New TPS - Graham Coxon

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  • menamestommenamestom Frets: 4641

    I found it interesting.  Not my kind of player usually but I appreciate the different angle and it's quite refreshing to hear his slant on the guitar.  I think the players who go the less conventional route end up with really individual sounds.
    I'm no Blur fan, they kind of passed me by but when he was playing the delayed chords you can see how that style fills stadiums well.

    That said I made it through half an hour and that was enough, it gave me an insight and appreciation of the guy, but D&M get a bit much for me after a certain amount of time (as do most of the YT presenters)
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  • dindude said:
    Great to see someone a bit different to the norm on TPS, always loved Coxon, but seriously Dan and Mick were out of their depth. Seemed their reference points stretched no further than hearing Coffe and TV and Song 2 on the radio - there’s so much more that should have been explored if they’d known their stuff (I for one could have filled 2hours of questions just on Modern Life is Rubbish related stuff) - very frustrating. 
    Same here, Modern Life is their best I think. When a guitarist that good shows they really aren't into fancy gear that much, it makes you think.
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  • mixolydmixolyd Frets: 826
    Matt_McG said:
    Pretty early in his solo career this, so not recent, but still a blindingly catchy song:



    I think there's a fair bit of self-deprecation on display with Coxon, a lot of his stuff isn't trivial to play, whether that's chord voicing or time feel, even if he doesn't think of himself as a technical player.
    Excellent tune and an obvious example of the arrangement technique Coxon described on the show: step on a pedal at the start of every chorus.
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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10337
    dindude said:
    Great to see someone a bit different to the norm on TPS, always loved Coxon, but seriously Dan and Mick were out of their depth. Seemed their reference points stretched no further than hearing Coffe and TV and Song 2 on the radio - there’s so much more that should have been explored if they’d known their stuff (I for one could have filled 2hours of questions just on Modern Life is Rubbish related stuff) - very frustrating. 
    Same here, Modern Life is their best I think. When a guitarist that good shows they really aren't into fancy gear that much, it makes you think.
    He's a song writer.
    That's the biggest difference, a typical guitarist looks at his part and his sound etc but tends to forget the more important things around him like the song it's self, complementing what the rhythm section is doing and something I've rarely ever seen with other guitarists, not playing all the time.
    Music should be about note choice and composition first and foremost, not handwand boutique pickups with bumble bee caps and tonewoods going through lava cables into your kot and Marshall half stack etc

    I'll get back in my box
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • pmgpmg Frets: 298
    dindude said:
    Great to see someone a bit different to the norm on TPS, always loved Coxon, but seriously Dan and Mick were out of their depth. Seemed their reference points stretched no further than hearing Coffe and TV and Song 2 on the radio - there’s so much more that should have been explored if they’d known their stuff (I for one could have filled 2hours of questions just on Modern Life is Rubbish related stuff) - very frustrating. 
    Same here, Modern Life is their best I think. When a guitarist that good shows they really aren't into fancy gear that much, it makes you think.
    He's a song writer.
    That's the biggest difference, a typical guitarist looks at his part and his sound etc but tends to forget the more important things around him like the song it's self, complementing what the rhythm section is doing and something I've rarely ever seen with other guitarists, not playing all the time.
    Music should be about note choice and composition first and foremost, not handwand boutique pickups with bumble bee caps and tonewoods going through lava cables into your kot and Marshall half stack etc

    I'll get back in my box
    Wisest post I’ve seen on the forum. I wholeheartedly agree
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  • cgumtreecgumtree Frets: 35
    Really enjoyed it - never seen Graham seem so relaxed during an interview. Seemed like he was keen to play more and demo more Blur tones, but Dan + Mick didn't seem interested! Was hoping to be able to learn some more of Graham's parts after the Charmless Man intro.

    Interesting to hear him talk about the working relationship with Damon. Sounded like Graham was operating more like a session player, getting in and coming up with parts quickly and laying them down. I imagined it was a more collaborative process with Blur.
     
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  • mixolydmixolyd Frets: 826
    cgumtree said:
    Really enjoyed it - never seen Graham seem so relaxed during an interview. Seemed like he was keen to play more and demo more Blur tones, but Dan + Mick didn't seem interested! Was hoping to be able to learn some more of Graham's parts after the Charmless Man intro.

    Interesting to hear him talk about the working relationship with Damon. Sounded like Graham was operating more like a session player, getting in and coming up with parts quickly and laying them down. I imagined it was a more collaborative process with Blur.
     
    There is an interesting video somewhere on YouTube that goes into Blur’s process.  Albarn would turn up with demos worked out on his 4/8 track cassette recorder complete with bass, percussion, guitar, synth and anything else he found pleasing.  He also liked to restrict himself to E shape barre chords for the guitar in order to force more creativity elsewhere.  The four track even had a little mic built in which explains quirks like the whistling on Song 2.

    I think this context explains a lot about Coxon’s playing: he wasn’t just being given chords and a melody line to work from it was an adhoc, lofi arrangement full of hooks and clues as to what shape a guitar part might take to achieve similar effect.

    It also explains Albarn’s success upon leaving Blur - he just continued churning out the demos and found new collaborators to help flesh them out.
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  • dindude said:
    Great to see someone a bit different to the norm on TPS, always loved Coxon, but seriously Dan and Mick were out of their depth. Seemed their reference points stretched no further than hearing Coffe and TV and Song 2 on the radio - there’s so much more that should have been explored if they’d known their stuff (I for one could have filled 2hours of questions just on Modern Life is Rubbish related stuff) - very frustrating. 
    Same here, Modern Life is their best I think. When a guitarist that good shows they really aren't into fancy gear that much, it makes you think.
    He's a song writer.
    That's the biggest difference, a typical guitarist looks at his part and his sound etc but tends to forget the more important things around him like the song it's self, complementing what the rhythm section is doing and something I've rarely ever seen with other guitarists, not playing all the time.
    Music should be about note choice and composition first and foremost, not handwand boutique pickups with bumble bee caps and tonewoods going through lava cables into your kot and Marshall half stack etc

    I'll get back in my box
    Buckets of wisdom.
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  • I thought he came across as a bumbling idiot, fumbling through his sentences and incoherently explaining how he gets his awful tone....

    Ill get my coat
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  • How did he get that momentary trem at the beginning of Oily Water, though?
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  • That’s my type of guitar playing. Total dude.
    This is why I hated guitar magazines growing up. I wanted to play guitar like Coxon, Marr, McCabe, Butler, and all I got was multi-page features on Vai/Malmsteen etc. Graham Coxon's work has always been very much my kind of guitar playing as well.
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  • mixolydmixolyd Frets: 826
    That’s my type of guitar playing. Total dude.
    This is why I hated guitar magazines growing up. I wanted to play guitar like Coxon, Marr, McCabe, Butler, and all I got was multi-page features on Vai/Malmsteen etc. Graham Coxon's work has always been very much my kind of guitar playing as well.
    I had that problem too: it really held back my development for years not having access to insight on the what, why and how of popular/indie guitar music.  Now I realise that the guys writing for those magazines mostly didn’t have the insight as to what guitarists who wrote for the song were doing.
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  • dariusdarius Frets: 619
    That’s my type of guitar playing. Total dude.
    This is why I hated guitar magazines growing up. I wanted to play guitar like Coxon, Marr, McCabe, Butler, and all I got was multi-page features on Vai/Malmsteen etc. Graham Coxon's work has always been very much my kind of guitar playing as well.
    This bugged me too. I liked EVH, Satch, Vai and so I liked the guitar mags, but i knew i wasnt learning anything about any other type of player, which always felt narrow. Easier now of course!
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  • LebarqueLebarque Frets: 3755
    I thought he came across as a bumbling idiot, fumbling through his sentences and incoherently explaining how he gets his awful tone....

    Ill get my coat
    Weed. I love his approach though.
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  • Musicman20Musicman20 Frets: 2296
    edited March 2018
    That’s my type of guitar playing. Total dude.
    This is why I hated guitar magazines growing up. I wanted to play guitar like Coxon, Marr, McCabe, Butler, and all I got was multi-page features on Vai/Malmsteen etc. Graham Coxon's work has always been very much my kind of guitar playing as well.
    A fellow noise maker! Now I want to get my Tele out and just make a noise.
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  • mburekengemburekenge Frets: 1054
    I think he under played his skills and how much he studied here.

     His technique is just too good to be random. There is a great iinterview on the Gray Guitars channel where he talks about studying Hendrix, clapton the meters etc as well as devouring Beatles songbook.

    But it was refreshing to get back to 'bigger picture' stuff rather than obsessing over the tiniest and least important gear details of the music.
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  • english_bobenglish_bob Frets: 5128
    darius said:
    That’s my type of guitar playing. Total dude.
    This is why I hated guitar magazines growing up. I wanted to play guitar like Coxon, Marr, McCabe, Butler, and all I got was multi-page features on Vai/Malmsteen etc. Graham Coxon's work has always been very much my kind of guitar playing as well.
    This bugged me too. I liked EVH, Satch, Vai and so I liked the guitar mags, but i knew i wasnt learning anything about any other type of player, which always felt narrow. Easier now of course!
    When I used to buy guitar magazines in the 1990s this came up in the letters section reasonably regularly. I'm sure at times the response from the editors was that they were asking for interviews, but that the interesting indie players weren't interested in giving them to the "uncool" guitar mags.

    I do remember a little one-page feature in Guitar & Bass with Graham Coxon circa "Modern Life Is Rubbish" that had a few interesting details. I think it was part of a series on contemporary indie bands. Pre-Britpop proper.

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    I think he under played his skills and how much he studied here.

     His technique is just too good to be random. There is a great iinterview on the Gray Guitars channel where he talks about studying Hendrix, clapton the meters etc as well as devouring Beatles songbook.

    But it was refreshing to get back to 'bigger picture' stuff rather than obsessing over the tiniest and least important gear details of the music.
    He mentions the songbooks and , I gather, his father was a music teacher so there’s more to it than just put my fingers here and see what comes out. 

    I suppose gear wise Graham uses what he has found works for him after a long journey to get there and that’s what he was describing.
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • kjdowdkjdowd Frets: 852
    dindude said:
    Great to see someone a bit different to the norm on TPS, always loved Coxon, but seriously Dan and Mick were out of their depth. Seemed their reference points stretched no further than hearing Coffe and TV and Song 2 on the radio - there’s so much more that should have been explored if they’d known their stuff (I for one could have filled 2hours of questions just on Modern Life is Rubbish related stuff) - very frustrating. 
    Same here, Modern Life is their best I think. When a guitarist that good shows they really aren't into fancy gear that much, it makes you think.
    He's a song writer.
    That's the biggest difference, a typical guitarist looks at his part and his sound etc but tends to forget the more important things around him like the song it's self, complementing what the rhythm section is doing and something I've rarely ever seen with other guitarists, not playing all the time.
    Music should be about note choice and composition first and foremost, not handwand boutique pickups with bumble bee caps and tonewoods going through lava cables into your kot and Marshall half stack etc

    I'll get back in my box
    Absolutely spot on. I see it in my own playing and approach (albeit as an amateur and part timer). I play in two main bands - one an originals band in which I write the songs and one a tribute band where I’m purely the lead guitarist. In the former I have a minimal setup and the guitar parts are pretty straightforward and totally serve the song and in the latter the gear is more complicated - and ever changing - and I focus more on the pure guitar playing aspects. I guess it’s about finding your expression and priorities in the given context, although in actuality both should be the same. The guitar should serve the song and the gear should be what it needs to be and nothing more. 
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