…and the tide is coming in
We offer you our deepest condolences
With the heartfelt sentiment
Of an airline advertisment
Also recommended:
- The album’s title track Rising Above Bedlam on an elevated section of motorway
- “Visions of You” (featuring Sinéad O’Connor).
This was back in 1991.
‘Visions of You’ has a cool live version where he’s fiddling the strings. Although, since it was on tv, he might’ve been just miming to a backing track — but it seems that the things are plugged in, which is effort that tv crews often skirted in those days.
‘The Sun Does Rise’ with Dolores O’Riordan is also nice.
cool live version where he’s fiddling the strings
That version is cool. I’m inclined to believe that they played it live.
OTOH it can’t be, look how he’s singing, he doesn’t care about the mic at all.I have no idea what strings JW is fiddling though?
look like he’s singing, he doesn’t care about the mic at all
I tend to pay attention to that, and I’m perpetually confused by microphones, perhaps because of very limited personal experience with them. On one hand, there’s the perennial advice of almost throating them when one speaks. On the other hand, for example, I’m watching through pretty much every clip on the StandupComedy subreddit, and the comedians straight up move the mic away when shouting louder — like e.g. Raanan Hershberg does. Perhaps Wobble can just belt out in baritone without much need for a mic, who knows.
There are also all the times when the voices are recorded only on boom mics, and sound fine.
I have no idea what strings JW is fiddling though?
I mean, he’s fingering the fuck out of his bass there. I can’t quite judge the playing myself, but there are comments in there saying the bassline is not so easy as he makes it seem.
Anyway, my bottom-of-the-barrel standard for live tv performances is The Selecter’s ‘On My Radio’ on TotP. Anything above that is an improvement.
Ah, ok. “Fiddling” made me think of playing either a different instrument altogether or maybe using a bow.
I’ve been known to play bass myself. Not as good as JW, far from it. But imo he isn’t a virtuoso, and I mean that in a good way. He’s super solid and precise but never too technical. It’s all about the groove. The wobble, if you will. He never gets ahead of himself or even the song, yet his style is always recognizable.
People said similar things about Jaki Liebezeit’s drumming and I think they would have paired really well but afaik they didn’t play together more often.
Yeah, I mostly can’t stand guitar virtuosos noodling for ages, it’s my problem with half of the stoner rock genre while loving the other riffy half without reserve. Except for Stuart Hamm, he’s fun.
Wobble is known to wander into a shop, pick a bass, and fill the entire space with his deep sound while trying it out. I have to guess that Bill Laswell must be the same way.
Funny these stories we get to hear about musicians. Yet I could swear he’s holding the exact same instrument in the above 1991 video as he does in the KEXP video you shared recently.
