The Bass Guitar - What I'm Obsessed With

The Bass Guitar is considered irrelevant by many, with it's super low tone usually being drowned out by the power of an Electric Guitar or a Drum Kit, but when used correctly, it can be the most effective and useful instrument in a song. Over the past few years, with originality becoming harder and harder to obtain, many artists have turned to the Bass for inspiration. Bands like Muse, The Gorillaz, The Stokes, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers are all great examples of bands who have really utilised the Bass to it's full potential. Lets get into why the Bass Guitar is actually important.

Paul McCartney, the most famous bassist of all time, performing live in 2017.

I've grown to appreciate the Bass more myself over the last few months, by discovering songs that are driven by a groovy Bass Riff, and then actually picking one up and trying to play it, and realising that it's further away from your generic Guitar than you would think. The song that I feel really emphasises how important the Bass can be, is Tame Impala's 'The Less I Know The Better.' This is the greatest Bass Riff I've ever heard. It's the driving force of the song, it's so prominent, turning the Electric Guitars into background noise, and is the grooviest sh*t you'll ever hear. You can watch a Live Performance of the song below, and the Bass is just perfect.

The job of a Bass Player can range in difficulty. Look, sometimes, it's piss easy for the Bassist. Any Rock Song that consists of 3 Power Chords, tends to just have the Bass playing the exact same Chords, and it's simple. Take for example, Green Days's 'Bang Bang'. Very easy Bass line to play, but then they have a song like 'Longview', or 'Dirty Rotten Bastards', where the Bass playing is out of this world. The multiple Bass Solo's on the latter there are so worth a listen. What I'm trying to say is, not every song will need the Bass to be a key component, but it just does have the potential to be so when needed.

Paul McCartney, Flea, Phil Lynott, John Paul Jones, Robert Trujilo and Roger Waters are all massive names when it comes to Rock Music, and they're all Bassists. Some of the songs that these guys laid the Bassline down for are absolutely legendary. Pink Floyd's 'Money', The Beatles' 'Come Together', Queen's 'Another One Bites The Dust', Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean', Muse's 'Hysteria', f*ck sake man! Why do people not appreciate the Bass!! I could go into detail and analyse every single one of those songs, explain why there great, and pin it down to the Bassline. For sake of time, I won't, but listen to all of the songs I've listed above and you'll understand how important, catchy and brilliant the Bass can be.

Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, performing live in 2017.

Another thing I've noticed through my research and personal experience, is that many Indy Bands now actually have their Lead Singer playing Bass, making the Bassist the centre of the band. I noticed this first when I saw a band called 'Empire Circus', an Irish band who supported The Coronas in 2017, but I remember being interested when I noticed their Lead singer doubling as the Bassist. Then I noticed that one of my favourite British Indy groups, 'Milk Teeth', also do this. Lead singer Becky Bloomfield is on Vocals and Bass here, and their brilliant! Their song 'Nearby Catfight' features a dirty Bassline that fuels the song, it's great. I can't wait to see them live this summer!

Milk Teeth performing live in 2018.

To finish, my appreciation for the Bass, it's players and it's importance have all risen substantially over the past few weeks. In concept, it's a simple instrument. Four strings, on most models, and is mean to basically copy what either the Electric Guitar or Drums are doing, but I love seeing musicians starting to use it to it's potential more, and I hope it continues. Thank you for reading.