Thread: What is one video you've seen that always sticks out in your mind?

I've wanted to tell this story since 2004. Thanks Pickle.

There are things about me which I guess I can describe as small parts of my own inner mythology. Everyone I've ever known well enough to call "friend" has these sorts of things. I don't know if these things have names.

One of mine is called "it's done." People who know me well know what it means when I say "it's done", and that there's more going on than when other people say those words. It's part joke, part personal quirk. It comes from this:

I like things that are Done.

I hate having to do things again. I like things that allow themselves to be done well, once, and are then Done for good. I tend to spend lots of time up-front to plan and fuss over something so that when I'm finished I never have to think about it again.

I like things which endure. I want to buy something once and then Be Done with it. I want it to last forever, providing utility for all eternity. In practice that doesn't always work out, but I do the best I can. I look for things which are well designed and well made. I don't mind paying extra for that; partly because good quality costs more, but mostly because I want to put it out of my head forever. To me, the mental expense of having to worry about something breaking under normal use is much worse than the monetary expense of avoiding that worry.

So I like good tools, but I FUCKING HATE crappy tools. They don't work well, and they break. I hate cheap cookware. It's not just that it doesn't last, it doesn't work well even when it's brand-new. Furniture or shelves made out of particle-board make me sad. I look at these things and I think "What a waste. The metal and plastic and energy that went into making this piece of shit could have been used to make something beautiful and useful." Cheap things represent a failure of humankind.

Some of my furniture is old. I love it - but not because it's old. I don't care about old. I love what it represents. At some point in the past a thing was made so well that it continues to function long after the people who made it have died. I have inherited (via my great grandfather) a walnut dining table. With a minimal amount of care it continues look beautiful and function perfectly. During more than a century of existence it has received a few dings, but these wounds have not compromised it in any way. It's like an investment that keeps paying off. When the guy who built it finished making it, I like to think he said "That's Done."

And he was right.

But the universe which made me plays a joke on me every day. There are lots of things which by their very nature can't be Done. Mowing the lawn is never Done. Laundry is never Done. You clean something, and then it gets dirty, and you have to clean it again. My personal joke back at the universe is for me to imagine that something can be cleaned so well that it stays clean.

My friends who understand my disability joke along with me: "Are you done washing the dishes?", and I'll say "Yeah", and they'll smile at me, and I'll frown, and mutter "no..."

In 2004, me and a few friends happened to be watching (and listening through a nice system) when this happened:





... at which point we sat in silence for a few seconds before one of my guitar-playing friends turned to me and said:

"Holy shit, dude, that song is DONE."

And he was right.

No one will ever have to play it again. They will, which is good because it's a great song, but I won't ever hear it again without remembering that performance. I wish I'd been there. I wish Prince had hit me in the head with his guitar.

I tend not to like all-star performances. The stage is filled with guitar players and everyone gets a turn. It's nice enough, I guess, and because a lot of these guys are famous for a good reason you often see real virtuosity. But the entire exercise is usually at the expense of the song. A good performance isn't about "everyone gets a turn", it's about keeping it tight, playing everything that needs to be played, and nothing that doesn't. It's about the song.

If you haven't watched it yet, don't skip ahead to 3:25 where the solo begins. I don't care if you don't like Jeff Lynne's voice. That band did a fine job. Some of them were George's musical pals, and his son was up there strumming. For a public tribute it was the right crew. And then Prince just takes over.

It's the right guitar for the job. He plays with technical skill and virtuosity. He performs for the audience, he performs for the band, he performs for Dhani Harrison and makes him smile. He blows everyone away, and at the end - while his guitar is still singing - he hoists it into the audience and walks off.

Fucking Done.

That song's been Played.

Cheers,


AetheLove


p.s. I wish the sound quality on youtube wasn't so horrible. Also, I wish I had a recording of the separate soundboard tracks so I could split out Prince's guitar and listen to it on its own.

Originally Posted by AetheLove

About what?


Æ

Getting shit done.

I'm the opposite of what you said... I hate Petty's voice in this and love Jeff Lynn's voice. But then I'm a huge ELO fan too.

And Prince... what can you say? The man can play a guitar.

This video always hits me

This one cracks me up every time