Latest / RealTalkwithMikeD / Episode 32 - Heavy Metal, Guitars and Metallica

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Episode 32 - Heavy Metal, Guitars and Metallica · RealTalkwithMikeD

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Real Talk with Mike D. All right. Welcome
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: back to Real Talk with Mike D. I am the one,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: the only, and the original Mike D. Congratulations. Well done.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Thank you. And today we're talking about something that's been
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: a huge part of my life for as long as
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: I can remember. Something that doesn't need an explanation. Something
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: you either understand or you don't. I'm talking about heavy
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: metal music. And if you know me, you probably already
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: know where this is going. because I absolutely freaking love
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: heavy metal. I love the guitars, the drums, the bass,
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  Speaker 1: the screaming vocals, and those massive riffs that hit you
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  Speaker 1: right in the chest. There's just something about heavy metal
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  Speaker 1: that connects with me in a way that a lot
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  Speaker 1: of other music doesn't. And today, I want to talk
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: about that connection. I want to talk about my love
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: for heavy metal, my love for playing guitar, and especially
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: my love for the mighty Metallica. That's right, Metallica. Metallica
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: is one of those bands that help define what heavy
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: metal could be. And for me, it's more than just
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  Speaker 1: listening to music. It's about feeling it. It's about picking
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  Speaker 1: up a guitar and trying to recreate some of that
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: magic myself. But let's start with the obvious question. Why
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: heavy metal? Why not country? Why not pop? Well, I
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: like those things too. But when I want music that
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: grabs me by the soul and says, pay attention... I
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: turn on heavy metal. There's an energy in it. There's
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: an attitude. There's emotion. And here's something people sometimes misunderstand
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: about metal. They hear the screaming. They hear the distorted guitars.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: They hear the pounding drums. And they think, that's just noise.
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  Speaker 1: But if you actually listen, there's a lot going on.
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  Speaker 1: There's anger, sadness, frustration, loneliness, strength, determination, and then there's triumph.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: And sometimes there's just that feeling of, I've had enough
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: today and I need to turn this shit up. And
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  Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure a lot of people can relate to that.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: I definitely know I can because sometimes you don't need
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: a therapist. Sometimes all you need is a guitar amplifier.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: So turn that shit up and let the riff do
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: the talking. And that's where playing guitar comes into the
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  Speaker 1: picture for me. There's something incredibly satisfying about picking up
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  Speaker 1: a guitar. You plug it in, you grab a pick,
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  Speaker 1: you hit that first chord and boom! Suddenly you're somewhere else.
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  Speaker 1: And for those few minutes, nothing else matters. Bills don't matter.
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  Speaker 1: Work doesn't matter. Stress doesn't matter. The problems of the
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: day can wait. It's just me, the guitar, and the music. Now,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: am I sitting here telling you I'm the greatest guitar
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  Speaker 1: player who ever lived? Absolutely not. I'm not Eddie Van Halen.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not Kirk Hammett. And I'm not James Hetfield. But
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  Speaker 1: you know what? That's not why I play. I play
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: because I love it. I play because it makes me happy.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: And I play because there's always something new to learn.
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  Speaker 1: That's one of the great things about guitar. You can
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: play for years and still find something that challenges you.
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  Speaker 1: A new riff, a new technique, a different sound, a
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  Speaker 1: song you've always wanted to learn. And when you finally
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: nail that part you've been struggling with, the feeling is incredible. Hell,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: you may screw it up 50 times, you may screw
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: it up 100 times, and then suddenly you get it
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  Speaker 1: and you're like, holy shit, I just played that. That's
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  Speaker 1: what makes it worth it. Now. Now we're talking about
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  Speaker 1: heavy metal. And we're talking about Metallica. And Metallica isn't
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  Speaker 1: just a band I like. Their music has been part
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  Speaker 1: of the soundtrack of my life forever. Forever. Think about
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  Speaker 1: what makes Metallica so powerful. You've got James Hetfield's rhythm guitar,
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: those massive tight riffs, Kirk Hammett's lead guitar, Lars Ulrich's drums,
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: and the bass bringing everything together. Now you put it
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: all together, and you've got something that is unmistakable. You
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: hear that guitar sound, and you know what? That's Metallica.
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  Speaker 1: There are bands that make songs. And then there are
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  Speaker 1: bands that create songs that become part of people's lives.
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  Speaker 1: Metallica has done that for generations of fans. And I
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  Speaker 1: am one of them. One of the things I love
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  Speaker 1: most about Metallica is the guitar work. Those riffs. Man,
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  Speaker 1: those riffs. Those riffs can get stuck in your head
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  Speaker 1: for days. And when you play guitar, you hear those
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: songs differently. You're not just hearing the music, you're listening
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  Speaker 1: to how it's being played. You're thinking about the picking,
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  Speaker 1: the timing, the rhythm, the tone, the technique. You start
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: breaking the song apart in your head, and then you think,
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  Speaker 1: I think I can play that. So you pick up
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  Speaker 1: your guitar, you try it, and maybe it sounds terrible
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  Speaker 1: at first. Believe me, it's going to sound terrible. But
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  Speaker 1: you keep going. That's the fun. You keep practicing, you
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: keep working on it. And eventually you start getting closer.
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  Speaker 1: That's what music does. It gives you something to chase. Now,
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  Speaker 1: for me, music is also an escape. Life can be stressful.
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  Speaker 1: Everybody has problems. Everybody has days when things don't go
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  Speaker 1: the way they want. Everybody has moments when they're frustrated, angry, tired,
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  Speaker 1: or just completely burned out. And sometimes you need an outlet.
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  Speaker 1: For me, heavy metal can be that outlet. You can
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  Speaker 1: put on your favorite album, put the headphones on, crank
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  Speaker 1: up the volume. And for a little while, you're somewhere else.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you're driving down the road. Maybe you're sitting at home.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you're playing guitar. Maybe you're just listening. But that
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  Speaker 1: music becomes your space. And there's something powerful about that
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  Speaker 1: because music doesn't judge you. It doesn't ask you what's wrong.
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  Speaker 1: It doesn't tell you how you're supposed to feel. It
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  Speaker 1: just plays. And sometimes that is exactly what you need.
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  Speaker 1: So ladies and gentlemen, that is going to do it
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  Speaker 1: for today's episode. I hope you greatly enjoyed it. And
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  Speaker 1: I hope you learned a little bit about Metallica. I
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  Speaker 1: hope you learned a little bit about guitar. And I
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  Speaker 1: hope that inspired you to maybe pick up a guitar.
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  Speaker 1: And if you haven't listened to Metallica, definitely check them out.
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  Speaker 1: I do not think you'll be disappointed. But as always,
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate you being here. I appreciate you listening. And
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  Speaker 1: until we meet again on the next episode, be kind
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  Speaker 1: to each other, love one another, and I'll see you
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: on the next one. Peace.