Solitude vs. Fellowship (and Misc.)

I would imagine that the two are to be experienced in conjunction with one another, rather than placed in tension. I'm not very good at the solitude thing. Nor am I much good at the fellowship thing. That's rather telling, isn't it? It explains a lot. :-)

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There are times I find myself longing for the monastic lifestyle. I'm not sure I'd want to go the route of living in a bare cell with no human contact, or swearing an oath of silence. But the idea of living a life of routine, where my day is devoted to simple tasks and worship and prayer is one that I find appealing at times. Whether I'd still enjoy it two years hence -- or more -- is the another matter.

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I've long been a fan of John Entwistle, late of the Who. He was who inspired me to try to learn bass, though that inspiration did not include patience. Wikipedia has an extensive write-up on him:

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

Some interesting passages:

Pete Townshend was often quoted that it was Entwistle who was the lead guitarist in the band, while he, being the rhythmic timekeeping element, was in effect the drummer. Moon, on the other hand, with all his flourishes round the kit, was considered by Townshend to be the equivalent of a keyboard player! Entwistle himself stated in many interviews (including one with Guitar Player's Chris Jisi in 1989) that, according to modern standards, "The Who haven't a proper bass player.

and

Entwistle developed what he called a "typewriter" approach to playing the bass. This involves positioning the right hand over the strings so all four fingers could be used to tap percussively on the strings, causing them to strike the fretboard with a distinctive twangy sound. This allows the player to play three or four strings at once, or to use several fingers on a single string. This allowed him to create passages that were at once very percussive and melodic. He used this approach to mimic the fills used by his drummers in band situations, sometimes sending the fills back at the drummers faster than the drummers themselves could play them.

I'm not really sure what all that means. But I do know that the bass line for "The Real Me" (Quadraphenia) is one the finest ever.