Posted June 13, 2011 at 4:56 pm | 2 comments
Django Reinhardt was a Gypsy from Belgium who played a very specific type of jazz, imaginatively called Gypsy Jazz. While he was a virtuoso of his time, not many people got the chance to hear him play in person. While he consistently played with jazz greats while he lived in Paris, he toured the U.S. only once, with the legendary Duke Ellington, no less, but that was the extent of his fame while he lived. The most impressive thing about Reinhardt is that he played his imaginatively improvised, hard-swinging lines with only his index and middle fingers. The other fingers on his left hand and his right leg were badly injured in a fire at the age of 18. He had to completely re-learn how to play the instrument he loved. “Django’s Tiger” is a great example of Django’s energetic playing style, and it is a perfect representation of the type of music he made his name playing. With heavy accents consistently on two and four of each bar and incredibly dynamic lines from Django’s two fingers, one finds it difficult not to smile and bob along.
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Posted June 12, 2011 at 6:56 am | No comments
“Money for Nothing” was one of British band Dire Straits most successful singles, staying at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. It is famous for its immediately recognizable buzzing guitar riff that plays throughout almost the whole song. Guitarist Mark Knopfler modeled his tone on the song after ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons. The song has been the subject of lots of controversy over the years, most of which stemming from the offensiveness of the lyrics. The song is written from the point of view of a hardware store employee who watches MTV and sees how rock stars get “money for nothing and… chicks for free.” In the second verse, the word “faggot” is used a few times, as it is what the character singing the song would say, but this has been misinterpreted by many as hateful towards homosexuals. Because of this, many radio stations substitute in “mother,” but Knopfler decided to substitute “Queenie” when Dire Straits play the song live.
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Posted June 11, 2011 at 4:56 pm | No comments
Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” is one of the most recognizable songs in existence. Even without having heard the song, most people are familiar with the main riff, because it is usually one of the first riffs learned by beginning guitar players. The song tells a true story in the lyrics. When Deep Purple were about to record in at a casino in Montreux, Switzerland, there was a Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention concert there the night before. During the set, someone fired a flare gun that caught the ceiling, and subsequently, the entire building, on fire. The chorus lyrics (“Smoke on the water, fire in the sky”) are credited to Deep Purple’s bassist Roger Glover, and provide vivid imagery of the ensuing scene.
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Posted June 10, 2011 at 6:56 am | No comments
Dave Matthews Band is known for their upbeat rock tunes with a jam band flair, but with “Satellite” they toned it down a bit. “Satellite” is the fifth and final single released for their 1994 album Under the Table and Dreaming, and it has a tender, almost lullaby-esque quality. The song’s title and lyrics are a play on the nursery rhyme “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” The “Satellite” is the star from the nursery rhyme that is “like a diamond in the sky.” It is based on a guitar riff that came from a right-hand exercise that Dave Matthews had done in the past. Originally recorded on an early demo as “After Her,” the song evolved quickly into “Satellite,” as no live recording of “After Her” exists.
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Posted June 9, 2011 at 9:56 am | No comments
In 2003, British throw-back band The Darkness exploded onto rock radio with “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”, which excited audiences with its aggressive yet playful 80’s metal riffage and the stratospheric howls of singer Justin Hawkins. Featured on a couple different best-of lists including Q Magazine’s 101 Greatest Guitar Tracks, “I Believe” has a couple absolutely ripping guitar solos to complement Hawkins’ vocal virtuosity. Unfortunately, due to a less-than-stellar showing for their second album and Hawkins’ entering rehab for alcohol and cocaine issues, the Darkness quickly faded from the spotlight. Rumors of a reunion in 2011 have recently been confirmed, however, and they are slated to appear at this months Download Festival in Donington, England.
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Posted June 8, 2011 at 6:56 am | No comments
“Friday I’m in Love” was the second single from emo godfathers The Cure’s ninth studio album, Wish. Although it was originally intended by songwriter/singer Robert Smith to be a slow, emotional song, it ended up being upbeat, which definitely contributed to the songs success. During the recording process, Smith became increasingly paranoid because he thought he had accidentally stolen the melody and chords from somewhere. After frantically playing the song for everyone he knew, no one else had heard it before, so at the very least he didn’t rip off an established act!
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Posted June 7, 2011 at 6:55 am | One comment
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s second-ever gold single was “Bad Moon Rising”, the lead single from their 1969 studio album, Green River. Like most CCR songs, “Bad Moon Rising” is musically very simple, as they were never about virtuosity. Featuring only three deceptively jolly-sounding chords, the song is about an ominous future apocalypse. Even though the words “bad moon rising” are the title of the song, many people thought that the chorus line was “there’s a bathroom on the right” instead. Singer John Fogerty would have fun with this misconception every now and then, singing the “bathroom” line in performances.
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Posted June 6, 2011 at 6:55 am | No comments
If you listened to the radio at all during the summer of 1995, you should be very familiar with Collective Soul’s huge rock hit “December”. Ironically released in the summer, “December” sports contemplative lyrics about a failing relationship over the same five-chord circular pattern. Different and constantly changing instrumental textures and layers of riffs keep the unchanging chord structure engaging, but what really makes the song is singer/guitarist Ed Roland’s bluesy and emotional melodies. This is a great one to sing and play!
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Posted June 5, 2011 at 4:55 pm | No comments
Coldplay’s “Speed of Sound” came from a very specific stylistic place of birth. In 2004 when the song was written, Chris Martin, the vocalist and piano player of Coldplay, had been listening to British alternative rock singer Kate Nash a lot and had just had his first child, Apple. The song itself was a conscious effort to write a Kate Nash-esque song about awe and wonderment, and they pull through with flying colors. Built upon a piano riff, the song builds energy up until a big, synth-heavy chorus that embodies that feeling of awe. “Speed of Sound” was recognized by American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) as Song of the Year for 2005 and won a Brit Award for Best British Single in 2006. It was also nominated for two Grammy’s.
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Posted June 4, 2011 at 10:12 am | No comments
Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” is one of the most influential rock n roll songs of all time. It has been covered by a wide variety of artists from many genres, including Jimi Hendrix and country artist Buck Owens. The song started out being about his piano player, Johnnie Johnson, but Chuck’s 1958 rocker morphed into a semi-autobiographical piece. Ironically, it isn’t Johnnie Johnson playing on the recording, but Lafayette Leaks, as it was recorded and released three years after it was first written. Originally, the lyrics said “colored boy” but Chuck changed them to “country boy” to make sure the song played on the radio. Apparently, the lyric change did the trick, as “Johnny B. Goode” hit No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Sides chart. “Johnny” has also received many awards and accolades, including #1 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time and #12 on Guitar World’s 100 Greatest Guitar Solos list.
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