Hello and welcome to Beyond the Sound! In the coming articles, we will explore countless songs of varying genres and themes, so that we can better appreciate these classic tracks. From this sentence on, to get the full experience, you must have an open mind. Keep reading with a receptive spirit and you will find that you will be rewarded with knowledge and happiness.
With so many different types of music, dwindling down my list of awesome songs was daunting to say the least. Trying to get the list down to ten was something that took me longer than expected. Grinding out my list, I needed to decide which track would be mentioned in the debut article. As a Historian, I looked to the past for help. The great writer Oscar Wilde once said “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” This was a sign I told myself. I then looked at my short list and found a song that several artists attempted. Little Wing was my opener.
I think a quick disclaimer is in order before we move forward. I will be using Wikipedia for this article. I was taught that Wikipedia is not an academic source. Now since this is not an academic paper, I think I am covered. Nonetheless, I checked out the sources used and doubled checked the citations and footnotes. Everything seems legit. Saying that, I am human so if you find a mistake, contact me and we will make it right.
Little Wing was a song originally written by Jimi Hendrix back in 1967. Hendrix was not known for songs like this. His first ballad, Hendrix explains that his song was inspired by the Monterey Pop Festival:
One cannot argue that the lyrics are powerful. A modern-day poet in disguise, Hendrix used his words to create beautiful music. Here is a brief example of his genius:
Many have tried to interpret the lyrics and figure out who the song was written for. From personal experience, I have a close connection with my brothers and sometimes we think alike. Saying that, I like the following theory I found on Wikipedia: Hendrix's brother, Leon, interpreted "Little Wing" (and "Angel") as a general tribute: "He wrote it for his girlfriends, our aunties, and especially for our mama, who looked over us from high above in the afterlife." An alternative theory states that it was written about a stunning Scandinavian woman that Hendrix unwisely let fly away.
Before moving on, please watch this short behind the scenes video:
Now Hendrix was not the only one to release this song. Three other major artists covered this song. The first was Eric Clapton. Specifically, when he was with Derek & The Dominos. Influenced by the melodic blues, Clapton started performing the song live in 1970 shortly before Jimi's death as a way to show tribute to the legend that he thought Hendrix was. Clapton said this about the song in a later interview:
You can find various versions of Clapton’s interpretation of Little Wing. They are all worth a listen but in order to obtain a different perspective, I suggest you look up a live version from one of the Crossroads Guitar Festivals.
The next artist to use this beautiful song was one of the most popular among the group, Sting. His version was released on his 2nd solo album, Nothing like the Sun, in 1987. Although composed perfectly, this version just doesn’t stand out to me. The music seems to be hidden behind Sting's powerful voice. Definitely something you should check out if you haven't heard it yet.
Last but certainly not least, a Texas Blues version of Little Wing was released by Stevie Ray Vaughan (SRV). He originally recorded his instrumental version back in 1984 but it was not released until after his death in 1991 on his The Sky is Crying album. Being both longer (over six minutes long when the original is just over two minutes) and instrumental, SRV’s version is an awesome tribute to the blues genre and Jimi Hendrix. Keeping up with Hendrix and Clapton on guitar, with some saying he surpassed both, the song was so expertly performed that it won the 1993 Grammy award for best rock instrumental performance. Now this is a version you definitely shouldn't miss out on!
All in all, this classic song will long be remembered for its greatness. According to Rolling Stones Magazine top 500 greatest songs of all time, Little Wing is rated #366. Yes, this song is up against some classics, but my two cents says I think somewhere in the top 100 would be more appropriate...just my humble opinion. So, who will be next to try to perform this song and make it their own? And is that even possible? Will the powerful writing and playing of Hendrix transcend both time and talent? In the end, because of the raw beauty of the song, whoever attempts a version in the future will rightfully be forced to pay tribute to those who came before them. This simple act will continue to spread this powerful and epic masterpiece of expression.
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Know Ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the fidelity and abilities of
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I do appoint these members the position of
Tactical Warfare Head Trainer
in
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as such from the 17th day of May, Two Thousand and Twenty One.
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This appointee will therefore carefully and diligently discharge the duties of the grade to which appointed by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto pertaining. And I do strictly charge and require all personnel of lesser grade to render obedience to appropriate orders. And this appointee is to observe and follow such orders and directions as may be given from time to time by Superiors acting according to the rules and articles governing the discipline of Tactical Warfare.
Given under my hand at Tactical Warfare, on this 17th day of May, Two Thousand and Twenty One.
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To all who shall see these presents, greeting:
Know Ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the fidelity and abilities of
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1st Corps Commander
with the rank of
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as such from the 17th day of May, Two Thousand and Twenty One.
This appointee will therefore carefully and diligently discharge the duties of the grade to which appointed by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto pertaining. And I do strictly charge and require all personnel of lesser grade to render obedience to appropriate orders. And this appointee is to observe and follow such orders and directions as may be given from time to time by Superiors acting according to the rules and articles governing the discipline of Tactical Warfare.
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Dusty has been an example of leadership in every aspect of his TG career. When speaking about senior leadership mentoring junior staff Dusty automatically comes to mind. I can always count on Dusty to accomplish any task put in front of him and exceed every standard. It is hard to find leadership of this caliber. DustyLines is enthusiastically recommended for the rank of Colonel based on the merits of his performance and service within Tactical Warfare. With this promotion Dusty reflects great credit upon Tactical Warfare , The Halo Division and himself.
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I do appoint this member the rank of
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To rank as such from the 15th day of May, Two Thousand and Twenty One.
This appointee will therefore carefully and diligently discharge the duties of the grade to which appointed by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto pertaining. And I do strictly charge and require all personnel of lesser grade to render obedience to appropriate orders. And this appointee is to observe and follow such orders and directions as may be given from time to time by Superiors acting according to the rules and articles governing the discipline of Tactical Warfare.
Given under my hand at 1st Corps on this 15th day of May, Two Thousand and Twenty One.
Tactical Gaming community, we wanted to provide an update as to where we are, and where we are going. There have been a number of changes over the last month with McPatchy (KrizZz) and SenileSarge departing TG. These two contributed greatly to TG and have prepared the next generation of leaders to step up and drive TG forward. (Disclaimer: Some of the links take you to areas that may require different access IE: BTN+ etc)
1: The Vanguard
In the spirit of revealing some of our plans for TG's future, we are announcing the Vanguard. We will be moving forward with a version of the Expeditionary Division/Legion raised by the community. Please note, that we took their feedback and continued to adapt it based on feedback at several levels of leadership across TG.
TWC/TAC have looked at many iterations of this idea and TGEC has approved the concept:
All new games will start in the Vanguard Division or Legion.
There will be one in each franchise with different practice times to allow dual membership. People may only be in one position per franchise and critical position rules still apply.
All divisions/legions with less than two full squads/sections will move under the Expeditionary Division/Legion.
CoC within the division/legion will have the same structure. The main difference here is that the squads/sections will be based on a game. Once a game has three full squads it will move to a full division/legion.
As long as we have one full squad, and TGEC approves the game as a TG supported game, new games (squads/sections) may be opened inside of the Vanguard Division/Legion.
This approach allows us to adapt to the alpha/beta release games, and the AAA titles that launch with indie game quality, missing features, or issues that have become common place to release games that are not ready. We will be able to support a significantly higher number of games with lower staffing, and rather than closing divisions when they fail the trial phase, they will just move to the Vanguard Division/Legion as long as there is one full squad/section to practice.
All TG rules and regulations still apply such as PB's, PPR's, ATS, CPP, etc.
Still have questions about Vanguard? Post them up HERE in our Vanguard Q&A topic!
2: Community Feedback Driven Change
Within the TG wide survey we received a lot of valuable feedback. We had 119 of 176 responses ask for more casual events, and 116 of 176 responses ask for more tournaments. The PRO(@TG SirMadness) and our CT ( @TG-AMP) will be working over the next several months and making this a priority.
While site suggestions are not always implemented quickly, or at all, they are reviewed. We encourage you to submit them. Vanguard is an example where more than a year of discussion, planning, and work to implement was needed.
As a note:
88% of the 176 responses rate overall experience in TG as 7 of 10 or higher
87% of the 176 responses rate their practices in TG as 7 of 10 or higher
Behind the scenes we are taking the feedback, like the requests for more recruiting, more events, and building metrics around these goals to measure success.
3: Measuring Success
Going forward, we would like to communicate clear strategic objectives for the community that are measurable and communicate those metrics to our members.
Below is the data for registrations to TG over the last 2 years:
Over the last 12 months, we averaged 65 registrations per month. Our target will be to reach 80 registrations per month.
Below are the Discord total membership numbers for the TG Discord from Jan 11 to April 26:
From Jan 11 (1,048 members) to April 26th (1,192), we increased the TG Discord by 144 members. Our target is 2000+ people on Discord within 12 months.
We do not have an easy means of tracking BC stats/actual members into TG per month, CoC vacancies, etc. at this time. We are committed to growing what we track and reporting these metrics to the community. This will ensure transparency and allow us to drive toward goals together as a community.
4: Looking for Tactical Warfare Corp Commander Applicants
Over the course of the next few weeks we will be reviewing applications for Tactical Warfare Corps Commander. SS+ may apply. We will review applications, interview the top applicants, and select new CCs.
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Know Ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the fidelity and abilities of
@Typicalveteran-
Chief of Staff
TW Badge Descriptions
with the rank of
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TW Rank Descriptions
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as such from the 6th day of May, Two Thousand and Twenty One.
This appointee will therefore carefully and diligently discharge the duties of the grade to which appointed by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto pertaining. And I do strictly charge and require all personnel of lesser grade to render obedience to appropriate orders. And this appointee is to observe and follow such orders and directions as may be given from time to time by Superiors acting according to the rules and articles governing the discipline of Tactical Gaming.
Given under my hand at Tactical Gaming on this 6th day of May, Two Thousand and Twenty One.
Gamers who frequently use Discord know how annoying it is that it hasn’t been brought to console yet... but it looks like it is heading that way very soon!
Sony recently announced that they have paired up with Discord to integrate it into the consoles and make it compatible with their mobile app as well! After investing in the company, they now own a small share. They intend to work on optimizing it, and are heading for an official release early next year, according to Sony’s statement.
Discord has partnered with Microsoft before, but it only gave us the ability to link our accounts and let friends see what we are currently playing. Being able to have an app and actually communicate through it on PlayStation will be very exciting! This partnership didn’t exactly give us lots of details, but hopefully as they continue to work on it, they can start releasing some!
With Sony and their current communication, they have left some to the imagination! Many people are excited to see the integration, and hopefully this can improve on their current system. Even though the newer systems have improved on the original methods, there is always more room to improve. Discord is not only easier to use, but it is used daily by hundreds of millions of people a month, between mobile and PC, and soon hopefully PlayStation!
In the coming months, be on the lookout for more details from Sony and Discord! I look forward to seeing how they integrate the two systems!
each one instance of the Combat Operations Award Medal
---
I hereby award
@iAzraeI--
one instance of the Distinguished Operative Award Medal.
Red Dawn (CP) enters their debut season well above (CP) standards. They have shown immense growth following the incorporation of grizzled veterans from the previous Crimson Shogun squad. Red Dawn shows consistency to improvement, a strong resume in match history, and a desire to compete in outside tournaments as they have entered the Call of Duty Rec League's Season 4 in the Gold League. Red Dawn will be one to watch as their ceiling of ability is tremendous.
Medal Descriptions
Given under my hand at 2nd Corps, Call of Duty Division 5th day of May, Two Thousand and Twenty One.
