What's with all the youtube playalong wakawanking?

[kesslari]

OK, I know this isn't news, but...
When I look on youtube for a song or groove, I find more examples of some bedroom bonzo doing his own personal playalong than I do of the actual artist.
I know everyone's desperate for their 15 minutes of fame, but really... showing your awesomeness by playing along with a record?

...sigh...

I must be officially an old guy now.

[Ubersheist]

Call me "Old Guy #2." I don't get it.

Careful, though.. some of them players do have bands and real recordings, and some post on this board...

[Dash Rantic]

Actually, I find those Youtube "playalong" sessions helpful when I'm trying to learn a song. If there's a difficult passage I'm having trouble figuring out, it's a quick way to get a few opinions on how it goes. And sometimes, there are quite good players who are fun to watch, and angle the camera so it's on their fingers so you can easily see how they are playing the song.

So, it can sometimes be helpful. Sometimes not. I guess I don't mind them at all.

-Dash

[Flintlock]

Having the bass boosted in songs is useful for learning songs with a quite bassline. Mostly though it's to show that you can play a song. and consequently, are awesome.

[Stumbo]

Just another tool for learning. Whatever works.

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

Just another tool for learning. Whatever works.

That seems to only be one in 100 where the obvious intention of the player is to teach. The rest of the time, it's mostly some 18 year old kids playing bass karaoke, where they're way overplaying and if they played the same way in a band, it would sound like utter and entire s@!#. Most of it is lame, but I do like watching when they do something nifty, like Jaco's Portrait of Tracy.

[i like tictacs]

Originally Posted by Ubersheist

That seems to only be one in 100 where the obvious intention of the player is to teach. The rest of the time, it's mostly some 18 year old kids playing bass karaoke, where they're way overplaying and if they played the same way in a band, it would sound like utter and entire s@!#. Most of it is lame, but I do like watching when they do something nifty, like Jaco's Portrait of Tracy.

This.

I'd rather just hear the bassline isolated if it is someone trying to teach.

As you said though, it's mostly just wankers...well, wanking.

[Bochafish]

Most are horrible, but some I find really entertaining. The famous MarloweDK comes to mind immediately. For some reason after watching two or three of his vids, I am really motivated to practice.

[VroomVroom]

Originally Posted by kesslari

OK, I know this isn't news, but...
When I look on youtube for a song or groove, I find more examples of some bedroom bonzo doing his own personal playalong than I do of the actual artist.
I know everyone's desperate for their 15 minutes of fame, but really... showing your awesomeness by playing along with a record?

...sigh...

I must be officially an old guy now.

I'm only thankful I put down my can of soda as the thread opened. Spot-on, my man!

I've tried to be open-minded about these things. Would I have done the same thing if, when I was 18, youtube...web cams....heck, the internet...existed? I'd like to think the answer is no, but...I was kind of a knucklehead when I was 18.

So, I'm an old guy too. (Actually, I became an old guy three years ago when, at the age of 38, I said these words: "Kids these days.") I don't get it. Now, what I'd love to see/hear on youtube is these same folks playing those tunes minus the karaoke action, but with their bands. Music, just like other, ahh, bedroom activities, is only fun while playing along to someone else's work for so long...at some point you've gotta' get out and do it in real-time with other people.

Peace out and such. Thanks for the afternoon laugh!

[THIRSTYGUMS]

Im guilty too! haha
Ah its just a bit of fun, usually aimed at mates or for the purpose of linking on your bebo/facebook/myspace.
and yes im in a real band

[TheBear]

I guess there's several of us "old guys" out there! I've never understood why people do this, because frankly, most of these videos are horrible and the stars of these videos are embarrassing themselves. As a musician, I'd rather post a professionally edited and mixed video of myself in a band playing live, so as to put that "professional" foot forward.

I have to respectfully disagree with using these videos to learn songs, simply because I feel that listening to the actual song and learning it the hard way, aka woodshedding, is more beneficial to the development of your ears. Just my $0.02 though.

Vroom, I became an old guy this year at 25 when I said those same words in response to the indie and screamo music of recent!

[artistanbul]

I think it's ok if it works as some kind of motivation. I didn't really watch too much of them though.

And there is our own arcellus' playalongs. They make me feel jealous and want to be better.

[Matt Till]

Desperate cries for attention: 25 year old old man here.