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Setlist

February 5, 2008 1:35 AM

o, like I said before, I want to get out and play some open-mic nights sometime this year. The first thing I have to do in order to do that is to create a setlist, so I've been listening for some good songs that could be arranged for one guitar. It's generally easy to play a version of a song that's recognizable regardless of what the original instrumentation was, but it's often difficult to keep all of the important elements while removing all but one instrument and still put your own spin on the thing.

I've done some vaguely risky songs in the past. For example, regardless of what Mr. Morenononsense says, I think it's possible to do a good version of "Tonight, Tonight" with only one guitar. And I think I've done that. From what I remember, there was at least one guy in the audience that thought I did a decent job. He screamed when he recognized the song, anyway.

I think I was less successful when I did a version of Pearl Jam's "Black," although I think it was due more to the fact that I had decided to play and learn that song about an hour before I performed it than with the fact that my voice sounds nothing like Eddie Vedder's--I don't think you have to sound like the original singer to do a good cover.

I probably had the most fun playing "We're Going to Be Friends" by the White Stripes, though, at least partly because it's not a typical bar song. That's by far my favorite White Stripes song--it's the only one I listen to now that I've decided that the White Stripes suck--and it was cool to get up and play a pretty mellow, cheerful, sweet song like that. I think people liked it, too.

As an aside, it's also probably important to remember the words and structure of the song. And knowing all the guitar parts is good, too. Although my rendition of "El Scorcho"--during which I stopped halfway through and explained the song rather than played it--suggests that it might be entertaining for someone to completely forget what they're doing on occasion. Or maybe the audience was just padded with my friends. Whatever.

In any event, I've been keeping my ears open for a good song to cover. I specifically want to avoid what you guys have seen me do here, which is take an upbeat song and slow it down and do it all in acoustic guitars. So, I think I found a good song to work with. Here's the video:

Yup, that's Van Halen. I think the heart of the song is the vocal melody rather than a guitar riff or chord progression. That means that it'll be recognizable in stripped-down form. It's also a song people have heard, so that's a plus. And no one would miss the guitar solo since, surprisingly, it's a rather unobtrusive part of the song. And it begs to be an up-tempo affair. But most importantly, it's a rather ridiculous song, so I could do it either ironically or seriously, although I'd lean towards doing it with a straight face. And if I fuck up, I could always just play it off like I was doing an ironic version.

So what do you guys think? Any suggestions?



3 Comments


tRJ said:

Man, what are the odds? After the Ice Bender, I went to a party where people were jamming out on some acoustic guitars. And we actually attempted this song. We didn't get far, because no one could remember the lyrics. But it definitely worked (or could work).

February 5, 2008 9:27 AM



Anonymouse said:

Wasn't this the song from the Crystal Pepsi commercials, and more importantly, from the Crystal Gravy spoof?

February 5, 2008 11:05 PM



Ismael Tapia II said:

I believe that the song was used in the Pepsi Clear commercials, but I don't have a problem with that; it's still an awesome song.

February 6, 2008 2:33 PM



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