Thank You, Les Paul

I just learned of the passing of Les Paul today. It's hard to really describe the contribution he has made to the music we all hear and enjoy. The articles that are coming out make mention of the solid body electric guitar. That covers a whole lot of modern music. There's also mention of reverb. It might not be the most used guitar effect used today, but it had its heyday. I'm not sure, but that might have opened the door to the possibilities of changing the guitar's signal in the myriad ways that can be done today. There's the mention of multitrack recording that he pioneered/invented. That is a recording industry staple today. It might not be using the precise technology that he created, but software based multitrack recording is really just a software copy of a concept he pioneered. Rock music is frequently cited in the list of "beneficiaries" of Les Paul's technological legacy, but I would imagine there isn't very much music today that was not recorded using ideas that Les Paul found a way to make work. Hotel California is a really good example of the technology in use with it's 10 separate guitar parts overdubbed onto one recording. Another good example that will probably not be mentioned is an artist like Enya, who records herself performing every instrument and voice part on the recording. I would imagine everything under the sun in popular music owes a debt of gratitude to Les Paul for this technology that they likely take for granted.

The articles that are coming out always mention the Gibson Les Paul guitar. Appropriately so, this guitar is iconic. It is one of the most recognizable images, and likely one of the guitars that people imagine when they think of electric guitars. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful guitars made. I would love to have a really nice one, just to look at. I'd pull it down and play it too, but I'd get a lot of enjoyment out of displaying it like the piece of art that it is.

Les Paul is an amazing guitar talent. He performed music from a very early age, almost to the day he died. Just an enjoyable person and artist. I never had the opportunity to see him play, but I am greatful for being able to see and hear what I have from various recordings and videos. I know that I will probably discover a lot of "new" Les Paul music for years to come, from old 45s that my parents might still have to youtube treasures like this.


Something that I appreciate, and I lack the words to express properly, is that he lived a good life. He wasn't famous, or infamous, for anything but his accomplishments. It is good to see an icon pass that made it 94 years. No bizarre drug related death. No need for an autopsy. No questions. Complications from pneumonia. There's always reason to be sad with the passing of a living legend, but with Les Paul there isn't the sadness of a misspent life. He was a guiding light for music from the beginning to the end. Thank you, Les Paul. I hope I can shake your hand on the other side.

The Great Sock Controversy

The other day there was a news story I came across about Kurt Rambis being named head coach of the Timberwolves.  The first story I saw mentioned that this is his first stint as a head coach.  I couldn't remember the exact details, but I knew that was wrong.  He is central to one of my favorite Dennis Rodman stories.

If you want to get technical, the story was correct.  He has never been a head coach in the NBA.  He was an interim coach for the Lakers during Phil Jackson's coaching hiatus.  Jackson left the Bulls (and basketball) and one year later was named the coach of the Lakers.  At the same time Jackson left the Bulls, Rodman left the Bulls.  He landed with the Lakers in LA with all of his baggage.  Rambis was the interim coach during the Jackson vacation, and the first time head coach gets one of the biggest head cases in the history of the league.  The story that I remember involves Rodman showing up to practice without any socks.  The story was mind-boggling to me at the time, but even more so now that I'm into coaching.

From a practical point of view, I can't imagine how a pro athlete at a pro sports team facility wouldn't have something simple like socks.  I'm making an assumption here, but I would imagine they have a laundry facility (and staff) to make sure the athletes have all the socks they would need.  I would imagine the athlete probably has socks sent to them by the grundle by shoe companies that pay them to wear their shoes.

It almost seems like Rodman would have to plan it out to not have any socks.  I remember my high school days of playing basketball under any conditions.  I've played outdoors in rain and snow.  I've played barefoot.  I wouldn't have a problem playing for one practice without socks.  I would guess that means that Rodman complained about not having socks as an excuse for not practicing.  The only logical explanation that I can come up with that makes any sense is that Rodman did this to make some sort of passive aggressive statement that he didn't think Rambis was worth a crap as a coach.  Unfortunately in pro sports, the star players might be able to get their coach fired for personality conflicts.  Jackson would have been able to command the respect that Rodman should have afforded Rambis.  Had Jackson not taken the year off, Rodman might have still played the full season and then some.  In the short term Rodman was off the team, and he was out of the league shortly afterward.  I can't help but think that the Great Sock Controversy played a part in endind Rambis' first head coaching stint.  Realistically I think that it had EVERYTHING to do with Phil Jackson.  I think that the Lakers always wanted Phil Jackson, and were betting on Jackson accepting an offer to be their coach if they didn't already have something arranged.  Rambis was a stop gap.  He was liked enough for his time as a Laker's player, so he was a natural interim coach.  They were writing off the season, and Rambis got the full time gig for the following season if he made a good impression and Jackson wasn't available when he returned to coaching.  Rambis got hosed and made a bad impression thanks to Rodman, and Jackson came back and said "yes", so the interim training wheels never got taken off.

That initial story spoke glowingly about Rambis' track record as an assistant coach.  There was plenty of talk about how players really respect him.  I just didn't really buy it.  For some reason there was no mention of his head coaching stint.  The Great Sock Controversy would have really rained on the happy parade the article described.  Don't get me wrong, I like Rambis.  I think if he didn't have to work with Rodman, he might have stuck around as a head coach.  Of course Jackson probably still would have been named head coach, but some other team might have lured him away.  Ultimately I think that he possibly gained a whole lot more as Jackson's assistant than he would have on his own somewhere else.  Rambis will be a fine coach for the Timberwolves.  It just would have been nice to see that original article accurately representing his coaching experience.

Pictures

We went to get team pictures taken today.  I don't go into photography studios very often, but looking at some of the sample pictures hanging on the wall made me think of senior yearbook pictures.  One of the pictures on the wall was a picture of a young man with his guitar.  There were always the pictures in the yearbook of the guy with his musical instrument.  I think the guitar pictures were pretty common.  That got me thinking.

The inevitable is coming.  It might already be here.  The high school senior yearbook picture with the student's Guitar Hero controller!  I could picture some of the guys in my graduating class doing something like this if Guitar Hero would have been around way back when.  Of course the guys I'm thinking of would have done so entirely as a joke, but still, I think there are some that might have done it.  It's the other ones that make me wonder if they will do it first.  The ones that would want that yearbook picture taken for the same reason the guitar guy wants his guitar in the picture.  It's his musical instrument.  Not only that, but it's a guitar!  Speaking as one who would like to be able to play like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughn, or many others I enjoy listening to, I can see the appeal of getting the guitar picture.  A guitar is more than just a musical instrument.  It's a living breathing thing.  I think that a good guitar ranks higher than a trophy wife.  I get that, and I play like crap.  I imagine it's only a matter of time before some Guitar Hero and/or Rockband addict thinks that his controller can take the honored position of a real guitar.  It's only a matter of time before the guitar guy picture is counterfeited with the guitar hero guy picture.  It's funny, but when you talk to the guy about his picture, it's serious. Just like talking to the guitar guy, but freaky.

Articulate vs Intelligent

For some time now I have observed that there seems to be this common idea that being articulate equates to being intelligent.  The ability to speak well, not surprisingly, seems to indicate intelligence.  Likewise those who speak poorly are often thought of as unintelligent.  There is a video that has made its way around the interwebs of a beauty pageant contestant answering a question that is an almost perfect example of the notion that articulate equals intelligent.

A few years back there was a professional athlete who was very articulate.  He was praised for his intelligence.  I can still remember some of the nuances of his voice when speaking in interviews.  After hearing him speak for some time, I started to think that he wasn't really that bright, but he sure knew how to sound like he was smart.  He was rather adept at the skill of public speaking.

We all know that public speaking is a skill. Anyone who has done some public speaking should be rather familiar with that idea.  I'm sure just about everyone can come up with an example of someone they know who can't speak to save their life, but they might be scary smart.

The current and last president of the country are two examples of this articulate equals intelligent perception.  The popular media likes to portray Obama as some sort of genius, and Bush as some sort of neanderthal as mush for the ability to speak publicly as anything.  Interestingly, I am seeing comparisons being made of how similar the two are in some ways.  If we go purely by the ability to speak, we need to wonder if the two are even from the same planet.  Surely one has the skill to speak, and the other does not.

I guess I really wanted to post this because I imagine we will keep seeing this articulate equates to intelligent idea for a long time.  Just remember that someone with the skill to speak publicly might be a raging idiot.