Currently Listening To

Mandy. Mandy where for art thou Mandy?

 

My favorite Blue Cheer song:

 

Ok----I'm getting pissed at Youtube. I used to have a CD of one of my favorite Beatle's albums----Abbey Road. Its been lost for years. The other day I really wanted to hear the medley on side 2 of the album, so I went to YouTube. I pulled up a video, thinking that was it, and as it played my first reaction was, 'Wow, they just don't seem to have the energy I recall, and then as I listened closer, I realized it was a Japanese cover band. I'm sure in Japan they are big hits, but their Japanese accents were unmistakeable. I was annoyed, but quickly went back to searching----it didn't take me long to discover that there were tons of cover bands, and tons of idiots with a guitar, or a piano----and there was no Beatles----not a single damn video of the Beatles playing their medley.

I did notice that I could listen to the whole album-----but right then I did not want the album----I just want to hear the Beatles play Mean Mr. Mustard, and Polythene Ann, and then warn us to, "Look out!" while they slide into She Came in through the Bathroom Window. I was so pissed----anyone can learn to play a damn song. Hell, the first Beatles song I learned to play was A Hard Days Night on piano, which I played at a recital when I was a kid. I can do a mean She's Got a Ticket to Ride, but I'm not going to post a video of it! All these damn cover bands----Jesus give me the real band. And seriously, not a single one of these cover bands sounded good enough to pass for the Beatles.

So a few days passed, and I calmed down a bit---with the idea that, at least I can listen to the whole album. SO that's what I tried to do today. Well now I'm pissed again! Once again, a bunch of damn cover bands, and the links that claimed to be the whole album----the first link that was not a cover band was only the first song from the album----and it was downloaded from that Playstation guitar game---and included the noises when you score points. And then the next 3 or 4 songs I listened to were not even Abbey Road songs----and one was George Harrison (We All Shine On). So I went searching for more------Not a single link-----which claimed to be the Whole Abbey Road Album had the whole album----some were just a bunch videos that had been removed, and some other beatles songs. Others were simply a collection of Beatles Songs. Damnit!!!!

Is this the future of YouTube---a bunch of shitty cover bands and amateur musicians who think we want to hear them butcher our favorite songs????!!!!!



(I know being hard on these guys----yeah there are some hot chicks who I will watch play Hendrix, for example, and there are videos I've even passed on of people playing famous songs. When I was in High School my friends and I had a band for a short time that played some Led Zeppelin and some other things. But damnit don't trick me, and give me the real thing when I want it!!!)

 

I have had a similar experience with trying to find original studio albums or songs for the Beatles on YouTube. I think there is probably something about copyrights or something. Anyway I found a cool recording of Paul McCartney doing "Paperback Writer", but I was looking for the original studio version. I think it's only like that for the Beatles though. I can find a multitude of other peoples' original material.

Anyway... Currently listening to:

 

I figured it was probably a rights issue. I wonder who owns the rights now, Sony? I believe it is Sony that is always taking good Japanese music videos off YouTube outside of Japan. That always pisses me off too. There is a Japanese girl band that I enjoy---and so many videos disappear, and the crappy ones are left for those of us outside of the country.

The same is true for the tsugaru shamisen videos----there is a singer, Nagayama Yoko, who plays tsugaru shamisen. She has some great videos with long riffs, some with other musicians playing shamisen or flute, or whatever, but these always disappear and are left with the message that it cannot be viewed in your country.

Tsugaru shamisen is a 16th-17th century version of Rock---literally---the musicians were very bohemian---travelled around Japan playing this fast paced shamisen that requires thicker strings to play. Here is a modern version with the lovely Yoko Nagayama:

 

R.I.P. Billy