itching to play demons

Aiming to de-stress from the hustle and bustle (not to mention the seemingly demotivating atmosphere) of the office, I decided to don my earphones, whipped out a long-forgotten CD of MP3 recordings which I entitled "Alternative Stretch". Obviously, the songs in this CD collection were alternative songs -- which is a relative term of course. My personal view of an alternative song is that it doesn't fall at least into any of these genres: soft rock, glam rock, new wave, metal, hardcore, punk or grunge. Nowadays, the genre I'm talking about is sometimes labeled emo. But heck, what's with labels anyway, right? As long as it's not operatic or trance music then it might be worth listening too no matter the label.

The songs in the CD included songs by 311, Our Lady Peace, Dashboard Confessional, Thursday, Flaming Lips, Biffy Clyro, and others. However, one song caught anew my attention and that song was Guster's Demons.

A hauntingly beautiful song (albeit a bit difficult to croon because of the high key) I was surprised to find out that the entire heck of the song only had four chords - Am - F - C - G! Very basic ones at that!

Previous attempts at finding chords were nil -- all that was available on music and guitar sites were tabs and I am an idiot when it comes to reading such. So, I was very, very pleased to finally figure out that the heck of the song was so simple that why didn't I think of just trying to pluck out the tune from air (aka kapain).

So, after listening to the song for a few more spins (or clicks of the WinAmp rewind button), I made up my mind to dust off the guitar from its hanging place when I get home and give it a go. Now, those who've been reading this blog know the state of the old guitar at home (agh, another reminder that I still need to buy a new guitar!!!) and braving the blisters that were soon to appear, I played out Demons (with the accompanying yoodle, of course).

Here are the lyrics of Guster's Demons, followed by a video of the band playing the acoustic version of the song that you can sing-along with:

DEMONS by Guster
from the album Goldfly (1996)

My words confuse you
My eyes don’t move a blink
Cause it’s easier sometimes
Not to be sincere
Somehow I make you believe ... believe

When I speak I cross my fingers
Will you know you’ve been deceived?
I find a need to be the demon
A demon cannot be hurt

Honest is easy
Fiction is where genius lies
Cause it’s easier sometimes
Not to be involved
Somehow I make you believe ... believe

When I speak I cross my fingers
Will you know you’ve been deceived?
I find a need to be the demon
A demon cannot be hurt