Back in my day, people practiced this sort of thing in front of a mirror instead of a camera. posted by The Card Cheat at 4:08 PM on April 12, 2011 [5 favorites]
Yeah, but then you had a bunch of failed swings and a bunch of broken mirrors. posted by oddman at 4:14 PM on April 12, 2011
Yeah, but no one saw you until you were good at it, or not at all. posted by The Card Cheat at 4:25 PM on April 12, 2011
Oh god, even thinking about doing this with my guitar is painful. Just -- why would you do that?! Guitars are expensive things that do not do very well with falling to the ground. Actually learning to play something will make you look cooler than spinning it around yourself.
I did laugh at the first one cos it appears to be a black Squier Strat which to me is the default 'hey I want to look cool with little investment of time or money so I will buy a guitar' guitar. posted by Put the kettle on at 4:25 PM on April 12, 2011
The author asks the question, why are there so many bass fails? The bass is much larger and heavier so it's harder to throw so it is harder to complete a spin. Although, since there are many more guitar players than bassists and bass players generally don't do spins it is surprising how many bass fails there are.
I was expecting bigger accidents...kudos to the guy that caught his before it fell to the ground though. posted by zephyr_words at 4:28 PM on April 12, 2011
Meep, even watching that Springsteen clip is heart attack-inducing. posted by Put the kettle on at 4:30 PM on April 12, 2011
I am proud to say that I have played guitar for over 40 years without ever knowing anything about a "guitar spin." Never heard of it before. Now, somehow, I feel.. less than I was before. posted by charlie don't surf at 4:39 PM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
See above.. It looks bad even when done right. If this is what the young 'uns are doing then I'm glad I'm an old 'un. posted by estuardo at 5:03 PM on April 12, 2011
I was disappointed that not even one of these guys hit himself in the groin with his guitar. posted by Daddy-O at 5:30 PM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I love my guitars, I would never even think of throwing them around. Besides, after watching Springsteen do it LIKE A THE BOSS, there's no way I would even try. posted by tommasz at 5:31 PM on April 12, 2011
it's Rocketbilly Redcadillac's melee attack in Gungrave Overdose (sorry for the crappy video) but when you're a ghost inhabiting a guitar you can get away with it.
i'm surprised Foxy Shazam didn't pull it off when i saw them posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:39 PM on April 12, 2011
Daddy-O: "I was disappointed that not even one of these guys hit himself in the groin with his guitar"
I actually thought the first guy was going to spear himself in the nads, but it never happened. I feel so cheated.
Thanks for nothing, Internet. posted by bwg at 6:24 PM on April 12, 2011
Somewhere there is a Hold Steady live video where Tad executes this in the middle of a solo and doesn't miss a note. It's the Gold Medal of Guitar Spin. posted by GilloD at 6:41 PM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you are a guitarist and attempt this trick, you have already failed. posted by unSane at 6:41 PM on April 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
Somewhere there is a Hold Steady live video where Tad executes this in the middle of a solo and doesn't miss a note. It's the Gold Medal of Guitar Spin.
It would be irresponsible not to post this on the thread, but we'd have to spend all day watching live Hold Steady videos to find it. How horrible. posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:59 PM on April 12, 2011
It's called a Bitch Toss people, yay Cinderella! posted by Cosine at 7:35 PM on April 12, 2011
Yeah, I saw Tad from the Hold Steady do this when I saw them touring for Separation Sunday. But I heard that he stopped doing it after he heard that the guitarist from Linkin Park had made it a signature move of his. I've also heard of Beck doing this.
Also: Hey! Lay off! My first electric was a black Squier Strat. I don't know that I necessarily threw it around like a manic (I've never attempted this toss), but I've certainly dropped, man-handled, abused and burned the thing and I believe it has reached an optimal state of brokenness. It's a rock and roll instrument. You're supposed to hit the damn thing. posted by Maaik at 7:56 PM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I did laugh at the first one cos it appears to be a black Squier Strat which to me is the default 'hey I want to look cool with little investment of time or money so I will buy a guitar' guitar.
[ahem] well, or it was the guitar you got because you couldn't afford anything else... and although I mainly play a Gibson ES135 these days, I still have the Squier 20+ years later. I love that guitar, el cheapo that it may be... posted by BigHeartedGuy at 8:00 PM on April 12, 2011
Those videos become a lot more funny when you contrast them with this one, which is some random 15 year old boy doing an instructional video on guitar spins, and nailing them, with a guitar that is very, very pointy. posted by nooneyouknow at 8:50 PM on April 12, 2011
I can see me doing this with my D-28 after a few IPAs, playing Townes Van Zant covers for the spiders in my living room. Maybe. posted by jimmythefish at 8:50 PM on April 12, 2011
Um, to the people I offended with my comment about the Squier: I didn't mean to imply that everyone who has one is more concerned with appearances than actually playing guitar, but rather that I've met a ton of people like that who turn out to own that exact guitar. (Actually, that's the guitar you can buy for Rock Band, isn't it? That sort of illustrates what I mean.) posted by Put the kettle on at 3:36 AM on April 13, 2011
The music is not my thing, but this guy certainly makes the guitar spin work for him. posted by orme at 5:35 AM on April 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
But they are certainly failures.
posted by Burhanistan at 3:57 PM on April 12, 2011