A long time ago, I posted an entry about guitar slides and the range of them that exist. However, I am still unable to play competently with them. I would say I'm a decent guitarist and I would even say that I can play almost anything If I practice enough and I can pick things up very quickly. I feel as though this is probably hindering my progress with slides, since I sound good playing any other style on electric, acoustic, 12 string, blues steel etc and it is really a punch the gut in terms of my ego to play with any slide. It makes me sound like a novice again and I really don't like it.
The slide has long been one of my goals to master on my acoustic as I think it adds so much depth and virtuosity to a guitarists repertoire. It has the same effect as a 12 string in the sense that non-guitarists listen in awe as they are bathed in the eclectic atmosphere that the instrument can produce with the right player. Very few mainstream modern bands or artists use slides which leads me to believe that it is still very much the elite musicians that are flying the flag. These musicians of course include Eric Clapton, Tommy Emmanuel, Muddy Waters and so on.
Thus, my objective before the end of the year is to learn to play one riff/song of my own/cover involving a slide segment. I will have to push through the initial embarrassment of being rubbish and I am sure it will come in good time with regular exposure to it.
Thank you as always for listening to my pondering and I hope that this post inspires any guitarists out there to pick up a slide once in a while and that those who have mastered the slide already will continue to impress the ears of people such as myself. Stay lucky everyone and have a great Autumn.
*I do not claim to own any rights. All images and videos sourced from google or YouTube at the owners discretion
Good morning everyone! I sincerely apologise for my absence yet again, my life, it seems, is a complex and busy wonder.
Nevertheless, here I am again with an observation on my life, which I hope you will find both entertaining and nourishing.
I was in the gym last night training my deadlift and various variations and I realised something. I've thought about it before but never truly appreciated tit's power; Without necessarily knowing it; I always wait for particular parts within particular songs, which I then use as cues for my heavy singles or triple sets. In other words, I use them as when to perform my heaviest lifts. With this in mind, I'm not sure how many of you are lifters or sportsmen/women or simply Grunge or Metal fans, but I thought it would be fun to simply list 5 of them in no particular order and include a line or two about them. I will add links to all the tracks at the end so please do listen and I hope you enjoy them all. Be lucky.
Here we go:
This fire Burns- Killswitch Engage
I first heard this on a WWE game on playstation 2 years ago. I feel I need to say very little about this track as it speaks for itself in regards to its power. See around 1 minute 50 seconds.
Alice in Chains- Would
If you've been following this blog for any time, it will be clear that My preferred genre is the Seattle Grunge scene. Primarily a Soundgarden fan, Alice in Chains are another leader of the genre and this track is proof of that. Wait until the chorus kicks in and Layne begins bellowing.
Slipknot- Spit it out
Slipknot are a band notorious for their raucous anthems. This is no different. It is an assault on the eardrums. Fast paced and relentless. Try it out.
Metallica- Sad but true
Metallica are one of the legends of mainstream metal and this song is a great pump up song for your first exercise. Contrary to the other choices, this track is usually my opener when i begin my lighter warm up sets or sometimes even as early as me entering the gym at all. The beat is steady and hard and the vocals are loud and self assured.
Pantera- I'm Broken
Another violent and angry song from heavy metal royalty. Never fails to amp me up. The name also represents how I feel after a particularly heavy squat or deadlift session.
Bonus
Eminem- 'Til I collapse
The definitive workout song as agreed by many from all over the world. A great song and a different genre if you feel adventurous and somehow haven't ever heard it.
Soundgarden- Outshined
How could I miss out my favourite band? The track that I wrote my university dissertation around no less. A song about being pushed down in life has a more ethereal and Meta meaning when played at maximum volume whilst I am underneath a barbell squat or bench press. The wail of Cornell and thunder of the band is just the signal my adrenaline needs to soar high and max out my lifts.
I hope you enjoyed my list here and please do listen to the tracks. They are my top picks for good reason and I am sure that you fine people will appreciate them.
* I do not claim to own any rights to any of these songs/videos/images/gifs. All images sourced from google and videos from YouTube at the owners discretion
How has it been so many months since I last posted on here?! Well sadly that would be a combination of being busy at work and having so much going on in my life. Since I last posted, I have changed jobs, bought my first car, my wonderful girlfriend has finished University and is closing in on graduating with a 2:1 and I have tuned 23 back in January. Anyway, moving on, you will have noticed the name of this post. Now please don't worry about me I am OK the title is simply a reference to one of my favourite genre of music; the blues.
Now when I pick up any of my guitars, my first jam is always a simple generic 12 bar blues with a lot of improve and blues licks thrown in for good measure. I particularly love to play Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix riffs such as "Hey Joe" and "Pride and Joy" and "Life by the drop". I love grunge, rock and metal but I feel that blues has such emotion and sincerity that many genres just can't quite reach. The contrast of the simplicity and intricacy of blues rhythm and lead works so well and there is a reason why a 12 bar blues is such a classic and long-lasting concept.
Now, If you're "not a blues person" I'll leave you with just one simple task, give it a try, I would strongly recommend Stevie Ray Vaughan or Hendrix or Clapton. If you don't feel like you are part of the song by the second listen, I'd be very surprised. And failing that, you can always listen to the king of kings, the god of gods, prognosticator of prognosticators (niche film joke there), the great, the banshee like, the other-worldly: Chris Cornell.
*All images sourced from Google and videos from YouTube. I do not claim to own any rights at all
Tranquility base Hotel and Casino is the latest album released by The Arctic Monkeys. It was released on May the 11th 2018 under the same record company, Domino. It is of note as it represents a drastic difference and change in the band; both in terms of the musical arrangement and style and in the cosmetic and physical appearance of the band members themselves.
In my opinion, this album harks back to such albums as Sgt. Peppers lonely hearts club band or when Dylan went electric at the Newport folk festival in 1965. This is due to the all round difference in style and the fact that the albums or events in question will be forever remembered. Furthermore, like Sgt. Peppers's and Dylan's electric fiasco, the music within is, or at least initially was, very divisive to lifetime fans and new fans alike. After my brother playing me the entire album on Vinyl I was not fully convinced; if anything I was indifferent, but after giving it time and multiple chances on my many journeys to work, I think I like it. My girlfriend and I also were discussing it just last weekend and she said the same thing; being that it requires a lot of chances before it becomes enjoyable.
Therefore, the album is very unique and interesting and is definitely worth trying if you have not yet attempted to listen to it. My advice would be to give it a chance and I would recommend three or more times to allow it to fully penetrate your mind. You wont regret giving it a try.
Cheers again and stay lucky everyone
*All images taken from google. I do not claim to own any rights to anything
Firstly, to all of you I would like to apologise for my absence but as I am sure you can understand I lead a very busy life and I never want to post just for the sake of frequency. However, evidently I am back now and I will be sharing with you all some music from the best two player games on PlayStation 2 for late 90's babies, "WWE Smackdown Vs Raw".
Personally, I have never been a fan of wrestling in any capacity. However, about a year back, it dawned on me that some of the music I had heard whilst playing old "WWE smackdown vs Raw" games with my brothers in my young adolescence were actually very good shouts for resistance training, but more broadly speaking, simply summoning adrenaline. Thus, as always and without further ado, I shall share a few of these with you all. However, I feel that any description I may give alongside would be unnecessary and boring so this post will simply include the videos/pictures and the artist, track name, and the wrestler with whom i associate them. Furthermore, there will be no countdown as these will be presented in no particular order. I hope you all enjoy!
"I walk alone" by Saliva (Batista)
"This fire burns" by Killswitch engage (CM Punk)
"Rollin" by Limp Bizkit (Undertaker)
"Animal I have become" by Three days Grace (Soundtrack)
I hope you enjoyed this list and I hope it rekindled some memories and nostalgia for a fair portion of you. As always I am very grateful for your support and thank you for your time wherever you may be. Be lucky
*All images and music sourced from google and YouTube. I do not claim to own any rights
Now for all of you who want more of an insight into my life, you will be pleased to know that this post will clear up another of my hobbies and regular activities, Weightlifting. I love to lift weights and I love to lift heavy and have done since the age of 16. I have aspirations to compete in Strongman contests and I am an avid believer that music makes a difference to training, particularly in the anticipation and build up to a heavy lift. Therefore, I thought I would share with you my current top 3 songs that get me psyched to lift that one rep max or push me to give that extra burst of power. Here they are in no particular order and I hope you enjoy them:
3) Pantera "Becoming
"
This is very classic of Pantera and is a staple of any live set that they perform. It is violent and fast and rigid and the vocals alone are powerful enough to get you a new one rep max. The guitars and drums are loud and fast and my heart never fails to replicate the beat and thus smash the challenge in front of me.
2) Slipknot "The Blister exists
"
This song was introduced to me by my best mate and training partner one drive to the gym. It gives new meaning to the phrase loud and fast. The song doesn't stop for a second throughout and maintains that dedication and force you need in the middle of a heavy session.
3) Soundgarden "Slaves and Bulldozers
"
I bet you were wondering when Chris Cornell would appear in this post. This track is a 7 minute assault on record companies. It is just over seven minutes of anger and rage and is perfect for mustering one more surge of raw power under a heavy bar. Cornell's voice just screams and if that banshee-like tone doesn't make you want to be a lone wolf and slaughter the weights then what will?
And that is it! I hope you all enjoy my countdown. As I said, these are in no particular order and i place them all on a level field in terms of quality. I encourage you to listen to them all if you have not yet heard them and you will not regret giving them a try. Cheers. Be Lucky
*All images and videos and audio sourced from google and YouTube. I do not claim to own any rights
Good afternoon everyone, it seems to have been a very poor show this year so far in terms of upload frequency. I have been very busy trying to save some money and I intend to remedy the lack of blog entries in the next few months. So, as I always say and without further ado, here are my personal picks for the top 3 acoustic renditions of non-acoustic songs:
3) My Hero By the Foo Fighters (as covered by Dave Grohl solo)
In this popular and touching song by the Foos, Dave Grohl changed up the style of the song to suit an acoustic rendition for BBC radio whilst maintaining all the emotion and power of the original. It is number three because it doesn't differ that obviously to the standard version but it was an acoustic rendition well transposed by the nicest guy in rock.
2) Unintended Muse (As covered by Matt Bellamy solo Live from Wembley in 2010)
My pick for number 2 comes from another band that are very close to my heart, Muse. They were one of the first non-pop bands that ever liked alongside Soundgarden and The Foo Fighters. They are widely credited as one of the best live bands there is and I seriously intend to test that theory before they stop touring. Unintended is one of their slowest and most vulnerable tracks amongst a very diverse and varied repertoire and this acoustic version by the writer of the song and frontman of the band is haunting and beautiful. The brief interaction with the crowd at the start of the video makes the cover even sweeter since Matt wrote the song very early on and his introduction of the song in this instance demonstrates a lot of gratitude to his fans and everyone in the audience. Similar to Dave Grohl, Bellamy and all of Muse are very grateful and humble and this rendition seems to be directed at the fans in gratitude. Thus, please listen and it places as runner up in my countdown.
1) Say Hello To Heaven By Temple of the Dog (As covered by Chris Cornell in Nov 26 2011 Solo)
Any version of Say Hello to Heaven is bound to be touching purely due to the fact that it is a message of a final goodbye to a friend. The song would never have been as moving as it is had it not been for Cornell's one of a kind delivery and emotionally gruff vocal delivery and all of these senses were stripped when he stripped the music down to the bare necessities and sat alone with his voice and an acoustic guitar to remember his long-gone friend. Cornell had covered his own song acoustically before but this version is so powerful and emotive and the soaring vocals are even more impressive given that Cornell was 47 years old at this point. This song is tragic as Cornell himself would die just 6 years later and this song will remain relevant to the loss of the great man as well as Andrew Wood; The song's original subject.
I hope you enjoyed this countdown and I encourage you all to listen to all of the above versions on days when you want to meditate or wallow a little or simply fancy hearing a different take on a song by the very same artist that made it famous. You may also want to check out a bonus tracks that I will include below. Be lucky everyone.
*I do not claim to own any rights to images or videos. All images and videos sourced from google and YouTube
