Thursday Links and "It's Odds and Ends" And Something Completely Different!
Just howl back!
Today we’ll be catching up on some links, and the usual other funny/not funny stuff I post on Thursdays. My thanks to new subscribers and the traditional picture of my cat Mika doing something when we have new subscribers will be in tomorrow’s regular Friday post - you won’t want to miss that!
Disclaimer: This SubStack is free, always will be, and I receive no compensation or other benefit (except the unsolicited, occasional, and much appreciated shoutout from readers and other SubStackers!) from any of the people or companies I link to or write about.
Michael Acoustic
Some Links for today:
From the US Copyright Office:
Here’s a news item from a couple of weeks ago highlighting why this stuff is important to musicians:
“Jury selection is set for Monday in a trial to determine whether British pop star Ed Sheeran plagiarized American music legend Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud."” Credit: justthenews.com
It’s pretty obvious I’m a huge fan of John Prine - this video from the studio sessions during the recording of “The Tree Of Forgiveness” is a priceless and poignant reminder of all we lost with his passing. If you listen to the album version of “When I Get To Heaven”, recorded in a Nashville studio with friends and family - you can hear his grandson running around doing grandkid things and his friends and family members singing with him. Story at "When I Get To Heaven"
Today’s totally relatable John Prine quote:
“As far as guitar picking, if I make the same mistakes at the same time every day, people will start calling it a style.”
Amen, Mr. Prine, amen…
Some interesting things from Mr. Griff Hamlin of Blues Guitar Unleashed:
A blues song for acoustic guitar:
From a company named Mastering The Mix which sells their own brand of plugins (and yep, they’re gonna pitch them in this article) some thoughts on an issue that can plague your mix:
From Carvin Audio - “Gain Staging” is a really important part of mixing - if you use Logic Pro (and maybe other DAWs, I don’t know), you’ll be amazed at the volume drop between what you thought you were recording and what the tracks sound like when you finish. Gain staging is the way to fix that.
From our friends at Acoustic Guitar Magazine - an article on the legacy of Mr. John Hurt:
Mr. Graham English from Speed Songwriting (lotta business pitch in here too, but good stuff as well)
A bunch of links from Disc Makers:
Not sure if Part 3 is out yet
Some memes and stuff:
You can open each image in the gallery separately in a new window by shift-clicking on it, though it may work differently on different devices:
A couple of these might be explained tomorrow….
And now…. SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!:
And this really is different because I usually put some funny instagram or something in here. I was going to share an article on musician self doubt, but they all seem to say the same thing: Be positive! Accept criticism! Or the worst one (for me): Have A Business Plan! Riiiight…
None of those things help even a little bit when it’s almost midnight and you’re on Take 36 of a song you’re beginning to hate and are wondering why you put yourself through this. I don’t have any great advice or tips for success. Sometimes I think of a line from a Clint Eastwood movie I don’t remember the name of: “Just keep howling, sometimes they howl back.” I know he was talking to his orangutan and the context definitely wasn’t musician self doubt, but it sorta makes me laugh a little and so Take 37, here we go!
For what it’s worth, your mileage may vary. Also, not a bad idea to get away from the studio for a day or so…
It’s Odds And Ends!:
This week’s underrated or obscure band/performer:
J. J. Cale
Birth name John Weldon Cale Born December 5, 1938 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
Died July 26, 2013 (aged 74) La Jolla, California,
U.S.Genres
Occupation(s): Musician, songwriter, producer Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Years active 1958–2013 Labels Shelter, Mercury, PolyGram, Virgin, Rounder, Silvertone Website jjcale.com
John Weldon "J. J." Cale[1] (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight,[2] his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Waylon Jennings, and Eric Clapton, who described him as "one of the most important artists in the history of rock".[3] He is one of the originators of the Tulsa sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz.
In 2008, Cale and Clapton received a Grammy Award for their album The Road to Escondido.
(Ed. There is so much more to his life and contributions to music, and his enduring influence - more below, but it really just scratches the surface)
"Cocaine" is a song written and recorded in 1976 by singer-songwriter J. J. Cale. The song was popularized by Eric Clapton after his version was released on the 1977 album Slowhand. J. J. Cale's version of "Cocaine" was a number-one hit in New Zealand for a single week and became the seventh-best-selling single of 1977.
Regular post tomorrow!
Cheers, and keep playing!
Michael Acoustic