SecondEdition wrote:I love Bob Bert's drumming on Bad Moon Rising - it's their least rock-oriented record, at least in the early '80's, and that stiff, alien feel is at least partially due to Bert. They never made another record like that again, that's for sure.I do agree about much of the drumming from him before that, though.As for a just terrible drummer, hmm... That dude who played on No Trend's A Dozen Dead Roses was awful.I just think Bob Bert is clunky and unimaginative. Especially compared to Jim Sclavunos (great) and Richard Edson (interesting).Steve Shelley is more than decent but he plays these hyperspeed new wave tom tom beats WAY too often. And there's not enough going on w/his kick drum. But he's definitely a-ok.Ken Rudd's drumming on No Trend's A Dozen Dead Roses is atrocious. Speeds up, sloppy, four-bar fills everywhere. The band would agree. Ditto Michael Salkind on that first 7. (Greg Vanimal Miller and James Fuzz Peachey, who played on the bulk of NT's studio output, were aces, however.) alex maiolo wrote:You're nuts. Colm is a great drummer. The stuff on Loveless is weird because he was really sick and they had to construct drums out samples, composites and other creative moves. I've seen him live and listened to his other stuff and he's a fantastic player.Free pass for Loveless, then. But Isn't Anything always sounded amateurish or electronic to me, depending on the song. And the early EPs are wobbly. As for live, I dunno. Couldn't really hear what he was playing onstage in the early '90s... Maybe I missed something.

alex maiolo wrote:OrthodoxEaster wrote:There are so many!... My Bloody Valentine guy whose name is too Celtic to spell properly. Dozens more.You're nuts. Colm is a great drummer. The stuff on Loveless is weird because he was really sick and they had to construct drums out samples, composites and other creative moves. I've seen him live and listened to his other stuff and he's a fantastic player.Yeah, I was baffled by this mention. The drumming on Isn't Anything, You Made Me Realise, and Feed Me With Your Kiss is super great.Isn't Anything is partic awesome because of all the weird fills he plays. I don't know that I've heard drumming like that elsewhere.

AnthonyCinder wrote:I'm going to catch hell for this, but Janet Weiss is bad. Her playing is stilted, but not in a way that seems intentional. Her drumming just never seems to flow properly, and her fills sound like someone learning the drums, always slightly behind, and not intentionally so. If you've seen her live, watch how hard she has to concentrate to execute even basic shit.You are either crazy or not a drummer.Frank Decent wrote:I haven't read the whole thread, but people think Murph is a bad drummer?I don't get that either. Plus the dude was basically J's drum machine.

OrthodoxEaster wrote:emmanuelle cunt wrote:Isn't Bob Bert only on 'Bad Moon Rising'?He plays on two tunes from Confusion Is Sex, most of the Kill Yr. Idols EP, the (Over)kill Yr. Idols 7", all of Bad Moon Rising, the "Flower"/"Halloween" 12", and half of the double live album Walls Have Ears. Plus assorted bootlegs and compilation tracks from this era, as he was essentially their only real touring drummer for about three years. During Bert's tenure, SY made the transition from local NYC art-noise band to American underground cult heroes. To be perfectly fair, I really like all these records (and the group's audience would expand far more w/the perfectly adequate, albeit tom-heavy drumming of Steve Shelley). Still, I often wonder how the above material would sound w/a much stronger rhythm section, particularly w/a little more action and variety when it comes to the kick pedal.I love Bob Bert's drumming on Bad Moon Rising - it's their least "rock"-oriented record, at least in the early '80's, and that stiff, alien feel is at least partially due to Bert. They never made another record like that again, that's for sure.I do agree about much of the drumming from him before that, though.As for a just terrible drummer, hmm... That dude who played on No Trend's A Dozen Dead Roses was awful.

AnthonyCinder wrote:Steve Shelley is completely necessary to Sonic Youth. I think people find fault with him because he isn't as obviously flashy or exciting as the rest of the Youthers. But that's exactly what he has to be--solid, consistent, no frills, steady, and level, in order to keep the whole thing together. Who else is going to bring that band back down from their freakouts? The only thing that bums me out about Shelley is he supposedly hates the Washing Machine album, and some of those songs are great.He must have endless amounts of patience for their bullshit, too. And I like Sonic Youth.People dump on Steve Shelley for being boring, but that's not really fair. I think that he's actually pretty necessary for Sonic Youth's great moments: I feel like you can tell when he's really into what they're doing. You can hear how into it he is on songs like "Hey Joni," where the energy and verve is almost miraculous (for Sonic Youth, that is).That said, his best drumming was on the Crucifucks' first album. He just goes off and it's the perfect counterpoint to the simple, vile riffs and Doc's insane screeching. Man, I still love that band.

dontfeartheringo wrote:Man, I hate Chad Smith with the white hot fire of a hundred suns.Yeah, I kinda think fratty funk drummers warrant more mention here than people who'd made a style out of technical inability, or who'd become better maybe a little more publicly.So, in that, I submit Carter Beauford. Maybe it's just because I hate the music of Dave Matthews that much, that I'll incriminate his drummer. Him, and fucking first few Pearl Jam drummers. THough, for some reason, much as I hate Pearl Jam, I like Matt Cameron's drumming.

OrthodoxEaster wrote:2. Steve West replacing Gary Young in Pavement. I suppose I understand the rationale, as Young was often too fucked-up to pull it off live. But on a good night (and on most of Slanted and Enchanted) the guy was almost akin to some kinda jazzy acid-rock player stuck in a punk band. After an LP of such, listening to Steve West is just dead boring, as others have noted. I actually don't mind a dragging tempo if it's done w/some degree of heaviness, but in this case, it is merely flaccid.I'd have to revisit those records but I remember at the time Crooked Rain's drumming being leaps and bounds better than Slanted. I think I actually said, holy shit, they got a drummer. I just remember Slanted's drumming being high school basement bad. Then again, I'm a guitar player just learning drums.

AnthonyCinder wrote:Frank Decent wrote:I haven't read the whole thread, but people think Murph is a bad drummer?I don't get that either. Plus the dude was basically J's drum machine.Murph is good.I'm sure he was just playing what J wanted him too, but I actually prefer his drumming to J's -- sounds more, I don't know, natural to me.

BClark wrote:perhaps that inconsistency could be chalked up to the drug use in beatles recording sessions?Or that the takes often had a bunch of edits, pre-click track era.