Members Stackabones Posted May 7, 2010 Members Share Posted May 7, 2010 What has influenced as a songwriter in the past ... or since the last FIT? * Wabi-sabi ?? ... represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The phrase comes from the two words wabi and sabi. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". [Wabi-sabi] nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. I first learned about it when studying Zen. Yeah, the whole bit. Zazen, zendo, koan practice (does a dog have Buddha-nature? Mu), gongs, incense. Later I read Koren's book, Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers. Before I'd learned about this, I recall hearing about how Willie Nelson would never release an album without at least one mistake (or imperfection) on it. Also, there is a tradition among Persian rug makers to make sure that one knot isn't tied correctly. There is an interesting, and at times cheeky, documentary by Marcel Theroux. Nine parts on youtube. This whole concept of wabi-sabi has definitely become an integral ingredient to my songwriting & recording approach. I think that some of my past as a musician also lead me in this direction. Often hired as a substitute lead guitarist at the very last minute, I'd have to improvise my parts on stage and learn songs quickly. I even went on a tour basically doing this. Improvisation is imo an imperfect art. You allow mistakes to happen, but use them as part of the musical moment. Or you just let them be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted May 7, 2010 Moderators Share Posted May 7, 2010 I love that^^^^ Really makes me think. OK, for me... another short story. My 3 piece new wave band F L U K E was playing a club. 1980. We play our set and do well. Packed house. Poppy, taught, little bits of candy that're fun to dance to and swing your skinny tie about. The next band watched our set. They were called Four Eyes. OK. We load off and they greet us with excitement. Peas in a pod excitement. OK... Then they get up and play this song. This is them recorded probably a month before I heard them do it live... [YOUTUBE]c90z8Dx4AA8[/YOUTUBE] We stood there. WTF? I realize it isn't the holy grail, but I'll tell ya, hearing 3 guys doing what we were doing, only way better, and they were nice. We went and had beers later and shared rundowns of our record collections. The singer in that song is now one of my best friends. We still make music together. I joined Four Eyes and continue to play the Power Pop nostalgia circuit whenever anyone cares enough to give a {censored} and want to hear some poppy geezers. I insist, much to mark's chagrin, that we always play Disengaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted May 7, 2010 Members Share Posted May 7, 2010 Old (mostly Long Beach) homies week... Before Mars Volta, before Sublime... (but not before Rhino 39, and certainly not before the Carpenters and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), the Suburban Lawns... 32-LHS2-LxU One of my favorite Suburban Lawns songs... (You can hear it in stereo [or what passes for it] by clicking here: ) 5VgzqC7wZEk Jonathon Demme's 'short film' for "Gidget Goes to Hell" (shown on Saturday Night Live, 1979) [Note: not necessarily Demme's slickest work. ] c9kjW0SEfK8 And speaking of Rhino 39, here's the band that got kicked out of Millikan High (the Long Beach high school where Elvis Costello's "Live at Hollywood High" stuff was actually recorded) for having the audactity to get beat up by football players. This film is not matched to the music -- but lead singer Dave was tragically killed in a car accident, so there ain't much in the way of video for : gpVL6hJ0BZI Just behind the Orange Curtain in OC (The OC to you whippersnappers) were a bunch of early punk bands like the Circle Jerks, Agent Orange, Adolescents and, one of my faves, the funky, angular Middle Class: TZUkbXoqZvk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted May 7, 2010 Moderators Share Posted May 7, 2010 I think I used to peek over her shoulder and copy her geometry tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted May 7, 2010 Members Share Posted May 7, 2010 I think I used to peek over her shoulder and copy her geometry tests. The first time I saw the Lawns was probably sometime in early '78 or so... I was worried that the burst of activity in new music that really heated up with the release of the first Patty Smith album and singles by Television might have peaked with the release of the Pistol's "Never Mind the Bollocks" and their subsequent sputtering self-immolation... I had gone to a little gallery opening party outside a student gallery at Long Beach State (at the time well known for its art school)... I was there to see a group show with work by a friend of mine and a couple other artists. I think he told me I should come, if only to see the band... About 2/3 of the supposedly trendy, avant-garde artists were seemingly aghast at the 'odd' music and maybe just that anything other than a cocktail jazz band had been brought in to play (rather unusual at the time there) and were standing around sort of drop jawed watching the very intense Su Tissue (probably well remembered by fans of Demme's Something Wild, as the hoodlum dude's long-suffering, mousey GF -- it's been a while since I've seen the flick -- in her one major film role). There was a lot of muttering from the crowd, but that night I fell in love with the whole band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted May 7, 2010 Members Share Posted May 7, 2010 When I joined the forum you made some reference to them because of my name. I hadnt heard of them before that [YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE] Not a bad acoustic sound considering it is a sim. Either way I've always loved the song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oswlek Posted May 7, 2010 Members Share Posted May 7, 2010 Something about imperfection and that guitar missing some strings make me think.... I am uniquely creative when I am changing my strings. For some reason having a(n imperfect) guitar missing some strings gives me the freedom to toy around with meoldies and phrasings that never come out otherwise. This is even more pronounced if one or more of the strings is extremely loose. For whatever reason, I've never thought of that as more than "screwing around" but perhaps I should look at it seriously... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted May 7, 2010 Members Share Posted May 7, 2010 Something about imperfection and that guitar missing some strings make me think.... I am uniquely creative when I am changing my strings. For some reason having a(n imperfect) guitar missing some strings gives me the freedom to toy around with meoldies and phrasings that never come out otherwise. This is even more pronounced if one or more of the strings is extremely loose. For whatever reason, I've never thought of that as more than "screwing around" but perhaps I should look at it seriously... I didnt even notice that guitar in the pic was missing a string. I actually have an arch top that has a broken tuner on the b string. I've been needing to order new tuners for it while but havent yet. I still play it at least once a week. Mainly just mess around with all kinds of whacked out tunings. I spent a few years hosting an electric open mic/jam. It was great fun and the experience taught me alot about playing with other people. A handful of times I popped a string and just kept rolling. The first time it happened one of the regulars told me he'd run out to his car and pick up another guitar for me to play. I told him thanks but that I'd be cool. I finished out the set and explained to him that it can be a real exercise. Taking away your comfort zone makes you find other places to be comfortable. I wouldnt likely do that at a regular gig, but it was cool in that setting. Most of the people that were hanging out were musicans themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted May 7, 2010 Moderators Share Posted May 7, 2010 I embrace Wabi Sabi without even knowing what its called. It's why I like flat wound strings on my bass. I used to hate flat wound strings on my bass. But flats... man, you've got to work to get them to do what you want. And out of that comes this thing born of a struggle. I like recording vocals by not really quite knowing the song. A lyric sheet, and WTF... here's to wabi sabi. Extra wasabi. It's like that out of tune upright piano. Or that chat I was having with Mike Kenealy's (Zappa's one time guitarist) manager (my friend). There was a very battered Tiesco leaning against the wall. Clearly being used a lot. I asked my friend, his manager, "He uses that?" All the time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted May 7, 2010 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2010 The strings may missing in your mind, but not on that guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted May 8, 2010 Members Share Posted May 8, 2010 [YOUTUBE]E3ig2GnO1Kg[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted May 8, 2010 Members Share Posted May 8, 2010 Great use of a string quartet. The fact that he was on his deathbed in this clip makes it all the more moving. GeniusZrsCBmgUZxc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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