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41

Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: A Modern Tribute to Dire Straits – AI Creates an Original Track with Knopfler’s

« Last post by Love Expresso on August 30, 2025, 10:51:47 AM »

I hope David Knopfler won't mind, but these are important words (published on Facebook) on the subject of Al.

With AI now writing the lion’s share of Dire Straits BS on social media, the real history, for what little it’s worth, is rapidly evaporating. That the truth is going begging in something as trivial as this arguably matters little - although for me it’s resulting in a defamatory narrative to some degree in the lean it encourages - but what is this going to do to less trivial facts when the pressures to invent noise over signal to obtain commercialised views leads to important historical facts being  skewed?

Read it three times and have no clue what he wanted to say. Too high level of eloquence for a non-English speaking person like me.

LE

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Pick Whiters Live - 78 and 81. A Musical Analysis.

« Last post by Chris W on August 30, 2025, 10:16:57 AM »

If anyone can elaborate, please let me know; they're welcome.

This is a massive subject, but the huge elephant in the room is that no musician operates in a vacuum.
I am certain that a lot of changes in Pick's playing were as a result of requests (to put it politely) from 'above'.
In a way, everyone in the band is there to serve the songs and as such the songwriter wields a lot of power.
In the beginning bands are more of a democracy, but over time as the importance of certain people becomes more evident, that democracy breaks down. (Look at The Police, example Sting). In it's harshest analysis, Dire Straits would be nothing without Mark's songs and guitar playing. So quite early on he becomes the most powerful member of the band.
Pick has spoken in recent interviews about being asked to play harder and louder. This request came from Mark, but was backed by John. He probably tried to resist at first, but then thought he could accommodate the request and stay in the band.
Playing much harder definitely affects your technique, also the things you choose to play. In the end, Pick decided he had to leave the band, this was for various reasons, but one of them being required by Mark to play drums in a way that he (Pick) didn't want to play.
**So** if you want to discuss the way Pick's drumming changed over a couple of years, it might not just be about Pick, or his personal choices, but changes that were imposed on him.

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: A Modern Tribute to Dire Straits – AI Creates an Original Track with Knopfler’s

« Last post by mariosboss on August 30, 2025, 02:52:06 AM »

Well Google has a vested interest.
But I'm not arguing it is harder. Of course anyone can upload their song to Youtube in an instant, anyone can upload their music to Spotify after paying a small fee. It's never been easier. But it's never been harder to be seen and heard, and never been harder to actually live off your art.
90% of music uploaded to Spotify is never streamed, you have to have a million streams to earn minimum wage.
With a mountain of independent uploads to Youtube and streaming, music fans have given up trawling through hours of terrible amateur music. That is why it is crucial to get on a curated playlist - so we're back to the old label paradigm, except it's influencers who have all the power, not passionate music lovers like radio DJ's.
That's the absolute reality I'm seeing for myself. In the 80's I worked with many niche artists who made living from music. These days everyone is owned by the streaming algorithm and niche artists are giving upon surviving on pennies.
There is no chance of another Dire Straits, because streaming promotes music people ALREADY love, that's how the algorithm works. Sultans Of Swing sounded completely different to the popular music of the late 70's. So Spotify wouldn't promote it to listeners, it would bury it.

You are of course pretty much spot on.
There's so much music out there it's over-saturated as you said, hours of terrible amateur recordings, and i'm probably within that catagory as I learned the very basics in lockdown having been made redundant from my job, and bitter about it had plenty to write about (amongst other stuff.) I've always written music since I was a kid, recording on cassette tape, laughable, BUT for about £300 as that was my budget I bought the DAW I needed, speakers, mic and Pre-amp to record what I thought at the time sounded like a proper bombastic album. Bedroom recording but with all the bells... guitar layers, samples etc. my big big issue however has always been programmed drums. Making them sound real. I hate them in some respects, and I can spot them a mile off regarding albums in my record collection but in lockdown my best mate who is a drummer was not available so I had to explore the drum options on my own. I have to say there are samples and programmed stuff available that sound pretty good to my ears but of course nowhere near as good as back in the day, certainly not for the budget I was prepared to pay (not much.) I also read and listened to the stuff you have done Chris, regarding library recordings / samples which sounds superb.

The thing is on the upside it's easier to get your music out there, but that's about it. My word. It's utterly pointless having it on all the mainstream streaming services and digital sites in terms of money or recognition unless you have a huge budget to promote it, but it is accessible at the same time. For me I released my stuff on bandcamp and also made 100 CD's which sounds laughable but I have always loved physical music with all the linear notes, who plays what and where it was recorded etc.

That period to be honest was such a great form of escapism for me and whilst the two albums I did record were full of flaws I'm proud that I managed to get those tracks out and to the point they sound like songs accompanied by a proper band (i'm told from the very few have listened to the songs who cannot believe it's a one man show), albeit with some slightly dodgy sounding drum tracks. 

These days I have a band that plays with me now thankfully and we are looking to record as a 3-piece going forward. My bassist is an extremely talented musician and a miles better guitarist than I will ever be, he was in an underground act called Into A Circle back in the early 90's that had some success, however after years of playing in covers bands he's grown sick of that and would rather play original music. We are looking to just play the pub and small reputable circuit supporting up and coming bands, we will never make it but such is life. The thing is though Many hit songs rely on similar chord progressions. So that era you played in Chris was probably the pinnacle. It won't get better. How can it? Think about music beforehand, think about where we are in terms of life and humanity. I'm not trying to say you were fortunate as you had to battle out with other superb musicians but for me the halcyon days of top music is gone. Yes re-inventions will happen and micro genres will be created, but the reality is there are only a certain amount of chords. The good days are over but that won't stop me writing songs, recording them and playing those tracks live like i'm at Wembley stadium even though the reality is it's in front of 1 man, his dog and a pint of overpriced craft beer.

Best wishes.

44

Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Pick Whiters Live - 78 and 81. A Musical Analysis.

« Last post by Brunno Nunes on August 30, 2025, 02:51:48 AM »

One of the things I noticed is that on the On Location tour, he seems to use the hi-hat differently. To me, it's a departure from what he used to do in 78/79 for SOS. The snare drum sound also seems to have changed a lot.

Anyway... What is Pick's role like on the On Location tour and what was it like with the original lineup?

If anyone can elaborate, please let me know; they're welcome.

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Pick Whiters Live - 78 and 81. A Musical Analysis.

« Last post by Brunno Nunes on August 30, 2025, 02:48:33 AM »

Zooming in a bit further:

Old Grey Whitle Test 78

https://youtu.be/95ywPJ_8hV4?si=sfugcrU0tgDOLFbC

Dortmund 80

https://youtu.be/aPg2LUrCQT8?si=2fbdrn0m8UfA066u

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Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Pick Whiters Live - 78 and 81. A Musical Analysis.

« Last post by Brunno Nunes on August 30, 2025, 02:46:17 AM »

Pick Whiters Live - 78 and 81. A Musical Analysis.

I'd like to propose an analysis of Pick Whiters' sound, drumming, and playing between their fourth band and when they became a quintet, taking the song "Sultans of Swing" as a starting point and object of study.

What are the differences in his playing style between the first lineup and the next step on the On Location tour, when the band had a new member: a keyboardist?

From what I've noticed, he's changed his drum kit and expanded it further. However, certain subtleties have fragmented a bit between 80 and 81, especially in 81. However, the unmistakable groove and swing were always there.

I'm not a drummer, nor an expert, but I can see that his playing has undergone a notable change. I like to focus on this, especially when playing songs from the first two albums, certainly due to the new dynamics of the arrangements for these songs. I'd like to know, technically, what changes occurred from one era to the next, what new developments did his drumming gain, what did it lose compared to the 78/79 sound? Who could develop these and other aspects within my proposal?

Tone is a special aspect of this topic, his live hi-hat and snare sound between 78 and 81.

I've left the Chorus TV version of "SOS" from 78 and 81 as a starting point, but, as the topic progresses, we can use other songs like "OUATITW," "DTTW," "Lions," "News," "WDYTG," etc.


SOS Chorus Tv 78
https://youtu.be/jJa4pPH81_k?si=xP_LKDonRYHKQKip


SOS Paris 81

https://youtu.be/cHaSjHjhUtc?si=t7y2sWbePC2YpvDc

47

Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: A Modern Tribute to Dire Straits – AI Creates an Original Track with Knopfler’s

« Last post by Robson on August 30, 2025, 01:43:33 AM »

I hope David Knopfler won't mind, but these are important words (published on Facebook) on the subject of Al.

With AI now writing the lion’s share of Dire Straits BS on social media, the real history, for what little it’s worth, is rapidly evaporating. That the truth is going begging in something as trivial as this arguably matters little - although for me it’s resulting in a defamatory narrative to some degree in the lean it encourages - but what is this going to do to less trivial facts when the pressures to invent noise over signal to obtain commercialised views leads to important historical facts being  skewed?

48

Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Mark and the Nylon Strings

« Last post by Robson on August 29, 2025, 11:06:19 PM »

It's probably also worth remembering the calypso version of So Far Away (intro). Is it the same guitar sound?

49

Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Mark and the Nylon Strings

« Last post by Brunno Nunes on August 29, 2025, 09:19:04 PM »

https://youtu.be/a06JFXVMoec?si=iNXMZbQu7PA-Z2Hc

Listening to it from this isolated perspective, it's one of the most delicate and elegant sounds I've ever heard. For me, it's a true work of art. This nylon sound was a tremendous turning point in Mark Knopfler's guitar hero image; once again, he surprised his fans.

Two things to say:

1. It would have been wonderful and incredible if Mark had played this song live with this extended ending on a tour with DS or solo.

2. I wish there were more songs with Mark playing nylon; he achieves memorable sounds and reveals a hidden depth of his technique.

50

Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum / Re: Once Upon A Time In The West lyrics

« Last post by Ingrained on August 29, 2025, 05:20:54 PM »

Don't forget Mark also wrote a song about the 'Wild West End'.

Exactly, he used word play sometimes and it gave another meaning to a word.