Nail Soup

I'm a hobbyist who only gigs a few times per year, enjoys home recording and has a full time job. So I'm not too greatly affected by lack of gigs, but feel for those who are. Would love to get back into the rehearsal room though.

I heard a track by The Stooges this morning on 6 Music. Apparently it comes from a new box set of the 1970 LP "Fun House". It's released on 15 LPs or 7 CD's - prices range from £200 to £400 (from a quick web search).The original album can be got for less than a tenner. Sounds like they are just releasing every take of every song etc. I can understand that a few outtakes might be of interest to a real enthusiast, but is there really any need for such an expansion?

There's often someone who is helpful enough, when they realise I'm looking, to face the fretboard in my direction.

I guess that based on some of the other comments, it might be an advantage for the sig name to be subtly displayed?

I struggle with this. Other areas of music I'm OK at... songwriting, making up basslines and other parts, playing a few different instruments, home recording. OK to my own level of satisfaction anyway. I enjoy going to folk circles, were you take turns in performing a song, and join in with others when they perform. My main instrument at folk circles is ukulele. Occasionally some bass player or other would come and improvise great basslines for the all songs. So I decided that I would invest in a bass ukulele and small amp and give our folk circles some regular bass. As I was choosing an instrument I had a moment of self-realisation - I am lousy at picking up chord changes on the fly. I often drop out of the play-along as I cannot follow the chords, and often do it by watching other peoples fingers. So I vowed that I will not buy a bass ukulele until I get significantly better at following chord sequences on uke/guitar. How I make that journey I do not know. I will be looking for tips in this thread!

more than one per sentence judging from last night.

Using the portable toilet reminds me of a folk event I went to a couple of years ago - the host took great delight in refering to the Cajon as "the devil's commode".

Probably not a help to you, but I'll just throw a few related bits into the discussion. When I play ukulele, it's finger pickinging 50+% of the time. However I don't use the nail, but pick with the flesh. That works out OK and sounds good to my ears. When I play acoustic guitar, I occasionally finger pick... again with the flesh. It can make my fingers sore, so I limit how much I do it. It's only for my own entertainment, or a turn or two in a folk circle, so that works OK. The fingernail issue I do have is when I strum the steel-strung acoustic with fingernails... they gradually wear down /thin and I have to limit the time I do it.

Watching it now. Pretty good doc. One hour in and we are up to the Nineties.... no mention of Budgie yet.

Didn't have time to watch all of it, but seems like Sly and Robbie don't seek the limelight even when they go out under their own name!

Wow, not the high point of Glover or Dio's career. Treading on Paul McCartneys toes a bit actually!

Big favourite at the time - Clint Eastwood and General Saint - Another Ones Bites The Dust. Still sounds great.............oink!

Oh, I've not heard about that........

A classic example is Squeeze. Glen Tilbrook writes the tunes and sings and plays lead guitar. Chris Difford writes the lyrics and plays rhythm guitar (he sang Cool For Cats... I guess that one suited his voice). I heard an interview with Chis, and he told how the Squeeze (and their songwriting partnership) began. They met through an advert, and each bought a bunch of songs to the meeting. By the end of the session they realised that one guy's songs had great lyrics, and the others had great tunes. ....and the rest is history.

Excuse my ignorance, but what did they do?

OK, I'm ready to start as soon as you post 4 multiple choice answers to each pic (of which 2 out of 4 are obviously wrong) !

Nice description(s) of the evolution of a bassline. If I write a song on bass, I normally intended from the outset that it will be a bass led song. Therefore the bassline will not often change much by the final version. I may abandon the song if nothing fits around it. Otherwise (written on other instrument or by someone else) I follow much the same path as you describe.

I remember a few years ago in an originals band. Someone had written a new song, and we played it though a few times. Something didn't sound right about the drums..... boring and leaden, not the drummers usual expressive style. So I turned to the drummer to ask what was going on. I can't remember his exact words..... but essentially he said he was playing for the song. I asked him to play his expressive syle...... he could always do so and we would let him know if and when he needed to reign it in.

Interesting. The drums and bass kind of 'made more sense' when he was playing. I thinks that means he's a good fit!

she's definately very cool. I heard a great Radio four interview with her - she said that she loves guitar best and bass is her professional instrument. And she said the same in the first minute of this interview. Well, no-one's perfect!

when Kim Deal didn't join the Pixies reunion they got a new bass player, also called Kim, who was not even Kim Gordon. It was Kim Shattuck of the Muffs... although she had to switch from guitar. According to Frank Black, the Pixies had to let Kim S go in the end.... "She is an extrovert and we are all introverts" Kim Shattuck sadly departed a year or so ago... RIP.

14... pretty good quiz.

So there are a lot of references to the bone player. Can we infer that in jazz circles the trombone player is the butt of jokes, a bit like drummer in rock music?

I play ukulele, but I guess that’s not really unusual! But staying within strings I always fancy those exotic sounding things like an oud. But really I should go outside the comfort zone and play something you blow into.

Is the green one the one he bought from Hugh Cornwall upon joining the band... I think he didn’t have or play bass until then.?