Diminished Chords

[muttley]

I think the issue with Steely Dan was the length of time it took them to produce stuff and the fact that they celebrated it. They came to typify exactly what youth culture and music moved against in the late 70's and 80's with punk and new wave. Endless press releases about forthcoming albums and how much studio time they were absorbing. I liked them for a bit but once I got a handle on what they were doing sonically and harmonically I realised it was all in the production, many bands and genres were doing that stuff on the fly and had done for years.

As for Yacht Rock, yeh I guess it has become a pejorative term but so have many other genre labels, I don't care really I like some of it and don't like some of it, some of it I'm indifferent to. Just like all genre classifications the boundaries are blurred and the merits are only for you or I to take or dismiss. I often play what would now be classed as Yacht Rock stations or playlists when driving long distances. Some of it is cool some not so much.

[Greg_L]

Serious musicians always get so worked up over Steeley Dan. It's just slow uneventful soft rock from the 70s. Relax. I had one drummer guy try to lecture me one time because I have no opinion of Steve Gadd. How dare I call myself a drummer if I don't worship Steve Gadd and spin Aja 24/7. For one, I'm not a drummer, I'm just a guy that can play the drums a little. Two, Steve Gadd is an amazing world-class drummer that makes music I don't care to listen to. That's all it is to me. You can be the best player in the world, but if you're using your skills to make music that doesn't interest me then your greatness means nothing to me. I don't listen to songs for the guitar playing or the drumming. I have a friend that always recommends stuff for me to listen to and it's always prefaced with "great guitar playing". "Check this band out, great guitar playing" and then I play it and it's some hair metal shred nonsense. Great musicians in terrible songs is a waste of talent.

[JD01]

Great musicians in terrible songs is a waste of talent.

Sounds like Van Halen.

[Greg_L]

Sounds like Van Halen.

It is exactly Van Halen. And Steeley Dan. And Whitesnake. And Asia. and about eleventy hundred other safe and sterile rock bands.

[JD01]

I actually quite like Steely Dan... well, one album. I can't be arsed to listen to all of it and I don't feel like I want to listen to Steely Dan often enough to get to know their whole discography.

[rayc]

Van Halen - eeek.

[Armistice]

So it's either punk, or nothing then...

[vomitHatSteve]

Great musicians in terrible songs is a waste of talent.

Sounds like Van Halen.

I dunno. DLR was a pretty crap musician but a very entertaining front person. (There's a reason that Eddie wasn't able to carry the band on his own with boring vocalists)

When I think excellent but kinda boring musicans, I always end up going back to Dream Theater.

[Greg_L]

So it's either punk, or nothing then...

Right because punk or Steeley Dan are the only options.

[rayc]

Dream Theater.

I tried to like them but they really came across as angry wallpaper.

[vomitHatSteve]

Dream Theater.

I tried to like them but they really came across as angry wallpaper.

See! And with a compelling pitch like that, they should be super interesting!

[Greg_L]

I tried to like them but they really came across as angry wallpaper.

But they play so many chords and have time changes. It has to be super good, right?

[Armistice]

So we can agree that we all don't like Dream Theater then.

There's just too much of everything in DT songs that I've heard. If I had fruit trees the single DT CD I own (I don't remember how this came to pass??) would be hanging in it to scare away the fruit bats.

They also seem to take themselves very seriously.

[JD01]

I've tried listening to them a couple of times. Didn't grab me.

[musicturtle]

Great musicians in terrible songs is a waste of talent.

Sounds like Van Halen.

I think Van Halen with DLR had a lot really good songs. With Sammy not as much for me, their styles didn't mesh as well.

I don't think Eddie's riffs are just showing off, but musical as well.

Was the band a showcase for his talent, absolutely.

But I never really considered his playing to be for the sole purpose of "look what I can do" like Malmsteen or some guy that just plays scales really fast.

Think about a song like "Jamie's Crying" - not really a difficult riff to play, but the way he played it made the song. Same with "Running with the Devil"

[ShanPeyton]

What is a Diminished Chord?

[Greg_L]

What is a Diminished Chord?

It's a chord that diminishes any chance of the song sounding good.

[Lt. Bob]

What is a Diminished Chord?

it's a chord in it'sdotage

[Armistice]

A chord that's less than 4 feet tall.

[Bubba]

John McKay, early Siouxsie and the Banshees. He was my route into the diminished chord. Playground Twist, Premature Burial, Regal Zone, Suburban Relapse among others. A terrific chord, in the right place. There are also a few slid diminished chords in Go Buddy Go by the Stranglers.