A new guitar

Last night I played my newest guitar until about 12:30. As you may or may not know, I've named every guitar I've ever owned, a practice that began with Chico.

• Thaddus (R.I.P.)
• Chico (retired)
• Ned (retired)
• Leroy
• Harold
• Wharf Holdings
• Cederic (yes...there is an extra syllable in there!)

Usually names just come to me. I play the guitar for a few days and then I think of a name. So far, this guitar has no name. Any ideas?

Darth Vader's Emotions

I stumbled upon this site a few weeks ago. Basically, a guy from Canada, (I think), wanted to generate more traffic to his website during the weeks leading up to the release of Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. He created a blog in the form of a diary of Darth Vader, in the time frame of the original trilogy.

There are two initial reactions one might have:
1) Star Wars fans will consider this degrading to the character of Darth Vader.
2) Non-fans will just find it stupid.

But the opposite is actually true. This guy is a terrific writer and he gets into the head of Vader without weakening his character or making him appear "cheesy." The diary adds to the story somewhat in that it deals with the complex emotions Darth Vader might be experiencing due to the new knowledge of his son, and his son's blind faith in the good that may or may not still exist in a man once called Anakin Skywalker. Even if you're not really a fan, it's hard to not appreciate the style of the author and his ability to share emotions so well from a character who seems emotionless.

I suggest starting at the beginning, reading the HTML or PDF version choronologically. The blog ran from April 11, 2005 to May 18, 2005, and was updated more or less daily.

It has inspired me to start working on a project I had conceived a few months ago. Maybe by mid-summer, I can begin sharing that with you. (It's not musical.)

A Star Wars note: In a month or two, Star Wars will die down a little and I promise I won't talk about it too much anymore.

COMING TOMORROW: My new guitar arrived today, but, because of a busy schedule today, I won't be able to play until later tonight.

The best songs ever?

By the end of today all of the free song credits I won through the Diet Mt. Dew contest have to be redeemed. I still have 1 left. I've probably used the last 5 or 7 buying songs that I only sort of like, but sometimes just like to hear (like Blues Traveler's "Hook".) These are songs I'd never actually pay real money for.

Anyway, that got me to thinking about what songs are actually the best. I thought I could put together a pretty good list, and found out it was harder than I first thought it would be. 100 songs would be easy, since I could include all the songs I like probably, but I wanted to make a list of only the top 20, and that was hard. I did research and found the actual top 20 best songs ever. These aren't in any order, except for the first group of five is slightly better than the rest. I had to separate these out since I think they deserve to pointed out as being just a bit better than the rest. Note that based on my research, I found out that if you don't actually like these songs it's most likely because you're stupid or ugly. Seriously. For some of them I might say something more about them. In most cases I noted the performer of the song, not necessarily the composer.


Top Five
Pagan Poetry - Björk
She has milk dud nipples.

Eria Tarka - The Mars Volta
Remember how I said that it is proven that if you didn't like these songs then you are stupid or ugly? That's just not the case with this song. You still might be ugly, but possibly even smarter than me if you don't like this song. It makes me think of a super hero kicking some ass. I especially like the interlude after the second chorus. I love how the keyboard adds so much to the section, but it's almost unheard unless you're listening for it. Try it with headphones some time. Plus, as a musician, I'm intrigued by the stuff this Omar guy plays.

Venus as a Boy (Anglo American Extension) - Björk
Better than the original version. Björk has written and recorded quite a few great songs, plus she loves to kill animals and wear them around her neck. I once saw a picture of her with a dead Lhasa Poo around her head like a crown. It wasn't Moses though.

Paranoid Android - Radiohead
I almost didn't include this in the top five, but mostly because it's a song most Radiohead fans would say is there favorite and I don't listen to other people. Jerks.

Four On Six - The Tony Rice Unit
This is what I'd call Jazzgrass. Tony Rice is easily the best flatpicker I've ever heard. Period, without a doubt. If you think you know someone who is better, let me know, and I will kick you in the balls. And I've had the pleasure of seeing him at Harvard even. It'll probably be the only time, since he doesn't come east too much (he's from southern California.) This song evens shows off how good of a player he is. It's probably twice as fast as Wes Montgomery (the song's writer) plays it. Plus Tony picks so quick without a lot of pull-off's and hammer-on's, and it's all so clean. His recordings would make Dave Mustaine proud, if not envious.

The Next Rest of the Best:
(again - not in any particular order)

We Only Come Out At Night - The Smashing Pumpkins
This is a band where almost any of their songs would do. This band means a lot to me, in more ways than I usually realize. Billy Corgan, despite the whinny ass voice, is the real driving force behind the music. For the same reasons DJD likes Blink 182, I like The Smashing Pumpkins. The words remind me of me. They're all about feelings. Just listen to 1979, By Starlight, Disarm-but if you do nothing else, at least read the lyrics to Muzzle. The reason I picked "We Only Come Out At Night" is because of the line, "Once again, you pretend to know the way home." That reminds me of my H&D Ninja services partner Jaime. I sure miss that guy. He could drive me, but if something jumped out, he'd hit it. I gotta get ahold of him again.

Climbing Up The Walls - Radiohead

Birdland Breakout - The Tony Rice Unit
Tony again kicks ass in this song.

Limo Wreck - Soundgarden
When Chris Cornell started writing songs, Soundgarden got better.

Sippin the Booze - Steven Conklin
The original version is still my favorite. This is something I wish I wrote. I still know how to play most of it.

And So I Know - Stone Temple Pilots
Camp fire girls make me feel alright..

Man in the Box - Alice in Chains
Like The Smashing Pumpkins, I could have chosen almost any of their songs. Alice in Chains is the first band I heard that made me want to play guitar like them. Jerry Cantrell has such a distinct sound and the late Layne Staley's voice blended so well with it. I would bet no matter what type of music you listen to, you can name, and probably like, at least one song by Alice in Chains.

Paper Bag - Fiona Apple
How can a chick that's 4' 11" and 78 pounds sound like this?

Take No Prisoners - Megadeth
Even people who have no idea how to play guitar sit there is awe when they see you playing the measures 14-21. (And I suck at it.) Damn that's fast!

Cyanide Breathmint - Beck
F**kin' iTunes doesn't have this song. Assbags.

Take The Vein Cerpin Taxt - The Mars Volta
Cerpin Taxt is the hero of the story that is the "de-loused in the comatorium" album. This is the ending song. I like the tightness of this song. I'm actually listening to it right now. (Well, probably not when you're reading this...) The bass and drums are linked, man. How can someone sing over this? Do you know what an augmented fourth is? It's the same sound fire alarms make. Cerpin Taxt jumped off the Interstate 101 over pass (in real life) once. Once was enough, 'cause now he's dead.

String of Pearls - Jimmie's Chicken Shack
I saw these guys last Friday (5/20) at the Brickyard. There were only about 40 people there. It was great. Towards the end of the show, Jimmie Haha juggled some shot glasses (yes, he was totally wasted by then) and one was chipped. He sliced his hand up something fierce. He was bleeding all over the place. It was funny that he smoked indoors (which is illegal in this state) about 6 times during the show.

Fly me to the Moon - Frank Sinatra
How can anyone top ol' blue eyes? Chairman of the board. Frankie baby was king. His version of Howard Bart's tune is the best I've ever heard, also the only version I've ever heard.

Kyle Petty, Son of Richard - Soundgarden
This song I first heard on Eddie Vedder's radio show back in like 1993 or something. It was much faster than the B-sides single's version. I loved how there were swears broadcast over the air. "I'm apologizing now for shitting in the bath tub."

T & P Combo - 311
This song ended a couple of summer-time mix CDs I made a few years ago. It's Will and Dave, smacking each other's naked butts.

A Lesson Learned

Don't buy guitars on a whim.

I purchased two guitars from AMS on Wednesday and one arrived yesterday. I'm sending it back tomorrow. The other guitar is coming from AMS's Nevada warehouse, so I should get it next week.

Oh well, at least now I still have the $450.

Unusually Calm

What a weird day.

I should be nervous about my exam. I should be mad at AKCFR. These are things that ruin your day.

But, I've the pleasure of good news and bad news, so to speak.

Not Good #1
My exam is less than 16 hours from now. Historically, I usually spend 2 hours tossing and turning in bed before I fall asleep, then I end up waking up at 5 AM.

Good #1
Episose 3 opens tomorrow. I am going to see around 4. (That's less than 24 hours from now!)
I'm not even a Star Wars freak. Until this Christmas, when I got the original Trilogy as a gift from Michelle, I didn't even own any of the movies. This movie is going to be good. It's all light saber fighting, force choking, bad guys winning type of stuff.

Good #2
I found a way to spend some cash I had been saving for about 6 months: I bought 2 new guitars today. One almost completely on a whim, though I had read some good reviews about it. The other one was on my wish list since last year. Hopefully I'll get them both tomorrow.

Not Good #2
I figured I'd drive to the place my exam will be administered. Plus, on the way, I can deposit the cash I'd saved into the bank so I can pay the credit card bill when it comes in, and I could stop and get tickets for the movie tomorrow. I hopped into my car, AKCFR (Ass Kickin' Care Free Ride) to go. (The actual acronym I planned to use, Kaput Is This Trashcan, was already trademarked.) Then it decides to break ("Care Free" my ass, stupid car.) Some joint or something is broken under the front driver's side wheel well. It's actually pushing up against the tire. This is the perfect example of Murphy's Law-I just mailed the last payment in earlier this week!

In the end though, I'm not really nervous, angry, eager, or excited. The net effect is that today is just like any normal day?

May 19

The date of my exam is paradoxical for me. On one hand, I wish I had more time to study. There's so much information that could be on the exam, and only 40 measly questions, which means, some obscure thing I studied for about 2 out the total 400+ hours could show up in 2 questions, and it's possible that getting those two questions wrong is the difference between passing and failing.
But, I'm also glad to see the end of all this studying and stress. Plus, Episode 3 opens then and I'm very excited about that. dMANb needs to let me know when I should bring my spoon and vader over to watch more from the CDs. Plus part 2, I'm buying a new guitar then.

Anyway, then I can relax a little.

This is the actual title

My exam is less than 2 weeks away. I think I'll order a new guitar on the 17th so I get it either the day of the exam, or the day after the exam. I'm not sure yet which guitar I want though.
I actually should be studying right now instead of typing this.

This answers so many questions.

What's the dealio?

I've been drinking so many Diet Mt. Dews that I've amassed quite a few free itunes songs. Unfortunately I can't figure out what to get. The thing is, if I actually like a group some, I'll just buy the CD. I kinda want to use the free songs to get songs I wouldn't normally pony up the money for. This reminds of a tape I once had. It was hip-hop or something and I got it from a tape deck at the apartments when I was once painting for Dan. I could never tell who it was. I brought it to B.L.'s one time and I think it's still in the radio on his boat. Man I wish I knew who that was.

And, since it's oh so close now, check this out, but beware the power...