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Songs that make you feel uncomfortable - Part II


Al Krow

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18 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

(PS you obviously need to have some vocal talent in the first place, which sadly rules me out...)

Just give it a go and persevere. It won't happen straight away (unless you are naturally good at it) but most people can sing once if they give themselves a chance and find their voice.  

You have to learn to listen to yourself properly. Wearing a moulded ear protector in one ear definitely helps. 

Edited by peteb
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Come See, Come Saw - Rocket from the Crypt

I feel love - Donna Summer. Great Giorgio Moroder line, originally done on a synth, naturally. I know the RHCP have covered it, but I reckon Flea has worked out some kind of thumb/pull-off/hammer on shortcut.  Playing it fingerstyle makes both hands fall off!

Edited by Lfalex v1.1
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10 hours ago, casapete said:

‘You can call me Al’ by Paul Simon.  Played this for years and never did it justice, especially the bass break. Worst bit was, I had to play guitar with the band on one gig when our usual guitarist was ill, and the (superb) bass dep absolutely nailed it. ( I had him try and show me how afterwards, but never got it down properly). 🥴

I had this problem until I discovered it was a phrase followed by the same phrase played backwards (tape reversed). I then gave up...

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2 hours ago, peteb said:

Has anyone ever played Stratus by Billy Cobham? 

My hand cramps up just thinking about it! 

I sometimes try and play the Massive Attack version as “consistency training” Get it wrong and start again. Still never completed it perfectly. 🥴

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2 hours ago, peteb said:

Has anyone ever played Stratus by Billy Cobham? 

My hand cramps up just thinking about it! 

27 minutes ago, Bobthedog said:

I sometimes try and play the Massive Attack version as “consistency training” Get it wrong and start again. Still never completed it perfectly. 🥴

Well if you're going to try and nail an 8 minute fusion-jazz piece! 😉

https://youtu.be/-N_SqtFerjg

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10 hours ago, Bobthedog said:

I sometimes try and play the Massive Attack version as “consistency training” Get it wrong and start again. Still never completed it perfectly. 🥴

Wasn't the Massive Attack track a version of the Red Baron (same album)?? 

I could be wrong... 

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19 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Well if you're going to try and nail an 8 minute fusion-jazz piece! 😉

https://youtu.be/-N_SqtFerjg

Yep, that's the one. Good version, but the original perhaps had a bit more fire about it - then again it did feature Sklar, Jan Hammer and the great Tommy Bolin! 

Some mates of mine used to chuck it in occasionally (when they had a crowd where it wouldn't go straight over their heads). The rhythm section (both good players) used to dread it - playing that same repetitive figure over and over again is just RSI inducing... 

Edited by peteb
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Strangely, I'm more comfortable playing songs like My Sharona and Billie Jean but I used to cr*p myself when we did AC/DC's Live Wire.

I had to play the same note intro for what seemed like an age, I was always worried that I would get the tempo wrong or miss a note which stand out like a sore thumb, but once the drums and second guitar came in , no problem. 😉

 

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23 hours ago, thebrig said:

Strangely, I'm more comfortable playing songs like My Sharona and Billie Jean but I used to cr*p myself when we did AC/DC's Live Wire.

I had to play the same note intro for what seemed like an age, I was always worried that I would get the tempo wrong or miss a note which stand out like a sore thumb, but once the drums and second guitar came in , no problem. 😉

 

I so wanted to play this. I asked the band to learn it and my guitarist mate who is massively passive aggressive didn't learn it as he had leaned some other song. Anyway one night he started playing the riff. Everyone recognised it and cheered. Still he never learned it fully. I was annoyed.

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7 minutes ago, ubit said:

I so wanted to play this. I asked the band to learn it and my guitarist mate who is massively passive aggressive didn't learn it as he had leaned some other song. Anyway one night he started playing the riff. Everyone recognised it and cheered. Still he never learned it fully. I was annoyed.

I loved the song and it always went down well when we played it live

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On 25/06/2021 at 09:22, Al Krow said:

Interesting about the Foctave stretch on the Blur song as, just to make things worse(!) that's actually also the correct start on Billie Jean. But I wonder how many of us actually play the Foctave at the start of BJ rather than just a single note?

(Or how many of us don't play MJ tunes anymore because they were written by him and that makes us uncomfortable for a very different reason - but that's a subject for a whole 'nother thread, right? 😁)

The original recorded bassline is actually a synth, but a bassist plays it live.  Though I do wonder if there's a synth playing that low F#?

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20 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

True, and counting the number of repetitions before the ending stab gives my covers band serious brain pain too!

In terms of precise counting and committing the thing to memory, is it just me, or does anyone else find remembering the precise notes and phrases to Walk the Moon's - Shut and Dance pretty fiendish?

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1 hour ago, pst62 said:

The G, Bb, G, F, G repetition at the end of No More Heroes used to result in serious left hand pain.

Does make me wonder how much JJ would have been appreciated if he’d not played in a punk band, he has some serious chops (both bass and karate).

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1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

In terms of precise counting and committing the thing to memory, is it just me, or does anyone else find remembering the precise notes and phrases to Walk the Moon's - Shut and Dance pretty fiendish?

Try Disco Boy Frank Zappa - he changes it every f*cking time. For no reason. It's a stupid song. C'mon, Frank.

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My old band could never understand why I always asked them not to put 'I Fought the Law' back to back on the set list with 'The Letter' by the Boxtops.

They both seem simple enough, but have fast and furious parts in the bass line which really stretched my arthritic little finger. Doing them one after the other would really make my finger ache. 

 

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59 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Does make me wonder how much JJ would have been appreciated if he’d not played in a punk band, he has some serious chops (both bass and karate).

I wouldn't say he was underappreciated, though he may have been overlooked as their career went on and his basslines became less adventurous and his tone not as aggressively prominent.  

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On 24/06/2021 at 23:57, casapete said:

Always hard to find a dep good enough to do the job but just not too well isn’t it?!! We had some unbelievably good deps over the years, and the band always seemed to raise their collective game accordingly. 

The truly awesome Becky Baldwin depped for me once. I was amazed (and bloody lucky) that I kept the job..!

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Duran Durans Rio is always a workout on doublebass. Sometimes it flows quite nicely, but sometimes I start to tense up as fatigue sets in, which only makes things worse. I'm always thankful when that less busy middle section starts, but it's soon back to the relentlessness again. 

Great fun but tiring on the hands/arms. 

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6 minutes ago, Maude said:

Duran Durans Rio is always a workout on doublebass. Sometimes it flows quite nicely, but sometimes I start to tense up as fatigue sets in, which only makes things worse. I'm always thankful when that less busy middle section starts, but it's soon back to the relentlessness again. 

Great fun but tiring on the hands/arms. 

But such a great bass line and one that I need to spend a bit of time getting up to speed and seeing if I can persuade my band mates to include in the set!

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