Outtahere

Hey Matt, thanks for answering! :)

Matt, Garden of Knives is one of your best songs ever. That's just a fact. Now what I'm wondering is how do you write a song like that? There's nearly no guitar so did you write it on an acoustic guitar then played it with keyboards and such or did you go straight to keyboard and played with sounds? I have a similar question about Via Dolorosa. The chords are certainly not regular ones (you've said it was with the first string muted). How do you start off with that? Do you play with tuning then play around with chords or did you write it with regular chords then changed it? Finally how do the demos for Arrows of Desire or Chaotic Neutral differ from the album versions? I do hope you find the time to answer these! :)

Does anyone anywhere have a tab for Via Dolorosa?

If anyone's looking for them, it doesn't seem to be linked on MG's site but it's still there: http://www.matthewgood.org/arrows-of-desire-lyrics/

This is an era that sadly died really quickly. Not because it didn't last (it lasted almost 10 years) but it seems to have disappeared overnight. There's was definitely a shift at the beginning of the century where everything changed. MGB disappeared, OLP, Holly McNarland and all the others. They all kept making music but were deemed not commercial enough by record companies. Since then, nothing has come out of Canada that was worth their bloody airwaves. And that's sad. Maybe it was that kind of era that happens when it happens because all the pieces fall together. But it was a great one.

And the throwing of the hat! :P

Nice one! Ha ha!

Really? Where did you hear that? That's a pretty interesting story. That said I meant nothing against Stu, he's absolutely awesome. But Jimmy had a certain showmanship that made him more enjoyable to watch.

Yeah he was the best guitarist Matt worked with imo. I mean Stu is awesome technically, Christian had his own style. But Jimmy, he was not only great but he put on a great show. Looking at Stu playing is like looking at a musician in an orchestra. He's really really focused. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. There's just a vibe with Jimmy.

I asked Jimmy directly and like mrtrufflepig explained, it was octaves. For example, Load Me Up, you need to mute the first string, put your index finger on the second string on the 9th fret, mute the third and put your ring or pinky on the 11th fret of the 4 string. Then you move up and down accordingly to the melody. I nailed it yesterday. Jimmy's really cool!

There's a lot of tabs out there but I'm looking for something else. Look at what Jimmy's playing during the "Whatever puts me all the way out" part https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksWprw1tM3k What is he playing? That's a type of chord that is used a lot in Matt's song but even looking at the fingers and trying to it, I can't get it to sound right. The same with Non Populus after the 4:32 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TShxaylXgdk Thanks!

Catching the ball on the rebound, the music for Near Fantastica was actually meant for a song called "Villain of the Year". Matt scrapped the lyrics to that song in favour of a reworked version of Near Fantastica which was posted in one of his manifestos on mgb.com. The original Near Fantastica was supposed to sound a bit like Every Name is my Name. Also, the so-called "Radio Edit" of Near Fantastica was originally the album version. The version on the record is actually a remix Matt made by tinkering and fiddling with it and preferred it to the shorter version. Anton should rename this thread "Small Things You've Noticed and Trivia".

Really? Where? I'm not aware of this one, I'm gonna have to search a bit. But the omission of Omissions of the Omen (pun 100% intended :P) on the LOTGA remastered vinyl will also be considered for this list :P Yeah that was from the version that was streaming from mgb.com in 2000. That's the kind of thing I love especially when he records the way he did on Rooms and Loser Anthems but also on regular records (like the aforementioned "Fuck I got a headache" from HM).

This one is an oldie but there's an audio glitch on Avalanche (the song). When he sings "In days like these" when he sings "days" there's a clicking sound.

Really? I have to hear that!

Does he? I never noticed. Yeah he says "Fuck I got a headache".

Ha ha ha nice ones! Anyone else?

I saw this game on another group forum and I thought we could do it here. Matt's records are full of hidden little easter eggs or peculiar things. If you've noticed something, just post it here. I'll start. On "I'm a Window", between the crash and the "Diving in and out of trash" part, you can hear the loop Matt used in the background of The Boy Who Could Explode. For some strange reason, Matt renamed A Single Spark Explosion to A Single Explosion even though the lyrics still say A Single Spark Explosion. Took me a while to hear it but at the end of Suburbia, he sings "We are there" Similarly, at the end of Sort of a Protest Song, he sings "Baby, no pain, no gain". We know Matt likes the G, G/D, Em chord progression. But he seems to enjoy the Em, C chords as well as they are the chords used on I Miss New Wave, Blue Skies Over Badlands, Champions of Nothing, Non Populus and, I believe, Harridan Your turn! :P

It's a hard song to play though. I mean you can do the lead one finger at a time but when you watch Stu play, it's a bit more complex than that.

As far as your voice goes, the technique you've learned before AOB after your surgery sounds the same even if you've started smoking again. I know you've referenced using trickery on songs like While We Were Hunting Rabbits but as far as I'm concerned your vocals live are spot on even the ones you've adapted from the MGB screaming days. It is odd for fans to hear Apparitions on Underdogs and then hear you sing it half a step lower (and even a whole step lower on the last tour if I'm not mistaken) using your current singing technique. But it's by no means not as good, just different. I see people talking about your vibrato but that's always been there and is part of your style. Plus, personally, I always enjoy hearing reworked songs (like Rabbits on the Arrows tour). Anyhow all this to say that, yes I think it's a shame you had to start smoking but only concerning your health. I use "had to" because I know it's sort of a life buoy for you at the time (I've seen it happen before to people who had to go through a lot of stress and we all know 2006-2007 was stressful for you). I just hope you can quit before you hurt your health long term. But until then, artistically, I don't think you've lost anything.

I wonder why nothing from Arrows is played on this tour (unless i missed something)

Yeah you're right. I think that's another one (memorized makes no sense anyway)

mmm I'd pay more than a regular priced ticket to see that! Especially if it's Matt playing it!

Yes it was him who did the Live Road thingy. What strikes me as odd is the amount of piano on CN... if there's no keyboard player what is he going to do with those? Playback or different arrangements?

I can't edit it anymore but the first phrase should read "I wanted to commend you on your ability to take negative (respectful) comments." and not "I wanted to commend you on your ability to negative (respectful) comments." but I think you understood :P