u/TheRiver1789

Hi I’m a new guitar player and I’m doing the 1 minute chord change practices but my main obstacle is that near the end of the minute my hand starts to cramp and lock up and become difficult to move and a little painful. I have joint hyper mobility (as well as CPTSD) so I generally tend to unconsciously death grip things, like I stopped writing with a pencil because my fingers would become sore so quickly. I’m trying to consciously relax my fingers but it only partially works. I’ve also noted my shoulder tends to get really sore as well, if that’s relevant, like I just finished playing for an hour and my upper arm and shoulder feel like I just lifted weights at the gym. Do you guys have any tips or suggestions on what do here?

Hey I’m a new player and I’m doing the 1 minute chord change practices but my main obstacle is really that near the end of the minute my hand starts to cramp and lock up and become difficult to move and a little painful. For context I have joint hyper mobility (as well as CPTSD) so I generally tend to unconsciously death grip things, like I stopped writing with a pencil because my fingers would become sore so quickly. I’m trying to consciously relax my fingers but it only partially works. (Edit: I’ve also noted my shoulder tends to get really sore as well, if that’s relevant.) Is this just a normal part of the learning curve that I’ll get over naturally, or are there specific things I should be doing here? Would really appreciate any advice from people with experience with this. Thanks!

Why are vocals always so quiet?

Hi so I’m relatively new to alternative music, especially to live shows. I’m 19 and Bruce Springsteen is my favorite musician of all time (def listen to Born to Run and Jungleland if you haven’t), but in terms of traditional alternative musicians my favorites would probably be like The Clash, The Cure, and The Smiths (I also really like Osie for a newer one).

For me I feel like a huge part of music is the lyrics, cause they’re able to create a thematic framework to make the sound intelligible. But especially at live shows that I go to, the vocals are mixed at equal or lower volume than the instruments. My impression is that the philosophy here is that they’re treating the vocals as just another instrument, but I really don’t like this. I’d genuinely just prefer a purely instrumental piece, because I end up straining trying to hear the lyrics and feeling like I’m missing something, rather than absorbing the music. Is this just a technical issue or is it an intentional style? I got this CD of The Breeders’ Last Splash and even though it’s not live, like the vocal mixing genuinely ruined the album for me, like idk it just irritates me unconsciously for some reason. Is this a common complaint or am I kind of alone on this?

This is my hot take. I really really loathe Lucky Town. Tunnel of Love is already kind of a renunciation of his youthful rebellion, but it’s like really well done and well articulated. Lucky Town literally just repeats the exact same themes but in a trashier more low effort way. That cover actually kills me bro. I don’t feel like there’s a single song in this album I really loved. On the other hand, I really don’t understand the hate for Human Touch. Granted, it’s nowhere near his peak albums, but like it feels very solid to me.

Human Touch itself while a little derivative of Dancing in the Dark is very solid I think, Soul Driver is very ethereal and fun, 57 Channels has this eerie alienated feeling I really like (almost an older Nebraska type song), Cross My Heart is just really good, Gloria’s Eyes almost reminds of like D.H. Lawrence, With Every Wish is super poignant and well written, Roll of the Dice is decent, Real World is nice, admittedly All Or Nothing At All kinda sucks, Man’s Job feels chauvinistic at first but I think it’s actually a really good commentary on masculinity, I Wish I Were Blind is a little repetitive, Long Goodbye is fun, Real Man sucks, and Pony Boy is a poor closer. Whereas like in Lucky Town I basically find them all mid or actively annoying, like idk what the title track is even supposed to be about it, the Better Days song is much worse than the Asbury Jukes Better Days, Local Hero is good but eh, admittedly If I Should Fall Behind and Book of Dreams are great, and Leap of Faith is fine, but the rest are so mid.

Idk I guess I just don’t understand the current consensus that Lucky Town is the superior album. Lucky Town feels spiritually empty, Human Touch at least has some passion and creativity in it I think.

Hey I’m new to both classical music and CD collecting, and I always see tons of classical CDs in thrift stores but idk which are actually good quality. I want a curated collection, like every CD should justify itself.

I’m 19, my normal favorite musician is Springsteen, and I’m probably most interested in Beethoven and Bach.

Hey, so I’m 18 and just graduated from high school and am about to take a gap year.

I’m trying to make sure I’m not totally alone the whole year, so right now my main plans are to meet people through volunteering. However for instance DSA members tend to mostly not be in my age demographic, so the Vera Project is the only place I’ve found which will probably have other teens.

So yeah I’m curious what activities or events or places are good for meeting people from like 18-24. I’m interested in alt communities, reading, board games, politics, philosophy, and idk I’m open to new stuff as well. Any advice? Thanks!