This song has quite a story behind it. When working on the MASH movie Robert Altman attempted to come up with, “the stupidest song ever written,” for the funeral scene. But failed to come up with something suitably idiotic. But told the movie’s composer Johnny Mandel, “All is not lost. I’ve got a 15-year-old kid who’s a total idiot.”
So his son poured his heart into a dark poem about how suicide is the answer to a life full of pain. To which his dad presumably chortled, slapped him on the back and said, “This trash is absolutely perfect, you tiny moron.”
But the joke is on Robert Altman. His son made far more money from the song than Altman did for directing the movie thanks to it being used in the TV show and being covered by acts as diverse as Bill Evans and the Manic Street Preachers.
I’ve kept my arrangement pretty straightforward. There are lots of familiar chord shapes and it’s one finger per string picking all the way through. The only tricky part is the big leaps up the neck in bar 18. Also, watch out for the bar of 2/4 on D7 chord in bar 13. That D7 chord lasts for a bar longer in the original version but it feels a bit over the top to me so I cut it short (as the Manics did in their version).
With the release of the latest game in the Life is Strange series, they continue to pander to my musical taste. Making it time to add a couple more to my collection of songs from the series.
I have covered the intro for LiSztomania. But I wanted to expand that out into the full song. Which was more of a challenge than I expected. With each instrument adding their own little part to the arrangement is difficult to capture that in straight chords. I’ve used some less common chord inversions in the chart to try to capture the sound of the original better. But feel free to experiment with your own inversions and find what you prefer.
Even better would be an arrangement for a ukulele group. There are so many textures in this song with the intro riffs snaking in and out I think it’d work very well.
I’m not sure how many of these they can justify an eight year old listening to with the, “I know it from Rock Band,” excuse but I’m very happy to see classic Bloc Party crop up.
I decided to write up this song after it cropped up in my post on augmented chords. And it quickly became obvious it would have to be a group arrangement. It’s impressively constructed. For most arrangements I can remove a few bits without losing too much. But all the parts here seem essential to the song.
Nothing too challenging in the vocal part (top left of the video). I’m using fingerpicking but you could easily use a pick for the same arrangement. And a pick would help this part stand out if you’re playing in a group.
This is the most challenging part (top right of the video) and uses both fingerpicking and strumming. You fingerpick in the quieter sections and switch to strumming in the loud bits. Tip: if all four strings are played at once it’s strummed, if it’s three or less it’s picked.
My favourite part to play (bottom left of the video). As well as the great lick in the intro, it gives you a chance to rock out on the big chords in bridge section. To fill out the sound, I’ve used different inversions of the chords.
This part (bottom right of the video) starts and ends harmonizing the opening guitar riff. Between that it’s based on the marimba part in the song. Playing the piano riff an octave higher in the bridge and partially following the vocals in the chorus. There’s a lot of empty space in this part. So if you’re playing as part of a group this part could join in with the chords in the bridge section.
I’m using Teespring again this year. It is sort of a Kickstart for t-shirts. So you put in an order for your shirt, if there are enough orders by the end of the campaign the shirts are made and sent out. You’re not charged anything until the end of the campaign (and you’re not charged at all if the shirt doesn’t reach its goal). This way of doing it means all the shirts are printed at once and exactly the right shirts and sizes are made.
So if you want one of the shirts they’ll only be available until 18th October.
I’ve been using Teespring for many years now and it’s always worked well. My shirt came here (the UK) quickly and without any hassle. It’s nice quality. The one I have is five years old and it’s still in good shape. You can see it on a devastatingly handsome model in my recent videos.
The Shirts
In the US there are two different styles: the standard fit American Apparel crew-neck (at the top of the post) and the v-neck Bella Missy slim fit (directly above). Both are $22 plus shipping from the US.
The UK shirts are described as “Unisex Organic T-Shirt”. They’re both £22 from the UK including VAT (if you’re in a different EU country VAT should be charged at your local rate).
For this sheet, I’ve written up Frank and Nancy Sinatra’s version and used a capo on the fourth fret. That makes most of the chords much more straightforward. But there’s still the Ab that may need some practice.
Suggested Strumming
You can keep the strumming very simple and use this as your main strum:
d u d u
Intro and Solo: Main strum once per chord.
Verses: Main strum once per chord until the C7. Main strum four times on C7, twice each on F and Ab. Then back to the main strum once per chord for the rest.
The solo fits very nicely on the uke with a capo on the fourth fret. So I arranged this version that includes both the chords and the melody line. Here’s a version with just the melody line if you prefer that.
A new arrangement by David Beckingham. This time a tune originally recorded by King Oliver’s Jazz Band in 1923. But David’s version leans more towards Stefan Grossman’s
Last chance for Uke Hunt t-shirts for a year. Order them from US here or or the UK/Europe here before 18th October.
