Patterson Hood on Prince the songwriter gets it right
In 2006, Paste released an issue on the 100 Greatest Living Songwriters, getting a different writer to sum up their thoughts on why each of the 100 deserved a spot on the list. Patterson Hood of the Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers had volunteered to write about his favorite artist of the 1980s—Prince. Now you’re thinking…wait…what? But read on below, and you’ll see why Petterson is so great, and why Prince transcends. His entry is below:
“If I was your one and only friend, would you run to me if somebody hurt you / Even if that somebody was me? Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be”
Prince was absolutely the greatest artist of the 1980s. He had a run of amazing albums from ’80 to ’87 that ranks among the modern era’s greatest string of classics. He sold a ton of records and was constantly in the news for various exploits. He was heralded as a trendsetter, a chameleon presence and an incredibly versatile musician. What has often been overlooked, though, is the stellar quality of his better songs. Beginning with his third album, 1980’s stripped-down Dirty Mind, and building through his 1987 masterpiece, Sign O’ The Times, Prince sold millions of records while pushing the boundaries of popular music and creating an enormous catalog of incredible songs. His brain became a musical melting pot of different styles and varied influences, yet all of his songs were unmistakably Prince. The funk of James Brown and the rock of Jimi Hendrix mixed with Joni Mitchell’s wordplay and Curtis Mayfield’s social commentary. Influences as varied as The Beatles, The Stylistics, Funkadelic, Brill Building formulaic pop and ’70s art-rock all meshed together into an otherworldly musical stew. His mixing of gospel with carnal sexuality took what Ray Charles had done a quarter of a century earlier to some higher plane. In my favorite Prince song, 1983’s masterpiece single, “Little Red Corvette,” he took the tired old rock-’n’-roll-car-song cliché to such grand heights, it was the greatest single of the entire decade. Every note of the song, from its minimalist opening to its transcendent guitar solo was picture-perfect and has yet to be improved upon. In later years, he was much less successful in trying to adapt to changing styles and his attempts to incorporate hip-hop into the mix made him seem outdated and ridiculous, but none of that (nor his bizarre attempt of a name change or any of his tabloid shenanigans) should ever detract from the greatness of his classic ’80s output. —Patterson Hood
Pressing A Vinyl Record In One Short Minute
The Vinyl Factory is an independent British music and arts enterprise. Founded in 2001, the enterprise encompasses a record label, vinyl pressing plant, gallery spaces, record shop and music magazine. Here’s an up-close look at how they press records on the world’s most iconic record presses.
Paint On Drums In Super Slow-Mo Is Your Fun Video Of The Day
The Slow Mo Guys’ love to create videos with their paint experiments, and this one involves powder paint and a drum kit. The 2000fps clip really sets it on fire because it showed the drums’ surfaces vibrating multiple times.
Build Your Own Electric Guitar With The Help Of Jack White And Loog Guitars
Playing songs on a traditional guitar can be a daunting task for beginners. Loog Guitars solve this: Because they only have three strings and a narrow neck, it’s super easy to form chords and play songs, even on day one. Loog Guitars come with a free instructional book with songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and more, and a free app with video lessons, a tuner and even a monkey drummer to help you stay on the beat.
For last year’s Record Store Day, Jack White’s Third Man Records and Loog Guitars created this kit for kids and kids at heart. The diminutive 3-string electric guitar kit provides the satisfaction of having built your own instrument before you start playing it. The pickguard is even made from a vinyl record. The rest is just your regular Electric Loog magic – tweaked to convey the signature TMR black-and-yellow awesomeness. You can also get exclusive accessories for your new TMR Electric Loog Guitar: there’s a nifty little backpack, a striped guitar strap made for little ones and a guitar stand.
Just another reason why I’m a HUGE fan of Jack White and Third Man Records. The Third Man Electric Loog is sold exclusively by Third Man Records at their Nashville store and also through their website.
Your GoPro gets tossed on stage during Coachella and THIS happens
You bring your GoPro to Coachella. You catch Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes onstage. He asks for you to toss it up, and proceeds to take this awesome footage.
Infographic: Moving to Canada? A Look At America’s Election Exodus
Trump or Clinton.
The prospective of either of these presidential frontrunners emerging victorious in November is too much for many Americans to bear.
A shocking number of U.S. citizens would consider a move to Canada—15 percent if Hillary Clinton is elected and 20 percent if Donald Trump is elected, according to recent polls.
The question remains: How serious are these people? And how hard is it to move to Canada?
Well, check out this inforgraphic below. We Canadians will be waiting for you.
Pilots Taking Younger Brother, Who Has William Syndrome, On His First Flight Will Make Your Day
This pilot took his younger brother, who has William Syndrome, on his first flight. No words may need to be said, the warmth and happiness comes through.
One of the greatest Australian commercials you’ll ever see
These pure waters are special, something goes in there, comes out different. But in a good way. Don’t know why, suppose it’s always been that way. Sure things don’t always turn out the way you expect, but nobody’s complaining. Because this water just… Makes things better. Here is one of the greatest commercials to ever come out of Australia. You might not even know what you’re being sold, until the very end.