RIP Alan Myers

Alan Myers, formerly of Devo, died of brain cancer on Monday at the age of 58. Meyers was Devo's drummer from 1976 to 1986, playing on the band's first six albums, including the classic first three Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978), Duty Now for the Future (1979) and Freedom of Choice (1980).


On this song from Devo's second album, the verses are in the highly unusual time signature of 11/8.


The original version of "Jocko Homo", released as the b-side of Devo's first single "Mongoloid". This is also in an unconventional time signature, being entirely in 7/8 (the band added a bridge in 4/4 for the rerecorded version that opens Are We Not Men?).


This version is in the style of the "stiff" version found on Pioneers Got Scalped: The Anthology. That mostly means "faster".

Happy 20,000 views, SWR!

20,000 views in just under 5 years - not too shabby, if you have a poor understanding of the word "shabby". In honour of this milestone, here is a photo of an adjustable spanner.

New Bill Callahan album!

     gif creator unknown.

Torres - Moon & Back (live)

Related:
Torres - Torres

Elliott Smith - Cupid's Trick (live)

Extempore #12: Fuck you, Apple

I'd heard of this before, but it hadn't happened to me until just now. I synced my iPod, having ripped two CDs into iTunes yesterday, and got a message that said something about having to authorise my computer for purchased content, namely Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d. city. I purchased it, but not from iTunes. Like I said, it's a CD. Apple seems to think I need its permission to transfer my CD's music to my iPod using my computer. Furthermore, I can only authorise five computers. I can't foresee ever having six or more iTunes libraries on six or more computers, but I should be allowed to if I want!

Since possession means so little to Apple, I'm going to walk into my nearest Apple store and steal me an iPhone.

Extempore #11: YouTube guitar pedal reviews

Rules for reviewing a guitar pedal on YouTube:

1. If you can't make a decent quality recording, don't bother. A scratchy webcam video isn't going to give people an idea of what the pedal sounds like.

2. People are watching the video to hear the pedal. Nobody wants to watch you unbox the fucking thing,

3. You know how action movies usually start with an action scene before they spend some time building the story? Play something before you start talking.

4. If you're reviewing with one or more other people, spare us the comedy routine.

5. Refrain from playing 10 minute blues jams and play some fucking chords once in a while. This is paramount if you're reviewing a distortion pedal.

6. If you're reviewing anything other than an overdrive or distortion pedal, shows us what it sounds like in tandem with one or both of those effects.