Squarepusher Sound - Can you ID it?

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:21 am

Could be stretched but have a feeling it's just normal speed.......

u can slap a bass really fast with some practice eh....

1. Down with the thumb, pass through the string.
2. Up with the thumb, pass through the string again. (1 move, 2 notes)
3. Up with the first finger.
4. Up with the second finger. (1 wrist move with some spacing, 2 notes)

All that can happen very, very, very quickly if you do enough of it....

I found the hard bit tho is getting the pops happening on the lower strings
where u don't have so much room to get fingers between the strings, need
big calases on the tops of u'r fingers as well as bottom...... Also takes
awhile before you can get them as straight timing with no gaps.

-Ben

netchaiev · Post by **netchaiev** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 10:08 am

computo wrote:theres no question that tom is an amazing bassist, and programmer.

But if you guys REALLY want to defend the live drumming that appears at the end of Ultravisitor, then go ahead, you are the foolish ones.

I have played and studied drums for 20 years, including study and performance with Kenwood Dennard, Wynton Marsalis, and plenty of others... Im not going to post any recordings because I dont feel the need to prove anything to you people, and it wouldnt prove my point: that Ultravisitor BY FAR, has the worst drumming of any squarepusher album.

Well, it looks as if we have one of those argument, between a musician who plays an instrument and those who just listen and try to replicate on machines.
Not having HANDS-ON experience you ask: "can you do better". childish BS
saying that everything is GRAY, that' there's no Good or Bad this or that makes everything the SAME.
i side w/ computo. and I say that it's not because of bad drumming, trumpet or whatever that a track, a song isn't good either and VICE VERSA!!!!!!
great musicians make awful records, etc...
Again, asking for creds is just plain stupid.
One last thing: I saw my hero, elvin jones, do some bad, awfull drumming once, he was soooo drunk!!!!

eisnein · Post by **eisnein** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 12:37 pm

OUCH!!! you are right everything is GOOD or BAD. EVIL or AWESOME. FUNKY or SQUARE. HOT or NOT.

and you know why? because i dont play any instruments?

"Not having HANDS-ON experience"? how do you know? why do you care? stupid assumption to say i cant play an instrument.

"can you do better"? i never asked that. that was someone else.

i was not asking for creds or samples and i was also trying to contribute to the original topic of this thread as well. you side with Computo but he is the one who brought up Squarepusher;s horrible drumming on that track. I know he doesnt hate Squarepusher and doesnt think he is a horrible musician. He just doesnt like the drumming on 1 track. therefor it is horrible for everyone else and by everyone's standards especially since a talented musician chose to play shitty.

still laughing about the no grey scale comment.....and how that is sppsed to point out my foolishness.

jbible · Post by **jbible** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:01 pm

LiveCUt VST effect has a SQPUSHER setting. Its currently a beta though.

netchaiev · Post by **netchaiev** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:43 pm

D K wrote:
computo wrote: alright, dude, time to throw down or shut up.
post some recordings(not to prove anything, but to share with the community)
i'll gladly match those samples with basslines that everyone (including you)
can also use as they wish.
you can talk shit alright as i've seen on the boards as of late
now can you walk the walk with me and give everyone something interesting
to use with ableton

d

Eisnein, That's also the post I was refering to. And sorry, not every criticism has to concern you... Apparently you take it very personnal. I make an assumption on the "hands-on" for hearing to many of those "can you do better' type o' shit, wich to me is so far from my planet. You're giving computo beef for disliking/trashing the drumming?!? What's your point? that's his opinion, and he doesn't seem to be out of this world. I think we all agree, and I never said you were a fool. Just making a general point, to these kind of arguments, for EVERYONE.
Just go out sometimes, relax dude...

eisnein · Post by **eisnein** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 1:39 am

ah cmon. my whole point through this whole thing was that all it is IS OPINION!! i know its Computo's opinion and i was stressing that just because he doesnt like it does not make it "bad" drumming. he is 100% entitled to his opinion but its just that- HIS opinion, not fact.

"Well, it looks as if we have one of those argument, between a musician who plays an instrument and those who just listen and try to replicate on machines.
Not having HANDS-ON experience you ask: "can you do better". "

thank you for making blanket assumptions and then telling me to relax

"childish BS
saying that everything is GRAY, that' there's no Good or Bad this or that makes everything the SAME.

or no- it makes it so there are varying degrees of shades between black and white!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_system

computo · Post by **computo** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:16 am

yes, all I stated was my opinion.

And then some of you, including YES YOU eisnein, asserted that I should provide some work of my own, to give some credence to whether my opinions were worth a salt.

And thats all good. I can provide plenty of representative work in regards to my drumming, though Im having to dig through a lot of my recent all electronic recordings to find them. Actually I had to call my former bandmate, who used to do all the live recording of the most recent group I played drums with.

So, I think the point of contention here, is not whether opinions are deserved, but rather, whether someone can trust a critique.

Well, no one has to listen to me, I dont give a fuck. And EVERYONE has the right to disagree with me, and tell me Im crazy. But when someone calls me out, I happily oblige them. Even if it means spending a lot of time digging through recordings.

Moody · Post by **Moody** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:28 am

Group Hug?

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:32 am

Fuck talkin bout drums.

SLAP BASS!!

-Ben

zero01101 · Post by **zero01101** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:29 am

no wait dont stop the drumspeak! i wanted to say something! something about drums and music is rotted one note and something or other... idunno..

fine.

whatever.

eisnein · Post by **eisnein** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 1:00 pm

computo wrote:yes, all I stated was my opinion.

And then some of you, including YES YOU eisnein, asserted that I should provide some work of my own, to give some credence to whether my opinions were worth a salt.

for the record- i never once asked you for samples. go reread my posts. Your opinions hold salt with or without playing IMHO but your argument didnt and you def contradict yourself several times.

I am glad you agree that all you stated was your opinion and that he is just a shitty drummer in YOUR opinion.

there are plenty of times i have not liked tracks by some of my favorite artists and think they suck but that does not make the music bad.

alright im gonna go outside and group hug random people on the street so i can relax.

helixx · Post by **helixx** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:31 pm

Music is either good, or its bad. There is no grey area, and if there is, its probably bad.

I made no comment on Squarepushers music as a whole, I wouldnt do that. He certainly isnt horrible...I would never say that. I really like the guy, and his work. But that isnt going to stop me from critically analyzing what I hear. And especially when dealing with an artist who is known for his empirical precision, I found it shocking that such unrefined work would make it to his newest disc, which was lauded as his Dark Side of the Moon.

two points here. computo, while i respect your music (a lot), you're wrong here.

everyone has a different idea of what is good and bad. art is subjective -- that is its very nature. does that mean that i personally don't think some music is bad? my god no. i submit country and western as proof. or any ashlee simpson song.

so let's take the second part of the above quote. if someone who is SO technically precise does something that isn't precise (shockingly so to someone with your sensibilities) ... isn't it possible that its a purposeful act? i'd consider it a strong possibility. so it may be better to direct the line of questioning towards what this "loose" or grooveless passage is doing.

i remember playing thelonius monk for my parents years ago and they couldn't get why he'd play so many wrong notes. "usually his playing is so good. but then he plays a bunch of wrong notes." is monk bad? uh... no.

FORMAT · Post by **FORMAT** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:40 pm

Hi all,

interesting thread.... I am a huge Squarepusher fan, but I too have to say that the drumming on Iambic isn't as good as some of the stuff I heard from him (Music is rotted.....)

R.#

computo · Post by **computo** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:23 am

ok, well I think that helixx has a good point, that whats good or bad to one, isnt necessarily to another, and in theory, I would amend my point to say that Music is either good or bad in the ears of the listener.

But, I think it comes down to this. with art or music. Do you "BUY" it? it being the work. If its good you do. bad, don't. and thats what counts.

That being said, theory's fine for the masses. But if I think its bad, its probably bad.

and Monk is good. So's Wesley Willis.

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:42 am

Monk!!

-Ben