The Last Bass Outpost

Most French bands sing French, that has hindered international success somewhat, the language of rock'n'roll is of course English.

A friend and I used to discuss this issue a lot about English being so suitable for rock.  I suspect that English not being her native language made it a little more obvious to her than me.  Because the thing is even if you get fluent in English that doesn't mean you'll necessarily get the cadence, inflections, and rhythm perfect while singing (in English.)

And where are the French rock artists?  France is great at producing existential philosophers and really cute female pop singers.  But I can't name even one French rock band that has had massive international success.  I'm not knocking France.  I just wonder what happened.  At least Germany has the Scorpions and Holland has Golden Earring (which I'm a fan of, by the way.)

I don't know much about Pete Townshend's contact with Phil Lynott.  But if he is going to talk the way about Jimi Hendrix as he does in this article, I don't know why he bothered to participate in such a conspicuous way in the unveiling of the English Heritage blue plaque ceremony for Hendrix in London years ago.  Since it's obvious that he didn't care for Hendrix, he should have just declined that invitation.  There is way more I could say in regard to Townshend/Hendrix, but I don't want to belabor the point.  But saying one thing in front of the cameras and something else away from them just doesn't cut it for me.  This contrasts to what others have said about Jimi Hendrix.  Some of them would say the real person was the one off the stage.  The real person had a sense of humor, joked a lot and was even often shy.  Watch interviews with Chas Chandler.  I think he knew more about Hendrix than Pete Townshend does.  Maybe Townshend never quite got over the confrontation between him and Hendrix before the bands got on the stage at Monterey. 

Townshend has never been one of my favorite guitarists.  However, I will agree with what he said about "I Can See For Miles."  He thought it was way underrated.  I think it was a rock music masterpiece. 

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/pete-townshend-i-woke-up-with-a-needle-in-my-arm-and-phil-lynott-standing-there-1.4072072

I think some anti-pick bias is also thinly disguised genre bias. Specifically against hard rock, metal, punk, and the thousands of offshoots from them, where pick playing dominates.

This takes a couple forms. One is dismissing music that is simple, as if simplicity is a failing and "real" musicians are only found in more difficult styles.  Snobbery again.

And that doesn't fly as a bias against a lot of metal groups of course, which can get into extremely difficult music..Just to pick one ...  I'm not a Megadeth fan per se, but I do find them worth an occasional listen and it takes a really intense level of dedicated musicianship to play like Elefson, and it would be absurd to say that his playing would be improved by losing the pick when he's built his whole sound and approach around it. I've read comments of people on YouTube saying he's not really playing bass, he's playing rhythm guitar. To which I say, this is a problem how exactly? His parts fit the music, and if that's what you want to call it, then I'd say he's a better rhythm guitarist than most guitarists.

In other words, some of the best genres are ones that tend to call for bass playing with a pick--the way I look at it at least.  Hard rock to me is the most interesting kind of rock and some metal is also good. 

Just what I need...another nice short scale to have GAS for.  aaarrrgh.

I feel your pain.   

Studio outtake

Having a crush on Thelma Camacho wouldn't have been a very difficult thing to do.

Overall, I've got to say I really don't know much about Kenny Rogers other than the obvious things.  I've heard my uncle tell a story, though, of once being at a Kenny Rogers concert somewhere.  Somehow he had a backstage pass.  I never caught the details, but at some point (during the show itself) he ended getting bored, decided to go backstage and evidently found himself in Kenny Rogers' dressing room.  Evidently, he didn't like Kenny Rogers' music as much as he was expecting.  I felt the same way when some friends once convinced me to see the Marshall Tucker Band. 

Many people were first introduced to Kenny Rogers when he appeared on the Smothers Brothers show in the 1960s.  "just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In" was a good example of what was going on with psychedelic stuff at that time.  Something which was very brief but also very real.