Music is Not for Spectators

For anyone who's ever played in a band, there is no high to be gotten in life that exceeds the moment when all the right notes swell up together, a symphonic wave, and wash over the players. In that moment the feeling of rightness is not abstract, it is absolute; everyone is tuned in, everyone is present, those sound waves are passing through bodies synchronously. It feels like life enhanced, from black-and-white to color, iPod earbud to surround sound.

There are many years of stretching, reaching for the right notes, veering off pitch, squeaking, squawking, banging the wrong drum, scrabbling for the melody like a mountain climber losing their grip. It's ugly and painful, but the satisfaction of the song played well is righteous.

We feel the song in the dark, in our toes, our hips, our heads bopping. The song travels the length of our spines, the strands of our hair, reaching (literally) into our minds. The voice rises up, the heart changes its rhythm; there is nowhere to go but inside the song.

To solely listen is to be alone, but to sing, to dance, is to join oneself to moment.

I am picking up my bass and remembering that each finger being cajoled into position, my right hand learning where the strings sit, my toes tapping a beat my pinky finger might miss, will one day result in that supreme feeling of being part of a song that is so much bigger than I am, a song in which I have a role.

Touched by the Hand of God

Ryan and I like to create difficult musical questions for each other to answer.

There are the classics: What are your top three albums of all time? Who are your three favorite vocalists?
The more eccentric: Name your top five Adam Clayton bass lines. Name the best Jarvis Cocker sighs or other extraneous sounds.
Most recently: What is the one song that sums up your musical taste?

I thought this would be a really hard question to answer, but the song that does that for me came pretty quickly to mind; "Touched by the Hand of God" by New Order from the 1987 single.

The song was originally provided for the soundtrack of a film called Salvation! that was a parody of televangelism; it's fitting then that the video for this song is also a parody...one I thoroughly enjoy but didn't see until long after I'd gotten hooked on "Touched by the Hand of God."

The song itself is serious in tone...It's New Order after all (and Bernard's marriage had just ended, so more angst than usual). Perhaps it's about the singer realizing what he wants when he's just lost his chance at ever getting it. More likely, it's about trying to preserve identity in the midst of illusions fading, things breaking, realizing that giving has turned into someone else taking....and yet still desiring proximity, connection, love.

There are so many ways I love this song...

I love the intensity, the immediacy.

I am a sucker for electro-rock; this song's got me dancing one bar in. Bernard's vocal is understated, passionate, pre-Jarvis Cocker whispery.

I love the desperation, the attitude, the barely restrained angry.

And check out the sweet, sweet, MELODY BASS LINE!!

Turn on the mood lighting and see what kind of dance moves this song inspires in you.

The Indefatigable "Bass Butt"

The bass guitar is a beautiful thing. It centers songs that would otherwise fall apart, provides a sturdy foundation for the most intricate or chaotic of songs, maintains a sense of urgency, and keeps things moving along. In some songs it even provides the melody.

And, bass just feels good to play; the strings are substantial (there's no needle-like E string digging into your flesh), the neck and body are smooth and solid, and when you're playing you can feel your whole body become part of the rhythm of the music.

Tragically, bass players have been making themselves look uncool for years due to a condition The Slow Music Movement refers to as "Bass Butt."

Bass Butt |bās bət|: The act of a bass player keeping rhythm with their posterior and simultaneously attempting a dance move.

 

Example: "Oh my gosh, Becky, you can totally tell that Adam is doing some serious bass-butting in this picture."  

A sad remnant of the bass-butting Clayton once participated in.

Though he has largely overcome Bass Butt, Adam Clayton of U2 struggled with this condition early in his career. In the video below, Clayton, as many other self-taught bass-butters, fails to recognize his coolness quotient diminishing at an exponential rate.



At this time the only cure available for Bass Butt seems to be shame...and in Clayton's case, getting clean.


What can YOU do about Bass Butt?

If you are a bass player, practice in the mirror. Even if you can't come up with something better than the Bass Butt, you will have taken the first step in developing moves.

If you are a friend or family member of a bass player who suffers from Bass Butt, take a deep breath. Bass Butt does not threaten the musical ability of bass players, nor does it keep them from being cool when they are not engaged in bass-butting. TSSM does suggest you limit your Bass Butt-er to audio recordings until they've wiped the floor with their Bass Butt habit.

Together, we can eliminate the coolness-harming Bass Butt!


Next edition of Bassists Lacking Awesome Moves (BLAM): the Neck Swing

PS I love Adam Clayton