Barking Spiders

Get a U2 or AC/DC album, copy the basslines and within a week you'll be ready to join a band. Or go to https://www.talkingbass.net/ and find loads of free stuff as well as subscription material. Mark here is by several country miles the best online bass tutor out there. No question about it!

Agree 100%. I gave it another go but it's very reminiscent of stuff put out in the 70s, 80s and 90s going back to Return to Forever and Mahnavishnu to Tribal Tech and for chase scenes in Starsky & Hutch . But like shred, there's only the tiniest, most niche market for this stuff. You really would have to play this for love as I'm sure there' s next to no money in it.

Considering SD's fave bassists, can't say I'm surprised . This is no worse than any other fusion stuff I've heard but then again to my ears all fusion sounds tuneless and unenjoyable.

Will definitely be watching this. For me, and many others I'm guessing, Stax was real sound of soul whereas 60s Motown was more pop sung by black singers

They're one of those bands I saw back in their heyday. I have good memories of those times and that's they I want them to stay. Like old girlfriends I don't really want to see them as they are now.

Chemical Bros at the Utilita arena Brum on 3 Nov and then a long stretch till Orbital at the 02 Brum next April. Seen both 4 times each but nowt since their recent album releases. Both are proof that done right, electronica does cut the mustard live!

unless it's funk, soul or disco then they know it's the bass that carries the songs

I've no time for Genesis or Collins's solo material but his drumming is about the only good thing in LZ's set, not that their songs are up to much anyway IMO.

Dhol - Darabuka - Caixa - repinique (hep) - I guess you'd recognise a djembe?

Just watched it. One could blame with quality of vid and sound but I've watched vids of Django & Stefan Grappelli from the 40s that still sound cleaner and tighter. Also watched all clips of other acts, like Status Quo, luckiest pub band in the world; Madonna...oh dear and so it goes. I'm not a fan of Queen or Bowie but they easily put on the best performances across both shows, Wembley and US, Queen having the edge. Watching on small screen decades later these two performances still stand up way way better than the rest.

At peak GAS I had 8 basses, same number of electric and acoustic guitars, 3 keyboards, a Premier drum kit, 3 djembes, 4 caixas, 2 repiniques, a dhol, a set of congas, 3 darabukas, alto sax and two banjos. I'm now left with just 3 basses, 3 electric guitars, one caixa and one djembe. A shortage of space at home plus growing kids, a divorce and loss of house led to some serious thinking, resulting in a wholesale offloading of the rest plus loads of CDs, books, tools, clothes, DVDs and more besides. I'm now a born again minimalist and these days spend very little on things leaving a lot more to spend on doings.

100% and such phases usually last several weeks in my case. Instead of having music on I'll listen to TED Talks, various podcasts and many things through the BBC Sounds app...bar music. I don't listen to any music radio as whatever the station it's the same merry-go-rounds of songs played to death and beyond the grave. Then there's silence which I like when out running or kayaking, speckled with just the sounds of birdsong, the breeze rustling the leaves on trees, of traffic on the M5 southbound..

I was 15 at the time and on the France leg of a student exchange scheme, staying in Biarritz. I was probably surfing that day so the whole event passed me by. Not yet seen a second's footage either. Having looked at the playlist I'd have tuned in for Sade, though a huge open air fest was not the best stage for her. Might YT her at LA now.

Over the last 30+ years I've often gone through many periods of leaving my instruments packed away in the loft while barely listening to music, preferring spoken word radio. It's less to do with a lack of interest in playing rather than being heartily sick of most music. These days I have the dilemma that while I enjoy practising on my own and jamming with mates I don't enjoy listening to or playing music rooted in guitar, bass and drums

Cant get enough of Moderat at the mo'. Cracking German electronica at its best

Think the majority of the BC massive definitely underrate slap! Slap lovers are clearly a minority

Where I live the combined catchment for Cheltenham and Gloucester is around 1/4 million but over the last 20 years the best venues have gone for good, and there's a lot of competition for gig slots at whatever's left but if you want to play original material outside of rock, folk and open mic night stuff forget it. Music stores have fared badly too. In Chelt there used to be two main guitar shops, a piano and acoustic instruments store and another targeting schools. All gone. Similarly there used to be half a dozen music and vid stores. Only a one indie and a much shrunken HMV remain.

Many people in Britain haven't forgotten, which is why Water Aid UK is one of the best supported charities, with revenues over £90m. Many ordinary people on ordinary incomes do what they can with limited resources and time to help those less fortunate elsewhere. It's just that many celebrities with great lifestyles are considerably more wealthy and have vast amounts of money that can be used for good causes.

Re Squier, indeed not. I have an excellent Squier Affinity Starcaster guitar which I bought new for £260. The now defunct Fender equivalent used to sell for 5 x that.

'Massively privileged' ?? Many people I know have to work bl00dy hard in underpaid but essential jobs just to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table with little to spare for 'gear', holidays etc. At the end of long taxing days they barely have time for their own kids let alone anyone else. Besides, ordinary people here have little of practical use they can offer to people in troubled countries unless they're medics, emergency services workers and the like

overrated - anything US made and overpriced boutique brands underrated - Indonesian made e.g. Cort, Sterling by Musicman. Also 👍for Peavey and Marshall amps

Richards has got more gobby as he's got older. He's also laid into many rock bands in particular Led Zep, Black Sabbath and Metallica. I'm well into 90s hip hop when it had a strong groove but most of the rap from 2000 onwards is dire, particularly mumble rap which is the pits . So he's right to an extent.

My take on U2 is that when they came out there were many better bands of a similar ilk who were more deserving of greater success than they actually had but U2 struck lucky somehow. A lot of the flak they get is down to Bono i.e. his political posturing, his shades and his holier than thou attitude which doesn't match his lifestyle. Hypocrisy rankles. Then there are guitar players who object to the Edge being rated saying all he does is manipulate sound with effects. Then there's Adam Clayton. Say no more. Like so many other bands maybe they'd get less contempt if they'd bowed out while they were still under 40 and at the top of their game.

Chat GPT or Google Bard lyrics surely can't be any worse than those written by Noel Gallagher, Robert Plant, Simon Le Bon, Jim Morrison, Neal Peart, Gene Simmons or whoever else in Kiss is guilty and AC/DC? Of course I could add about 100 more names to that list but I've made my point and there's no debating it.

Considering the mountains of tripe many human 'artists' have been putting out over the last 60 years, IMO it's time to let the machines have a go