I Drink Alone

[Floating teetH]

So cool.

[Matt Till]

I gotta agree. I pretend not to like George... but he's pretty awesome, and this song really removes any doubt.


Yeah... with nobody else.

[OxJohnson]

I like George. I will admit it. I just picked up some obscure live album of his (bargain bin special) that has a pretty kick arse version of the song of topic.

His songs are basic, but great. That about sums up my musical taste. Why use 50 chords, 3 tempo changes and the Atlanta Symphony when 3 chords, a sax and lyrics about drinking are just as entertaining?

Ox.

[Floating teetH]

What's with all the admitting and pretending not to like?

[OxJohnson]

Originally Posted by Floating teetH

What's with all the admitting and pretending not to like?

Somtimes the music police are watching.

Whats wrong with admission of liking "basic" rock n' roll? To me nothing. To some people it shows a shallowness of talent and lack of refined musical tastes. So what? You, me and Matt will enjoy George and the others can enjoy what they like... even if Matt has to listen in the closet.

Philosophical thought:
Music is a lot like beer. Coors (regualar... not light) is a great beer. As a matter of fact Coors is my go to beer. Why? Dunno, I like it. It is easily accessable and tastes pretty damn good when server ice cold. So then why does everyone who drinks their micro-brews give me a hard time? Dunno. I don't force them to drink Coors. They must play a 20 minute game of "wrong rock" with the poor waitress when they try to find the perfect beer. I just say " Coors ma'am". 95% of the time it works. Simple, cheap, good.

George is like Coors. Simple, cheap, good. Enjoy it... it is one of the few "no frills" things out there these days.

The moral is this:
Simple tastes = easier life.
Don't be a snob.
Cheap not always = crappy.
Enjoy the cheap stuff, its easier.

Wow, that was profound.

Ox.

[Floating teetH]

Originally Posted by OxJohnson

Somtimes the music police are watching.

Whats wrong with admission of liking "basic" rock n' roll? To me nothing. To some people it shows a shallowness of talent and lack of refined musical tastes. So what? You, me and Matt will enjoy George and the others can enjoy what they like... even if Matt has to listen in the closet.

Philosophical thought:
Music is a lot like beer. Coors (regualar... not light) is a great beer. As a matter of fact Coors is my go to beer. Why? Dunno, I like it. It is easily accessable and tastes pretty damn good when server ice cold. So then why does everyone who drinks their micro-brews give me a hard time? Dunno. I don't force them to drink Coors. They must play a 20 minute game of "wrong rock" with the poor waitress when they try to find the perfect beer. I just say " Coors ma'am". 95% of the time it works. Simple, cheap, good.

George is like Coors. Simple, cheap, good. Enjoy it... it is one of the few "no frills" things out there these days.

The moral is this:
Simple tastes = easier life.
Don't be a snob.
Cheap not always = crappy.
Enjoy the cheap stuff, its easier.

Wow, that was profound.

Ox.

Well, I like jazz and prog and ultra-technical hippie improv virtuoso stuff as much as anybody, but I get sick of people who like the same stuff as me looking down their noses at straight-forward pop music. If anything, I think people who know absolutely nothing about music theory have the most valid opinions of all because they just want to be entertained. Listening to "refined" music is often just an excuse to flaunt your ability to use fancy music jargon.

I can't drink coors though.

[OxJohnson]

Well said. As a musician, we sometimes forget the job is to entertain. What might be the most entertaining to some may not necessarily be the most technically challenging (thank goodness, I still have a chance). With that being said, I appreciate the folks that bring the technical stuff* because it gives inspiration to musical peons like me.

Ox.

* Well some of them anyways, musical wanking is musical wanking.

[Floating teetH]

Originally Posted by OxJohnson

* Well some of them anyways, musical wanking is musical wanking.

That's where I disagree. Musical wanking can be the most powerful, intense stuff on the planet if it's done right. I just think it's imprtant for afficionados of ultra-technical improv to recognise special interest music as what it is without forgetting that pop music is still a potentially beautiful and essential artform

EDIT: 'also' rather than 'still'

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by Floating teetH

What's with all the admitting and pretending not to like?

A lot of times Thorogood writes music just so he can solo over it. Plus that song is so overplayed that it's hard to get into it as much as if it was something I heard once in a while. But if I seperate it from the radio and it's need to overplay every song they have and never insert new songs in the rotation: Yeah, it's a great song. The best drinking song ever.

[Johnny Crab]

Drink Alone and Bad to the Bone

Both fun to play because the dance floor fills up and everyone knows how to "move to them".

Not Rush, Yes, Stanley Clarke, Tool, or.....but fun basics.
They WILL test:
you and your drummer's consistent timing ability and your guitar player's slide playing ability.

[Lazylion]

Originally Posted by OxJohnson

George is like Coors.

+1

Originally Posted by OxJohnson

Simple, cheap, good. Enjoy it...

-1 can't stand either one.
I saw him live in a little bar in Baltimore in the early 70s, when the band was still called the Delaware Destroyers. It was simplistic 3-chord boogie. I was drinking, but evidently not enough. I kept thinking "I could play like this guy with about a week of practice". Here's what bugs me: he hasn't progressed since then! How do you play for 35 years and not get better?

Here's a quote from the man himself, from Guitar Player mag, Nov. '06:
"To tell you the truth, I prefer not to solo at all. I’m not much of a soloist, and when it gets past slide guitar or Chuck Berry licks, I’m kind of lost. And even on slide, I’m just repeating everything I’ve done. My style is kind of locked into a certain area, so I try to find tunes that’ll fit with what I already know. These days, I really prefer to turn the guitar solos over to Jimmy Suhler [who joined the Destroyers in 2000]. He comes up with some outstanding stuff."

To me, that's the statement of a guy who doesn't give a crap about learning, progressing, growing... he just does the same thing over and over and over... I'd have to retire if I couldn't progress.

We have the recorded works of Duane Allman, Johnny Winter, Bonnie Raitt, George Harrison, Derek Trucks, Lowell George, Sonny Landreth, Dave Hole, to name just a few. George Thorogood... meh.

YMMV, of course...

[peterbright]

My name is Peter...and I like George.

Now what's the second step?

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by Lazylion

Here's a quote from the man himself, from Guitar Player mag, Nov. '06:
"To tell you the truth, I prefer not to solo at all. I’m not much of a soloist, and when it gets past slide guitar or Chuck Berry licks, I’m kind of lost. And even on slide, I’m just repeating everything I’ve done. My style is kind of locked into a certain area, so I try to find tunes that’ll fit with what I already know. These days, I really prefer to turn the guitar solos over to Jimmy Suhler [who joined the Destroyers in 2000]. He comes up with some outstanding stuff."

To me, that's the statement of a guy who doesn't give a crap about learning, progressing, growing... he just does the same thing over and over and over... I'd have to retire if I couldn't progress.

Maybe it's the statement of a guy who doesn't care about wanking.

[Matt Till]

Yeah, he just said he doesn't like soloing. That has nothing to do with progress.