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Misdee

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Everything posted by Misdee

  1. That's a fair point, but the reality is that a sizable swath of viewers will see it as an accurate representation of events. And what is most unforgivable is the way in which the characters speak in headlines to sign post a narrative for the hard-of-understanding. " We're gonna kick this country awake if it kills us!" How prophetic, how tragic, how prescient. I suppose why all this makes me so hot under the collar is twofold. Firstly, it's yet another example of how, encouraged by broad sheet music journalists intent on rewriting history to serve their own ends, rock music has developed an execrable tendency towards self mythologising. Secondly,I know only too well how this series will be seen by many as conclusive evidence that punk rock saved us from an economic and cultural abyss brought about by a mixture of inbreeding, indolence and Harold Wilson's Labour government. It's a post Britpop version of history made by a Britpop film director. Give it a few more years and Danny Boyle will be making a series about how Britpop saved British culture from being swallowed by American grunge music, how Oasis were the new Beatles and Rolling Stones all at once and singlehandedly got Tony Blair elected and Trainspotting was a landmark film which laid bare the lives of Britain's underclass.
  2. To my ears Never Mind The Bollocks is a terrific rock and roll album. If folks want to call it punk and hail it as revolutionary that is up to them. Chris Thomas's production work makes the most of the Sex Pistols strengths and hides their weaknesses.
  3. I'm going to watch some more tonight so I can be even more annoyed tomorrow.
  4. I would cheerfully watch the whole series if I had the time as a guilty pleasure. But it's a complete fiction on every level. What irks me about it is the way this show presents itself as a serious historical dissection of the 1970s. It also perpetuates the same old lazy falsehoods that punk rock and the Sex Pistols in particular arrived in the nick of time revive pop music and popular culture in general. Contrary to this propagated version of British history, in reality the 1970s was a pretty good time to live in this country. And most people were perfectly happy to with the music they were listening to pre-1977. That's not surprising because there was so much great music in the 1970s. Punk rock was a novelty because of its shock value. Nothing more than that. It was not the salvation of Western Civilization as some would try have you believe nowadays. I can certainly see why John Lydon is upset about it. It really is a Disney version of reality.
  5. What a lovely bass! I quite fancy one like that myself. I hope you get a lot of pleasure from playing and owning it. Sounds like it would be very versatile, while still having a character of its own.
  6. I am not in a band at the moment but if I was I would simply send the unwanted member a letter telling them that unfortunately due to Brexit, competition from developing countries oversees and rising.costs coupled with the overall economic situation after COVID that there is no alternative but to give them the push. I would offer them a severance package including some money-off tokens for Pizza Hut and half a roll of gaffer tape and then block their calls forthwith. Cruel but kinder in the long term.
  7. I saw some of this the other day. I had expected it to be awful, but it was much worse than that.
  8. I like both/either, depending on the bass. What I mean by that is any bass is a sum of it's parts and overall construction. A satisfying instrument might have a bolt-on neck or be neck-thru, but if it is enjoyable to use then that is enough. I am not too hung up on the construction method. I can remember back in the early 1980s when received wisdom was that neck-thru was superior, but that was long before bass players went forwards by going backwards and adopted the new orthodoxy that modern was wrong and vintage retro is right.
  9. Funnily enough, back in the late 1980s I bought a brand new condition sunburst/maple 1978 Jazz Bass from Carlsboro in Mansfield that looked pretty much identical to this one. I remember it was in absolutely mint condition, like it had never been played.
  10. I really like this guy. Great playing, great hairstyle, great everything really. Thanks for bringing him to my attention!🙂 I find it particularly refreshing that stylistically this gentleman is an unashamedly 1980's-style bass player. I'm not sure if that hair is classed as a mullet (and if I understand correctly, it's pretty much the law in Australia that men have to have their hair in such a fashion), but it really adds to the overall sound. I could see this chap becoming a role model to an older generation of bass players. If he isn't already.
  11. No doubt Putin will be pulling out the troops immediately now that the Eurovision vote has gone against him. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. To a man of Putin's sensibilities, Eurovision ( and any other symbol of pan-European cultural integration, however trivial) just confirms his conviction that, by any means necessary, Russia must protect its borders and sphere of influence. .
  12. On reflection,you are quite right. If it's on YouTube it must be true.
  13. If you believe the conclusions of every investigation supposedly debunking the myths of what contributes to the tone of a guitar/bass then you would have to come to the conclusion that nothing really contributes much to the character of the sound. Which leaves the question why in that case don't all guitars/basses sound the same and what makes individual instruments sound how they do? So basically you are back where you started and none the wiser. Common sense tells me that something must be making a difference. What that something is will vary from one design to another. Some manufacturers claims are spurious, some are not. You have to use the wits that God has given you to make your own decisions. I would suggest that, if possible, you play the instrument in question and see if it sounds good to you. That is the scientific method that I have found most consistent.
  14. Lovely bass. I would like it even more with black hardware. The low notes feel further away because of the small compact body with a top horn that only extends to about the 17th fret. You will adjust to it, I am sure 🙂. Warwick basses from this era built in West Germany are a completely different proposition to the instruments bearing the Warwick name nowadays. I remember when Warwick basses first came out and they were so distinctive in terms of sound, feel and looks, ( even though it looked distinctly like they had copied Spector). These were proper handmade basses with a great modern tone. Very much an object of desire for trendy bass players back in 1988. Enjoy your new bass, it's a genuine classic of the era.
  15. I enjoy Eurovision, but I preferred it when it was Europop rather than Finnish death metal bands. Like most things nowadays, it's not what it used to be. The charm of Eurovision was that it had unselfconsciously morphed into a unique musical and cultural entity that was a world unto itself. Nowadays it has become too self-regarding. Still worth watching, though, if only to make me feel thankful that I was born British.
  16. Eurovision is an celebrated event in gay subculture. I don't think there is anything controversial in that statement.🙂
  17. To be fair, poverty may be the real reason why Britain is not too keen to get back to winning ways.😄 I know that Israel is included because for decades it has been part of an organisation called the European Television Union and is therefore eligible. Presumably Australia is now a participant because a large proportion of the population is British/European/gay (or combination thereof).
  18. If only life were that simple. Israel and Australia are eligible. Presumably Europe is a state of mind rather than a geographical location or political affiliation.
  19. Ironically enough, that has turned out to be as substantive a reason to vote for Brexit as any of the supposedly more serious reasons put forward.
  20. They're jealous because we have proper pop music. They're jealous because we're cool. They're jealous because we know how to make a proper cup of tea.
  21. I remember when the Bass Center were the UK distributor for Warwick. I never realized they supplied the strings for their basses in those days, but it makes sense.
  22. Regarding the Thumb Bass, have you ever considered trying Warwick Black Label strings on it? I know they are not a particularly common string choice, but there is a certain synergy between those strings and Warwick basses. Firstly, they are quite pliable in terms of tension/feel for their given gauge. Something of a respite to the tight feel you get with a lot of Warwick basses. Secondly, they have got a particular sound that compliments that slightly compressed Warwick tone very well. Not as bright as some strings but strong mids. Not dissimilar to regular Dunlops in that respect. I used to use them on an active Jazz Bass I had that was my main bass in the early 2000's and they worked a treat. Nowadays I think the do a coated set(EMP) similar to Elixir, but I can't vouch for them myself.
  23. I suppose people's reactions to how these basses look is pertinent in so much as that is probably the biggest reason why these basses never really caught on and were discontinued. I am frequently struck by the converse in so much as I am very often shocked and surprised by the basses people on forums find appealing and attractive. Basses I would shun are almost invariably enthused about by all and sundry.😄
  24. It is indeed the same preamp as the Reflex, I seem to remember. I've got a Reflex and it does indeed sound immense. The bottom end is huge, probably the deepest of any bass I have ever owned. And I've owned a lot. These Big Al basses sounded terrific too, but I could never reconcile myself to the body shape.
  25. Not only would a St Vincent bass neck dive like a stone, with a body that shape the neck would feel significantly further to the left than on more conventional shapes, ie the reach towards the nut.
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