Play On

2005, the four members of Led Zeppelin were voted the UK's ideal supergroup after 3,500 music fans were asked to create their fantasy band for Planet Rock Radio. Jimmy Page won best guitarist, followed by Guns N' Roses' Slash and Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore. John Paul Jones was named top bassist, with John Bonham, who died in 1980, winning best drummer and Robert Plant beat the late Freddie Mercury to best singer.

2002, a group who said they had the name first, took UK boy band Blue to court. Scottish group Blue who had a UK No. 18 hit in 1977 had issued the band with a writ over who had the rights to the name.

1989, David F Pearsall age 18 from Manchester, New Jersey was charged with theft after stealing a guitar at a concert in Riverfront Park belonging to Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi.

1980, Bob Marley and the Wailers began what would be Marley's last ever UK tour when they appeared in Dublin, Ireland.

1979, Chuck Berry was sentenced to five months in jail after being found guilty of tax evasion.

1978, Rolling Stone Bill Wyman was knocked unconscious after falling from the stage during a Stones concert in the US.

1977, Cher gave birth to a baby girl Elijah Blue. Allman Brother Gregg Allman was the father.

1969, The funeral of Rolling Stone Brian Jones took place at Hatherley Road Parish Church, Cheltenham. Canon Hugh Evan Hopkins read Jones' own epitaph, 'Please don't judge me too harshly'.

1968, Eric Clapton announced that Cream would break-up after their current tour.

1968, The Nice were banned from appearing at London's Royal Albert Hall after burning an American flag on stage.

1965, The Beatles started a six week run at No.1 on the US album charts with 'Beatles VI', the groups fifth No.1.

1965, The Rolling Stones started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction', the groups first US No.1. Some US stations cut out the last verse believing it referred to women's 'time of the month'.

1964, 200,000 Liverpudlians took to the streets to celebrate The Beatles return to Liverpool for the northern premiere of the groups first film 'A Hard Days Night.'

1954, Producer Sam Phillips took an acetate recording of Elvis Presley singing 'That's All Right' to Memphis radio station WHBQ DJ Dewey Phillips. He played the song just after 9.30 that evening, the phone lines lit up asking the DJ to play the song again.

I am consistently disappointed at the lack of tab for South African music
on common guitar tab sources such as TabCrawler. So I decided to tab some
of my favourite South African guitar songs and post them. Please note that
this is my interpretation and shouldn't be thought of as affiliated with
the artist in anyway. I have not copied this from any source, it is my own
work. Taking the time to tab a song is my way of showing my appreciation
for an artist's material.

This particular song sounds gorgeous: it's the closing track on FreshlyGround's
second album titled "Nomvula" and is a little bit of a timing challenge for
those who think they have their basic guitar arpeggios waxed. The arpeggios
in this particular piece are very easy BUT they are played with a dog of a
time signature: in total, the riff is 13 quaver-counts and then starts again.
(s'pose you could say it is a 13/8 time).

Tab is not a format that represents timing which makes it difficult to express
a piece like "Touch in the night" in this format. However, I have shown
semi-quavers with only one dash between them:

---0-
-----
-0---

and quavers with 2 dashes between:

----0-
------
-0----

To add an extra level of complexity, try sing along with it as you play it.

Key: A
Capo on the 2nd fret to tune up by one tone (or alternately, play it in G
without a capo: the original recording is in A).

----------------------------------------------
-------------0-----0-----------------0------0-
-----------0-----0-----0-----------0------0---
----0----0-----2-----0------0----0------0-----
------2-----------------------3---------------
-3-----------------------3--------------------

In stave notation:



Repeat throughout

================================
Lyrics

Stop your mess and your fuss now baby
I know you're the one
You cover me with hands like a flower
I see you're the one

A touch in the night is alright
A kiss in the night is alright

You speak the speak the speech of a dreamer
I feel you're the one
You cover me with hands like the sunshine
I feel you're the one

A touch in the night is alright
A kiss in the night is alright
A touch in the night is alright
A kiss in the night is alright...

Ndihlala ndigoduka (I will come home... to you) (repeat to end)

I am not in love
But I'm open to persuasion.

Ever plopped one of those CDs you haven't played in YONKS into your CD player and been teleported back 10 years in time? Today was one of those moments.

At 14 I was NUTS about the Bangles. The idea of an all-girl rock band was cool enough. The fact that their songs were sufficiently simple in lyrics and tunes to hum along to combined with my sponge-like addiction to all music at that hormonal age resulted in the CD getting played over and over and over...

When I listen to some of the songs now I can't help but wonder 'what the hell?' yet, 4 bars into the melody, the fact that the song is weak doesn't matter: the memories it brings back are stronger than ever. Nonetheless, I thought I'd write a review on this album that has been gathering dust on my shelf for the last 11 years... I'll try and be as objective in my opinions as possible.

Discography Hero takes a fall Going down to Liverpool Manic Monday If she knew what she wants Walk like an Egyptian Walking down your street Following Hazy Shade of Winter In your room Eternal Flame Be with you I'll set you free Everything I wanted Where were you when I needed you

There are some obvious well-known ones: the fact that "Walk like an Egyptian" still gets played on dance-floors is testimony enough. Some of the lesser known tracks are certainly worth rocking to: "Hero takes a fall", "Everything I wanted" and their cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" are proof that The Bangles were, at their soul, a pure rock outfit to rival the best.

Eternal Flame is probably their most immortalized original. When Atomic Kitten covered it a couple of years ago it experienced a resurgence on the international charts but somehow their version never did the original justice. When I listen to it now, it does seem somewhat sugary and soppy, especially when compared to the more raw rock numbers on the rest of the album, but nonetheless: it is a stalwart classic of the 80s and so it should be. Manic Monday is close on "Flame"'s heels as the other well-known Bangles hit (in fact, Barney Simon played it on Radio 2000 this morning which is what prompted me to whip the CD out in the first place), but of course it was originally done by Prince (or the artist-formally-known-as-the-artist-formally-known-as-Prince... or whatever) and hence I am loath to compare it to "Flame" from a sheer originality perspective.

"If she knew what she wants" and "where were you when I needed you" are the weakest tracks. The latter smacks of a heart-break-country-western without any of that soul that makes that genre vaguely palatable. "If she knew" is melodically and lyrically weak: I find it gets monotonous and I rapidly switch to another track.

"In your room", "Everything I wanted" and "Be with you" are upbeat pop/rock numbers with Hoff's sounding vaguely Amy Grant-mixed with Chrissie Hinde. Not bad listening, but definitely CD-space-fillers.

But of all the tracks on this album, the undiscovered gem has to be "Following".

Hoff's vocals are country-western/Dolly Parton-ish. Slightly nasal but very clear with a distinctive twang, her voice has become a signature of the Bangles sound. But "Following" wasn't sung by Hoffs: it was the masterpiece of Michelle Steele, the lead guitarist of the group. It features a syncopated lone accoustic guitar coupled with raw lyrics of a teenage love/hate relationship sung with Steele's husky voice which is more akin to Anouk or Armatrading than Hoff's light-hearted timbre. It's dark and adult and very, very good.

I paid R20 for that CD: 2 months worth of pocket money at the time. Worth every cent.

____


Following (M. Steele)

"You think I'm crazy or somthin'... always following you around
You think I'm a hopeless case... running obsession into the ground
You call me a loser
You call me a shadowing fool
Look over your shoulder... and you say I'm haunting you
So why do you call me?
Why do you look for me?
And why do your eyes follow me the way they do?

You hold me responsible
Yes I stand accused
For causing all the trouble after high school
Between him and you
Yeah, you call me a loser
You call me a shadowing fool
But I was a good girl, yeah, til you taught me what it means to be true.

So why do you call me?
Why do you look for me?
And why do your eyes follow me the way they do?
Why do you call me?
I know you look for me
And why do your eyes follow me the way they do?

This has to be the most beautiful song Billy Joel ever wrote (and he wrote so many!). Obviously I am completely biased as I've thought the world of Joel since I was 10 years old but nonetheless: the genius of this particular number cannot be under-estimated. It is best played of a quiet evening, alone at the piano, in the stillness..

I know, I know. Not directly related to music. But I liked it anyway :)

Well dear bloggers (and readers)

I've started at least 6 blog posts only to scrap them and throw them in the proverbial rubbish bin. This milieu of feelings inside and out, upside and down, defies any means I have to express them. I have tried the piano. I have tried the guitar. Even my throat feels thick and latent with the weight of the thoughts trickling down from my brain, through my flesh and pooling in dark clots in my heart. These sticky molasses I call my thoughts. These toffee-treacled-thoughts that refuse to come out even when I hold the bottle upside-down and thump the butt end of it all.

So this is writers blog.

I will take a stand
Uncertainty bears no fruit
This fence hurts my ass

“I like the audience to go away feeling the way you do after a good chick- satisfied and exhausted.”