"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

So, it's happening, the much ballyhooed re-release of The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie & The Infinite Saddness is finally coming out on the 4th of December. We've been hearing about this for at least a year.  It's been pushed back at least once, twice probably. It's a 5 disc set with a bonus DVD of a live show in Chicago.  Not including the original 2 discs that comprised the original release, there are 64 unreleased tracks, demos, etc.  The original album is a masterpiece, but it's not something I sit and listen to all the way through other than about once a year.  Still, I really, really want this re-release.  I'm pretty sure that it's the extra tracks and the view into Billy Corgan's writing process that is what fascinates me here.  If it came with a DVD documenting the making of the record, it would be amazing. Then again, these double albums are always interesting to me.  Just the notion of writing that many songs for the same project i

I started the new Soundgarden disc in the car on the way to (and from) work today.  It, moreso than the Green Day, will require a closer listen at some point with the headphones, but still.  At least I started, right? After dinner, I sat down to finally watch the episode of Austin City Limits with Mumford & Sons.  It was astoundingly spectacular.  They put so much energy into their live performances, even their slower paced songs are a foot-stomping good time. Sadly, not much playing tonight.  Looks like tomorrow will have to be an awesome sprint to the Zeppelin finish line.  Even so, I'm feeling better the last few nights, if only because I've gotten more of a chance to play in the last 72 hours than it feels like I had in the whole week prior to that. I can't believe it's Friday tomorrow.  The week has gone by so quickly, and I've been pondering my Friday post since about Tuesday night.  Should be interesting to see what direction said post ends up taki

Tonight was AWESOME! I got home around 6, torn between dropping King Animal on the stereo with the good set of headphones and cranking that up, or dropping the DVD for Zeppelin's Celebration Day into the BluRay player and watching that . I decided on the Zeppelin. It was an amazing decision.  The whole show clocks in at just a tad over 2 hours in length, and the version of "Stairway" near the last third of the gig really helped my confidence with that.  I'll be the first to admit that I haven't spent as much time with it as I had hoped I would at the beginning of the month, but much like last time, I'm trying to make up for lost time here at the end.  The parts that it helped with the most were the third run of notes (that spot has always tripped me up, it's something about the timing, I think), and then the triplets near the end.  I've pretty well got the hang of the really high run of notes right near the end of the solo after playing tonight,

So, I taught today.  It went okay.  I got a bit of progress out of my student, which feels like a major victory after the last few lessons. Maybe it has to do with learning styles, but I find it interesting that both of my students are working on the same song, and one of them picked up the basics in the course of one lesson, while the other has had the music for almost a month and is still struggling to put the second line of it together. What that tells me is that I need to do a better job of altering my approach with one student while keeping my approach pretty much the same with the other. Didn't get a chance to do much playing for myself today, or to really have a chance to even think about anything involving my own musical journey until it was later in the evening, and I was exhausted.  Here's the good news that comes out of that, though.  I've got tomorrow night off from any responsibility except for music.  I'm supposed to go to dinner right after work, bu

So, I imported the new Green Day, as well as the new Soundgarden into itunes today and synced the ipod.  Then I took the new Green Day record with me in the car for the trip to and from work.  I like it.  It feels a bit like the record they made as The Foxboro Hot Tubs a few years back... garage rock-y, and filled with joy and reckless abandon.  This trilogy idea Billie Joe and company hatched might just be one of the best ideas of the year. Found a link to a cool website today.  http://www.music-for-music-teachers.com It's got songs and resources for those of us that are trying to make in-roads by teaching others to love music. And speaking of teaching, my lesson went really well tonight!  My second student wanted to start learning some Christmas music.  We started with "Jingle Bells."  She made it all the way through by the end of the lesson, and though she's got some work to do, she did really well for sight-reading the song for the first time. Didn't d

Great interview with Jimmy Page in the current issue of Rolling Stone .  He talks a lot about riff writing and the '07 reunion show that just got released on CD & DVD as Celebration Day .  According to RS, it's the most extensive interview Page has ever given.  Oh, and he hyped Zeppelin re-releases next year with outtakes and extras.  Outtakes and extras?  Seriously? Finally got a chance to sit down and just play for a little bit.  Squeezed a few cool lead lines out of the Strat, but nothing seriously worth recording.  Stumbled onto a cool chord that I'd like to find a way to incorporate into the Grohl Challenge somehow.  Tried putting a few things with it, and they almost stuck, but nothing worked out well enough to justify hanging on to. I'm really, really hoping that this upcoming week is a solid one for me musically, because aside from my B&N orders coming in, this last week was pretty much crap for me from a musical standpoint. I teach tomorrow.  Let&

Two (maybe three) music-related accomplishments today.  Here's a quick list: 1) Finished When I Grow Up , the Juliana Hatfield biography.  It was an interesting read about a musician I didn't really know that much about.  The book was engaging and well written, and ultimately it made me want to check out her music, which should be the point behind rock bios.  I think I'll start with the record she talks about in the last chapter of the book, and work my way forward. 2) My Green Day and Soundgarden records came today.  Seriously, how fast was that?  I have dutifully opened both discs, but with more company over this afternoon/evening, I haven't had a chance to listen to either one yet. 3) We put up the Christmas tree today.  I know what you're saying... you want to know how on God's green earth that has anything to do with music.  Well, I'll tell you.  Putting up the tree involved shifting things around on the left half (the half with the recording stud

Okay, so it turns out that we had plans after I got off work tonight, so my grand plans for "Stairway" and such were foiled by prior commitments. Nevertheless, I got in a little bit of reading in the Hatfield bio over my lunch break today, so that counts for something, right? One of the other cool music things about today?  I finally had a chance to bring up a bit of music at the new job.  We were talking during the last hour about songs, and somehow one of my co-workers started singing muppets songs, which got "Mahna Mahna" stuck in someone else's head.  So then I got to mention The Green Album , and all of the cool artists (Airborne Toxic Event, Alkaline Trio, etc.) that are on there, and have people listen to a bit of stuff... thereby hopefully turning them on to some cool stuff they weren't aware of before. Also of note: my brother sent me some more Parov Stellar (wickedly cool hip-hop jazz) last night.  Just 5 tracks, but hey, it's 5 more than

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Not much in the way of music making today, what with the holiday and all, but I did find a bit of time to make some more progress toward finishing off that Juliana Hatfield bio. I'm thankful for music every day, but today gives me a chance to reflect on the journey of the last three years.  I know there's still a long way to go, but the progress that has been made so far has been worth every second of work I've put in.  Do I know I could have gotten more done?  Absolutely, but it makes sense in my head to be thankful for the work that has gotten me to where I am while still embracing the work that is yet to come. Tomorrow it's back to "Stairway," and the Dave Grohl Challenge, and the rest of my rock & roll odyssey.

Another mostly quiet day filled with rest and recovery.  I did work a full day, though, so that's progress, right? I did some listening today.  Some of the new Alanis disc.  Although I can't honestly say how much of it I'd be able to give a quality review of right now.  Sick brain isn't wonderful at concentrating yet.  Still, I felt better as the day went along. I got a couple of pages of reading in by the end of the day.  I'd really like to finish off this Juliana Hatfield bio in the next day or so. Didn't really have the energy to do much playing, though. Maybe tomorrow before all of the festivities kick in.  We shall see.

So, I know this is posting way, way late, but I've got to get it in so I can get to 365 posts this year. I had the flu yesterday, so I stayed home sick from work, and didn't teach. I was really lacking in energy for most of the day, but I found it in myself to do a bit of listening in the middle of the afternoon.  What bums me out is that I just picked up that new Zep disc and the new Alanis, and I didn't even have the energy to get up and import them so I could listen to something new . I started to feel better last night, though, so I sat down to watch PBS's American Masters documentary on David Geffen.  I didn't get to see the whole thing, but the parts of it that I did get to watch were really fun. I was so out of it yesterday that, while I could have finished the Juliana Hatfield bio with a day at home, I didn't have the strength or the concentration to read.  Feeling better this morning.  Hopefully that translates into making it through work and

Taught today.  Introduced both major and minor chords in a bit more detail.  Seemed to me like my student at least grasped the basics of what I was trying to get across, so that's awesome.  She's still doing really, really well. In other musical news today, I had to run a few errands out of town, which afforded me the chance to do a bit of music shopping for the first time in a long time.  Here's what I snagged: 1) The latest issue of Guitar World , which had Aerosmith on the cover, and a big article with Kim Thayil from Soundgarden. 2) "Celebration Day," the new CD/DVD combo pack of the '07 Zeppelin reunion show.  Everything I've read about it has been amazing, and the clips I've seen have been wonderful.  Can't wait to sit down and check out the live show. 3) "Havoc & Bright Lights," the Alanis record that came out back in August.  Ever since I watched that Guitar Center Sessions episode, and heard the single, I've been

So, I re-arranged one of the chord progressions from the Grohl Challenge today.  Switched two of the chords around, and made it sound a little more, I don't know, radio friendly?  Pleasing to the ear, maybe.  Either way, I like the flow of it better now than I did before. Sat down for a bit of time with the Vai workout too.  Did a couple of small sessions with it.  I need to somewhat restructure the setup of the studio in order to make practicing easier.  Mainly this is to incorporate a music stand where it can actually be of some use.  I've got one of the table-top ones, but it needs to find a way to be out front more than it is right now.  I'll say this much for sure, though, the finger exercises he includes feel like they're really going to do some good.  I really hope that I can dive headlong into this thing, even if it doesn't mean doing the whole 30 hours, I'd be happy (and probably improve leaps and bounds) if I got half an hour out of each segment, and

Tried to watch the Guitar Center Sessions with Slash today, but discovered that the one I recorded somehow picked up about fifteen minutes in.  Found another airing, though, and recorded that one, so hopefully that will work out better. Read a lot more of the Juliana Hatfield bio today after work.  I'm over halfway through it now, and I'm still really digging on it.  I think I'm going to have to check ut more of her music than I've heard when I'm done with this book. Found something unexpected when I picked up the guitar for a bit tonight: a cool, bluesy sounding riff.  Cool enough that I recorded it after playing through it a few times.  Even impressed the Mrs.  "oooh," she said, walking past the door, "I like that."  Then she paused and said "sometimes I forget I'm married to a rockstar." Remember when she made me promise that, when we got the living room and the studio stuff organized, I'd record some stuff?  Me too.  I

Another rough day at work.  Did some listening on the way home at the end of the day, and had designs on doing some listening during my break this afternoon, but that didn't come to pass.  Having a fully charged ipod with the second Missy Higgins record now uploaded is an improvement, however, so that's good at least. It was also going to be a heavy evening of playing, but after another long day, it turned into an evening of watching music-related TV.  I finished off the Alanis Guitar Center Sessions, and watched most of the one with Switchfoot. Alanis, at one point, made the statement that all of her best songs are usually written in 45 minutes or less, and that, for her, if it doesn't happen in that amount of time, the song's not worth it.  I can count on one hand the number of times that has happened to me when it comes to songwriting.  Then again, I can also count on one hand the number of times in the last six months that I've spent 45 minutes focused solel

So, I made another 40+ pages of headway on the Juliana Hatfield bio tonight.  Still really enjoying it. Syncing and charging the ipod tonight as I type this.  I looked for my car charger earlier, and was unable to locate it.  In all likelihood, it's buried way under the passenger seat, and I just didn't look hard enough, but still. Sat with a guitar on my lap tonight, but no real focus.  I was just kind of blasted out after a long day of work.  So, again, I played, but wasn't able to follow up on last night's blast of progress, which in a way is a shame, because I had the house to myself tonight. Tomorrow, I need, need, need to spend some serious time with "Stairway," because that effort this month has been decidedly lacking. The one thing I can say for today: music got me through an otherwise rough work day, and for that I am (always) grateful. I need to find a way to adjust my playing schedule now that my work schedule has evened itself out.  Getti

I finally took a bit of time tonight to sit down with my song thoughts and the Dave Grohl Challenge notebook.  First time in a long time.  Here's what I discovered: 1) There's only 1 song idea that needs to be phased out, and only then because it sounds too similar to another chord progression that I have written down. 2) I'm starting to hear a bit of connective tissue between ideas, which makes me think that there will actually be something cohesive (at least an EP) that sees the light of day from this. 3) The smaller bits (runs of three chords, a single melody line, etc.) need a lot of work to get to the point where they are even somewhat finished, but I like all of them enough to at least have them in the running for the final project. 4) There's 1 idea that stands out because it doesn't fit in with all of the others, but that too is cool enough to use for something at some point (maybe the hard rock band if B. and I ever try working that out again). 5)

So, I didn't teach today.  My car wouldn't start after I got done with work tonight, and I had to have it jumped in order to make it home.  My student's father (who is also a close family friend) came out to jump my car, and they suggested we re-schedule.  I was all ready to teach, but they wanted to postpone, which was probably the smart decision. What did I do instead?  Came home, sat down on the couch, and watched an episode of this show I've been recording called "Guitar Center Sessions."  The episode I watched tonight featured Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.  It was incredibly cool to watch performances... people actually playing instruments on live TV, and then sit and listen as the interview segments basically walked you through the band's entire career, from formation right up to present day.  Each episode is an hour.  Nothing too ridiculously long, but they give you just enough that you come away feeling like you got let behind the curtain a

Taught today.  Lesson went well.  My student is really coming along nicely. Had a few minutes to play for myself today as well, and it felt like I was knocking rust off.  My three days of rock & roll bliss didn't necessarily have as much music in them as I would have liked them to.  I'm tired of having situations like this and feeling, at the end of them, like I've screwed up another opportunity.  I didn't even get to "Stairway." In other news, apparently in the course of some more unpacking today, S. found another huge pile of CDs.  Lots of R.E.M. and Oasis, from what she says, and the second Missy Higgins record.  I know full-well that organizing and sorting her music is going to be one of the last things we get to, but when we do, it seems like it will be an easier prospect now than it did a month ago. It's looking like I'll have most of tomorrow night for myself (S. has meetings), so I'm really hoping that, after my lesson, I'll b

Another semi-frustrating day music-wise. I started in on the organizing of the rest of the music stuff, only to abandon it part of the way through in search of a better way through than a giant list.  After spending the rest of the day thinking it over, I think the list is still the way to go, but there needs to be some organizing done before the list is made (magazines by title and year, etc.). Did a little bit of playing this afternoon, but again, nothing for a long enough period of time to be considered noteworthy. I did , however, stumble across an interesting article on NPR again today.  This time it was about artists who are overdue for a new record.  On the list: Damien Rice.  I couldn't agree more.  I loved both of his records, although according to a link in the NPR article, he wasn't too fond of the second one.  Haven't gotten a chance to follow that link and read the article yet, but that is definitely happening tomorrow. The other cool thing about today

Today was one of those days where it didn't feel like I got a lot done, but I know that it will be a day I look back on and think that the small things that did get accomplished were springboard steps to bigger and better things. With the exception of one box of desk stuff that's still sitting in the living room, the studio space is back to being uncluttered and (mostly) useable.  Still debating re-organizing the room to make things even better, but I figure that can wait until I get done sorting the rest of the music stuff. And speaking of the sorting... I feel like I'm starting to get a clearer picture of exactly what's here .  It's taking longer than I want it to, but tomorrow's project (what I hope will be a comprehensive list of all the magazines, transcriptions, and articles I have at my disposal) will go a long, long way toward solving that issue. Not a whole lot of playing or listening got done today, but between tomorrow and Monday, that will defi

One of the cool things about the continuing process of organizing all of S's. stuff is that she keeps finding more and more music.  Today's finds included the following records: 1) The Crane Wife - The Decemberists (I own this already) 2) Picture Perfect Morning - Edie Brickell 3) Too Many Bunnies - Happy Flowers 4) Strategic Grill Locations - Mitch Hedberg 5) What's Left For Kicks? - Monks Of Doom I almost took the Edie Brickell record with me for the car ride back to work when I came home at lunch, and the realized that I wouldn't have enough time to fully process something brand new in the 6 minutes it would take me to get there.  So I opted for the Wallflowers instead, and vowed to take a listen to the Edie Brickell sometime in the next three days. The other thing that I'd like to take a moment to make note of tonight is that I'm really missing not having a music biography in my life right now.  I think that tomorrow, when all of the playing and o

Okay, so with yesterday being as haphazard as it was, I'm going to try and make tonight's post a bit more focused. I listened to the second new Stones song from their upcoming hits package online today.  NPR had a story about it.  I was surprised, again, to discover just how good the song is.  Apparently, 5 decades in, the Stones can still bring the rock and roll fury down upon the world.  Admittedly, the riff sounds a bit like "Street Fighting Man," but still.  Nevertheless, I'm feeling like, instead of just buying the new songs, I ought to at least consider buying the new collection.  I'd love the Super Deluxe, 4 disc, 80 song version of it.  If only it wasn't so astoundingly expensive.  Regardless of that, here's the link to the story on NPR's website. http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2012/11/08/164632745/hear-the-rolling-stones-brand-new-one-more-shot In other happenings tonight, I started reading a long Guitar World article on The Beatl

So, one of my friends has a picture online of them in a bee costume, and all I can think is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qVPNONdF58 I'm in the market for another record that will turn my world upside down.  Feels like it's been a while on that one.  I know that the new Kasey Anderson disc is out there in a couple of weeks, but right now that seems so very far away. Had two more people today ask me if I taught guitar.  This might just turn into a respectable side-business yet. Crazy busy day otherwise.  Got to talk music for a bit with my brother, though, so that was good. Also of note, apparently the Civil Wars have cited "irreconcilable differences," and broken up.  They had one of the coolest records of last year.  It bums me out that they have split up. Ran a tiny bit of "Stairway" today, too, but didn't spend enough time on it to comment. Tonight's post is increasingly not structured at all.  I'll try to be a bit more cohere

Taught after work again.  My student is making slow and steady progress, which at this point, I will take as a victory.  She still has trouble focusing, but I feel like we're getting somewhere. Also of note when it comes to my teaching: it's looking pretty certain that I'll be getting a 3rd student at some point soon.  Their parents have agreed to lessons, and all that remains between now and them starting is getting a broken string fixed.  This is awesome news. Worked on "Stairway" for a while tonight.  Felt good to get back to it.  I ran through everything up to the solo, and was happy with the way it's coming along.  Granted, this was the easier part the last time, too, but it's feeling better now than it did then, so I'll take that as a win. Found my magazine boxes tonight as well.  Started filling the first one with all of the resources I had pulled and set aside the other day.  I've got three more to fill.  Whether I use them all or not

Taught after work.  The lesson went really, really well.  My student is really picking things up quickly.  She's working on melodies for simple songs right now, but I planted the idea of chords going along with those melodies today.  Within the melody discussion, we're also working on getting her through all of the notes in the first three frets.  After focusing in a lot on specific songs the last few weeks, today's lesson was more on notes and chords, which will be okay.  The way I see it, if we can get her comfortable with all of the notes in the first three frets, most of the major chords, and almost all of the important early minor chords will be covered. Finally held firm to my vow from last week and put the new Wallflowers disc back into rotation in the car.  Got through the first couple of songs driving home from work/teaching tonight.  Still really digging it. Didn't make much progress today with either the organizing of the music stuff or "Stairway.&qu

So, just for fun today, I went back and looked through the first 15 or so posts from the first time I tried to work my way through "Stairway."  Here's what I found:  In the first half of the month that year, I hardly worked on it at all.  So even though I didn't really look at it much today, I still feel like I'm ahead of last time, which is cool.  That being said, I still need to put in some good work on it tomorrow, or else it will feel like it's starting to get away from me again. Here's what did get done today: 1) Had a good conversation with the people leading the praise band at church.  That was a long overdue experience, let me tell you.  They don't really have a lot of time to rehearse right now, their other commitments being what they are, but they did suggest I get together with the piano player and start by working with her, so I'll try and set that up sometime soon. 2) Finally gave the ipod that sync and full charge it's bee

Started in on "Stairway" again today.  With everything I learned the last time I tried it, I can already feel that the song is easier underneath my fingers.  The transitions on the chord changes are smoother, and the chords up the neck in the bridge are quicker as well.  I'm really feeling confident about this, and I didn't even spend that much time with it.  (If I really wanted to feel dumb right now, I'd go back and look at my posts from the month I tried to learn it before, just to see if I made the same sorts of remarks then.  I bet I did). I know my primary goal is going to be getting the solo down pat, but it never hurts to get those chord shapes underneath your fingers at least a few times. I picked up a few magazine files today when we were out shopping.  Now that I've found some of the resources I'd spent the last month plus wondering about, I don't want to misplace a main piece of the lesson plan I'm creating.  It just made sense to

How some things end up where they do, I'll never know.  I found my "Stairway" tab, buried at the bottom of the last pile of magazines I sorted through.  It was right next to about three or four other things that I'd been searching for on and off since I moved in August.  What puzzles me is that I know I had set that stuff aside in a spot where it wouldn't get mixed in with a bunch of other stuff.  Oh well... I found it, and that's what's really important.  Now I can spend some of my Saturday off working on that solo. I'm thinking that the magazines I've got here need to be sorted by year, and that there needs to be a list that says what transcriptions are in it, and what the major lessons are from each issue.  If I'm going to be able to find things, both for use in my teaching and my own personal use, that's one of the little things that is going to make this easier on me.  I'll work on that tomorrow, too.  Then, once that's don

So, the one hundredth day of the blogging year was supposed to be an epic confirmation of all things music.  Instead, it has turned into a frustrating day where all I can think about is how I'm going to spend my weekend re-organizing the shelves of music stuff in the living room.  And maybe the whole studio space.  Partly to make things easier to access, and partly to keep the kittycats off of my recording equipment. Also, it's November.  And so once again I wrestle with the desire to write a novel, and tell myself that it's okay to work on a classic rock song.  And, seeing as how 2012 was supposed to be "finish year," and I haven't really finished much of anything yet, here's my plan: I'm going to re-visit "Stairway," I'm going to start with the solo, I'm going to nail it, and then i'm going to refresh my memory on the rest of the song from there, since I learned the rest of it pretty well two Novembers ago, and I'm fairl