(no subject)
I downloaded some Victor Wooten the other day, just to check it out, since I was curious and save for some Flecktones stuff here and there, haven't really listened to him.
Can dude play? Yes. He can play lots and lots and lots. He can do things on the bass guitar that I will probably never be able to do.
But smooth jazz is smooth jazz is smooth jazz. And smooth jazz is fucking awful.
When I listen to a bassist, I want to hear soul, not "technique". I want to hear the wood in the bass, not the pickups in it. Dazzling chops to not a good song make. And I guess that's kind of the crux of it - I think a lot of these virtuoso types are just lousy songwriters. And I like good songs. I can appreciate chops, but gimme a good tune. It's kinda like the difference between reading a guidebook or manual, as opposed to reading a work of fiction or a good history book. They may be describing the same things, but there's no story in the manual. OK, that's a lame analogy. Sue me.
And I'm not saying that having playing skills is diametrically opposed to having songwriting skills. It just comes down to the application of them, and having a balance between them.
Can dude play? Yes. He can play lots and lots and lots. He can do things on the bass guitar that I will probably never be able to do.
But smooth jazz is smooth jazz is smooth jazz. And smooth jazz is fucking awful.
When I listen to a bassist, I want to hear soul, not "technique". I want to hear the wood in the bass, not the pickups in it. Dazzling chops to not a good song make. And I guess that's kind of the crux of it - I think a lot of these virtuoso types are just lousy songwriters. And I like good songs. I can appreciate chops, but gimme a good tune. It's kinda like the difference between reading a guidebook or manual, as opposed to reading a work of fiction or a good history book. They may be describing the same things, but there's no story in the manual. OK, that's a lame analogy. Sue me.
And I'm not saying that having playing skills is diametrically opposed to having songwriting skills. It just comes down to the application of them, and having a balance between them.