I Am Shocked!

Lady Gaga at the piano at a concert
in Toronto. Her piano skills are featured
in her new song "You and I".

Hey everybody thanks for your continued support of my blog. Once again if you have any topic you want me to blog about then e-mail me at jesseastewartmusic@gmail.com.

As I was searching around the web today I came across a Rolling Stone article talking about Lady Gaga's new album "Born This Way." Now why I read this I do not know because I am not a fan of Lady Gaga's music at all. I have felt for the longest time and I still feel that her music is nothing more than the typical pop garbage of today. I want to hear music created by people not by a drum machine and crazy techno effects.

However in this article I found a video of her new song "You and I" and I must say I AM SHOCKED! The version of this song she played featured Gaga on piano and vocals with a basic band behind her; drums and guitars. Also the lyrics are very catchy and the song in my opinion is a damn good rock ballad.

Where has this been all along? That's what I want to know. If Lady Gaga made more music like this instead of her over the top pop music; I would listen more. Granted she is making millions right now off her current music but I feel like she could shine even more if she keeps making music in the style of "You and I" or in other words rock music.

I also see that on her new album she taps Bruce Springsteen's saxophone player Clarence Clemons to play on her new album. That is also something that intrigues me. So as much as I never thought I would say this; I will give Lady Gaga's new album a chance.

I highly doubt that the rest of the record will be like this and I will probably hate most of it, but maybe I will be proved wrong. However I feel that if Gaga can write more rock songs; she could take up the role of somebody like Janis Joplin from the 60's or Pat Benatar from the 80's. Granted rock music needs a new over the top women figure to pump some life into. Maybe Gaga could be the one if she can make more music like this. If anything I would hope she would so I don't have to hear anymore "Bad Romance" or crap like that.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,
JAS

Photo courtesy of Naomi Lir, Flickr/Creative Commons

Soundgarden; Back For The Long Term?

Cover art from Soundgarden's 1994 album
"Superunknown"

Hey everybody thanks for checking out my past posts and I hope you keep on doing so in the future. Once again if there is a topic or an artist you would like me to check out and blog about please e-mail me at jesseastewartmusic@gmail.com. With that it is a nice day outside here in Iowa so this will be a short Friday blog but an interesting one at that.

As many music lovers may know the band Soundgarden, ever popular for their great music from the grunge movement in the 90's, have decided to reunite for some live performances this year after a long split. Now according to a Rolling Stone article it appears the band may be back for long term with a potential new album in the works.

What does this mean for the music world? It is hard to say. However I am excited to see what Soundgarden does. I am a fan of what Soundgarden has done in the past and I think a new record is an awesome idea and could lead to some great music.

Will their past sound succeed in today's commercialized music world? Its hard to say. I think they can definitely get away with being the Soundgarden of old and pumping out some high octane grunge rock and roll. Look at what fellow 90's rockers Alice in Chains did with their 2009 album "Black Gives Way To Blue." That album was highly successful on rock radio and with fans. They did not stray too far from their roots and sound and it worked out marvelously.

Soundgarden in my opinion can have the same success they had at the peak of their success; even if we are in this age of Justin Beiber's and Lady Gaga's. I am looking forward to what the guys of Soundgarden have in store and I will be anticipating that album to come out before year's end.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,
JAS

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons; Guille. 17

Who Is the Greatest Guitarist To Date

Rolling Stone's article on the 100 Greatest Guitarists is widely looked at as one of the best, comprehensive lists of the world's greatest guitar players to date. However as much as many people tend to agree with this list, I have some minor discrepancies with it. So for my first blog post I would like to look at Rolling Stone's top 10 guitarists on their list and explain how I think the top 5 should look.

For starters here is the top ten from Rolling Stone:

10) Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones

9) Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin

8) Ry Cooder

7) Stevie Ray Vaughan

6) Chuck Berry
5) Robert Johnson

4) Eric Clapton

3) BB King

2) Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band

1) Jimi Hendrix

Now this list is very good. All of these men have provided something significant to the guitar world throughout their careers. However I believe that the greatest guitarists list should have some basis for technicality of playing, contributions to the instrument, body of works, and overall influence. In that case my top 5 would look something like this.

5) Eric Clapton- Clapton is a very great guitar player. From his early days with Cream to his solo stuff today he continues to unleash that wonderful tone and sound that keeps people coming back for more. The one thing that I think keeps Clapton lower is because although he has influenced many, some of his music is not what people like to hear out of him. I think Clapton would be higher if he would let that blues flag fly and show off that vocabulary much more than he does with his solo recordings.

4) Duane Allman- Two words, slide guitar! Duane Allman was a slide master and he helped bring the Allman Brothers Band to fame. Had his career not been cut short like many other great guitarists I can only imagine what he would have accomplished.

3) Stevie Ray Vaughan- Now I am a huge Stevie Ray fan and nut. The first blues/rock guitar experience I had was listening to his debut album Texas Flood. Some say that he was a Hendrix clone but to that I say not entirely. People copy other people's licks all the time in the guitar world. SRV was an amazingly technical guitarist and he provide tons of great music in such a short time period. Had he been around longer I think he could have easily been the best guitarist in the world. This was just another career cut short by an untimely death.

2) Eddie Van Halen- Rolling Stone shocked me with this. Eddie Van Halen is nowhere near the top 10, in fact he is at number 70 on their list. Are you kidding me! Eddie Van Halen, love him or hate him, is one of the world's supreme guitar players. There are some that question whether or not he came up with the tapping concept on guitar but either way his mastery and use of it influenced so many young guitarists in the 1980's and it helped Van Halen sell millions of records. The man is a guitar genius and he deserves to be recognized as one. That definitely means he is not the 70th best guitarist out of 100 all time!

1) Jimi Hendrix- You cannot argue with this one very much. Jimi Hendrix is arguably the most innovative, most influential guitarist to this date. The body of works that he compiled in a short time span are some of the most influential works on the guitar. Countless guitarists young and old study his works to better understand his techniques and ideas. Had Hendrix lived longer than he did there is no telling what he would have accomplished. The man was one of a kind and I do not think there will ever be another like him.

So that is my top 5 guitarists of all time. Granted I will probably never be able to play like any of these guys or any of the guys off Rolling Stone's top 10 I still am influenced by many of them and their work on the guitar has helped make it what it is today. If you would like to share your thoughts on my top 5 feel free to comment as I will always accept feedback and discussion.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,

JAS

Photo courtesy of Flickr, tuppus (tup wanders)