Ok. So - a bit of a different take. I was working on this tune for a real fun gig here at home, and this bassline blew me away. It is musically perfect. It has the little lick/fill at the beginning - and the way there’s that hitch-stutter, and the way that it locks with the drums… the walks up, the walks down - what octave it’s played in…
It’s no Jaco, or Victor. Those guys are like 12 course, gourmet meals. It’s unbelievable. It’s incredible… and few can attain the genius. This bassline is like an absolutely perfectly cooked meal by your grandmother. It is simple, but to make something simple so perfect - so groovy - so free of any non-ideal notes… it is - to me - magical and wonderful.
So. This was a bassline I didn’t know about, and wouldn’t have cared about if it came on the radio… but because it had to be played for a gig, I worked on it, and fell in love… and it was dreamy to learn.
My dream bass line would be any of the bass lines in the course at the normal speed played by the bands! I’m only halfway through the course, but all these seem unattainable, or maybe more accurately, low chance of attainment. As long as there is a thread of hope…I persist.
In my daydreams I am playing the bass line of one of my favorite songs by The Talking Heads, Born Under Punches…the version from the Stop Making Sense tour
I was surprised Tina Weymouth was not on the list of great bassists in your booklet. I love her sound. Do you?
GREAT shout out. Archetypal tone! Great lines, great execution. Very good call. I look to Gang of 4 and The Clash for more great bass lines and sounds from this era / sound world.
Yes, I do! There’s probably more great players missing from that list than are on it, the inevitable difficulty of making lists like that, as we were just talking about in the Rolling Stone Top 10 List thread.
FULLY.
The way into this bassline is to practice the major pentatonic scale non-stop. If those patterns and forms feel good, the bass line just appears under your fingers. It’s like the Wax-on, Wax-off moment of Karate Kid (the REAL one). You’ll be all sore and tired from practicing your major pentatonic scale, and you’ll complain “why am I just playing this dumb scale in the key of B all over my neck over and over again?”
And then Mr. Miagi will sing Sir Duke, and your fingers will just PLAY IT.
That’s (Sir Duke) been on my “must do” list for so long. I keep starting but then have to get back to band rehearsals, recording etc. Top bassline! Great advice on the scale too!
This is why you are THE MAN. Nice one Josh, Ta! edit. Started going through it again. Suddenly started playing old Thin Lizzy riffs? Where I first had that thing us old guys have of practicing by skipping the needle back again and again till the record eventually jumped forever! I’d never really thought to associate the two songs before or a few others I suddenly found under my fingers. Scales, weird things.
There’s a couple of dudes who’ve done covers of it. Mesmerising…
