lemonstar

Blue Wail Blue Scream of Death Screaming Blue Murder

I've never made NY resolutions before but I'm thinking about applying myself to a few things. I had shoulder surgery in March and 8 of the last 9 months I have worked consistently hard at my physio doing more than I was asked but the last month I haven't been able to maintain it - I ran out of steam and feel low about the prospects of getting back to be able to swim long distances again - I need to try and get a more positive head on again and get back on it. Bass playing - I only just started so plenty to do on that front. The idea came out of the blue as I wanted to start recording some of the songs I've written and it struck me I'd completely overlooked the role of the bass in everything I've ever done - I was so focussed on the lyrics, singing and underlying chords and more recently programming percussion - the idea has opened up my world a lot. So - start getting those songs recorded to a better standard. A few years ago I started using an old diary that was being flung out by my daughter - a decent leather bound thing - completely unused. I hate wasting paper or throwing it away so I started a daily writing routine and got a fair bit of good new writing from it - I definitely didn't manage to write anything like every day but what I did learn was that putting your d*mn pen on the d*mn page is just about the most important thing you need to do if you want to be creative - it's often not that easy to write anything but somehow, if you stop judging and editing what you write as you go along, you can sometimes bring on that flow state and the creativity and ideas start to come - the mistake often made imho - is to wait for the ideas to come and for a creativity mood and then think you can pick up your pen and start working at it - that does happen occasionally but it's nowhere near as effective imho as a general strategy if you want to be creative - so - try and adopt a daily or regular writing regime. I keep trying to learn Spanish - partly because I was training for this 31km/8hr swim in Spain http://www.ultraebre.com/index.php/en/ but that's out of the window now because of my shoulder - over 3 years of training down the pan but Spanish is great sounding language to my ears.

Nothing very edgy or new - I used to run to this album a lot because of the relentless pounding rhythms:-

Reposted in (hopefully) a more appropriate sub-forum

I want to hear this for the same reason - I've liked listening to some of her music but only for short periods of time - it's strange and intense.

One of my daughters went to see White Lies in London recently and she's been telling me she's been listening to them a lot. Don't bother - I've listened to a few albums (not the latest 2 - I didn't get that far) - absolute tosh.

I haven't heard this on the radio this year - probably just me though - the official video is not the cheeriest TBH:-

This is how you end up when buying another bass doesn't give you the same high it used to.

I think that's the one Pete Sinfield did the lyrics for.

We already had Lake & Sinfield's And Fairytale... probably haven't had this though Sadly - hidden at the end of the lyrics is a reminder to me of my childhood growing up with an abusive father who ruined every special thing in a child's life - profoundly affecting my younger sister the most. I like Sufjan though...

Relatively unknown album from 73 I came across as a fan of Keith Emerson Check out the credits on this album... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Creek https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_from_Free_Creek

Happy xxxmas

Understandable decision @BrunoBass - let us know how it all pans out. I reckon there is more to come with this story. I think we're all baffled about the way they went about it. Dumb and drummer.

Wow! My opinion took a bit of a beating! It's only a flesh wound.... I'd go with a t-shirt "Sacked bass player looking for new band" no? It sounds like a sh1tty way to deal with the situation that, I guess @BrunoBass, you were really aware of until the drummer brought it to a head. Does it not point to poor communication - openness and honesty within the band? Blokes aren't always good at doing that imho. The timing - I just don't understand at all. I still think it's wise to factor in the "you never know what might happen in the near future" type thinking - it's paid off for me a few times. I don't know the history of what's gone on though over the the time you've been in the band - what do you really want @BrunoBass? Dep rate idea does sounds reasonable if you're open to doing it.

I haven't read every reply but I'm surprised by the apparently unanimous advice to not do the gig. I really wouldn't do that - what's going to look better on your CV/track record - leaving them in the lurch or doing the gig under upsetting circumstances? Plus - you never know what might happen in the very near future - they may want you back if they can't find a replacement or the right replacement - it depends what you want - are you upset because of the rejection or the way they did it or because you really want to stay in "this" band? I think someone else said - well - maybe it is a chance of a new start. If it's a gig with other bands there - isn't this the perfect opportunity to showcase both your playing and your professionalism and a whole host of other qualities? Maybe there is something you need to reflect on - maybe not - I don't know all the details. If something wasn't right that couldn't be fixed maybe this is for the best anyway. Why didn't you socialise with the other 2 members - I can't picture being in a band where everyone didn't hang out on some level with everyone else. Even if the drummer and the rest of the band as a whole have gone about this is bad way and even if you're upset about it - I still think you should try to salvage as much that is positive as you can from a situation you didn't want or expect to be in. What's the best way for "you" to gain something? I think you'd be wrong to think you'll gain from the satisfaction of screwing things up for them. What story might they put round about you letting them down at the last minute if you did that? I'd try and get your name and contact details round at the gig - approach a band you like and drop your details off - you never know - someone might need you to step in. It sounds like it would be hard for you to do the gig. Good luck with whatever you do - look ahead - in a months time it might seem like a storm in a teacup and things might work out better than you imagine.

Maybe some performers are more inspiring than others 😈

I've been listening to all of The Clientele music I have - that's how I tend to listen these days - binging on one band or artist for weeks on end before moving off to another to do the same. One of the things I like this band is the sound of the dark sparse recordings - the way everything is mixed means the guitar and drums leave space at the bottom end of the frequency range so you can hear the bass playing. Strange Geometry probably edges it as the album I like best.They're British and IMHO rather overlooked.

I sang 3 songs at an open mic on acoustic - I was nervous and messed up a few times. As I came off a guy I didn't know asked if he could borrow my guitar for a couple of songs - I didn't want to be unfriendly so I handed it to him and he hopped up, tripping slightly - he put a dent in the front of the guitar - not terrible tbh - but he then made me look and feel even worse by singing, playing and performing brilliantly... even did a Nick Drake song! - cheers mate - every time I look at that dent I think of that night.

I think it's a small minority of listeners that really listen to lyrics - I don't think anyone really needs to - there are other reasons to like a song (I still think Da Da Da by Trio is great!). I've been writing lyrics for my songs since 2005 and poetry - the documenting real life type - since the death of a close friend and work colleague in1999 (reading contemporary poetry for a lot longer) and I've written 3 one act plays so words matter a lot to me - I will always listen to the lyrics - even for songs I don't like - I find them interesting - I think people can miss out on something if they don't take the lyrics in but there are still plenty of good songs even if the lyrics are mediocre at best - I do wince at bad lyrics, clichés and lack of imagination. Writing lyrics is a real challenge but a satisfying thing to do - much like solving crosswords (which I also like doing) - I listen because I get ideas about what other people write about and how they go about it and it's inspiration for me to keep writing. I also read a lot so I'm just someone who is probably more interested in words than a lot of people - even read a dictionary when I was about 14 - and found a spelling mistake in it.

Read about what happened to me (Neil) at a Siouxsie gig in 78 here(scroll down below the ticket - you might need to be logged in to Flickr to see it, not sure) - unforgettable gig:-

The Rosebuds - Christmas Tree Island

Completely OTT in places The Prog World Orchestra - A Very Proggy Christmas

Chris Squire Swiss Choir

OK understood - I used to have a Joomla/Moodle/Wordpress/etc site and I know how tricky it can be finding the right add-ons for a site - plus the configuration and patching/maintenance. I now have a much simpler site for my work. I just found the Events sub-forum which lists the bashes. thanks Neil

This is the Setzer album I have:-