Barking Spiders

The 'less is more ' attitude is similar to when ugly to average looking people say ' looks aren't important it's personality that counts'. I'm all for players of all types of instrument holding back when they need to but not for a whole song. At some point I wanna hear them let rip and show what they're made of. I like to see virtuosity pumped up to the max and make a point of learning from DVDs and You Tube clips from the best in the business. I want to learn bass techniques from Vic Wootten or Billy Sheehan not some bloke in a crappy indie band

i'm pretty lucky in that my girlfriend lives in Leamington so when I get the urge I nip into BD once a month or so. I went a couple of weeks ago and asked Mark what pre-loved stuff he had in stock. Seems he's stopped putting used basses in the shop as he's too much stock for that. So if you want one you need to look at their website. Loads of high end gear upwards of £2,500. Nice to try out but no way would I spend that kinda dosh.

Couldn't disagree more. I'm of the 'bass in yer face' school of playing, that bass should be as upfront and demanding to play as the lead guitar, especially in trad guitars, bass, drums and vocals line-ups. In big bands with brass , keyboards etc there probably is less need for upfront bass sounds, unless it's funk.

I've been playing acoustic and electric guitars since I was 12, 4 years longer than i've been playing bass and have scoured You Tube for the best beginners tutorials for my 10 year old daughter. The best I've found is JustinGuitar, an English geezer. He explains things very well and you can also pick up some of his excellent tutorial books from music shops. https://www.youtube.com/user/JustinSandercoe

But then again this thread is about music you may have hated or ignored for a long time but then you grow into it. For many years I gave a wide berth to metal bands where there's a lot of growling / shouty vocals going on but since going to Download this year I've got majorly into stuff like Killswitch Engage, Dillinger Escape Plan, Five Finger Death Punch and Lamb of God.

Over the last dozen years I've listened to all their albums several times over (none of them belong to me though) and I've found nothing to enjoy , not even a 10 second snippet of a drum break or guitar riff. Their rep with critics and sales figures utterly baffle me. I recently sat through watching 40 minutes of the live broadcast of their Glasto set. The rapturous applauses they received bewildered me. Normally I can be objective about stuff. E.g. I'd never choose to listen to the Foo Fighters but they played a good set, so respect. But Radiohead? Still a total mystery. As a band they have zero stage presence. I detect no strong melodies. The musicanship is competant but hardly jawdropping.Yeah, they may be experimental to a modest extent - but I've heard many less acclaimed artists who are far more challenging and groundbreaking.

No age is too late to start learning an instrument. Although I've been playing various fretted instruments since my mid teens - i'm 45 now - I picked up the drums 5 years ago and have done more dep work on them than I have on bass or guitar. So, don't hold back. Also there are many psychological studies that counter the widely held assumption that it's more difficult for older learners to absorb information. The only problem is lack of time!

I' ve not gigged for a few years now but being a bit of an exhibitionist - although not really a showoff - I was always in my element with other blokes in bands putting together a few moves and looking like we were having fun. In the samba band I recently played with playing while also doing a choreography was what is was all about, not just standing there hitting things. Yeah we're all different etc but Radiohead at Glastonbury were dull not because of the music as much as the stillness and lack of banter. Better to be more like Dave Grohl than Tom Yorke.

I cant stand inappropriate flashiness either. It's more difficult to come up with a fluid but memorably melodic solo than to reel off high speeds runs based on the pentatonic scale etc. Old Nile's a fine example of a player doing exactly what fits the tune. For my money his rhythm playing on Chic Organisation tunes has no equal

It may be sacrilege here but in recent weeks I've been playing more guitar than bass after hearing Baker Street on t'radio. Fookin love the solo there. The other top ones for me are those on Reelin In The Years, Another Girl Another Planet (Only Ones), Holidays In Cambodia (Dead Kennedys) and Another Brick In The Wall.

Hmm not really no. I like a loft of stuff that's partially smeared or tinged with jazz - e.g. A Tribe Called Quest, St Germain, Down To The Bone, the Cinematic Orchestra - but no way have I any wish to get in deep into Blue Note etc

Currently stuck in an 80s-90s hip hop timewarp playing loads of Eric B & Rakim, EPMD, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy's more recent albums

Actually Nile can play a tasty bit of lead when he wants. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbSc-2IzXzM

Hmm Ed shows why - Eminem excepted - white people, and especially white Brits, should never try rapping. Though I didn't mind the overall set his rap interludes blew huge chunks as they say Stateside

people have been banging on about the demise of the CD ever since MP3s started taking off. In the UK and US CDs still have the largest share of the pie while downloads are falling. Streaming is popular among younger casual music listeners while at over £20 a pop vinyl is only ever gonna be a niche product for collectors. In many other countries, like Germany, CD sales are still strong

I like some of the more in your face rockers like Monkey Wrench but not the cigarette lighter waving sing-alongs like My Hero. To be fair their set was a mighty relief to me compared with a lot of the drivel that had come before. At least DG knows how to engage with the crowd unlike Tom Yorke and his man hair bun. The Foos are probably rock enough for Glastonbury, which isn't yet ready for Decapitated or Cannibal Corpse

A lot of fair points being raised especially about what seems to be a thriving 'like new ' market on EBay etc. I've sold three there myself. I used to think part of the decline was because of younger punters turning away from rock but I was surprised at the number of teens and 20 somethings at Download and am seeing more in the streets wearing rock band t shirts. But I don't think anyone can argue that the electric guitar and the lead guitarist aren't as iconic now as they once were

It was never right in the first place

I'm a huge fan of Chic and funk at large and overall it was a fun set and touching at times. Technically I can't fault the bassist but if I was a bass teacher I'd use some of his playing here as an example of why you should leave space and not always cram in notes for the hell of it. Also I'm guessing he can't replicate BE's' 'chucking' technique on Everybody Dance! Just shows why Nard was tha man!

He seems a decent enough lad and you've gotta respect his cojones, getting out there in front of that crowd on his own. Not my bag at all but there are far worse douchebags out there earning heaps of dosh and with far less talent. I keep giving Radiohead chance after chance and watched 40 mins of their set but their music is still plain dull. I don't get all the fanboy worship. Chic delivered but I thought all that slap n' pop was out of place and I'm a huge fan of the style. Still not quite the same without Nard. Also watched the Foos set. Not a band I follow but there's no doubting DG's stage presence. Pity the rest of of his band cant match him. I dipped in and out over the 3 days but didn't see much else that made me sit up and take notice. There were also many hugely boring sets e.g. London Grammar. Ay caramba, this band have lowered the bar for bland.

As i live half the week in Leam I thought I'd You Tube this fella to see if it was nipping along to have a butchers. He's very skiiled for sure but just not my cup of the proverbial so i didn't go

..17 minutes..instead of around 40 seconds

Having just been to Download last friday next up is the Blue Dot music and science festival at Jodrell Bank. The main music draws for me will be The Pixies and Orbital though there's loads of great science stuff too. Then it's off to Folk By The Oak at Hatfield House. Last year was brilliant and this year's line up isn't too shabby what with The Levellers and Kate Rusby. July's rounded off with Gary Numan in Leamington. Last saw him at Sonisphere where he was on top form. Gutted The Roots are playing just 2 dates in the UK, at the Jazz Cafe in London on 2 and 3 July.

Ah, I'd almost forgotten about Rockschool which I regularly used to watch just for HT's humungous chops. Top player n all.

Strange. On the Download thread we've been saying pretty much the same thing. Way too much on the drums/bass with guitars sometimes lost in the mix