Zeppelin Steals And Is Stolen From

I just love this video series called Everything Is A Remix from Kirby Ferguson. In it he puts forth that when it comes right down to it, all current art is "borrowed" from previous art.

In this video, Kirby singles out Led Zeppelin and provides some concrete examples of how they not only borrowed from some of the legendary Bluesman as well as some of their contemporaries, but they outright stole from them by not giving them credit. And one good turn deserves another, as some of the today's artists have turned around and down the same thing, this time with Zep being the victims.

The Zeppelin part starts at around 1:35, but first, he outlines the number of times that Chic's "Good Times" has been used as the basis of other records. It's a pretty awesome video.

Be sure to check out Kirby's everythingisaremix.info site to see the other episodes.


Everything is a Remix Part 1 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

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The Music Has Died On 48th Street

Any musician from the 60s through the 90s knew of 48th street between 6th and 7th Avenue was a mecca for music stores. In fact, these were arguably the best music stores maybe in the world, always with the latest gear and the best prices. The famous Manny's Music would battle it out with cross-street rival Sam Ash while Alex Musical Instruments, Rudy's Music, We Buy Guitars, 48th Street Music, Colony Music Center, New York Woodwinds and Brass, and a few others that I can't remember picked up the crumbs.

If you had gear lust, like every musician has, this was the place to either go to or stay away from. It was actually worth the 125 mile trip from my home in rural Pennsylvania not only for the best deal, but for the best sites as well. You never knew when a star or two or three or four would be in one of the stores (especially Manny's) buying an instrument for stage or studio. The autographed pictures on the wall always had us in awe.

I can remember one day near 6PM when Manny's was about to close when in came a young and fresh Eddie Murphy along with Joe Piscapo, both on a roll at the time from being on Saturday Night Live. While the staff set a kit up for Eddie to try right there on the main floor, I remember having a nice talk about Martin guitars with a rather subdued John Sabastian. And remember, I lived 125 miles away from the city at the time. My head just about exploded. I always thought to myself after leaving, "Image who I might meet if I lived in the City and went there more often."

Sam Ash eventually bought Manny's as well as most of the other stores on that famous 48th Street block, which subdued the scene a bit since the competition was now gone, but now it looks like the music on 48th Street is about to die forever. Sam Ash has now signed a new lease for a huge new store on West 34th Street, and will move its stores there one by one. What's happening is the classic "going condo" in the 48th Street area, and now it looks like the famous and beloved Music Row will soon be just a memory. Goodbye, Music Row. Some of us are going to miss you!

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What Not To Ask

After I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago entitled "Here's What's Wrong With Your Music," I received a number of emails from people who apparently got the mistaken impression that I was looking for artists or songs. That's not the case at all. That's not the business I'm in. But I do like to help people with their production, arrangement, engineering, etc. if I can.

Look, here's the deal. I promise I will do my best to help you if you have a specific question!

When you make a question that's too general you put me in an impossible situation in that you probably don't really want to hear any criticism in the first place, you just hope that I'll fall madly in love with your music and open every door in Hollywood for you. I wish I were that powerful or had those kinds of contacts.

If I tell you "This is no different than something I've heard a hundred times before," or "I have no idea. I don't know your market," you're going to say, "That guy doesn't know what he's talking about," or "He doesn't want to help me." Let's face it, you really weren't looking for a critique in the first place. You were looking for help placing your music, which I can't provide. That's why specific questions are the only way you'll get a specific answer from me.

So here's a list of what not to ask not only of me, but most other music professionals as well:

Take a listen to my song. Here's where you can download it. If you have a specific question, I'll be happy to listen to your song, but it must be a stream and not a download. There's a potential legal issue if I accept a download, sort of like record labels not accepting any unsolicited material. Put it on YouTube with a private link or on Soundcloud, ask a specific question, and I'll have a listen.

What do you think of my song? Go ask your fans. They're much more important and relevant to your success than I am. You do have fans, don't you?

My songs are on iTunes or We just finished our CD...... Sorry, it's too late to ask any questions about it. You're product's already complete. If you want advice on distribution or marketing, go to the Music 3.0 blog, but check the archives first, and once again, be specific with any questions.

Will you listen to my CD? See above.

Give me some feedback. On what? The mix? The songs? The arrangement? The production? The sound? A question like this makes me think that you're only looking for a pat on the back.

Which song is the most commercial? Once again. Ask your fans. They're the ones that count. And by the way, so many times the song that you think is least commercial is the one that everyone likes anyway.

How can I make my songs better? Do you really want to hear me tell you to write better, play better, and use better sounding instruments? That's a good place to start.

Can you introduce me to.....? Nope, I probably don't know them, and if I did, it's unlikely that I'd introduce you unless I knew you a lot better than just from an email.

Can you introduce me to publishers, record labels, etc? Nope. You probably know more of them than I do at the moment. Here's a tip. To meet publishers, join the AIMP for 60 bucks a year. Want record label contacts? Try the A&R Registry.

I have some songs that I'd love to get to ..... Sorry, I'm not a songplugger and I barely have enough time for my own things as it is.

Will you write with me? I don't write songs anymore, and if I did, I'd do it alone.

Can I write with you? See above.

Can I watch you work in the studio? Highly unlikely. If I'm working in the studio, I'm with a client who I can guarantee doesn't want any distractions from people that they don't know.

Can I visite you in the studio when you're working? See above.

Will you produce, record, mix my band on spec? Nope. My time is valuable and I get paid well for it.

Will you partner with me on a project? Only if there's some money involved, and even then, I have to be absolutely in love with the project first. I no longer work on anything that doesn't knock my socks off.

Wait, don't listen to version 7 of the mix I just sent. Mix 9 is so much better. You've wasted my time. Next.

A full quality recording is attached. Next. I already told you I will only listen to a stream because of any potential legal issues that might come with downloads.

What should I do to get my music noticed? Sorry but there's not enough time to write you an email that long. I already wrote a book that tells you all that, or you can read my Music 3.0 blog every day for free.

Can you send me one of your books for free? Nope. I don't get that many complimentary ones myself, and the rest I have to pay for.

I'm from (pick a country) and I want to translate your books. I have 3 book publishers that control my copyrights so you'll have to ask them. I have no say in the matter. Be aware that they'll probably want some sort of a license fee.

For students:

Can you please answer these 10 questions to help me with my desertion? I'm sure you want answers that are sufficiently helpful and thoughtful, but I'm slow at writing and it takes me a looong time. I'm really happy to talk to you by Skype and answer every question and more. Make sure to record it because you'll get more info than you ever expected. If you're happy with a one sentence answer to your 10 questions, no problem, but neither of us will probably like that.

Wow, this sounds really harsh and I didn't mean it to sound that way. Once again, I'm really happy to help if you have a specific question. Here are some good examples:

How do you do (name the technique)?  Finally, a specific question. Ask away. I'm pleased to help if I can.

Do you think the bottom of this song is too big?

The song isn't working. Can you tell me why?

How can I get the vocalist to sing in tune?

How do I get a better guitar (bass, sax, piano, etc.) tone?

What can I do to make the reverb work better with the track?

What can I do to make the drums punchier?

See what I mean? With a specific question I can get right to the core of the problem and help you. So ask away, but once more - no downloads, only streams!

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How Many Songs Use These 4 Chords?

Melody makes the song, although sometimes that's difficult to believe if you're part of the EDM (electronic dance music) world. While you can read the frequent song analysis posted here to illustrate the fact, here's a video that proves it nicely. Hear how many well-known hits are built around the I-VIm-V-IV chord pattern (that's the typical C-Am-G-F pattern if you're not familiar with Nashville notation).

If you're interested in some other songwriting tips and tricks, check out How To Make Your Band Sound Great. You can read some excerpts on my bobbyowsinski.com website.

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4 Reasons For Effects Problems

Effects Order #1

I was asked by a guitar player recently why his tone wasn't what he wanted, and the first thing that got my attention was the maze of stomp boxes he was using.

Although that wasn't the only problem with his rig, it was a good place to start, since everything was connected more or less haphazardly. Here's some info taken from The Ultimate Guitar Tone Handbook (written with the great player/composer/writer Rich Tozzoli), that can help you get a handle on your effects.

"A couple of the common negative side effects that occur with some stomp boxes is how much they change the sound when you don’t want them to. Here’s are 4 things that can happen: 

1. Tone Suck

Tone suck is a term that means the tone of your guitar changes by simply inserting a pedal in between your guitar and amp, even if it isn’t turned on. The reason this happens is because your guitar signal still runs through some of the pedal’s circuitry even without the effect switched in. That circuitry degrades the signal either by changing the frequency response a bit, or by decreasing the volume a bit. Either way, this is not something we want if we’re to maintain that great tone that we hopefully started with. 

There are two answers for this:

• True-Bypass means that when the effect is switch off, the signal totally bypasses all the circuitry so the pedal has zero influence on the sound as long as it’s not switched in. This is a rather recent development in the grand scheme of pedal building (since about the late 90’s) and just about all boutique pedal manufacturers use True Bypass as a sales feature these days.

• Bypass via a switching network. Sometimes you have an effect that you just can’t live without but you hate what it does to your tone when it’s bypassed, so the only thing to do is bypass it externally with a switching network. These systems can be small and relatively inexpensive (like the GigRig Pro14, Voodoo Lab Pedal Switcher, Commander and Ground Control, the Carl Martin Octaswitch and the TC Electronic G-System) or highly sophisticated like those from the famous Bob Bradshaw (click here to see a video about his switching systems and pedalboards).

One of the problems with true-bypass is that it gives the illusion that the volume and tone of the signal won’t ever change, but that’s not necessarily true. If you have a 15 foot cable from your guitar to your pedalboard, a one foot cable between each of your 15 stomp boxes, and another 15 foot cable to your amp, that’s 45 combined feet of cable, which will degrade your signal! There are ways around this with buffers (a unity gain amplifier) and loop-switching systems like the ones mentioned above, but many players never consider the consequences of just what could happen by the simple fact of connecting all those pedals together.

2. Noise Buildup

The next problem that happens with effects in the signal chain is the noise buildup that occurs when you switch them on (or even when they’re switched off if they don’t have true bypass). This can be anywhere from a slight escalation in the noise floor to the sound of a full-on hurricane, depending upon the gain of the device or devices. There are three reasons why this happens.

• Each device adds a bit of it’s own inherent noise. Some devices are designed better than others (they’re usually more expensive as a result) and keeping the noise floor down is one of the byproducts of a better design.

• The type of power being used. Although many effects can run on a 9 volt battery, they’re actually designed for 12 volt use. If you use an external AC supply, the noise level can drop considerably. Be aware that the noise floor can also rise in some pedals as the voltage drops from a weak battery.

• The input stage of the amplifier. A typical amp input stage is looking for the relatively small signal coming directly from a guitar, which it will then boost up as much as 50 times. If the gain from a pedal is cranked up, it will still be boosted by that 50 times despite where the volume control is set at on some amps. This means that your noise floor just went down the drain.

3. The Wrong Effects Order

There are two things that will directly affect how your effects interface with your amp; the effects order and gain staging. Effects order means the order that each pedal appears in the the signal chain between the guitar and amplifier. There are several schools of thought on effects order, and they each have a different result.

School Of Thought #1

This effects chain is the order generally recommended by most of the pedal gurus. There are several rules that make up this order:

• Any distortion pedal must come first right after the guitar. The exception is if you’re using a compressor pedal, which will be first in the chain. Do not put a volume pedal first, as this can alter the way a compressor or distortion pedal sounds.

• Any modulation or tone devices like wahs should come next. This enables you to keep the sustain coming from your distortion or overdrive devices and alter an already harmonically rich signal.

• Delays come almost last in the chain, since you want to be delaying your already effected signal.

• A volume pedal comes either last in the chain, or directly in front of any delay.

• In situations where a pedal is providing a lot of clean gain, that will come last in the chain so as not to overload any of the other pedals.

So a typical effects order might go something like:

 compressor --> distortion --> wah --> chorus --> delay --> volume pedal (see the graphic on the left)

While this might not be the quietest order, it does sound really good because any distortion, overdrive, or sustain is being affected by the effects that come behind it.

School Of Thought #2

If we’re talking about recording, we may want the least amount of noise going into the amp. With that in mind, there are two rules in this scenario:

• The noisiest pedal goes last in the chain before the amp.

• The one with the most gain goes last before the amp.

The reason for both of the above points is simple; if the noisiest pedal is first in the chain, that noise will be affected and amplified further by every other pedal in the chain that you switch on. Same with the pedal with the most gain; if it’s at the beginning of the chain, it could possibly overload any other effect that comes after it, since most pedals only want to see a typical guitar signal and nothing greater (see Figure 4). Also, any noise caused by increasing the gain on a pedal will be amplified downstream by any other pedal switched on.

Generally, you’ll try to keep the basic order as in School of Thought #1 in order to be sure that any distortion or sustain is affected by the effects placed later in the chain. That being said, this order won’t sound the same as Order #2, especially if a distortion pedal is placed last in the chain (which isn’t recommended) because of its gain, so it might not be for everyone.

4. Improper Gain Staging 

Proper gain staging means adjusting the gain of each effects device to keep the noise at it’s lowest and prevent overloading of any device after it. Since almost all pedals have output gain controls these days, the best way is to adjust all the output controls so the gain is exactly the same whether they’re switched on or off. If you’re running a distortion or overdrive pedal, put that last in the order, and increase the output level of that one pedal up to the sound that you like.

If you follow the above suggestions, you’ll find that your signal chain should clean up quite a bit and your recordings should benefit greatly as a result."

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Ellie Goulding "Lights" Song Analysis

Here's a song analysis of a top 10 hit by Ellie Goulding called "Lights." The song is the title song from the album of the same name (Lights), and was the 6th hit single from the album in the UK. The single was certified platinum in the US in May of 2012 with sales of 1.9 million. Interestingly, most of the recording was done in producer Starsmith's (Finely Dow Smith) bedroom.

As with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.

The Song
"Lights" has a slightly unusual form in the there's both a verse B section and a chorus B section. The form looks like this:

Intro, verse, B section, chorus, chorus B section, verse, B section, chorus, chorus B section, 

Bridge, Chorus (no vocals), chorus, chorus B section, outro, intro

What happens is that the chorus hook comes back in after the chorus B section, which makes the chorus a lot longer than normal.


The bridge is also interesting in that it's instrumental, followed by an instrumental first half of the chorus. This is a way to add both length and interest to the song.


The song has a pretty strong melody in every section, and, which is unusual for a pop song these days, and it differs considerably from section to section.

The lyrics paint an abstract picture which isn't to easy to understand, but the rhymes don't seem forced, even though the content may be a little thin.

The Arrangement
Like most hits, the arrangement for "Lights" is based around each section changing both instrument-wise and dynamically.

The song begins with an arpeggiated synth by itself, then joined on the verse by the lead vocal. There are no additional instruments until the chorus, when both a synth bass and a high pad enter along with doubled male and lead vocals. The kick drum enters on the chorus B section.

On the second verse the song breaks down again to the arpeggiated synth, but programmed drums and a strumming guitar are added as well. The 2nd B section also includes a high harmony of the meloldy line. The second chorus has the drums continue playing (unlike the first chorus) and an additional synth pad is added.

The bridge is another breakdown back to the drums and arpeggiated synth, but a cello-like synth plays the melody, which all ends in a record-like slowdown. The chorus then begins with the same instrumentation as the 2nd chorus, with the addition of a tom fill and the vocals singing only "Lights," which ends in another slowdown.

The 3rd chorus then continues with the same instrumentation including the tom fills. The outro is over the chorus chord pattern with the same instruments, but the background vocals again sing "Lights." The lead vocal ad libs, and on the 3rd time through the pattern the chord changes go up instead of down. The song ends just as it began, with the lone arpeggiated synth.

The arrangement elements look like this:
  * The Foundation: programmed drums, synth bass

  * The Rhythm: arpeggiated synth and rhythm guitar on verses

  * The Pad: low and very high synths in the choruses and bridge

  *The Lead: vocal

  * The Fills: vocal answers

The Sound
Unlike so many pop songs these days, the sound of "Lights" is pretty clean with little distortion. There are no overt ambiences, except for the many delays that occurs on the vocals and the ping pong delay on the arpeggiated synth. The vocal is very breathy and in your face during the first verse, and although it's compressed, doesn't feel squashed. All in all, it's a really good sounding recording.

The Production
Like most hits, it's the many little things that sometime make a production. Listen to the delays on the lead vocal that occur on only one side of the soundfield. Listen to the doubled lead vocals in the vocals that are spread left and right, as well as the low male vocals. Listen to the toms in the last chorus as they push the song along as does the rhythm guitar in the verse. Check out the stutter edits on the vocal on the outro. Listen to how the song builds in the chorus, then breathes a bit with fewer instruments during the verse. These are the things that keep a song interesting, an element that is vital in all hits.

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Career Tips From Henry Rollins

Ex-Black Flag lead singer Henry Rollins has gone on to so much after the band broke up, to being an author, actor, television and radio host, to solo artist. In this video Henry tells of his humble beginnings scooping ice cream in Washington DC, to how he got his break, to the personal secrets that lead to his many careers.

Take note that Henry doesn't consider himself to have a lot of talent, but his tips on how he's overcome that to have any carrer at all are priceless.

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Motown Loses Its Bottom End

When musicians, especially bass players, refer to Motown records of the 60's and early 70's, they  usually think about the late great James Jamerson, who anchored many, but not all of those great hits. A bass player who played on just as many hits but has never gotten nearly as much acclaim is Bob Babbitt, who played on big hits like Smokey Robinson's "Tears Of A Clown," Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy Me," Gladys Night and the Pips "Midnight Train To Georgia," The Capitol's "Cool Jerk" and many more.

Bob was as much a part of the legendary Funk Brothers as Jamerson, and he was featured in the excellent Standing In The Shadow Of Motown movie and all of their subsequent concert tours. Sadly, Bob passed away yesterday at age 73, but you can get a feel for this great and humble man from this video, where Bob explains how he got his break into the fairly closed Motown family.



There's an excellent article about Bob's life and the many hits he played on in the Tennessean that's well worth the read.

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Ken Scott At The Grammy Museum This Thursday

For those of you who live in the Los Angeles area, legendary producer Ken Scott will be giving one of his excellent talks at The Grammy Museum this Thursday July 19 at 7:30 PM.

Ken's stories about his career are great, but the highlight for me is when he plays some tracks from George Harrison and David Bowie and breaks them down in a way that few people outside of the studio have ever heard.

Tickets are limited since the Grammy Museum auditorium is rather small, and you can buy them online on their website.

If you can't make it, you can read all the stories and many more in Ken's Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust memoir.

4 Isolated McCartney Bass Lines

We all know Paul McCartney as a fabulous songwriter and singer, but it's easy to overlook what an influential bass player he is as well. Paul, along with MoTown's James Jamerson, changed bass playing from laying down a foundation of root notes to a melodic thing of beauty. Although I don't think the following video is comprised of the best examples of Paul's genius, it does give you an idea of his style.

You'll hear individual snippets from the songs "With A Little Help From My Friends," "Come Together,""Golden Slumbers," and "Band On The Run" with the bass mostly isolated. Sometimes you'll hear other instruments also on the bass track (like the tambourine on "Help From My Friends"), which wasn't all that unusual, according to Beatle engineer Ken Scott's book Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust (which I was lucky enough to help him write). Have a listen.

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4 Ways The Internet Could Go Down

Technicians lay an undersea fiber-optic cable

Since so much of our everyday lives revolve around the Internet, the last thing we ever want to think about is the entire Internet going down and taking us back to the stone age (or what would seem like it). Imagine: no more writing collaborations, no more software updates, no more communicating with a client, no more social media marketing, no more music streaming and downloads.

While most of us believe that the Internet is super robust, fault-tolerant and distributed (which it is), here are 4 doomsday scenarios that could cause an Internet blackout, as described in this article for CNN:

1. Space Weather: Space weather is primarily dictated by the sun, and even though it's 92 million miles away, solar flares have reeked havoc on us before. Solar flares as far back as 1859 caused telegraph lines to burn, and in 1998 took out satellites from the US, Germany, Japan, NASA and Motorola. Another one in 1989 took out the power in Quebec and halted the Toronto stock exchange for 3 hours. These solar flares, while large, are small compared to the potential damage from "the big one." Don't forget that we're about to head into the next cycle of solar activity that will peak in mid-2013.

2. Cyber Warfare: We've already seen what could happen with Stuxnet as it took down the Iranian nuclear program for a bit. Although military communications are somewhat hardened, we've been warned time and again what could happen to our power grid, communications networks and water systems under the right cyber circumstances. And a cyber attack would be launched over the Interent, which may prompt the military to attempt to shut it down (some say they have the capability). Be happy we don't know what we don't know.

3. Political Mandate: Speaking of shutting it down, there's been legislation on the table to install an "Internet Kill Switch" that gives the president "emergency authority to shut down private sector or government networks in the event of a cyber attack capable of causing massive damage or loss of life." While this isn't legislated yet (the kill switch might not even be possible), some unknown and unpublicized attack could cause our modem lights to glow red while we scratch our heads why.

4. Cable Cutting: 99% of global Internet traffic depends upon deep-sea fiber-optic cables on the ocean floor. A little snip here and another there, and guess what? No more Internet. Don't laugh, this already happened in 2008 when 2 undersea cables were severed, causing 75% of the communications with Europe and the Middle East to go away. Then a few days later another was cut near Dubai, then a few more days later, two more were cut off the coast of Malaysia. Guess what? No one knows how or why. Investigation showed no ships in the areas 12 hours before or after, and the mystery continues until this day.

So if you think that your Internet, no matter how slow and pokey it may be, is safe. Think again. For a lot more on the subject, read the CNN article.

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Will The Real Dylan Strat Please Stand Up

Most stories involving a guitar revolve around one that was stolen and sometimes returned (like Peter Frampton's famous Les Paul). This one's different because of the claim that a famous guitar was not stolen or lost.

It all revolves around the Strat that Bob Dylan used at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, which was significant because it was the first show that he did electric, which almost caused a riot with the purist acoustic fans there.

The PBS television show History Detectives claims to have Dylan's Strat from that show, found by a New Jersey women in her woman's attic. The women's father was a pilot for Dylan's private plane at the time and claimed that the guitar was accidentally left behind. He tried to get in touch with Dylan several times afterwards but was never able, then passed away in 1977. Not only did the case (marked "Property of Ashes & Sand Inc," Dylan's tour company at the time) have the sunburst Strat, but also contained several pages of lyrics. The show brought in several rock and guitar historians who feel that they've authenticated the guitar and lyrics beyond a shadow of a doubt.

End of story, right? Not really. Dylan's attorney issued a statement stating that the original guitar played at the festival was still in his possession, and that he didn't use a private plane for show, driving down from his home in Woodstock, NY instead.

So who's right here? Having just co-written a book that relied on people's memories of events from long ago (Ken Scott's Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust), I can say that the memory can be a fuzzy thing. Dylan could easily be thinking of a different show. I guess we'll have to watch the show to see the evidence presented.

One thing's for sure, the guitar is valued at $1 million +, but the women isn't selling.

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