Crazy Train atau Peace Train?

Tajuk notes Yusuf Islam agak pelik hari ni, Clash of the Crazy Peace Trains. Sehinggalah aku ternampak gambar ini..

Yusuf and Ozzy at Rally to Restore Sanity, 30 Oct 2010.

Ya! Ozzy Osbourne di situ. Rupa-rupanya ada pertembungan keretapi Ozzy dan Yusuf. Layan dulu video nih..

Jadi nak naik mana satu, "Crazy Train" atau "Peace Train"? Mari kita lihat apa kata Ozzy..

"Gua pilih Peace Train!" sambil menunjuk isyarat peace di tangannya.

P.S: Menurut Rolling Stone, selepas itu ada kemunculan O'Jays dengan lagu "Love Train". Haih, banyak pulak keretapi nak lalu..

Soal jawab bersama Steve Hackett

Antara sebab aku tabik Steve Hackett adalah dia akan menjawab setiap soalan yang diajukan kepadanya. Gitaris bertaraf legenda dahulunya band Genesis ini memang tak jemu-jemu menjawab soalan peminatnya walaupun dia tengah sibuk dengan tour.

Kebiasaannya kalau sebut Genesis orang akan ingat Phil Collins sebagai frontman. Steve Hackett walaubagaimanapun lebih dikenali sebagai lead guitarist kumpulan itu ketika Peter Gabriel sebagai frontman.

Selepas Peter Gabriel keluar, Steve Hackett hanya buat dua album dengan Genesis dan akhirnya dia pun mengikut jejak langkah Peter Gabriel sebagai artis solo. Kesan daripada pengunduran Steve Hackett, hala tuju Genesis mula berubah daripada progressive rock kepada muzik ringan pop rock yang dikepalai oleh Phil Collins.

Kepada yang tak dapat lagi gambaran siapakah Steve Hackett dan sumbangannya dalam dunia muzik, dia antara orang terawal yang bereksperimen dengan teknik tapping sebelum dipopularkan oleh Van Hallen, sama jugak dengan teknik sweep-picking sebelum dipopularkan oleh Yngwie Malmsteen.

Sesi soal jawab ini dikendalikan oleh Steph Kennedy melalui facebook yang bertindak mengumpul dan menghantar soalan-soalan kepada Steve Hackett. Aku antara orang yang sempat bertanyakan soalan kepadanya. Selamat membaca!

Alison Henderson: You were seen at the Porcupine Tree gig at the RAH and appeared with Transatlantic at High Voltage. Which other bands do you think carry the torch for prog rock currently.

Hi Alison, I think Mews are a prog band in spirit and I loved the Porcupine Tree gig. I've just done some work recently with Steven Wilson and we've become friends. I'm looking forward to having him onboard at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Hope you can come!

Tal Eylon: Is there any new album planned?

Hi Tal, yes I'm working on it for next year. Meanwhile there's a live one that'll be available both on tour and online.

Zulhelmi Sabri: What is the latest album you've listened to?

Hi Zulhelmi, the last album I was listening to was a collection of the works of Grieg.

Bora Çetin: I want to ask something from last album; "Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth". I wonder about the last song; "Last Train To Istanbul"? It's very exciting for me (and sure all Turkish fans). Will you please tell me, the story behind this song? Thank yo...u. Best wishes from Istanbul.

Hi Bora, I heard some great Turkish music in Sarajevo, Bosnia wafting through the air in a bazaar. I was impressed by both the place and the music. My partner Jo said that she remembered a similar atmosphere in Istanbul. I'd really like to go there sometime.

Will Fender Mellors: Hi Steve, I play guitar and I wondered what equipment you use to acheive your guitar sounds? Best wishes from Devon.

Hi Will, these days I use a Fernandes sustainer plus a Sans Amp plus various reverbs and echoes. My latest toy is a digitech whammy pedal.

Ramiro Ezequiel Moreno: I wanna know what your distortion/overdrive pedal of choice is. I wanna nail those "Firth of Fifth" tones.

Hi Ramiro, the Sans Amp is the one I use these days. Originally I used a tonebender plus an echoplex.

Eargasm! Oh yeah..

Jim Buntinx: Did you ever had the chance to meet Andrès Segovia (or any other icon of the classical guitar) in person? What was the most enlightening comment you had from him that might have influenced you in your work?

Hi Jim, I never met Andres Segovia but saw him play live in London. He's perhaps the most magical guitarist of all time. I haven't met any of my classical guitar heroes.

Jon Dahms: We know you are a modest guy Steve but the writing and sound on A Trick of the Tail & Wind & Wuthering are utter legend. The live sound on Seconds Out is just stunning... how did you develop that unique sound?

Hi Jon, at times I tried to make the guitar sound like a violin but sometimes it sounds more like brass. The electric has a versatile character which can sound very much like a woman's voice from time to time...

Lee Ritchie: Hello Steve, hello Jo. I know I keep mentioning it but - Hammer in the Sand - how did that title come about? Is there some meaning? It's still my favourite track by a long, long way. Please play it at Holmfirth. Pleeeeeeaaaase?

Hi Lee, I'm glad you like the track. I was thinking of Russia at the time and also Rachmaninov. Maybe we'll play it at some point down the line... I'm proud of that one.

Anthony Ferraro: Please, will the Live at Montreux 1980 see a proper release on DVD..

Hi Anthony, I hope so, at some point.

Tommy Seidita: Hi Steve, I recall reading when you auditioned with Genesis you had them come to your home and you and your brother played them some stuff you had written. I was wondering if that those tunes ever got used on any of your solo or Genesis' albums.

Hi Tommy, yes, we played the piece which became the coda of The Hermit on Voyage of the Acolyte.

Genesis ketika bersama dengan Peter Gabriel.

Andy W Nichols: Steve, do you have a particular favorite classical piece? Although not guitar, my hands down fav. is Bruch's violin concerto in G. Spine tingling!

Hi Andy, I'm a big classical fan. I like Bruch - in particular the violin concerto and his wonderful symphony no.3.

Dan Trachtenberg: Steve, When is the live album coming out? Any more NY dates?

I'm hoping that it'll be ready for the UK tour next month. No more NY dates yet, but looking into more USA dates for next year.

Bob Humphrey: Love the classical albums. Any chance of playing live in full with orchestra? Not cheap sure but what about as part of the Proms? What a great show it would be!

Hi Bob, sounds like a good idea. I'll try to fit it round the rock 'n roll and I'd love to play with an orchestra again sometime.

Mike Grant: When Steve left Genesis, what motivated this move from such a successful band and did he ever regret this move at the time?

Hi Mike, the lure of new music unfettered by committee decisions proved irresistible. I was unsure at first but I didn't regret the move.

Mark Feggeler: If you could pick a few dream musicians to collaborate with for a special song or two, regardless of the difficulty of recreating the song on the road without them, who would they be?

Hi Mark, I'd love to play with Anthony Phillips, Graham Nash and Ritchie Havens.

Sally Ing: My favourite Beatle was George Harrison, he wrote many beautiful melodies, some of them still signifcant today. Who was your favourite, if you had one. I`m a nightowl but also a daydreamer do either you or Jo have these traits and do you find that it helps to be so when you`re composing your music? Sorry that this question comes late. Have just finished getting my 8 yo & 3 1/2 yo`s uniforms and lunches ready for school.

Hi Sally, I love the Beatles both all together and individually - I don't have a favourite. I normally write first thing in the morning when others are still sleeping! Jo refers to either last thing at night or first thing in the morning as "the hour of poetry".

Many thanks everyone! Til the next time,

Warmest wishes,

Steve

• Untuk sesi soal jawab versi penuh, sila ke PART 1, PART 2 & PART 3.
• Kemungkinan akan ada kelibat piano klasikal ala Grieg untuk album yang akan datang.
• Seperti biasa akan ada lagi sesi soal jawab di facebook page Steve Hackett dalam dua atau tiga minggu sekali.
• Steve Hackett pernah datang ke Malaysia dan dia ada tulis pengalaman dan pandangannnya tentang Malaysia kat SINI.
  

Kenalkan, Syd Barrett yang gila..

Baru-baru ni ada sorang blogger, Moloko, katanya album Pink Floyd iaitu The Wall, antara album paling luar biasa manusia pernah hasilkan. Yup! Aku setuju.

The Wall sememangnya disenaraikan antara album terhebat dalam sejarah muzik. Dengan permainan gitarnya, penulisan lagu yang lari dari format 'radio friendly' dan albumnya yang mempunyai tema serta jalan cerita, ia menjadikan The Wall satu album yang akan dirujuk dan dikenang, setidak-tidaknya untuk penggemar muzik seperti aku.

 The Wall versi filem lakonan Bob Geldof

Suatu ketika dulu memang aku selalu dengar album ni. Pernah juga aku ditegur oleh bapak aku, dia berpesan dalam nada yang aku tak pasti samada melawak atau serius, "Jangan dengar sangatlah album tu.." Mungkinkah falsafah The Wall terlalu tinggi untuk pemikiran manusia biasa? Katanya, Pink Floyd memang suka berfalsafah.

Dari situ baru aku tahu yang bapak aku pun peminat Pink Floyd dan melalui ceritanya, animasi dalam filem The Wall adalah yang terbaik pada zamannya. Dia juga ada cerita yang sorang ahli Pink Floyd mengalami sakit mental dan terpaksa ditendang keluar. Whoa? Meh sini aku kenalkan ex-frontman Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett yang gila..

Syd Barrett (tengah)

Karya Syd Barrett mungkin kurang dikenali. Dia hanya sempat buat satu album dengan Pink Floyd dan dua studio album secara solo. Namun, impak karya dia yang jujur menjadi inpirasi kepada pemuzik lain antaranya David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Graham Coxon dan juga pemuzik tempatan kita, Mohd Jayzuan.

Karya Pink Floyd yang seterusnya pun sememangnya diinspirasikan daripada Syd Barrett samada ideanya tentang irama psychedelic atau tema mental illness yang dihadapinya. Tema ini jelas dalam album The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here dan sudah semestinya The Wall.

Pink Floyd

Aku pun dah lama tak ambil tahu pasal Pink Floyd. Jenguk-jenguk depa punya facebook page, sekali depa baru keluarkan album compilation Syd Barrett, tajuknya An Introduction to Syd Barrett.

On October 11th (November 9th for US) An Introduction To Syd Barrett, a brand new collection that will bring together for the first time the tracks of Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett on one compilation will be released. To experience the interactive 3D booklet and hear clips for all the tracks, click HERE.

Sekali tengok cover album ni memang tak tahan. Style! Macam familiar. Rupa-rupanya artwork ni dibuat oleh Storm Thogerson. Sapa-sapa yang layan muzik dan menghargai hasil kerja seni kulit album mesti kenal mamat nih.

Plus, kita siap boleh usha dia punya booklet dalam bentuk 3D lagi, perghh.. Link dia ada dalam description kat atas tu. Cucilah mata sampai lebam..

Trivia: Loque, gitaris Butterfingers dan sekarang frontman monoloQue dulu pernah post kat facebook dia, katanya dia start main gitar dengan lagu "In the Flesh", salah satu lagu dalam album The Wall.

John Lennon

Kalau perasan, tiga hari lepas logo Google lain sikit dan kalau tekan kat logo tu kita boleh tengok satu video dengan lagu daripada John Lennon. Sebenarnya 9 Oktober 2010 adalah hari di mana John Lennon sepatutnya berumur 70 tahun.

Jadi aku pun post link pasal benda ni kat facebook dan ada komen daripada sahabat aku yang menimbulkan satu persoalan. Adakah John Lennon seorang atheist? Katanya,

Tajuk lagu ni "Imagine". Lagu ni agak freethinker sikit kalau kau dengar lirik dia masa dia dengan Ono tu, dia tu lebih kurang ikon freethinkers sebelum kena tembak mati.

Kebanyakan daripada kita beranggapan freethinkers adalah atheist (disbelief in the existence of a god or gods). Dalam hal ni Filippino Freethinkers ada menyebut,

Freethought is not the same as atheism. Freethinking is a way of thinking that can lead to different conclusions. Although most freethinkers are nontheistic — atheists, agnostics, deists — many freethinkers still reach religious conclusions. However, theistic freethinkers do tend to have more liberal or progressive religious views than other believers.

John Lennon sememangnya agak lantang dalam mengkritik institusi keagamaan tetapi adakah dia seorang atheist? Ini jawapan John Lennon dalam interview terakhirnya,

People always got the image I was an anti-Christ or antireligion. I'm not. I'm a most religious fellow. I was brought up a Christian and I only now understand some of the things that Christ was saying in those parables. Because people got hooked on the teacher and missed the message.(Source: Playboy 1981)

Pada pendapat aku, mengkritik sesuatu institusi keagamaan dengan tidak percaya pada Tuhan adalah dua perkara yang berbeza.


Aku sentiasa mengingati John Lennon sebagai ikon keamanan, dan sebelum dia mati ditembak, John Lennon ada pergolakan dengan US disebabkan pengaruh dia yang kuat sebagai seorang yang cintakan keamanan.

Video di atas bagi aku memang terbaik. Rakaman temubual dilakukan oleh seorang remaja berumur 14 tahun yang menyelinap masuk ke dalam bilik John Lennon. Remaja ni menyamar sebagai seorang wartawan yang ingin bercakap berkenaan dengan hal-hal keamanan.

Antara kata-kata John Lennon dalam video ni yang menarik perhatian aku,

War is big business, you know, and they like war ’cause it keeps them fat and happy, and I’m antiwar so they’re trying to keep me out.

Do everything for peace. Piss for peace or smile for peace or go to school for peace or don’t go to school for peace. Whatever you do, just do it for peace.

His message is timeless. Peace & Love!

Gua dulu main dengan the Beatles. Lu tau ka?

Lagu baru Megadeth dan pengaruh awal Dave Mustaine yang mungkin anda tidak tahu

Lagu terbaru Megadeth, "Sudden Death" dibuat eksklusif untuk game Guitar Hero: Warior of Rock. Dengar intro pun dah kencang, mesti bersepah-sepah tangan budak-budak yang nak main lagu ni. Available for streaming on September 28. Berita penuh boleh baca SINI.

Sekadar nak berkongsi satu benda berkaitan Megadeth. Cerita agak lapuk tapi mungkin menarik kepada yang belum tahu. Ini tentang Dave Mustaine dan pengaruh awalnya dalam dunia muzik, iaitu Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam). Boleh tengok video di bawah..

Megadeth - Behind the Music

Dave Mustaine pun layan lagu folk Cat Stevens daa. Err.. dia juga ada sebut Elton John tapi aku rasa dia lebih suka Cat Stevens kot, sebab katanya,

I think that's where a lot of melody that I learned came from was, you know, Cat Stevens is a fantastic songwriter.

So, how about a collaboration between Megadeth and Yusuf Islam?

"Saya tak ada masalah. Lagipun saya memang minat lagu Peace Sells," kata pencipta lagu Peace Train ini.