upside downer

I've had a Giovanni de Meglio 1905 Model A mandolin for some time now and have recently added a Sherwood mahogany solid body electric to join it. Sherwood was the name used by Hobgoblin music for their UK-made mandolins. With the fretboard being so small it takes some dexterity but I do like the instrument being tuned in 5ths. I'm mainly a strummer and there's an element of overtones or drone notes available, similar to what I've experienced on the Turkish saz (three courses of strings tuned GDA, although that instrument is a different kettle of fish altogether with its microtones and 17 notes to an octave). And if it's drone notes you're after, try the Irish bouzouki tuned to GDAD. Greek bouzouki on the left and, on the right, the Troubadour electro-acoustic Irish bouzouki with resonator and Wilkinson pickup I got a few months back. Was originally just an acoustic but it's been souped up and it's a lovely thing to play. Sounds incredible when used with a delay pedal and a bit of echo. I'm no virtuoso but these instruments are such fun to mess around with.

Well done to both Dad and Nail for their winning entries I'm guessing most of us know of the Radiohead song that @Dad3353 and his lads played but I can't have been the only one who had to bung 'send my Giro to Cairo' into a search engine to find out who did the original of @Nail Soup's tune. A hidden gem!

What was wrong with the setlist you chose? Did you just play New York 25 times in a row?

That's a great setlist, should be a lot of fun to play! Stand and Deliver is one we used to play and always went down really well. These are the most pleasing songs to do, IMHO, the ones that hardly any other band plays but everyone knows. Also Lust For Life and Silly Thing from that era.

Grooving with Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band.

Quick, pin the December voting thread! It's falling down the page at a speed!

Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg... Here's mine. It's a cover of Every Man's An Island by Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart from the acclaimed 1991 album Rising Above Bedlam. Wobble's a prolific recording artist and has done countless collaborations down the years. I've always loved this track and it has the added bonus of a spoken word vocal which suits both me and your ears, no doubt. There's also a female spoken part on it so Mrs UD stepped up to the plate (and the microphone) and did a sterling job. Drums are both MT Drums and Hydrogen drums, keys and other sounds are from the Yamaha YPT-240 keyboard, bass is a Vester Catalina, used both a Necarman electro saz and acoustic saz for that middle eastern vibe and utilised a Behringer tube overdrive pedal and a Vivlex delay pedal for effects. All recorded using Wavepad, Audacity and Ableton. The picture was taken before a gig by Mr Wobble and chums at Nottingham Rescue Rooms in 2020. Don't worry, it filled up handsomely, I just got there ridiculously early. Merry Christmas, y'all

I use my thumb to cover my eyes when certain people post on here. "Boredom, boredom, be 'dumb, be 'dumb" Boredom by Buzzcocks, for those that like a quote.

I'm two-thirds through mine with an 'approximation' of the main riff but it's quite an obscure tune so I think I'll get away with it (though @Nail Soup will know it 😁)

Having a run on Adam and the Ants right now.

I will never, ever, onsume.

^This is my take on it, too. I'm fortunate in that I love a rummage around on ebay or at auction houses and have quite a collection of many weird and wonderful musical instruments now. I guess it is compulsive behaviour but that's in every enthusiastic hobbyists nature. The only 'problems' are finding time to get around to playing them all and storage space.

Warmongering despot Vladimir Putin Ex- PiL bass behemoth Jah Wobble

Bravo @lurksalot, a quality tune, even if we didn't get to hear your dulcet tones!

Can't help but notice that @lurksalot hasn't lurked here for 6 days. Hope everything's alright.

Move over, Morrissey, make room for me! Here's my usual last-minute effort. The image didn't half make me think of the wonderful worlds conjured up by Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books so here's a space-time continuum, jolly romp of a tune named after the supercomputer built by hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings interspersed with a few words from the book. What I'm saying is that the lyrics are by Douglas Adams. I hope the executors of his estate aren't litigious. Used an unbranded Strat copy with an open G tuning, a Yamaha keyboard, MT Power Drums/Looperman drums and the bass comes from fiddling around with Ableton sounds. Recorded different bits in Ableton, Wavepad and Audacity. Apogee Mic+ for vox, Roland Cube amp for noise and I can't remember if I used a DFA pedal or not

You beat me to it, was just going to mention Django. I've also seen some chap on youtube playing perfectly good guitar with his feet! Have fun with it. I never thought I'd be much of a guitarist (and I'm still distinctly average, TBH) but, with the proliferation of easy to understand youtube tutorials, I've upped my game beyond what I thought I'd be able to achieve. Just do things at your own pace and you'll get to where you want to be.

"We'll be together, With a roof rack over our heads" Is This Love by Bob Marley.

Couldn't tell you. The judging panel of 'Central Asia's Got Talent', perhaps?

Something different. Kazakhstani Domra from Yerzhan Zhamenkeyev vs Kyrgyzstani Komuz from Zakirbek Duishenbek Uulu and then they swap instruments. Both sport splendid headwear.

I had the pleasure of choosing the last picture so am happy for @Nail Soup and @xgsjx to arm wrestle between themselves for the honours this time 👍

Watched it a while back and thought it was OK but I don't think it is really aimed at diehard fans. Too many 'well, that never happened like that' moments for Pistols aficionados to swallow. However, it does look fantastic; the attention to detail in the visuals is one of the series' strongpoints, alongside getting the actors to play their own instruments. And, bravo to Anson Boon for his take on Rotten. Such a complex character but he does a fine job in bringing out Lydon's neurosis, empathy, mistrust and humour. Toby Wallace's Jones is done well, but the Matlock and Cook roles are mere bit parts and the Vicious portrayal is a bit lacking in depth (although, you could say, so was Sid). Thomas Brodie-Sangster has a good stab at McLaren and Sydney Chandler plays Chrissie Hynde terrifically. Six episodes in all, the first two barrel along nicely but episode three, which focuses way too heavily on Pauline of 'Bodies' fame, stumbles. I found the last three episodes to be less based on Steve's book and more of a Danny Boyle take on things and the series fizzles out. A shame. It could've been better. For the most honest retelling of the story, stick with 'The Filth and the Fury'.

Here's mine. Had some issues with equipment but I'm off on holiday tomorrow so this is it. A devilishly diabolical ditty with angular guitar, stuttering yet throbbing bass, minimalist insistent drums and a vocal style somewhere between a Fisher Price Elvis Presley and a poor man's Johnny Cash. Low tech gear check - unbranded 5 string guitar in open G tuning for rhythm, Epiphone Gibson Special for jerky guitar sounds and solo, el cheapo Spider bass, Hydrogen open source drum machine, Roland cube amp, Apogee mic+ and recorded with Wavepad and Audacity.

Anyone remember this abomination from 1999? I wish I didn't.

Thanks, you lovely people. Had a lot of fun putting this one together. New pic has just been attached to the leg of carrier pigeon Speckled Jim and he's heading off in Lurks' direction right now.