Barking Spiders

Heard a couple of tracks being played in HMV the other day. I wasn't sure who it was and thought to myself it must be some cackanded retro wannabe bluesmen..and I was right.

IMO one over-praised band which made a half a dozen or so cracking tunes, several are which on LC. If only they'd stuck with just the original sides 1 and 2 of the vinyl release.Mind you, this is more than I can say for Paul Weller and his output. A good singing voice and one with 'character' aren't mutually exclusive!

I only bought half a dozen new albums this year but quite a few used ones. TBH I'm pretty underwhelmed by much of what I've heard from supposed best albums lists. For me the best is a toss up between The Source by Afro Celt Sound System - fusion of electronica, hip hop, celtic folk, banghra, African styles. instruments include keys and electronics, cittern, dhol drums, bodhran, djembe, flutes, uillean pipes, bagpipes, kora, talking drum, vocals..for starters Shout It Out by Balkan Beat Box, NYC based Israeli dudes mashing up Balkan folk, klezmer, hip hop, reggae, Gypsy punk, funk, cumbia, brass bands..played on trombone, drums, saxes, bass, guitars, sampler, vocals,. Both albums have been gestating for aeons but are bluddy brilliant..IMO that is

And indeed many do say it of MK but not me. There are many who diss slap bass but I'm not one of them. We all have our musical beefs and one of mine is guitar shredding

No love for The Monkees then?

Nah, still not persuaded re the virtues of tapping. Jazz /rock fusion? No thanks. To my ears one of the dullest of genres.

Certainly did know it wasn't EVH but I curse whoever did . Unfortunately tapping and sweep picking have led to the rise of soul less, mechanical fretw***ers across the globe.

In a post punk/80s pop frame of mind and in no order Mick Karn - Japan stuff Pino Palladino -mostly for his fretless work on Paul Young's No Parlez Deon Estus - various Wham tunage Dave Allen - Gang of Four and Shriekback Stuart Morrow - first two New Model Army albums Michael Dempsey - mostly for his playing on Sulk by The Associates JJ Burnel - for Stranglers albums up to The Raven Mick Anker - The Blow Monkeys..a very overlooked player Horace Panter -The Specials Norman Watt Roy

I get where the OP is coming from. I understand people who express sadness at the passing of a favourite musician whatever and want to celebrate what they've done but too often mass mourning goes way OTT as was the case with princess Diana, which bordered on the hysterical. There are also many people who've achieved important feats, made great discoveries in their fields etc - e.g. in science, medicine, engineering, architecture, environmental conservation - but because they're not in the public eye they don't get public acclaim. In the West, entertainers (including sportsmen and writers) seem to get more kudos than anyone else.

yes but it doesn't get as many visitors as here

You might be into a bit of madrigals on the sly and are a dab hand at the lute or cittern. Maybe you took up the zither after seeing The Third Man. I took up bluegrass banjo and Dobro half a dozen years ago after watching The Transatlantic Sessions on BBC2. Now fancy having a go at the oud after listening to Speed Caravan. Maybe not to everyone's taste - they play a mix of modern Arabic, rock and electronica - but might appeal to Womad types. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmynqgnbJCo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmynqgnbJCo[/url]

I'm not at all a fan of tapping in general and on bass especially. I feel about about bass tapping like some do about slap.I can tap on guitar reasonably well but it's a technique that isn't appropriate for the genres I like while it's abundant in those I don't enjoy.

Depends if I'm in a funky mood, an 80s poppy one or a post punky one. Currently it's a funkadelic one so in a kinda rough order and best known for 1. Louis Johnson - Jacko's Off The Wall and Thriller albumens 2. Larry Graham - Sly & The Family Stone 3. Mark King - any need to explain? 4. Marcus Miller - ditto 5. Bernard Edwards - and he 6. Rocco Prestia - Tower of Power 7. Stuart Zender - Jamiroquai, 2 three albums 8. Julian Crampton - Incognito, also been on Heaven 17's recent tours 9. Paul Jackson - Herbie Hancocks's Headhunters 10. Joe Dworniak - some Style Council, I Level

Ha, another who uses is one a lot. I always use this way for playing Dub / reggae style in this position I also use conventional fingerstyle, thump n' pluck / slap n' pop, plectrum, strumming, double thumbing, slapping by pulling strings upwards. Why stick with just one?

Like Oasis, Williams was on top of the pile for a few years in the UK but was unable to sustain the same level of critical or commercial success over the longer term. Now he's half forgotten. Outside the UK and especially in the US he aroused little interest. He has an unremarkable voice while Guy Chambers actually wrote the music to his big hits.

Hmm, it's the business equivalent of the 'it's not you, it's me' line !

And I'm sure you all must have seen this fella [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy3V2Tl4g3s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy3V2Tl4g3s[/url]

How about this for one funky mutha [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2_f2YhSCOg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2_f2YhSCOg[/url]

I'm a huge fan of Dub, from the original 70s sounds of King Tubby and Lee Scratch Perry through to electronica acts that've incorporated Dub into their sounds like Leftfield and Dreadzone. It's hard to beat the arsequaking sounds of the bass and it's bloody good fun to play n' all. Anyone else fee the luv for Dub?

The foot on on the monitor thing is one of the naffest things any performer can do, along with 'saluting' the crowd. I've only ever played in funk and dance music bands so most people watching wouldn't have a clue who I'm ripping off. I once had someone say they found my Level 42 type playing annoying... which was nice!.

Cheers muchly Mister T. Didn't know about removing the 'S' bit. Ok so here goes, Down To The Bone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc-P2XH5Jrw

Someone's gonna have to tell me how to insert YT clips. I wanted to put up some of the very great Down To The Bone stuff, the current line up featuring Julian Crampton.

If the quality of a live music scene is your main criterion or moving you'd best stay clear of Gloucester and Cheltenham. They were once quite good but so many venues have closed down that the gig scenes are pretty sh*te. Mind you there are some decent music festivals in the region. Other that it's a great part of the UK to live.

Based on the replies here it seems there's not a lot of love for funk, 'cos if you love funk it's inevitable you're a big fan of slap bass. Slap is what largely brought the bass from out of the shadows and helped dispel the widely held belief it's the easiest instrument in a band. Sure musicians recognise the skills of fingerstylists like Ox and Jack Bruce but it was noted thumpers like Mark King that brought it to the masses.

Whenever I go to see bands I wanna see some activity. If you've got a reasonably charismatic frontman/men then bass players can get away with Ox / Wyman type stillness. If the whole band is static, and also lacking banter, it makes for a dull night out for punters. Well I'm usually bored rigid. I want to see a show. I wouldn't expect Rammstein type theatrics but at least move about. I used to only ever play in funk and dance music bands and we always put performance ahead of showing how well we could play.