moonbug.org » Music

Nevermind

moonbug — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:48:03 +0000

Guitar Tabs For Billy Joel’s Laura

moonbug — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:33:47 +0000

These days, Billy Joel is generally being brushed off as an 80′s sellout wanker (here’s looking at you, Uptown Girl), but I really think The Nylon Curtain features some terrific songs: there’s Allentown, Pressure, Goodnight Saigon — and then there’s Laura.

Okay, so I’m admittedly somewhat obsessed with this song (previously) and its intricate chord changes in particular. Sat myself down with my guitar for half an hour in an effort to figure out the chords, as the Google had failed me dismally. Here’s what I came up with — mainly for my own reference, so hold your horses…

Intro:
G- D# - C

Main theme (as in Laura Calls me / In the middle of the night):
G - Em - A7 - C7

First bridge (as in I’m on her side / Why does she push the poison on me?):
F7 - Em /* @TODO: that 'oh wow wow' */

Second bridge (as in Here I am / Feeling like a fucking fool / Do I react…):
A# - C7 - Cm - A#

Now these chord changes may well owe their exotic feel due to my picking G as the root chord but still: cleverly done Mr Joel, most cleverly done…

Today’s Aha-Erlebnis

moonbug — Tue, 10 May 2011 19:20:48 +0000

There’s a second, optional argument to CodeIgniter’s uri segment helper which allows for a fall back default in cases where the uri segment returns false:
$this->uri->segment(2, date('Y'));
When loading a CI view, there’s an optional third argument which, when set to true, allows you to assign the view to a variable, instead of directly outputting it to the browser. Very very handy when constructing RSS feeds, PDF-downloads, or html emails:
//mail config... $msg = $this->load->view('email_template', $data, TRUE); $this->email->message($msg); $this->email->send();
At age two and a half my son is a confirmed, certified Apple nerd (do disregard Khadaffi audio in the back):
Today’s favorite Beatles tune has to be Golden Slumbers.

When Laura Meets Baby Britain

moonbug — Sun, 08 May 2011 15:58:19 +0000

Billy Joel’s point of view looks in from the outside, anger toward his “Nemesis” being the main driving force, whereas Elliott Smith tends to empathize with his “Nemesis”, realizing he’s been an accomplice all the way. It’s an interesting juxta position — while both songs are obvious witnesses of a jarring issue needing to be to cleared out.

Billy Joel – Laura

Elliott Smith – Baby Britain

A Concert For Jimmy

moonbug — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:20:38 +0000

Jimmy Carl Black, original Mother of Invention, was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2008. A benefit concert is to be held on Sunday 9 November 2008. Tickets on sale here.

I realize the timing for this entry is as odd as it gets, but then again: life has proven itself to be stranger than fiction on most every occasion.

Just in case you’re wondering who the hell Jimmy Carl Black is: well, here he is playing the drums in a fantastic version of Frank Zappa’s King Kong:

The Rage & The Fury

moonbug — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:46:17 +0000

While all of us Zappa freaks await the official release of FZ conducting Edgard Varèse‘s “The Rage & The Fury“, I had some fun imagining what the cd-cover might look like. How’s this:

Frank Zappa on Varèse:

[...] the thing that is fantastic about what he wrote for normal instruments is that he got sounds out of them that nobody had dreamed of before. For instance, “Deserts”, which is probably the starkest of the pieces in terms of the way they deal with the raw material, there’re special overblown chords that produce difference tones, which you wouldn’t be able to get any other way – you know what I’m talking about? If you take two intervals and play them very loudly on a woodwind instrument – for instance, this one spot where two piccolos are playing either a Major second or minor second apart, very high octave – when you blow it real hard you hear a third note that’s not there. To know in advance what’s going to come out and to plan your composition to achieve effects like that was something that people just hadn’t thought of doing before.

Low-Fi Recording: A How-To

moonbug — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:50:17 +0000

Prequel: have someone take your picture in a grungy, grainy fashion. This will increase your street credibility, should your recording ever actually go somewhere. Some pointers: look sulky, slightly bored and a little angry on the side, if you can. Here’s an example:

Down to business. My pal Franky came over last Thursday night for some music-making fun. Now you may not believe this but between the both of us, we can write a rather decent song in a matter of minutes — lyrics, melody and bridge all-included. Chord-wise, C – F – G never fails. Throw in a major E or D every so often and you’re bound to end up with a winner.

The essential part is to find a catchy title, and the rest just flows from there. First thing we came up with was a nice little Weenesque country ditty entitled “I’m Gonna Show My Willie To The World”. This proved to be problematic in terms of rhyme and verse diversity, so we ended up recording a tune with a much easier topic: that crazy little thing called love!

On to the set-up. That is to say: a tripod with two microphones taped on top of it — the tripod itself being taped upon a chair:

You will note Franky’s writing out lyrics as we move to the recording stage. Next: recording the guitars, and nothing but the guitars. A click-track keeps us from going out of sync.

By now it’s time to go vocal. Lyrics should be written on little scraps of paper, torn in half so as to distinguish leads from backing vocals. It is essential that silly hats be worn at this stage:

Next: discuss! That track’s too loud! No it’s not! You should re-record that vocal! But it sounds perfect! Tosser! Wanker! Silly hats are optional at this point.

It is by now half past one in the morning. Many beers have been consumed. It is time to have a listen. Again. And again. And again.

And so the evening comes to an end. Guitars are packed in as eyelids get heavy. It is time to go to sleep and prepare for tomorrow’s inevitable hangover. But for now: bliss!

Goodnight, and good luck.

Pictures courtesy Gabirola Linarete

Freak Out!

moonbug — Tue, 22 May 2007 13:24:38 +0000

Remember the drawings/collages Gabriela and I made for a documentary called Freak Out In Cucamonga? Here’s the trailer! Click to play:

My drawings in a movie that features Paul Buff, Motorhead Sherwood, Don Preston, Frank Zappa and Weird Al Yankovic — it’s all downhill from here ;-)

World Tour

moonbug — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:34:59 +0000

I’ve talked about it there, so I may as well write about it here: I had this idea of a collaborative sketchbook travelling around the world from one Frank Zappa fan to the next, where each participant gets two pages to doodle, write and/or glue in whatever as long as it’s Zappa-related. Now the book is about to hit the road, as Gabriela’s contribution and mine (the cover) are finished.

More on Flickr. I can’t wait to see the kind of stuff people are going to come up with! Which will be some time next year probably, with some 30 participants already lined up. Let me know if you’d like to join in…

Elliott Smith’s Two Meter Session

moonbug — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:14:02 +0000

In April ’98 I had the good fortune of seeing Elliott Smith live at the Vooruit in Ghent. I remember him coming on stage: incredibly shy and unassuming, apparently totally unaware of the fact that the place was sold out to a bunch of people who had adored “Roman Candle”, “Either/Or” and “XO”, and were delighted to hear him play live. The concert turned out to be mesmerizing. I don’t usually keep ticket stubs, but here’s my exception to the rule:

Later that year, Elliott was scheduled to appear on a Dutch TV-show called “Two Meter Sessions”. I was away from home spending my time in Ghent at the time but managed to catch this appearance on video through the wonders of vcr programming. And now, thanks to a recently purchased vhs-to-dvd recorder, so can you.

I had a bit of trouble splitting the footage in two so as to oblige YouTube — hope you enjoy it anyway:

Part One:

(YouTube link)

Part Two:

(YouTube link)

You’re dearly missed, Elliott.