The Rutles

  1978's The Rutles is a must see film. The mockumentary/parody of The Beatles brings together two comedic giants, Monty Python & Saturday Night Live. 

Without The Rutles there would be no Spinal Tap. 

 It's also in my opinion the best & most successful Beatles spoof. The "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" episode of THE SIMPSONS doesn't compare. George Harrison was even involved in The Rutles and even makes a wry cameo in the film.

  One of its songs, "Cheese and Onions" HAS even appeared on Beatles' bootlegs, some Fab Four fans apparently mistake it for an actual Lennon composition...

  According to the Rutles entry on Wikipedia, John Lennon was even said to have loved the film so much he refused to return the videotape and sountrack that he was given for his approval.

If you like The Beatles, you will like it. If you like Monty Python you will like it. If you like Saturday Night Live you will like it.
 
But don't take my word for it watch it for yourself right here:

 The Rutles: (Full Movie)

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The 10,000 Hour Rule

The 10,000 hour rule is a definite key to success – from Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

 

The 10,000 hour rule was proposed by Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers: The Story of Success.” He proposes that, in order to become an expert in a field of study, it takes 10,000 hours of focus and practice on the subject at hand.

 Among the examples he includes in his book are The Beatles, who performed over 1200 times in Hamburg, Germany from 1960-1964. The time The Beatles spent in Germany turned them into professional musicians. They looked and sounded like no one else. Their hectic schedule prepared them for the insanity that was Beatlemania. Without that time in Hamburg, The Beatles may not have ever left The Cavern Club in Liverpool and rock music would look and sound very different today.

For guitar playing, the 10,000 hour rule basically equates to 20 hours a a week for 10 years. That’s what I want to discuss today.

The good thing about the 10,000 hour rule is that it’s true: If you spend 10,000 doing something you WILL become an expert at it.

The bad thing about the 10,000 hour rule is that it’s also true: If you spend 10,000 hours doing something you WILL become an expert at it.What does this mean? It’s all about how you spend your 10,000 hours.

If you spend your 10,000 hours in unfocused practice, screwing around, you will be an expert at screwing around and playing unfocused music.

 If you go into your 10,000 hours with a clear idea of what you want to accomplish on guitar and have a good game plan then your music will reflect this. It will be polished and professional.

HOW I SPENT MY 10,000 HOURS

  I’ve been playing guitar for 30 years. I always wanted to be able to play the songs I heard on the radio, and eventually be in a band. For most of my pre-teens and teenage years I had my dad’s old 1970’s Alvarez acoustic guitar. It was great for rhythm playing but I couldn’t solo on it, so I learned to become a rhythm player.

  When I got an electric guitar, it was a cheap Fender Squire that would never stay in tune so I just played chords.  I wanted to be in a band, and I wanted to develop my soloing, but I was not focused enough to practice my scales. I found it boring and tedious and it much more interesting to me to learn chords and songs. I always found it much easier to get girls by playing an entire song than just showing off how fast I can blaze through the Pentatonic Minor scale. I was never willing to work and save to get good equipment so I could be in a band. Since I couldn’t solo very well, I was extremely embarrassed about being in a band so I avoided doing what I should’ve been doing which was working whatever jobs I could, saving money and playing with other musicians wherever and whenever possible.

 And 30 years later, I do consider myself an expert at what I practiced. Acoustic guitar. I’m an excellent chord/rhythm player and I have an excellent ability to play whatever it is I hear.

 It’s only in the last few years that I’ve made an effort to learn solo playing. I practice my scales just like anyone first starting guitar. I also find it fun to play my own solos over my favorite songs. This really helps me to understand how solos are constructed in a fun way that isn’t tedious or boring. So I’m putting a new 10,000 hours as I learn to become a better solo player.

There are no rules here. If you spent 10,000 hours unwisely, you can always start another one. It’s never too late.

USING YOUR 10,000 HOURS WISELY

In my opinion, I think it’s hard to put in a quality 10,000 hours on guitar for the following reason. The levels of progression get increasingly more difficult to reach.

For example: You can take someone who has never picked up a guitar before and in a matter of one practice session, teach them 3 basic first position chords (let’s say E, A &D) and they’ve instantly picked up enough chords that many artists have based entire careers on. Give it another practice session and introduce the moveable power chord shape and they’ve gone from nothing to intermediate in just two practice sessions.

 But just like in a video game the first levels are easy but as you progress the levels start getting increasingly harder to reach, and I think this frustrates many guitarists and without the proper direction you can become stuck.

 So how can you use you 10,000 hours wisely so you don’t get stuck?

1.       HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH ON GUITAR: This can be as simple as knowing:

  I want to be in a band 

 I want to be able to write my own songs

I want to be able to play my favorite songs

2.       SET ASIDE TIME TO PRACTICE: Just like you have designated times for school or work, or dinner you should have a set designated time to practice guitar. And by practice I don’t mean playing guitar while watching tv, talking to your girlfriend and screwing around on the computer all at the same time. Your practice time should be free of distractions and you should only be playing guitar and not doing or hearing anything else.

3.       PLAY WITH OTHER MUSICIANS: Whether you want to be in a band or not, you should always play with other musicians whenever possible. If you don’t have anyone else to play with, them find some either thru school, work, music store, craigslist or your local bar’s open mic night.

4.       GET WITH A TEACHER:  Whether it’s thru a friend or relative, your local music store or even youtube you should always have a teacher. There are a ton of resources available on the internet for free, if you can’t spend the money, or just prefer learning on your own. You should always have that resource to go to when you’re practicing so you can stay on path (see #1).

Always remember the 10,000 rule will make you an expert. How you spend that time will determine whether you want to become a talented, polished expert or an expert at mediocrity and unfocusedness. So use it wisely.

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It's Gonna Suck When Paul McCartney Dies

"My grandkids always beat me at Rock Band. And I say, Listen, you may beat me at Rock Band, but I made the original records, so shut up." - Paul McCartney

 That'll probably be the headline on all the newspapers when Paul McCartney dies. I'm not looking forward to this for several reasons. Of course there's the whole musical genius thing, but the main reason I'm not looking forward to it is because I believe the media is going to focus on all the wrong aspects about his life.  That's what I want to write about today. 

I dread the deaths of certain super celebrities. Not because i care about them but because of all the shit I have to endure on television when one of them dies. And the bigger the personality, the worse it is. - George Carlin

 When Paul McCartney dies, It'll be worse than when Michael Jackson or Princess Diana died. We're gonna have to hear Hey Jude and Yesterday (both overrated in my opinion) non stop while they play constant retrospectives and video clip and photo montages. They'll probably even do man on the street interviews asking people what they think about Paul McCartney and his musical legacy. 

  

 Then of course you'll have to hear every asshole newscaster saying stupid fucking cliches like "Well I guess he's playing in heaven with John and George now." That's probably gonna annoy me more than anything else. It's gonna be all over your Facebook and Twitter pages and you won't be able to escape it.

  This is the just the first stage of how I envision the media fucking this whole thing up when Paul McCartney dies. When they're not busy talking in cliches everyone on TV will be focusing on all the wrong aspects of his life. CNN will have nonstop 24 hour coverage. 

  Every moment of the funeral will be covered worldwide. Old, fat dirty hippies will be lined the streets in tears trying to get a view of his casket. Some old fucking hag will be interviewed and she'll go on and on about how she saw The Beatles in Shea Stadium or Candlestick Park and how even tho you couldn't hear shit it was so amazing. Every other person they interview will basically say the same thing.

They will talk about how Paul McCartney was a vegetarian and how he was always all over the tabloids because he was getting married over and over again after Linda McCartney died. They'll show that one lady with the one leg.

 

  They will also probably keep referring to his collaboration with Michael Jackson and they'll talk over a clip from that music video they did for "Say Say Say," which will play every time they come back from commercial or while they're doing an interview with some guy who's supposed to be an expert on how Paul McCartney dying will affect society. 

  They will also talk about how Paul McCartney lost the publishing rights to The Beatles's songs because he was outbid by Michael Jackson. Then they'll probably make some reference to the earlier cliche with something as equally stupid as, "Now they can make music videos and outbid each other in heaven," or some shit like that. 

AT THIS POINT, OVERCOME BY FRUSTRATION AND OUTRAGE I WILL PROBABLY DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS...

 WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD FOCUS ON INSTEAD

I woke up one morning with a tune in my head ... I went to the piano and found the chords to it ... It just came to me in a dream" - Paul McCartney on writing Yesterday 

1. Musical Genius: Paul McCartney plays many instruments, a few of which are; guitar, bass guitar, piano, harmonica, recorder, banjo, mandolin, and drums, and he plays them good too.

  He wrote Yesterday in his sleep, literally. While some of you are lucky if you don't piss your pants while you're sleeping, this motherfucker is writing hit songs. That's some next level shit right there.

 He's arguably the most underrated, melodic and greatest rock bass player ever. And even at 70 he still sings the early Beatles in the same key they were originally recorded in. To still have kind of vocal range after 50 years is truly impressive.

2.  Business Genius: Paul McCartney's company MPL Communications owns over 25,000 copyrights and the publishing rights to  the musicals Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, Annie and Grease. It also owns the publishing rights for Buddy Holly, and Carl Perkins and many other artists.

3. Criminal Past/Bad Boy: McCartney has been arrested four times for weed and even spent 8 days in jail in Japan after he tried to smuggle in his suitcase full of weed. For someone with as big of a rep as a vegetarian and humanist and all around nice guy, people forget that this used to be someone who had no problems being arrested, and spending time in jail.

4. SNL: The Chris Farley Show: Still one of my favorite moments from SNL. I don't know how many people still remember this. It's a must watch. Its so funny until he asks the last question which is probably one of the greatest questions I think has ever been asked of a Beatle. I'm sure it was meant as a joke but I don't think they realized just how profound that question was.

Chris Farley: ...um, you did that album Abbey Road, and at the very end of the song, it would.. the song goes, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"? You.. you remember that?
Paul McCartney: Yes.
Chris Farley: Uh.. is that true?
Paul McCartney: Yes, Chris. In my experience, it is. I find, the more you give, the more you get.

5. What Could've Been: There was at least one close call to a Beatles reunion. In 1976 when Lorne Michaels made a joke on SNL, offering the Beatles $3000 for a reunion. It may have been just a joke, but Lennon and McCartney almost took him up on the offer. The two were watching the show and were thinking about going down to the SNL studios, but at the last minute decided against it, citing the fact they hadn't played together in public for many years and whether or not they could've made it to the NBC studios in time. 

  Two of Us is a low budget but very interesting movie that fictitiously speculates about how that whole story might have gone down.

Link to IMDB's entry for Two of Us (2000)

In Conclusion

It will be a sad day when Paul McCartney dies without already having the media there to turn into a circus. 

I don't even wanna think about whats going to happen with Mick Jagger dies.

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Ask a Paranoid, Bipolar, Narcissist What This Song is About: Fixing a Hole

Fixing a Hole - The Beatles

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
And stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go

I'm filling the cracks that ran through the door
And kept my mind from wandering
Where it will go

And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right
Where I belong.
See the people standing there who disagree and never win
And wonder why they don't get in my door

I'm painting my room in the colourful way
And when my mind is wandering There I will go

And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right
Where I belong.
Silly people run around they worry me
And never ask me why they don't get past my door

I'm taking the time for a number of things
That weren't important yesterday
And I still go

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
And stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go

   Today I was pleasantly reminded of the difference between "hearing" and "listening." I've been listening to the Beatles since I was a kid. As I grew older and I just grew to assume that this was probably just some song Paul McCartney wrote while he was high as f*ck trying to fix his house. Also I don't pay much attention to lyrics. I've never tended to see lyrics as very important...as long as they sound melodic, I see vocals as just another instrument.

   Today as I was driving across town on my way home from my psychiatrists appointment, I was listening to The Beatles, and for the first time I actually "understood" the song, rather than just hearing it. The genius of The Beatles, just never ceases to amaze me.

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in
And stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go

I'm filling the cracks that ran through the door
And kept my mind from wandering
Where it will go

   Sure this song is about fixing a hole and a door in a house. It's also probably just a stupid little tune that you write after smoking enormous quantities of weed, but I see something else too.

   The rain and the cracks, are outisde forces, negative forces that stifle creativity, and prevent living in a state of higher awareness.  Eastern philosphy, Karma Yoga, the true self, vs the ego, pure consciousness...The Beatles were just starting to get into eastern philosophy around this time.  Read The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, it's an easy read, a good reference to what I'm talking about and personally I think it should be required reading for every human being. Anyways, the rain and other ego-driven thoughts, and negative forces keep from being in the now, the present moment.

   The mind/ego is always focused on the past or the future. Past and present only exist in the mind. The present moment is all we have, all that exists. It has been said that it has taken every molecule and atom in the universe since the begining of time to get you to this very present moment. When you fail to accept what is by reliving and holding on to the past or worrying about the future, both of which exist only in your mind, you are literally fighting the entire universe itself.

   When you accept what is, and stop fighting life, then the universe starts to conspire with you. The people you need show up in your life just when you need them to, you start noticing coincidences happening more often, and all sorts of other cool shit like that. But you gotta be open to the creative flow of the universe, that means being in the present moment.

   Like with playing guitar or trying to write a song. When I try to create something, I can't. Inspiration, is allusive. When you look for it  you'll never find it. It's only when I stop trying and drop my notions about what I think should be happening, that I find inspiration. Like today, I was trying to think about something to blog about tonight and I was puzzled the entire day. I was making myself irritated that I couldn't think of anything. But ultimately I just sat down and decided to clear my mind and just start writing whatever came into my head.  And I'm quite surprised by how much I've been able to write so far.

Ok, back to the song...

   When he fixes the hole and the cracks that stop the rain, then his mind is free to wander. To create, to be free spiritually, free to smoke weed, drop acid, or to actually fix the friggin hole. It's about being in the moment, free to let your mind wander "where it will go." No limitations.

   And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right
Where I belong.

  Thats an awesome line. The play on words there is badass too. This part is about self acceptance. It doesn't matter where I'm at or what I'm doing, what matters is that I'm here, right now, alive and conscious. That's a very powerful line.

See the people standing there who disagree and never win
And wonder why they don't get in my door

  

Silly people run around they worry me
And never ask me why they don't get past my door

   This is about negativity. Nobody wants to be around negative people.  Everybody knows that one person who is such a bummer that the minute they walk into a room, they instantly bum everyone out.

   It can also be about the fact he is a famous rockstar and people are probably always trying to get inside his home, and that isn't cool.

   Negative energy weakens people. Matter is energy - Einstein. The people we're with,the things we surround ourselves with, the foods we eat, the thoughts we think all have energy. Negative energy will literally physically weaken you. Example,  Watch the muscle test.

I'm painting my room in the colourful way
And when my mind is wandering
There I will go

I'm taking the time for a number of things
That weren't important yesterday
And I still go

   When he fixes the hole and the cracks, accepts himself as he is and keeps negative people away, he is free to be creative and do the things that really are important to him. Things he never realized before.

   Also when you smoke a ton of weed and drop acid, you really want to be doing it in a color room.

_________________________________________________________

 Ok so there you have it. An extremely in depth and self indulgent (and probably wrong) break down analysis of a cool Beatles song.

  So in conclusion let me explain...

   Fixing a Hole: A song about, DIY home repairs, eastern philosphy, living in the present moment, self acceptance, ridding yourself of negativity, and making sure that before you experiment with power hallucinogenic, psychedelic, mind expanding drugs, that you have a colorful room in which to do so.

   But you don't have to take my word for it.

   It might help to know that I took a Beatles history class at Arizona State University. It counted as upper division and humanities credit too.

   I've also been to Abbey Road, and the building that used to be Apple Records where The Beatles played their last public performance for the Let it Be movie.

ok bye.

Ask a Guitarded Person

Hey Guitard! Let's show some love for the bass players out there! Who are some of your favorite bass players? Any bass players you feel are over/underrated? Do you have an opinion on the pick vs fingers debate? Also, what is your favorite horror film circa 1980-1995? - Tony, California.

   * Favorite/Most Underrated Bassist:

Paul McCartney

Paul was one of the most innovative bass players ever. And half the stuff that is going on now is directly ripped off from his Beatles period.-- John Lennon1

Paul McCartney was a guitar player who was basically demoted to playing bass, setting the standard for most all rock bass players to follow, haha. Seriously though, he is, in my opinion, the most underrated bass player in Rock history. He has laid down some of the most taseful and melodic bass line's ever.

Listen to the bass lines on, A Day in the Life. Just because he's in the rhythm section doesn't mean he has to resign himself to just playing in the background. He treats the bass as if it were a lead instrument, but its not overpowering the vocals or other instruments. His bass stands out but its not stepping on anyone else's toes and it doesn't take away from the song.

One of my favorite songs, I Want You (She's So Heavy) has some haunting, trippy ass bass on it.

______________________________________________________

*My Other Favorite Bad Ass Bass Player

James Jamerson

 I think James Jamerson is behind pretty much every awesome Motown song ever. The guy was just a friggin genius.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Other Awesome Bass Players I like

• John Entwistle
• John Paul Jones
• Geezer Butler
• Steve Harris:

• Cliff Burton: (for me there was no Metallica after Cliff died)
• Justin Chancellor  [Tool]

   And yeah, yeah, I didn't say any other names like, Victor Wooten, John Myung, Jaco Pastorious and all them other overly technical, jazzy dudes. I'm not saying it's not good, but thats just not my type of music.

Most Overrated Bass Player/s

Michael Anthony: While I don't condone bass playing that's so complex it interferes with melody and overall song structure, I also don't condone doing nothing but riding root notes all night long. Have some f*kking imagination. I'm not saying he's a bad bass player, just an overrated one.

Billy Sheehan: If you're gonna do nothing but play bass solos and tapping like Eddie Van Halen, then just play a f*kking guitar. I wouldn't listen to a bass player just because he's fast, no more than I would start a conversation with someone just because they could talk fast. Just because it might be fast doesn't mean it's necessarily interesting. Just because you might have a larger vocabulary than anyone else doesn't mean you have anything profound to say. Shit Ava is 4 1/2, still learning to master the English language and some of the shit she says is more interesting than anything most of the people I went to college with ever had to say.

Geddy Lee: I've never been a Rush fan and as far as bass playing goes, I don't believe in self-indulgency, and complexity simply for the sake of being complex.

• The dude from Green Day
• The dude from U2
• Gene Simmons
• Jason Newstead
• Flea *now he's ok, but some people think he's a bass God, and I refuse to give him any more credit than just a simple, "He's Ok."*

____________________________________________________

Pick vs. Fingers

   I'm somewhere in the middle on this one but I lean more towards a "no pick" philosophy. While I believe the bass should be learned without a pick, I also believe in a kind of "different tools for different jobs," type of thing too. If you're trying to achieve a certain tone, a pick could be appropriate.

   But when all is said and done at the end of the day, I believe fingers vs pick is ultimate the difference between a Bass Player and simply, somebody who just plays bass.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Best Horror Movie 1980-1995

The Shining [1980]: By the time I was 9 or 10 I had already seen movies like Faces of Death, The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I don't scare easily. In my leisure time I look at gory websites of  murder scenes, car crashes, and war atrocities for fun. Ever been to www.rotten.com? that's kids stuff compared to the stuff I watch for fun.

   Anyways, I don't get scared by movies, but I do get disturbed by them, and the only movie that ever came close to scaring me was "The Shining," When I first saw it I was about 10 years old and already a veteran of many horror films and I prided myself on being able to literally watch anything without getting scared or sick. The Shining gave me the creeps. I had to get thru it in two sittings. That had never happened before and hasn't happened since. As far as book adaptations go, maybe not the truest film depiction of a book ever done, but it's definitely a disturbing, great movie.

P.S. want some messed up trippy websites that are not for the squeamish?

www.machovideo.com

www.theync.com

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Play With Your Fucking Heart!!!

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