Music Scraper

Music to the Party

2008-11-22T05:01:00.005-06:00

Hi dudes and dudesses, I'm back after a long break from writing in my blogs. Hell the last one in here was Blues to Jamaica, and that was back in August. I apologize for my absence, but well I've been busy away from the computer and have so many things to do outdoors I don't get much time for wasting away on this thing.

Hell, that doesn't mean I'll never come back in here, just that it will not be too often, that's all.

So what's this post in honor of? Well, I just posted in my other blog ScrapeAway that I'm holding my first party in my place for eons and its gonna be a big one! Well, that means there's gonna be a lot of music playing and that means I got an excuse to write something in here to talk about it!

Well my personal preferences of blues and rock will pretty much be sidelined at least for the early stages of the party when the majority of guests will want to be hearing the party music that is popular. I tell you now what they are not getting is any of that electronic crap that passes for music - no way man! That includes most (but not all) rap and hip hop shit. That stuff is just mindless moronic brainwashing shit and it ain't getting played on any music system that I own!

So that's the only ground rules regarding music, so for the party stuff, I'm more happy with some smoothy soul and motown to get the partygoers up and dancing. Now that's real music that people enjoy and identify with. I don't mind some of the stuff from the 70s and 80s either as long as its not any hate music and there's not too much Abba - its ok for one or two songs but when you get some people who like to put on a dozen Abba songs one after the other then it starts to get on my nerves!

So as the night wears on and the dancers have worn themselves out and are collapsed in a drunken heap someplace, then its time to slowly switch the music to the slow ballads and then on to the blues and classic rock songs that are pretty timeless. Stuff from Fleetwood Mac, Free, Cream, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, Santana etc that all gets people up and going,

"Oh man, I haven't heard that in ages and I can't believe how good it sounds!"

That's what rock classics do for you and I defy anyone to say different. Unless of course you been brainwashed by that moronic electronic hate shit that some people call music. In which case you ain't gonna be interested in coming to my party and I ain't gonna be interested in having you there! In fact you probably ain't gonna be interested to read this blog anyhow.

So there you are folks. Real music lovers are always welcome!

Dan Scraper
Music Scraper

Blues to Jamaica

2008-08-07T09:02:00.006-05:00

Oh man, time goes by so fast these days I never know which day of the week it is most of the time. My last post here was Bo Diddley Death, and that happened over two months ago! Man, where'd it all go? So this time around I thought I'd drift away from the blues for a moment just long enough to head over to Jamaica, metaphorically speaking of course.

So here I am, with my headphones on and no one to bother me, just listening to some very cool reggae! Yep, that might sound strange coming from me especially if you knew me pretty well, but that's what just got my attention and I decided to really listen there and check it out. Well, its actually some Bob Marley music from the late master himself and you know I never truly appreciated just how good some of that stuff really is until recently! It is something I never much listened to when I was younger as I was more into the heavier rock and blues styles of music back then.

But listening to this compilation of Bob Marley's music here and I'm totally blown away by this guy! I never realized what a musical genius he was, maybe because I never really took the time to really listen. I mean really listen to his stuff. Man he died too young at only 36!

Hey, they say a person's musical tastes change with age and its true enough, I guess.

So does that mean I'm ditching the heavy CDs?

No way man, I still love that cool stuff. I just guess I like more stuff than I used to. So what is the word on what I'm really into these days (apart from my new found respect for reggae)?

Well, I'm delving more into the past of Elmore James right now and enjoying some of what that man produced all those years ago. James was a pioneer its true, but he also was a sucker for moonshine whiskey which probably accounted for his early demise most likely from liver failure or some such! His classic track Mean Mistreatin' Mama is a real favorite of mine and it really rocks along nicely. On a side note, I know I already mentioned it before but the more O listen to it, the more I'm still convinced he stole Robert Johnson's "Dust my Broom" and added the slide guitar to it to beef it up some. Many say it was the other way around, but I've heard Johnson's original cut of that track and it's just too basic and authentically crude to be anything other than an original Robert Johnson masterpiece!

Anyhows, that's where I'm at in the music place and not a scraped piece of text in sight! Hahahaha!!!

See you all next time,

Dan Scraper
Music Scraper

Bo Diddley Death

2008-06-03T12:25:00.005-05:00

After my last post Music of the Blues Men, where I was actually starting to talk about the blues and they performers and early pioneers and then I heard the awful news today about one of rock n roll and blues great originals, Bo Diddley's death.

This is indeed a tragedy for anyone like me who grew up with the blues and feel that it is really a part of my whole life. Bo Diddley's death was a real wake up call that we are all truly mortal and that no matter who we are or what we do, that final swansong awaits us all.

Bo Diddley died yesterday (Monday) of heart failure at the age of 79, which when you think about it is actually a damn good age for a musician. Why? Well the lifestyle of most musicians is that of excess especially in their younger years until it all catches up with them. Many reach that stage and realize they have to stop the crazy lifestyle and get healthy - many from musical lifestyles have gone that route successfully such as the surviving members of the Rolling Stones, who seem to be immortal.

Many of the great blues musicians, such as Bo Diddley made it to a ripe old age, probably because although their lives were based around the excesses of stardom, they also had very little real stress in those lives, when compared with the average man on the street who goes to work every day for a boss... I am not going there!

Bo Diddley death then is a start reminder that we only get the one life and that we should make as much of it as we can. He did that brilliantly and had a rich and rewarding life. Power to Bo Diddley! Death is the final curtain fall that waits for us all, so we should really make the most of the time we have in this mortal plane.

For that reason, I'll still enjoy my music in all its different and varied forms, but especially the blues, which has just lost another of its towering giants with Bo Diddley's death. I'll play some of his old albums this evening as my own personal and private tribute to one of the men who make my life that little bit more enjoyable with music that transcends the grave and all areas of life.

Bo Diddley. Death may have taken your mortal body, but your spirit will live on forever in your music!

Dab Scraper
Music Scraper

Music of the Blues Men

2008-05-27T05:34:00.003-05:00

Hey there, welcome back to my music blog. In my welcome post called Music Scraper, I sorta let you into what I'm gonna be ramblong on anout in this music oriented blog of mine here. Nothing fancy or over the top technical, just a lazy meander through the maze of the music that I like to hear is all.

So to get the thing moving, how about some nice laid back blues?

Just lately, Ive been listening to some old Robert Johnson songs that he recorded early on way way back in the 1930s up to era of the second world war. He actually wrote a lot of the songs that are popular today and you know that hardly anybody realizes it?

One of my favorites is "Dust My Broom", a song Johnson sings the thing, just him on his own with a beat up old acoustic guitar and he makes it sound so cool! Later on Elmore James took that song and made it a big hit - hell, he even tried to say he wrote it too!

Did you know that the blues song made famous by supergroup Cream in the late 60s, "Crossroads" was written by none other than Robert Johnson? Yep, they took an old song of his and made it big.

Another one that not many people would know about is the song made famous in the musical film "The Blues Brothers". Remember that one, with Dan Akroyd and John Belushi? Well they sang that sweet song "Sweet Home Chicago", and guess what, Robert Johnson wrote that one as well!

I'm also listening to Sonny Boy Williamson, now there's some sweet harp playing music to chill out to! One of my favorites of his is "Help Me".

Then there's the legend himself, John Lee Hooker. He could play a pretty mean old guitar - just listen to Boom Boom when you get the chance to see what I mean.

Anyhow, that's enough for this meander through the ramblings of a music lover and his blues for today!

Dan Scraper
Music Scraper

Music Scraper

2008-04-25T13:14:00.003-05:00

Welcome to my blog called Music Scraper. I'm Dan Scraper, so that'why its called Music Scraper. Not because I'm a music scraper or anything like that!

Any how, my aim for this old blog thing is to write some about the music that I like and what I've seen, been and done in a musical way throughout my life.

Maybe it won't appeal to most people, but what the hell, its just a collection of my own ramblings of what I like and so there you have it. So what do I like more trhan anything?

Footstomping rock and roll! And some heavy Rock! And some blues, some soul, some smoothie music to relax to and even some classical stuff to chill out to. In other words, I like a whole bunch of music styles depending on what mood I'm in. So I reckon it might be a good idea to make my posts reflect the mood and the music that fits!

Cool!

Dan Scraper
Music Scraper