Glad To Be Back

[AndyD.]

If you're into music, then YouTube is an excellent resource for hearing something you, otherwise, wouldn't be able to hear, but people should know that they're watching/listening to something of very poor quality and should know this.

Again, I agree.

This diverts from what we were talking about, but I wanted to address a certain, admittedly peripheral, issue. I keep reading about how musicians today are endlessly complaining about the Internet, file sharing, youtube. That they are losing revenue, etc. It might just be me, but roughly 8 out of 10 times, if I really like what I hear through the aforementioned formats, I'm going to buy the cd, and not "just" because cds offer superior sound quality (to my ears at least).

As you are probably quite aware, not everybody just feels like blindly stealing lousy sounding internet music from artists, some (if not many) want to have the great sound, packaging, artwork. And of course, there are some that feel that buying a cd makes them part of that "club", which is fine as well, as long as the artist is ultimately getting paid.

This is a 'key' to various PDFs and MIDIs, and towards the end are the three movements of the Viola Sonata. Thanks for asking!

THANKS! I'm so there, dude.

[karlhenning]

: )

[Mirror Image]

Again, I agree.

This diverts from what we were talking about, but I wanted to address a certain, admittedly peripheral, issue. I keep reading about how musicians today are endlessly complaining about the Internet, file sharing, youtube. That they are losing revenue, etc. It might just be me, but roughly 8 out of 10 times, if I really like what I hear through the aforementioned formats, I'm going to buy the cd, and not "just" because cds offer superior sound quality (to my ears at least).

As you are probably quite aware, not everybody just feels like blindly stealing lousy sounding internet music from artists, some (if not many) want to have the great sound, packaging, artwork. And of course, there are some that feel that buying a cd makes them part of that "club", which is fine as well, as long as the artist is ultimately getting paid.

I own around 7,000 classical CDs, so I guess you could say I'm supporting the musicians in question.

I enjoy collecting and it wasn't until about 15 years ago that I realized how much I enjoy owning the original CD, so I can look at the artwork, read the liner notes, etc. That's just so much fun and I love meeting other collectors. I know there's so many people that love to collect just for the sake of it, but I collect to one day be able to hear the music. I have so much to hear, Andy, but, at the same time, I'm very fortunate that I'm able to have a hobby like this.

I get this sickness from my Dad. He owns every Mahler recording known to man.

[AndyD.]

Right!

[karlhenning]

Overall it was definitely lame, but I honestly did like some of the Johnson, and Vai actually seemed to stop being a robot for a couple of seconds during "For the Love of God".

I always get a chuckle when I see Vai credited, on a Zappa album, for playing stunt guitar.

[AndyD.]

I always get a chuckle when I see Vai credited, on a Zappa album, for playing stunt guitar.

Interesting, because Zappa was a far more creative and overall imaginative guitar player. Vai always struck me as Zappa meets Van Halen, and quite a few other musicians agree.

[karlhenning]

Interesting, because Zappa was a far more creative and overall imaginative guitar player.

That has always been my impression; I am gratified to see it corroborated by an actual guitarist.

Vai always struck me as Zappa meets Van Halen, and quite a few other musicians agree.

The coincidence of my use of the phrase fair warning notwithstanding, I actually don't know all that much Van Halen. I know he was "Darth Vader's" instrument of sonic punishment in Back to the Future ; )

[AndyD.]

That has always been my impression; I am gratified to see it corroborated by an actual guitarist.

The coincidence of my use of the phrase fair warning notwithstanding, I actually don't know all that much Van Halen. I know he was "Darth Vader's" instrument of sonic punishment in Back to the Future ; )

Zappa, when first meeting Edward Van Halen, praised him effusively for the album "Fair Warning". Before then, he had mistaken Van Halen for more of an Ac/Dc type of simple blues rock band.

You aren't much of a hard rock or metal enthusiast, so it's hard for me to reccomend things like the aforementioned album. But listen to, for example, the solo guitar intro of the song "Mean Street", and hear perhaps the most ferociously original invention in rock guitar history, one that probably hasn't been equalled since. Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2R2KXNQR1M

[George]

Note to self - listen to early Japanese Fair Warning CD, ASAP. 

[AndyD.]

Note to self - listen to early Japanese Fair Warning CD, ASAP. 

Japanese Van Halen?

[Scarpia]

Japanese Van Halen?

van Halen-san.

[MN Dave]

*pokes head in; wags tongue*

[AndyD.]

van Halen-san.

Ah, Eddie guitar make loud noise, grashoppa.

[George]

Japanese Van Halen?

Yes, the best (sounding, that is) kind. 

[karlhenning]

*pokes head in; wags tongue*

Musically wagged, sir!

[drogulus]

Zappa, when first meeting Edward Van Halen, praised him effusively for the album "Fair Warning". Before then, he had mistaken Van Halen for more of an Ac/Dc type of simple blues rock band.

      Mistake is right, I'm afraid. EVH is an amazing technician, but Angus Young is musical in a more satisfying way to me. He knows what not to play. It doesn't matter that he "can't" play it (for some types of "it"). Back in the '70s I had a bad reaction to EVH (and to Brian May for similar reasons) even while I was trying to learn his tricks. Simply put, he never learned how to play the blues. You might think that wouldn't matter, but there are times when the emptiness of a Van Halen comes out. In the case of Zappa, a composer of considerable depth, he could use someone like Vai for what he couldn't do himself, though I can't imagine anything with Vai being as good as what Zappa did for himself as a guitarist.

[Mirror Image]

      Mistake is right, I'm afraid. EVH is an amazing technician, but Angus Young is musical in a more satisfying way to me. He knows what not to play. It doesn't matter that he "can't" play it (for some types of "it"). Back in the '70s I had a bad reaction to EVH (and to Brian May for similar reasons) even while I was trying to learn his tricks. Simply put, he never learned how to play the blues. You might think that wouldn't matter, but there are times when the emptiness of a Van Halen comes out. In the case of Zappa, a composer of considerable depth, he could use someone like Vai for what he couldn't do himself, though I can't imagine anything with Vai being as good as what Zappa did for himself as a guitarist.

I disagree with your analysis on EVH. He was a technician to some degree, but he was so musical. Emptiness? Are you kidding me? Eddie played with alot of heart or else he couldn't have played the way he did. He practically influenced a whole generation of younger players to get away from the blues-based rock music that had become tiresome to many rock fans. I mean, sure, there may have been times when he was just burning licks, but when Eddie was on he was on in a big way. Angus Young I'm afraid does nothing for me, but then again, I have never liked AC/DC anyway. I always thought they were musically stale and their style didn't appeal to me. I admire musicianship and Van Halen delieved that in spades.

Fair Warning and 1984 are my favorite recordings by VH. I didn't like the Hagar era at all. I thought Eddie ran out of steam by this time. When the tension of the band was gone (Roth leaving), the band lost its edge in my opinion.

All of this said, I was never a big fan of VH that much. My tastes in rock music were always geared towards the progressive and alternative groups, but to make assertions that EVH was nothing more than an empty technician shows great ignorance not only on your part, but to all those younger players he influenced who did hear heart in his playing.

[AndyD.]

Rock and Metal (indeed, Popular Music in general) are often the music genres most subject to individual taste. I tend to rate guitar players according to a) how much they move me and b) how much originality they brought to the guitar world. Angus Young has many solos that really rock me and give me chills, I think he is extraordinary. He has an extremely basic playing style, but he can make the hairs on your arm stand straight up. I love his old rock n roll style, and AC/DC can be a wonderfully entertaining band that often rocks harder than anyone in history.

Edward Van Halen is a different animal. Before him, the innovators were Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi. After him, there were no innovators; and though there were many many excellent players, nobody actually originated a whole sound, and incorporated multiple techniques, like Edward did. And he was certainly capable of playing with heart: check out the solos to "Unchained", "Right Now", "Dreams".

Again, alot of this is subjective.

[Mirror Image]

Edward Van Halen is a different animal. Before him, the innovators were Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi. After him, there were no innovators; and though there were many many excellent players, nobody actually originated a whole sound, and incorporated multiple techniques, like Edward did. And he was certainly capable of playing with heart: check out the solos to "Unchained", "Right Now", "Dreams".

To state that there weren't any innovators after EVH is pretty inaccurate. You don't think The Edge was an innovative player? The Edge practically invented his own sound that many guitarists copied. I think there was still some innovation left after EVH as The Edge exemplifies. Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo invented their own sound that, again, many tried to imitate. I consider these types of guitarists reactionaries. They disliked all of the crazy pyrotechnics of EVH and his clones, so they had to find their own style and a lot of this came from realizing what their limitations were as players.

[AndyD.]

To state that there weren't any innovators after EVH is pretty inaccurate. You don't think The Edge was an innovative player? The Edge practically invented his own sound that many guitarists copied. I think there was still some innovation left after EVH as The Edge exemplifies. Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo invented their own sound that, again, many tried to imitate. I consider these types of guitarists reactionaries. They disliked all of the crazy pyrotechnics of EVH and his clones, so they had to find their own style and a lot of this came from realizing what their limitations were as players.

Being that quite a bit of this conversation is unavoidably subjective, I'm going to respectfully disagree.

We could go on for ages about this, vive le difference.