30 Drums

drums are my favorite instrument…and these are the drummers of our lives…again, alpha order…

Tim Alexander – again, not a huge but a slight Primus fan, but they had a truly nasty rhythm section
Ginger Baker – i think you’ll see a prevailing trend of bass/drum duos as i think most of the best bass and drum players work in tandem. Cream aside, check out his work with Fela Kuti! FUNKY
John Bonham – i’ve been so over Zeppelin the past 5 or so years, but great, innovative drummer that can never be discounted.
Bill Bruford – much like Squire…basically too good for his own good. great additions to Yes and King Crimson…and even some good solo work
Brian Chippendale – the other half of Lightning Bolt…pure drum fury.
Stewart Copeland – pretty much the only reason i can even listen to the Police anymore. precision.
Brian Coultas – underrated Rodan drummer…what ever happened to him?
Zappi Diermaier – CRIMINALLY underrated drummer for krautrock band Faust. check out “The Sad Skinhead” which i unsuccessfully tried to sample several times in my poor beat-making days.
Klaus Dinger – the epitome of motorik. drummed on early Kraftwerk before his awesome work with Neu! and La Dusseldorf. an icon of krautrockage.
Lowell Dunbar – Sly to Shakespeare’s Robbie.
Anton Fier – drummed up a true masterpiece with The Feelies “Crazy Rhythms”
Damon Che Fitzgerald – most talented rock drummer of the moder age…the basis and foundation for early Don Cab and Bellini. wish he wasn’t so volatile and could stick with an outfit. a real drum wizard.
Mike Giles – great early King Crimson drummer and Giles, Giles and Fripp namesake.
Jaki Liebezeit – #1 without a doubt. the one true god of drums. i can do without Club Off Chaos, but man, just listen to any Can track….also played on some early Brian Eno stuff.
Nick Mason – check out the underappreciated Pink Floyd album “Ummagumma” for the reason Mason makes my list. could’ve done alot more in a less conceptual band.
John McEntire – one of the first drummers that really got me into drummers. primarily for his Tortoise work but his Sea and Cake and Gastr del Sol kit tickling is no joke either.
Zig Modeliste – where Jaki is god of rock drumming, Ziggy is god of the funk. probably the most imitated and sampled drummer of all-times.
Keith Moon – you gotta just love the bombast and fury. pure chaos.
Bernard Purdie – they don’t call him “Pretty” Purdie for nothing. as far as “session” drummers go…he’s pretty much the man. probably best known for his work with Steely Dan and Rolling Stones…he’s worked with about half the business…especially the jazz industry.
Yoshimi P-We – i really feel like Yoshimi’s entrance into Boredoms signaled their shift from the noisy early days to the more motorik krauty stuff they have played since Super Roots/Super Ae. quality stuff.
Greg Saunier – one of the most entertaining live drummers i’ve seen. closest comparison is Animal from the Muppets Band. saw him drum in bare feet at the last Deerhoof show. hits the kits with such fury that between songs he has to re-screw down half his kit.
Steve Shelley – again, drums aren’t the primary focus in Sonic Youth, but i think just about inarguably, Shelley’s replacement of Bob Bert in 1985 was the point where SY really started to make great records. incredibly underrated.
John Stanier – IMO one of the primary influences in introducing math and prog to metal, and thus highly influential on the last generation of drummers. his work in Battles is so different from Helmet, which lends itself to his versatility and creativity on the kit.
Jabo Starks – the next two are a tandem, and a tandem of hellafied funk at that. primarily known as the backing drummer for James Brown, his best work (along with Stubblefield’s) can be heard in the Brown offshoot band The JBs.
Clyde Stubblefield – the only drummer that can challenge Modeliste for the most sampled in history. Clyde’s work, in tandem with Starks and solo, is the epitome of funky.
Todd Trainer – SHELLAC!
Maureen Tucker – her awkward drumming style (standing up with mallets and upturned bass) set the tone for the VU sound. those that don’t think so should go back and listen to the early stuff like All Tomorrow’s Parties and see.
Britt Walford – wish this guy would’ve done more in his time. perhaps his style only really works in Slintly confines, but i sure would’ve loved to hear more. did some work with the Breeders, but i’m not really a fan.
Robert Wyatt – though i’ve never been a fan of his solo work like many rock pundits…Wyatt was a sensational drummer in his Soft Machine days. the first two Machine albums is when you really get to hear him flex his muscles.
Tatsuya Yoshida – i would’ve put up all Ruins bassists as a tandem but they seemingly switched them out every couple of years. not so with drummers. modern progtasia.

20 Basses

my 20 favorite bass players, in alpha order…

Jack Bruce – you know, i’m not a really big Cream fan…but i love the rhythm section of Bruce and Baker. Bruce was understated volume-wise, but his fills and changes are constant. give a close listen.
Ethan Buckler – because Slint is one of my top 5 all-time bands, of course virtually every member of their band will be on my lists.
Geezer Butler – Sabbath baby.
Al Cisneros – the mammoth, icy basslines of Om and Sleep are right up my alley
Les Claypool – i actually somewhat like Primus…but that aside Claypool is one of the most talented and innovative players to ever pick up a bass.
Trevor Dunn – seriously, sillyness aside, listen to Mr. Bungle and hear some serious bass riffage going on.
Fred Erskine – June of 44 math basser.
Flea – man i know…alot of my bass choices seem a bit cheesy…but if you’re honest with yourself…this guy is truly amazing on bass. and though i’m not a RHCP fan, i will admit to having a bit of a taste for the ultra-prog of Mars Volta.
Brian Gibson – i truly love bass/drum duos and Lightning Bolt is up there with the best.
Kim Gordon – often gets drowned out by guitars but the occassional bass flourish in Sonic Youth’s long history shows she got skills.
Tony Levin – my pick for # 1. outside of his virtuoso King Crimson performances…listen to his awesome work on Paul Simon’s solo stuff…you can easily forget how unbelieveable those bass lines are.
Paul McCartney – would be right up in my top 5. i think he was the only maga-talented Beatle instrument-wise. when i first picked up bass i thought i might try learning a Beatles tab…not a wise choice. just take a look at the bass tab for Ob-La-Di some time.
Pat Morris – more mathiness…Don Cab
Tara Jane O’Neil – Rodan has become one of my favorite bands in my old age, thanks in no small part to Miss O’Neil’s bass prowess. she does not, however, make a good sandwich. i know first hand.
Robbie Shakespeare – one half of the reggae riddim team Sly & Robbie that produced the riddims for countless reggae anthems, as well as being a sought after rhythm section by rock and world musicians for years.
Chris Squire – god Chris Squire is a beast! i wouldn’t even like Yes if it wasn’t for his freak-tastic bass lines. pretty much TOO good.
Peter Tosh – listen to his backing bass on Bob Marley’s tracks and his own solo work and hear some truly dope (pun intended) bass playing
Bob Weston – Shellac!
Tina Weymouth – my vote for most underrated. Talking Heads had some really funky stuff going on.

i didn’t include jazz guys like Jaco Pastorious or Stanley Clarke because honestly i don’t spend much time listening to jazz but those guys are phenomenal players. these are just my personal favorites.

40 Guitars

in re: biblioklept’s guitar heroes posts, i thought i’d do my own list, except much less in depth, informative or fun to read. these are just in alpha order as i tried to rank them very very unsuccessfully. tell me your thoughts, dear readers…and remember, this is only a list of my favorites to listen to, not who i think is more talented than jimi hendrix, who does not appear on this list…

Steve Albini - Shellac, Big Black, producer and diy-er extraordinaire. you can hear his sound stamp on virtually everything he’s involved in.
Robbie Basho – virtually any Takoma guitarist deserves to be on this list. raga 12 stringer that was much more heavily influenced by Ravi Shankar and other middle and far eastern sounds.
Sir Richard Bishop – former Sun City Girls member and now solo artist that was one of the first to spread a blend of gypsy tones into his playing, which is now highly prominent among the psychadelic folk crowd.
James Blackshaw – a true prodigy and my vote for the best and most talented 12-string guitarist recording today. so fluid and effortless and can only get better from here.
Ash Bowie – man, i just really love Polvo.
Glenn Branca – one of the real pioneers of No Wave, use of guitars in Avant Garde composition, as well as drone…just an innovator plain and simple.
Sandy Bull – sadly underappreciated fingerpicker that was ahead of his time in recording techniques. strong banjo and pedal steel player as well.
Dylan Carson – figurehead of proto-drone, proto-doom band Earth really pushed the monolithic sludge to the breaking point. the reason Stephen O’Malley and the like are around today.
Tom Carter – this should be jointly shared with bandmate Christina Carter, both of Charalambides. highly adept at country and blues as well as drone and feedback.
Ben Chasny – likely in my top 5 of guitarist playing today. frontman/member of Six Organs of Admittance, Comets on Fire, August Born and countless other side projects. so great at mixing eastern and gypsy sounds into modern rock and folk. so good.
Jeff Cotton – oddly enough, replaced a guy that just missed this list, Ry Cooder, in Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band. primarily on here for his work on Trout Mask Replica.
John Fahey – for my money, the greatest fingerpicker to ever touch a guitar. long and varied career and really stretched his limits. love love love Fahey, from Blind Joe Death to his experiments with Cul de Sac and Jim O’Rourke.
Robert Fripp – also one of my top all-time choices. i love King Crimson. i love Eno/Fripp. i even really like Giles, Giles and Fripp. his countless contributions on other artist’s records as well make him indispensible on any top guitar list.
Tony Iommi – i consider Iommi and Sabbath as the true creators of Metal and specifically the “doom” sound. heavy, thick and black.
Glenn Jones – i’m not a huge Cul de Sac fan, but i do appreciate them, and even more so, Jones solo folk work and their Fahey collaborations.
Ira Kaplan – i guess it’s kind of obvious by now i really dig fuzz. Sugarcube is one of the finest examples of 90s rock guitar prowess IMHO.
Curt Kirkwood – go back and listen to the instrumental Meat Puppets stuff…really great guitar work. i specifically recommend Aurora Borealis and Magic Toy Missing off II.
Campbell Kneale – probably among the most prolific artists to ever record. primarily on this list for Birchville Cat Motel, his other projects are far too numerous. pretty much see the entire celebrate psi phenomenon catalog. drone master.
Leo Kottke – god i wish he wouldn’t sing. see the album 6 and 12 String Guitar for a true display of wizardry. you won’t believe it’s only one guy playing.
Michio Kurihara – i probably never had a true appreciation for the guitar until seeing Kurihara play with Damon & Naomi live. the lead for Ghost and White Heaven is truly phenomenal.
Richard Lloyd – shares this spot with Tom Verlaine. Marquee Moon is an awesome display of two guitars weaving together better than just about any in rock history. wish Television could’ve put out more.
Phil Manzanera – i may be crucified by some for saying that i’m not a Roxy Music fan. but i truly love Manzanera’s work on Brian Eno’s solo albums.
Johnny Marr – he certainly had a knack for the catchy riff.
Doug Martsch – one of my favorites. unmistakeable guitar sound and shifts from blues to rock to slide styles so seamlessly.
J Mascis – an epic soloist. Dinosaur Jr.’s sound basically influenced just about every guitar-based rock band that came after them.
Thurston Moore – along with Lee Ranaldo (later on the list) brought the avant garde tunings, modifications and experimentations to the forefront of rock music. they would rank right up there with Lloyd/Verlaine for best guitar tag team.
Bob Mould – Husker Du, at their best, could overdrive (New Day Rising) or jangle (Never Talking to You Again) with the best of them. just becoming a Sugar fan, but that shows a whole other side of Mould, while still incorporating many of the good Du traits.
Jeff Meuller – Rodan and June of 44. nuff said.
Harris Newman – pat yourself on the back if you’ve heard this guy. original these days in his blending of experimental and traditional…without skewing one way or the other. also an engineer for many of Montreal’s top indie artists.
David Pajo – i love his Slint and Tortoise guitar moments, and his solo acoustic stuff is pretty good too. great side projects as well. i can forgive him for Zwan.
Eddie Phillips – know that awesome crunchy guitar sound in Making Time from Rushmore? that’s The Creation, and that’s Eddie Phillips. was invited by Pete Townshend to join the Who but declined. used the “violin bow on guitar” method way before Jimmy Page. too bad they were too mod to last.
Prince – the guy who gives the best live performance i’ve ever seen. more soulful and more feeling in his playing than anybody i can think of. he basically wrenches the soul out of that sperm shaped guitar.
Lee Ranaldo – see Thurston Moore
Marc Ribot – one of the most criminally underrated guitarists of all-times. his flourishes on Tom Waits’ Rain Dogs, Frank’s Wild Years and Real Gone are some of my favorite sounds to ever come out of a string instrument. worked with several others including John Zorn, Elvis Costello and Arto Lindsay as well as stints in the Lounge Lizards and his own cuban-jazz based band.
Jack Rose – second only to Blackshaw in today’s fingerpicking, Rose is equally adept at traditional, Fahey-esque folk and raga as he is with drone experimentation (with Pelt.) if you seriously don’t know Jack Rose…get yourself acquainted.
Bola Sete – the master of the brazillian guitar sound. basically the django reinhardt of brazil.
Kevin Shields – fuzz, distortion and heavy shimmering. if more MBV was like Loveless…i’d like them alot more.
Steven R. Smith – most of you won’t recognize this name. he’s led psych-freak folk bands Mizra, Thuja and Hala Strana, as well as released a ton of solo work. his blend of ethnic string instruments and electric guitar is truly innovative and unlike most anything i’ve heard. if you like really stretching your ears, check this guy out.
Pete Townshend – i can’t tell you how long i was a Who-hater…but eventually (when i actually started to listen) the bombast just got to me. i now swing my arm full circle like all the other who-air-guitar-players.
Ian Williams – distinctive especially for his finger tapping techniques. i’m a big fan of Don Cab, and have come around to really enjoy Battles as well. look forward to what he does in the future.

well, there’s the list. critique as you wish.