30 Day Song Challenge: Day 27 (A Song You Wish You Could Play on an Instrument)

In my vagrant daydreams of being a rockstar, I fantasize about playing just about any song. I dream of playing piano in a Springsteen covers band; playing lead guitar in a blues band; playing bass in a funk band; playing 16 synthesizers at once in a prog band. All of these would be fun, and are nice to dream about, but there is something that would probably change my life if I could play it. It’s not so much a single song as a style or genre that I long for, but I’ve chosen a representative that embodies everything I want.

As I said, it’s not exactly that I want to play this song in particular. It’s that I want to sound like this. I do wish that I could have this level of ingenuity, this much volume without exploding something, and the skill and inventiveness of the production.

My Bloody Valentine have that most elusive of musical accomplishments: good tone. Hendrix had it, Clapton has it, Gilmour has it. But it took them years of trial and error, and still every guitarist---from a kid a year into lessons to the professional with hundreds of concerts under his belt---constantly experiments and tweaks, searching for that even more elusive of beasts: better tone.

Loveless, My Bloody Valentine’s 1991 sophomore (and to date, latest) album, rings in your ears for years after hearing it. It’s one of those rare records---along with The White Album, Are You Experienced and Kind-Hearted Woman Blues before it---that completely shatters what you think a guitar can do, and rebuilds it in its own image. They make sounds here that nobody had ever heard on record before. They broke the rules, and they won.

In Kevin Shields’ mighty hands, the guitar becomes more than just a musical instrument. It becomes a sonic weapon, something that could easily kill you with sheer sound. It makes sounds nobody knew a guitar could make. It shapes feedback and noise into music. It bends all sound to its own crazy will and unleashes it like an army marching on your eardrums. Be grateful to Kevin Shields that he uses his powers for good rather than evil.

Loveless is not just about the guitar, though. That’s not all that makes it a truly great record. It’s everything, the whole package: the sound, the production, the strangely melodic white noise, the muted crack of the snare drum, the ethereal vocals, everything. The album is a dream. If I could make a record like this, I’d die a happy man.