cheddatom

It seems to me, when the music stops for 2 bars and she says "Duh", that is very unusual for popular music. I can't think of another example like that.

I'd never heard that track so I just put it on. It's a standard 4 chord pop tune with dated synth sounds, same constant 4/4 beat all the way through. Bad Guy is extremely minimal. Generic bassline I'd agree but the majority of the sound is made from a quietly sung vocal which some very cool harmonies. The whole sound is very original IMO, almost as original as Bjork on her album Medulla - except this is full of "hooks" meaning it has mass appeal. On top of that, there are big breaks in the beat which is very unusual in pop music. Then the outro is very different, bares almost no relation to the rest of the track and yet fits. Obviously it's all subjective but IMO is a production masterpiece and very original in those terms

What about Billie Eilish with Bad Guy? It sounds very original to me and would have sounded out of place in the 90s, and it was a HUGE single

I often put stuff in my basket, and then think of the unknown expenses that might be in my future, shake my head at how stupid I am, and then empty the basket ...but yeh is it really pretty?

I'd never heard Clean Up Woman before, awesome groove, thanks for that!

I play drums in a pretty heavy band. On the last album there was a song with a riff, which was pretty good, but there wasn't anything really taking the lead in the mix. We put some nice lead guitar on it but it still didn't feel right. I suggested tambourine and the other guys laughed at me, until they heard it. Obviously it'd be out of place on stage at a metal show but on the album it really works

It's the tambourine surely! Take the tambourine out and it'd be a totally different groove

I played drums on Friday night, still not sure if I should be risking it with my sprained wrist. A few people helped me with all of my gear which was really nice, and then I took some painkillers and 4 pints of beer. It got me through, and actually I played really well, but it was probably a bad idea. I still can't play bass and I have a gig on Thursday!

There are loads of bad photos of me but I finally found one I like! From last Thursday at the Rescue Rooms

Thursday night I played at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham and it was awesome. I managed to sprain my wrist during load out. Had to cancel Friday's gig and I'm worried about this weekend. Can't even play guitar at the moment let alone drums.

I've not been able to post since but I did two gigs supporting New Model Army last week Tuesday we played at The Live Rooms in Chester. There was something seriously wrong with the PA, no idea how they managed to take so long to fix it, but it meant our soundcheck was just a very brief line check. This normally wouldn't bother me but the rest of the band (who are big NMA fans) had got me nervous for the first time in ages! It was sold out too so a pretty important gig. Anyway, the sound was crap on stage, and probably out front, but it didn't matter at all. The crowd loved us! Wednesday we played the Boiler Shop in Newcastle. This is such a cool venue. A huge old warehouse with loads of history, done up in a very modern fashion. Brilliant soundcheck and we played really well. We've been asked to support on another date next year so that'll be cool

It's not something I've ever come across before. Are there any particular projectiles you'd recommend?

Is this part of your show? You plant 9 audience members each with inflatable novelty items to throw at the band?

It sounds like chorus but there there are some parts you can hear two plucks (almost) at the same time, so it might just be double tracked. I think you're boosting in the right place, 500Hz. There's nothing above 2KHz at all so maybe cut out all the top end. There's a little bit of dirt there. That could be from the desk pre-amp or over driving the tape input or from a compressor... I don't think a distortion pedal would do that for you. Maybe a compressor I guess some Jaco aficionado will know exactly how it was done.

Sorry to read this! Hopefully you find another band that's a bit less hectic. All the best

Cool! We were on at 8 so I guess it was you lot I heard while we were loading out. We played the small stage at the end of the room. Decent size crowd who were singing back to us, but the sound was pretty bad. I think the guy was just expecting standard 3 or 4 piece punk bands with amps but our guitarist uses a pod for his electric and switches between than and an acoustic. It took about 40 minutes to get everything working before we went on. The sound guy was clearly very annoyed. Oh well, still good fun! There's always such a great atmosphere at the punk gigs

I have a few songs in very weird times like 13/8. It's a lot easier to just count in with 4

Fulford Arms in York on Saturday. We'd never played in York before so weren't sure what to expect. The soundman greeted us and sorted us out in about 15 minutes. No messing about and lots of mutual respect, so that was nice. Then we all went for a quick curry hoping to return in time to see the support bands. There were 3 punk bands of varying degrees of crazed noisiness and I really enjoyed them all. I guess the packed venue and friendly atmosphere helped but it was just really fun. I was fully expecting most of the audience to leave before or during our set but they seemed to hang around and we played really well, so a fantastic night all round! I got to bed around 2:30AM, up at 7 to get to my studio and prepare for the day's session at 9. I got a text at 8:30 - "the singer's van has broken down so we can't get to your studio". A very sleepy day off ensued

Most of my gigs are on drums. I'm normally pretty good at this but when I struggle is when I have to start one song immediately after the end of the last. My band do this to try and keep the momentum going but sometimes it just fries my brain trying to think of the tempo of the next track while I'm playing the last couple of bars of the current track. It's really difficult!

I'd never heard of phantom splinters before but I've definitely had them!

very cool

I'm not judging anyone else for doing it, just explaining how I feel. I don't refuse the money anyway, can't afford!

I've been paid to play to no-one and I find that even more soul crushing. I feel like I shouldn't be paid, taking the money makes me feel like a thief, which just compounds the glumness of the empty gig

I've played a lot of "bad gigs" as defined above, but the only gigs I'd want to actively avoid are those without audiences. If you take a gig from a venue or promoter you've not worked with before, then it's a gamble, but if it turns out there's no audience there, just remember to never take a gig from that promoter again, and don't believe their excuses!

We did the Amersham Arms on Saturday. It was an all day punk festival. We were supposed to be the penultimate band but the last band (The Lurkers) didn't turn up. It was a 3 hour drive down to get there at 7pm. We were expecting to be on around 9 but they pushed us back to 10 and asked for a longer set. There was a good audience for the few bands on before us, but most of them left as we were setting up. We were left with about 15 people in the room, of which maybe 5 were actually watching. Got to bed around 3AM, up at 8 on Sunday for a session in my studio... worst gig for a long while