WorshipGuitarist

I am writing this post on my new MacBook. I’ve been saving my money, and I was pretty close before Christmas. I got enough cash to push me over the top, so I visited my local Apple Store today and picked one up. I also ordered a really cool backpack from Crumpler, so I should be set by the time school starts up again. 

This coming Sunday is going to be a marathon. We’re having services at 4:30, 6:00, and 7:30.

Here’s the list:

(D)The Little Drummer Boy (the MercyMe version)
WELCOME
(G) O Come All Ye Faithful (the Third Day version)
(B) Glorious One
(B) Indescribable
(C) Here with Us
MESSAGE
Silent Night

The Little Drummer Boy was killing us at practice last night. There are some irregular meter changes between 4/4 and 5/4 that are pretty unpredictable, but I think we have it under control - somewhat.

I have been off for the last two weeks, so it’s kinda weird being back. I had my gear set up for playing at home(read: lower volume), and it took a little while to get things back to where they need to be. I’m sure that there will still be a little amp tweaking before the service. I hate when you get things sounding good, but when the band comes in you get totally lost in the mix.

To continue the video game stuff from the last post, I finally got around to playing Guitar Hero III this weekend. I was at a party, and there were some people playing it in the next room. They know that I play guitar, so they wanted to see how I did. I think I was on one of the easier difficulty settings. I chose the Muse song “Knights of Cydonia” and got started. I got a 95% accuracy my first time through.

There was this one guy who was playing Eric Johnson’s “Cliffs of Dover” on the Expert level and he was very accurate. It was pretty ridiculous. I turned to the guy next to me and said that I’d rather be able to play the actual song.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it on here, but I got a Nintendo Wii last year, and it is crazy fun. Sure, it’s graphics are not on par with the Xbox 360 or PS3 - it’s not even close, really - but the gameplay is just ridiculous.

I bought Super Mario Galaxy last weekend (based on overwhelmingly glowing reviews) and I can say that the game is awesome. I’m not going to do a full-blown review, but I will tell you that it’s very similar to Mario 64. You go to different worlds and collect stars to save the princess or something. The story is pretty weak, but who cares?

There is a two-player element to the game that just might be a stroke of genius. The second player just points the Wiimote at the screen and uses it to collect “star bits.” Player 2 doesn’t have any real responsibilities, so if they fall down on the job, it doesn’t really matter. I’m talking about playing with little kids here. My 5 year old can’t quite play the game as it’s meant to be played (the weird perspectives mess with his head), but he can point that controller at the screen and collect stuff. I have to think that this was Nintendo’s goal with the two-player option - give the kids something to do while the grownups play.

So there you have it - I’m a 30-year-old boy. It could be worse - it’s not like I play World of Warcraft or have a subscription to Xbox Live. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

First of all, let me say that I loved the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale reboot of the Batman franchise. The two movies that Tim Burton directed were pretty decent, but the others were just painful (Batman & Robin!?). Anyway, the new trailer for The Dark Knight popped up on Sunday, and it looks amazing. Christian Bale is perfect as Batman, and Heath Ledger looks pretty awesome as the Joker. It’s certainly different than the Jack Nicholson take, and that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. Nicholson was too, well, Nicholson-y. Too over the top and cartoony. Ledger looks like a nut job, which is closer to the original vision, if I understand it correctly. I never followed the comics, but that’s what I’ve read.

Anyway, follow the link to see the trailer.

This morning, I bought tickets for me and a friend to go see Wilco in March. I’ve never seen Wilco live, except for on TV, and I’m expecting a great show. If you haven’t heard it yet, you should check out their live double CD Kicking Television: Live in Chicago. It is really excellent.

I rearranged my board so that I can fit my phaser on there. As you can see, the aesthetics are, uh, less than professional, but it sounds good. I tried painting orange, but I screwed it up. I then started to sand the paint off, when I realized that I didn’t really care about how this thing looks. While I’m at it, here’s a picture of my amp and guitar:    This is just a cab that I use at home. It’s an old Crate 1×12″ closed back with a Celestion G12H30 clone made by Warehouse Speakers. It’s good enough to use at home. I leave my main cab at the church - it’s too much of a pain to haul back and forth.

Wilco is coming to Houston in March, and I really want to go see them. Tickets are going on sale tomorrow morning.

I just wanted to post some commentary on my top ten, and why I like these albums.

Radiohead - In Rainbows

What can I say about this one? I’m not even going to get into the “pay what you want” strategy - as far as I’m concerned, it didn’t need the hype. This is just an amazing album from top to bottom. It has a very mature sound in that it blends the electronic influence from the Kid A/Amnesiac period with the great songwriting of their earlier material. Every song is great, and the arrangements are top notch.

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

Wilco has gone through many transformations since their first album. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born saw them messing around with the noise-rock thing, and Sky Blue Sky incorporates some of that noise (mostly thanks to the addition of guitarist Nels Cline) into Jeff Tweedy’s great songwriting. As a bonus, there are a lot of really good guitar moments on this one.

Robbie Seay Band - Give Yourself Away

Robbie Seay Band is the only “Christian” band that I regularly listen to. I think that Robbie really understands what it means to be relevant as an artist in today’s postmodern culture. Having said that, these songs are amazing, and the lyrics are so much deeper than the vapid, mindless droning that you hear in a lot of contemporary Christian music. You can have more than six words in a chorus. On another positive note, these songs fail to conform to the seemingly mandatory I-V-vi-IV progression. Yay! On top of all this, Robbie Seay has one of the coolest voices that I have ever heard - you just believe him, you know?

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

This is a great album, full of infinitely singable pop songs. James Mercer has a really cool voice, the hooks are cool. I love this band, even though I have no idea what they’re singing about.

Kings of Leon - Because of the Times

Kings of Leon take the lo-fi garage rock thing to a new level with this one. The songs are getting better, and the production values have gone way up. It sounds like they discovered reverb and delay with this one. Really good stuff.

Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim

I love Sigur Ros. Their music is beyond my abilities to describe, so I’m not going to try. Look them up on Wikipedia or something if you need to, but you should definitely check them out. I would start with one of their earlier recordings like Ágætis Byrjun or (), but this one is really good. It’s pretty much two EPs stacked back to back. Hvarf is a compilation of some new material, and Heim contains live acoustic versions of some older stuff. It’s just really beautiful, transcendent stuff.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

I don’t envy Arcade Fire. Their debut album Funeral could easily be one of the best records of the decade. I wouldn’t want to follow that one. Neon Bible is not as good as Funeral, but it’s still really good. The main thing is that they’ve eluded the “sophomore jinx” thing, and now we can look forward to what’s coming next.

The White Stripes - Icky Thump

The White Stripes is so much more than Jack and Meg. Meg is really not a very technical drummer, but she plays right in the pocket. Jack is, well, he’s freakin’ Jack White. I don’t know what to say about him. He’s a force of nature. He’s a psychedelic, post-modern bluesman. While there are certainly droves of more proficient guitar players out there (many of whom are 15-year-olds who have a dozen videos on YouTube), none of those guys can play with the pure visceral attitude that Jack does. He doesn’t just play, he plays.

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

Like Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky is a band that you have to hear to get what they’re doing. They’re an instrumental quartet out of Austin, and they’re into the minimalist, Steve Reich thing, except with electric guitars and drums instead of bass clarinets and pianos and stuff.

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

I couldn’t even begin to think about knowing how to describe Animal Collective. I could say that it’s noisy pop with synthesized animal sounds, but that wouldn’t quite cut it. I don’t know what I like about their stuff, except to say that it’s totally and completely different than anything that I’ve listened to before. It’s not for everyone, but it’s pretty cool stuff.

Here’s my list, in no real order, except that Radiohead and Wilco definitely hold the top two spots. The rest of the list could be jumbled around based on whatever mood I may be in at the time. Some of these may not even make it onto my list next week. Anyway, check it out and let me know if I left anything out. Obviously, I’m not real big on “top 40″ bands like Nickelback, Foo Fighters, Daughtry, or whatever happens to be the current flavor of the month.

Radiohead - In Rainbows
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Robbie Seay Band - Give Yourself Away
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
The White Stripes - Icky Thump
Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam