Slidin' into those Dms...(D minors)

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

Max-out Monsters

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

I'm feeling the Blues

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

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 

A different but abundant place to find metal to lift to

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 

Songs to Lift to

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

Top 3 acoustic renditions of non-acoustic songs

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

All time Low March 17th 2018

As a present for Christmas and Valentines day, my girlfriend bought me a ticket to see her favourite band at Alexandra Palace on the 17th March. This was a significant moment for me as I had never seen live music up until this point and, being so lovely, she thought I would appreciate the opportunity (Which I did). We were accompanied by her best friend and her boyfriend, myself and him being the only half of us who didn't know much All Time Low and had never seen them. Other than spending an hour and a half in the snow without a jacket whilst queuing, I found the experience very interesting and I enjoyed a lot of the music despite not really knowing many of their set list. I am very grateful to my beautiful girlfriend for allowing me the opportunity to go somewhere I wouldn't have been had she not surprised me and I believe that the other male in question also rather enjoyed his first experience of All Time Low.

The main difference between live gigs and studio music is of course the interaction with the crowd and I must credit the band for their great relationship with the crowd. They seemed genuinely grateful to their die-hard fans as well as everyone else who had paid to see them and they took a selfie with the crowd after the encore. They seem to be very genuine and friendly musicians and thus I enjoyed the gig very much, even if my usual taste is heavier than their style. If you are open minded and enjoy pop punk then I would very much recommend seeing All Time Low; If only to appreciate their humility and good grace.

I would like to publicly thank my wonderful girlfriend for giving me the opportunity and buying the ticket for me and also for keeping it such a secret (she isn't great with the secrecy stuff). I would also like to thank her best friend and her boyfriend for accompanying us and making my experience of the whole day even more pleasant.

Furthermore, I'd like to apologise for being so absent recently, I've been working and I never want to publish work without just cause for the sake of statistics but I intend to come back with a vengeance! Never fear , there will be more content.


* All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights

To all my readers

What do you want to see me discuss?

Good afternoon to you all. Thank you as always for taking the time to read my blog and I cannot thank you enough for your loyalty. This is going to be one of my shortest blog entries but I want to include you in my work and get a flavour of what you would like me to review or discuss. If you want my opinion or explanation for anything then please leave a comment at the bottom of this post or anywhere else on my blog and I shall endeavor to answer them to the best of my ability.

Depending on how many responses I get I will upload as many posts as necessary in reply to your requests next week. Expect the first one mid-week and I may even upload a couple in one day if need be.

Cheers once again for your time and ,as always, stay lucky everyone!


*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights

My Dream Guitar

Gretsch Falcon guitars

Like any musician, one version of you weapon of choice, in my case guitar, is never enough. Despite being just 21 and being skint all the time, i have the privilege of saying that I own 3 beautiful guitars which I endeavor to give equal attention. These consist of a timeless budget Fender Strat which I have reviewed on this very blog, a bright and well crafted Tanglewood which I have also reviewed on here, and a budget Epiphone LP that was given to me on my 21st birthday. I adore all of my guitars as my lovely girlfriend and my family would testify and they all sound unique from each other and I believe that I have a playing style which is unique to me. I will own, treasure and play them all forever.

Nonetheless, ever since I first laid eyes on the Gretsch White Falcon in none other than Denmark street, and later saw it in the video for Californication by The Red Hot Chili Peppers being played by the brilliant Frusciante , I have always wanted one of my own in glossy black. With them being such an expensive guitar, they are not offered to test out with the same blaze attitude as most models and thus I have never played one but I have held one and the weight and balance is perfect. The model I held was called the Black Falcon (not the most original name but pretty damn accurate). If you have never heard of this guitar I have put a clip from YouTube on the bottom of this post so please do watch it and if you have the chance then give a Gretsch a try in person. They are deep and rich in tone and the body is wide and hollow enough that you can produce a great sound even from unplugged and when they are paired with a valve amp the combination is a symphony of beauty.


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Thank you for your time and I hope you are all well and are looking forward to my favourite time of the year and the time of peace on earth and good will to all men. Be lucky!


*All images sourced from google .I do not claim to own any rights 

3 Christmas Songs By Rock artists

As the festive season and my favourite time of year approaches and edges nearer and nearer, I am refraining from listening to Christmas music until December or at least until after my gorgeous girlfriend's 21st which is also coming up. However, some people complain about Christmas music, saying that it is cheesy and all sounds the same. Personally I enjoy all of that about Christmas music, despite being a fan or metal and grunge, but in order for everyone to get the most out of the season and prepare for the most wonderful time of the year I thought that I would list 3 Christmas songs in no particular order that are by or covered by rock musicians. And without any further digression, here they are:

1) "Christmas Time (Don't let the bells end)" The Darkness

I know The Darkness are a postmodern band and are not everybody's cup of tea and that is fine. However, their contribution to Christmas is too good to miss. It is cheesy and catchy and comes with an equally corny music video but if you can be cheesy at Christmas then whats the point of all the decor and festivities?

2) "Please come home for Christmas" Jon Bon Jovi

This is a festive song by none other than the one and only Jon Bon Jovi, the king of hair and 80's soft rock bands in my opinion. It is also a song that is easy to relate to if you have ever had to spend Christmas or part of the festive season away from loved ones. It contains Bon Jovi's classically pharyngeal voice along with a traditional Bon Jovi ballad tempo. It is a banger of a song and one that you should definitely give a try as we approach the season of peace on earth and good will to all men.

3) "Blue Christmas" Elvis Presley

If the King sings about Christmas and you don't feel the urge to join in then there may be something wrong with your ears. This is a song about missing loved ones at Christmas and another relevant message at the time of love and understanding. If you have the time, check out the mash up of Elvis Presley and Martina Mcbride on YouTube and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

So there we have it! Hopefully I have given you some information that you can use to immerse yourself in the festive season that is approaching so quickly and I hope that you are able to get as excited as me about Christmas. Hope you are well and as always, stay lucky and thank you for reading.

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights.

Top 3 Three Days Grace Songs

I'm not sure why but recently I have delved into the musical catalogue of Three days Grace and its fucking brilliant (Excuse my language, but if you know me then you'll know thats just me). So as the band are so great and my favourite songs are from the Adam Gontier years, I will be listing my top 3 Three Days Grace Songs in the Gontier Years in ascending order:

3) "Running away"

Taken from 3DG's self titled album, this is arguably the slowest of the contents. It is about a difficult relationship and the struggles of sticking around and keeping a partner. It has an acoustic factor but it manages to retain Gontier's violent vocals without interfering with the sweeter and deep sentiment. That is one of the things I love so much about the Gontier years of 3DG. Therefore, it is my first entry on this list of great songs.

2) "Gone forever"

Once again, the second pick is also a more acoustic like song of a break-up. I think Adam may have had difficulty in his relationships...Anyway, this is a more positive take on being left alone. It is unclear as to whether Gontier is telling us that he feels better, or telling himself. His soaring and raw vocals are still prominent on this track and his voice seems to climb higher and higher. It is is very impressive in terms of range in style and vocals, accompanied by an awesome musical backing too of course. Thus, this is the runner up.

1) "Animal I have become" 

My winner was a toss up between this and "I hate everything about you" but currently I had to choose this as the champion since it as the song that led me to 3DG. I remembered it from Smackdown Vs Raw when i was young and listened to it in the gym on day on a 3DG station and the biggest weights felt particularly inferior to me one that day. The song is a pump up and destroy song with a climax and several build ups. I know my Uni training partner, Jakey, was also a fan as he also used to listen to "Riot" of heavy deadlift sessions. Thus this is the winner and deservedly so.

I hope you enjoyed my countdown and i hope you agreed. Take care!!

*I do not claim to own any images; all images sourced from google

Ode to my girlfriend's music taste

Good morning everybody. I have been with my girlfriend for quite a while now and it came to my attention that I listen to and enjoy a lot more variation of what i would call "her music". Therefore, as a kind of thank you to the lovely woman she is, I thought I would list a top 3 of these new repertoire of tracks that are my favourites. So, in ascending order, here are three of my favourites:

3) My Chemical Romance "I'm Not OK (I Promise)"

I have never been a fan of MCR but my girlfriend and a good friend of hers are long time big fans. Thus, I have heard much about the band and the influence that they had on my girlfriend as a young lady. This song is one that I had heard many times in my life but I have recently listened to it a few times and it is certainly a catchy song with a relevant message. For this reason, this is my first entry in this list.

2) Paramore "Still into you"

Now my girlfriend admits to not being a big fan of what she calls new Paramore but she says this song is an exception and I would have to agree. It is easy to listen to and has a likability factor that I don't think anybody could really deny. Catchy and sweet in sentiment; this is a decent song. 

1) All Time Low "If these sheets were the states"

All time low are my girlfriend's favourite band that is still together I believe. This song's message is sweet and relatable; being away from my girlfriend for a lot of the time whilst she studies at University. It is a catchy and once again radio-friendly track that I would likely have not noticed had it not been for my girlfriend directing me towards it and I am most grateful that she did. The band as a whole are actually very good and the members seem like really nice people who are grateful for their fans and popularity. It would be fair to say that they are a band that surprised me in terms of my liking them so. 

I hope you enjoyed my little nod to my lovely girlfriend and her music. If you haven't heard the songs mentioned then please do check them out if you have time. As always, thank you to everybody that reads this blog and feel free to share it on. I cannot thank you enough. Stay Lucky everyone.

*All images sourced from google; i do not claim to own any rights and this is all opinion

My top 3 Female Vocalists

I recently posted a selection of my personal top 3 male vocalists and it was inevitable it would be followed by my picks for the top 3 Female vocalists of all time. So, Without further ado and in ascending order, here we are:

3) Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin is the queen of soul and pretty much anything that she sings. She is a name that even the most oblivious and passive of consumers would recognise due to her appearance in The Blues Brothers where she famously sang and danced to Respect. Her voice is powerful and piercing whilst she maintains an effortless look on her face and in her eyes. She has real passion for music, having started in Gospel and moving to Soul and Motown/Blues later on in her career. Therefore, Aretha Franklin comes in third place for me. 

2) Amy Lee

My pick for runner up is the vocal powerhouse from Evanescence, Amy Lee. As a trained operatic singer, her range is almost unparalleled in today's standards. She has developed her own style by crossing very operatic and dramatic vocals with her rock persona in Evanescence and has demonstrated that, along with the entire band, she is very versatile and cannot be tied down to one genre with such variety among their work as Bring me to life, Lithium, and My Immortal. Therefore, Amy Lee gets runner up in my personal picks for top female vocalists of all time. 

1) Amy Winehouse

It would seem that all the Amys made it to my favourites. Amy Winehouse is fully deserving of the title of Queen of the female vocalists. Her style both in terms of fashion and musical style were unique and instantly recognisable. She was lost too soon due to problems with addiction but her legacy remains and had she lived a fuller life she would likely be the most praised female singer of recent times. She had a raw talent that she was able to capture and tame to create her unique style and thus she is the top pick for my top 3 female vocalists of all time.  

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any images

My top 3 male Vocalists

Hello everyone, I firstly must apologise for the length of time that has passed since my last post. I have been busy with University work and awaiting results which were all positive if you were wondering. I have also been dealing with boring admin type stuff along with job applications and so on. Because of my long absence, I thought it would be a good idea to share my picks for the top 3 vocalists of all time in order to remain in association with everybody who has been gracious enough to read my blog on any regular basis. So, without further ado, here are my personal top 3 male vocalists of all time in ascending order:

3) Elvis Presley

Elvis is known as the king by all due to his majesty and popularity even so long after his death and this opinion is one of which i fully agree. He had the ability to transition to the pop-like genre of the time with hits such as Jailhouse Rock , and demonstrated his silky smooth crooning voice with tracks such as Love Me Tender and was later able to change his genre to rock and roll which he is most famous for creating by mixing soul and gospel together. His voice was one of the most unique factors in his fame as it was powerful and subtle at the same time and was soothing and  fierce simultaneously. Therefore, The King is my pick for number 3 on my list. 

2) Freddie Mercury

As famous for his bold tache and fist movements on stage as he is for his vocal abilities, Freddie Mercury was undoubtedly one of the best showmen and frontmen to ever grace music. He had a range of 4 octaves which was far out of the usual for male contemporary singers. He was one of the best live acts alongside Queen and his performances and legacy are so important that he performed at the 2012 opening ceremony for the Olympics as a hologram alongside the other members of Queen. Thus, Mercury comes in second place in my personal opinion. 

 1) Chris Cornell

Was there ever any doubt as to who my favourite singer and possibly favourite frontman of all time would be? Chris Cornell had the ability to scream, belt, shout, croon, and wail in a way that no other has been able to replicate in my opinion. He had a soulful and powerful voice. It was gravelly and gruff in his chest voice whilst his falsetto was insane; High and screaming but incredibly masculine. The voice that he was known for was one of the purest and most unique in music, certainly in rock and he will not be forgotten; he has left a significant mark on the rock an Grunge genre as a founding party in the creation of Grunge as well as a lifetime producer of Grunge. His untimely death was devastating and I have now come to terms with it yet i still listen to his music as often as I always have. He is my pick for the best male vocalist of all time and I think this is likely to be a fairly popular choice.

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any images used

Say Hello To Heaven My Friend

On the 18th of May, my long time music idol passed away from a suspected suicide. I feel a great loss that the brilliant and incomparable Chris Cornell has left this earth and rejoined old friends Layne Staley and Andrew Wood. He was my inspiration in a difficult time and i found his music rather late (around 2010) as I was too young for the original grunge movement. I have since followed him closely and loyally, even writing my University dissertation largely on Cornell and his impact on the Grunge movement. I feel that it is time to list my top 3 Cornell tracks. I will keep this brief and respectful in honour of the legend that Chris Cornell will always be.

3) "Slaves and Bulldozers" Soundgarden :

This track from Badmotorfinger was a "fuck you" to the record labels and large music corporations who were exploiting a young Soundgarden to make them money and not respecting the time needed to create masterful and emotional music. The screams and wails of  Cornell are released in explicit and unavoidable fashion and there is definite anger in Cornell's heart. This track proved that Soundgarden would not be exploited and were far more aware of the music industry than most companies would give them credit for. It was written by Cornell and concurred by all members of the band and thus released and, despite not being the best commercial success, it remains a powerful song to this day with the god-like vocals of the great Cornell.

2) "Say Hello To Heaven" Temple of the Dog:

This emotional and heartfelt track from the only self-titled album Temple of the Dog was a tribute to Cornell's friend Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone who died of a drugs overdose shortly before the formation of the group. It details the pain felt by a man losing his friend and hope that he will once again reunite in Heaven. It is such a lyrically beautiful song that i have chosen it as the title for my tribute post to the great man. Once more, it contains all the range and power of the banshee-like Cornell but this time in a more subtle, sincere and softer way. Its a beautiful song and is very fitting in the aftermath of the loss of the icon that will always be Cornell.

1) "The day I Tried to Live" Soundgarden:

Taken from Superunknown, this track details the thoughts of a man who struggles with life and tries to forget his depression but fails. This is a violent track with much anger and disdain for modern life and the accompanying music video echoes this, with the dark cellar room and the blurry imagery. This is my favourite song today, though my list would shift orders everyday depending on my mood and what album I am listening to. Cornell steals the show here with his bellowing voice and hatred of modern life. Cornell will forever remain important to me.

The others which will likely place third, second, and first place on any given day consist of:
"Burden in my Hand" Soundgarden
"Fell on Black Days" Soundgarden
"Like a Stone" Audioslave
"Black Hole Sun" Soundgarden
"Call Me a Dog" Temple of the Dog
"I am the Highway" Audioslave

                                Say Hello To Heaven man, Come and wash away the rain.

Christmas songs to learn for the Festive Season

As the most wonderful time of the year edges closer and closer, as a guitarist or any musician, you may feel the urge to pick up the weapon of your choice and learn some festive tunes. This being the case, i thought i would share a few of my favourites with you so that you may enjoy them this Christmas and show off to your distant family.

1) "Happy Christmas war is over" John Lennon

This is about as classic as you can get during the holiday season. It is a great song with a great message about peace on earth and good will to all men; the Christmas spirit embodied. It is also remarkably simple to play and sing, no difficult high or low notes and the structure relies on A, E, D, Em, Bm, and a few other simple additions to jazz it up as you see fit. It also has the recognsable quality on hearing the first line and people will want to join in.

2) "Do they know it's Christmas" Band Aid

Another classic that people will recognise within the first line. This is even simpler than the Lennon number as it contains no Bm and the only barre chord is an F which can be converted to an open chord if necessary though i do not recommend it. Other than the F chord, it relies on the standard C, A, G, D chords of so many songs and is a song that will never go out of fashion and thus can be re-deployed every Christmas.

3) "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer" Various

This is a far more playful yet equally enjoyable number for all the family. It is very simple and even includes a few 7 chords to make it sound more difficult than it is. The vocals are very easy and un-challenging and thus is can be sung by just about anybody. Once more, this will not go out of fashion and harks back to your childhood in the season of happiness that is Christmas.

I hope you have fun with these Christmas tracks and i would like to wish anybody who frequently visits this blog a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year. I hope this Christmas gives you everything that you want.

As I approach 5 years of playing guitar

In January, I will turn 21 and that will mean that it is effectively 5 years since i first expressed interest in playing the guitar. As i realised this, I began to think about things i wished i had done more when i started learning and thus thought i would share some of these thoughts with you all. So, without further ado, here they are:

1) Learnt to play barre chords properly from the beginning

Like many beginners, i found barre chords exceptionally difficult at the beginning as the strength and dexterity of my left hand had not yet developed and the sounds that barre chords produced were thus blocky and unintentionally muted. It is only in the last three years of playing that I have been able to play barre chords cleanly on the first attempt without warming up as my hand strength has improved and muscle memory is firmly installed there. It is easy to find an inferior open chord voicing for chords such as F which is a very common and difficult to formulate chord as a newbie and thus it is imperative that you do not do this and instead persevere with the barre voicings.

2) Practiced more with the slide

As opposed to sliding with fingers, which i never found particularly difficult personally, sliding with a brass, glass, or plastic slide takes practice to master. My dad has always been very talented with blues style and thus sliding and so I have always wanted to replicate and imitate his sound but so far I am nowhere near. Sliding adds so much dimension to music and had i started from the beginning, nearly 5 years ago, I dare say that i would have now been rather good. Instead, I find myself reasonably skilled at playing guitar in most styles and then have to listen to my beginner-esque sound when i don the brass slide on my heavy little finger. There is of course much time to get better and i have faith that i will, but it would have been easier to learn all the tricks of the trade when i was starting out as it were.

3) Relied less on effects of amplifiers and pedals

When i began playing, like most people, i used a beat up old acoustic with three nylon strings, but on my 17th birthday, i got my first Strat from my mum and dad for christmas which i still love to this day. However, at 17, I had only been playing for a year and so could only play basic tunes and songs. I used to put the overdriven gain effect on every song I played which probably annoyed my family since the first songs i used to play were chorded songs bereft of solos and riffs. For example, today, i choose effects carefully and play my acoustic a lot as i believe the tones of a decent acoustic such as my tanglewood are hard to replicate on an amplifier. I use the electric guitar just as often and i play appropriate heavy metal, blues, and punk songs on there; All of which I can play on the acoustic too as i am now more than capable of barre voicings and riffing!

Any beginners that may be reading this, take note and you will thank me in 5 years time, i guarantee you will not regret taking these steps. Keep playing and good luck!

3 easy electric guitar songs to learn for any beginner (in my opinion)

In a very similar effort to my last post about acoustic songs, newbies also want some electric guitar appropriate songs to play during the infancy of their guitarist career. Without further ado, here are my top 3:

1. "Smells like teen spirit" Nirvana

This classic by Nirvana is so simple, all it requires for the simplest version is one shape to be moved around 4 frets. All it requires to get the original vibe is for some rhythmic chucking and some heavy distortion either by way of an effects pedal or simply by gain cranked up as high as it can go on any amplifier.

2. "Are you gonna go my way" Lenny Kravitz

This is not as simple as the Nirvana track but sounds far more complex than it is to a non-musician. It also allows room for addition as you become more advanced and can play fills and solos.

3. "Lounge act" Nirvana

Another Nirvana track, Cobain famously wrote his songs very simply and mainly using power chords in place of barre chords and technical solos. This is another great song that requires nothing fancy in order to sound great and largely consists of a simple octave progression down the neck.

Have fun with these and once again don't give up learning. Practice makes perfect. Good luck.

3 easy acoustic Songs to learn for any beginner (In my opinion)

Learning the guitar is a great decision that i have never regretted, but looking back on when i used to play and could only form around 3 chords, it was far less interesting than 4 years later when i would call myself reasonably skilled. Due to this, i feel like it might be helpful to any aspiring musician to know some songs that are not only easy, but also sound great as a beginner to play on any calibre of acoustic guitar. All of which are in standard tuning.

1. "Every rose has its thorn" Poison

This classic 80's love rock ballad is recognisable to any musician and ,though some may laugh at its cheesy nature, it is undoubtedly a song that any young non-musician will enjoy hearing. For the majority of the song, it consists of three chords: G, C, D, and due to the formulation of these chords, it is not necessary to move around the neck or indeed move the palm of your hand and thumb and so is a perfect song for a newbie who wants to play something recognisable and classic.

2. "Knocking on Heavens Door" Bob Dylan

This song has only 4 chords for the entirety of the simple version of the song which are G,D, Am and then G,D,C. These are some of the first chords any guitarist whether they are taught by a teacher or self taught such as myself and so it is handy to help them learn quicker chord changes and is another classic. The song has been covered by many including Clapton and Guns n' Roses. It is also a very easy song to sing along to due to the rhythm of the song.

3. "Come as you are" Nirvana 

This is a classic and well known song by people of all ages and tastes and will never fail to impress others. It is slightly different to the other two options as it is not chord based but instead single-note based around the first two frets and mainly over just two strings; E and A. This one is slightly harder to sing along with due to the odd picking pattern but others will be able to sing along and it will make people in their 30's nostalgic of their teen days.

These songs are all easy to find online and they will take minutes to learn. They can also be added to as you become more advanced with solos and reggae versions. Carry on practicing and you'll never regret it. Good luck and thank you for visiting as always.