HOW MY GUITAR COULD GENTLY WEEP
…………how to play guitar?
PONYXPRESS JUNE 2026
Maybe some good oldies of you remember the old Beatles-white 1968 album with the song „while my guitar geently weeps“?
This is another PONYXPRESS of RADIO JAVALI notcasted from rural Portugal, my name is still Michael, ola, hello, you’re very welcome to listen to a lot of different ways to play guitar.
A huge thank you for all the birthday wishes!
71, wow… 7+1=8, infinity has always fascinated me, but I live in terms of duration, yes, that’s how it is!
Let me say something with age, haha: the most important thing in life is failure. Really: failing spectacularly: physically, emotionally, mentally, that’s it… oh no, please leave me alone with all that YouTube-Instagram-Facebook-healing crap: learning from mistakes! The biggest load of rubbish ever!
We don’t live to learn, we live to live. Actually, life lives itself.
Fernando Pessoa knew this 100 years ago:
“We will never realize ourselves! We are two abysses: a well that looks up to heaven.”
Exactly: real life is the difference between what we dream of, plan, want, and long for, and the things that actually happen.
So enough of this old-age wisdom or old-age stupidity, screw it, let’s keep living… there’s still so much awesome music out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, here’s another long-promised PONYXPRESS from RADIO JAVALI, recorded between Benfeita and Luadas on the edge of the Serra do Acor in the Portuguese mountains. My name is still Michael, and as I mentioned before, I’ve actually turned 71 years old—fantastic, I love it.
Ola, hello, you’re very welcome to listen to a lot of different ways to play guitar.
To start things off today, there were three awesome guitar solo intros that you just want to listen to again and again, so I played them several times in a row. The idea came from Bill Orcutt, who, on his FAKE-ESTATES Bandcamp page, under the title “Last Days,” repeated the famous Guns N’ Roses intro on his computer for 40 minutes. A brilliant idea that picks up on Andy Warhol’s ideas and, through endless repetition, takes pop culture to absurd extremes. And it’s fun to listen to for 40 minutes; you get a trance-like feeling. I once played it as an intro to a DJ set at a party for 20 minutes, and nobody really reacted or found it strange. Yeah, a few people asked, “Ah, is that Guns N’ Roses?”. The Bill Orcutt Last Days saga continues. I discovered Last Days on the same day it was uploaded and offered on Bandcamp, and I bought it immediately. A few days later, Last Days had disappeared from Bandcamp; Axel Rose must have been furious! Not only that, but it was gone from my Bandcamp account too! It certainly alarms me that Bandcamp has access to my fan account, but in this world of digital surveillance, it doesn’t surprise me at all anymore. It’s still listed on Discogs, though: https://www.discogs.com/release/36974280-Bill-Orcutt-Last-Days.
… First guitar was David Gilmore, I got it from somewhere in the internet, second was the above mentioned Last Days, third was by BIG BRAVE’S Matt Ball, and his fantastic intro to the song “the ineptitude for mutual discernment” from BIG BRAVE’S new one “In grief or in hope”, which has been released the 12th of June 2026; https://bigbrave.bandcamp.com/track/the-ineptitude-for-mutual-discernment. First song we heard was by Andy Boay. who is one half of “Tonstartssbandht” with his great song “IN THE LIGHT Pt. 1” from his CD with the same title: https://andyboay.bandcamp.com/track/in-the-light-pt-1
After Andy Boay, we heard “WE’VE GOT ELECTRICITY” by Vertigo Swirl, one of the bands of Brian Andrew Marek and “Manik” Myk Thompson, who run the Rubberstamp label in St. Louis and have been very active in indie, noise, and experimental rock for ages—all DIY, of course. The song shows the endless possibilities that electricity has brough to the guitar: https://brianandrewmarek.bandcamp.com/album/a-new-swirled-record
Next song was by Gunn- Truscinski duo from 2020 “Soundkeeper”- cd and the song “VALLEY SPIRAL”: https:// gunntruscinskiduo.bandcamp.com/track/valley-spiral. Then we listened to the fantastic “HYDROFOIL” performed live in Portsmouth by the heavily underrated Unrest in 1992: https://unrest.bandcamp.com/track/hydrofoil-live-in-portsmouth.
“HYDROFOIL” was followed by “TURNING” by Stephen R. Smith from his 2025 e.p, Turning. Stephen R. Smith is a super-busy musician from L.A. also known as Hala Strana, Ulaan Khol, Ulaan Markhor, Ulaan Passerine and running his worstward label, go here: https://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/turning-e-p.
Then we headed across the Pacific to Australia to listen to Hot Palms’ “MUSS BLUES,” a super-relaxed piece of so-called Australian coastal rock. Hot Palms was the band of Alec Marshall and Emma Russack; later, this project became Blue Divers, but they remained true to their Hot Palms sound—really great for hot days by the sea. https://whydontyoubelieveme.bandcamp.com/album/muss-blues-songs-instrumentals-2012-14.
Back across the Pacific to L.A. to Matt Baldwin and his “Night in the Triangle” CD, featuring the song “PELLEGRINO.” Matt Baldwin has done a lot of solo work; here he can be heard in a duo with Kephera Moon on organ. “Night in the Triangle” was released in 2011; https://psychicarts.bandcamp.com/track/pellegrino
Matt Baldwin is a musician and psychotherapist. He runs a substack, which can be found here: https://baldwinunlimited.substack.com/. He recently uploaded “HOW TO PLAY GUITAR: THE COLLECTED ZINES” to his Bandcamp: https://psychicarts.bandcamp.com/album/how-to-play-guitar-the-collected-zines-audiobook. We listened to Volume 1. I appreciate his very unique and unusual approach to the subject, but I believe that’s precisely what makes for “great music.”
Logically, after an exerpt of Matt Baldwin’s guitar- handbook, we listened to Jon Fahey’s “DANCE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE INVISIBLE CITY OF BLADENSBURG”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY4FWFzPYJU
Filho da mae (Rui Cavalho), a guitarist from Lisbon, seems to have been inspired by John Fahey’s song and, together with Ricardo Martins on drums, played the song “ESTRELA DE ARCABADA” from their 2016 CD, *tormenta*. https://filhodamae.bandcamp.com/track/1-estrela-e-acabada
Next up was the fantastic Italian guitarist Andrea Cauduro, originally a classically trained musician, who became more interested in DIY rock and punk to explore the interplay of guitar, amplifier, space, and the resulting feedback: https://deleterec.bandcamp.com/track/eulogy-blue
The next song was from my new homeland of six years, Portugal, by Felipe Felizardo, a true god on the guitar, “PUXAPRA TRAS,” from his 2025 release: Puxapra Trás b/w Puxa Pratrás; https://filipefelizardo.bandcamp.com/track/puxapra-tr-s
We stayed with Felipe Felizardo, in a duet with an equally incredible Portuguese musician, double bassist Margarida Garcia. “LIMBO A” is a live recording from the central bus station in Lisbon from 2016: https://deadvox.bandcamp.com/track/limbo-a
Portugal’s DIY, noise, and experimental music scene is really vibrant, but like almost everything in Portugal, it’s hard to find. The Portuguese aren’t ones for bragging. The next song is from my favorite Portuguese musician, David Maranha, here performing as a duo with Stefano Pilia. The song “ASCESE” is from their album “na boca do avanel,” recorded in 2024. I absolutely recommend everything by David Maranha: https://coherentstates.bandcamp.com/album/na-boca-do-lvanel
Next up is the casual art ensemble from Rio de Janeiro. LeAlmeida is the man behind the well-known Orua, in addition to numerous solo projects. The casual art ensemble is the band where he focuses on improvisation and collaboration. The song is “TEMPO VIVIDO,” recently released on the album *moon forces*: https://halfshellrecords.bandcamp.com/album/moon-forces
My beloved New Zealand scene couldn’t be missing today either, so after “TEMPO VIVIDO” by Anthony Milton’s *The Troubled Times*, we have the song “FLICKER FLICKER BLUE,” recorded in Anthony’s garage in 2023: `https://thetroubledtimes.bandcamp.com/track/flicker-flicker-blue
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From Gothenburg, Sweden’s experimental music capital, we hear the song “ETERNAL RETURN” from the Eternal Music Society’s 7″ single from 2025, Eternal Return/Impasse. Rock reduced to its essence—that’s exactly how it’s done. Of course, the musical genius Sofie Herner is behind it: https://eternalmusicsociety.bandcamp.com/track/eternal-return
One more, one of my absolute favorites: “JEFF MILLS BLUES” by Flying Saucer Attack from their 1996 John Peel session—back to the future! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHjyQBp4RK8
That was Radio Javalis’ “Pony Express,” recorded in June 2026 in the Portuguese hinterland. Of course, I’d like to broadcast more often, but off-grid life takes up a lot of time for the basics: electricity, water, garden, etc. But honestly, I seriously considered broadcasting at least once a month, and maybe even a short, snappy new track or two in between. Gems from my endless music library. Let’s see, thanks for listening, see you soon. Comments are very welcome! Contact: disappear@anche.no
Show is here: https://www.mixcloud.com/michaelbittl/how-my-guitar-could-gently-weep-how-to-play-guitar/