A Flea Rant...

[GreeneKing]

[quote name='4000' post='616495' date='Oct 4 2009, 01:48 PM']I'm not sure it's discerning taste. Sometimes I think we get far too carried away with things that have nothing to do with communication, which is what music is really all about. Oh, and surely we ARE part of the public? Can't say I'm keen on the I/we know better philosophy; there's a dark place at the end of that road.[/quote]

I can only speak for myself but I do know that picking up an instrument changed my taste in music. Doesn't make me better but certainly makes me different.

[flatwound]

i apologise for my close minded rant...its never a good idea to post anything after you have been out for the evening....i really like some of Fleas playing..my comments were a little immature..

I'm not convinced that any apologies are necessary....its a forum, and those are your expressed opinions. !!

[4000]

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='616504' date='Oct 4 2009, 02:03 PM']I can only speak for myself but I do know that picking up an instrument changed my taste in music. Doesn't make me better but certainly makes me different.[/quote]

I don't think it really changed mine very much at all, but then I have generally always been more interested in songs and music than just bass (although I might not have been so mad about Stanley Clarke otherwise. ). Most of the music I still love most is music that I loved way before I ever picked up an instrument; pop, rock, jazz, prog etc. The only thing it really did do was negative, in that I stopped being able to enjoy music in the same way I did before I was a player; now I tend to find myself listening to the playing or the mix or whatever instead of being able to enjoy the music for what it is.

I think that my point is that musicians can sometimes end up looking at music like spellchecker looks at text, i.e. missing the bigger picture.

Great mask by the way. "Behind this mask is an idea, and ideas are bulletproof!".

Edited October 4, 2009 by 4000

[leschirons]

[quote name='Rich' post='616484' date='Oct 4 2009, 01:31 PM']Quite. I don't think we need two of them. Continue on the other one.[/quote]

Bugger, I replied to the other so I'll cut and paste it into this for what it's worth.

Seems the mods have already done it.

Edited October 4, 2009 by leschirons

[Pete Academy]

If you listen to 'Hollywood' on Freakey Styley, the bass playing is a perfect groove - simple and locked-in.

This may be the Flea nobody listens to, apart from his manic slap stuff.

You can't say 'Aeroplane' and 'Give It Away' aren't classics. I wish I'd wriiten 'em.

Give the guy his due...he has a distinctive style and voice, which to me counts for a great deal in bass playing history.

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='616755' date='Oct 4 2009, 07:40 PM']If you listen to 'Hollywood' on Freakey Styley, the bass playing is a perfect groove - simple and locked-in.

This may be the Flea nobody listens to, apart from his manic slap stuff.

You can't say 'Aeroplane' and 'Give It Away' aren't classics. I wish I'd wriiten 'em.

Give the guy his due...he has a distinctive style and voice, which to me counts for a great deal in bass playing history.[/quote]

I also wish I'd written 'written' properly.

[51m0n]

Its not a bloody race mate

Also, as has been mentioned, there is a huge amount more to Flea than the punk funk slap thing, and a lot more to VW (the people's car?!?!) than the double thumping thing.

I love em both, and listen to whichever I'm most in the mood for.

I would say this though, considering Flea's stuff solely on the strength of that clip is a crying shame, he has written and played some cracking b-lines (slapped and fingerstyle) over the years, my personal favourites run up to and including BSSM, after that I think he loses his way (heresy I'm sure), but I think BSSM was one of (if not the) best bass heavy albums of the 90's, and the best album RHCP will ever produce.

Some of VW's stuff with the Flecktones is achingly beautiful too, but his (and almost everyone else's) solo bass work leaves me cold (the one guy who doesn't is Michael Manring, but he's from a completely different planet IMO)

[GreeneKing]

[quote name='4000' post='616729' date='Oct 4 2009, 07:01 PM']I don't think it really changed mine very much at all, but then I have generally always been more interested in songs and music than just bass (although I might not have been so mad about Stanley Clarke otherwise. ). Most of the music I still love most is music that I loved way before I ever picked up an instrument; pop, rock, jazz, prog etc. The only thing it really did do was negative, in that I stopped being able to enjoy music in the same way I did before I was a player; now I tend to find myself listening to the playing or the mix or whatever instead of being able to enjoy the music for what it is.

I think that my point is that musicians can sometimes end up looking at music like spellchecker looks at text, i.e. missing the bigger picture.

Great mask by the way. "Behind this mask is an idea, and ideas are bulletproof!".[/quote]

Thank you, I'm trying to persuade the band that fancy dress is in order for our Guy Fawkes charity gig on the 6th of Nov.

I've always loved music and now enjoy it even more. I just appreciate a good bassline more than I used to.

[iamthewalrus]

I remember reading about Flea in a copy of "Guitar Player" magazine in the late 80's & thought "not my cup of tea...."

Roll forward 20 odd years later, I've got a different opinion of him - my bass teacher introduced Flea's bass playing to me in a big way, & I must say that I'm a fan of his playing now (the band I'm in do "Dani California"). I love his bass playing on Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" - that's a punk funkfest if ever I've heard it....

Cheers,
iamthewalrus

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='51m0n' post='616794' date='Oct 4 2009, 08:05 PM']Its not a bloody race mate

Also, as has been mentioned, there is a huge amount more to Flea than the punk funk slap thing, and a lot more to VW (the people's car?!?!) than the double thumping thing.

I love em both, and listen to whichever I'm most in the mood for.

I would say this though, considering Flea's stuff solely on the strength of that clip is a crying shame, he has written and played some cracking b-lines (slapped and fingerstyle) over the years, my personal favourites run up to and including BSSM, after that I think he loses his way (heresy I'm sure), but I think BSSM was one of (if not the) best bass heavy albums of the 90's, and the best album RHCP will ever produce.

Some of VW's stuff with the Flecktones is achingly beautiful too, but his (and almost everyone else's) solo bass work leaves me cold (the one guy who doesn't is Michael Manring, but he's from a completely different planet IMO)[/quote]

Great post.

[4000]

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='616823' date='Oct 4 2009, 08:33 PM']Thank you, I'm trying to persuade the band that fancy dress is in order for our Guy Fawkes charity gig on the 6th of Nov.

I've always loved music and now enjoy it even more. I just appreciate a good bassline more than I used to.[/quote]

Speaking as someone born on the 5th of November and who is also a big fan of V, I say go for it.

I wish I enjoyed music more now. Unfortunately, as per my earlier post, I enjoy listening to most music less than I did prior to becoming a musician. Of course some of that is made up for by being able to write (or more accurately, [i]play[/i]) songs of my own. Silver linings and all that.

[Clarky]

I too hate fleas - my cat Roger is infested with em

[Chris2112]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='616185' date='Oct 4 2009, 03:22 AM']Excuse my rant..i just dont get the Flea thing, Meshell or Pino are simpler and way better..[/quote]

Different vinegar strokes for different folks. I'm not a huge fan of Flea but as it happens, I can't stand Meshell and I'd rather listen to say, Stuart Hamm any day. Shock and awe! Personal preference mate. Of course, Victor Wooten is incredible, it goes without saying,

[NickH]

[quote]Everyone outside. We is gonna have ourselves a fight.[/quote]
Bad idea, you guys don't need me kicking the crap out of you, you'd get hurt and then I'd feel guilty for at least five seconds.

I love Flea myself, and RHCP are excellent. If you watch the rockumentary film "Funky Monks" about when they were recording Blood Sugar up in that haunted house with Rick Rubin, Flea gives a great interview in which he talks about how he got known for his early fast manic slap style, and madea ton of cash off it, but felt he was getting pigeonholed and wanted to move on "to avoid falling into the trap he'd made for himself". Hance the more varied playing and styles on Blood Sugar and onwards. Top dude IMO.

(Also - he discovered Jewel Kilcher, got her signed and played on her first album. Schwing! She will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine )

[The Funk]

I'm about to make a controversial statement (which I may or may not believe):

[i]Flea was an influence on Victor Wooten and Bill Dickens[/i].

There, I've said it.

Whenever I get further ahead in my musical development, I say stupid things to myself like "such and such isn't all that" only to be reminded months/years later of what it is about their playing that is truly great - and that I can't touch.

There's more to Flea and Victor Wooten than the widdles.

[Bay Splayer]

[quote name='steve-soar' post='616373' date='Oct 4 2009, 11:42 AM']I'd rather staple my tongue to my foreskin........[/quote]

you`re not jewish then mate?

[Doddy]

[quote name='ezbass' post='616262' date='Oct 4 2009, 09:48 AM']Don't get me wrong I like solo bass players, but it's often their more "band" type compositions that I always come back to; Stanley Clarke's School Days and Rock & Roll Jelly for instance, or Victor's You Can't Hold Groove.[/quote]

That's funny....U Can't hold no Groove is all solo bass

I like Flea,but he's a hell of a long way from being a favourite of mine. I like Wooten-in fact he is
a favourite of mine.

The problem with these kinds of arguments,is that everyone will support their favourite band. If you like the Chilis,
you will defend Flea,and if you don't,you won't. It's all relative. If you prefer the music of,in this case,the Chili's over the Flecktones
then chances are you will defend Flea as being a better player than Wooten.
Likewise,I have spoken to non bassists who will claim that Flea is the best bass player in the world purely because of
his high visability within the rock genre. There is a tendancy to view players as being 'Great' or 'Better' due to their popularity. More people
are aware of Flea than they are of,say,Will Lee but does that make him a better player? No,it makes him popular because of his band.

I can totally understand why people will gravitate to Flea's playing,but it is very easy to look beyond it if they so wish,and are
willing to leave their comfort zone and try to embrace a new genre without prejudice.

[Sibob]

I much prefer Victor's groove playing that his slap playing, it's a shame that a lot of people focus on how fast he can slap rather than his fingerstyle.
Flea is primarily a punk rock bassist, with some pseudo funk chops.....so it's unfair to compare them. Even if they were in the same genre, they're two different people who hear music in different ways, so it's unfair to compare them.
The initial clips of flea were quite old as well, his playing on their last double-album was really melodic in places!

Si

[ezbass]

[quote name='Doddy' post='617992' date='Oct 5 2009, 09:34 PM']That's funny....U Can't hold no Groove is all solo bass[/quote]

I'm only familiar with the live version that he did at Bass Day which had sequenced sung parts and loops. It just sounds more "song" orientated to me than obvious bass solo.

[JTUK]

This still going..??

Ok...Flea is a 40 yr old souless funk punk, but who cares... ?? if you like him you like him..and anything anyone else says about him will not register..

I love the way people get so wound up about entirely subjective threads like these...

classic..

[simon1964]

[quote name='Sibob' post='618012' date='Oct 5 2009, 09:59 PM']I much prefer Victor's groove playing that his slap playing, it's a shame that a lot of people focus on how fast he can slap rather than his fingerstyle.[/quote]

Agreed - although ironically I think the same is true of Flea. I much prefer his more melodic playing to his slap playing. Soul to Squeeze and Scar Tissue, for example, are fantastic melodic bass lines, with a really great groove (IMO!).

[simon1964]

[quote name='JTUK' post='618274' date='Oct 6 2009, 10:20 AM']I love the way people get so wound up about entirely subjective threads like these...[/quote]

That's what makes these threads such fun!

Edited October 6, 2009 by simon1964

[Rich]

[quote name='Sibob' post='618012' date='Oct 5 2009, 09:59 PM']I much prefer Victor's groove playing that his slap playing, it's a shame that a lot of people focus on how fast he can slap rather than his fingerstyle.[/quote][quote name='simon1964' post='618295' date='Oct 6 2009, 10:32 AM']Agreed - although ironically I think the same is true of Flea. I much prefer his more melodic playing to his slap playing.[/quote]
And again, the same is true of Mark King. People focus entirely on his wockity-wockity slap whilst forgetting that his fingerstyle groove playing is superb, plus the fact that he sings and plays - even over some of his most fiendishly complex lines.

[ezbass]

[quote name='Rich' post='618315' date='Oct 6 2009, 10:39 AM']plus the fact that he sings and plays - even over some of his most fiendishly complex lines.[/quote]

I have enough problem singing over some of the most basic grooves, what MK does is bordering on inhuman.

[crez5150]

[quote name='JTUK' post='618274' date='Oct 6 2009, 10:20 AM']This still going..??

Ok...Flea is a 40 yr old souless funk punk, but who cares... ?? if you like him you like him..and anything anyone else says about him will not register..

I love the way people get so wound up about entirely subjective threads like these...

classic..[/quote]

Agreed..... Macs are far superior to PC's..........