As someone who plays guitar, I am breathing a sigh of relief that there are finally BANDS at the top of the charts… bands that still know how to play their instruments and write their own songs. I have nothing against Kanye West, I admit I bought his last album the first day it came out, or the Jonas Brothers… then again… . These guys may have writing credits but how far does that really extend? Brett was telling me earlier that now-a-days all you need to do to get writing credits is to have been in the room when the song was written. As far as I’m concerned Kanye West and Jonas Brothers don’t have the technical musicianship that people need to maintain their stature at the top of the music industry.

All we need to do to show people that music is a lot more than a drum machine and good looks is to give them a little history lesson. With the release of Death Magnetic, Metallica has set a new record with five debut #1 albums, beating out the the Beatles, U2 and Dave Matthews Band with their four debut #1’s. It comforts me to see that these bands, which some consider to be the greatest in the world, have either written or are still writing their own songs and can also play their own instruments.

In a world where way too many kids are introduced to the guitar through a video game, I am glad that Metallica has stepped up to regain control for the real musicians. Hopefully, kids will now look up to them as the true Guitar Heroes like I did when I was twelve. (Attached photo is of yours truly my senior year.)

Anyway, lets take a second to thank Metallica for reminding us that real musicians still reign supreme.

TIM’S DIGITAL JUKEBOX:
“All Nightmare Long” Metallica, Death Magnetic

Guitarface by Brett

As a long time proponent/proprietor of old-school 70’s & 80’s style hard rock, it always does my heart good to see and hear my favorite bands and songs resurface in contemporary popular culture– even if it is in a Cadillac commercial! When the Guitar Hero inferno began to rage, I was very excited about two particular aspects of the phenomenon:

• the possibility of exposing kids to great classic rock tunes
• inspiring a new generation to pick up the instrument and hopefully assisting them in developing the technical skills required to really RAWK!

Based on first-hand observations of my own progeny, I can say that I’m encouraged in-regards to the former and a bit discouraged in regards to the latter.

I can think of very few things that tickle me more than hearing my 6 year old son doing his best Dee Snider, walking around the house singing, We’re Not Gonna Take It or my 11 year old daughter humming China Grove while doing her homework. The flipside to their new interest in dad’s music is that my daughter’s actual guitar hasn’t left its case since she got the game. She asked Santa for a guitar two Christmases ago and while she was never the most dedicated student, she at least practiced regularly and was making some progress. Then she got Guitar Hero about six months ago and it would seem that the allure of the more immediate gratification afforded by the game has supplanted the thrill gained by learning to play music on a stringed guitar.

I do have hopes that once she’s mastered the expert level of the game (and she’s very close) she may want to explore her actual instrument. As for the question of whether the mechanics of playing Guitar Hero assists in developing the physical dexterity necessary to play guitar, it remains to be seen but I do believe that after she beats the top level, the Nirvana of video-game rock, she will be curious to unzip her real guitar again!

Hmm, all this is making me wonder, Reunion Blues bags for game controllers? Might not be a totally ridiculous idea….

BRETT’S MUSIC BAG:
For new bands that are rockin’ the streets the old school way check out End Ever After and Black Tide.