A new piece i came up with. I have uploaded it on my soundcloud profile. It's a piece played on guitar trying to make it sound like a veena. Hope you enjoy. The link is given below:
Of late UG(Ultimate Guitar) came out with this list of bassist which they said were the viewers top 10 bassists of all time. I was taken aback when I saw the list as it did not contain most of the people that I considered the Gods of the bass. The list given below is the list of bassists who I think deserve to be in the top 10 of all time.
10)Cliff Burton(Metallica) He played for the heavy metal band Metallica for a few years.He played for the albums kill em' all,ride the lightning and master of puppets. He died when his tour bus met with an accident in 1986. In the short span of time that he played for metallica he and the band gained a lot of attention due to their attractive riffs and bass lines. He was also very well known for his bass solos.He also played for a few other lesser known bands.
9)Chris Wolstenholme (Muse) Bass,vocals,guitar and keyboards are the parts that he plays in the band Muse. Muse is a rock band and chris' basslines play a prominent part in most of their songs.
8)Les Claypool(Primus) A bassist at Primus and many other bands Les Claypool is an established bassist with insane bass techniques. He had auditioned for metallica after they lost their bassist but was not chosen as he was thought to be too good for the band!! This was a good decision as claypool's inclusion in the band would have made them redefine their genre as a bassist is often considered to be the backbone of a band.
7)Geddy Lee(Rush) He is the lead vocalist and is also a keyboardist in the band Rush. Rush is a well renowned canadian rock band and has been a source of inspiration for bands like dream theater and other bands that originated at that time.
6)Victor Wooten(The Dave Matthews Band) An american bassist who has won the bass player of the year award three times in a year. He has played for many bands like steve bailey,Béla Fleck and the Flecktones ,SMV, Greg Howe, Dave Matthews Band, Chick Corea Elektric Band.
5)Flea(Red Hot Chilli Peppers) The bassist at RHCP is considered by some as the best bassist in the world and definitely deserves a spot in the top ten. He makes really cattchy riffs like danni california and by the way.
4)Matt Bissonette(Joe Satriani) This man is one who is much more than a musician and a bassist. He plays for joe satriani and has several solo albums himself. He is also an engineer and a producer. He has also played with david roth lee and several others.
3)John Myung(Dream Theater) The man behind as i am and several other legendary Dream Theater song bass lines.He is also known for using the chapman sticks and generally uses a 6 string bass. He has made amazing basslines for many songs like octavarium,dance of eternity,a change of seasons.
2)Steve DiGiorgio(Death) He is the bassist of the band that is considered to be the father of death metal. He like many others has featured in many other bands too.
1)Billy Sheehnan(Steve Vai) This man is a legend amongst legends. His bass skill are far superior to anyone that i hae heard of till date. He is known for tapping and using harmonic notes and other insane techniques. He plays for steve vai and keeps the crowd entertained with his stage presence. He also sings at times. He has sung songs at G3 concerts which vai features at almost always!
If you have a different list of bassists or any inclusion to the existing list do comment.
When Metallica announced that they would be making an album with Lou Reed, there was a great amount of aversion coming from the metal community. I, for one, did not even know who Lou Reed was. Considering what they did with their previous album, people like me thought the inclusion of another guy in the band was'nt going to stop their newly found momentum. Infact, there was a great amount of hope among the Metal community that Metallica were going back to their roots and that the new album would be atleast half as good as their previous one. Death Magnetic was, by far, the best thing Metallica produced since the Black album. It nearly took 2 decades for James Hetfield to understand that he was'nt going to become Lynrd Skynrd by making blues guitar solos. Death Magnetic was the answer to the countless number of insults they had been enduring for more than half of their carrier. And just when they seemed to be getting back their lost respect, Lulu came. And before Lulu came, the single, The View came. When I first heard the song, I knew, this guy, Lou Reed was just enough to shatter the hopes of Metallica becoming a credible metal band. But still, there was a tiny glimmer of hope that the rest of the album would turn out to be better. It was announced that the album had 10 songs which is normal for a standard metallica record. But the running time being close to an hour and a half swept everyone off their feet. Who would have expected Metallica, supposedly a thrash metal band, would make songs that last for 20 minutes. The song lenghts drove everyone crazy and the resulting hype was too much. We expected too much off them even after hearing the single.
But today, after hearing to the album in its entirety, it would be safe to say that, without any doubt this is the worst album Metallica ever made. The first song, Brandenburg Gate promises something to be expected of the album when James sings "Small town girl...". But after listening to a couple of songs, you will find that it was the only thing good about the album. Search the entire album, hear to the songs a thousand times, your efforts to stumble upon a line that James actually sings would be futile. Lou Reed has literally replaced James Hetfield as the lead singer. For fuck's sake, is this even a Metallica album? I dont know what was in James' mind when he let Lou Reed sing all the verses, but seriously, he does'nt do any better than reciting the lines. And more than anything else, the biggest flop in this album is the much anticipated 20 minute song. There is no riff, no solos, no James, no nothing. Nothing at all, except Lou Reed "talking" about his junior dad throughout the length of the song.
Reviewing each and every song would be awfully difficult because, no one has ever seen anything like this before. Lulu is not thrash metal. Lulu is not hard rock. Lulu is not even music. If the rolling stones ever makes a list of the 500 greatest flops in the history of music, Lulu should be just beating Justin Beiber to top the list. But, being the fanboys of Metallica that we are, we can convince ourselves understanding that, this was'nt entirely made by Metallica.
Most of what is seen in this album are essentially Lou Reed. Coming to think of it, there is not even a single trace of Metallica in the record, except the occasional guest appearances by James Hetfield that makes us realize that he is still alive.
It's nearly time that James Hetfield should stop making albums trying to "reinvent" the music in him that even make the system of a down guys laugh. If he still does'nt get the point, he should call it a day. Atleast for the legacy of the first four albums.
