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To be frank, that's not surprising. I learn new stuff, all the time. That's kinda the point of life, I think.

I'm not asking you to agree with that statement, but learning new stuff excites me.

For reasons that are long and storied, far too long for me to post tonight, this sub may see some increased use. You're invited to participate, or not. But, you really are invited. I love me some learnin' stuff. I'm kinda passionate about a few things and learning is one of 'em.

Today, I learned the coolest thing.

Again, for reasons that are too long to get into, I learned about bells. I already know about bells - my first musical love was percussion, of which bells are a variety. We have bells on our drum kits, some of us. Some of us have a bunch of bells and things like gongs - but I'm just not that awesome.

I don't have a gong. I submit, this is yet another hole in my life. In an entirely unrelated bit of information, some gongs are pretty fucking awesome. There's some where you strike them and walk away. It takes so long to begin to resonate and reach a crescendo, it's amazing! They're fucking awesome, but I digress.

No, I learned about bells. I have my reasons.

I learned that there was a time when you could become an English nobleman by erecting a stone tower, on your six hundred acres, and stick a bell in it. You had to have six hundred acres and some money to accomplish that, and skilled labor wasn't actually all that comparatively cheap.

That's right...

The motherfucking King of England decided bells were so awesome that just by erecting a bell tower, on a suitably sized piece of property, meant you were made a noble. At the time, being a nobleman meant not being accountable for a fuck of a lot.

In other words, play a bitchin' solo with bells on your piece of property - and they'd make you a nobleman.

To this day, largely due to the church, bells are often associated with important moments. They're the unsung musical heroes. Once upon a time, they were so bitchin' that they'd make you a nobleman - and some of 'em built some pretty bitchin' bells. Like, whole sets of bells - with precise tones and able to give renditions with a great deal of variety.

They built a fucking ton of bells. Shit yeah... Bell ringers were probably not rock stars, but the dude that put 'em there was. He, of course, got to largely rape, murder, pillage, and burn - pretty much with impunity. Sometimes, they'd get the blessing of the church to go rape, murder, pillage, and burn. Pretty much the very definition of an early version of a rock star - all for putting up a bell tower.

Fuck yeah.

To be frank, that's not surprising. I learn new stuff, all the time. That's kinda the point of life, I think. I'm not asking you to agree with that statement, but learning new stuff excites me. For reasons that are long and storied, far too long for me to post tonight, this sub may see some increased use. You're invited to participate, or not. But, you really are invited. I love me some learnin' stuff. I'm kinda passionate about a few things and learning is one of 'em. Today, I learned the coolest thing. Again, for reasons that are too long to get into, I learned about bells. I already know about bells - my first musical love was percussion, of which bells are a variety. We have bells on our drum kits, some of us. Some of us have a bunch of bells and things like gongs - but I'm just not that awesome. I don't have a gong. I submit, this is yet another hole in my life. In an entirely unrelated bit of information, some gongs are pretty fucking awesome. There's some where you strike them and walk away. It takes so long to begin to resonate and reach a crescendo, it's amazing! They're fucking awesome, but I digress. No, I learned about bells. I have my reasons. I learned that there was a time when you could become an English nobleman by erecting a stone tower, on your six hundred acres, and stick a bell in it. You had to have six hundred acres and some money to accomplish that, and skilled labor wasn't actually all that comparatively cheap. That's right... The motherfucking King of England decided bells were so awesome that just by erecting a bell tower, on a suitably sized piece of property, meant you were made a noble. At the time, being a nobleman meant not being accountable for a fuck of a lot. In other words, play a bitchin' solo with bells on your piece of property - and they'd make you a nobleman. To this day, largely due to the church, bells are often associated with important moments. They're the unsung musical heroes. Once upon a time, they were so bitchin' that they'd make you a nobleman - and some of 'em built some pretty bitchin' bells. Like, whole sets of bells - with precise tones and able to give renditions with a great deal of variety. They built a fucking ton of bells. Shit yeah... Bell ringers were probably not rock stars, but the dude that put 'em there was. He, of course, got to largely rape, murder, pillage, and burn - pretty much with impunity. Sometimes, they'd get the blessing of the church to go rape, murder, pillage, and burn. Pretty much the very definition of an early version of a rock star - all for putting up a bell tower. Fuck yeah.

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[–] • 1 pt

I grew up around bells ... lots of bells, there were old school churches all around, each with it's bells. Of course, I was out in the sticks, the farm country, but when we went to local towns, there were always the bells. In fact, the small town that I went to grade school in was actually on the route of the Liberty Bell when it was being hidden from the Brits, it supposedly spent the night there ... instead of Washington Slept here ... we had The Liberty Bell hung out here. It was also known as the The Bell Capital of the World (americanprofile.com). Pretty good for a tiny town, aye. I was born in that town ... at least it says so on my birth certificate, though the hospital is outside of the town itself. So bells ... I like bells ... bells are cool!

[–] • 1 pt

Damned right, they are!

Bells are fucking awesome. I have rung a giant church bell. It was just one bell, and only one bell. It was a rope through the ceiling. It was still pretty glorious and nobody even minded - they gave me permission. I asked if I could ring the bell, and they told me I could ring the bell. I rang the damned bell!

I also played their organ and their piano.

It was glorious.

But...

I have a dream of someday being allowed to play one of the old school giant fucking pipe organs. Yeah, you know those pipe organs with like 60' tall pipes that are 18" across - and powered by a bunch of people who keep it going by hand-powered bellows?

I would give my left nut to play one of those, but the condition is they have to invite me. I suspect there's a church that'd let me do that for a donation, but that's not the same. I want to be invited.

It's a serious hole in my life!

And, nobody is ever going to actually invite me to play their pipe organ.

I don't know how to play it. I haven't got a clue.

I've never played a pipe organ.

Holy balls, I want to. I bet that's fucking awesome!

[–] • 1 pt

I'm not musically inclined myself ... I enjoy music immensely, but am talent-less (and lazy). But I could play a bell ... pretty sure anyway.

[–] • 0 pt

Hmm... I'll spare you the novella. I was sorely tempted!

Instead, I linked an example of some pretty talented bell ringing - and I linked one making a giant cacophony which are pretty much the heavy metal bells of their day. They don't play tinkle music, no...

So, my question is, "How well do you think you can play bells?" One of the groups were so bell-ringing they required a conductor.

I'm pretty sure I can't play the bells that well. No matter your answer, I am probably gonna forever now picture you playing a bitchin' bell solo. In fact, I really, really want you to bust out a bitchin' bell solo.