{"id":1889,"date":"2009-01-05T22:04:13","date_gmt":"2009-01-06T02:04:13","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-01-02T21:46:58","modified_gmt":"2011-01-03T01:46:58","slug":"the-world-moves-on-a-woman-s-hips-hot-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/the-world-moves-on-a-woman-s-hips-hot-la\/","title":{"rendered":"The World Moves on a Woman&#8217;s Hips:<br \/>Female Bass Player as Contemporary Fertility Goddess"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XHRAsW8hbx0?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: gray; font-size: xx-small;\">The world moves and it swivels and bops<\/span><\/p>\n<p>My infatuation with female bass players is well documented and this thread could easily, especially for me, be a flippant, voyeuristic look at hot chicks thumping basses (don&#8217;t worry we&#8217;ll get there), but the truth is that I feel that there is a deeper connection between the bass and the female that is primitive and intoxicating.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing against men bass players but more so, I feel, than any other instrument, the bass and <em>woman<\/em> have a unique connection.  In fact I would haphazardly postulate that there are more female bass players in rock bands than female any-other-instrument players.  The sexist hypothesis might be that the bass is easier to play. Well that&#8217;s as may be.  But, regardless, I think women are drawn to play the bass.<\/p>\n<p>My theory is that bass-chicks are modern-day Fertility Goddesses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_block\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/users\/sammymaudlin\/venus.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"322\" \/><\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Many, if not most, ancient societies had some sort of fertility goddess.  Ancient Rome had <strong>Venus<\/strong> (Greece had <strong>Aphrodite<\/strong>), Norse Pagans has <strong>Freyja<\/strong>; Egyptians had their &#8220;cow-dieties&#8221; (milk givers), including <strong>Bat<\/strong>.   Many cultures combined their fertility goddesses with the Mother goddesses, nurturer and giver of life. Some started as fertility goddesses and over time took on maternal qualities.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/users\/sammymaudlin\/shamansex_1-2.mp3\">&#8220;The Shaman Says&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>African, Middle Eastern, Egyptian, and other civlizations included dancing among their fertility rites and goddess worship.  The most famous being the belly dance, which many believe was both a way to sexually arouse men as well as strengthen the <em>hips<\/em> for childbirth.<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DvGJQww1ebI?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>And with fertility dancing comes music.  Here&#8217;s an Ethiopian dance group.  Listen to the music&#8230;bass tones and drums.<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QWcgg6bhQCg?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>The rhythm section.  The rhythm of life.  The rhythm of life (love) making.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to rhythmic qualities the bass can have other womb-like connotations.  It is deep, dark, and warm&#8211;and you can hear and feel the heartbeat.  This concept of woman as nature, as the divine, as the goddess, feels best expressed by the heartbeat instrument.   <strong>Tina Wymouth<\/strong> (<strong>Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club<\/strong>) almost literally gets up on a pedestal near the end of the opening clip so that we can worship her.<\/p>\n<p>Watch RTH favorite, <strong>Paz Lenchantin<\/strong> (<strong>A Perfect Circle, Zwan<\/strong>&#8230;) in this clip.  Watch the way she wraps her painted fingernails around the neck at about 00:30 in.  She ties her hair up mid-song at about 1:53, as only a woman can.<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5dwL9hEc2l8?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>These are overt instances of her womanhood.  But the way she leans into her playing\/instrument throughout, writhing if you will is exquisite sensuality.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not saying that <strong>Sara Lee<\/strong> (<strong>League of Gentlemen, Gang of Four, B52s<\/strong>&#8230;) is correct in her assessment in the following audio clips, but I find it supportive of my intuition that it is coming from a female bass player.  This is from the opening audio collage, <em>&#8220;Indiscreet I.&#8221;<\/em> on <strong>Robert Fripp<\/strong>&#8216;s <em>The League of Gentlemen<\/em> LP.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/users\/sammymaudlin\/saralee_1-2_1-2.mp3\">Sara Lee on what rock music is about.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>And on dancing:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/users\/sammymaudlin\/saradance_1-2.mp3\">Sara Lee on dancing.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The simple act of strapping on the lumber isn&#8217;t enough though.  For the magic connection to happen, as I suppose with any instrument, she has to understand it and feel it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>D&#8217;Arcy<\/strong> feels it (song starts at about 00:39):<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gQrA5ggPqJo?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim Gordon<\/strong> feels it:<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xpU7q1d9lAU?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: gray; font-size: xx-small;\">So much so that <strong>Steve Albini<\/strong> did a song, <em>&#8220;Kim Gordon&#8217;s Panties&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Melissa Auf Der Maur<\/strong> feels it:<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jKDBqcEw2VI?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sean Yseult<\/strong> feels it:<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LBTJA4h0qF0?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not just that I have a carnal desire to get with these ladies, as say I do with <strong>Liv Tyler<\/strong> or <strong>Scarlett Johansson<\/strong>, it&#8217;s much more.  Their understanding, mastery, and perhaps even exploitation of the feminine life force drive me to something more akin to worship.<\/p>\n<p>The magic doesn&#8217;t always happen though, regardless of physical beauty or even talent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aimee Mann<\/strong> doesn&#8217;t have it:<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EnKdg_H5Z4o?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Julianna Hatfield<\/strong> doesn&#8217;t have it:<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wid9OPbRsfg?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And who started it all?  Or at least stuck a crowbar in the woman-playing-bass door?  Possibly the woman who played the iconic bass in <strong>&#8220;Good Vibrations&#8221;<\/strong>, <strong>Carol Kaye<\/strong>.<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/s9idtdWAAEA?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>Resource for guys who dig bass girls:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.geocities.com\/bodacious_bass_babes\/\">http:\/\/www.geocities.com\/bodacious_bass_babes\/<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>She is only partly human being<br \/>\nDivine, to define, she is moving to define, so say so, so say so<br \/>\nShe defines the possibilities<br \/>\nDivine, to define, she is moving to define, so say so, so say so<br \/>\nHolding on for an Eternity<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The world moves and it swivels and bops My infatuation with female bass players is well documented and this thread could easily, especially for me, be a flippant, voyeuristic look at hot chicks thumping basses (don&#8217;t worry we&#8217;ll get there), but the truth is that I feel that there is a deeper connection between the <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/the-world-moves-on-a-woman-s-hips-hot-la\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[120,233,106,234,90,37],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}