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From: tsmithies
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  • dude you are so sick!!! amazing

  • i think he,s da best in da world,,,,a superpower for all humanity.

  • This fella's playing Eric's in Liverpool on Saturday 17th September 2011.

  • One day, I thought, "Someday I want to play mandolin as well as Chris Thile."

    ... Then I laughed and came back to reality.

    Seriously, this guy is too awesome for words.

  • There is every style of music in this one piece. A true musician and composer in every sense of the word.

  • All the arguments over who is "better" is irrelevant. The best musicians know... It's not how many notes you can play, it's how you play them that counts! In Chris's case, he can do both!

  • you can say he is "the best" mandolin player ever... but theres always one better discovered or not. He is a fantastic mandolin player and i am incredibly jealous of his talent, but also Sam Bush's.

  • not quite as good as bill monroe at mandolin, but who fucking cares? chris thile inspired me to learn bluegrass music

  • @MrGoRaVeNs disagree

  • Chris Thile is Genius in his own right. He's pushed new painted pictures with his music. He can't be compared to the other Masters of music in the past, present or future. He is his own. Perfect.

  • The improvisation part , for me, might have lasted a little longer but furthermore brilliant performance.... This guy has really has got duende!!!

  • I have mandolin envy

  • I would love to hear his soo work like this, taken and worked around a symphony orchestra, I think at some point he really needs to do that. I think he is pound for pound probably the best musician around today, and agree no point in comparing him to Bach, Mozart etc... each person hears something different, and if Thile is the best thing you have ever heard, then that's all that is important. I truly think he is brilliant because the music comes out from his very soul.

  • @cormackjames: Thile has actually written a mandolin concerto and performed it with an orchestra- can't rember which one off the top of my head. Unfortunately i can't seem to find a copy of it anywhere :(

  • @Tomkim11 its called Ad Astra Per Alas Porci (To the Stars on the Wings of a Pig) I believe someone just posted a video of it on youtube.

  • It's just amazing how beautiful this guy plays this tiny instrument.

    I guess size doesn't matter...

  • Comment removed

  • :-D I was sat about 2 feet in front of those divine hands. I've never seen anything to compare with that gig. Incredible

  • The World's Greatest Mandolin Player shows why he truly is. What a pleasure to hear someone who is the best at his profession!

  • Wow, you can't even compare any current musician with Bach, Bethoveen, Mozard, etc. These musicians lived in different times where conceptions of what was good, amazing, beautiful, what had "soul", were totally different than now.

    To be honest all musicians that have the ability to transfer what they think into their instruments are genious, no need to compare, bring down or insult one or the other.

  • @PatRobls Very well put. It's like comparing Salvador Dali to Van Gogh. Just appreciate. 

  • @PatRobls I've never heard of Bethoveen or Mozard. Did you mean Sallytoveen?

  • @PatRobls Yes but,

    Skrillex.

    (instant thumbs up)

  • This song is called "Song for a Young Queen"

  • @act1sciii Tank you.

  • Wow. Wish I could plait MY fingers.

  • Just saw him at Interlochen Arts Academy in Mi with the World Youth Orchestra...amazing. He made everyone in the audience pay attention and think. Very innovative. A blend of traditional and modern...hard to pull off. How do his fingers move that fast...?

  • This guy has got so much talent, it hurts to watch.

  • @Irshkboy uhh... Chris Thile is quite an incredible musician, quite arguably one of the best on earth. Bach is the God of western music. don't go dissing Bach.

  • He is truely amazing at the mandolin. No one can argue with that.

  • Why does anyone feel the need to put Bach or Thile down in order to justfiy their admiration for the other? Can anoyne really consider Bach's music souless?!?! By the way, Bach was considered a master of it improvisation in his day. He used mathematical rules but that in no way renders his pieces "robotic".

    Thile can actually play some Bach pieces beautifully. He might be no Bach but he's a genius on mandolin. Enjoy both for what they are.

  • I wonder what its like to be "the best" in the world at something?

  • its a really good feeling

  • Lets focus on how talented the man playing this instrument is.

    Instead of trying to compare and contrast him to some one else.

    Bach is a master. So is Thile.

    I love him. His stage presents and how much love he puts into his songs is cool.

    I think he's pretty talented.

    :) lets all just get along haha

  • You don't know what youre talking about. This man is God's gift to musical composition. And if you can't see that then I am truly sorry for you. Because you are missing out. Why play if you dont enjoy? And post a video of you playing the mandolin Irshkboy. And it better be better than this, which is seriously doubt is possible if your anything less than a Rickey Skaggs. or maybe your just the trained monkey. Trained to leave stupid comments with bad grammar and sub par use of capitalization.

  • Jesus... I cant stand people like you who turn music into a science. You take all the fun out of it trying to put it measurable terms. Its an art. Bach was fucking awesome. Chris Thile is fucking awesome. Sorry for the rant, but grow up.

  • Dude... chill the fuck out. Chris has something Bach never did-soul. Sure, Chris might seem a little atonal at some times, but Bach's stuff was written from a scientific method of viewing music. I like to think Chris's early stuff was more goofing and improv, and that's why he is more impressive to me than Bach. Also, how much of Bach's live stuff have you heard where he's playing it himself? NONE. So shut up and learn to appreciate a good musician. Asshole. And for the record, BWV 1006 is best.

  • I agree with the soul part. No doubt Bach was incredible, but he was a robotic machine in the way he composed. 100% rigid following the rules he helped create for tonality all that time ago. Props for making the rules...so we could break them later on :D

    always remember, every time someone does a parallel fifth...Bach kills a kitten :D

    -Sarge

  • Actually, Bach didn't 100% follow the rules he made. As a matter of fact, he often broke the rules for the sake of his music. He's considered one of the all-time great composers, if not the greatest, for a reason. He was also renowned for his improv skills. But the thing about the kittens is completely true...

  • wait, there are actually people on here criticizing B-A-C-H? we are further gone than i had realized.

  • In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony. It has been most commonly identified in Western music, developing strongly in the Renaissance, and also dominant in much of the common practice period, especially in Baroque music. The term comes from the Latin punctus contra punctum ("point against point"). No one does that these days, It takes a special kind of mind to do it well

  • I have a term for you. Suckum Rectum. The English is "Kiss my ass, you fucking nerd." Bach is the most stupendous miracle in music. Thile is a master of his instrument, and a genius in his interpretations. You should relax and enjoy music instead of analyzing it to death. Music is not a science in the literal sense. It is a matter of opinion, and yours sucks.

  • Its important to keep ranting on this topic, and let me tell you why!! I was over at my friends house, hes a professional mandolinist, a very good player. He told me that Thile was as great as BACH. At first i started laughing, then it quickly turned to horror when i realized he was serious. That is how far outa touch you guys are. He is nothing to Bach, but you guys think hes another Musical genius. They DONT EVEN PLAY counterpoint these days. Think about it!! Counterpoint vs Thile? Lawl

  • I couldn't agree more Dragknuckle

  • This one hundred percent, absolutely, blows my mind.

  • Great tune! Some of Thile's compositions get a little too far outside for my taste, but this was outstanding. He is a force to be reckoned with.

  • if this isnt genius i dont know what is? who ever said mandolin is joke, your dumb and alot farther away from being a genius then chris thile

  • First you post youself playing the exact same thing as above. Second when you fail go tell Chris Thile that you are sorry for mocking him. And Third ukulele is the joke insturment you are thinking of that is easy to play Fourth, i agree that glen john keith and frank are good

  • Fifth: these hicks are far better spoken than you are

  • I can dig it.

  • Great song off "Not all who wander are lost",such a amazing solo performance!

  • His head movements are as crazy as his playing!

  • seriously. he looks like a chicken bobbing its head sometimes, but i love it! xD

  • Irshkboy, this track isn't pure bluegrass, but Thile had mastered the style before he was a teenager. His first album won International Bluegrass Music Association best album and he was national mandolin champion at the age of 12. Mark O'Connor (who's acknoelwegded in classical and bluegrass circles as a genius, having ocmpsed 6 concertos and 1 acclaimed symphony) rates Thile as the best mandolin player he's heard.

  • I have to assume that the people who are debating the musical genius of Thile haven't heard The Blind Leaving the Blind yet, which thile wrote and arranged for the five traditional bluegrass instruments. He is a composer.

  • Play the 3d link btw, the 41 second one!!!

  • How can you compare two different mediums? Piano is arranged COMPLETELY differently than any handheld stringed instrument. Not to mention he isn't a composer, nor does he sell himself as such. He probably only writes music for his mando and maybe some accompanying instruments. You're comparing apples and oranges.

  • Irshkboy, Chris Thile is a brilliant mandoline player. This performance is outstanding and the composition is all his own. Why do you compare him to Glenn Gould? Yes, he was an amazing pianist, but a secretary dictating the genius of someone else (secretary does not = genius). Thile is putting his own thoughts into perfect action.

  • i couldnt agree more... myself being a classical pianist studying music in college right now... yes glenn gould was a good pianist, but i have to say that nothing i have studied in classical music has compared to trying to write music on the fly, and in chris's case, absolutely beautiful music, and incredibly difficult too. As the others say, who are we to judge what a genius is...but i truly do believe Chris is a genius.

  • Dude, he's a genius. Listen to his solo stuff, his composition skills are incredible.

  • He does have great tone. Not as good as Sam Bush. Why does he seem so pretentious; what was up with that Punch Brothers album?

  • I picture "Punch" as more of an outpouring of bottled up emotion through composition, but I agree that some parts are a little too out there for my taste.

    Mandorgasm from 1:57 on, btw.

  • yeah like bajillion x infinity better. right irish?

  • You're wrong on so many levels. He's a genius, and while you are naming some immortals there, I consider him at least as brilliant as any of them. LISTEN TO DECEIVERS. It's friggin amazing, and is the best combination of intensity, daring, and genius I have heard from anyone in a long time.

  • Music ain't gittin any better than this. End of evolution. Thile rulez!

  • Excellent piece by the way! I just love the tone Chris Thile is able to produce! I haven't yet heard a mandolinist who can match it...

  • Oh my gosh, Irshkboy! Chill! I'm a hardcore classical player, and think it's much harder to play than bluegrass, but it's all music, so it doesn't matter! I respect Thile for being able to play both exceptionally well. Look at Joshua Bell the violinist, he got together with bluegrassers (Mike Marshall/Edgar Meyer) and played bluegrass! So just chill out, it's all music, and God made every bit of it!

  • Irshkboy one negative comment is enough. I recommend that you get a life and have fun rather than sit on a computer and stress out over youtube videos.

  • look up chris thile's background...listen to him music, and tell me that he will not shred the poop out of every single "bluegrass" mando player out there...please do

  • Why in the hell did you watch the video anyway retard!?

  • actually he is a legit genius. wikipedia lists him with the chopin and mozart with it's child geniuses list.

  • Funny that you seem to be obsessed with harmonic structures to a degree that Bach himself was never concerned with when writing for solo instruments. Case in point: his violin partitas and sonatas. You may know about maladroit shut-ins like Glenn Gould (btw, his 1955 Goldbergs are much better) but you certainly don't know squat about Bach!

  • Right. Bluegrassers know nothing of harmonic structures. *roll eyes*. Thile has also done more for the mandolin than you've done for anything.

  • The Strokes Rockss!! period

  • listen to blind leaving the blind and eat suite he composed off the punch brothers album and your heart out because that is the definition of genius. and your fooling yourself if you think traditional bluegrass music is simply formulaic or uncomplex. don't be deceived by what seems to sound simple. bird played everything inside too but no one doubts his genius. there are worlds and universes in bluegrass just as out there as anything the flecktones do.

  • you guy r only mad because you guys cant even play anything on the mandolin, and you will never be this good. knowing you guys r still in the "twinkle twinkle litle star" phase, i woldnt be talking.

    as for you guys who r think he is a genius. i admire you for sayng that.

    i hope that you make it far in life

    =]

  • Huh, thats a bit rough. Kinda like how Gillian Welch shouldn't sing Americana just because she was born in NY City. Or how Bob Dylan's parents are Jewish so he cant sing folk music.

    Chris Thile holds his own against Mandolin players twice his age. It would be fair to call him a prodigy.

  • Check out the videos of him as a child. You'll see that he is a prodigy at least. He's definitely a genius by technical definition, considering all a genius is, is the top 2%. Unless you want to redefine a word to make your argument valid.

  • ya know whats the best thing about chris, he respects other musicians for their true talent and would never compare himself to be better than anyone, but knowing him rather well...this guy is genius, he starting composing more complex things than most normal minds can handle at age 17 or younger, this is genius, (btw, he's not jewish, he's german...

  • OMG i want to play like that so bad!!!!

  • Chris is amazing. When I hear him play I know the reason I'm learning mando, it's so beautiful!

  • that was directed to dickdailythe3rd :~)

  • At least we can see for ourselves what a mandolin is capable of in the right hands.

  • Whenever I think I sound good, I listen to Chris play....and wonder why I ever picked up an instrument

  • Same here. He's a large part of the reason I consider myself a mediocre mandolin player despite the insistances of my friends. they're biased anyway... but at the same time, he gives me a high standard to aim for, which is a good thing.

  • Ahh! I know. =(

    I especially envy his lyrics.

  • the only thing i can compare chris thile live to is a cross between a tightrope walker and a salmon swimming upstream

  • how dare you compare mando god to such pathetic life forms?

    lol, jk.

    that's the most funniest comparison and pretty accurate,

    in a good way. ^_^

  • Yes, he's walking that thin tightrope, falling one way to genius, the other to insanity. They say its a fine line...actually in Chris' case thats unfair. He seems like a pretty cool together sorta guy. BUt still a genius.

  • Hmm...He is better at writing meaningful melodic music. Better at communicating emotion through music. Better at being Modest. The best Acoustic Instrumentalist in world hands down by virtue of his songwriting & execution. Thile is good but to me still caught up in the world of showboating. When it comes to musical maturity TE leaves him in the dust. Tommy's music is loved by musicians & non-musicians alike. He is a living legend. Seriously the best acoustic guitarist in the world.

  • All subjective thoughts, why are you comparing him to Thile anyway. What a random connection.

  • Random connection...I'm not comparing Chris Thile to Goodyear tires or Breyer's Ice cream. They are both acoustic instrumentalist songwriters. They both do solo shows. Get the point? And by the way, everything is subjective...

  • How about the fact that they play two completely different instruments, play completely different styles of music, and are about two generations apart. Random!

  • You are officially an idiot. There are no generations in music. We all love Zeppelin 40 or 15 years old. They are both songwriters, just like Kenny G & Elton John. The fact that they are songwriters is the SIMILARITY. That's how you can compare them, by their SONGWRITING. The instruments make no difference nor the styles. It's all about quality.

  • Way to turn a silly set of posts into a personal attack. As you said music is subjective so why bother posting about Emmanuel at all under a Chris Thile video? Can your dad beat up my dad as well?

  • Modesty? Maturity?Blegh Showboating is not a sign of maturity or immaturity. Go back to the swing era with Lester Young and the like playing their horns in crazy poses. Its called entertainment. Its called music. Plus Chris and Tommy are innovators in different styles. Bluegrass music is made up of all these wonderful melodies. Tommys style is all about wonderful textures. Both have equaly great rhythmic sense. It's sad to see that such great musicians like Tommy can still be plagued by fanboys.

  • Yes, quite a sour world we live in...

  • I think we should start arguing over who is better, Vai or Satriani. That one seems to appear everywhere, and NEVER wants to die.

    GO Chris! You rock!

  • Better at doing what exactly

  • I saw Tommy Emmanuel within a week of watching Thile's regular guitar partner, Bryan Sutton (playing alongside Bela Fleck and Casey Driessen). Sutton was in no way inferior to Emmanuel; in fact, I'd say his playing was more musically mature and involved less showboating. Anwyay, it's not a competiiton - Thile is probably respected more by fellow musicans than any other mandolist and is just as comfortable playing classical and jazz as bluegrass. He's also a much more versatile compser than Tom.

  • Chris never ceases to amaze me.  Seriously, the best musician I have ever seen live.

  • :D amazing

  • he's such a genius!

  • This is definitely one of my favorite tracks from "Not All Who Wander Are Lost". Such a sweet CD.

  • yea, that cd is great and I think this is my favorite track on there

  • I love this one, but I think I have to go with Big Sam Thompson, that part in the middle were it slows way down and gets really quite then speeds up and goes crazy.... ah I love it!!!

  • the song I recommend is called Maré de Agosto

  • I know he is amazing...if you enjoy a good mando, check out Julio Pereira, he is on youtube and also pretty awesome

  • You know the comment, Theres always someone better than you....It,s not true.

  • Must be tough being him...

  • so good

  • I don't mean to sound rude, but Moonturkey, you make yourself sound a bit ignorant. Just have respect for the guys talent.

  • i dont mean to im just wonderin. sorry

  • You should try, the guy is a virtuoso!

  • Absolutely fantastic. He is simply one of the best there is. Whatever style of music he chooses to play, I am certain he will always be one of the best.

  • Such a beautiful instrument..the mandolin. What a blessing to my ears

  • Okay. How 'bout this for a new genre "Chris Thile". This guy is f'n amazing!!! Guys like Chris come along ...oh... once every century or so...if we're lucky. Shut up and enjoy!

  • I've heard two things: First, this song is straight up blue grass, o quesin bout it. Chris Thile as a whole though, A little more difficult. Ive heard him refer to himself as "Newgrass" Anyone else hear this?

  • I thought it was music? Am I wrong?

  • I dont understand you guys who are arguing about what genre this is. It's all music, unless oh wait, now music is just a subgenre of noise, so we cant call this music.

    Genres are supposed to make it easier to talk to people about music, not make people fight about it. Chris probably just plays music, he doesn't care what genre or category of music he plays...

  • Thank you, that's exactly how i look at it!

  • Ok, Chris Thile started with bluegrass, he "doesn't play it now." He's still the best out there. He owns everyone.

  • The early Kid Albums are "Leading Off" and "Stealing Second" and they are not "kid albums". They are sophisticated, expertly played and very much worth a listen or 50.

  • The mandolin is sort of a fusion of guitar and violin -- the strings are tuned GDAE and the length is similar to that of a violin, but obviously it's fretted and plucked like a guitar -- and he has pulled together the strengths of both into his playing. I'm not even a big fan of bluegrass and I look forward to hearing more from him!

  • Chris Thile doesn't play bluegrass

  • What? Nickel Creek was originally a bluegrass band when they were children.

  • Nickel Creek has never played straight Bluegrass, they've always been of the "New Grass" or "New Acoustic" varieties.

  • You do realize another name for "New Grass" is "Progressive Bluegrass" and is a subgenre of Bluegrass.. right?

  • I am very much aware that some people call New Grass Progressive Bluegrass. However I call Progressive Bluegrass in the vein of New Grass Revival and Seldom Scene where New-Grass or New Acoustic to be those that go way off the beaten path, such as Thile.

  • You can call it whatever you want.. it's still filed under Bluegrass.

  • word.  fiddle, banjo, mandolin, no percussion = bluegrass.

  • Bluegrass is a specific type of music invented by Bill Monroe and his band. Fiddle/banjo music (with occasional mandolin) has been around several times as long as bluegrass. Nickel Creek doesn't have a banjo anyway. And they have as much influence from celtic, jazz, and pop as from genuine bluegrass.

    Klezmer, old time, celtic are all older than bluegrass and all use fiddles, banjos, and mandolins.

  • bluegrass doesn't neccessarily have to have a banjo. most bluegrass is a lot about being loose and jamming, improvising and having a good time so everyone doesn't have to get all annoying about genres...really

  • i hate genre disputes. no one worth listening to woke up one morning and thought, "i think i will pigeon hole my self into a genre."

    if they did, then they are probably the likes of what is on mtv.

  • ya he does retard...his roots are bluegrass. ever since he started playing.

  • Ahhh... the things we argue and get pissed over. Good times.

  • That's what pisses me off, the bluegrass purists. "Boy, that aint bluegrass!" Who cares. Chris Thile just makes really good music and thats all I care about. The only reason I would slap a genre on it is to sort through my ipod

  • Revelations.. I agree about his virtuosity and pushing himself into more obscure territory. I just watched a live solo for the tune "the Fox" and he's "outside" on the whole solo. It sounds so tense it's just wacked. I'm sure he's stretching his mental ligaments and he's getting off on it. He is so incredibly articulate that he starts to lose me on some of that stuff though.

  • Which video did you watch about that solo?

  • Absolutely. If you've ever watched his stuff with Edgar Meyer, Brian Sutton, or Mike Marshall (Meyer especially) they really can lose the average listener pretty quickly.

    When they push the envelope by doing 'out of the box' solos, the key changes and what not can really just go crazy.

  • One of the greatest musical minds of all time, no doubt. And he's still a kid. I imagine that his music will be come much more virtuosic, but obscure as the years go by.

  • I wish I could have been there

  • Chris Thile is a great bluegrass artist...he has crazy mandolin skills and a nice set of pipes to match...

  • Beautiful playing.

  • Dyou think hes also would play with as much energy on like a guitar or somethin? Id like to see chris thile rock the fretless bass.

  • Can you give specific reasons why? If not then don't bother posting