The Bass Geek

. . . but I just can’t bring myself to do it.  Plus, I’m fairly sure some other music journalist has done that before, even before the obligatory Google search.

In any case, I was reading a NY Times editorial from Billy Bragg on the rights of musicians when it comes to social networking sites.  Of particular note to me was this quote:

The claim that sites such as MySpace and Bebo are doing us a favor by promoting our work is disingenuous. Radio stations also promote our work, but they pay us a royalty that recognizes our contribution to their business. Why should that not apply to the Internet, too?

The fact that this statement re-emphasizes the intrinsic value of the music posted on the site is tremendously important. One might argue that there’s some value to the free hosting and networking possibilities provided by these social networking sites, but there’s something to be said for the drawing power of these tracks in bringing traffic to the site itself. That’s not to discount the value of promotional tracks or “name your own price” sales, but those functions are usually more under the control of the artist than other uses.

There’s still some shamrocks left in the fountain, even though we’ve left the holiday far behind.  Time to hear some different music.

Radio Radio has Coolidge and the Last Good Year tonight (power-pop and rock) and the Bottoms Up Burlesque show featuring Creepin’ Charley and the Boneyard Orchestra and Atomic Bombay tomorrow night.

Sam’s Saloon showcases the punk stylings of Choking Susan, The Slammies and J.J. Pearson tonight. Javelinas and Heavy Hometown take the stage tomorrow.

Deano’s Vino showcases Mark Conway tonight and the John Harden Project tomorrow.

For quieter fare, Cognizant Coffee Company features Edie Carey and Mieka Pauley tomorrow night.

That should be enough to keep you busy. I’m going to try to peek out a bit whilst finishing some chapters and doing yet another run-through of the Victor/Victoria score.

Please feel free to download it or listen at the website.

In the podcast, one of the songs we played (taken from the artist’s MySpace site) actually went into a commercial about his other releases about halfway through the track.  It was just like the old K-Tel days where the audience would just happen to catch the artist mid-song, and the singer would launch into his or her “Hi, I’m *INSERT NAME HERE*, and I’m so proud to bring you my newest collection of songs, including such hits like . . .”

. . . and then there’d be a montage in soft lighting from different angles.  Real classy stuff.  It’s nice to know some old tricks never die.

According to Bass Player magazine, the instrument illustrated in this picture is the long-missing “Bass Of Doom,” owned by Jaco Pastorius. The whole story isn’t known yet for what are apparently complicated legal reasons, but more than a few have come out in favor of this being the real thing.

On one hand, I’m sure folks are lining up to look at this like Excalibur plucked straight from the stone, while others are thinking it’s just a tool, and the artist’s hand who wielded it is long gone. In any case, though, I kinda hope that once the hassles are ironed out, it’s still used for music. It may have played an important role in the expansion of the bass guitar as an instrument, but putting it away in a museum (or worse, a private collector’s gallery) would be a shame. Above all, it’s meant to be heard and played.

You’ve heard pitch correction if you’ve listened to music on the radio in the past decade or so.  There’s no other way around it.  The technology to “correct” pitches has been around for a bit, and it’s somewhat insidious.  You may notice it overtly in some songs as an effect, but more often than not it’s used to create a “perfect” track, usually for pop singers who needed to get on to their fashion shoot. 

The wonders of technology makes it available for individual notes in chords now, too.  Direct note access gives this software the ability to pick out notes in a cluster and individually “correct” them.  Now intrepid engineers can go after every last imperfection and get it exactly “right.”  From a purely technological standpoint, that’s incredible.  The geek in me is thrilled.

The bassist in me wonders why they don’t just play it right in another take.  It also looks strangely at the concept of chords, but that’s another story.

Forgive the overuse of quotes above, but it’s meant to illustrate the subjective nature of this tool.  A lot more goes into a good take than just getting the notes perfect.  This tool would have saved me a lot of time on past recordings (well, not ME per se - see the above mention of chords), but at it’s heart it’s just another tool.  It has its spots for appropriate use, and there are times where it’s probably better left in the box in favor of another take.