Barking Spiders

Somehow I've never appreciated Tool till I saw them at Download. Maybe they're one of those who come across better live where their longer songs work better than on a recording. Similarly I've never cared for Dream Theater albums but I enjoyed their set as well.

Someone said about Last.FM going the way of the dodo. Not sure how. Still my main way of finding new stuff, much better than Spotify . Bandcamp is pretty good too. Of course perhaps the best way to find new stuff are festivals. Went to Download this year mainly to see Lamb of God, Slayer, Tool, Slipknot and Godsmack and came across Beartooth, Fever 333, Toska and Batushka for the first time. Great stuff

This here is one of the best rock albums I've heard in yonks, by Mark Morton chief plankspanker with the truly ace Lamb of God. This little ditty, the first track, features the late Chester Bennington. MM has roped in a bunch of other buddies to sing such as Myles Kennedy.

Heard this for the first time on Planet Rock on the evening show where they play longer tracks. This went on for almost the entire show. On it went, on and on and on and like a bad dose of dhobie's itch just when you think it's done and dusted it flares up all over again.

In 1977 I literally did spend a lot of time in playgrounds, still being at mixed infants so at the time I was more into playing footie than getting into arguments with other 7 year olds about the merits of 11/28 time signatures vs 2 chords. So, my comments are all in hindsight. I got into The Stranglers 6 years later when nicking albums off my older siblings.

Exactly. Punters shouldn't have to be made to feel they're privileged to watch a band doing their thing. That's the impression Van Morrison gives me. It should be like one big party though I guess that also depends on what you're playing. I supposed doom metal and 70s angsty West coast songwriter stuff doesn't really create that vibe.

I only ever liked playing outdoors at festivals n' ting but hated pub gigs. For starters I don't like pubs. I like pub gardens but still never go inside other than to buy beverages. The types of band I used to play in tended to be upbeat, with a party vibe, lots of movement, a fair bit of badinage and sometimes gimmicks. That didn't really work when stuck between the ladies toilet and the dart board

Lumping them in with prog is a much more massive disservice though. They were older than most punk bands but you can hear the punk attitude in the early tunes. Nowt about wizards, mountain elves and albums with titles like Tales of Delirium from the Halls of the Topographic Salads.I also don't see much of a Doors connection other than some of the keyboard sounds. Can't stand the Doors meself yet The Stranglers are one of my fave rock bands. IMO a lot of their more mellow tunes are great with cracking singles like Always The Sun, Skin Deep and No Mercy. JJ inspired me to take up the bass.Jet had a very nice feathertouch style of playing the drums A deceptively fine player. Dave was a killer keyboard player and Hugh was a very underrated guitarist. So many tunes with some very tasty melodic leads.

nooooooo!!!!! please dont sully the name of one of the greatest UK rock n roll bands with that association!

Yeah that was kinda the implicit meaning in the OP. These non-English speaking bands have all been touring Europe and the US and are pulling in big crowds at festivals

What with Rammstein kicking ar$e at MK, Gojira recently going down a storm at Glasto and Manchester, Babymetal tearing it up everywhere they go, Lovebites now in the ascendant. Thanks to non-English speaking acts rock's getting a much needed shot in the arm. My tip for a band to get a lot more attention are these Mongolian fellas combining trad throat singing. This is my current (welcome) earworm

Just never been able to get to grips with fretted 5 stringers. I've always used a lot of slap, double thumbing and plucking and I cant get my thumb and forefinger under the the strings to play quite fast runs. On the other hand I do like 5 string fretlesses and being able to play a bit faster cos of closer string spacings

My recent trip to see Rammstein has got me looking back at a couple of their influences. Tanz Mit Laibach has recently been posted here. The heavy crunch of Rammstein's guitar sound owes more than a nod to White Zombie, here kicking ar$3 on David Letterman. Also more than worth noting Sean Yseult rocking out big time

They've just added the Ricoh in Coventry for next June 20! I'll be there whatever else. Tickets on sale from this Friday though they're more expensive than MK

JMB is a complete waste if time. Jackasses Morons B3ll3nds in many case of people advertising on it.

And wasn't it just beyond epic?! Got back from MK at lunchtime. OTT mad as a box of frogs extravaganza such as the demonic baby in the giant pram blowing out black confetti giving the impression of a swarm of flies. And Till firing flames from his howizter at a fleeing Flake. Bonkers but brilliant.

If there's an album to cheer me up if I'm in a bit of a funk it's the two live ones by Manu Chao and Radio Bemba Sound System. This footage goes with the Baionarena double CD live. You can see these guys are having an absolute blast

The music may not be to many BCers taste but watch the bass fella, Jean Michel. As many of the clips' comments say he looks like he's having fun. I saw them at Download a couple of years ago and he was the same then. More performers should take note IMO and be more like him and less like Bill Wyman. oops forgot link

What, people can earn money from playing Grand Theft Auto?

I've done something similar myself. Yep, you just gotta suck it up and speak to the seller and do a bit of grovelling and humble pie eating. It worked for me. Legally the bid isn't a binding contract anyway

Except it's an international pastime to not ignore stuff that bugs us and to comment on it on public fora 😀. It's the life blood of the Internet without which would crash. Anyway, the rubbish still exists even if the those who don't like it ignore it as there are plenty who love it. The serial gurner I identified in the OP has thousands of 👍 which outweigh the 👎

It might be quite a big deal in US rap circles but with respect to the US mainstream it's not a big deal at all as RIAA stats show.

On the plus side the Americans are having to the good sense to ignore it like they tend to do with all lame attempts by Brits to come up with their own take on rap. Grime doesn't seem to be be troubling anywhere else outside of UK cities.

I've always liked bands that are pretty eclectic but it can be counterproductive to be like this so many listeners seem to cherrypick a few tunes but never buy a whole album. Take Faith No More. Hardcore rockers may hate their cover of Easy while people who like it probably hate Ugly In The Morning. And groups who are cross/multi cultural in their influences like Transglobal Underground or Afro Celt Sound Systems have never bothered the charts or got daytime airplay. With predictability you get reliability which is why AC/DC an Status Quo are household names and those others are not.

just to refresh, here's the list