LINER NOTE #20
(Note: Liner Note #19 was intentionally skipped as was focused on the Kickstarter that was taking place in that timeframe during the original postings to the Daron's Guitar Chronicles site.)
CTan here, you guys have been sending me & Daron a lot of fun links and things lately, so I compiled them together into this liner note.
Recent use of a Guns & Roses song prompted someone to send me this:
NOTES ON "SWEET CHILD O' MINE," AS DELIVERED TO AXL ROSE BY HIS EDITOR.
BY JOHN MOE
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[Originally published July 7, 2006.]
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Hi, Axl -
Just got your manuscript and demo for the song "Sweet Child O' [sic] Mine." I think we need to talk. As your editor, I am responsible for making your songs as cogent as possible, for helping them reach the high editorial standards your public has come to expect. With this one, I am certainly earning my keep. After several attempts to reach you by phone, I am sending along my notes. Please make appropriate fixes as soon as possible, at which point I can send them to copy editing and proofreading in time for your upcoming studio session.
She's got a smile that, it seems to me—Why equivocate? You weaken your point by framing this as a mere personal observation instead of a fact.
Reminds me of childhood memories—Redundant. You either have a memory or you're reminded of something. You're not reminded of a memory. Heavy-metal fans won't stand for such writing, my friend.
Where everything was as fresh as a bright blue sky—I asked around the office and no one is sure a blue sky is "fresh." You could have a blue sky at the end of a long, sweaty day and there would be nothing fresh about it. And she reminds you of a time when things were fresh? Fond reminiscences of freshness are no foundation for love. Fix.
Now and then when I see her face it takes me away to that special place—Again, you're weakening your own argument. Why does the sight of her face transport you only periodically? And is it just her smile or her entire face that does this to you? Because you've already said both. Consistency, Axl!
And if I stared too long, I'd probably break down and cry—Why would you do that? Because you miss the freshness you described earlier? I think the whole "fresh" thing is really tripping you up. Also, crying? Wimpy.
OK, on to the second verse.
She's got eyes of the bluest skies—See, this is just getting worse. Now her eyes are made of sky? Nice imagery, but you just got done saying her smile reminded you of memories of sky. Is this verse actually supposed to be a second draft of the first verse? Am I just confused on formatting? Help!
As if they thought of rain—Axl, eyes can't think of rain. And even if they could, which they can't, why would bluest skies think of rain? Perhaps less imagery of thinking eyes made of sky and more direct exploration of your feelings?
I hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain—Well, hell. I guess in your special Axl World anything is possible. Eyes can be made of sky, ponder the weather, and exhibit pain in amounts that can be weighed.
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide—Delete. Fix. Do something. You'd hide in a place that reminded you of hair? Never show me such phrases again.
And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by—Whew. OK, listen to me now: Thunder can't quietly do anything. It's thunder. And, more importantly, do you really want to come across as a wuss who's constantly on the verge of weeping and skittering into hair caves to escape from rain? Is this a song about love or climatic anxiety? You need to work these things out.
Finally, Axl, I think we might have had a misunderstanding regarding my previous notes. When I wrote in colored pencil "Where do we go now?" I wasn't offering that as a lyric. I was simply observing that, in narrative terms, the song needed to progress in some way. You love the girl, she's helping you work through some issues, whatever. So where do we go now? But instead of providing a satisfactory conclusion, you simply took my note and repeated it over and over again before ultimately just stating the title of the song. This is unacceptable. Don't ask us, the listeners, where we go. That's up to you as the writer! Tell us where we go now!
Again, let's try to fix these things soon and get "Sweet Child of Mine" ("My Sweet Child"?) into your fans' hands as quickly as possible. Because, frankly, if it should ever hit the street in its current form, the song would be a colossal failure.
Talk soon!
Your Editor
For those of you who have never gotten a "rewrite letter" from an editor, this may not be that funny. But I was in stitches. :-) Sample:
She's got a smile that, it seems to me—Why equivocate? You weaken your point by framing this as a mere personal observation instead of a fact.
Reminds me of childhood memories—Redundant. You either have a memory or you're reminded of something. You're not reminded of a memory. Heavy-metal fans won't stand for such writing, my friend.
OUT magazine recently had an "oral history" piece (i.e. lots of minimally edited quotes strung together) on Queercore–gay punk from the late 80s and early 90s–that I thought some of you might be interested in. There'll be some mention of Pansy Division in a future chapter.
http://www.out.com/entertainment/music/2012/04/12/history-queer-core-gay-punk-GB-JONES?page=0,0 (see Comments below for live link)
"You're talking about something that started around 1985, but didn't seem to be hugely healthy until the end of the '80s. Queer punk came out of the energy of punk rock. It brought lesbians and gays together on a more even footing than they had been and was even inviting to straight people, saying that you don't need to fuck people of your own gender to be queer." –DENNIS COOPER
CURIOUS COMMENTS...
Like all blogs, we get a lot of spam comments, and we have software that filters it out. The software caches it until I kill it, so I can check for legitimate comments that might have been snared wrongly. Some of the spam is almost related, with things like links to "learn to play the guitar" websites. Most of it, though, is really random. To try to keep from getting caught, spam robots grab text from all over to make each comment "unique." Amusingly, some of them must also translate from other languages, or they are grabbing bad translations. Here's one we just got:
"For an extended time midsection individuals are related situations the opposite as compared to the smaller waisted players. Boys your individual good fashion kind will be less washboard tummy jean material making use of a contributory coloration T-shirt fallen located in. Increase areola coat can be best for individuals with a view to put a stop to householder's view from tipping most definitely from the your butt. That being said children are rough right now think you are working out how to repulse friends concentration?"
If I had to guess, I would say it's telling you that an untucked shirt or a topcoat can help hide your belly by diverting attention? Any guesses?
That same comment goes on to say:
"Searching dressed up in racial styles there are a number possibilities against you but again as mentioned previously every kind are considered unsuitable for yourself. Lesser adult men also fleshy lads should dress yourself in knee big kurtas. In height players have the ability to decide calf measurements kurta always."
A kurta is a kind of long tunic worn by men in India. So I'm guessing it's one of the languages from the Indian subcontinent being translated here. This one also seems to be about hiding how chubby you are by wearing big ethnic shirts?
And now, a few words from Daron:
OK, basically, first of all, listen to the first song on this podcast please (song starts about 2:23 and goes for 6 minutes...) http://www.wnyc.org/story/222755-bleckmann-and-kate-bush/ (see comments below for live link)
And second of all, holy crap I wish I had the balls to make music like that. Well, maybe I will soon. (It's German jazz singer named Theo Bleckmann covering Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" live in WNYC's studios.)
Over on Twitter and Facebook I've been chatting with people about favorite guitar riffs of all time, and I've been promising to make my list of favorites. Thing is, when most people make list of top guitar riffs, there's always a lot of classic rock and metal in there if not exclusively so. Now, you know I have nothing against Hendrix, Clapton, Jimmy Page, nor Eddie Van Halen, Yngwe Malmsteen, Richie Sambora (and no ragging on Sambora, please, he's underrated and from New Jersey, nuf said.)
it drives me nuts when people say the eighties were all about synthesizers and that the guitar was somehow not as central to "alternative rock" as it was to metal or mainstream. That is... such bullshit. There is no punk without the guitar, first of all, and second of all, here are my top five favorite guitar riffs of the alt-rock eighties, the era before Nirvana, before Green Day, and before Sublime.
Love & Rockets "No New Tale to Tell" I play this sometimes to warm up and it sounds fucking great on the Ovation.
Jane's Addiction "Mountain Song" not only a great riff, but a fabulous guitar solo that starts around 3:00 on the video. Fuck, that's good. There are a lot of similarities between what Dave Navarro does and what I do. I hate the song "Been Caught Stealing" but the guitar solo in that one is great, too.
And I've never known the answer to this question. Is that Navarro kissing Perry Farrell at 1:03 on the video? It sure as hell looks like it. If it is, it was the first time I saw a man kiss a man ever. Wikipedia says that MTV banned the song, but I am 100% sure it was MTV in 1988 where I saw it. Gave me a heart attack. Among other things.
(EDIT: Someone just told me Navarro also tongue-kisses Anthony Kiedis in a Red Hot Chili Peppers video, but that he has said his "experimentation" with guys has led him to conclude he's not gay or bisexual. To which Ziggy replies, he obviously slept with the wrong guys. To which I say, hey, the guy married Carmen Electra, for fuck's sake, maybe there are few people of any gender who can top that.)
You probably know already I think Robert Smith is a highly under-rated guitarist. Before him, nobody played like this. And very few people started to, actually. (Besides me, though I use my Smith-ish stuff very sparingly.) In the studio almost all Cure tracks are Smith playing with Smith from what I hear.
Adam Ant "Beat My Guest" this is a highly under-appreciated song from the 80's as well as a highly underrated guitar riff. There's a good solo in there, too.
The Church "Under the Milky Way" Steve Kilbey has a great solo in this song also. I don't understand this belief people have nowadays that guitar solos disappeared in the eighties. No, crappy cliched obligatory guitar solos disappeared, maybe.
U2 "Where the Streets Have No Name" actually, I really had trouble narrowing it down to one U2 song. The Edge has tremendous range in how he plays. I can't even put it in words. What the hell, one more. "Bullet the Blue Sky." I admit I stole a little of this sound for "Grenadier," the riff down the neck in the opening that sounds like something dropping from the sky.
There are more, of course. But there's five. No, six. Wait, seven. Okay, I can't count. Whatever.
-daron