Drummer Deathmatch: Larry Mullen Jr. vs. Nick Mason

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The better drummer?

  • Larry Mullen Jr.

    Votes: 36 70.6%

  • Nick Mason

    Votes: 15 29.4%
  • Total voters
    51
one of these days i'm going to cut you into little pieces!

:macdevil:

Plus back in '73, he looked exactly like Harry Shearer in Spinal Tap.

bio.jpg


Nick_mason_BW_medium.jpg


which one is which? :wink:

Mason for me.
 
GibsonGirl said:


Hello. Do you want to be my new favourite person? :wink:
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I've noticed your signature several times. I saw Waters in September at the Palace in Detroit, which was quite an experience. In my book, Floyd is still the only band that tops U2.
 
larry never needed another drummer
larry could sing backup vocals
Larry played on every studio album and all tours
Larry likes Haarley Davidson motorcycles and Elvis
 
As far as Larry's drumming ability goes, his technical ability is not out of this world. What makes him good is his ability to be so rock solid... Zoo station is technically simple but its so solidly played its like a Train coming - unstoppable.. this is where his skill is..... The other thing that sets him apart is his mental approach to playing,, the guy is an artist. Check out tracks like the Fly, most of UF/JT and Pop. All of these albums are filled with standard 4-4 rhthyms being played in a style which is different, and yet compliments Edge and Adam.

Admittedly though, old age seems to be getting to him and making him lazy.... he seems to have lost the artistic approach he once had and now merely sees it as a job.
 
Agreed about the drumming in Zoo Station, it really does feel like a train coming towards you with that pounding beat. I wouldn't call him terrible but in the oh so trendy 00s he seems to have got lazy apart from LPOE and BD. Btw his drumming on Mofo is on par with SBS and that saying something. Quite a few people say that larry has a distinctive style and it states in many drummers biographys that they were influenced by his drumming style - the drummer for Scissor Sistors for example. But I don't hear any real unique style apart from the bog standard ABOYish type filler drumming. Althought against him the drumming in New Year's day is simply as unimaginitive as you can get. I'll be honest here, I don't have a clue who Nick Mason is and through sheer bias I'm gonna say Larry is better :madspit:
 
I'll say mullen simply because i quite like his no-nonsense approach. Creativity in a drummer is not something i particularly look for in a song, it's an added bonus at times but it's not a necessity. i'll leave the creativity to the other members.
 
liamcool said:
Mason. By a mile. I don't see Larry playing 25 minute long songs. You need stamina for that.
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25 min long songs are so unnecessary and boring.
 
1stepcloser said:
I'll say mullen simply because i quite like his no-nonsense approach. Creativity in a drummer is not something i particularly look for in a song, it's an added bonus at times but it's not a necessity. i'll leave the creativity to the other members.
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Exactly what I was going to say.

:up:
 
liamcool said:


25 minute long songs aren't boring if you keep them interesting, like Mason did. I doubt today's Larry could. 1981 Larry? Sure, I could imagine it.
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Exactly.
 
I'll eat my hat the day Larry has patience to sit through anything remotely as long as 25 minutes in a song.
 
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Nick Mason is better than Larry Mullen in a number of ways. He was never a great technical drummer, but he had his moments (see the intro to Time, live versions of A Saucerful Of Secrets, Up The Khyber, One Of These Days.) He knew the meaning of subtlety, something Larry Mullen doesn't know very much of these days. Larry approaches the drums with the point of view: "I hit things and people clap." (A joke, yes, but with some truth to it.) Nick was the opposite. A sort of, "I hit things and create art." He never outshone the other members of Pink Floyd, but he knew exactly how to work within their music and compliment the melodies. He didn't just tap out a beat that the other members of the band played over. He knew that a drumset could be used to simulate a heartbeat, a gunshot, whatever. Larry utilised the same ideas from time to time, but there isn't anybody quite as good at it as Nick.

While it has nothing to do with his drumming, Nick Mason is also a better people-person than Larry. He is always happy to greet fans. He doesn't rush away from the arena as quickly as he can to avoid signing things for the fans who provide him with his money. He's friendly, he's funny...just a really nice guy.
 
vaz02 said:
^

Larry's a nice guy
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Just because he isn't as outgoing as Bono or Edge, or as relaxed as Adam, doesn't mean he can't be nice. Pic signing/meeting fans etc is a bonus, not something they owe us to do.

If people need a 24/7 ray of sunshine, I suggest following boybands and the like.
 
U2girl said:


Just because he isn't as outgoing as Bono or Edge, or as relaxed as Adam, doesn't mean he can't be nice. Pic signing/meeting fans etc is a bonus, not something they owe us to do.

If people need a 24/7 ray of sunshine, I suggest following boybands and the like.
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:happy:
 
U2girl said:


Yes?
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No, I just thought it was amusing that you would quote someone else to deliver a shot at me. Typical, typical, typical...
 
Nick Mason is incredibly average, and I love Pink Floyd. I never even notice that he exists.

Larry has a great style that I prefer. He got my vote.

Now, since Bono vs. Roger Waters was being discussed earlier, I have always found Waters somewhat annoying, particularly post-Animals. He was ace before that, but lost the plot and took up a whinier, more self-indulgent style. Bono, on the other hand, has written So Cruel and Bad. :drool:

The reason Pink Floyd was so amazing was Gilmour. End of discussion.
 
LemonMelon said:

Now, since Bono vs. Roger Waters was being discussed earlier, I have always found Waters somewhat annoying, particularly post-Animals. He was ace before that, but lost the plot and took up a whinier, more self-indulgent style. Bono, on the other hand, has written So Cruel and Bad. :drool:

The reason Pink Floyd was so amazing was Gilmour. End of discussion.
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I disagree completely. "End of discussion," don't make me laugh... Pink Floyd were amazing because they had fantastic musicians - like David Gilmour and Richard Wright - and a brilliant lyricist between 1968 and 1983. How on earth can you say Roger Waters lost the plot, post-Animals? Have you even listened to The Final Cut? Read the lyrics at all? They're beautiful, harsh, touching and incredibly emotional. Bono could never write The Gunners Dream. And I wouldn't call all of those songs self-indulgent because a lot of them weren't even about Waters. Even The Wall, quite a bit of that was about Syd Barrett's experiences. If David Gilmour was the reason why Pink Floyd was so amazing, why would he release twaddle like A Momentary Lapse Of Reason? The only good thing about that album is the intro to Sorrow. The Division Bell? Incredibly good music, below-average lyrics.

After Syd Barrett left the band, Pink Floyd was always about the interplay between Gilmour's instrumentation and Waters' lyrics. Hell, they all played an important role. Take one out of the equation and it all falls apart. "Together we stand, divided we fall." Despite it being the height of Waters' lyrical ability, The Final Cut feels incredibly empty without Wright there on the keyboards. A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell feel incredibly empty without Waters' lyrical input.

End of story.
 
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