Guy overdubs his atrocious guitar playing over Clapton concert

Funny stuff from the Panopticist:

Late last year a Finnish media artist named Santeri Ojala got a lot of attention for a series of hilarious YouTube videos in which he lifted concert footage of various guitar heroes and overdubbed his own intentionally awful playing. The bad musicianship was funny enough, but the verisimilitude made it even funnier: Ojala was great at matching each player’s hand movements and timing, and he sprinkled lukewarm applause and other sound effects throughout. The videos were like alternate-universe versions of rock-god cliches.

A month or two ago, YouTube yanked the videos and suspended Ojala’s YouTube account, apparently due to copyright complaints from several of the guitarists. Many of the videos have now resurfaced on YouTube, and because I never got around to posting them the first time, here’s one of the best.

Link

[#1 posted by paddysat , March 17, 2008 12:17 PM]

Brilliant! Thank you SOOO much for that. Made my day!

[#2 posted by Takuan , March 17, 2008 12:27 PM]

thanks, you just made me usee the last diaper in the box

[#3 posted by maidel , March 17, 2008 12:31 PM]

love the sax.

[#4 posted by Yorgle , March 17, 2008 12:37 PM]

I've always loved the Ozzy one... and the Metallica one cracks me up.

[#5 posted by joemo , March 17, 2008 12:42 PM]

hilarious is the right word... I'm crying that was so funny.

[#6 posted by strider_mt2k , March 17, 2008 12:45 PM]

Holy crap.

WHY IS THAT SO FUNNY???

I can't stop laughing when I watch this or even think about it!

[#7 posted by mellowknees , March 17, 2008 12:45 PM]

this is brilliant...I love it. The mediocre drums and keyboard are just too much...ha!

[#8 posted by Brian Damage , March 17, 2008 12:49 PM]

Unbelievable that artists and those that represent them would claim a copyright violation on a parody. Do they honestly believe videos like this are swallowing up the artist's profits somehow?

The music industry has all but ruined my naive appreciation of music. Now I'm motivated to research an artist's business affiliations before committing to investing in that artist's portfolio. Business and pleasure are arch enemies.

[#9 posted by Ned613 , March 17, 2008 12:52 PM]

How can the artists argue copyright infringement? Isn't the video protected under some kind of parody law?

[#10 posted by strider_mt2k , March 17, 2008 12:54 PM]

Sadly, the law itself is a parody any more.

[#11 posted by hkaiser3 , March 17, 2008 12:56 PM]

there was a nice, small article about Ojala in GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE

http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/santeri-ojala/jan-08/32953

[#12 posted by mappo , March 17, 2008 1:12 PM]

@Yorgle: thanks for the Metallica heads up. I can't stop laughing at it!

[#13 posted by Bobdotcom , March 17, 2008 1:16 PM]

This one's my favorite as much for the Ozzy overdub as anything else: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JBzWZq4fXg

[#14 posted by Nores , March 17, 2008 1:19 PM]

Wait, that's a fake overdub? So Clapton's better than that?? Damn!!

[#15 posted by assumetehposition , March 17, 2008 1:23 PM]

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

[#16 posted by Bryan Price , March 17, 2008 1:26 PM]

I'm still laughing.

[#17 posted by gATO , March 17, 2008 1:29 PM]

the Yngwie Malmsteen one really takes the cake!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8pAPeGJlks

[#18 posted by Mike8787 , March 17, 2008 1:33 PM]

The guitar fart at 1:40 had me rolling.

[#19 posted by paddysat , March 17, 2008 1:38 PM]

Here is the creator on Jimmy Kimmel with Slash. He actually does it live!

[#20 posted by Haldor , March 17, 2008 1:38 PM]

That was a riot!

The overdub sounds like good guitar playing, technique-wise. I can just see some concert goers applauding if a guitar hero played that way. "It's Clapton! It must be good!"

The music reminded me of modern jazz.

[#21 posted by scottfree , March 17, 2008 1:49 PM]

The main difference in the overdub is lack of distortion, rather then technique. I reckon what he plays, apart from the comic stops, wouldn't sound out of place if he put a pedal on it. Equally take distortion off your average rock track and you wind up with Ojala.

[#22 posted by jackjumper , March 17, 2008 1:50 PM]

Brilliant!

I actually was looking at creating a web site for just this sort of thing - audio only, however. It was to be called "rottenguitar". People would upload their rotten guitar playing and others could vote on the worst examples (who is the rottenest of all?). The site would sell ads for guitar stuff and such.

In any case, when I talked to a lawyer about it he said I'd probably get sued because people don't want to hear just any rotten guitar, but rotten versions of songs they know...

Bleah. I do have a couple of examples of (my) rotten playing on rotten originals here: http://rottenguitar.googlepages.com/home

[#23 posted by username , March 17, 2008 1:53 PM]

guitar face = big laughs even without the overdubbing

[#24 posted by Dillenger69 , March 17, 2008 1:56 PM]

That was so funny it brought a tear to my eye.
Good Stuff!

[#25 posted by PolishQ , March 17, 2008 1:56 PM]

I was a big fan of these, so I'm glad to see some of them are back online.

My favorite thing about these is how, for the most part, only the instruments on screen can be heard. See "Santana shreds" for the best example.

[#26 posted by William Joseph Dunn , March 17, 2008 2:00 PM]

"A month or two ago, YouTube yanked the videos and suspended Ojala’s YouTube account, apparently due to copyright complaints from several of the guitarists"

Lame! I would think these guys would have a better sense of humor and be flattered that someone went through the trouble. The Clapton one is great, but I think my favorite is still the Ozzy one because of the hand claps...couldn't stop laughing.

[#27 posted by robophonic , March 17, 2008 2:00 PM]

I think I heard that guy play the last time I was at Guitar Center.

[#28 posted by toilet , March 17, 2008 2:07 PM]

I was a big fan of this guy as well. He also posted a really funny Star Wars overdub here using James Earl Jones' dialog from Coming to America.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=utGXF5orynk

[#29 posted by shannonpatrick17 , March 17, 2008 2:34 PM]

scottfree: yeah you are so right, most guitar legends use cheap tricks like distortion and "pedal" as you say to make up for any real "talent". Because nowadays any kid can plug in a plastic guitar into their x-box and shred,finally we all realize that we have been hoodwinked into the rock mythos and we can stop believing this ridiculous untruth.
P.S. your many platinum albums and years of having a successful music career etc. give you the credibility to comment on such things as technique, and school all of us unknowing average readers into sharing your belief of what is actually cool and what guitar playing is all about... long live emo

[#30 posted by takeshi , March 17, 2008 2:37 PM]

Yeah, but what about this guy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKMYeXkYcgs&feature=related

[#31 posted by takeshi , March 17, 2008 2:37 PM]

Yeah, but what about this guy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKMYeXkYcgs&feature=related

[#32 posted by sluggo , March 17, 2008 2:38 PM]

You can see Slash get uncomfortable when he is the object of this treatment live on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpXB5MSTDfQ

Slashy gets up and tears out a solo in response. It's kinda sad - he just can't take the ridicule.

These 'special' guitarists just can't stand to be taken anything but seriously - which is why I'm guessing all the videos got takedown notices, signed, "Bruised Ego".

HA!

[#33 posted by mandeville , March 17, 2008 2:40 PM]

Huge improvement of the usual Clapton snoozefest.

[#34 posted by sammy baby , March 17, 2008 2:45 PM]

When I was in high school, I was in a band which ahd a string of really laughable gigs, including one in the parking lot of a McDonald's. We'd wanted to record a live session of us, so our drummer & vocalist (as well as the guy who actually had his own recording equipment) recorded the performance... but because a "crowd" of ten people and assorted traffic noise from the nearby highway didn't make for compelling background sound, he dubbed in the crowd noises from "Frampton Comes Alive."

I still laugh thinking about it.

[#35 posted by Bionicrat2 , March 17, 2008 3:13 PM]

#28 Toilet,

Thanks for that link. Big laughs!

[#36 posted by Riblets , March 17, 2008 3:20 PM]

Textbook Definition of Parody

[#37 posted by ill lich , March 17, 2008 3:24 PM]

I always thought the Ozzy/Jake E Lee one was the best, Jake E. Lee has the most exaggerated guitar-god stage moves that are perfectly juxtaposed with the horrible playing, plus Ozzy's occasional "grunts" into the mic are priceless.

It's a testament to how well he put these together-- I showed them to a musician friend of mine and (not knowing who Jake E. Lee was) he just assumed it was a bunch of crappy musicians. "Jeez, that guy is horrible, how'd he get on stage in front of all those people?"

[#38 posted by djam , March 17, 2008 3:31 PM]

i'd like to hear the original! the sax is hillarious

[#39 posted by franko , March 17, 2008 3:35 PM]

wow, they all sound just like how *i* sound playing. if they all were about a thousand times worse than they are. hilarious!

[#40 posted by Art , March 17, 2008 4:14 PM]

Oh...THAT...IS...GREAT!!!

I haven't stopped laughing.

Thank you so much for the post.

[#41 posted by Ian Holmes , March 17, 2008 4:28 PM]

yanked again :-(

[#42 posted by RJ , March 17, 2008 4:55 PM]

Hilarious!

I love Clapton's facial expressions, and how energetic the drummer looks. Such incompetence, mixed with that "hell yeah" attitude. Hehehee

[#43 posted by Xeniphobic , March 17, 2008 5:08 PM]

I thought that this was absolutely hilarious until the keyboard and drums kicked in...then it hit too close to home. I can't believe that nobody's said this yet, but this sounds exactly like a Grateful Dead concert! I'm a Deadhead and love the good ol' Grateful Dead, but during live shows beginning in the late 70's they played crap like this for about 20 minutes each show and called it "Space." Some Deadheads liked it, I thought that it was usually pretty crappy.

[#44 posted by Kyle Armbruster , March 17, 2008 5:48 PM]

I have tears running down my cheeks. Brilliant!

[#45 posted by Takuan , March 17, 2008 6:00 PM]

those aren't tears

[#46 posted by queensissy , March 17, 2008 6:23 PM]

#29: Calm down, buddy. Go get yourself a soda or something.

[#47 posted by rallen , March 17, 2008 6:26 PM]

This parody of Danzig's Mother is on par with Santeri Ojala work.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nzmr6REbSTU

[#48 posted by Art , March 17, 2008 6:36 PM]

.....And also check out the 'Derek Trucks Shreds'video on You Tube.

[#49 posted by tubesoda , March 18, 2008 12:24 AM]

In a similar vein, but without as much effort, I just stumbled upon someone who overdubbed several cheesy 80's love ballads over the SAME Manowar video, and it's amazing how well it works. I think this one is the best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a_i6GbPntE

#47: That Mother parody was made by the Legion of Rock Stars, where some guys listen to a song that they don't really know on noise cancelling headphones so they can't hear themselves or each other, and simultaneously attempt to play what they're hearing. The Danzig one is possibly the funniest just because that's pretty much what Danzig normally sounds like. The rest are here: http://www.youtube.com/user/fibboks

[#50 posted by f sharp a sharp infinity , March 18, 2008 12:43 AM]

The Genius of the Clapton thing is when he sneaks in that tiny phrase of 'Enter Sandman' while the camera is off Clapton and as it cuts back he makes it sound like Clapton is embarrassed at being caught out. Genius.

[#51 posted by howtoplayalone , March 18, 2008 1:05 AM]

It does sound like the Grateful Dead, especially when the keyboards come in.

[#52 posted by Amplifier , March 18, 2008 2:38 AM]

#47 Rallen

Beat me there, those Legion of Rock Stars clips are hilarious. And they must have had so much fun making them.

Now these guys better hope they don't get sued by Gibson.

[#53 posted by ill lich , March 18, 2008 11:26 AM]

It just occurred to me-- this was done before, check out this clip of Greg Ginn from 1984.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1doq56L37w

Somebody MUST have dubbed that in!

(wink wink)