-= Building a Guitar from Scratch with Absolutely No Woodworking Experience =-

Welcome to the CF Rocksmith 2014 Championship!

-= Week 654 =-

=> How and Why join the Championships?
=> Rocksmith 2014 Championships rules

Previous’ week Winners are:Lead:
- Beginner: LOST TROPHY
- Beginner Bonus: @EmbraceTheAbsurd (94)
- Intermediate: @Vodka a (97)
- Advanced: @jimbobmccecil il (97.67)
- Masterclass: @shaggy_malagy y (89)
- God of Guitar: Leader after week 3 is @shaggy_malagy (94), 1 week left… KEEP ROCKING!!!

Rhythm:
- Beginner: @EmbraceTheAbsurd d (96)
- Beginner Bonus: @EmbraceTheAbsurd (94)
- Intermediate: @behemoth8888 8 (95.1)
- Advanced: @Daz40 0 (94)
- Masterclass: @shaggy_malagy (95)
- God of Rhythm: Leader after week 3 is @drand d (93), 1 week left... KEEP ROCKING!!!

Bass:
- Beginner: LOST TROPHY
- Beginner Bonus: LOST TROPHY
- Intermediate: @Vodka a (100)
- Intermediate Bonus: @Vodka a (99)
- Advanced: @Mikson n (97)
- Advanced Bonus: @Mikson (99)
- Masterclass: @jimmy655 5 (99.5)
- God of Bass: Leader after week 3 is @pedropmf f (99.42), 1 week left... KEEP ROCKING!!!

Congrats to all winners. Well done!
This week’s songs are:


Lead Path:
Beginner: Oliver Tree - Let Me Down (2.5) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Beginner Bonus: Joyce Manor - Make Me Dumb (4^) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Intermediate: Asking Alexandria - The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel) (4.5) (Drop D) selected by cacahuate51
Intermediate Bonus: Phantogram - When I’m Small (4) (E Standard) selected by cacahuate51
Advanced: Tool - Vicarious (7*) (Drop D) selected by jimbobmccecil
Masterclass: Infinite Density - Spring On Mars (9*) (E Standard) selected by Vodka
God of Guitar: Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen Full Album (10) (Drop D) selected by Mikson [Week 4 of 4]

Rhythm Path:
Beginner: Joyce Manor - Make Me Dumb (3*) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Beginner Bonus: Phantogram - When I’m Small (2) (E Standard) selected by cacahuate51
Intermediate: Asking Alexandria - The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel) (4.5) (Drop D) selected by cacahuate51
Advanced: Tool - Vicarious (7*) (Drop D) selected by jimbobmccecil
Masterclass: Infinite Density - Spring On Mars (9*) (E Standard) selected by Vodka
God of Rhythm: Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen Full Album (9) (Drop D) selected by Mikson [Week 4 of 4]

Bass Path:
Beginner: Joyce Manor - Make Me Dumb (3*) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Beginner Bonus: Oliver Tree - Let Me Down (2.5) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Intermediate: Asking Alexandria - The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel) (4.5) (Drop D) selected by cacahuate51
Intermediate Bonus: Phantogram - When I’m Small (3) (Drop D) selected by cacahuate51
Advanced: Tool - Vicarious (7*) (Drop D) selected by jimbobmccecil
Masterclass: Infinite Density - Spring On Mars (8.5) (B Standard) selected by Vodka
God of Bass: Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen Full Album (8) (Drop D) selected by Mikson [Week 4 of 4]

(N) - difficulty rating
(N*) - highest difficulty rating for the class (promotion to higher class possible)
(N^) - difficulty rating higher than the highest for the class (promotion possible)

Check current week Rocksmith Championship Leaderboard


You can submit your song suggestions for the championship here
NEW! - easly add songs even on your mobile!:
Add Song Suggestion

Song Suggestions List available to view here: Google Sheets Spreadsheet

Share with us your opinion on this weeks songs difficulty scores (1-10).

Do you want to host a week? Join the Championship organizing team!!!
The process is smooth and there is a tutorial as well. If you are interested, send a personal message to Rodman."

Some detuning this week but just the e string. Hope you all have a decent week!

OKi some interesting facts about the selection that may or may not be true:

Oliver Tree - "Let Me Down"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxG-7AsbjeI

• Multiple Music Videos: There are actually two distinct music videos for this song. One features Oliver’s signature eccentric style, while the second is a "visualizer" that was released alongside a remix featuring Blink-182’s Travis Barker.

• The "Retirement" Prank: When the song was released in 2020, Oliver Tree claimed it would be part of his final album (Ugly Is Beautiful) and that he was retiring from music—a claim he has made and retracted multiple times since.

• Chart Success: This track served as a major commercial breakthrough, peaking at number 9 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

• Lyrical Themes: The song explores the frustration of being let down by someone you trust, written during a period when Oliver was publicly feuding with his record label over the delay of his album.

• Genre Blending: It is a hallmark of his style, blending elements of 90s alt-rock with modern hyper-pop and indie-electronic influences.

Joyce Manor - "Make Me Dumb"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYmEljXcfE0

• Short and Sweet: True to Joyce Manor’s "pop-punk minimalist" philosophy, the song is incredibly concise, clocking in at just under two minutes.

• Production Heritage: The track was produced by Rob Schnapf, who is famous for his work with Elliot Smith and Tokyo Police Club, which helped give the song its polished yet raw indie-rock sound.

• Vocal Delivery: Lead singer Barry Johnson is known for his emotive, strained vocal style, which in this track emphasizes the feeling of self-deprecation and social exhaustion.

• Album Context: It is a standout track from their 2016 album Cody, which marked a shift toward more melodic, structured songwriting compared to their earlier, more aggressive "emo-revival" roots.

• Theme of Escapism: The lyrics "make me dumb" are often interpreted as a desire to shut off one's brain and escape the anxieties of adulthood and self-awareness.

Asking Alexandria - "The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5D9HWDpNSk

• Gold Certification: It remains one of the band's most successful singles and was officially certified Gold by the RIAA in 2017.

• Music Video Aesthetic: The video is iconic for its late-2000s "scenecore" aesthetic, featuring the band playing in a dark room with fast cuts and glass shattering.

• Early Career Launch: This was the lead single from their debut album Stand Up and Scream, effectively launching the band's career in the United States after they relocated from the UK.

• Electronic Influence: The song was a pioneer in "Electronicore," blending heavy metal riffs and guttural screams with Euro-dance synthesizers and programmed beats.

Phantogram - "When I’m Small"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28tZ-S1LFok

• The "Lucy" Sample: The driving drum beat in the song is a slowed-down sample from "Lucy in the Jungle with Diamonds" by the soul group Willis Jackson.

• Commercial Darling: You have likely heard this song in the background of numerous commercials and TV shows; it was famously used in ads for everything from Gillette to Canon cameras.

• Eerie Origins: The band (Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter) recorded the song in a remote barn they called "Harmony Lodge" in upstate New York, which contributed to the track's atmospheric, haunting vibe.

• Street Cred: The song's unique "street beat" and trip-hop influence caught the attention of Big Boi from Outkast, eventually leading to the formation of their collaborative group, Big Grams.

• Signature Sound: This track defined Phantogram’s "psych-pop" sound—mixing dark, moody synthesizers with hip-hop rhythmic structures.

Tool - "Vicarious"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_TUP2vuaDs

• The "Eye" Concept: The song explores the human obsession with tragedy and voyeurism through media, essentially arguing that people live "vicariously" through the suffering of others on the news.

• Grammy Nominee: The song was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards.

• Complex Rhythm: In typical Tool fashion, the song uses intricate time signatures, primarily centered around $5/4$, but shifting through various patterns that keep the listener off-balance.

• Visual Collaboration: The music video was the first Tool video to be produced entirely using CGI, created in collaboration with the visionary artist Alex Grey.

• Lengthy Recording: Though it sounds like a cohesive jam, the band spent months meticulously layering the guitars and drums to achieve the specific "mechanical" yet organic sound of the 10,000 Days album.

Infinite Density - "Spring On Mars"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah5sDaUckUg

• One-Man Project: Infinite Density is the solo project of Andrew "Drew" Sipe, who handles all the instrumentation and production, showcasing a high level of technical proficiency.

• Space-Themed Narrative: As the title suggests, the track is part of a larger instrumental concept focused on space exploration and the atmospheric "feeling" of other planets.

• Progressive Fusion: The song is a blend of technical death metal, jazz fusion, and ambient music, often drawing comparisons to artists like Plini or Intervals but with a "heavier" edge.

• Production Quality: Despite being an independent project, the track is noted in the prog-metal community for its incredibly clean "bedroom producer" aesthetic, where every layer of the complex arrangement is audible.

• Synthesizer Integration: Unlike many metal projects, "Spring On Mars" uses synthesizers not just for atmosphere, but as a lead melodic instrument that often "duels" with the guitar solos.

this one was kinda hard to judge cause theres not that many notes but there is octaves played kinda slow. Initially I rated it a 4, but in context with the other songs I thought it was easier so i lowered it to a 3


I thought we had already played this song before in the championship but i guess i chose another tool song in the guitar hero week

looks like i forgot to take lots of guitar scores will have to play them again

@shaggy_malagy what a madman 😅

😅

the rest of gtr + improvements

Have a nice musweek everyone! Thanks for hosting @cacahuate51 !

Joyce Manor - Make Me Dumb. I think Bass is 2 and Lead is 4 here.

Phantogram - When I’m Small. Rhythm is easy. Lead is harder then Joyce Manor i think. And Bass is easy too.

Asking Alexandria - The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel). I can't play it. I would not say it's 4 but 6.

Tool - Vicarious. Hard.

Infinite Density - Spring On Mars. Hope summer is gonna be more pleasant...

Oliver Tree - Let Me Down

thanks for the week @cacahuate51 I think I'll have some trouble with the drop tunings on my bass, but let's do it 😅

All the open bass string riffs really boosted the score way higher than I expected... it felt like chaos when I was playing it

Good songs again 😁 blink 182, asking alexandria, and prior week relient k. maybe next week some system of a down, more blink or the offspring? jk 😄 thanks for the great selection 😜

I'm still struggling with asking alexandria's main riff at 100% speed, it sounds a bit messy but I'm trying my best to clean it up 😅😵 still a bit sweaty for me 😩

2 hours ago, behemoth8888 said:

Good songs again 😁 blink 182, asking alexandria, and prior week relient k. maybe next week some system of a down, more blink or the offspring? jk 😄 thanks for the great selection 😜

Yeah I wouldnt mind, I love me some 2000s rock or i guess now its considered dad rock.
But it will be upto whomever does next week ;) I also wouldnt mind something completley foriegn/unknown to me just to vary it up.
at any rate, friendly reminder to anyone here to leave suggestions for cdlc picks over here
https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycbwy6vF3XYDZ_s1WeqiHTgBcVgbF8cr2AUQjKH3aRSZYuh32Erc-IstP5Gos-1i_evkm/exec

It's fast so aprox of 100% of the song it sounds like noise and sets of messy sounds.

I don’t know if I’ll have much time this week, but I’ll try to work a bit on the Tool song.

So many notes all over the place 🫠

Improvements

Thanks for the new week!

Hey ! Thanks for another week.
Here's my entries... for now at least.


I think the Asking Alexandria song should be in advanced.
The Phantogram one, needless to say, it's a beginner(but i get it now.)
The Tool one... i think it should be, at least, 8.5 😅☠️

It's brutal for me to play this one with a pick on guitar (on bass I just play it with my fingers). Any suggestions on up/down picking on the main riffs near the start would be appreciated.

52 minutes ago, jimmy655 said:

It's brutal for me to play this one with a pick on guitar (on bass I just play it with my fingers). Any suggestions on up/down picking on the main riffs near the start would be appreciated.

i think i just played downstrokes on the string skipping sections...maybe the ocasional up at the red strings after the 8 yellow but i do think its mostly down strokes when i did the 99+%. And then alternative on the single 16ths or whatever subdivision it is but i doubt someone would try to do that just down unless you are the guy from metalica.

But im sure you can play it however you want as long as it comfortable for you/you practice it🤷‍♂️

Guitar scores

This is above my skills 😅 I'll insist on some RR

Not very difficult, but the arpeggio sections are tricky and I lost some notes due to recognition.

And this week's songs

The previous songs have ok ratings (maybe I give +0.5), but I agree with Vodka that 4 is definitely too low for this. Fast tempo, plus tricky, fast riffs, 5.5 for me.

I probably prefer spring on earth 😉

one great beg song (2.5)

oh sweeeeet music, love that

straight (6) - you can play that sounding ok in any way - you are advanced for sure

adv (7)

cool one!!!

not too easy as a sightread ;)