Blink 182 Music: The History

By Greg Shuey

Blink 182 music is historic! Blink was one of the biggest pop punk bands back in the day. The band, made up of Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker is most known for their music that was made up of juvenile and toilet humor. This type of music helped catapult the band into the mainstream in the early 2000's.

Blink 182 originally formed in 1992 when Tom DeLonge met Mark Hoppus through a mutual acquaintance and they started writing and composing music together in Tom's garage. Their original drummer, Scott Raynor was also a high school friend of theirs. He eventually left the band and was replaced by the more hard - radical Travis Barker.

In the early 90's, Blink 182 released two albums, Buddha and Cheshire Cat. They were both independent records. In 1997, the band released Dude Ranch and shortly thereafter became a mainstream pop punk band. Dude Ranch was the stepping stone from playing music as a hobby or for fun to playing music as a career. They were ready for the big game!

Blink 182's biggest break was when they released Enema of the State in 1999. Hit songs that emerged from that CD were "All The Small Things", "What's My Age Again?", and "Adam's Song". These songs were played on radio stations across the nation and became theme songs for young teens and adults who followed the band from the early days.

In less than two years time, Enema of the State turned gold and platinum five times over. The music created by Blink 182 portrayed common emotions that are often experienced by the younger generation and was highly relatable to their target audience. Less than a year later, the bank released a live album that was called The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show. It sold almost as many copies as Enema of The State

The next year, Blink released one of the most remembered pieces of music that they created, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. From this album came well known songs like "The Rock Show", "First Date", and "Stay Together For The Kids". This album went double platinum.

Unknown to Blink 182 at the time, when releasing their untitled album, Blink 182 it would be their last piece of music made together as a band for almost seven years. Unfortunately for them, this was one of their least popular albums released, although I did turn platinum eventually.

So here we are, 2009 and Blink 182 has announced their reunion. Blink 182 is back together again, making music and putting together a world tour. It will sure be interesting to see what kind of music they create when their new album is released later this year. All I can say is... Long Live Blink 182 Music!! - 18423

About the Author:

Greg Shuey is an avid music fan and loves Blink 182 Music! Blink was one of the most well known pop punk bands throughout the 90's and 2000's. Until recently Blink 182 Music was not being created or produced... However, Blink is back and Greg wants to share memories with the world!

Beginner, Never Overlook the Basic Guitar Chords Chart!

By francois arcoix

Once the basic guitar chords are mastered - it only takes 10 to 15 - you will be able to play many of your favorite songs. The chords are what the background of most songs consist of and are what provide the accompaniment for other instruments. What is a chord? This is when three or more musical notes are played together.

Three strings are strummed on the guitar if the chord you are playing has three notes. The most that can be played on a guitar when playing notes to make a chord is six - the number of strings on the guitar. The chords consist of three groups. Seventh, Minor and Major are unique because they each have their own feel. The Seventh chords have more of an unaccented beat, the Major chords are constant and the Minor chords are lonesome.

There is no standard number of chords that everyone can agree on but the general feeling is there are 8 to 18 chords that anyone who is going to play guitar should know. These chords should be the first ones you learn because they are used in basically everything you will be playing. When you learn these chords you can play rock, country or jazz and enjoy learning many songs.

So what are the basic chords we are talking about? They are the minor and major chords of A, D,E, and the major chords of G and C. The chords are made by not pressing some of the strings in the chord out. In other words do not press that string(s) down with your finger when you fret. Fret means to hold the strings on the neck of the guitar with the fingers on one hand while the other hand strums. Leaving one or more strings out while pressing on the others is called an open chord.

When the beginner starts learning to play guitar open chords are the easiest. The ones considered to be basic chords are G, F, E Minor, E, D Minor, D, C, A Minor and A. The best way to know where your fingers are supposed to go is by using a guitar chords chart. The beginning guitarist often teaches himself to play using this method.

When you begin to learn the chords the most used method is to learn the chord families. The notes of the family are mixed to produce chords that are the basics of many songs that people are playing today. This makes learning more fun when you think of it in this way and the families are learned much easier than just choosing chords randomly. You will be playing in no time.

Songs based on three chords are quite popular thus they are plentiful. Trying to learn too many is not going to be conducive to learning to play the guitar. With over thousands chords in some learning systems, you will be confused and more apt to give up the guitar. This is too many for a beginner or someone who knows how to play. The chords you learn when playing guitar as a beginner are the ones you can learn the easiest so that you can play songs in no time.

If you want to be able to start playing in a few days, trying to learn all of these chords is not going to help. Using the basic guitar chords chart will allow you to look at the information until you learn it and you will know where your fingers are supposed to go and the music will be flowing in a few days. - 18423

About the Author:

Visit beginner-guitarlessons.com to learn more about simple guitar chords chart and get other useful tips to help you learn guitar faster!

Festival Celebrates Islay's Malt Whisky Heritage

By Rachel Wilson

The small island of Islay is getting ready for the annual week long Festival of Malt and Music which starts the last weekend in May. The whiskies of Islay, from no less than eight working distilleries, are famous throughout the world and the malt whisky industry is one of Islay's largest employers and sources of revenue.

The festival programme includes a variety of cultural and musical events including Highland dancing, the Islay Pipe Band, guided walks, sporting events and children's amusements. However I don't think anyone would argue that Islay's whisky will take pride of place. The malt whisky enthusiast will be able to visit each of the distilleries on their open days. On offer will be distillery tours, master classes and whisky tastings. Refreshments and food tastings featuring local produce and ingredients will be available at many of the events.

Immerse yourself in Gaelic culture at An Evening of Gaelic Song and Traditional Music at the Gaelic College Bowmore on the evening of 27th May. Enjoy performances from local artists including the Islay Gaelic Choir. There will be a raffle and refreshments.

A whisky tasting Ceilidh on the evening of the 25th May will challenge the real whisky buffs who can tell Ardbeg from Bowmore or Bruichladdich. All the distilleries will be there with their whisky so go along and test your whisky tasting skills. Musical accompaniment will be by The Islay Fiddle and Accordion Band.

The distinguishing characteristics of Islay's whisky are due to its peaty soil, brown peaty water and exposed position. The winter gales bring salty sea spray inland to most parts of the island. This soaks into the peat which dries out again in the salty, seaweed scented breeze, imparting some of the strongest flavours of all the malt whiskies.

The distilleries of Ardbeg and Laphroaig lie to the south of Islay The distilleries of the south produce some of Islay's most powerful whiskies. The heavily peated, sea scented malt is used with the brown, peaty water in the distilling process. This makes for a whisky that is strongly peat flavoured with the taste of the sea, the brine and the iodine. It has even been described as medicinal.

The Northern Islay Distilleries, including Bruichladdich, produce a much milder whisky. They use the spring water before it comes into contact with the peat and only lightly peated malt. This results in a much lighter whisky with mossy rather than peaty flavours, with the same dry finish but with less of the flavour of the sea about them.

Bowmore Distillery lies in the middle of the Island, on the shore of Loch Indaal. Its whisky also lies in between the characteristics of the North and South. It's peaty but not medicinal. The sea, salt and iodine flavours can be detected but are balanced by delicate floral notes with a peppery finish.

Islay is known as The Queen of the Hebrides and a visit offers much more than the festival. Try a taste of island life with stunning scenery and amazing wildlife. - 18423

About the Author:

Rachel Wilson is a travel writer with a love for Bowmore whisky. The Malt & Music Festival is the ideal place to sample a variety of single malt scotch whiskies.

Tips for your piano lessons

By Lynn Lopez

You can never be too old to learn how to play the piano. It helps if you already own a piano or have ready access to one because buying a piano can be very expensive. You can always buy a used piano or even borrow from someone who is not using the instrument. In fact, since you are still a beginner at playing the piano, even a simple keyboard might be adequate for your purpose.

The next important thing is that you should be committed in learning how to play the piano. It takes time and persistence. You can not learn it overnight, nor can you learn it well by playing it from time to time. You need time to learn and to practice. You might have to schedule your practices around your other duties. Be patient with yourself.

If you have the budget for it, sign up for music lessons with a piano teacher in your area. Once again, choose the right piano teacher for you. If you choose wisely, you will be reaping great rewards from it. You can also check out nearby schools and colleges that offer piano lessons at a discounted cost. Remember that learning how to play the piano is not only limited on learning about the piano itself. You will also learn about music, note reading, chords, and other relevant theories.

When you are learning a new piece, keep in mind that you cannot learn the whole piece in one sitting. Therefore, try to break it down into manageable parts. Or you can learn with the right hand first, then the left hand, and finally play the piece with both hands. Playing the piano demands mastery of the piano pieces. Play slowly if you must. When it comes to piano playing, repetition yields mastery. Play the music over and over until you can play the entire piece perfectly.

Always warm up before you practice. Practice every day for at least thirty minutes or more. You practice to minimize or eliminate mistakes. Pay attention to your mistakes and try to avoid doing them again. You can, of course, take short breaks from piano playing. Remember that knowing how to play the piano, much like any skill depends on how often you practice. Do not shy away from difficult piano pieces, especially when your teacher believes you can handle it. Your progress literally lies in your own two hands. Be open to challenges. Your teacher would not give you a difficult piece if you cannot learn from it or if you are not up to it. With patience and time, you might be playing the piano for other people's entertainment soon! - 18423

About the Author:

Playing piano online will help improve motor skills, increase you musical ability and impress your friends and family. Start today living a dream, learn how to play the piano online and gain a whole new sense of self.

When Is A Ringtone Not A Ringtone? When It's A Ringback Ringtone.

By Earl Pine

So just what are Ringback Tones? In simple terms, when you call someone you usually will hear a beep letting you know that you have been connected and the phone is ringing - this is the ringback tone.

A more technical explanation is that the ringback tone is a status indication that the number dialed is available (ie the receiving line is in service and not busy). This requires that the proper connections through the network or networks between the caller and the callee's audio devices are either made, or are available to be made, and the phone call will be connected if the call is picked up - either by an answering service or a person.

Once the receiving party has either answered your call, or you call was picked up by an answering machine or network voice service, the ringback tone stops. (awwww). The actual sound of a ringback tone will depend on your country and/or carrier.

So for the audiophiles among us, in North America (United States and Canada), which are within the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), the standard PSTN ringback tone is generated by summing a 440-Hz tone with a 480-Hz tone and applying these to the telephone line - on for two seconds, off for four seconds.

The tone combination produces a warbly "ring ... ring ... ring" sound, caused by the 40-Hz beat, or interference due to the difference in frequency, between the two tones. The ringback tone may be generated by the switch serving either the called party or the calling party, but it is not generated by the called telephone instrument or PBX. The ringback tone generally starts and stops at the same rate as the ringing tone of the called telephone, but generally is out of phase, i.e., staggered in time.

Now for the best part - instead of just hearing the standard ring when you call someone on their cellphone, the wireless companies have programmed things so that you can choose the sound that the caller hears when they call your cell. The most popular option for these 'ringback' tones are current popular music, although some general audio clips can also be selected. You choose the ringbacks you want on your phone through the subscription service you have with your cellphone carrier. Currently each ringback will have an associated charge on your cellphone bill.

Now here is the best part - you can completely customize the ringback tones that your callers hear. What's even cooler is that you can choose ringbacks to suit each individual caller. Generally, you can pick up to around 100 ringback tones at any given time. Each one of these can be setup so that each of your callers hear different ring back tones. The other method of setting them up is to choose a tone to suit the time of day. This is most often used so that callers hear a 'work hours' and a 'non-work hours' ringback tone.

For more information about customizing your cellphone service to play ringback tones you can often find the menu commands with a websearch for your cellphone carrier and 'ringback tones'. - 18423

About the Author:

Find out more about verizon ringbacktones at my ringbacks for cellphones website.