Barking Spiders

Indeed, while I actually dislike CS's guitar tone, what made those early albums listenable for me were the polyrhythms laid down by the drummer and percussionists. The emphasis on rhythm in latin music is what makes much of it great IMO. I long stopped listening to mainstream US, UK and European rock, pop, hip hop and dance/electronica as it's mostly plodding, formulaic, derivative and lacking creativity and instrumental skill. Go outside this very limited musical world and there's loads of interesting stuff going on, not that most Brits, Americans and Europeans bother to hence why music radio is the way it is.

Just to make it clearer what I'm really getting at is that in mainstream / chart music - mainly in the US and Europe - the only time most people will see tamborines or marracas being used is by 'fifth'wheel' types or backing singers who give the impression they're doing something while on stage. This probably gives many non-musicians the impression instruments like these are easy to play. Maybe there's opportunity for someone to bring them into the mainstream and show how they really should be played.

Fraid you are wrong there . Read my recent post. I was specifically talking about untuned instruments like maraccas and tambourines. The term percussion is a bit too general IMO as it ranges from tuned instruments demanding considerable skill to play well e.g. hammered dulcimer, marimba, timbales etc to claves and triangles. Anyway, as my main instrument is drums (not just kit but also a range of hand and stick drums) you'll never find me dissing drummers and percussionists!

Actually while the tone of the post is meant to be light-hearted the question is 'serious' . I'm sure there are proper techniques for playing maraccas and the tamborine etc, which you'd hear in latin genres. Unfortunately i think untuned percussion instruments like these have been demeaned in Western pop music where they are handed willy nilly to people like Bez from Happy Mondays who don't play any tuned instrument or sing. In some Motown tunes you can hear tambourine playing where the rhythm is not straightforward at all

If you play triangle, chimes, rainstick and claves can you consider yourself a multi-instrumentalist? Has anyone ever wowed you with a tambourine solo? Have you ever put in several hours practice a day on the guiro?

and from the more glam part of the 80s music scene

Aye, can't argue with you there. Ah, White Lightning yes indeed the tipple of dukes and duchesses too!

These have been a big fave of mine since I hear them on Peel. Anyone else for them? Always cracking drumming and plenty of nice bass work

Dr Robert Moog, Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, Ralf Hutter and the crew at Roland. Why? Cos at age 6 or so I got turned onto bleeps and whirrs etc from listening to the Dr Who theme , Magic Fly by Space and Autobahn. And I've been annoying the crr@p out of wives, mates etc ever since with my own sounds and extensive collection of electronica

It sure was and pop stars looked like pop stars oughta, OTT and bizarre looking, not looking like they should be folding skinny jeans at GAP like they have been since BoyZone /Westlife

But is he even in the top 100 maracca players in pop. He can't hold a candle to Davey Jones of the Monkees.

You could always do prison gigs in a Johnny Cash-Fulsom prison stylee where you'd have an attentive captive audience.

This slipped well under the radar too, IMO one of the best covers I've ever heard

On a bit of a Snoop Dogg tip of late, playing several albums back to back including the very fine (IMO) The Blue Carpet Treatment and from this..

Likewise for horseracing. I went to the Gold Cup meeting and it aint cheap to get in but many people never ventured beyond the bars / in the tents but only watched the racing on the monitors. I guess these people are only there for the crack with the sport itself only a minor side attraction

I was quite partial to Wham..but 99% because of Pepsi and Shirley's appearances on TOTP etc

Sorry folks, I'm on a roll here. A handful of faves from the better end of electro /synth pop..

That wasn't a big hit but should've been as was this by Peel faves the Red Guitars

+ 1 , the golden perdiod for the Minds was from EAD via Sons & Fascination/Sister Feelings Call to New Gold Dream. All chocka with cracking, memorable basslines. As I teen in the 80s there's loads of stuff I liked; Two Tone, post punk, electronic stuff and a lot of pop. Still do and here's one that's really evocative for me

Except Sister Bliss plays the keyboards /synths and co-writes the music!

Some others that come to mind Black Eyed Peas - the ones who aren't Will.I.Am Spice Girls - Posh, the only one that didn't do lead vocal Pussycat Dills - the ones who aren't Nicole Scherzinger apologies for the pop bias here folks

Chas Smash started out as a backing vocalist but as time went on he had a more prominent role including playing trumpet, taking the occasional lead vocal and co-writing. Other that have just come to mind are the others in the Prodigy, usually described as MCs and /or 'dancers' though really they were there to keep company for Liam Howlett and provide some visuals. On record their contributions were small apart from the odd vocal

My teen daughters are getting all retro and finding a love for 80s pop along the lines of Duran, Spandau, Wham etc. So we had back to back DD and Wham on Yesterday at the weekend. Mark Radcliffe's comments reminded when we used to wonder what Andrew Ridgeley actually did apart from occasionally mime playing the guitar and bass ! Other 'famous' fifth wheels that come to mind are; Bez from Happy Mondays who basically used to trot out the same off his face 'dance' with plastic maraccas; Paul from Frankie GTH who contributed occasional backing vocal and the bloke in Boney M who semi-spoke the odd line like ' he's crazy like a fool' (from Daddy Cool). Bring 'em on!!!

Not actually done any gigs unless you count the occasional bit of function band depping and I haven't been using it for those. I've only ever used a compressor (not mine) for those which I find good for slap n pop.

I use only two units, both Soundblox 2, the Manta envelope filter and the Orbital Modulator which phases, flanges, choruses and tremelos. As I mostly play funk and electronica stuff IMO the bass sounds need to be a bit out there