Will there ever be another bassline written that matters?

Yes

Yes What do u think usself? And Y ?

I have been moved by many, many a bassline in my life, but it's been a while.

I got to thinking about this after reading the "back in love again - ltd" thread.

THAT was a MONSTER bassline, a MEMORABLE one, yet for it's time, it was not particularly outstanding. Monster basslines were just a standard part of music in the 70s.

darkstranger521 said:

And the 60s (Motown - James Jamerson).

There was a post listing tons of them some time back.
Unfortunately, my list is at home and the SEARCH function doesn't work.

So there you have it.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

What?! The search function doesn't work? Quick...somebody alert a mod so it can be fixed and broken again in an instant!

The last Gorillaz cd has some nice basslines.Check it out.

I doubt this will appeal (since you're talking R&B) to you but the bass in Nirvana's music was prominant, melodic, catchy, and carried many of the songs at times.

I think of bass first when I hear Lithium, Love Buzz, Dive and many others.

Of course there's the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album. It's not so much about "classic" basslines, but more about tasteful & musical basslines.

I admit my bias on this one, but I think it really depends on where you're looking:



Marcus Miller, a former Miles Davis/Luther Vandross bandmate and producer, is known for crafting some of contemporary music's finest basslines and for having a signature sound. As a session player, he's shared the stage with many, many high-level cats. The live spots with D'angelo and Eric Clapton? MM is laying down the foundation (you can catch those at YouTube).

Listen to some of Luther's early hits, and the bass that's moving you is Marcus'. His stuff for Miles also was tremendous.

He's a multi-instrumentalist whose styles sometimes resemble Prince's. I highly recommend his CDs, especially Tales and Silver Rain (dig his cover of "Girls and Boys" on this one).

ThreadBare said:

I concur.

Good stuff here also...



...M²


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

Indeed. MM always brings the funk, and he finds a way to keep that low end from getting murky. He and Prince treat their bass parts similarly: overlapping, multitracking, etc.

ThreadBare said:

Marcus Almighty! Go to the CD store close your eyes..and pick any CD he has made...you will not be disappointed.

ThreadBare said:

His version of Hendrix' "Power of Soul" is probably the funkiest bassline I have heard in the past 20 years...either that track or his song "Power"....both are wicked! M2 top to bottom...SMOKES!

ThreadBare said:

Love the Marcus!...and he's in town (NY) on the 16th...Irving Plaza. He and Prince should hook up that night.

Let's start rumors.

anon said:

That would be so tight, man.

darkstranger521 said:

The answer is "HELL YEAH"!!!!! Check out the new song by Suga Free called "Person To Person". MOST of his new CD JUST ADD WATER was produced by Rickey "Freeze" Smith, who is the bassist for Morris Day & The Time. THAT BASSLINE is tha FUNKIEST thang I've heard this side of old school CAMEO!!!!!

BlaqueKnight said:

Cadillac is a decent track...the baseline is pretty simple...I picked up the bass and had it note for note in roughly 90 seconds....but Marcus will make you pick your bass up...and throw it out the window! Download "Scoop" or the previously mentioned tracks....M's stuff is from somewhere else.

woogiebear said:

Refer to my previous post...replace "simple" bassline with "VERY Simple" and replace 90 seconds with 15 and add the rest where it applies....very weak bassline...two notes and a slide fill every now and then...

panther514 said:

Dude, I'm already hip to Marcus's stuff. I have the CDs. I'm one of the biggest Stanley Clarke admirers you'll find and I'm deep into Victor Wooten. Trust me, I'm on it. That wasn't te question, though. Relevant basslines are lines like "Another One Bites The Dust"(Queen) "Good Times"(Chic) or "Just Be Yourself"(Cameo). None of the basslines that are on most contemporary records are memorable, melodic or driving. This is partially because when you say "bass" to a youngsta they immediately think of the kick drum instead of the instrument. Bass guitar has taken a backseat to bass synth and the guys programming these synth lines usually don't even play any real instruments. I remember when I heard "If Your Girl Only Knew" by Aalyiah, I was surprised to hear a bass line like that coming from Timbaland. I think its his best bass line to date. Most songs nowadays are formula-driven and the bass just backs up the chords or hides in the back of the song somewhere. Bass nowadays is "kick drum support".

BlaqueKnight said:

I feel you on that...just saying that Raheem's bassline is decent on that track...you have to check out the so called "neosoul" flavored tracks to get the strong basslines...Kindred the family soul's "rhythm of life".. Geno Young's "Honeydew"... Yahzarah's "Friday".... Hil St. soul's "baby come over"... Joss Stone's "fell in love with a boy"... all have smokin' basslines.

I made this thread with this in mind: Basslines like "Another One Bites the Dust", "Love Rollercoaster" "Hollywood Swinging" "Bra" "Dance to the Music" "She's Strange" and countless Motown songs etc. etc. are memorable because they are a material force of nature - such as gravity, or the sound and smell of your moms busying herself in the kitchen, a proper bassline will rewire your central nervous system like an addiction to drugs. It will turn you the fuck out. A proper bassline will help a motherfucker get his priorites in life straight. James Brown Live at the Apollo Vol. 2 Side III type of shit. You know what I'm talking about. I feel nothing similar in today's music - nothing even remotely close - in any style. Now it could be humanity is currently taking a short break to gather itself to once more make a forward cultural charge. Or perhaps we have begun a permanent cultural "slippin' into darkness". I find it staggering how a country whose funk was the envy of all nations a few short years ago can in a matter of a few years be so utterly incapable of finding a new path forward for the funk. This is why I posed the question.

Myself? I don't know if the bassline is dead. I'd like to think not. But then again, all good things MUST come to an end.

I think some things are cyclical. From the late 1960s to the late 1980s, guitar solos were everywhere.

Then grunge hit.

And, things began to drift from the climactical solo to a twangy bridge or inversion that led to a vamp & fade. Navel-gazing alt rock didn't leave too much room for guitar solos, just dudes with teased bangs.

From the fringes, we've begun to see a return of solos, by some bands. I hope such a shift brings with it a focus on instrumentation and improvisation that would spark basslines and piano breaks and violin swells and ... and...