Bill M.'s definitions

bass

Short for either the bass guitar (also known as the "electric" bass) or the upright bass (also known as "bass fiddle", "double bass", "contrabass", "string bass", or "acoustic bass"). Although different in design, both of these musical instruments essentially serve the same role: providing a low bottom-end to the music and a link between the rhythm and lead sections of a band. Though plenty of exceptional players have shown that the bass can additionally be a versatile lead instrument in its own right.

"At night I could hear the bass reverberate through the neighborhood. The guitars and drums were muffled, but the bass traveled everywhere. I loved that, and wanted to have the power to shake buildings. Also, the bass was big and manly; guitars were little and wimpy, with these thin little strings that looked like Velveeta cheese cutters." - Billy Sheehan

by Bill M. August 30, 2004

hair metal

A band of the hard rock or heavy metal variety associated with the 1980s, even if from the early 90s (as was the case with Damn Yankees, Mr. Big, Nelson) "Hair metal" was a term not coined until well into the 90s, but roughly covers what was known in the 80s as "glam metal".

Self-proclaimed haters of hair metal try to define the genre as music with all focus on image, and contrast it with grunge. Yet in grunge, the lack of aesthetics became a trendy enforced look itself, and the scene never produced any virtuoso "musician's musicians". Many credit Nirvana and grunge with the "death" of hair metal, but this is historically inaccurate, as hair metal's loss of popularity was mainly due to 1) sudden denial by radio stations and Mtv of any airplay or promotion, and 2) unrelated pitfalls of many key bands in a very short time span: Ozzy Osbourne had announced retirement, inner conflict led to Guns n' Roses' break-up, too many years taken off in between some band's albums (Metallica, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Def Leppard), while other bands lost prominent members (Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Poison).

Most hair metal bands in fact continued to put out albums and play small venues throughout the 1990s, finding promotion via the internet, college radio, and the work of loyal fans. Ironically, it then became a much more anti-corporate, "alternative" form of music than the 90s pop music that was still being called "alternative".

"Haha, look at all that hair metal. I hate anything that came out of the 80s."
"Wait a minute, didn't you just buy the latest CDs from Guns n' Roses, Aerosmith, and Metallica?"
"Yeah, but those bands don't count as hair metal because, um, you know. Er, uhhhh...hey what's on TV tonight?"

by Bill M. July 23, 2004

Ozzmosis

The title of an Ozzy Osbourne album made in 1995, an obvious pun of "osmosis". This came out a mere two or three years after Ozzy had his "absolute final tour" and announced he was going to retire. Many fans felt that Ozzmosis was his worst album, until the release of the next one, "Down to Earth", in 2001 (yes, a full 6 years later). "Ozzmosis" and "No More Tears" (1992) were Ozzy's only albums of new material released in the 1990s.

Ozzmosis features bassist Geezer Butler, who always handled writing the lyrics in Black Sabbath anyway.

by Bill M. July 28, 2004

base

1. The phonetic but incorrect spelling of bass, still occasionally seen in ads that bands put up in music stores.
2. A juvenile way of measuring how "far" a couple has gotten in terms of sexual activity, drawing an analogy to a game of baseball. Typically, "First Base", "Second Base" and so on refer respectively to tongue kissing, some type of heavy groping, oral sex, and full intercourse. Though the precise definitions have been known to vary.

1. "Our hevey metel band is seeking a drumer and base player."
2. "You went out with Cindy last night? So, dude, did you get to third base with her?"

by Bill M. September 10, 2004

anagram

One or more words created by rearranging all the letters of a given word or phrase. All the letters have to be used, and only used once. The resulting anagram will usually have nothing to do with the original word or phrase, but it's amusing when it does.

Anagrams are not to be confused with palindromes (though "straw" is both a palindrome and anagram of "warts"), spoonerisms, acronyms, or other word plays.

- "earth" is an anagram of "heart"
- An anagram for "Alice Cooper" is "A cool recipe"
- "General", "enlarge", and "Al Green" are all anagrams of each other
- "Axl Rose" is an anagram of "Oral Sex"
- "Dormitory" becomes "Dirty Room"
- "Santa" becomes "Satan"

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

spoonerism

A word or phrase created by swapping the initial letters (or first consonant sounds) of two words or syllables to get a new word word or phrase. The spelling doesn't have to be correct, only the pronounciation is important. The term "spoonerism" was named after Reverend W.A. Spooner (1844-1930).

Not to be confused with anagrams, palindromes, and other word games.

- "Peas and carrots" is a spoonerism of "keys and parrots"
- "tea bags" becomes "bee tags"
- "trail mix" becomes "mail tricks"
- "Save the whales" becomes "wave the sails"
- "forearm" becomes "oar farm"

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

machine head

1. One of several flattened pegs found at the top end of a stringed instrument, which when manually turned with the hand, adjusts the pitch of the corresponding string :: TUNING PEG

2. (Warner Bros, 1972) Title of an album by heavy metal pioneering band Deep Purple, featuring the band's all-time biggest hit "Smoke On The Water"

3. (1992 - ) Heavy metal band from San Francisco, very influential on harsher, more aggressive-sounding metal bands that would arise later in the decade. See www.machinehead1.com for more information

One day, Robert Flynn of Machine Head was jamming along with Deep Purple's "Machine Head" album, but the low "E" string on his guitar was out of tune, so he had to turn the string's machine head.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004