Dankology

That's is a wonderfully pleasingly clean set-up.

Never even thought about this... We're literally teaching ourselves Logic as we go (and I don't think any of the four of us are particularly Mac savvy in general) so little pearls like this are much appreciated.

He played them all. And rather well too.

"Terrible piece", surely? I initially assumed it was some sort of bland AI thing but I'm pretty sure only a human could have written it. It reminds me of Bart Simpson's book report on Treasure Island...

I love Rega turntables and have had a P6 for a few years but mine has the well known issue of humming as the arm nears the centre of the record and I also resent the fact that the stylus and cart are one unit so a worn needle requires replacement (or refurbishment) of the cartridge too. Am thinking of getting an Audio Technica cart fitted via the RigB mount (check Facebook for this) to solve both issues. A secondhand P2 or P3 with this set up planned for the future could be a within budget option. It wouldn't help with Rega's poor grounding system or speed issues though 🤔 My brother and I both picked up old Pioneer PL12d decks too - still pretty cheap, look ace and are easy to refurbish at home, even for a chimp-fingered imbecile like myself. Sounds very different to the Rega - but in an attractive vintage way compared to the P6's very toppy clean sound. Get one of each, obviously.

As only recent Spotify user I'm happy to be corrected if I've got the wrong end of the stick here but would it be more helpful to have a series of playlists rather than one ever-growing one? Just thinking in terms of generating more streams per band and was thinking that a ?monthly 12-song playlist might have greater traction - but happy to be educated by more savvy people.

@AndyTravis we've been rumbled.

Mani was married to my partner's cousin and although I only met him a handful of times over the years he was always incredibly charming and humble. He was kind and indulgent both when I was a slightly awestruck fan and when I had my own brief foray into not-quite the big time. Such a fantastic musician, sharp dresser and hero to vertically challenged bassists the world over. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say a bad word about him. Just over two years ago the whole family was in the room next to me celebrating my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary - now Imelda, Mani and Imelda's mum are all gone. It's really sad here tonight.

A bit shocked by the comments re Hooky above... I'm not a New Order fanatic by any means (I think I only own their original run of LPs) but the man essentially created the blueprint for the next two decades of indie (and a lot of rock and dance) bass playing and bass tones. Propulsive, melodic and often as hooky as the top line itself without being obtrusive - his best basslines are, for me, textbook examples of what the instrument should be doing in a pop song.

@AndyTravis - don't we all look very serious... Let it be known that we are actually having a whale of a time here 😁

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg_Utj4Aljc

I'm not sure this is as confusing as you seem to find it. Cultures bleed into and enrich each other - this is a good thing. Taking ("appropriating") an element of another culture in order to suggest a shared experience that may not exist introduces the risk of looking insensitive or cynical. Much as you yourself alluded to above: it's a matter of intent and sensitivity to the subject matter.

I think you rather prove the point made in my final paragraph there.

There are lots of grey areas here but perhaps you've hit something key in talking about how you might "relate to" a song. All the ones you mention here are generally positive, feelgood songs and most people would be able to lose themselves in the moment (even if they were listening to the lyrics, which is perhaps questionable in itself) by having similar feelings of community, hope, nostalgia or whatever without having driven on the same road/lived in the same submersible/whatever. But if the song is born of something more negative (eg of racism, the politics of a certain area/era, past personal abuse etc) I think you have to be more careful in what feelings you allow yourself to indulge: you risk being anything from insensitive or crass all the way through to seeming to trivialize the original intent of the song. For me, I find dentists gurning through Chicago blues on PRS guitars a bit cringeworthy but hardly a hate crime, ditto John Power singing Redemption Song, albeit perhaps quite a bit more cringey. At the other end of the scale I think I would very much struggle listening to a privileged white youngster sing Strange Fruit or a current British political protestor (of whatever persuasion) sing Ohio. Which is not to say that I think you can only sing happy songs... but I think you can usually tell the difference between an attempt to share in some sort of cross-cultural community and a crass/cynical/tone-deaf attempt to channel someone else's experience.

Also, if he's intending to vote in a party intent on dismantling much of what makes us great on the basis of having unquestioningly accepted a load of fear-mongering inaccuracies he's going to be called out on it. Because it's not about "differing opinions" - it's about cynical populism being used to serve the interests of the few rather than the many. And that's why it has to be talked about: if grandad thinks we're being overrun with imported paedophiles who are being handed Ipods as they enter their luxury hotels, surely he needs to be disabused of this. If he genuinely thinks people are inferior by accident of place of birth then he's having Christmas dinner elsewhere.

I think it's really important that we talk about stuff like this here, at work, in the pub and anywhere else possible. If we don't, a vacuum forms and only the most vociferous and cynical voices fill it. And in a world in which unmoderated, unchecked, unleavened info comes at us non-stop (and frequently via channels with opaque motives and intetests) we owe it to ourselves to ensure that moderate voices and quiet wisdom are not drowned out. I'm fairly certain there are people who are currently being led down a particular path who would be easily swayed if real data and logic were presented to them in a digestible way. I fear for what may come to pass ultimately on a wave of populism fired up by ignorance, fear and half-truths. Bickering and semantics are a sure fire way to get discussion shutdown.

His Substack is an essential read for me every Saturday morning. Thrilled he's getting what I hope is a good payday here.

How ironic that you should post this on the same day I was readying tracks to send to you for your advice re arrangements etc You're a good man, with impeccable musical instincts. Their loss.

We're playing at what's referred to as an "emerging band night" at a really nice venue in Rawtenstall, Lancs on Friday night. The flyer should be attached here... And then we're at the Darwen Live mini festival on Sunday (Sunbird Records 5.15pm) alongside loads of other good stuff. Music here: https://deadtenantmusic.com/

I didn't pick up on any issues ahead of ordering (apart from a thread here that seemed to be about an admittedly minor finish issue) - I'd be interested to know what sort of problems other people have been having. There was no offer of paying for return postage and my last query regarding what insurance cover he used/recommended has gone unanswered.

Ahh, this is turning into something of a headache. I thought the bass had a couple of issues - the tone controls appeared to do nothing and I was fairly certain I could hear a truss rod rattle on certain notes. Exchanged messages (sloooowly) with the maker who suggested that the best solution was to post it back so he could have a look. I'm not mad keen to spend a further £50 (plus however much more for questionable insurance) to achieve this so took it to a local guitar tech to have a look. He felt that the tone controls were authentically unresponsive and that the truss rod was fine - simply suggesting putting a new set of strings on. I picked up some 120s - went heavier than usual as applying a bit of forward pressure on the neck had seemed to address the rattle I'd been hearing. Then found that I couldn't thread the E through the tailpiece without removing the strings and tailpiece - and then, having done this, found the string was too thick to pass through the tailpiece as far as the ball end. Will pick up some more slender strings this week but any pleasure I had at finally owning one of these has pretty much evaporated.

Another speedy and enjoyable transaction. Thanks for another great book!

A couple of minor niggles to sort but I'm otherwise very happy to own something very close to one of my favourite designs. First rehearsal with it tonight and hopefully it'll be out for our next gig on the 22nd 😀😀😀😀

I think my inherent stinginess had meant I'd expected an even heftier discount. Bodes well for secondhand prices though 😁😁😁