i'm going to play along because i'm bored.
Originally posted by bassplayer13
ok lets all look at it this way
1) hes doing his thing
you think so? you don't think that there's no pressure from him to do exactly the same lame trite crap that he's been doing from the record labels/clothing manufacturers who are lining his pockets? i mean, we have an image to maintain here, soldier!
2) he prolly doesn't care what any of have to say about his playing
he probably does care what those same greasy old fat-cat slimeballs that are greasing his wallet say about his playing, otherwise he'd lose out on his meal ticket.
3) we're all wasting gobs of time with all these threads about him
like i said, i'm bored with nothing better to do. besides, on some level i consider it a sacred duty to expose the conspiracy of SUCK that is popular music these days. for every kid that i encourage to see beyond the crappy pre-packaged pablum that is being forced down their throats by the corporations that control what they see, read, wear and eat - the merchants of cool - i feel that i get a karmic brick added to my own personal stairway to heaven. so it's worth the "gobs" of time
4) whether he's the bassist bassist in the world....or the worst in the world....he is still a bassist none the less so he deserves some respect for doing what he does and loves it
this is where you are wrong. he does not _deserve_ respect, because he doesn't treat what he does with respect. he doesn't treat his audience with respect. he respects the slimy fat cats that feed him his endorsement and royalty checks, and that's about it. i've seen a bit of footage of him playing and it was embarrassing. he is a horrible player, he didn't seem to be able to find the one consistently if he had a freaking map and compass, and directions.
5) whether blink 182 is the best band in the world....or the worst in the world...they are still musicians none the less so they deserve some respect for doing what they do and loving it
wrong again. see above. they don't _deserve_ respect except for their ability to bend over to the right people. they certainly don't approach their musicianship with anything remotely resembling respect, and as such they don't deserve anything since they haven't attempted to earn it.
see, though, that slack "devil may care" attitude is appealing to teenagers who want to fly in the face of convention and authority and strike out on their own. this is very cool and good - it's what being a teenager is all about - rebellion and independant thought.
unfortunately, instead of aspiring anymore to rise above the lame, slack crap that is adult society these days, and achieve something more than what is around now, like punk used to be, it seems like many of the teens around today would rather fly under the radar of the already decrepit social, intellectual and cultural wasteland that is western pop culture. you want fries with that?
when many folks think of the apocalypse, they think of a huge cataclysm or upheaval, but i think it will be a vacuous implosion of apathy, and we're on our way, imo. like t.s. elliot said, this is how the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper. not with hate, anger or violence, but with slack and apathy. as such, i can't think of a better houseband for the big non-party than blink. gerber's best made into pleasingly digestable nuggets of acceptable rebellion brought to you by your friends at skechers.
6) from talking to other people on this board...i kno im not the only one getting po'd about all these threads
ain't free speech grand?
we're all suposed to be kind musisians, respectful of anothers work....but thats not what i've been seeing here at TB lately....
jokes are funny...but repetative jokes like these are getting to be old very quickly...
so PLEASE...im asking ALL OF TALKBASS to just let all the Mark Bashing and Blink Bashing (and any other bassist/band that gets trashed on here) die RIGHT NOW...
no. they're repetitive because they're true. slack is not cool. underachieving and disrespect is not rebellion.
furthermore, the tolerance of slack, the tacit acceptance and approval of slack, is not being kind, it's being lazy. i _care_ about the state of bass playing, and so therefore i'm going to voice my opinions in the hope that perhaps there's some folks out there who they might influence to think on their own.
