Comments on: Guitar heroes

Guitar heroes

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:29:35 -0800

The website to tie in with the BBC series Imagine: The Story Of The Guitar has video interviews with The Edge, Bob Brozman, Johnny Marr, Pete Townshend, David Gilmour, Charlotte Hatherley and BB King.

Forget Guitar Hero, it takes a lot to be a pro. There's a bit more on youtube.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:41:38 -0800

There were three episodes, and they were all superb. Yentob has a real feel for the subject, and I really want to get these on DVD. The bit where they attempt to explain the 'typical guitarist personality' (read: selfish, unemployed prick) is especially good.

By: beniamino

beniamino — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:55:02 -0800

I love that the volume control on the player goes up to 11.

By: mandal

mandal — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:59:03 -0800

Sorry, that photo in the article at The Times reminded me of Bill Bailey's catastrophic technical failure at a U2 gig.

By: baltimoretim

baltimoretim — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:27:05 -0800

A catastrophic technical failure actually occurs 1:21 into this U2 video for "Party Girl" off of Under a Blood Red Sky. I love U2, but Bill Bailey's point is well taken!

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:02:54 -0800

Man, this is really neat. I love playing the guitar--I could, and sometimes do, play for hours on end--but my technical proficiency leaves an awful lot to be desired. My dirty secret is that I cannot play lead. At all. Listen to anything I've posted to MeFiMu; I'm awful. See what I did there? Listen to MeFiMu. Anything and eveything. You will enjoy it. But a lot of what Pete Townshend says in his clips resonates with me: a distorted guitar makes so many pleasant sounds, and even the slightest change in attack angle or pressure at the fret or any number of things can change it so dramatically, that it's just an amazing instrument, and enormously satisfying to play. (I'm sure the same can be said of other instruments, but come on, man, it has horns!)

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:18:55 -0800

(I also really like the video where neither the Edge nor his guitar tech can seem to figure out the equipment. That's how you know your rig has gotten too complicated.)

By: plinth

plinth — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:46:24 -0800

I found it interesting that Mark Knopfler had a lot of trouble articulating - his fingers kept wanting to speak more.

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:52:58 -0800

To me it is self-evident that an electric guitar is the best sounding instrument ever. And I am humbled by the thought of what Beethoven could have done with one. Then I imagine taking him for a helicopter ride and scaring the shit out of him, just to even things out.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:35:32 -0800

Someone needs to tell the voice over guy (and Britons in general) that the man's name is Les Paul, not Lez Pole. Failing that, try Awesomest Man Alive.

By: tommasz

tommasz — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:58:31 -0800

You had me until "The Edge".

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:22:47 -0800

interviews with The Edge, Bob Brozman, Johnny Marr, Pete Townshend, David Gilmour, Charlotte Hatherley and BB King. who?

By: Mephisto

Mephisto — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:00:58 -0800

I know the Edge. My brother works for the band. Both they in general (U2), and the Edge in particular, are talented. Get over it.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:04:19 -0800

Yeah, you know, I really don't care for U2's music, but watching the clips, I realized that I really like the Edge. He "gets" it, at least so far as I'm concerned.

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:28:11 -0800

I really like the Edge. Eject! Eject!

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:31:38 -0800

Yeah, I didn't think I'd ever say that, either. It feels funny.

By: arcanecrowbar

arcanecrowbar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:38:54 -0800

This looks like great stuff, thanks! I'm really enjoying Johnny Marr's second career with Modest Mouse, he's a very tasteful player and he seems like good people.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:08:57 -0800

I really like the Edge. I like him too, and he's done some lovely, influential stuff over the years, but he's not a guitarist. He can barely play. He's probably less technically proficient today than he was 25 years ago, if it's possible. He's basically an electronic musician that uses a guitar as an accessory to his overall rig.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:55:20 -0800

Someone needs to tell the voice over guy (and Britons in general) that the man's name is Les Paul, not Lez Pole. You have tweaked my tone knob, here. British people pronounce names in whatever fucked up way they like, and it drives me fucking insane. They call Barack Obama "Barrack". Like Army Barracks. I say, "excuse me old chap, but it's Baraaaaaaaaaahhhhhhck. Bar- AHHHHHH - ck." That's what I said. "Barrack." *** They do the same thing to LOTS of names, especially foodstuffs. Pasta. Salsa. You don't even want to know how they mangle "Tortilla".

By: No Mutant Enemy

No Mutant Enemy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:45:55 -0800

Repeat after me: Nuclear (New - clear)

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:07:45 -0800

No Mutant Enemy, there's a difference between American rubes mispronouncing a word through ignorance, and *educated* Brits everywhere wilfully calling José Mourinho "JOE-SAY". It's mostly a proper noun problem... foreign names are pronounced in a British fashion, no matter how silly it sounds to everyone else (imagine how Mr Mourinho feels).

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:26:06 -0800

but he's not a guitarist Spot the strawman: And Ygnwie Malmsteen is? I appreciate what you're saying; yes, his playing style does rely more heavily on effects than on technical proficiency. But whether you like it or not, The Edge, despite his supposed incompetence, is not only a guitarist, but one of the most influential guitarists of the past thirty years. Deal with it.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:37:32 -0800

Oh, I meant to come in here yesterday and say that, actually. I actually think the Edge gets the guitar really well--it's a tool to make pretty noise. Does that make him not a guitarist? Am I using the toaster wrong when I heat up frozen pancakes in there? Does that make me not a toaster of things?! I need to know. PS these are homemade pancakes that I have frozen for convenience if that makes a difference.

By: No Mutant Enemy

No Mutant Enemy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:25:50 -0800

chuckdarwin, yeah, you're right, but it's (partially) explained by the relatively much smaller non-Anglophone population in UK compared with US. (And partially by a lot of "*educated* Brits" being assholes.) Also, it's not just how we pronouonce stuff, it's how our accents make it sound as though we're pronouncing stuff (cf the "caught" vs "cot" situation in US and Canada).

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:05:39 -0800

Gosh, you Americans are really hard done by aren't you?

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:59:44 -0800

Gosh, you Americans are really hard done by aren't you? Yesh, Arthur, we are. I'm just fucking glad my name isn't bloody José.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:27:29 -0800

"Arkansas" is a good one, BTW.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:53:02 -0800

Oh, y'all have that place name thing in spades: Leominster Gloucester Worcester Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch etc