Barking Spiders

In recent weeks I've not picked up a bass as I'm getting more satisfaction playing my acoustic with different tunings. If you only play bass then try playing along to less familiar tunes you think have tasty basslines or even make up lines to tunes that don't even feature a bass guitar like classical, jazz, folk, anything.

Other than the cause it championed, the best thing you can say about the 1984 original Band Aid, things got much worse with Band Aid II, Band Aid20, Band Aid 30 and We Are The World by USA For Africa

My rock collection is largely limited to a dozen or hard rock and metal bands. I may have mentioned them a few times on the fora😉 but Clutch is top of the pile These I can play all the way through...and then back again ; Book of Bad Decisions, Psychic Warfare, Earth Rocker, Blast Tyrant, Robot Hive/Exodus and From Beale Street to Oblivion. The other albums are also great but the 6 mentioned are on constant rotation and def among the best rock albums I've ever heard Off the top of my head, other essentials are Rattus Norvegicus (Stranglers), Master of Puppets, Demanufacture/Obsolete (Fear Factory), Angel Dust/King for A Day (Faith No More), Nightime/Pandemonium/Pylon (Killing Joke), Sehnsucht/Mutter/Reise reise/Liebe ist fur alle da/the latest (Rammstein), Godsmack/Awake/1000hp (Godsmack), Leviathan (Mastodon)

What you've said there sounds far too technical for me. I got as far as 'dots' and then you lost me 😉. But I get the gist of it and think I agree 👍

IMO the best music collaboration I've heard is German electronic trio Moderat, featuring the 2 blokes from Modeselektor plus solo dude Apparat, and is even better than these two excellent acts.

No love for McBusted here then? 😁😉

It truly is a dire effort. I won't grace it with the word 'song' . Lulu is the worst thing Metallica have ever been involved in, so bad it makes St Anger look like a work of genius and that's down to Lou Reed, IMO an overrated music 'artist' if ever there was. Other terrible collaborations? The Firm - the one with Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers. I'm not a fan of the groups these two are famous for but The Firm were utter pants as exemplified by 'Radioactive' which is often wheeled out on Planet Rock Velvet Revolver - GnR were pants but I quite like Stone Temple Pilots. Mebbe Weiland was too out of out it to know what he was doing in VR, the last word in plod rock. Hollywood Vampires - oops. A step up for the Aerosmith man mebbe but Alice Cooper, WTF you playing at man!

Fraid I have to take the opposite view. Saw the Winery Dogs at Sonisphere 2014 and they were very good. Didn't know anything about them though I feared they might be a prog metal or noodly fusion group. When it became clear they were a straight up hard rock band it came as a great relief.

If you mean super groups formed by geezers from other successful bands then + 1 for Audioslave. RATM and Soundgarden are two of my fave bands from the 90s but I was well underwhelmed by Audioslave's albums. At least the ex RATM guys made amends with Prophets of Rage. As for Chickenfoot, IMO it never looked that promising on paper in the first place, not after the various dull G3 incarnations and woeful post DLR Van Halen output. Add the drummer from one of my least fave bands of all time and my expectations were low yet Chickenfoot still failed to live up to them

These days I just can't get enough of Clutch, best rock band I've come across in aeons. I'm a bit of a Johnny come lately to the band but now have nine of their albums., all crackers from start to finish. This is the title track off possibly my fave album from them at the mo.

Yes, with you most of the way there. I don't have a particularly musicianly approach to bass and have zero interest in virtuosi unless the tunes are something I like. Something like JJ Burnel's bassline on the Trying to Get Out Again section of Down In The Sewer does more for me than several albums worth of solo bass wizardry. The one aspect I differ from you is I do like to hear the bass upfront in the mix e.g. on albums like Sulk by The Associates, Simple Minds's early 80s albums, early Stranglers.

This bloke in my year at school who was the only kid I knew who had a bass guitar, an EB copy which I bought off him back in '85 for £25. I've never had 'bass heroes' . I've always tended to take my influences from tunes with basslines I like.

Indeed they are with only the Macc Lads rivalling them as the having the best ever song titles like Something's Rotten In The Back of Iceland, on right now

right now I'm listening to a selection of Half Man Half Biscuit tunery on Last.FM which includes Joy Division Oven Gloves, Knobheads on Quiz Shows, I Left My Heart In Papworth General and Blue Badge Abuser

Probably not. My first instrument was the alto sax. I had to borrow one from the school as my folks couldn't afford one. In answer to the OP I'd probably not choose the bass, which has never been my main instrument anyway. I play much more fingerstyle acoustic these days

I'd rather put up with schlocky boy meets girl/man/transgender person/donkey, falls in lurve yada blah than all that self-empowerment/be strong tripe that pervades many songs, not just rock but also pop, going way back to I Will Survive. I picked on that dire Halestorm track for that reason.

I didn't pick on pop as everyone knows it's vacuous, disposable and targeted mainly at kids while hard rock and metal are meant for older ears. As for good lyrics you can't go far wrong with hard rock combos like Clutch and Faith No More. Macc Lads lyrics are gems, courtesy of Muttley McLad. Just check out Now He's A Poof, Nagasaki Sauce and Uncle Knobby 😀. Of course one of the greatest lyricists ever isNigel Blackwell of Half Man Half Biscuit with gems like The Trumpton Riots, Outbreak of Vitas Gerulatis, All I Want for Christmas Is A Dukla Pravda Away Kit and Totnes Bickering Fair...utter firkin genius!

OK, we can all find examples of good lyrics but there are loads of songs with bollix about warriors,/demons/wizards/orcs/fairies/pixies/dragons or about finding inner strength/being strong, a fighter /survivor yada yada or they're about 'rockin' whatever that involves (does anyone here know?). Usually lyrics seem to be lots of cliches cobbled together. Listening to Planet Rock this morning, there were quite a few such songs to illustrate this like Black Vultures by Halestorm (fighter/survivor thing) Feels like the end of the world But it's only the beginning of it all Forget the things that you've heard Been a survivor since I began to crawl I'm falling down but I'm not out The devils at my door I don't give in, I don't give up I won't ever let it break me I'm on fire, I'm a fighter I'll forever be the last one standing Black vultures circling the sky Pick at the pieces Scavengers wait for me to die But I'm not defeated I'm on the edge of the war I'm holding on and hanging by a thread I am the eye of the storm And you haven't seen the last of me just yet I'm falling down but I'm not out I'm coming back for more I don't give in, I don't give up I won't ever let it break me I'm on fire, I'm a fighter I'll forever be the last one standing Black vultures circling the sky Pick at the pieces Scavengers wait for me to die But I'm not defeated etc etc And Ancient Warrior by Black Sabbath (surprisingly, but not with Ozzy) There's no end, there's no beginning To the old man's story Does he still remember me From lives gone by Oh I see his spirit rising Upon the back of time I've got nowhere to hide Will he keep a place for me He is the king of all kings The keeper of light He holds eternity's wings In his eyes an ocean's burning Swollen seas of tears Troubled mind the beating War drums in his ears No one ever hears his warning Am I the one he calls When they tell me they're afraid Some say I'll be put away He is the king of all kings The keeper of light He holds eternity's wings My blood will spill my blood My blood will spill my blood In the wisdom of the prophet's Never ending tale Open up the eyes Within your mind, he says Crowned in his ancient glory There's a king within us all Some will say it's all in vain That he doesn't have a name He is the king of all kings The keeper of light He holds eternity's wings. I mean ... ay caramba WTF are they about?

I like playing, I like getting together with mates to play at a few small festivals and I like coming up with the occasional tune that I think doesn't suck. But, I don't have the temperament to be a pro musician as I hate pubs gigs (don't actually like pubs, well being indoors in them anyway), wedding do's and playing the same old shoite time after time. As soon as it starts becoming routine I've always left bands. There are peeps who have the right mindset for being a musician. But, before doing owt rash and sticking all your gear on EBay, just put it into storage for a year or so and mebbe you'll get the urge to play once more.

Clutch at Nottingham Rock City Dec 20. Damn I'm looking forward to this so much

..I sure damn do. Dunno why but for me many songs are made by the cowbell. Here's some fine cowbell by the very great Clutch. BTW, if any of you peeps are yet to be initiated into the church of Clutch prepare for baptism... please post your fave cowbell moments. and lots of them!

You betcha!. It was a key reason why I've quit playing many times over the last 30 years before coming back into it again. I enjoy playing at outdoor summer festivals but not the rest of it. I find rehearsing as tedious as regular work

I tend to tire of music quite quickly, even the stuff I like, and maybe wont listen to it again for several months or even a couple of years. There are exceptions though, some tunes I've listened to regularly over the last 30 plus years and never get bored of. East River by The Brecker Brothers Fight the power by Public Enemy Grip and most other tracks on Rattus Norvegicus by The Stranglers though not Peaches Born slippy, Dogman go woof, Cowgirl , Juanita/Kiteless/To dream of love by Underworld Impact, Lush , Planet of shapes Stringy acid, Girl with the sun in her hair by Orbital Paid in full by Eric B and Rakim Fuel, Ain't my beyatch, Enter sandman by Metallica Midlife crisis, We care a lot, Ricochet and Stripsearch by Faith No More Club country and Skipping by The Associates Mad world and Pale shelter by Tears for Fears Only and Safe Home by Anthrax

Not to worry .There'll soon come a time when you'll get bitten by the allotment bug and prefer to be propagating tomatoes and chillis than playing music 😊. I speak from experience and I'm not 50 till January.

Never a huge Supertramp fan but like several tunes especially those with tasty basslines of which there are quite a few. Heard Dreamer on Planet Rock the other day for the first time in aeons and it was by far the best thing played on the show