name-joke at a Bob Dylan concert. Adn that’s probably my favourite fact about them. I encourage anyone to read more about their humble beginnings on wikipedia, because there’s nothing that says “We are a professional band” like organising three practices and missing them all. Twice. Three years later they released the first indie tape to eventually go Platinum in Canada. They have featured in the news for being taken off a concert due to their name. They have become a spokesband for the environment. Last year they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. There is plenty out there about their varied success, and most can say it with more expertise than me. So if you are interested, seek them out.

Personal thoughts: You may have picked up that I’m addicted to lyrics. Falling for the first time is a beautiful celebration of failure, a story of a business-man who has coasted through life and is suddenly experiencing not winning. I love the self-doubt that creeps in during the bridges

Anyone perfect must be lying. Anything easy has it’s cost.

I can’t help but tap my feet when the song comes on, and it’s one of those songs that sustains it’s energy like someone forgot to let the pedal up on a piano. The piano in the song is the perfect expression of less-is-more, my favourite is the rising embellishment just after the 2 minute mark. The drums in the song are the perfect expression of more-is-also-more, my favourite is the Jungle-style Toms behind the bridges.

By comparison, ‘When you dream’ is more about the soundscape. A new father, or maybe a father again, watching his newborn son sleep. I’m not sure if I can adequately describe what I picture in my head when listening to this song, and I honestly tried for ages before giving up and writing this instead. But it’s a place of comfort, which is how the song makes me feel, despite the peculiar echoes and call outs to last week’s “Del Shannon’s Runaway”.

His fontanelle pulses with lives that he’s lived, and memories he’ll learn to ignore.

Give it a go: If all you’ve ever known from BNL is from TV or Radio

Give it a miss: If you’re already a Melvin. I invite you to Blame It On Me.

[links]
Website: Barenaked Ladies
Wikipedia: Barenaked Ladies, My memory of the booklet from Disc One
Spotify: Falling for the first time, When You Dream

I have inherited many things from my parents. All of my DNA, a quarter of my music taste, seven fourteenths of my humour, and 100% reason to remember the name. It was one of the years before entering high school that I began to browse the records and cds belonging to my folks. The radio was crackly and always played the same stuff, I didnt earn money so didnt have many CD's of my own, and the online streaming services of today were pipe dreams. I was searching for new music. I had already heard their vinyls: Neil Diamond, Billy Connolly, The Barron Knights, that one song by Napoleon the XIV "they're coming to take me away, ha ha."

So I made my way through their moderate collection of discs. I mostly enjoyed them, but I would always come back to a collection of songs from the 50's and 60's. It took me on a journey from 'Under The Boardwalk' to 'Up On The Roof', and upon returning home, 'She Cant Find Her Keys'. Also on that CD were ...

Larry - vi-V-IV-III

The Song(s)
Song: 'Runaway' & 'Hats off to Larry'
Artist: Del Shannon
Album: Both Singles, ’Runaway’ then from ‘Runaway with Del Shannon’ - 1961 - BigTop
Method of discovery: Parents’ CD Collection

Research:
Del Shannon was the stage name of Charles Westover, a Michigander/Michiginian born after the Banana Wars (1934), who was drafted around the Laotian Civil War (1954), and died before the Gulf War ended(1990). ‘Runaway” was his most successful hit, topping the charts in New Zealand, and also in little countries like America and the UK. It’s his most prolific song and has been covered by Bonnie Raitt, Avenged Sevenfold, Kasabian and Elvis uh-huh-huh Presley, to name a few. Shannon utilises the vi, V, IV and III7 of the Verse Key, and the I, vi, IV, V7 of the Chorus Key, with the III7 and V7 respectively being the same chord and serving as a medium through which he seamlessly transitions between the two keys. Essentially it goes from being A minor to A Major (relative to Capo).
The chord-work is similar in ’Hat’s Off to Larry’, recorded the same day as the former, but released later that same year. It peaked only in Canada, reaching number 2 in the NZ charts. We have good taste. Both songs feature the ‘Musitron’ solos of Max Crook who met Del Shannon who was actually Charles Westover when he was still Charlie Johnson of ‘Charlie Johnson and the Little Big Show Band’. Max Crook immediately[sic] changed his name to Maximillion. Crook made the Musitron by stealing parts of appliances from around his house, reel-to-reel tape machines and old amplifiers, plugging them all into a three octave Clavioline Keyboard/Precursor to Synthesizer. This is the strange sound that haunts circuses.

Personal thoughts:
Both songs are about break-ups, as so many many many songs are. I’m not sure if there ever was or ever will be a subject as endless as broken hearts. ‘Runaway’ concerns itself with a woman who has left and the felings of desertion the protagonist is left with. ‘Hat’s Off to Larry’ however, is a song that laughs in the face of a woman who left the protagonist for another man, who then in turn broke her heart. Together they form two sides of a coin: Heartache and Cruelty. When I was listening to these as a young man they were separated by several other songs, and even for players alive at the time there was at least a delay in the releases. But I can’t help but feel that ‘Runaway’ is the precursor to ‘Hat’s Off to Larry’. I’ll leave it to you to decide which other Del Shannon Song completes the Trilogy.

Give it a go: If you gots a hankerin for some 1960’s sound of the future, the Musitron.

Give it a miss: If you were more of a Mod anyway

[links]
Wikipedia: Del Shannon, Runaway, Hat’s Off to Larry, Max Crook, Musitron
Spotify: Del Shannon, Runaway, Hat’s Off to Larry
Website: Del Shannon

It was a hot day when I met Trevor Binford. I walked up outside his shop (Binford Luthiery) in Onehunga while he was doing some repairs on his car. We didn’t shake hands, his were covered in grease. Inside his shop I described that my steadfast Cort guitar had broken for a second time in the ten years I’d owned it, and although it was repaired, I was looking for a replacement for performances. I’d decided, in a fit of madness, that I would embark on the Guitar Buildshop course, in which Trevor guides you through building your own guitar. So after confirming an appointment, trading emails, and a suitable fistbump, I leave.

It would only be fair to say I was equal parts excited and terrified.

Session One
I turned up after work. We’re alone in the shop. Trevor confirms a few details from the emails we’ve traded, and then tells me his teaching style.
Step One: Describe. Trevor tells you the next step we’re going to take, any machines or material we’ll be using, and some pointers to keep in mind.
Step Two: Demonstrate. He performs the start of the task to give you a good visual indicator of what good technique, and result, looks like.
Step Three: Observe. He’ll watch you do the same.
Step Four: Run Away. Not completely, but once he’s confident in your ability, he’ll go work on some other task (usually a repair for someone else) and leave you to it.
At any point during any step you can ask questions, or double check what you’ve done.
The first task? Choose which two bits of Citka Spruce would become the face. There were four options in stock to choose from, each a bookended pair for symmetry. I learned about the merits of strength versus flexibility, the grain lines of the wood and the effect each would have on the sound. I chose the last pair based on the grain, both for the above and for aesthetic. He applauded my choice and said he would’ve made the same given the same options. Either I’m nailing this, or he has great customer service. We use a machine and a sanding block to square up the insides, then glue the pieces together, holding them all with clamps and weight.
Then he busts out some Bubinga which will become my future fretboard, and a crazy jig and reference board. We begin cutting holes for frets, which takes the rest of the session as we listen to Jonothan Coulton (my choice). I leave, less terrified, more excited.

Session Two
My Sides and Back have come in, and the Face is dry. There’s another person in tonight, sanding down their Neck. But before we get to that, more Fretholes required. I finish the fretboard, and we repeat the steps from last week for the Back. I decide to keep the white stripe in the Back, it’s not glue, it’s the heart of the Walnut tree that provided the wood. It’s left to set and we take the Face to the bandsaw. I sweat bullets as I’m cutting out the shape of my guitar, particularly around the cutway (not a standard option that Trevor offers, as it’s a bit more finnicky). I don’t lose any fingers.
The Neck follows. One solid piece of Mahogany that we cut at an angle to create the Head. A few more lops from the other end to create the part of the Neck that meets the Body. and the session finishes with a bit of sanding before the Neck pieces can be glued up.

Session Three
We’re alone again. The Back is dry, and is quickly cut out on the bandsaw. I now have a definite inside and outside surface on both the front and back. More importantly, I still have all eleven fingers. The joint surfaces on the Neck are sanded and glued, then stapled together, just to show it we mean business. During sanding we listen to Warren Zevon (Trevor’s Choice) and he is surprised when I recognise the singer. We become best friends (his words) over the lyrics and subtle guitar lines. Then we route the space for the Rosette, lay the Rosette, and route the Soundhole, all in the Face. He says we’re making really good progress.

Session Four
The Neck is dry, so I use a chisel to zip off the excess before running it through a series of machines to square up the sides and faces. Then we set up a router and bore into the solid, rich Mahogany to make room for the Truss Rod, the part which can bend the neck forward and backward to help control the Action over the Frets. The rest of the session is to use a thicknesser to lower the thickness (weirdly) of the Face, Back and both Sides. It’s a long process, and only toward the end do we realise there is no music. I become an annoying Millennial by grabbing a few last photos before ending my first month in the shop: One of all of the parts laid out, another of the parts in the cupboard below a more finished project.
The last depicts two madmen: one who decided this was a good idea, and the other who decided the same, except full time.

It was the early days of the internet. Youtube wasn’t a thing. Facebook hadn’t even begun to secret away peoples data. Someone had to tell me that Google was a great new search engine.

It was the before time, in the long long ago.

I had to wait for thirty minutes on a dial up connection for a flash video of about three minutes to load. It was painful, but incredibly worth it. My favourite haunt was albinoblacksheep.com, a website that is responsible for a lot of my formative humour. I watched Animutation become a thing, Fanimutation be deemed it’s lesser brother, a fight break out among the supporters of each, only to be settled when Colin Mochrie fought Jesus H. Christ. And I’m not making any of this up.

These two songs come from the heyday of internet animation.

The Song(s)
Song/s: ‘I’ve Got Some Falling To Do’ / ‘Geeks in Love’
Artist: Lemon Demon
Album/s: Hip to the Javabean / Damn Skippy - 2004 / 2005 - self published (I think)
Method of discovery: www.albinoblacksheep.com

Research:
Lemon Demon is Neil Cicierega’s most prolific musical outing, spanning nine albums released from 2003 to 2016 … so far. Not only that, but that Animutation stuff I mentioned at the top, he’s credited with popularising the art style. Oh, and hey, have you ever seen Potter Puppet Pals? Yeah, that’s him too. If you’ve ever heard or seen the “Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny”, Neil again. He’s a maniac. he’s been a staple of The FuMP (The Funny Music Project) for the last nine years (2019 still has some months left).

The other half of my nostalgia in these particular songs is the Animator, New Zealand grown Andrew Kepple, of “Too Much Spare Time” Animation. You know how I mentioned that battle of Mochrie vs Jesus, Kepple was the one to animate that whole saga. He also animated both of the songs here, links below. So the guy who animated these songs for the guy who sung them was the same guy who settled an internet argument started around an emerging internet artform the other guy popularized. Dizzy yet?

The songs themselves are crazier than either guy. ‘…Falling…’ centre’s it’s verses around vi-V-I-ii, substituting the minor ii for the more typical IV. Then the Key Modulates down a minor third. In the new Key Centre we start with a IV, transition through a Major III into a iv, a V, and finally land on the I. But before we get used to home, bIII, IV, bVII7, I, bIII, IV. Neil then whisks us around VI,I+,I,b-v-dim,IV,#V and I. I need a better way to notate this, Neil.

Geeks is .. simpler? vi, #Vaug, #IVdim7, IV, ii, III. Nope. Never mind. At least the chorus launches from the I-vi-#V-iv-V-I. It’s a little more normal. Then we go I-VII-bIII-V for fun.

Personal thoughts:
First and foremost, I fell in love with the strange lyrics of these songs. “…Falling…” embraces the mistake of falling out of an airplane to such a degree that you hang up your cellphone on Death. Sorry bro, I’d love to chill with you, but I’m going to continue falling. This is my life now. “Geeks” though, is among my favourites because of the shameless references in the Animation, and the underlying message of a couple strong enough to not need the approval of people who might put them down. Locking arms and skipping away into geekdom together.

Give it a go: If your life is not yet random enough, or if you could stand to be geekier.

Give it a miss: If you prefer songs that takes themselves seriously.

[links]
Wikipedia: Neil Cicierega, Animutation
Websites: Lemon Demon, AlbinoBlackSheep, KnowYourMeme/Animutation, The FuMP, BandCamp
Spotify: Lemon Demon, I’ve Got Some Falling To Do
Animations: Ultimate Showdown, Andrew Kepple, Geeks in Love, I’ve Got Some Falling To Do, Colin vs Jesus

It’s a divisive issue within music circles. Warren Zevon, depending on who you listen to, should, or should not be inducted into the Rock’N’Roll Hall of Fame. Either way it would be posthumous, as he sadly passed away in 2003. Supporters say there is no-one more worthy. Detractors acknowledge his talent as a wordsmith, but point out his status and attitude as “Mr. Bad Example”. I’ve heard him described as the ‘villian’ of the genre, and I think that’s apt. But there’s a particular villain that mirrors his journey. Does a villain belong in the Hall of Fame? I don’t know. But I do know I enjoy his songs.

The Song(s)
Song: Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
Artist: Warren Zevon
Album: Excitable Boy - 1978 - Asylum
Method of discovery: My oldest brother’s CD Collection

Research:
It’s the second track on the album, following up the energetic “Johnny Strikes Up The Band”, just before the titular track, and two places ahead of his most famous song “Werewolves of London”. If you’ve not heard Werewolves, please, listen to it. You’ve probably already heard the piano bit. Trust me.
Roland was inspired by the mercenary history of David Lindell, whom he met in Spain over at least a bar, and likely a drink too. The story is ludicrous and poignant, and better absorbed by listening than can be described here. But a few tangential learnings I’ve had by researching this song are:
1. The Land of the Midnight Sun in the song refers to Norway, but it can also be a nickname for Alaska
2. Biafra was a seperatist state of Nigeria for ~3 Years in the late 60s. It’s conflict didn’t concern the Bantu or the Congolese, but the Igbo
3. The distance between Mombasa and Johannesburg is ~3670km
Musically the track is very stable, never varying from the I, IV, V or vi chords, but the piano, where Zevon seemed most at home, enriches the song better than a guitar could, I feel.

Personal thoughts:
If you like travelling, then Warren Zevon is your man. His lyrics take you to so many nations you’re going to need to renew your passport. This album and it’s relentless piano riffs, topped with Zevon’s signature vocals made me realise you didn’t need guitars and courtship to make good songs. It was also one of the more meaningful exposures I can remember to humour in music that wasn’t purely comedy or parody; this was it’s own breed of sardonic wit. The lines “On a dark and stormy day” and ”He didn’t say a word” are a perfect examples of this.
Zevon’s real world journey reminds me of Moloch the Mystic from Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons’ “Watchmen”. Both men are viewed as outsiders. Both are mediumly successful in their endeavours. Both ultimately fade out of public attention, but not for the few who know the truth about them.
I would say I know.

Give it a go: If you enjoy a song putting pictures in your head

Give it a miss: If you get annoyed by historical and cultural inaccuracies for the sake of rhyme

[links]
Spotify: Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
Wikis: Warren Zevon, Roland…, Watchmen Wiki
Other Articles: The Curmudgeon, Intruder In The Dirt,