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Ransom Riggs
This guitar has words on it
by Ransom Riggs - April 30, 2007 - 12:38 PM

fascists.jpgIn the annals of rock history, sometimes it’s what you write on your guitar, rather than with your guitar, that makes a lasting impression. The most famous example of this has to be Woody Guthrie’s famous acoustic, on which he had scrawled “this machine kills fascists.” I got to thinking about this two days ago, while standing amidst 65,000 sweaty Arcade Fire fans in 100 degree heat to watch The Arcade Fire headline the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival — it was worth every droplet of sweat — when bandleader Win Butler played several songs wearing a guitar on which he had emblazoned “sak vide pa kanpe.” According to Wikipedia, it’s a Haitian proverb meaning “an empty sack cannot stand” in Creole, apparently a reference to extreme poverty in Haiti, the country of origin of Butler wife and bandmate, Régine.

Other guitar-borne messages you might find interesting:

• Sheryl Crow has performed several times with “NO WAR” written on her guitar.

explosionssky.jpg

• The guitar player for indie rock outfit Explosions in the Sky was detained briefly in 2003 at an Amsterdam airport when authorities discovered he had “This plane will crash tomorrow” scrawled on his guitar. Creepy story: the band released their album, which featured strangely elegiac artwork of an angel casting a beam of light toward a biplane in a red-orange sky (pictured). The kicker: the album was released on September 10, 2001.
• There have been a number of parodies/tributes to Guthrie’s “fascists” guitar over the years. Singer David Rovics toured with a guitar on which was written “this guitar kills CEOs” (in support of his album Halliburton Boardroom Massacre); singer Cameron Gill wrote “this machine kills hipsters” on his axe; and the mohawked guitarist of The Bicycles sports a guitar with “this machine kills fashions” written on it.

Below: Win Butler of The Arcade Fire smashes his be-messaged guitar on Saturday Night Live.

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Comments (13)

  1. One of the most underrated guitar writting was done by Mike Inez of Alice in Chains.

    During the band’s MTV Unplugged performance, Inez can be seen playing a bass guitar with the phrase “Friends Don’t Let Friends Get Friends Haircuts,” in reference to Metallica who had recently cut their long locks.

    posted by Cheeques on 4-30-2007 at 2:22 pm

  2. the Explosions in the Sky record in question was released the week before 9-11, Sept 4, 2001. Still a bit eerie, though.

    Their latest record, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, is brilliant, by the way.

    posted by doink on 4-30-2007 at 2:31 pm

  3. Explosions on the Sky is one of the greatest bands to put on before sleeping! or atleast one of my personal favourites.

    posted by Jarred Hanson on 4-30-2007 at 2:54 pm

  4. The Explosions in the Sky album was released August 27, 2001.

    posted by Aaron on 4-30-2007 at 3:26 pm

  5. A friend of mine has adorned his many guitars with stickers and slogans, my favorite being “place pithy quote here”.

    posted by Jason! on 4-30-2007 at 3:58 pm

  6. My guitar has the word “Bob” on it. I bought it because I was intrigued…

    posted by Steph Mineart on 4-30-2007 at 8:15 pm

  7. My friends bass is adorned with a sticker he found that says, “TV gives kids gohnerea.”

    posted by Charlie on 5-1-2007 at 10:33 am

  8. don’t forget tom morello of rage against the machine’s arm the homeless:

    http://www.ratm.com/new2/gallery/311/mvc-026f.jpg

    posted by CharlesV on 5-1-2007 at 12:17 pm

  9. My guitar has “It’s actually ONE MORE BIKE, asshole.” on it.

    posted by Frank S. Besner on 5-1-2007 at 12:38 pm

  10. Who can forget the ‘Vandalism : As beautiful as a rock in a cop’s face’ sticker on the late Kurt Cobain’s guitar?

    posted by Jordan on 5-2-2007 at 2:06 am

  11. i’ve been using an acoustic guitar for some time now that says THIS MACHINE KILLS ME…my band’s called Machine Go Boom, so i thought it was funny…

    also, i had heard Jonathan Richman (modern lovers) simplified his guitar-scribblings to just say THIS MACHINE KILLS.

    posted by mikey on 5-11-2007 at 11:13 am

  12. Unless I get some old crappy instrument I won’t be marring my basses or guitar with stickers and shit.

    posted by Bassman on 6-1-2007 at 11:42 am

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    posted by sbli gbarxekuo on 12-23-2007 at 7:07 am

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