Guitar Spew

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All right, so perhaps I should rethink the title of this post. It’s a variation of “What’s LE playing on his guitar” theme that I blog about every six weeks or so, since I’ve discovered in that period of time I generally find I’m strumming out five or six new tunes.

So, what’s LE playing on his guitar as springtime is blossoming all about us? Flowers are blooming and sunny skies and warm temps are calling us out of doors, on to the deck for tennis and tag and all-purpose bumbling about. LE is bringing out his acoustic and walking the yard, troubadour-style, and the whole world wants to know: Hey, what you strummin?

Well ... how ’bout

“Pinch Me” by the Barenaked Ladies.

If you’ve heard this song, you know it’s a guy plunking on his acoustic singing about the world outside his backdoor. Like me! I love the simple riff, the pre-chorus arpeggios, the chorus chords. It’s fun, pure and simple. The wife hates it, or rather that nine-note three-chord riff. Which I’ve played about a thousand times over the past month and a half. Point taken. So I don’t play it around her, but I play it every time I’m out on the deck.

“Only Time” by Robin Trower

I went through a short Robin Trower phase for about a year sometime in the late 80s. Have two albums on tape that I’ve rediscovered, but I don’t know the album titles since the ink on the cassettes have long since faded. One’s Bridge of Sighs I think. Anyway, this is an F# to E arpeggiated thing with bluesy B riffs and sliding A-B-A-B triads. Though he’s playing it on a fuzzed-out wah-wah Strat, it sounds good on an acoustic. I dig it.

“We Got the Beat” by the Go-Go’s

Yeah, baby, Go-Go’s! I used to confuse the hell out of my wife when we were first dating by stating that I was a huge Go-Go’s fan, had all their CDs, had a drunken Belinda Carlisle vomit on me at one of their shows. Even sung “Vacation” when we went on our first joint vacation. All right, so you had to be there; I apologize. It wasn’t as stupid as it sounds. Or maybe it was. Anyway, I’ve been playing this song and my two little girls love it. So there.

“In the Flesh” by Pink Floyd

There, now I’ve reclaimed my masculinity in this post. First song, I think, off The Wall, and one of the last ones, too. Love it from the heavy low-string bent notes to the doo-wop arpeggios. Okay on an acoustic, but I really wish I had an electric for this. Especially to mimic the crashing airplane at the song’s conclusion. Fun nonetheless.

“Whip It” by Devo

The little ones call this “the bumpy song” and it’s a standard feature during Baby Dance parties. Never in my wildest imagination as a dumb twenty-year-old, drinking Jack Daniels and Hawaiian punch, smoking Marlboro reds, playing my Gibson SG through a Peavey amp – never in my craziest dream would I ever think I’d be playing this song for a couple of dancing toddlers, my own flesh and blood, and we’d all collapse in giggles after it was all done. I mean, it sounds so vanilla, doesn’t it? And yet, it’s something I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life.

So that’s all, I think. I’ll check back in with Guitar Spew Two around Memorial Day or so.