The Last Bass Outpost

Ok, touchy subject and I don't want to find myself in the wrong bracket here:

- When I wrote teenagers, I was not insinuating "he did it with adolescents who already kind of knew what they wanted and could be expected to say no". I was using teenager in a 10+x, but still pre-adolescent sense.

- MJ is a pedophile or at the very least has pedophile demons he has to struggle with. But I've seen no evidence, not even an indication that would allow to call him a rapist or even an attempted rapist. You can be a pedophile and not be a rapist, just like you can be straight, gay or an SM afficionado and not be a rapist (or ever in danger of becoming one) either. We're talking about varying shades of grey, granted, but even in that grey area  there is a line MJ has not crossed from what I can judge him on. Seduction is not rape. Even misuse of a child's affection, gratitude or guilt is not rape. I think that was portrayed vividly in Kevin Bacon's great (and brave) performance in "The Woodsman" where he played a convicted and paroled  pedophile who is not a rapist and in fact only realizes that he is  (nontheless still) abusing children (or in danger of abusing them) when confronted with a girl's (he's taken an interest in) description of her parental molesting/rape situation at home.

Uwe

Sensibly, Herr Geiger, your parents must have been worried that the, errrm, "dress sense" of Messrs Holder and Hill (Lea and the drummer always looked alright) might rub off in the wrong way on you.

And how prophetic your old folks were!   

Uwe

"Totally different" is perhaps a bit strong - they're reputed to have a Bill Lawrence background too -, but they are stacked humbuckers as opposed to true single coils though they sound (and are intended to sound) single-coilish, nice natural presence and harmonics. They are fine pups - perhaps not adding the most idiosyncratic tone color, but you hear a lot of the bass' natural character. On the RD, I really prefer them to the anodyne humbuckers used in the active Artist circuit - you hear more wood, less pup. I also have one of them implanted as a bridge pup in a modified seventies EB-0 and it sounds swell there, also in combination with the mudbucker, bit like a Ric Higain would, but with a wider magnetic field.



Uwe

Definitely a bow to the Bill Wyman popularized Star bass though that was singlecut and the Framus doublecut hollowbodies had different monikers. Warwick owns the Framus name and resurrected it after Framus had gone bust in the early eighties, Framus founder and then CEO being the dad of Warwick's founder and current CEO Peter Wilfer.

If this bass doesn't have anodyne pups, I might be tempted ...

Uwe

It's the best of both worlds really: The Ripper was always let down by its pups for me, but I liked the construction. And the G-3 had great pups, but a slightly iffy construction. Screws in the neck just like that other - lesser - brand.  And then the scarfed neck which no matter how much sense it makes stability-wise will always look cheap to me. Not to mention that horrible trailer park quality bridge ... 

There is no doubt that MJ is a talented singer, songwriter and performer. Thriller brought black music into white households big time, so he was also a cultural envoy.

It's tragic how he was/is at odds with his identity as a (once handsome) black man - all that cutting up of what was once a goodlooking face for that inhuman "Diana Ross meets Peter Pan" look. And of course he's deeply disturbed in his sexuality, any grown man cuddling up with teenagers in his bed on a regular basis without thinking about the implications is.

That said, I found the witchhunt against him despicable.

I prefer Prince as a guitar player and songwriter plus he is also psychologically derailed in a less conspicious way, but his voice is no match for MJ at the top of his game.

Does he still live in Oman?

Uwe

   

But he's not just nimble with his fingers. He has a nice voice, writes good music and lyrics, writes and plays (!) string arrangements (he played violin before he played bass or guitar) and his 2007 solo album (only available via his website) is great. Loads of good tunes and thoughtful lyrics with the old Slade beatlish influences always lurking around the corner.

Uwe

PS: When do you finally interview your fellow Brit, Jules?