Subscribe to this blog
Unfortunately, due to David’s busy schedule and travel plans, we’re not able to bring you a new podcast this week.
In less than two months we’ve added six podcasts. I think that makes this a good time to review what we’ve covered so far. Please keep your comments coming as they help us along the way.
Our next podcast will be available on April 28.
I wanted to share the following travel article from the New York Times website, A Journey Shaped by a Guitar: “Many a music lover makes a pilgrimage to the holy land by visiting the Martin factory in a town named Nazareth.”
EVEN though Nazareth, Pa., isn’t quite the holy city its namesake is, pilgrims with a musical bent still go there every weekday in search of a potentially spiritual experience. They head to a quaint brick building, lured by the promise of taking a tour at the C. F. Martin & Company guitar factory.
More than 200 guitars are made at Martin each day, many more than when the company first opened in New York City in 1833 (it moved to Nazareth in 1839). But for any guitar player or music lover, getting to see the basic stages in the creation of a Martin moves them powerfully, putting some in touch with emotions they might have thought too inaccessible to be reached.
It’s well worth reading the rest. Check it out here: A Journey to the Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth, Pa.
If there’s a year in human history that people will look back on and say that was the year that robots really started to take over, they could be talking about this year.
Something like ten years in the making, Gibson has released - in limited supply - the Robot Guitar. Basically, it’s a guitar that uses digital technology to tune itself. It can also do some altered tunings so it’s not just a one-note pony. This $2500 guitar can also assist the owner with fixing intonation problems.
Who really needs a robot guitar? If you can design a guitar that tunes itself, why not one that plays itself too? It’s kind of like a car that doesn’t need a driver. It takes all the fun out of going down to the music store to buy strings.
Here are the ten most popular lessons on Guitar Noise from 2007:
See what else is hot on the Guitar Noise Top 100!
Indie bands were really the first musicians to fully support music downloads. Big name artists - already making a very decent living off music - were understandably skeptical about making their songs too available. Slowly but surely most of the bigger name bands got on board. In November 2007, Led Zeppelin finally made their entire catalog available on iTunes and elsewhere. Right now there are now plenty of indications that The Beatles catalog has been remastered and will be available online sometime in early 2008. There are very few major bands that haven’t embraced the new reality: downloading music is good for fans, the industry and the bands.
AC/DC is one band that is still bucking the trend. You can download all of their songs online; but only from Verizon’s music service. The song You Shook Me All Night Long is available as a single track download - the rest of the catalog is only available as complete albums.
I can understand why a band would prefer their music to be downloaded in album form. What I can’t agree with though, is the necessity of signing up with Verizon, opening an account, and installing their software. I like AC/DC and I want to download more of their albums, but this arrangement just doesn’t suit me.
It’s a miscalculation on the part of the band. Digital music is something that makes fans want to update their collections. Now that music piracy is on the decline in the
For now, it’s still more convenient to get pirated versions of all the AC/DC albums. Here’s hoping the band will do something about it in 2008.
Footnote: some of my facts for this article were gleaned from AC/DC Bypasses iTunes: Should Apple Care?
As David pointed out in his recent newsletter, it’s going to be Bastille Day again before we know it. Before we let things get that far, I want to share my warmest wishes for this holiday season. Over the past year it’s been my pleasure to correspond with many Guitar Noise users - by email, newsletter, the forums and now this blog. Best wishes to all my online and real world friends.
It’s my belief that this is generally a good time of year for musicians. Not only do most people get a short break from work and school, but there are often more chances to spend time with family and friends. Those who can’t get together with other musicians and jam, may at least get a little extra time with their guitars. It seems that there are always a few hours to kill on Christmas Day between opening presents and carving the turkey. Past experience suggests that Christmas and New Year’s are the two busiest days on Guitar Noise. Perhaps some of you will be logging in to wish your friends all the best.
While I sincerely hope that each of you has a great holiday, it’s also that time of year to remember that not everyone in the world is as lucky as most of us are. There are plenty of people and organizations out there that make being charitable fairly easy and straightforward.
Fans of YouTube guitar videos may already know about Justin Sandercoe and his website justinguitar.com. This Christmas, Justin and his girlfriend are traveling to Ghana to volunteer in an orphanage. They are paying the entire cost of the trip with their own money but have been accepting donations through Justin’s site. The money raised will be used to buy musical instruments for the kids. Justin wrote to tell me that they have collected enough money for the instruments, and with the leftover money the’ll be able to make a real difference in the village they’re staying in. Any extra money they collect is going to be used to build a new well, buy beds for the orphanage as well as new medical kits.
If you’re feeling good this holiday season, why not stop buy Justin’s site, check out some of the free guitar guitar videos, and read more about his plans to spend Christmas in Ghana.
Never mind that there is now a Guitar Hero III; and never mind how mind-numbing and time-wasting this is; most importantly, never mind that this won’t help your guitar playing in the least - sometimes you just have to say “so what!”
Here’s a free version of Guitar Hero II that you can play online. Have fun with it. The game: Guitar Hero II.
Big Warning: those of you trying to sneak in a few games a work, this blasts out some loud rock tunes at the startup. The mute button is in the game screen’s top right corner if your boss is within earshot.
Our good friend Dan Denley is giving away a Martin acoustic. A $1400 Martin acoustic!
Dan is the brains and fingers behind Lead Guitar Secrets and Blues Guitar Secrets, which we’ve had special offers on before. Today Dan is releasing his next series of DVD guitar lessons called Acoustic Guitar Secrets. I haven’t watched all 5 DVDs yet, but I’m looking forward to getting more into it. Even if it’s a bit too beginner for me, I always learn something new from Dan’s books and DVDs.
To enter the contest for the Martin acoustic guitar go to Dan’s blog here. Go here to get your copy of Acoustic Guitar Secrets, which is being released today.
Update: I should have mentioned that this contest closes at midnight Dec. 14. Get your entries in right away.
Update 2: This contest is now closed to entries. Over 500 people entered, with many GN readers getting in last minute entries. Please let us know if you win; I may want to come over to your house and try the Martin.
Once again I’m looking at the most quintessential unplugged albums from the 1990s. Regular readers of this site will already know that Neil Young is one of our perennial favorites. Among other things, his Unplugged album, serves as a great introduction to his music for those less familiar with his work.
It’s been more than 15 years since this album came out. Critics and fans alike might say that he is the one guy who really doesn’t need an unplugged album. It seems like ever other album he does is an acoustic-flavored one anyway. But part of the unplugged thing is the performance aspect that shows off your talents with only a guitar and a mic.
Realistically, Neil could do have done an unplugged album at any stage of his career. He’s never been a guy to follow trends or sell out, so it’s interesting that he went for MTV Unplugged when everybody else had already signed on. Part of me likes to think he was doing it just to show all the other wannabes how it is supposed to be done.
Neil Young Unplugged has all the looseness one expects from a Neil Young show. It’s not without its passion either. Among the 14 tracks are some songs that rival the original versions. My personal favorite is the extraordinary version of Helpless, which always makes me think of a perfect summer night. There are a few tracks from his Harvest Moon album which sound like they could still use a little work; but they don’t detract from the feeling that Neil just walked out on stage and did his thing. You can’t help but think that if he recorded this on another night the choice of songs might be different. He turns in a great performance and makes doing an unplugged album feel like a no-brainer.
Die hard Neil Young fans will be happy to know that three of the songs from this album have already been used as lessons here on Guitar Noise - they are: Harvest Moon, Like A Hurricane and The Needle and the Damage Done.
It’s kind of nice to know there is life after rock. Almost as nice as when rock stars can do something for the environment.
Australia’s Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd has named members of his new cabinet, and former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett is to be Australia’s new environment minister. Okay, never mind that this is something of a demotion for Garrett, as someone else will be minister for climate change and water conservation. But if you ever followed the band you know that Garrett is extremely passionate about his beliefs. And it’s probably pretty cool to live in a country that appoints rock stars to cabinet positions.
In any case, climate change and global warming is one of those hot button issues that means environment ministers will be seen more and more in the public eye.
If some of my facts are wrong it’s because I got my news (via google) from the Canadian Press. here’s a short excerpt:
SYDNEY, Australia - Peter Garrett - the towering, baldheaded former singer of the disbanded Australian rock group Midnight Oil - continued his long, strange tour from pop star to politician Thursday when he was named Australia’s environment minister.
With his wild dancing and strident voice, Garrett was one of Australia’s most recognizable singers until his band broke up in 2002, after belting out politically charged hits for more than 25 years.
You can read the complete article here: Former Midnight Oil rocker Garrett named Australia’s environment minister
