While I tend to stick to six strings, treating basses as a inferior cousin to the awesomeness of electric guitars, on occasion I've been known to divulge in a little bit of "slappin' the bass" (not dropping it, I'm no Skrillex!) from time to time. Actually last year was my first time playing bass, and given that I had to play it in both a crowded bar and on the Regent Stage, I was a little bit nervous about doing so! But I found I actually really enjoyed it, even though I was playing one of the simplest bass lines out. Thanks R.E.M! I also gained a bit more appreciation for this four-stringed (or in the case of one of the guys in my music course, six stringed) instrument. So while I do make the occasional bass player joke (I'm a guitarist, I can't really help it!), I've learned that playing bass is actually cool, and a little more tricky than I had thought. It is with this in mind that I present to you the top ten baddest bass lines of all time. Or at least in my opinion....
10. "Cover Up" - Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons wouldn't really be known as complete musical geniuses, as they tend to stick to basic 4/4 playing and major keys. However they have a tendency to write some of the most darn-catchy and original pop music out there, which helped catapult them from being underground musicians to being near-famous almost overnight. After hearing a phenomenal live version of "It's Time" on Youtube, I was hooked, and they quickly became one of my favourite bands. This song is one of their lesser-known songs, which is unfortunate because it's actually really good! After a extended intro, the song finally kicks in driven by a bass line that is so groovy it almost belies it's simplicity. Yes I've counted and I'm pretty sure it's only like three notes, but still. Sometimes the simplest things are the best! And the rest of the song has some pretty killer bass playing in too, especially that bridge. Good job Ben McKee, but for the simplicity you're at the bottom of this list...
7/10
9. "September" - Earth, Wind & Fire
Funk bass-playing is IMPRESSIVE and this song would have to be one of my favorites in the genre. While the horns, keys and vocals in "September" are impressive enough, the entire song seems to build off that sick bass line. It just grooves away beneath it all, just adding that extra funky touch which Earth, Wind & Fire need. This was one of my favorite songs to play last year, cos when we got it right it just grooved so much! Also it's written in one of the most interesting keys I've ever played in (basically filled with 7ths and 9th chords). This is one of those few songs where I would rather play bass than guitar cos it's SO MUCH cooler!8/10
8. "Time Is Running Out"/ "Madness" - Muse
Muse's bass player Chris Wolstenholme is pretty impressive - but then I suppose you'd have to be if you're in a band with Matt Bellamy constantly outplaying everyone with his mad guitar and vocal skills. The bass intro in "Time Is Running Out" grooves out solo before the drums and singing kicks in and really sets up the whole song. When I was learning this song a few years ago, I quickly realized I wouldn't get far if I didn't learn that bass riff. Yeah, that's right. I learnt a bassline on the guitar! Who says basses don't rock now???!!The sole reason Madness is on this list is because that MIDI bass Wolstenholme plays on it is SO COOL. It just throbs away throughout the song, creating an almost dubstep-like effect which is strangely appealing. Go look up the music video/ live version of this song if you don't believe me!
8/10
7. "Ny Batteri" - Sigur Ros
9/10
6. "Black Dog" - Led Zeppelin
I knew that if I don't put at least one John Paul-Jones riff on here then I'm bound to get slaughtered by a host of bloggers posting angry comments like "WHERE IS JOHN PAUL-JONES ON THIS LIST??!!!" or "Nice post bro but you forgot John Paul Jones". But in saying that, he is considered one of rocks most talented bass players for a reason. This song is chosen out of all of Zep's greatest bass lines because Mr Paul-Jones is the man responsible for writing the riff. And that riff is KILLER. It's also a little more technical than Sigur Ros, which puts it further up the list, despite the lower overall rating.8.5/10
5. "This Is Your Life" - Switchfoot
One of Switchfoot's biggest hits, and one of the most recognizable riffs in Christian rock. Is it played on a guitar? Nope, surprisingly the memorable intro/verse riff is played on a bass which actually makes it so much cooler. When they played this one at Parachute earlier this year, Tim Foreman stood up the front and kicked the whole song off with his grooving catchy bassline. He is the man for creating something so legendary and then having the guts to play it on a bass! Without the bassline, this song would be a lot less awesome.
9/10
4. "Gangam Style" - PSY
I get the feeling I'm going to get some hate for putting this one on the list. After the video featuring some groovy dancing went viral on the internet (1 billion views and counting is a little over the top guys) and it was thrashed to death in every single club in the country, everyone must be sick of this song by now. But in saying that, it is actually a pretty darn good pop song. And for a pop song, it has some surprisingly tricky bass lines which set up the groove for the song and make it so darn catchy and dance-able. Whoever played bass for this track really got funky with it. Don't believe me? Check out this video of a bass cover of the mega-hit K-pop song and see if your mind doesn't get changed....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6EmxuAOD1s
9/10
3. "Vicarious" - Tool
I flipping LOVE this song! It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to learn on guitar as all the riffs are in 5/4 or 6/8 timing and it switches all the time which makes things confusing. Even now, there's still parts which I can't quite master (the riffing at the end of the song is so fast it's practically impossible!). Yet every time we played this song last year, I was equally impressed by the bass parts as much as the guitar lines. The way the bass clashes with the guitar in the opening, playing something completely different instead of just the root notes is just pure genius. Tool's Justin Chancellor playing is on fire in this one.
9.5/10
2. "Instrumedley/ The Dance of Instruments" - Dream Theater
When you're in a band with John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy, respectively amongst the fastest and best guitarists and drummers in the world, you've got to be be a whole lot better than good. Yet somehow all the members of progressive rock band Dream Theater are so talented its mind blowing. It is one of life's most unfair moments that a band of this musical pedigree is a lot less famous than pop stars who are SO musically inferior such as Lady Gaga or Bieber. The bass player for Dream Theater, John Myung, has been rated the greatest bass player of all time by Music Radar, which is no mean feat itself. This song shows how far Dream Theater's musical complexity goes, constantly switching between time signatures and different feels. And it has some killer, killer bass playing in where Myung pretty much puts every other bass player to shame. It's pretty long, like most Dream Theater songs, but definitely worth a listen.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM0Y1Ajqq7g
10/10
1. "My Generation" - The Who
Not going to lie, it feels a little bit strange featuring the work of a blues-based rock band from the British Invasion after the musical complexities of Tool and Dream Theater. But I knew from the start of the list that this was going to be my number 1. John Entwistle is considered to be one of the world's greatest bass players, and he showed this in his stellar work with The Who as well as his solo music. He was a pioneer of several influential bass techniques such as a unique fingering technique he called the "typewriter" approach to playing bass, and was voted "Bass Player of the Millenium" in guitar magazine. Still, this song tops the list on the strength of its pounding bass lines, and the sheer fact that it features an incredible bass solo. In the sixties, a bass solo??!!! Beat that, bass players.
10/10
Got a song you think should be on this list? Did I miss out one of the bass playing greats? Do you think you can play bass better than some of the people on this list? Or do you agree with me 100%? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
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