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daslied

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  1. OK, I believe that this is NOT a sample. I think someone actually played it.

    It is somewhat similar to part of the "Kashmir" riff. It's even in the same key. The first chord in each is actually a standard guitar "power chord", utilizing the notes D and A (the first and fifth scale degrees in the key of D). The second chord has a D and a Bb (the first and flatted/minor 6th scale degree). The top note in "Kashmir" goes up chromatically two more half steps (to B natural and C) while maintaining the pedalled root note of D. "Lose Yourself" simply rocks back and forth between the top A and top Bb, with the pedalled D root note.

    The rhythm is different in each song (eighth notes in "Lose Yourself" and 16th notes in "Kashmir), and the guitar tone and actual guitar used are different. "Kashmir" was played on an open-tuned Danelectro guitar, probably on the bridge pickup (a thinner, brighter tone) and "Lose Yourself" is most definitely a Fender Stratocaster-type guitar, using the neck pickup (a fatter, warmer tone). The distortion on each guitar is different as well.

    I can't believe I just theoretically analyzed an Eminem song...but just trying to help!

  2. Here's what I found. These are actual in-concert quotes from Leonard about the song. The dates and places are listed. Hope it helps, and sorry for the length of the post!

    First We Take Manhattan (1988-2001)

    Berlin April 9th, 1988

    Berlin, at last, yes the final peace in my vast geopolitical jigsaw, Berlin at last, the worshippers of the bear, how happy I am to be among you.

    Hamburg 14/4/88

    Yeah, these are new songs, huh? Maybe lots of people think I didn't write anything after "Suzanne." But I wrote one or two songs after "Suzanne." Here's a song I wrote 20 years after "Suzanne." I had been driven over the edge and I had decided to take matters into my own hand. This is a geopolitical plan. People have asked me what it means. It means exactly what it says.

    Antwerp 17/04/88

    It's a curious song. I used to know what it means but I don't remember what it means anymore. And I think it was just a moment ago that I wrote it. I think I intended to take Manhattan and then Berlin.

    London 01/06/88

    Thank you so much, comrades. I do not concede the word "comrades" to the communists. I use it freely.Yes, why should they have special parts of the English language? And the extreme right too, why should they have blood and soil, honor, integrity, family? I like those words. I intend to use them freely. You're very kind and it's true, you are kind and very warm and it's not for me to stand up here and judge the people who come to see me. But I want to tell you that even though your hospitality is profound it will not detour me from my appointed task which is to take Manhattan, then Berlin and several other cities...

    Toronto November 1988 FM Interview

    Backstage Interview

    I?m not sure of what it means right now because I had this long voyage from Chicago. I think it means exactly what it says. It is a terrorist song.

    I think it's a response to terrorism. There's something about terrorism that I've always admired. The fact that there are no alibis or no compromises. That position is always very attractive. I don't like it when it's manifested on the physical plane - I don't really enjoy the terrorist activities ? buy Psychic Terrorism. I remember there was a great poem by Irving Layton that I once read, I'll give you a paraphrase of it. It was 'well, you guys blow up an occasional airline and kill a few children here and there', he says. 'But our terrorists, Jesus, Freud, Marx, Einstein. The whole world is still quaking...

    Chat 2001, for the release of "Ten New Songs"

    Answering a fan about the meaning of the song

    Ever succeeding moment changes what has happened the moment before. In the stream of writing, all that is written changes its meanings by what is written subsequently. "First We Take Manhattan" might be understood as an examination of the mind of the extremist. In a way it's a better song now (*) than it was before and I would probably sing it in concert if the circumstances were appropriate.

    (*) The Chat took place one month after the terrorist attacks in NYC and Washington D.C.

  3. If you use a program like Steinberg Cubase, or any similar recording software, here's what you can do:

    Load your wave/mp3 of the song. Highlight the whole thing. Do an export, and choose "Stereo Split" as the channel outputs. The export will give you two identical mono files - one will be the left channel and one will be the right.

    You can then import these files onto two tracks, and do another export ("mixdown") to get a single, stereo version of your two mono files.

    I hope this is what you're asking...

  4. "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday. Probably the most chilling song about racism and lynchings ever made.

    Lyrics:

    SOUTHERN TREES

    BEAR A STRANGE FRUIT

    BLOOD ON THE LEAVES

    AND BLOOD AT THE ROOT

    BLACK BODIES SWINGIN?

    IN THE SOUTHERN BREEZE

    STRANGE FRUIT HANGIN?

    FROM THE POPLAR TREES

    PASTORAL SCENE OF THE GALLANT SOUTH

    THE BULGING EYES AND THE TWISTED MOUTH

    SCENT OF MAGNOLIA

    SWEET AND FRESH

    THEN THE SUDDEN SMELL OF BURNIN? FLESH

    HERE IS A FRUIT

    FOR THE CROWS TO PLUCK

    FOR THE RAIN TO GATHER

    FOR THE WIND TO SUCK

    FOR THE SUN TO ROT

    FOR THE TREE TO DROP

    HERE IS A STRANGE

    AND BITTER

    CROP

    You could probably get a few papers out of this song. I believe she recorded it in 1939. It was written by a Jewish teacher in 1924 in response to lynchings in the South. Anyway, take a look at this one.

  5. I'm not trying to be confrontational, but I have a few "rebuttals" to "ImThatGuyToo". I realize this is an opinion-based topic (much less one that's almost a year old), but I'm very defensive about The Beatles. "ThatGuy", please understand there is no disrespect intended!

    I agree with most of what you posted, save for a few items:

    #3 - I don't think you can answer this question. It's like asking if Bonds could've hit Cy Young or Ruth could've hit Randy Johnson. We'll never know. Pop music would be completely different if it weren't for The Beatles 40 years ago. If pop had stayed in the Elvis/Everly Brothers vein until now, sure, The Beatles would probably be as popular as they were in the 60's. If someone else had caused the evolution, then who knows? The Beatles were the first step in a natural progression, and they caused the other dominos to fall.

    They not only revolutionized pop music, but the record industry, recording/studio techniques, touring and merchandising. If not for that, who knows how greedy and cynical the industry would be today?

    They were also the first to write their own music on a large scale, so how would their absence affect people like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, Elton John and even contemporary artists like John Mayer and Tori Amos?

    It's kind of like trying to count to ten without knowing the numbers one through nine.

    #4 - There was certainly nothing objectionable to kids, I would guess, but there was plenty of controversy. "Bigger Than Jesus". "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". The cover of "Two Virgins". The line "I'd love to turn you on" in "A Day In The Life". The original cover of "Yesterday And Today". Paul admitted he took LSD.

    They surely weren't considered without flaws, morality-wise.

    Lack of competition? Maybe not in the early careers, unless you count say, Elvis, Phil Spector, Motown, The Stones, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, The Beach Boys. But consider the following albums released the same year as Beatles' albums:

    "Rubber Soul" (1965)

    Dylan "Highway 61 Revisited"

    The Who "Sings My Generation"

    The Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man"

    The Impressions "People Get Ready"

    The Kinks "Kontroversy"

    "Revolver" (1966)

    The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds"

    Dylan "Blonde On Blonde"

    Simon & Garfunkel "Parsley, Sage..." and "Sounds Of Silence"

    Ike & Tina "River Deep Mountain High"

    Cream "Fresh Cream"

    Donovan "Sunshine Superman"

    "Sgt. Pepper's..." (1967)

    Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced" and "Axis: Bold As Love"

    The Doors "The Doors"

    Aretha "I Never Loved A Man"

    Cream "Disraeli Gears"

    Pink Floyd "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn"

    Jefferson Airplane "Surrealistic Pillow"

    The Moody Blues "Days Of Future Passed"

    "The White Album" (1968) -

    Van Morrison "Astral Weeks"

    Jimi Hendrix "Electric Ladyland"

    The Stones "Beggar's Banquet"

    The Band "Music From The Big Pink"

    Johnny Cash "At Folsom Prison"

    James Brown "Live At The Apollo"

    Otis Redding "Dock Of The Bay"

    Iron Butterfly "Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida"

    "Abbey Road" (1969) -

    The Stones "Let It Bleed"

    Led Zeppelin "I" and "II"

    The Who "Tommy"

    CCR "Green River"

    CSN "Crosby, Stills & Nash"

    Blind Faith "Blind Faith"

    The Temptations "Cloud Nine"

    "Let It Be" (1970) -

    Neil Young "After The Goldrush"

    Derek And The Dominoes "Layla"

    Van Morrison "Moondance"

    S&G "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

    Santana "Abraxas"

    Black Sabbath "Black Sabbath"

    Bowie "The Man Who Sold The World"

    Elton John "Tumbleweed Connection"

    The Jackson 5 "ABC"

    So there was plenty of competition, regarding popularity and innovation. It was the response to the competition that made The Beatles (and all the artists above) so great.

    OK, big apologies for my little rant, and again, "ThatGuy", no offense intended. Obviously you're a big fan too; I just don't think you can stress the importance of The Beatles enough.

  6. I actually thought it was inspired by "What's Goin' On" by Marvin Gaye, which came out a year or two earlier. That was kind of the benchmark as far as introducing social commentary into R&B, or at least one of the first to do so. Some of Stevie's best lyrics, I think. Definitely inspired by the racial issues of the time; segregation, civil rights, lack of equal opportunity employment, etc.

  7. Damien Rice - "O"

    The most emotionally honest album to come out in years. Recorded in his house, there doesn't seem to be a lot of "fixing" or overdubbing, which gives it that Beatles quality. It just sounds like a guy playing in his room with some friends, which I think is sorely lacking today.

    Highlights -

    "Cold Water" - haunting and very stark with amazing dynamic shifts. The interplay of his and her (Lisa Hannigan) voices is beautiful, and the simple ascending cello line is perfect.

    "The Blower's Daughter" - the whole reason I want to see the movie "Closer". A beautiful song, especially at the key change/female part. The lyrics are so very sweet, and then the last (very quiet) line "Til I find somebody new" hits you like a ton of bricks.

    "Eskimo" - beautiful instrumentation, and the most forward-thinking song on the album. I'm speaking of the first 3:30 minute part (not "Prague" and "Silent Night", which fill up the other 12 minutes). The opera singer (in Finnish) is a little out there at first, but after another listen it really gets you. The melody is reminiscent of 100 other songs, but the way it's done here is breathtaking. And, after the huge buildup it goes right back to his voice and acoustic guitar for a quick ending. Incredible.

    Stevie Wonder - "Fulfillngness' First Finale"

    Really I'm picking this one based on the song "They Won't Go When I Go". I would comfortably pick any album of his between "Music Of My Mind" and "Songs In The Key Of Life, which as a 5-year pop music period is rivaled only by "Revolver" through "Abbey Road" in terms of innovation and creativity.

    Aimee Mann - "Magnolia" soundtrack

    Like Damien Rice you've heard her melodies somewhere before, but she is a master at song craft. She also has better in-between lyric guitar fills than anybody else I can think of. The opening line from "Deathly", 'Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing each other again' is the basis for the movie. P.T. Anderson wrote the movie backwards from that line, which is pretty cool. "Save Me", "Deathly" , "Driving Sideways" and "Wise Up" are pop perfection.

    Rufus Wainwright - "Rufus Wainwright"

    One of the most original sounding albums of the last ten years. It goes from tin pan alley to chamber pop to folk seemlessly. Gifted of voice, piano ability, lyrics and humor, he is an amazing talent. Orchestrations by Van Dyke Parks (who also did "Pet Sounds") are a bonus.

    Tom Waits - "Alice"

    As good as "Closing Time" or "Small Change", "Alice" might be a more complete album than any other he's done. Nothing else I can think of fits the term "Rainy-day album" better. Beautiful ballads, creepy Waits standards and amazing lyrics throughout. How he isn't considered one of the greatest lyricists/poets ever I'll never know. "Flower's Grave" and the closing instrumental "Fawn" are two of the most beautiful things you'll ever hear.

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