For those who don't know, I'm a Detroit Lions fan. The Detroit Lions are an American Football team in the NFL. What makes them so frustrating to watch is their history of a long exercise in mediocrity to downright awfulness. They are one of the oldest teams in the NFL, yet have only won one playoff game in the last 10,000 days (since Jan. 5, 1992)! They were the first team in the league's history to have a have a 0 – 16 season.
What makes all of this worse is that they've had arguably some of the best players of all time. Barry Sanders was one of the best running backs of all time. Calvin Johnson was one of the best wide receivers of all time. This time it's Mathew Stafford, the team's current quarterback.
Mathew Stafford has been playing at elite level this season, and yet the Lions are 3 – 4 – 1. The NFL has him ranked as the 7th best quarterback in the league when all the numbers are crunched. It's been fun to watch him throw some amazing passes this season. Alas, now his days for playing for the Lions are coming to an end.
It was released today that Mathew Stafford will be sitting out against the Chicago Bears due to a fractured back. I'm not a doctor, but when I see fractured back I think to myself, This man's football days are coming to an end. If this happens, the Detroit Lions will be going into rebuild mode, because the quarterback position is one of the most important positions in American Football. So, begins another era of nothingness for my favorite team.
Fear not Coil subscribers, there's a light at the end of the tunnel...
Last night I was on the CBC's group chat (it's where anyone who is anyone hangs out), and Patricia requested, “One” by U2. She also stated that Seth had actually requested it a long time ago, which is odd that I missed that on the chat. My wife always tells me that my eye for detail is as good as my memory. I just can't figure out why she starts every conversation with, “Are you even paying attention?” Anyway, sorry about that Seth! Seth writes reviews on movies and TV, as well as reflection pieces. I've been debating if I should step on his toes, because I have an idea for a movie blog, but I fear the wrath of Seth if I do it.
Patricia could best be described as a Coil MACHINE!!! She's done articles on so many topics and they've all been enjoyable to read! She's also captain of the red team for CBC's Blitz challenge. Oh yeah, she's also doing streams on XRP zoo! If there's anyone else that has a request I missed just leave a message for me on Twitter. Also, if you make a request you have to state what you like most about NickelNdime. It could be... I don't know, just spit-balling here, my rugged good looks, my impeccable wit, or my perfectly-timed humor. Like I said, those are just suggestions. I leave the compliments up to you.
U2's “One” was one of the first songs while growing up that I really focused on the lyrics. Before that I would hum lyrics, sing the words but not pay attention, or just make up the words as I saw fit. For example, growing up I used to think Steve Miller's, “Big Old Jet Airliner,” was, “Big Ol' Jed had a light on.” It was my brother that corrected me about that mistake...by teasing me about it.
The song structure is broken up into verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, and finally the outro. I did change the key, as it was originally recorded in the key of C, but seeing as I'm congested, and had no range this morning, I changed the key to E. That's a pointer I would also give out to my guitar students who want to sing. Find a key that best fits your voice. No one says you have to sing a song in the key it was recorded in.
This request comes from Srdan Vocanec. If you don't follow him, do yourself a favor and follow him. He covers such a wide range of topics like photography, traveling, and craft beer. He requested the song “Walking Alone” by the band Green Day. It was so much fun to play this song, and here's a couple reasons why:
I got to use distortion:
So, if you don't remember I wrote an article about the pedal board I built awhile back. One of the pedals was a tube pre-amp. This gives me the ability to turn up the gain and get a distorted or gritty sound. I might have turned the gain a little too high, but I don't care 'cause it's rock n roll! Also, if the levels seem off from song to song, that would be because of my three year old who comes in and changes all the knobs and dials. I try to get everything back to where they were but I smoke a lot of weed. So... There's that.... Just kidding, or am I...
Song Structure:
There's something to be said about and 1-6-4-5 progression. A progression is the order the chords are arranged and a 1-6-4-5 progression is one of the most common chord progressions in music. That's not to say it's a bad thing; I try to instill this onto all my guitar students. Easy doesn't mean it's a bad song, and a difficult song doesn't equate to a great song. There, I just gave you my first guitar lesson. If you want to tip me, that's cool, if not accept the fact that you're a freeloader.
A Bit of Nostalgia:
This request brought me back a couple of years, okay... a lot of years! When Green Day's break out album, “Dookie” came out, you couldn't get away from it. The songs, “Basket Case,” “Longview,” and, “When I come Around,” were played nonstop on the radio. Green Day followed up with, “Kerplunk,” which did not so well. I just figured Green Day was going to be a band that had one good album and that was the end of them. Then they came out with, “Nimrod,” and that changed everything! I remember my buddy picked me up in his car one time and we listened to the whole album. I was blown away. It was at that point I knew Green Day was going to be around for a long time.
Greetings, It's NickelnDime here. Today I wanted to go over some view points that I gained from having a wife working as an ER nurse in an inner city hospital. She wouldn't let me say what city because she's so concerned about HIPAA violations so I can't. Did I ever mention we live a 20 minute drive from Detroit MI? That's an odd bit of information, I don't know why I would mention that.... She also worked in one of the busiest ER's in the country.
1) Homeless will always seek shelter
Detroit, MI in the winter time can be frigid. Many nights the temperature drops to below freezing. This poses a problem for the homeless. Just like any human, their instinct is to find warmth by any means necessary. My wife started to notice when she first started working at this ER that there was a considerable amount of intoxicated drunks that would come into the ER every night. It was explained later to her by her co-workers that it's what some homeless people do when it's cold. Let me explain. A hospital can not release a patient under any circumstance if the patient is intoxicated. Even if the patient tries to leave, they can't because it's illegal to release a patient that is intoxicated. This also is the same for patients that say they have suicidal thoughts. So, they came to the ER for a “free” place to stay for the night and a warm meal (or a two day old turkey sandwich, either way it was food). They would sometimes share with her their life stories which were usually heartbreaking. She would turn to me and ask, “Could you imagine that as your life? That you have no food, no place to sleep, and no shelter to take you in, so you have to go to a hospital?”
2) People in poverty treat the ER like a doctor's office
Another pattern my wife started noticing was that patients would come into the ER seeking treatment that did not warrant an ER visit, and/or could have been treated and managed prior to an ER visit. They would do this because they didn't have the money or resources to go to a doctor's office. Often doctor's offices require copays up front whereas the ER is “free” up front, no money needed to be seen. This would range from the minor headache to diabetics in diabetic shock because they could not afford insulin. So, these diabetic patients would wait until their insulin would run out, go into diabetic shock, and go back into the hospital. This process would, repeat, and repeat...
3) Drug addicts will do drugs – and do drop offs
I don't know about you, but the drugs that they give you at the hospital are fan-tas-tic! There is a down side to the 'fantasic' drugs ... they are extremely addicting. My wife saw first hand the opioid crisis working in the ER. The most requested drug was dilaudid. Patients would come in complaining of extreme pain and say they were allergic to every pain medication except for, as they would say, “What's the one that I'm not allergic to? Starts with a 'D'...Di...Dilau....Dilaudid, yeah that's it.” She would tell me that it seemed like some patients always had this rehearsed and said it the same way every time. She said it felt like it was the worst acting job ever:
“Now remember, you want to grab your knee and say, 'Ouch, my kneebeforeyou ask for the drugs.' And action!”
What's interesting about that statement is morphine and dilaudid are almost identical in the way they are manufactured. Another side effect (no pun intended...okay a little bit of a pun) of the drug problem is what they ER had to deal with what were called drop offs. That's when a patient who overdosed would be dropped off on the curb of the hospital by their friends. Dropped off sounds too nice. A car would pull up, they would throw a body out of the car, and then drive off. Who ever dropped off the person didn't want to answer any questions, which leads me to the next topic...
“Life on Mars,” is one of my favorite David Bowie songs. However, the version I covered is not his version. If you listen to Bowie's version, it's operatic in its delivery. This was the song that made me realize that David Bowie was a musical genius. Growing up I thought David Bowie was all pop rock and wasn't really interested in what his music catalog entailed. Then I heard the album, “Hunky Dory” which this song is on and it changed my entire opinion of David Bowie.
Like I stated above, the original version was incredibly epic in its delivery. From its string section, to the piano, to the range of Bowie's voice, I came to the sad realization that I would probably never be able to cover this song. That was before I heard Ser Jorge's version.
For those of you who don't know, Ser Jorge is a Brazilian singer-song writer. How did I ever hear of Ser Jorge, you ask? Well, calm down and I'll tell you... There was a Wes Anderson movie, “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.” The sound track to that movie featured Ser Jorge covering David Bowie songs. When I heard his version of, “ Life on Mars” I was blown away.
I remember having an epiphany when I heard Ser Jorge's version. Any song can be arranged for guitar. You don't have to have every single instrument from the original song, you just have to capture the essence of it.
The Ser Jorge's version is in Spanish, and all covers I found of it were also in Spanish. My version is a hybrid of Ser Jorge's, but the words I sing are in English. I know, your mind is blown. *KA-POWWW* My profile does mention I am a Renaissance man... did you doubt my claim?
The chord arrangement is rather challenging. I would not recommend this arrangement for beginners. After listening to it many times I believe I got the chords and progression right, but I could be off a chord here or there. A lot of the tabs of this song on guitar tab websites are not even close.
I love doing these kinds of covers on here because I don't really get a chance to play these kinds of songs at bars or during the gigs I play.
When Lauren sent me this request, the first word my eyes skimmed over was, “Billy Joel.” Easy, I thought... she probably wants to hear “Piano Man” or “She's Got A Way”, or one of the many hits that everybody knows. If you don't follow Lauren you really should. She has an interesting take on history and it's always enlightening to read her posts.
Anywho... Nope ... She picked a song I've never heard before. It's a song called, “Vienna” and it's becoming one of my favorite Billy Joel songs. It's one of his earlier songs off the album “The Stranger.” This album is early Billy Joel. Most of his later work I find has a cheese factor and is mostly over produced pop music. Very gritty and raw, I can imagine hearing him playing “Vienna” in some lounge bar, with a cigarette in his mouth and a shot glass on the piano. I have an over active imagination.
What I find fascinating about the chord progression is the use of 7th chords. 7th chords are typically used in jazz or blues songs. It takes a musician who really knows what they're doing to use them without the listener knowing they are being used. For instance, instead of using a “C” chord, Billy Joel uses an “Am7.” Most musicians would not catch that, in fact the tab I looked at mistakenly had it down as a “C” chord.
This song was a pleasure to learn. It was challenging but not to the point where I would say, “Well, looks like I'm not covering this.” My wife now has this song stuck in her head, and likely will be stuck in her head for the next few weeks after I played it so many times while learning it. I may have flubbed a chord or two during the recording but I definitely hit the nail on the head by the end of the song. So, with no further ado:
NickelnDime here with some tips on song selection for those interested in playing in a cover band. These 5 can't miss songs come from my 20 years of playing out in various bands over the years. At least one of these songs, if not more, gets requested every time I play out. Every gig I play, I imagine the audience as a jury that I have to win over. Again, this is my opinion, so take it for what it is. Also, I did not put, “Free Bird” in this list, because that request has just become obnoxious. If you're one of those people that request that song, stop. You're not funny when you do that.
5) Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
People just love this song, and as many times I've heard it I still love it, too. There's something innocent and wholesome about this tune. It's good to play this one during the earlier sets to set the mood of a friendly evening. With a quick internet search I discovered that 70-90% of women have brown eyes. Most likely you'll have a brown eyed girl in your crowd, and this song will warm them up to your playing.
4) Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffet
This song is will be a nice fit towards the end of the evening, when everybody is starting to get a little tipsy. I don't know where it originated, but there is a sing along that goes along with this song. When the musician sings the chorus, “Wasting away again in Margaritaville,” the crowd responds with, “Salt, Salt, where's the god damn Salt!” All I can say is, it's cheesy but it works.
3) Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
This song is another sing along for the crowd. When the chorus comes around, the crowd will usually sing the horn part. One thing that I've learned is some of the most ridiculous songs get the best response. There's been times I've started playing this song and didn't have to sing a note. The crowd did all the singing for me.
This song request comes from Macropolo. If you don't follow him, you're missing out. His gaming articles are thoroughly entertaining. A couple of days ago he made this request on my cover of “Everlong” page.
Now this song takes me back to my youth. Growing up during the grunge era and learning guitar, it was almost impossible to not know how to play this song. If you were at a party, and there was a guitar, chances were good that somebody was going to play this song.
It was the, “Wonderwall” before there was a, “Wonderwall.”
The song has a very straightforward form. Verse, chorus, verse, and chorus. However, the last chorus cuts the length in half, giving the last chorus a sense of urgency or rushed feeling. Honestly, after revisiting this song, I might show it to students that are beginning to use chords. The third finger (ring) doesn't move the entire song, so beginners can use that as an, “anchor” if you will. I don't know if that's technically the right term, but I don't care. I'm a rebel and I'll never be any different.
Lyrical meaning, I would have to believe it's about deception or manipulation of some sort. The first line, “Disarm you with a smile.” To me that means luring someone into a false sense of security with kindness, and then hurting them. At the end of the chorus he sings, “I send this smile over to you,” that means, he's now looking at someone else to hurt. It's almost like he's warning people not to get close, cause he's going to hurt them. Again this is just my interpretation, I could be way off. Also side note, for years I thought the first lyric was, “Saw you with a smile.” My wife corrected me and told me it was, “Disarm you with a smile.” Good thing she caught that.
Hello, and welcome to NickelNDime's song request article. Today's cover was requested by Sandra, or as some may know her, theminduntangled. When I first announced I was taking song requests to put on Cinnamon, she was the first to message me on Twitter. Her request was, “Fiddler's Green” by the Tragically Hip. I agreed to do it, not having ever heard the song before. It's good to push yourself, especially if you're the creative type.
To be honest, I didn't know a lot about the Tragically Hip other than they were a rock/Indie band from Canada in the late 90's. If I'm having a conversation with someone I just met and they mention the Tragically Hip, my question immediately after is, “Are you Canadian?” Nine times out of ten, they will say yes. After looking them up on Wikipedia, I can understand why the Canadians love them. Thirteen studio albums and over a 33 year run as a band. That's a pretty impressive feat. They probably would still be making music today but alas, the bands lead singer, Gord Downie passed away from cancer.
What I like most about playing this song is the tuning! Open E tuning is when the guitar strings are tuned to the “E” chord, leaving the player to really noodle around on the neck. This makes combining the lead and rhythm guitar into one part a lot easier, which is what I did.
Upon researching the song, I discovered the lyrics were actually written by Downie's nephew, who passed away of a heart ailment before he was able to record it. Downie ended up taking it and recording it with the band. This might be one of the reasons they never played it live until 15 years after they released it.
So this morning I checked social media and I got a request for Everlong by Foo Fighters from Adam. If you don't follow him, you should do that, like right now. This is such a fun song to play and I totally forgot that I knew it. I learned it years ago thinking that somebody at the bars or pubs would request it. Sadly no one has ever requested it, so I forgot about it. That was until this morning when Adam requested it. Somehow, through all the fermented hops, and bong resin coated synapses, I was able to pull it from my memory and perform it.
"Do I have to think? I mean... I just did that**yesterday**" - NickelNdime's brain
What I like most about playing this song is how challenging the strumming can be, and then trying to sing on top of it. The rhythm is a rhythm found a lot in rock and pop music. It's where the accent is on the beat, off the beat, then back on. I wouldn't call it a syncopated rhythm, but it definitely is a bit different from the accent and change always being on the down beat.
The lyrics I've always wondered about:
Hello, I've waited here for you
Everlong
Tonight, I throw myself into
And out of the red, out of her head she sang
Come down and waste away with me
Down with me
Slow how you wanted it to be
I'm over my head, out of her head she sang
And I wonder
When I sing along with you
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You got to promise not to stop when I say when
She sang
Breathe out so I can breathe you in
Hold you in
And now I know you've always been
Out of your head, out of my head I sang
And I wonder
When I sing along with you
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You got to promise not to stop when I say when
She sang
And I wonder
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You got to promise not to stop when I say when
When I've thought about these lyrics over the years, the best I can make of it is sharing an amazing moment with someone. It's a moment that the writer feels alive and is in euphoria, and is sharing that moment with another person. The song is bittersweet because the writer knows that moments like this can only be lived once. Once that moment is over, there's no reliving it. Dave Grohl could also be referring to the time he was in Nirvana, and realizing that was a special time in his life, and he can never go back to it. Again, this is my own interpretation, I could be totally off. In fact after I get done writing this article, I'm going to see what people on the internet think it means, and realize how wrong I was.
Anyway here's my performance, please leave a comment even if you don't like it. Feedback is always welcome.
The Detroit Lions, Another Season of Nothingness. Plus, a Special Announcement at the End!!!
