Another Big Thank You!

Happy New Year!

Well, this post brings an end to my second year of blogging, and I am humbled by the support from people that stop by to check it out.

I started Rex and the Bass to practice my writing skills and preach about my interests, and have met my goals for the blog for 2011. It has become much more popular this year, showing steady growth every month, and in January it will pass the 100,000 page view milestone. I never thought it would take off this well.

Just in case you were wondering, here are the top posts of all time (by page views):

1. Fender Jazz Bass Special Re-issue

2. Memory Lane: Pulp Fiction Soundtrack

3. Philip Kubicki Factor Basses

4. Crystal Castles (2010) Album review

5. Simon and Patrick Songsmith Acoustic Guitar

I am not even close to running out of things to write about, but if you have any suggestions, please send them along. Also, if you would like for me to review your album or products, drop me a line and we can figure something out.

Thank you for checking in today, as well as for the time you spend looking through Rex and the Bass. I look forward to writing about new things next year, and hope to keep you all entertained.

Mahalo!

Rex

New Rex and the Bass Logo

Hiya!

Well, it's not really a new logo, because I never had one before. I thought the blog header was looking a tired, do I 'shopped together the headstock logo you see here.

The line art came from a Fender technical manual, and I used a few different fonts to put the lettering in. The capital "R" is Brush Script, the "e" and "x" are actually the Fender font, and I used a generic sans serif font for "AND THE BASS".

Let me know what you think (besides that Fender will send me a letter telling me to remove it).

Mahalo!

April 19: One Year of Rex and the Bass

Howdy!

April 19 marks the first anniversary of this blog, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank everybody that has checked in over the past year. It has been a lot of fun for me, and here is a quick summary of what happened:

There have been 149 posts that cover musical instruments and accessories, as well as album reviews and general industry rants.

13 people have decided to follow the blog. They must be family members…

There are now more than 5,000 to 6,000 page views per month. The top subjects are the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack review, a write-up of the Philip Kubicki Factor basses and my take on the Japanese Fender Jazz Bass Special re-issue.

I have no idea when I will wrap up this blog, but plan to keep it up until it is not fun for me anymore. I will do my best to keep everyone entertained.

Mahalo!

Top Ten Worst Songs on My iPod

Buenos dias, amigos!

Continuing on in the spirit of the self-indulgent ego trip that I call Rex and the Bass, I have complied my list of the top 10 worst songs on my iPod (which has about 5000 songs on it right now). The only rules for my selections are that each “artist” is limited to only one song on the list. Here we go:

10. Shania Twain: “That Don’t Impress Me Much”: Her success must be because she is smoking hot, not because of songs like this.

9. The Beatles ”Revolution 9”: Eight minutes of Yoko Ono-inspired crap. Maybe the band got a bonus for coming up with 4 album sides of material.

8. Enya “Only Time”: Repetitive and slightly nauseating, but a staple of weddings and wedding receptions everywhere. I cringe whenever I see her name come up as I am scrolling through my tracks.

7. Peter Gabriel “Sledgehammer”: Oh, this song is about sex? How clever! What a shame that this innuendo-fest was Peter Gabriel’s only number 1 hit in the US. He will never get another chance at one.

6. Korn “Dead Bodies Everywhere”: Thank god I do not have to explain why I have some of the music in my library. This is pure junior high school level crap. I hope adults do not buy these albums.

5. LL Cool J “Big Ole Butt“: A paean for all ganstas that like steppin’ out on their ladies. Not the best single of 1989.

4. Kelly Clarkson “Breakaway”: I do think she is very talented, but this overplayed radio hit is too damned la la la for me.

3. Blind Melon “No Rain”: No offense to the departed, but Shannon Hoon had the second most irritating voice in the history of recorded music.

2. Blink-182 “All the Small Things“: Tom DeLonge beats out Hoon for the most irritating voice contest. I wish I could put every Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves song on this list.

1. Johnny Cash “The Legend of John Henry’s Hammer”: I know Johnny Cash is a legend, but this song is the longest 8 minutes and 27 seconds you will ever endure.

Mahalo!

A Big Thank You!

Happy New Year!

Well, this post brings an end to my first year of blogging, and I really appreciate the support from people that stop by to check it out.

I thought this would be a good time to talk about why I am spending my spare time cluttering up the internet. This is certainly not a money-making venture, at least not for me.

I tell myself that I started Rex and the Bass so that I could practice my writing skills, using subjects that interest me (music and musical equipment). Perhaps the real reason why I blog is to fuel my massive ego. Take your pick.

I randomly pick subjects, based on how I feel each day. But, sometimes readers make suggestions about things they would like to read about, and if they fall into those two areas, I try to oblige them. If the suggestions are outside the scope of the musical world I write them down, and will get around to them when I start a blog about something else.

I am often asked if I really own all of the instruments and equipment that I feature on the blog. And the answer is “no”. In almost every case I have owned the equipment at some point, and have moved on to something else. But, either way, I have tried it all out, and usually only cover the stuff that I really like.

I can go ahead and answer another common question: “Yes, I do own and listen to all of the albums that I review”. If anybody would like to send me their album to review, please send me an e-mail, and we can talk it over.

Just in case you were wondering, here are the top posts for the year (by page views):

1. Philip Kubicki Factor Basses

2. Fender Jazz Bass Special Re-issue

3. Simon and Patrick Songsmith Acoustic Guitar

4. MusicMan Month: The Ernie Ball Forum

5. Fender Japan Keith Richard Micawber Telecaster

Thank you for checking in today and for the time you spend looking through my blog. I look forward to writing about new things next year, and hope to keep you all entertained.

Mahalo!

Rex