Frank Blank

This true, particularly on the E, if you tune using the harmonic it seems to remedy this most of the time but not always.

+1 Polytune. The best clip-on solution imho.

That’s excellent!

Excellent! I’d love to try one.

One of those perfect moments in music, that is, as you say, one of the best singles (that word ages us doesn’t it) of all time.

This is so subjective, has so many variables, that we all have our own individual ideas of what is ‘good’, what constitutes a ‘10’ on our own individual scale. There is no yardstick outside of of our likes and dislikes that has an inherent objective scale from ‘bad’ to ‘good’. Take Jah Wobble for instance, he is one of my favourite bass players. If I had to to explain why I would have to link it back to one album, Metal Box, then to refine my explanation in order to define what it is about his bass lines on that album I realise that almost every single definition I come up with is connected with a host of feelings, subjective notions, memories and just a huge stack of junk. I can describe some of his bass lines as ‘sublime’ in my opinion but I do not attempt to emulate the myriad qualities within those basslines in order to become a ‘better’ bass player because I realise that those basslines are a subjective meeting midway between me as the listener, hearing the line with all my likes, dislikes, peccadilloes and the line he is producing, with all his likes, dislikes and peccadilloes. My idea of a ‘good’ bass player can only ever be a Venn crossover between my subjective junk yard and Jah Wobble’s. Music is art, art is subjective. If music moves me emotionally then I consider it good, not good generally but good in my mind to me and that sense of good is impossible to define.

Genius...

Yes, I am equally unsure on this very point.

I very much doubt you’d do anything to illicit me gobbling at you. I Spit at bands/people far less now than when I was a punk, but, given exceptional circumstances, it’s still in the repertoire so to speak.

It was a truncated list at that.

One aims to please.

One of my few highly developed skills is spitting. I have become adept at landing hefty oysters of gob on screens rudely jutted into the offing between me and an artist I am trying to watch. It is hilarious because their initial reaction is to drop the now contaminated device but then this odd dance ensues passing the device from hand to hand trying to wave my noxious ejecta away.

Oh no, absolutely, Jah Wobble and JJ Burnel are, between them, the reason I picked a bass up, Metal Box and early Stranglers albums were likewise massively bass formative for me, but Jah Wobble is the pinnacle for me. I am beginning to realise that the reason I left the gig vaguely dissatisfied is because regardless of how much I try to appreciate the man and his current music I can’t help but want something of the past that’s now unobtainable. I suppose instead of trying to recapture something historical by attending such gigs I should maybe make something current that gives me the same or similar vibe.

I’m a big train spotting Wendy, just sayin’

No, not unfair, I think that’s an accurate summation. I’m kind of assimilating the experience and it’s making me think about how my attitudes have changed towards music.

It was very good indeed although I couldn’t put my finger on why.

He played a range of material from his back catalogue including a couple from Metal Box. I think the gig (and your initial reply to my post) has me wondering what I want from a gig and what I wanted from this gig in particular.

I don’t recall suggesting I was hoping he’d sell me anything, all I was saying (I think) is that he played bass on my favourite album made 38 years ago and that I don’t really know how I felt, or indeed feel, about seeing him now.

Just seen Jah Wobble for the second time. First time was in Cambridge seventeen years ago, tonight at Chinnerys in Southend. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to see people responsible for making your favourite album of thirty eight years perform their current music, but then, it’s Jah Wobble, just seeing that Ovation Magnum was cool, it’s almost as legendary as the man himself. I don’t really know what the point of this post is...

This was the first bass line I ever played too.

Definitely a formative player for me.

I’m not sure?

My brother has the original vinyl of this album with the poster signed by Chris Squire. I keep telling him it’s worth something but he just shrugs. When I point out the rarity of his signed (by Marc Bolan) copy of Jeepster by T. Rex, again, all he does is shrug. He’s a bizarre man.

What a sublime track this is, when the iPod ithrows it up its on repeat until I get home.