Barking Spiders

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

If anyone sang like that in any pubs I know they'd be thrown out and barred

There's a serious mismatch between the fantastic visuals and a weak as gypsy's kiss rendition of a dreary song

It's fine if you watch the visuals with the sound at zero and put some decent music on in the background. The shot of the pinkish mountains reminds me of the cover of Amber by Autechre. Incidentally i had Silverside off that album as my choice of accompanying music and it works well

Each to their own and erm... all that jazz...but I lasted for around 40 seconds. As with jazz in general it's just self indulgent musical circle jerking...IMO of course.

depending on the tune I'll use a combination of all my plucking digits, from just the thumb or index finger on their own to all of them, even the pinky on occasion. Also like to use a hybrid style with a pick, middle and ring fingers. I nicked that from Tommy Emmanuel.

Agreed. There are quite a lot of online articles about Brit bands who were a big deal on the home front but did nowt in North America e.g. Madness, Jam, Blur, Weller..... Let's face it, that's a very long list and you can be a biggish thing in Blighty but not actually sell many records. I mean, The Jam have never had an album go platinum in the UK while Bush's first two albums went multi-platinum in the US and Canada but only gold and silver in the UK. Have to admit if I was a pro I'd rather be in Bush's shoes.

In the car this aft I had Travelling Without Moving on fairly loud. Why wouldn't you with a bassline like this.... not the best quality live version out there but this one features Zender

when I saw your text above the pic my first thought was 'oh no, has the Bachelor Boy passed away this afternoon!'

Even though mrs Spiders is a music lover with eclectic taste the only time we mention music is to put on Alexa to cover any unwanted sounds or to get shot of an earworm. Could be that we have little in common taste-wise

It just occurred to me that outside of BC and any band I might be in I very rarely have chats about music with anyone else, particularly women and never ever on any first dates I've been on. Does anyone else find the same?

Oh I dunno, look at the dumpster load of trash (as they say over there) that came out of the US rock scene after Grunge. Were Bush any worse than Puddle of Mudd, Creed, Staind, Hoobastink, Three Days Grace, Godsmack, Shinedown, Matchbox 20 and any other bands with 'Three' or 'Third' in their name? I'd say not although they weren't much cop that's true. Should we include Foo Fighters there as well?