Jan

23

Tonight I went for my usual 5k walk. I plugged in my ear phones and hit my Pandora app and had to decide between my stations. I was in the mood for some rock, so I choose the appropriate station, turned the volume to the right level and set off my journey.

About 3/4 of the way through my walk, I was heard a special treat. The studio demo version of the Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird".

Now, I'm sure most, if not all, of you are familiar with that Free Bird. It is, IMHO, one of the 3 greatest rock songs of all time (the other two being Layla and Stairway to Heaven).

But I had never heard the studio demo version before.

What is unique about this particular song is how different, yet similar, it is to the album version or the live version (I prefer the live version…."play it pretty for Atlanta").

Free Bird starts out as a ballad, but then, kicks into high gear with the famous 1970s style guitar jam.

When the studio demo version kicks into high gear, it starts out with the screaming lead guitar for a few moments…then the lead guitar stops, and all you hear for the next few minutes are the rhythm guitars.

Anyone who knows Free Bird know that lead guitar jams long and hard for at least 5 minutes straight. It is an unmistakeable 5 minutes of classic rock guitar licks that anyone with even a passing appreciation of classic rock will know and recognize.

But on the demo version, the "jam" portion is mainly rhythm guitars for almost the entire time.

What was very interesting to me is that even though there were only rhythm guitars playing for most of the song, in my head, I could not help but hear the lead guitar…even though they were not there.

I tried very hard to concentrate on the rhythm guitars and appreciate what I was hearing. Heck, I sorta played in garage band in my teens and I played the rhythm portion of Free Bird many times "back in the day".

But no matter how hard I tried, my mind forced me to hear the absent lead guitar.

Listening to this demo version of Free Bird got me thinking about the markets and my investing strategies.

How many things happen around me that I just assume are there….but really aren't…..whether in my life as a father or as an investment adviser?

When I vet money managers to place my clients money with, how much I am superimposing (is that the right word?) what I think I should be hearing/seeing over what is really going on?

When are there subtle (or not so subtle) changes that I miss because the meme playing in my head tricks me into hearing/seeing what I expect to be there?

I'm going to refocus myself to see if I'm really hearing what I think I'm hearing….or whether there are some missing lead guitar illusions that are clouding my judgement.

I pose this question to the group: How might one go about doing that?

In the meantime……..here's the YouTube link to the demo version of the Free Bird. Try and listen to it without hearing the absent lead guitars(also, bonus points if you spot the difference in lyrics):

And to give some context to those that don't know the song, here's the album version of the same song.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't include my favorite version of the song (play it pretty for Atlanta).

And just because it's so tasty, I'll throw in a little semi-obscure Skynyrd hit: Curtis Lowe

Leo Jia writes: 

Reality or illusion? I like to study the topic, and learn how to tell the difference or whether there is a difference. One believes something to be real when the 5 senses send signals to the mind and the mind says thus it is real. That is what reality means to most people. What if one's 5 senses were altered? The mind then has no way to tell. Think about virtual reality. Though the current technology is not fully there to truly alter the 5 senses, it demonstrates how the mind determines reality. Actually, the concept of virtual reality itself tells that there is not a real line between reality and illusion. It is all mixed together. Do we live in the world or does the world exist within oneself? I am more inclined to the latter.

Scott Brooks writes: 

Great points, Leo.

I like illusions as well. My youngest son is into magic and illusions and does a pretty fun show for kids birthday parties. Even though I know how the illusion works, it is still fascinating and fun.

But I'd like to take it a step deeper. I know when I'm being tricked when watching my son or a Penn and Teller show. But what about when I have no idea that I'm being deceived….or even deeper, when I'm the one doing the deceiving, and I'm both the deceiver and the mark (i.e. self deception).

I'd like to know how I can clear my head of those times. But…..how do I know what I don't know that I don't know?

Rocky's Ghost writes: 

Excellent post, Scott! Thanks for sharing.

Rocky believes that, when speculating (as distinct from investing), more important than seeing one's own ghosts, is seeing everyone else's ghosts. For example, in his early days, Rocky would occasionally find bona fide arbitrages in the options markets. However, the ability to monetize the arbitrages relied on OTHER PEOPLE also seeing the arbitrage and closing it. If you are the only sane man, you will likely go bankrupt long before others realize that you are the only sane man. Or, put another way, when the lunatics are running the asylum, it pays to trade as a lunatic — while remaining mindful that they are indeed lunatics. Now where did Rocky leave his bottle of Clozapine?


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3 Comments so far

  1. georg on January 24, 2015 5:08 am

    Scott Brooks, I’d include Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze as one of the greatest rock songs. I’m an equal opportunity rock song grader, and your list of the 3 greatest rock songs, interestingly, are from white musicians. You must be white, right? And I bet all your real personal friends are white only too? And that you live in a white neighborhood? and that you’re only comfortable with white people?

  2. Anonymous on January 24, 2015 7:12 pm

    Seriously, Georg? We’re playing the race game?

    Somewhere out there a bridge is missing it’s troll.

  3. Jeff Watson on January 27, 2015 4:16 pm

    Georg, Purple Haze? One of Hendrix’ weaker songs? I don’t think so. For good Hendrix, listen to this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83OD6JTe5pg

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