New APPS

Art, Politics, Philosophy, Science. Mostly Philosophy.

recent posts

about

    The Church – Endless Sea (Orig. Iggy Pop)

    The guitarist is playing with an "EBow"! Does anybody remember those? They peaked in the 1980s.

    I love this song (and this is a credible, if truncated, cover), but I'm kind of glad we're back to using the fingers of our left (right for Cobain, Hendrix, et. al.) hand  to get the strings vibrating. I'd bet a decent sum of money that Scott Thurston employed old fashioned volume swells* in the original.

    [Notes:

    *Cf. Eddie Van Halen's "Cathedral" for a canonical example. Isaac Dinesen/Karen Blixen once wrote something to the effect that you've never truly lived until you've played this solo note-for-note in front of a four dozen or so intoxicated rednecks in a dilapidated rural AlabamaVFW hall.]

    Posted in

    6 responses to “The Church – Endless Sea (Orig. Iggy Pop)”

    1. James Avatar
      James

      I saw an e-bow in a concert only yesterday! They’re still cool!

      Like

      Reply
    2. Jon Cogburn Avatar
      Jon Cogburn

      Good to hear that some are still living the e-bow dream. When I posted the above I had just remembered it being de rigeur to use them in you cover band in Montgomery, Alabama in the 80s when playing U2’s “With or Without You.” Those were fun times.
      Your comment prompted me to do some more googling and I discovered this page (http://www.fasttopten.com/list/top-ten-songs-which-prominently-feature-the-ebow) showcasing the author’s favorite ten songs that prominently use the e-bow. It’s a pretty impressive list and the sounds are sweet.

      Like

      Reply
    3. Nathan Jun Avatar
      Nathan Jun

      E-bows were really big in shoegaze (in the early 90s) and postrock (mid-late 90s/early 00s). For a masterful example of late 90s e-bow, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy7wcL8DBjk

      Like

      Reply
    4. Jon Cogburn Avatar
      Jon Cogburn

      Wow! That’s gorgeous. It’s wonderful over the acoustic.
      When used to not just hang out on one note, the phrasing ends up being a little bit like backwards guitar playing in the Beatles’ “I’m Only Sleeping” or Hendrix’s “Castle’s Made of Sand” and “Are You Experienced?” But you can play it regularly without reversing the tapes.
      Great stuff. I think I’m going to order one.

      Like

      Reply
    5. matt w Avatar
      matt w

      The e-bow dream is even still alive on piano! Dutch piano player Cor Fuhler has been known to use an e-bow inside the piano (http://www.doek.org/project/cor-fuhler); I’ve heard this a bit on his trio with Michael Moore (not that one) and Tristan Honsinger, Monitor.

      Like

      Reply
    6. Jon Cogburn Avatar
      Jon Cogburn

      Cool stuff!

      Like

      Reply

    Leave a comment