National Anthem - Jimi Hendrix

1969. August 18th. 9:00am. Sunday. Woodstock, New York.

Hendrix walks on stage.  A morning crowd of around 200,000 hippies cheer for him as his new band mates join him.  The next 2 hours will reverberate through rock history and leave a lasting impact on the music world.

Hendrix would end this infamous set with a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that would embody the Woodstock experience, the 60s movement, and an entire generation.

But why?

What is so pivotal about that single performance? Why isn't the rest of the 2 hour long set referenced so commonly as this one solo piece at the end?

Is it the brutal distorted guitar in the hands of the greatest guitarist ever?
Or maybe there is something anti-American about a discharged army man playing the National Anthem?
Or maybe its even deeper...
The answer requires a little analysis.

To understand the genius of this performance, we first need a little context.  Vietnam has been raging for over 14 years at this point.  The counter culture is pushing back against a war it does not want to fight.  Hendrix has served and been discharged from an Army he hated. He had something to say, and this was his moment.

Analysis:

We begin with the timbre, or unique sound of the full-tone and overdrive-rich guitar, Hendrix screams out the first 6 notes of the piece in a triumphant hail of pure tone, letting the feedback add to the noise.  He ends the first phrase and starts the next, "Whose broad strips..." adding a lot of hammer-ons and letting the guitar ring out over the crowd.  During the lyric 'ramparts we watched', Hendrix employs a slow bend down to the Dominant chord.  So far, the piece cuts through as a bold and patriotic homage to our great country.  The genius has yet to begin, however.

"Through the rockets red glare," is followed by an immediate bend out of the tonic key, followed by a distorted mess of feedback, seemingly random chord choices and sounds of Hendrix literally hitting his guitar.  What is this sudden section!?! What is happening?!  Well, think of the next lyric in the Star-Spangled Banner: "The bombs bursting in air."  Hendrix is using sound to paint us an image, an image of the American flag flying triumphantly above explosions, distortion and random high squeals of pain.  Many may listen to this section and misunderstand, but Hendrix is actually painting us a musical image, and it is not a pretty picture.

About 30 seconds into this "B" section of the piece we hear tritones (a typically dissonant interval), hammer-ons and a slow bend of the whammy bar to give us a melting sensation.  Some speculate you can hear the sound of helicopters in his playing, while others believe you can hear the screams of the victims of the bombs.  Either way, this is an obvious statement about America's involvement in Vietnam.

The bombs continue to explode in our ears for nearly 80 seconds before we hear a return to the melody.  We hear a single line from the anthem before Hendrix begins playing Taps, known for being played at soldier's funerals.  Here he slams the whammy bar back and forth to create a pulsing, in my opinion this is the first time we hear helicopters.  As soldier's die they are buried and Taps is played, only to have helicopters bring more soldiers.  

This performance is his statement of resistance, a statement of satire and a questioning of war.  It is iconic to a whole generation and possibly Jimi's most famous performance.  

Neil Young with the Foo Fighters and The Black Keys - Live At Central Park

It was a grueling run from Central Station to the Park, but I had to run.  I would not let myself miss another second of the Global Citizen's Fest, a concert to combat global poverty that featured rock titans such as The Black Keys, Foo Fighters and Neil Young with Crazy Horse.  Rapper K'naan also performed with the support of a female keyboardist, while John Legend brought his smooth voice for an unexpected performance of John Lennon's "Imagine".

The highlight of the night was Young's last peice, "Rockin In the Free World," where Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters and Dan Auberbach from The Black Keys returned to the stage to sing the chorus alongside the aged rocker.  The song lasted about 20 minutes.

Malkin Jewel - The Mars Volta

by Keelan Freitag

As a long-time fanatic, I usually describe The Mars Volta to friends as a modern day Led Zeppelin, with hints of Yes and Zappa, but produced in a more cinematic form.  Thirty minute long interludes of Cuban cricket chirps separate two (and I hate this word, but this calls for it) epic journeys of mixed time signatures, dissonant solos and intense builds in their album Francis the Mute, released in 2005.

The bands newest record, Noctourniquet, hit shelves last week and has had mixed reviews.  In the 70s prog rock style, The Mars Volta has changed with each album and fans seem to be unsure if they like this new direction.

The first single released before the album dropped was Malkin Jewel.

Seen pictured above, guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez and singer Cedric Bixlar-Zavala (or whatever...weird names right?) have been life-long friends, having grown up in El Paso together.  They gained critical acclaim after the formation of their post-hardcore experimental band, At The Drive-In.  After ATDI dissolved, some members formed Sparta, while Cedric and Omar started The Mars Volta.

Prior to ATDI, Cedric and Omar recorded psychedelic dub tracks under the band name De Facto.  The Volta's newest track sounds to me like a mixture of ATDI and De Facto.

Youtuber, JaminMr, had this to say about the song:

"TMV, regrettably, has drastically evolved since de-loused and Frances [The Mute].  I see them gravitating more towards new age punk and hardcore genres.  The first half of the song was weak, following a simple, ska-like chord progression, the singing has so much less range than their earlier material, a lack of distinct basslines...I hope this song does not reflect the quality of the album."


Cedrics lyrics have always been cryptic and there is the cinematic feel to the piece, where the first 'A' section (the simple 'ska-like' progression) builds into a raucous climax in the 'B' section.  There is not the same complexity, however, that has been the staple of their previous albums.  The energy and hallucinogenic feel to their music has evolved into something more: you can almost imagine the broadway play set this piece.

Many critics, however, say this is the best TMV album to date.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Brendan's Death Song

by Chris Chhoeun

Following a two year hiatus after a world tour in 2006,  the L.A rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers dropped their tenth studio album I’m With You.

Since long-time friend and guitarist John Frusciante left the band for personal reasons in 2009, the band joined with then 29 year old Josh Klinghoffer.

They immediately hit it off on the right foot, Klinghoffer saying “From day one, there was love, and that’s what you hear on the record.”

Brendan’s Death Song is one that caught my attention right away-- A lone melodic finger-picked guitar intro is a rare find as far as Chili Peppers songs go.

The song is a ballad and written for Brendan Mullen, a long-time friend of the band who had died just as the Chili Peppers began to write new material in 2009. Mullen died suddenly of a stroke.

Mullen’s first encounter with the Chilis came in 1983 when he booked to the band to play at Club Lingerie. Flea credits Mullen to be one of first real supporters of the Chili Peppers music.

“It’s a celebration,” said Kiedis.

The band is tight and on it’s game here, clearly focused on this homage. They build up slowly throughout the entirety of the track.

Kiedis’s vocals are particularly excellent in this song, easily hitting the notes on the higher end of his register throughout each verse.

The progression of guitar chords in the verses, combined with Kiedis’s melody line that seems to float effortlessly over Klinghoffer’s acoustic, come together with such, as cheesy as it sounds, beauty.

“And when you hear this you’ll know it’s your jam, it’s your goodbye.”

After about a minute of Kiedis and Klinghoffer serenading us, Flea and Smith slowly come in the background and lead to the chorus.

“Like I said, you know I’m almost dead, you know I’m almost gone.”

When I first heard this chorus, it literally gave me goosebumps. Kiedis gives it all he has, singing the tribute to Brendan. He’s not afraid of what’s going to come next after life; it’s a song less about fear and more about acceptance and resolution.

It’s kind of reminiscent of the way Kieidis and Flea used to live when they were younger, without a care of what anyone thought about them.

After the first chorus, the song continues into the second verse with the entire band playing, unlike most of the first when it was just axe and vocals.

Klinghoffer’s high-pitched background vocals eerily accompany Kiedis for this verse, and an eerie vibe that Mullen is singing the back vox.

After another round of the chorus, they go into an instrumental interlude of heavy, distorted eighth notes before powering into the final chorus and outro.

Kiedis is singing his heart out; I’ve literally never heard him hit notes so high on the staff. It’s like a final goodbye huzzah, very appropriate since Brendan passed only a few days after his 60th birthday.

“Let me live so when it’s time to die, even the reaper cries.”

The song slows and fades, with the the guitar ending on a glooming E minor chord; Brendan’s last moments of life before he stops breathing.

The melody sticks in your head like American cheese. If you haven’t already, I suggest giving the whole I’m With You a good listen.

Nine Inch Nails - Right Where It Belongs

In May of 2003 Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor wrote lyrics that one youtuber called "lonely but alive."  The lyrics formed a song, with gentle two note piano motifs and root-note octave jumps on a distorted synth.  The song is called 'Right Where It Belong.'

Here is a video of the song:

Nine Inch Nails has produced 8 studio albums since their formation in 1988, while Reznor has been called one of the musical geniuses of our time.  He described himself in a Rollingstone interview as "a snarling guy sweating on the mic," but in this song, the snarls turn to an existential loneliness.

The song begins in the minor, with a fuzzy, distorted synth behind Reznor's playful piano line.  lready we have set the tone, with the piano characterizing a human side to a background of industrial breathing.  Reznor's voice sounds faded and muffled, almost hidden behind some barrier.  The lyrics depict an animal at the zoo, questioning, "Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?"  Imagine Reznor, on stage, sulking over piano keys, staring out at the huge audience.  He is that animal.  He is unsure of which side of the glass he is on.

At 1:09 we get a tonal shift to the relative major as Reznor sings, "What if everything around you isn't quite as it seems?"

And then, around 3:10 into the song, the bass notes in the synth become clearer.  Reznor asks, "Are you hiding in the trees?"  His voice steps out to the front of the mix.  You can literally imagine the lights on stage shining on him as he sings to the audience.  You can even hear the audience as they scream; curtains up! This is Reznor's reality! College professors would used the term 'word painting', but whatever the lingo...it is poignant and clever.

"What if everything around you isn't quite as it seems?
What is all the world you used to know is an elaborate dream?"

With the audience surrounding him, onstage or off, Reznor digs into nihilistic and existential philosophies in an industrial modern era.

Fun Fact: There is an alternate version of this song!
Check it out HERE