Hang in there!!
Mine’s pretty much just starting, but I am already worried what’s in store
Hang in there!!
Mine’s pretty much just starting, but I am already worried what’s in store
Hah, yes, after a little more catharsis going to Shonen Knife is a great idea. Thanks!
Friday already? Well here’s a classic from Weather Report called Havona from the 1977 album Heavy Weather. Features some tasty chops from Jaco as well. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEU-m_KVuYI
Oh yeah!! Possibly my favorite WR tune and what a fantastic bass line. In fact, I am working on this one as a long-term side project (in a haze of grandeur and delusion) at a glacial pace and literally one bar at a time. Might add a new bar this month
I’ll throw my favorite jazz recording ever into the mix for today: C-Jam Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrEcT2Q51lw
Wow, that’s a big challenge! Mine is learning Allman Bros “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (live)”. My grandkids will love it some day!
It’s more about learning from this (note choices, phrasing, ghost notes, timing, …) than really being able to play this (at 100% speed) at some time - I don’t really think the latter is realistic for me
Man, I have tried so many times to get into Weather Report, and I keep wondering what is wrong with me, but I just cannot feel their vibe, ever.
Such a shame as I know they are great, but, no accounting for taste (puts KISS record on).
Not sure it has to do with your taste not being up to par or some such snooty stuff … it’s a stomach thing and that’s quite alright! In fact, I think it’s good that you say that (and not just float along with others because WR just HAS to be fantastic). I would even agree with you for a lot of their catalog… it IS a strange vibe.
WR was a ground-breaking group, but their main composers (Zawinul, Shorter, Pastorius) all had their very idiosyncratic, whimsical ways of composing - and that is an acquired taste.
I hear they could be absolutely amazing live, but they could also suck - all depending on how Zawinul and Pastorius were doing on any given night. (And, of course, it should be mentioned that WR also had a bunch of other great bass players in their line-ups!)
Anyway, I often find covers of WR tunes by other artists better than the originals.
I’m often embarrassed by my taste (and also not a Weather Report / modal or fusion fan). But art is art and you like what you like - you’ll know it when you hear it. I listen to a ton of low-brow stuff that just makes me happy (Huey Lewis, Bowling for Soup, They Might Be Giants, etc). One thing I used to do that I’m becoming more thoughtful about is completely disregarding entire genres like I did with hip hop and modern country. I really didn’t think I’d ever hear hip-hop to my taste - but then I found songs I connected with from Atmosphere and Brother Ali. And Tennessee Whiskey and Blue Ain’t Your Color made me think modern country has some hidden gems too.
Ya fusion is a hard pill for me to swallow.
Some Miles stuff is fantastic, some ain’t. But that’s about how far I go there.
Free jazz, Coleman, late Coltrane/Sanders (some Sun Ra)- love.
Been on a Colman kick for month now. Can’t get enough.
You just never know what resonates.
And it sure does change over time.
Free jazz stuff took me a long time, which is why I do go back to WR every so often to see if it sticks but still nope.
Same. I did my duty trying to like their music due to Jaco and while I can appreciate the skill, it just doesn’t float my boat.
The funny thing is this is usually a positive for me, but I find their stuff strange in a way that isn’t super interesting for me.
Jaco’s basslines for sure!
Cool Stray Cats vibe!
Thanks to Josh for reminding me about Graham Central Station. Here’s a funky number from 1975 called “The Jam” with some awesome bass riffs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is665CtmBUc
Babymetal are back. They’ve been on hiatus since 2001 but had a pair of shows this past weekend and did some quick video ediiting. This is their opening number. The cuteness is gone.
Su sounds great. Also there are 3 thrones, dropping a lot of hints of adding a third member again.
A proper blast from the past… must have heard this song a million times back in the 80’s, but wasn’t so tuned into bass back then and thus had no idea until now how intricate and cool that bass is - Nick Beggs still pulling it off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNVylTCe5MY
I became aware of this by watching this guy analyze those bass lines:
Yeah that one’s been in my “never gonna play this tune ever” file for a while. Incredible bassline.