Skip to main content

Shreds

I was recently introduced to some parody YouTube clips by a co-worker, and frankly, I haven't laughed so hard since I watched A Night at the Opera two years ago. I'm very well aware in Internet speak this could very well be as ancient as five months ago, but the "Shreds" series is new to me, and quite amazing.

For starters, there is one for Creed, the Mars Volta, and Steve Vai. Plus, the clip for Metallica's "One" is a complete laugh riot. So, what's so funny? Well, if you've ever played in a band, walked by a band rehearsing, had a neighbor whose band rehearsed in his or her's house, lived with someone whose band practiced in your hose, or you just walked around a Guitar Center, this all sounds familiar.

Especially with the Mars Volta clip, I can't help but find a lot of truth in the spoof. As incredible as the band is live, the lasting power of their spazzy jazz fusion is short. Dissecting the jam itself is simply funny. In regards to the Metallica clip, it seems to perfectly capture what it's like to hear a band try to cover "One," but failing miserably. Yes, I've been there before, but it was on "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

So, I guess this is karmic payback from all the people who have had to listen to me play drums since 1994, and all the bands I've played with.

Comments

Unknown said…
Interesting... I'll have to think about this one some more...

http://www.stephencarr.net
9:37 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Catherine Wheel

Originally posted: Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 Despite managing to release five proper albums, Catherine Wheel was one of those bands that always seemed to slip past the mainstream rock crowd. Yes, they got some nice airplay in their day, but people seem to have forgotten about them. You may hear “Black Metallic” or “Waydown” on a “classic alternative” show on Sirius or XM or maybe even on terrestrial radio, but that’s about it. For me, they were one of most consistent rock bands of the ’90s, meandering through shoegazer, hard rock, space rock and pop rock, all while eluding mainstream pigeonholing. Led by the smooth, warm pipes of vocalist/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), Catherine Wheel featured Brian Futter on lead guitar, Dave Hawes on bass and Neil Sims on drums. They weren’t a pretty-boy guitar band, but they weren’t a scuzzy bunch of ragamuffins either. Though the band hailed from England, Catherine Wheel found itself more welcome on American air...
4 comments
Read more

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ben Folds and Ben Folds Five

Originally posted on Tuesday, April 11th, 2006 : For some, Ben Folds Five was merely a one hit wonder. For others, the trio was a life-changer. Myself, I’m one of the latter. Being formally introduced with the “Battle of Who Could Care Less” video on 120 Minutes , I was very intrigued to know more about this piano-bass-drums combo. Once I heard Whatever and Ever Amen , I was hooked. As a matter of fact, out of all of my favorite bands, Ben Folds Five is one of the few that I liked right away and I have held the same kind of admiration ever since. Their three proper albums (and one b-sides collection) are staples in my record collection and they may very well be (or soon be) staples in your collection too. For a band that was once described as “punk rock for sissies,” you may realize how effortlessly these guys walked between fun, semi-goofy pop songs and some really deep and powerful stuff too. It helps that they had it right from the beginning and kept maturing. Ben Folds Five (1995) ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Politics Shmolitics

Yesterday, the more pleas I saw for people to go out and vote, the more uncomfortable I felt. Plenty of the blogs I hit up everyday said something along the lines of "Vote and if you don't, don't complain." Folks, this is why I find discussing politics so alienating. There are plenty of reasons why I don't discuss politics on here or in my everyday conversations. The biggest reason is because I don't have a lot of interest in politics in the first place. By what I've seen, heard and read for the last eight years, political debates are usually pissing contests. Judging by the views I've processed, it would be easy to think that we're all slowly going downhill either on the left, right or down the middle. Yet I don't think we're going totally downhill or totally uphill. Debating the direction we're going seems futile, especially when adults start screaming at each other like they're in grade school. To my ears, political debates are s...
11 comments
Read more