Barking Spiders

In my 20s I was playing regularly in function bands and on a semi-pro basis, to earn extra dosh while I was doing my engineering studies. Over the last 20+ years I've taken several breaks from bands due to marriage failures, bringing up kids, serial dating, further professional qualifications and other interests. It's not just the bass that's taken a back seat but all my instruments. Music tastes have also permanently shifted from guitar based stuff towards electronica so there's been very little that's inspiring me to play bass. Recently though I've been doing occasional depping which has been enjoyable but just a handful of gigs a year is enough to satisfy. It's clear I was never cut out to be a pro.

Only what i remember from playing clarinet and alto sax at school but never learnt bass clef. As I get older I may end up remembering it all while forgetting where I live

In my 20s - 30s I only ever played in dance music bands (disco, funk, soul, house etc) so It was beholden on all band members to be able put in the moves, some choreographed others spontaneous. Anyway when you're laying some some infectious grooves you'd have to be pretty dead from the neck down if you remained stock still

I was a happy hater of PG era Genesis and then after they separated Genesis started coming out with a few decent tunes. +1 for 'Los Endos' and also the Seconds Out version of 'I know what I like' plus two from Wind & Wuthering (Wot Gorilla and Afterglow). PG came into his own after splitting, from Genesis that is, not in a mitotic way.

Just one or two is indeed quite a big ask. Liking three tunes means you're almost a fan 😊. That said, the more albums a band has you may actually like several tunes while still generally disliking the band. I generally can't abide Aerosmith but half of Toys in the Attic is pretty good. All that's good from AC/DC is summed up on 'If you want blood'. Always thought BiB is pants.

Rush and Radiohead. Other than 'Far Cry' by the former and 'Just' by the latter, I have no time for either band. Viz Rush, 'Far Cry' shows Geddy Lee can sing normally which begs the question why he inflected that caterwaul over other albums

Some least fave bands of (y)ours have possibly come up with a single, solitary tune that you like a fair old bit, usually one that's atypical for them. So, what bands/solo acts do you normally avoid except for one or maybe 2 songs of theirs. To kick things off.. How Soon Is Now by The Smiths - I remember buying Hatful of Hollow in 1984 on the the strength of this track. Unfortunately, it became clear this is nothing like what they normally did. Enter Sandman - never had anything to do with Metallica until I heard this and bought the black album on the strength of it. However, it's by far the best tune on it Owner of a Lonely Heart - the clear standout track on 90125 which is the only Yes album I can listen to Jane by Jefferson Starship is still a cracker IMO, unlike anything put out by J Airplane or Starship Sheep by Pink Floyd - this aggressive uptempo track is pretty unusual for PF and is chocka with great guitar riffage Gallows Pole off Led Zeppelin III - maybe I really like this because it's a trad tune and not penned by the band. Great bassline too.

I'd always heard they're much despised by more discerning music listeners over the age of 17 but today I thought I'd check out The Chainsmokers for myself. And yep, they truly define the lowest common denominator, disposable and forgettable EDM fodder. I can objectively appreciate stuff that's not my bag but this duo are categorised as an electronica/dance music act, a genre I know a bit about. Things is, some of their songs are getting 2 BILLION plus views while topping the Billboard singles charts several times. Here's one of their 'classics'. Enjoy 😁

When I was a teenage scrote I only ever listened to ballsy rock with loud guitars and dismissed anything that was melodic and slower. My elder sister had 'Abandoned Luncheonette' which I couldn't tolerate at the time. As an adult, I've largely moved on from loud guitar-based music and now have several H & O CDs. They're one classy act and IMO Daryl Hall is one of the very best male singers of the last 50 years. Just so many great tunes.

I've gone the reverse. When I was a teen /early 20s I was well into his stuff right up to Let's Dance. I now think he wasn't that ground-breaking but was canny enough to spot a good thing going -i.e. glam, krautrock, soul & funk - and tapped into it. Station to Station and Scary Monsters still stand up well but as for the rest..👎

This'll sound sacrilegious on BC, but I'm a Coldplay convert. For a long time I thought they were another bluddy Travis or Snow Patrol. Then, a couple of years ago I gave all their albums a fair listen and there are only two I'm not keen on. I do wonder if all diehard Coldplay haters out there have actually given them a fair hearing. It's like with all the Nickelback hate. IMO it's loads of people jumping on the bandwagon without actually having given them a fair listen. I'm not a particular fan of this kind of rock but I've heard many worse bands who never get the same level of hate.

Been making my back forwards and backwards through Foals' 7 albums . This is a big new fave

Option 2. I've played in various bands of one sort and another - wedding bands, samba & other drum groups, festival bands... - and in some the organisers fair overdid it with their bookings, with us often playing 3-4 gigs every weekend throughout the spring to autumn. Way OTT. In one group we played 120 in one year...and most of us had regular full time jobs. After that I now much rather do a dozen choice gigs a year.

Recently I was in my local music shop (Head in Leamington as it happens) and a CD track they were playing grabbed my attention, as did the next three tunes. The album is a new one, Life is Yours, by Foals. I knew of the band but was always under the impression they were just one of those dull, identikit indie rock guitar strummers you see all over the place. Far, far from it. So I bought the album and played it several times back to back. The next day I went and got the other six albums and they've been on constant rotation. They've been going since 2005 so I've been kicking myself (not liderally) for having avoided them because of an assumption. Have you written off any band on a whim only to find out much later you were not only wrong but that they've since become a fave.

The drum kit is my main instrument and funk & disco are my preferred genres for playing live so I've tended to play bass in a percussive, groove oriented manner. Also play a slot of slide guitar and bluegrass banjo so i also like to apply slides and banjo style rolls onto the bass. Sometimes it sounds sh0ite but other times it works!

Scott does seem to have more than a soft spot for all this jazz fusion widdly diddly shyt3. Sure these guys have technique by the bucketload but i find nothing to enjoy in these solos. Then again I detest jazz, precisely because the 'tunes' are all about the saxist, drummist, bassist, guitarist etc taking turns to widdle out. At the other end of the spectrum this thread has Michael Anthony and Fieldy clearly off their faces pratting about. The drummer in Korn's good though. And as for Flea's stars and stripes abomination. That might be the worst thing of all in this thread. That said, they're till a tad better than this from Gene Simmons

to be fair, his vids are more watchable than most of his competition

No doubting he has exceptional skills and from what I've seen on YT he possibly is the most technically advanced player I've seen, even surpassing Vic Wootton. Another plus he has a light-hearted approach to his vids. Would I listen to virtuosic solo bass compositions like these for pleasure? Not in a million lifetimes!

Just my cup of tea and I'm not talking about the music🙂

Not so, all that's really needed is a laptop with a powerful CPU like Intel Core, a GPU like AMD Radeon, at least 8 gigs of RAM and 256 gigs of storage. Job done. You can run Ableton Live on something like a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro or a Samsung Galaxy Book Pro. IMO it's pretty safe to assume any technophile will have this level of gear plus you can pick up Ableton Live 11 for just over £300

The bigger picture shows music generally isn't as 'important' for millennials as it's been for old'uns, now that gaming and social media have taken over. For those interested in making music I spose why would they choose to spend many hundreds or even thousands of pounds on a bass +amp+effects or any other instrument when they can produce their own stuff on Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools etc for a fraction the cost? In time, the guitar, bass and drum kit are likely go the way of the lute and the rebec.

Last time I looked, last tuesday as it happens, Indonesian made basses are still all very reasonably priced and well within reach of any beginner

Right now it's the excellent Hydroponic Gardens by Swedish ambient electronica masters Carbon Based Lifeforms. The Scandinavians are great at doing this kinda stuff. Recommended if you like Tangerine Dream, J-M Jarre and the like

For about 10 weeks in 2008 I used to have to drive up from Cheltenham to Seven Sisters once a week and back again in the wee small hours. There used to be a show on radio 1 hosted by Nihal and Bobby Friction playing slamming tunes from the Asian underground. This was, is, my fave, some breakneck d n'b with a strong Indian vibe