Sid Vicious could play the bass

[bassstrangler]

Keep up

Aw shucks, thanks. Just doing my job.

Keep up the good work.

 

[5StringBlues]

Sid looked great and fit in better image-wise.

How amazingly punk!

 

[10cc]

Eddie Cochran? Sure they/he did...


Or perhaps you find this more like it...

Or perhaps this ‘precision’ interpretation...

(that’s what my dad used to call “noise”)
The Pistols, along with the Clash(and The Stooges/MC5 before them)were far closer to the spirit, attitude and intent of 50’s rockers than Jerry and his taking three hour of plinking around to find that one right note. Gene Vincent? The original punk, dangerous, black leather clad, out of his skull on pain pills...

Atonal screeching and amplified noise, yeah, got it right here...

But it’s far more interesting when it’s articulated anger...

Rip

 

[deff]

Couple of reasons...
1. Did they sound like Buddy Holly and the Crickets? Or Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps? Or Eddie Cochran? No? Well, there you are, then...
2. I had to hear plenty of other punk bands when I was stationed in England. They're part of the reason I quit listening to the radio; bought a CD player; and started my Jazz/Blues/Grateful Dead collections... Atonal screeching and amplified noise is pretty much the same, regardless of who's doing it - only IMO, of course...

Wow. This might be the ultimate why are you posting in this thread moment. Plus... solo Sid used to cover Something Else, so yeah, Eddie Cochrane

 

[JMacBass65]

Please note: This thread isn't about whether or not you like the Pistols, Sid Vicious or punk music in general. I'm just trying to clear up a common misconception.

Today marks the 41st anniversary of Sid's death. Because of this, a lot of people are remembering him on Facebook and in other places with the mandatory mention heard a million times - that he couldn't play the bass at all.

Quite the contrary: he actually could, and there are a few pieces of evidence attesting to that.

Here's 20 minutes of Sid Vicious in Stockholm in 1977 - plugged in, playing the bass, audible and doing exactly what he's supposed to.



Of course he ain't Jaco or Wooten, or even his more melodic and capable predecessor Glen Matlock. He's playing root notes, having fun and I'd say he's doing a good job.

I'll post three more clips at the end of this post. The first two are of the Pistols live where you can hear Sid playing. The third is the sound check for the infamous final show in San Francisco. You can hear Sid playing some simple Ramones lines and Johnny Rotten at one point asks the sound guys to turn Sid down.

I'd say it's about time to start clearing up the misconception about his inability to play and other things like Sid being unplugged on purpose. Whether you like him or not, he was after all a fellow bass player with a very tragic story. Things would have certainly been different for him if heroin hadn't set in, and there are many people who consider the Pistols among their influences for picking up an instrument and starting to play. I know I'm one of them - there was a time when my teenage self wouldn't stop playing "Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols" and "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" by the Dead Kennedys back to back on a continuous loop for days on end.

RIP Sid. No future!

I fully support this post!

He died famous. I probably will not. RIP you lunatic.

This might be all that matters.

Eddie Cochran? Sure they/he did...

Awesome! Must go in search of more Sid vocal stuff, I had no idea.

 

[devnulljp]

Sid Vicious could play the bass

...for a very particular value of 'could'

 

[Michedelic]

The most generous thing that could be said about Sid, and his being pressed into service in the Pistols—and only that—is that he was the Stuart Sutcliffe of the band. I always wondered why Jah Wobble wasn’t asked, as he was a friend of Lydon’s as well, but I don’t know the timeline on his picking up of the bass.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I guess we didn't watch the same interviews! Nope, Lydon's a bonafide a-hole, I saw one where the interviewer was going out of his way to be polite and respectful, and Lydon just had to do his cheesy anarchist bad-boy schtick, which just made him look pathetic. He is by no means alone in a-holedom in the annals of rock and roll, but when it becomes a required component of your "persona", time to hang it up. They didn't call it the "Filthy Lucre" tour for nothing. As long as we are raking rock stars over the coals, I'll admit I never thought much of the Dead either, seems like all those years of jamming should have produced better musicians, but the few times I saw them, they were sloppy as hell, and the whole Dead "scene" swirling around the stadium was far more interesting than the band. Industrial quantities of drug intake doesn't improve anything really, as Sid found out all too quickly.

Lydon is also economical with the truth, claiming to have been illegitimate, for example, and is barely any more an anarchist than Prince Harry, although Harry hasn't yet endorsed British butter for cash.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I loved the implicit threat in 'real' punk rock. I loved that it tore down the somewhat bloated framework of what rock had become by the late 70's with rock operas and theme albums and layers upon layers upon layers of tracks. Punk returned rock to its roots and in a way mainlines the emotion and connectivity that had been lost over the preceding decades. I really 'found it' about four years after its prime...I was born a few years too late.

But also, to me an interesting and important connection is an American band of a few years later. Social Distortion. They (following on the heels of bands like X) had figured out the formula of 50's rock/roots + punk rock ethic and attitude in a way that made so much sense in its connections to me. Beyond that, as a young player they really convinced me that you don't have to be a virtuoso player to say something, say it effectively and connect...and be successful in the music world. To this day I'd much rather listen to someone with earnest emotion who knows how to connect than expansive chops + extensive arrangements.

That said, while I have a serious spot in my life for the Pistols, I'd rather listen to Stiff Little Fingers if I'm listening to 77 era punk.

Lydon is on record as being a fan of ELP and Kate Bush, which shows it is partly about finding a creative niche rather than anything fundamental. I'm not sure what Bush thinks of Lydon but she's apparently a Killing Joke devotee. I like ELP, Kate Bush AND Killing Joke but can't abide the Sex Pistols.

 

[5StringBlues]

 

[SteveCS]

It's pretty obvious that Sid could barely play, but against the backdrop of the UK in the mid to late 70's*, the punk phenomenon, and the Pistols in particular, were inevitable. In that regard, Sid was the perfect embassador. Whether you were actually a 'punk' or not, the sentiments chimed with a great many people.

* Rising unemployment, mandatory 3-day week, growing class divide, out-of-control inflation, crumbling infrastructure, broken industrial relations with widespread industrial action, global energy crisis, daily rolling blackouts, all presided over by a toothless (and eventually minority) government.

 

[5StringBlues]

" The Sex Pistols were not punk. They were a boy band , created by a vulture capitalist looking to cash in. You want punk? Listen to Crass" - Bernie Sanders



I saw it on the internet, it must be true.

 

[SteveCS]

" The Sex Pistols were not punk. They were a boy band , created by a vulture capitalist looking to cash in. You want punk? Listen to Crass" - Bernie Sanders



I saw it on the internet, it must be true.

And don't forget the meticulous historical account that is "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle".

 

[Lagado]

“Punks don’t like to hear it but they and Mrs. Thatcher were both on the coattails of something bigger, which was the rise of individualism where we could be whatever we wanted to be,” he explains. “The Sex Pistols’ song ‘I Wanna Be Me’ came at the same time as a speech by Mrs. Thatcher that had pretty much the same message."

Adam Curtis.

"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

 

[-Asdfgh-]

It's pretty obvious that Sid could barely play, but against the backdrop of the UK in the mid to late 70's*, the punk phenomenon, and the Pistols in particular, were inevitable. In that regard, Sid was the perfect embassador. Whether you were actually a 'punk' or not, the sentiments chimed with a great many people.

* Rising unemployment, mandatory 3-day week, growing class divide, out-of-control inflation, crumbling infrastructure, broken industrial relations with widespread industrial action, global energy crisis, daily rolling blackouts, all presided over by a toothless (and eventually minority) government.

Point of order: the three day week was early 70s during the miners' strike. But I think punk had a significant element of art school in it, a sort of dadaism that came from New York (Velvet Underground and later) that had a middle class component. I grew up solidly working class in the Midlands and we identified with ska and viewed punk as a product of artifice and lacking in diversity.

Of course, in reality there was crossover, with The Clash adopting aka (if sadly butchering it IMHO), and many ska bands sounding quite punky at times (Click, Click by The Beat as an example) and The Stranglers claiming to be punk but sounding like The Doors at times!

I was very young back then.

 

[10cc]

" The Sex Pistols were not punk. They were a boy band , created by a vulture capitalist looking to cash in. You want punk? Listen to Crass" - Bernie Sanders



I saw it on the internet, it must be true.

Crass is good too.

 

[deff]

Of course, in reality there was crossover, with The Clash adopting aka (if sadly butchering it IMHO), and many ska bands sounding quite punky at times .

I was very young back then.

I find that The Clash had limited success with ska, but were pretty good at incorporating all sorts of influences into their music. Their best efforts are always a blend of something and them, as opposed to being true to a style. Plus Complete Control might be the greatest punk song/song ever. The Sex Pistols might have been a force of nature influencing later generations, but The Clash were musically gifted in a way that went well beyond anything the Pistols ever did.

 

[SteveCS]

Point of order: the three day week was early 70s during the miners' strike.
...
I was very young back then.

Haha. I was also quite young (early teens) at the time, but I remember it all very well. My point was that public/cultural reactions took time to reach boiling point, unlike these days where global media and instant communications can whip up outrage almost overnight. It was the series of events and worsening conditions over a protracted time-frame with no end in sight that I was alluding to. Whatever the roots, there is no doubt that the younger generations were just primed and willing to give the establishment a loud, hard and angry kick up the backside. English punk was quite different from the US import version, IIRC.

 

[SteveCS]

...and The Stranglers claiming to be punk but sounding like The Doors at times!

I was very young back then.

Indeed. But for a few tasty lyrics I never thought of them as a punk band.

 

[Humbled]

Just a thought on who has any business commenting on Punk, and the "working class/middle class" element of Punk:

During the "Punk Movement" in the USA, which I'll call 1975-1980, my friends, the people I hung with, (squarely "middle class"), were listening to George Duke, George Benson, Boz Skaggs, Stevie Wonder, Spirit, Pink Floyd, Steve Winwood, etc. The Rich kids listened to Punk. Meanwhile, I was gainfully employed playing in a Classic Country band. When I got the call for that band, from a fellow I knew from a previous rock-cover endeavor, my reaction was: "you're kidding me...". He said: "Naw man! Kids don't have any money, but the people who listen to this s**t do!. He was right, and I learned to love a genre that I had zero previous exposure to. Unabashed capitalism.

I disliked Punk. It sounded like someone pushing a china cabinet down a flight of steps to me, so I didn't listen to it (on purpose anyway). But, if that band-start-up call had been to descend the goldmine that was Punk, I probably would have learned to like Punk. None of this disqualifies me from having an opinion on it.