Been A While

But feeling the need to blog again, am watching Before The Music Dies, which is a brilliant documentary and is trailed here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tsNO4PEhNw

It makes me angry, because if you are attractive and in your twenties, you have nothing to complain about, let alone sing. Yes, I could be argued as being bitter but the real music is being sidelined in mainstream culture.

Down But Not Out

I am fucking gutted that both the bands I am in have split, due to El needing to keep college and his new job in balance with his marriage and Rich having an attendant loss of confidence. I feel shit about it, because I wanted to have something that was mine, somewhere I could shine and that hasnt happened. Not sure how I feel right now, sort of abandoned but in one sense determined to carry on.

Something I Wondered

Would Fox News and the Republicans be so angry about Obama if he were white? There seems to be this undertone that, being english and possessed of an understanding of irony and subtext, I see as having the idea that he should know his place. He is, in the end, mortal and failing on some issues, but then those of us who armchair quarterback his decisions have no real idea of what is involved in the running of America, and much the same applies to Gordon Brown, because when we look at George Osbourne and David Cameron, I dont feel that the country should be run by the likes of them.

Brown fucked up, but he is trying and personally I would welcome a return to Old Labour values and the financial industry getting smacked down, with some hard tax legislative statues being applied to the oligarchs and tax exiles who work and live here, but are virtually registered in a PO box in Jersey or Bermuda.

But with Obama, it seems intensely personal, and to be honest, although the left in the US criticised Bush et al, it was still with the innate deference for the office, but Hannity, Beck, O'Reilly, Coulter, Malkin and the whole sick crew seem to steam in with the insults.

So here are some of mine:

Sean Hannity

Looks like he still lives with his mother, and struggles with overpowering sexual feelings towards her which he suppresses by combing his hair really hard and polishing his shoes until he can see his acromegalic, doughy face in it and hopes that the tears blur the reflection enough so he can look at it.

Glenn Beck -

Looks like he would be aroused by sideboob and upskirt shots on gossip websites, and upclose I imagine he smells of babysick and wet bread. Has joyless awkward sex with transexual prostitutes who then cradle him in their arms as he weeps for what might have been.

Bill O'Reilly

Has the expression of someone who is never happier than when a dominatrix has him sobbing into a pair of her used underwear and would probably fake being a haemophiliac to get out of an honest fight.

Michelle Malkin -

Knows that her attractiveness is a cage and a label, and ultimately when the Republican Apocalypse happens, will sit in a metal bikini on a chain as Dick Cheney has eurasian orphans fight each other with shards of glass for his amusement. Republican valley Girl with the depth and candour of a council estate slag.

Ann Coulter - If the Angel of Death did meth for four years whilst stalking a Concentration Camp, most men would still fuck it rather than her. Speaks with a sullen drawl that attempts to convey ennui and learned cynicism but ultimately shows her to be detached and devoid.

No one on Fox News is as clever or witty as they think they are, and the insecurity comes off the screen in waves. I watch it because of schadenfreude.

Celebrity

Lily Allen recently posted her feelings on piracy, it was heartfelt and based on her experiences, but perhaps a tad uninformed about how, in the death of it, copyright is complicated for everyone, beit consumer or artist.

Personally, i think that were the record industry to die, music would still exist, maybe not Lily VV Lott LaRoux, JLS et al and the vast army of backroom producers would have to be a little less arrogant but if you worked hard and produced good stuff, then you would have a career. There are means around it, but the industry would rather maintain salaries, cut back on artist development and take legal action than invest in such, so it is, in my mind, entirely their fault.

Katie Price - she makes me feel ill when i look at her, there is nothing to her but raw need, and she believes she is somehow being provocative and interesting when all she does is undermine women by her example. That she alleges rape, and will not seek prosecution nor allow her accuser the right to seek redress, because people know, its just that it has not reached a wider platform within the media, is sickening. I could not care less about her, personally, she angers me because she is everywhere and therefore I feel I cannot ignore her, especially when she is being promoted so vigorously. I believe that any liberation and any change within society will come only when women and men work together, and this sort of thing feeds the misogynistic elements of the media. If she has been raped, and this is how she deals with it, I do not see how it can help her or anyone else who looks to popular culture for guidance on dealing with such a violation. There still exists a lack of will within law enforcement and culture to deal with rape with the same seriousness as murder or, if we are being honest, property crimes.

Update

epic weekend of camping, will post more on it later.

The Daily Mail

I am not going to post at length all the things wrong with this paper, on every level it disturbs me but there are those who blog relentlessly about it and its reasoning.

http://www.angrymob.uponnothing.co.uk/

Genuinely funny and thoughtful, I wish that these were the mainstream opinions - the mercurial reaction time, the surgically precise humour and the sheer power of the truth. Instead we get well-meaning apologies and partisanship towards those who are too afraid to compromise on their ignorance.

Psychopathology

http://tinyurl.com/rd9hdw

Israel - a complicated situation, almost indistinct in the storm of potential accusations of anti-semitism and the counter accusations that it has co-opted the memory of the Holocaust for propaganda purposes. Its right to exist, and to defend itself is the stuff that degrees and bibliographies are built upon.

Yet it waged war upon the people of Gaza, as the above link reports. The Israeli army bombed factories from the air, and then sent in mines and soldiers to ensure it was destroyed to the foundations, they bombed hospitals and mosques. Some of the testimonies are damning and uncomfortable, but you should read them.

It is important to seperate Israel from Judaism, in as much as we should seperate Islam from Al-Qaeda and KKK from christianity, because Israel, it is reasonable to conclude, is a state turned to terrorism. Al-Qaeda with a Michael Bay budget and the US onside. If there is justification for this, I long to hear it.

Politics

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=10&article_ID=106355&categ_id=5

Interesting article, and I am always prepared to be wrong on whatever opinion I have held regarding terrorism.

Suicides Will Continue Until Morale Improves

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8252547.stm

23 people killing themselves, working at one location, is very disturbing. That it could be down to management actions and drives designed to undermine and reduce the human element to nothing is not in the least surprising. The drive to maximise profits at the expense of all else kills, either immediately or eventually.

Bass Post

Not doing much bandwise at the moment, trying to transition from surge lounge to the new thing with Ben, Laura and Sean and champing at the bit to get Floating Leaf going again, and this post is about some of the things I consider when I play.

I view my playing as part of the rhythm section, working almost as one instrument with El, and part of that comes from having spent lots of time locking in with him, and generally jamming with him. Sonically, I prefer to play flatwound strings because I tend to prefer that the guitar and vocals stay in the mids, whilst I like to work in with the drums sonically. If I can get that rumble, it sounds huge.

True Blood

It is artfully camp, but thoroughly entertaining, the Deep South setting and the absolutely gorgeous cast(who deliver some great performances) all combine into a rich, thick stew of decadent, white trash opera. The interpretation of vampirism would, in any other setting, be awfully antiquated, but here it is somehow beautifully baroque.

That, and Anna Paquin is mesmerising. Genuinely gorgeous and sweet.

Watch it, or download it, it is fun

Sick, Sick Sick

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8251370.stm

I try to think well of people, but this sort of thing makes me wonder why we are still on the planet.

Racism and Religion

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8251958.stm

We live in a complicated world, and I try to be careful with my opinions, because my feelings are, well, complicated.

Racism is not rational, although there are those who try to define it in terms of logic and reason, but it is irrational and stinks of fear and ignorance. Racism is not innate nor is it natural, children aren't born with it, it has to be learned and taught, or it thrives in the damp and dark places of society, it is not a matter of class because to be honest, on most council estates, they are neighbours, someone to borrow a cup of sugar or share a spliff with, it is the middle class enclaves where the daily mail is delivered that it lives and gains respectability. Patriotism is not racism, but it is easy to confuse it in these times. And in the above report, the right action is being taken, which is that of opening a dialogue with people on why they feel this way.

Islam is one of many religions, and I do not begrudge anyone their beliefs as long as they are not forced upon me, nor should they be subject to abuse for their beliefs. However the extremist elements of religions continue to cause me discomfort, because no matter how many concessions they receive, it will never be enough. Sharia Law is abhorrent, I find censorship in any form discomforting and I resent moral judgements from anyone but my own conscience, I also resent any attempts to limit what we do with our bodies. I also on the other hand understand why someone would enter into such a belief, the incursion of western military into their countries, the support for the House of Saud and the continued support of Israel, the glorification of vulgar wealth and the cheapening of human interaction and sexuality into talking points and sales pitches, I do get that.

In one sense it is an artificial conflict, rendered so by history and political decisions rendered in the spirit of pragmatism and expediency, but in another, it is entirely real and volatile. It does disturb me, the casual racism as much as the overt hate, the text message length jokes and the snarling comments about immigrants all make me uncomfortable, but I just try to live my life and be able to look at myself in the mirror.

observation

Today I got more done at work without a manager present, than I otherwise would. Which to me, is a pretty apt metaphor for how the world should be run, by us, for us. because my version of what Labour should be is not wholly in government. Someone traded the soul of the party in return for appeasing the middle and upper class bloc vote, and promised that the resulting trade off would not corrupt them too much. It is the lay workers and activists who should be running the country, I have the honour of knowing some of them and they give me reason to look at that membership card and NOT REGRET IT.

They lied about the war, our country is now a haven for tax exiles and billionaires, the continuation of Conservative spending plans and the appeasement of business has made things worse not better, and the good things(Tax Credits!) are themselves threatened by the cack handed bureaucracy that smothers them. The unions need more powers and TO BE LISTENED TO, because although the government chose business over people, it has forgotten one essential truth:

PEOPLE ARE ITS BUSINESS

Rover

What they did was what I would call economic terrorism, as destructive and malign as planting a bomb in a community. That they got rich off it, and that the government let it happen, and that it is seen as good business practice.

sorry

its been months since i have been on here, but i make it difficult to blog, mainly because i somehow lose the will to keep writing and avoiding anything too overtly personal. But I aim to get some pieces up and get people reading.

FX Decisions

Am looking into pedals, at the moment. I've experimented with a Behringer multi-fx, which when it worked was immensely fun and educational, but now I have developed my left and right hand techniques to the point where I get by..

BUT ITS NOT AS MUCH FUN AS THE RAW JOY OF NOISE!!

So, I really do need to develop my sound, through FX: here is what I would like.

Compression. For Surge, I would benefit from a smoother sound, although primarily a studio effect, Jamerson used it and more recently, I have read that The Roots use tonnes of it, which is a no-brainer for me, I love that bass sound with a passion.

Fuzz - As opposed to distortion, which just sounds like a downtuned guitar, I like how the low end doesnt get entirely sacrificed for the effect, and its a staple of the funk bassists who made their solos and fills all the livelier for it - Bootsy and Larry Graham, and later Christian MacBride.

Envelope Filter - That whompah wah whomp sound? Makes me make that O face I get when I really feel a groove, would be of minimal use other than Surge, but good damn I want it to hand.

Thats all at the moment, the others I don't see a pragmatic need for, but I can use my imagination in the moment.

Things In Life

There are things in life that haunt you, that define and scar you. You can try and outrun them, but they wait, patiently for you to catch your breath and then they whisper in your ear.

"I'm here"

Surge(Lounge)

The sessions at Starbucks are going well, and El and I played at the launch of Yarmouth as a fair trade borough, as a duo which was nerve wracking but went really well in the end, the accoustics were lovely and it seemed to mark the end of my brief sojourn with the accoustic-electric, as I have now moved to the Adam Black with flatwounds, going full-circle.

Laura is great - and she adds so much texture and flavour to what El and I do, that when we play without her, it doesnt sound the same, in fact the space between the three instruments is fast becoming a signature. Part of me would like a keyboard player, although I do need to work on my own keyboard playing, I do like how when we get it going, it comes alive.

I tend to fall into patterns with my playing, and El is really good at suggesting places I can go and he tends to push me creatively, in a way that means I stretch out, something that I always benefit from. It'll be interesting to see how we do with Rich on Tuesday, for me it'll be cool to interpret someone else's music rather than having to constantly think on your feet, which although enervating, is sometimes a challenge. Once I get the sound card, I do want to get more into composition, so that I can avoid falling into patterns, the different tonal centre that Laura comes from, means that I have to be able to play in different keys, and my technique is getting better as a result, seeing as I am the only bass clef instrument, I have to watch my dynamics and my intonation. I play softer and smoother in Surge(Lounge) and I am all the better for it. The key to it, from Miles Davis, is to let the bass ask a question, wait a moment and then answer it, it is all about listening, and getting to a place where you can focus purely on listening and responding to what the other instruments are doing.

The key now, is getting content and raising our profile, along with getting out of our comfort zone, which was a problem for TGME when we had the jam nights at Rasputins.

Still, good times at the moment.

www.surgelounge.co.uk

band website has been purchased, and el is working on content - with suggestions from all of us, I will probably be writing the blog for it, mainly because I do enjoy writing about the band and the music. We have a twitter feed for the group, and its an exciting time because a website is a definite step further than tgme, and to be honest, I am glad that tgme had a limited profile, not that I wasnt proud of some of the work, but we were unfocussed and in denial of the issues that should have been resolved, which ultimately destroyed it. TGME was a sullen democracy, SL is a cheery dictatorship in so much as El and I drive things, but even that is changing as the others all have valid ideas and bring into play textures that make the music better.

Textures, which El uses, is a good way to define what SL is about, in terms of the writing and concept, not so much notes as sounds and emotions - we're not huge theorists, but there is enough general knowledge of it to provide a framework so that it sounds good to the ear. I use chord progressions, scales and such for my bass playing, even if I stay on a single chord, or even a single note I consider the possibilites of where it can go.

I will continue to post here, need to go practice and wait for the skip to arrive so i can get the garden sorted.

Hip Hop

Like the Erykah Badu song, its probably the love of my life. From NWA and Public Enemy, to The Roots, MF Doom and Saul Williams, I have always been drawn to the rhythm and the noise, let alone how it can be elevated to the rarefied heights it has in recent years.

I love the repetition of it, the structure and how it can be both organised and yet seeming to be random scraps of other instruments, vocal sounds and other ephmera. I love how it incorporates so many other genres, and makes them its own. I love how it allows for chrome stadium grandstanding and avant-beat poetry, and I love how it makes your heart race and your mind delight.

I have my favourites, and there is as much safe and uninvolving hip hop as there is in any music form, but it is a form of music as valid as jazz or classical. Its DIY origins came from necessity, from hunger and that informs greatness, without argument.

I love how it works with live instruments, both as a listener and as a musician, it seems to have something although I doubt I will ever approach the depth and genius of Jay Dilla or Danger Mouse, but I reach for the best Surge Lounge I can, the one that lives in my head.

Bass

I constantly reach with my bass playing, but in terms of making it groove. I like to work on a chord, or a fitting chord sequence, and with the metronome on, work it over and over, constantly reaching for that sequence of notes where it does what it needs to do, and from there, can evolve without breaking the back of it.

My influences tend to come from a number of sources: hip hop, and not necessarily the live stuff, although the approach tends to inflect what I do, Motown for Jamerson, because he was fearless, inventive and yet in complete control of the low end(thats not to discount Babbitt, who was equally powerful) and the funk, or at least the idea of funk, that lives in my head.

I know it when I hear it, sometimes its simple, sometimes its intricate and melodic, but when I hear it, I repeat it over and over, until I kind of go away, listening with all of my attention but feeling it, until I can register the precise set of sensations and emotions. It has to be music, I am tough to please when I practice alone. Oddly with El, I tend to make my choices even simpler, sometimes locking in with the kick is all I need, to the point that sometimes El wants me to go crazy, which by that point, I am grateful to do.

I practice chords and scales, but not as much as I should because I tend to get more developing my ear, but that will change from now.

Neglectful

Been lazy lately, am itching to get something done, got the jazz gigs on sunday, but with El mid-move, its been slow on getting the band together, so sundays and my practice sessions are the only playing I get done. Am reinstituting the blog as an outlet, will be posting stories and opinions, and general rants about my home life!

THE FUNK

Next to hip hop and r'n'b, funk has been a formative influence on me as a bassist. It is prominent in the mix, it combines and assimilates so many influences, and it has influenced so many different acts. My favourite artists are:

1. Prince. Not known for his funk as much as his general stew of influences, he knows the funk - live, his band blows out some intense displays of rhythm, its a mix of Apollonian discipline and Dionysian bacchanal, and he still has it, in spades.

2. Parliament-Funkadelic. Certainly more Dionysus, and it has this anarchy and grit through it, were it all seems to overwhelm you, as much a training ground as a playground, it unleashed some insanely great musicians into the world and added so much to the vocabulary of music.

3. James Brown. His concept that every instrument is a rhythm instrument tapped into something deeper, his discipline and dedication coupled with his personal flaws and tragedies make him enthralling to listen to, even now.

But the main thing about funk is, it makes you move. I cannot, not do it, even when I am copping the bass part, I still need to interact with the groove.

My Band

First band was, actually, called Suncolour, and it was a few rehearsals, competent but little to no chemistry. Guitarists's gf played keyboards and it fizzled out without too many repercussions. Still, always nice to have that moment where you dream of conquering the world.

Second band was actually Surge Lounge, no vocalist, but same guitarist and the greatest drummer I have ever worked with. El kicks so much ass on the drums, on top of that he is a genuinely great man, but due to lack of a singer, we went on an extended hiatus..

The Green Monkey Experience. Huge learning curve, but intense. Technical yet sprawling, we tried so hard but when it came down to it, there were fundamental differences of opinion, also it divided into two camps, El and I, Chopper and Ash. It died in its sleep, but as it was in its death throes, El and I went back to..

Surge Lounge, this time we are doing hip hop, we have two great MCs, one of whom is doing guitar, we are looking for other musicians, and have gigs lined up. Life is good.

Brit Awards

Its awful, on every level. When Ferne Cotton was stood in front of a caravan interviewing Jamie Oliver and Jamie Cullum, my bones vibrated with rage, when Take That emerged from the UFO dressed like gay porn stars doing a Kraftwerk tribute act or when Coldplay limped around the stage, I wondered where the terrorist cells were, and why didn't one of them do the world of music a favour. I wanted Joe Calzaghe to punch holes in James Corden's head, and I felt ashamed for those people I do like(KoL, Pegg and Frost, who looked faintly embarrassed) Dignity had no place tonight, and we got Duffy.

Duffy, Duffy won every award possible, with her cheap Taiwanese Barbie features and voice like a cat with leukaemia. She is engineered to be the Aryan clone of Amy Winehouse, because you know the inoffensive soul diva is an affront to humanity. When Marvin Gaye was contractually obliged to release an album, of which all royalties were to go to his ex-wife, he released Here, My Dear(I learnt that from Something Awful) which was a killer album full of lacerating lyrics. Billie Holliday sang about black men being lynched. Duffy is a mustard burp who has coasted into fame on the back of a Bernard Butler production that resembles a Motown production devoid of the blue collar innovation that raised a production line song factory into raw genius.
The TingTings are a fucking joke, pop music that sounds like instruments given over to chimps. I can appreciate innocent music, but this is calculated artless shit, disguised as sneering indie cool. They make Miley Cyrus sound like Janis Joplin.
Pet Shop Boys were just cringeworthy, relics of another age.
What I hate most is the self-congratulatory tone the whole event takes, from the shitty presenter gags(Craig David, is that the best they could come up with?), to the nonentity award presenters(Natalie Imbruglia, Jamie Oliver) to the limp performances(KoL were a notable exception but they seemed to have traded their edge for acclaim, not that I blame them). The whole thing made the Mick Fleetwood/Sam Fox debacle look like high art, not in terms of competence but in terms of spirit, this was as cynical and lifeless as a prostitute pretending to be a corpse for cash.
However Girls Aloud were great: they're all gorgeous and their music has a certain quality control that makes them entirely palatable. Although I mainly like them because they are bloody lovely to look at. Never said I was a saint, baby:-)
This is what happens when my drummer is in London, I post bad things

Just rediscovered...

..this blog when my wife googled my name! So I am going to resume blogging once again, it will be more about music, as for the last few years I have gotten into playing bass and it has replaced comics in my estimation. I will talk about what I play and what I listen to, and also will talk about the films that I love/hate am looking forward to.