Episode 7

I have decided to go with Episode numbers since I see that I am posting just about regularly.

My x-wife and x-sister-in-law have requested my help to teach them a song by Staind. They really like the song and want to use it to play for their brothers wedding in a year. I am not a fan of the song but luckily the song only uses 3 chords. E major, A major and B major in various combination's. The real creative part is to try to figure out something for my x-wife to play since her sister wants to play the basic chord progression. I think this will be a fun and easy project for a couple of beginner guitarists. They will come over to learn the song next Saturday.

Man or Astro-Man? - Experiment Zero

The band was a surf rock group who used experimental sounds with obscure sci-fi sounds and movie dialog clips. In other words, not your usual surf rock group by any means. They were closely related to Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K). The album it self is interesting. It is filled with great surf rock with interspersed with strange sounds and dialog clips from little known sci-fi B-movies. If you like surf rock and are looking for more You may want to check these guys out. They take the idea of surf rock in a completely different direction but for some this could be a good thing. The first album I would recommend would be their last to date, A Spectrum of Finite Scale (I will get to this album later).


Lost Ocean - Could This Be Love

Lost Ocean are a Christian pop group that sounds slightly like Coldplay. They have put their second album out as a self release. I really like the band since their first EP. They have clean lyrics but about half of their music is about religion the other half is usually about how to live your life and relationships. The music itself is inspiring to me let alone the lyrics. They are positive in their outlook on life and show good ways to live life. Their music is also easy to sing along with making it not very difficult to stop listening to. This album in particular has 14 tracks but the album is so good that when you get to the last track it seems like it took only 5 minutes to get through the end because it is so enjoyable. Musically the band is very gifted. You will not get bored with repeated loops of music. My stand out tracks are 1 Lately I Can't Fly, 2 Good Morning, 5 Every Word She Said, 9 Dance To This Heart Beat and 13 You Are All I Need. This was a limited run CD but you can download the album from Amazon or Itunes. I can not give this band higher praises. If I had a scale it would be over the top. Hmm, a scale. Maybe I will make one of those or copy one from someone for the next post.

Archie Bell & The Drells - Tighten Up

They are a fantastic old skool R&B group that started in the late 60s. The album is from 1968. They were based in Houston TX. I found out about this group from a close friend. The track that I listened to was the title track for the album. There are so many little nuances in this song that it is great for critical listening. The song itself is just so much fun to listen to. I did not know it until I purchased the album but there is a second part to the song that is just as good as the first part. The album goes on to cover a few classics and a few originals. Over all the album is a decent album. But, the first two tracks, Tighten Up and Tighten Up Part 2 are top notch. The album has been repressed recently and is very cheap. You can also download or get it on CD.

The Black Ghosts - The Black Ghosts

The Black Ghosts are a United Kingdom-based electronic music duo composed of Theo Keating and Simon William Lord. The two met through the internet. The album is a cross between electronic and synth-pop. It is a very smooth album with some hard hitting beats and bass lines. I enjoyed the album and picked it up in the first week that it was released. The song Full Moon off the album was included in the soundtrack for the film Twilight. There is also a remix of the song included in the delux version of the soundtrack. Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz fame guest stars on the track Repetition Kills You. This was the first song that I heard from the band. I am somewhat of a fan of Albarn's work and This track is the reason that I picked up the album. I really like the album and recommend it to anyone who is into the new crop of electronic artists.