American Strummer: Billy's previous two solo albums.

[Funbags]

Is it just me, or is it really hard to get past the way Boz plays acoustic now?

It's 100% strum dynamics at all times, and it seems to have started on...American Gothic? I can't remember him power-strumming prior to that.

PROOVE ME WRONG. ALSO SOMEONE ASK HIM ON IG. "WHY U STRUM SO HARD NOW?"

[eviltimeban]

BLOCK

[T&T]

we did a whole strumming thread. lasted over 3 pages of little strummer boy jokes.
strumbaline
where boys fear to strum
Strum USA
Window Strum,,,

[incubator]

Funny but not fair or true. The solo records are good and have some pleasant guitar playing.

[Ram27]

i haven't really noticed because i was too busy cringing at how fucking awful the vocals and lyrics were

[Ram27]

his playing sounds normal? he always strums hard and uses heavy picks

i think it's just the production being shit?

[themadcaplaughs]

Ogilala had four songs I dug: "Zowie," "The Processional," "The Spainairds," and "Archer."

The last one is the first WPC/SP release I have not been able to finish from beginning to end.

[AveryLoren]

I've been going back over Bill's solo material and came to this same thought. What could have caused him to adopt his current method of strumming? It's so rhythmically dull and plodding. There is not one redeeming aspect of Ogilala and Cotillions for me personally. Delving back into the Zwan/Solo material, the acoustic Zwan stuff is some of the best he's ever done.

[BurtSampson]

Maybe he has arthritis he’s like 70 years old

[redbreegull]

Acoustic has always been the weak link across what are otherwise some formidable chops from Bruce C.

There are moments when he has tended towards more intricate stuff, like the finger style songs from MCIS and Djali/Chicago eras, but in general Billy has always been a meh acoustic player. He has never seemed very interested to me in honing an acoustic style of playing, and mainly just brings rock playing to an acoustic guitar. Also his acoustic tones have never been great, dating all the way back to playing an Ovation with gauge 9 strings on SD.

Disarm for example is pretty much in line with the bonehead pounding he performs on Cotillions, but it's elevated by the songwriting and the full instrumentation.

[wHATcOLOR]

good thread title

[cork_soaker]

Originally Posted by AveryLoren

What could have caused him to adopt his current method of strumming?

it's one of many symptoms of a vast spiritual disconnect between bill and his "inner creative," if you will

[incubator]

https://youtu.be/vTcM_DZVOHg

[BurtSampson]

Originally Posted by incubator

https://youtu.be/vTcM_DZVOHg

i actually like the guitar melody in this song but the vocal melody is just absolute mush, it's nothing.

[myosis]

smurfing strumming thread:
http://forums.netphoria.org/showthre...um#post4510989

[FoolofaTook]

Originally Posted by wHATcOLOR

good thread title

better then 'Life"s a Strummer?'

[Joey Goldberg]

ain't it beautiful tho?

Jeff Shredder & Bill Strummer

[Joey Goldberg]

or the expanded super deluxe edition:

Jeff shreds
Bill strums
Jack bates
Mike byrnes

[FoolofaTook]

[Joey Goldberg]

try again

[FoolofaTook]

[FoolofaTook]

[Joey Goldberg]

[FoolofaTook]

[Joey Goldberg]

[FoolofaTook]

[Funbags]

Originally Posted by AveryLoren

I've been going back over Bill's solo material and came to this same thought. What could have caused him to adopt his current method of strumming? It's so rhythmically dull and plodding. There is not one redeeming aspect of Ogilala and Cotillions for me personally. Delving back into the Zwan/Solo material, the acoustic Zwan stuff is some of the best he's ever done.

Even this perennial Mayo performance shows his once-varied strum dynamics, and it's the same style carried through the Sadlands and Gravity demos. His strumming matches his vocal dynamics, which conveys ... EMOTION! I think that's what's missing in his 100% Strum technique. The guitar and vocals aren't working together.

[eviltimeban]

It's clear what the difference is. He's playing left handed! They all are! That's what's been going wrong all this time. :-)

[Funbags]

It was a phase!

[houseofglass11]

Bill just furiously strums Dsus2 on literally every song now and throws some of his obtuse blinking with fists level poetry on top and calls it a song. Sometimes he'll mix it up when he's feeling experimental and puts a capo on the 4th fret.