My current bout with insomnia has me up at 3AM learning songs off of every cassette tape in my house. This morning I broke out a Paul McCartney tape and learned Silly Love Songs. I was amazed at how simple, how memorable, how great that bassline is. When people think about that song they think about the bassline - at least bassplayers do....

What other songs have really simple, yet great, catchy, memorable basslines in them. Or what songs do you think became popular because of their basslines?

Walking on the Moon by the Police. Totally simple but absolutely PERFECT for the song. That was one of the first bass lines I learned.

Another One Bites the Dust by Queen. That song is ALL about the bassline.

Good luck with the insomnia. Try not to let it get to the halucination stage!

Chic- good times (influenced "another one bites the dust")

The Cure- Fascination street, Lovesong

Patrice Rushen- forget-me-nots

The Stranglers- Peaches, Nice n' sleazy

The Clash- London Calling, The Magnificent seven

Warning - Green Day???

sim

One of the ones I'm hooked on right now is "La Dolly Vita" by Smashing Pumpkins.

anything greenday
primus is very catchy and most are surprisingly easy to play

tom sayer is great and pretty easy. Aeroplanes slap and pop lines are great.

oops i forgot seeman by rammestein

Joe#1 by Fugazi off 'Repeater + 3 Songs'. Very cool indeed, as are all Fugazi's lines. Joe Lally - the best bassline writer at the moment: I think so.

As far as simple cool basslines go, I have to agree with Walking On The Moon, and maybe Roxanne? Or how about Enter Sandman, that fits the song perfectly too, although I feel it was too obviously written by a guitarist (Hetfield to Newsted: "Yeah, just play E there while I show off").

Fire on the Bayou by the METERS.

Just about anything by Tool

Off the top of my head:

"Come Together"
"For the Love of Money"
"Lady in Red"
"Manic Depression"
"Mothership Connection"
"Money"
"New Year's Day"
"Save a Prayer"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"Superstition" (Not a real bass, but everyoneknows the line.)
"What Is Hip?"

Most of Sublime's songs

Dazed and Confused

Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" has a bassline that just makes the song. Stevie Wonder and Nathan Watts really did some great basslines.

Also, most of James Jamerson's lines carried the song...

Is primus really easy to play??(response to a post up here)??

How about Money by Pink Floyd?

Wilson Pickett - In the Midnight Hour. so simple but so catchy, everything a bassline should be.

most of The O. C. Supertones songs

bp13

U2: BULLET THE BLUE SKY

Adam Clayton deserved songwriting credit for that one. He came up with the very catchy bassline, I love humming along to that. Larry Mullen came up with an almost equally good drum beat. And The Edge's slide guitar makes it a killer song.

Just my Imagination


the Temptations



AJ

The Temptations - My Girl

As soon as someone hears those G's and C's played by Jamerson, I'm sure they would instantly know the song.

I'm surprised that 'For The Love Of Money' by the O'Jays hasn't been mentioned yet.

Originally posted by John K.
The Temptations - My Girl

As soon as someone hears those G's and C's played by Jamerson, I'm sure they would instantly know the song.

One thing I can't understand about my STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN book, is why they omitted the transcribed music for MY GIRL.

sublime-pawn shop, under my voodoo
RUSH-VITAL SIGNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
rhcp-give it away
nirvana-lounge act

U2 - New Years Day

Regarding "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder: There is a real bass in the song, but almost every time I see a band covering it the bass player is trying to play the keyboard part and not the real bass line, which pretty much plays a low E (with slight variations) most of the verse until the unison riff with the horns.

anything with James Jamerson, Rocco or Jaco....:D

"Kiss" - Prince

Red hot chili peppers - Blood, sugar, sex, magik

OH YEAH...that AC/DC song with the strait 8th notes on an open E string....whew that was the best bass line

Originally posted by jazzbo
"Kiss" - Prince
hahaha!!!!:D

Speaking of His Purple Badness:
"Sexy MF" has a great bass line. Greasy. Real greasy.

Anything by James Jamerson and Chuck Rainey

/lovebown

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS INTERSTATE LOVE SONG , BIG EMPTY, ADHESIVE ROBERT DELEO IS A GROVIN PLAYER REALLY CHECK THESE SONGS OUT.

Bernadette-Four Tops

For once in my life-Stevie Wonder

Dr Funkestein-Parliament

Way too good!

oh yeah, let's also not forget that blink 182 song with those killer 8th notes and the 3 chord changes.

Originally posted by BassWizard55
oh yeah, let's also not forget that blink 182 song with those killer 8th notes and the 3 chord changes.

I'm sensing a little sarcasm here, but let me say this, this thread is about simple basslines that get the job done. Think about John Entwhistle on The Who's Magic Bus wanna know how many notes he's playing? One. But it is so nessicary. If it weren't for Entwhistle there would have been no sense of rhythm in that song and everyone would have lost time from everybody else. In a lot of Pop Punk... you don't need big fancy basslines, you play what the song calls for. But in some songs I've heard, he plays some OK stuff. Carosel for example.


Oh yeah... my vote goes for Magic Bus by the Who :)

Originally posted by slam
Regarding "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder: There is a real bass in the song, but almost every time I see a band covering it the bass player is trying to play the keyboard part and not the real bass line, which pretty much plays a low E (with slight variations) most of the verse until the unison riff with the horns.

It doesn't play a low E. The song is in Eb minor. A low E would be hideous.

And, I don't think it's a real bass. For one, there's no bass player credited - I don't think Stevie played bass guitar on his albums, but I could be wrong. I think Stevie's doing it on synth. Listen to part when the bass doubles the horn riff - that's the giveaway - listen to the sound of the bass - I don't think it's a real bass, it's a synth - it's too smooth, and it just doesn't sound gritty enough.

Seeing as no bass player is credited for that song, it seems more likely Stevie is doing it on synth.

"Ohio" - The Pretenders
"Another Brick In The Wall" - Pink Floyd
"Another One Bites The Dust" - Queen

I want to say Jaco stuff but thats to cliché :D

that said....the best basslines ever

Kuru/Speak like a child
Opus Pocus
Reza(my favorite jaco song)
:D :D :D

I'm a big fan of Duck dunn...anything by Duck is golden.

Play that funky music white boy - The bass is really important and it's not very hard either!

:D

Originally posted by swe3702
Play that funky music white boy - The bass is really important and it's not very hard either!

:D
Its not hard as far as the notes but listen to the way he plays around with the feel on the last beat of each measure. That one isn't about the notes its about the feel!

Straight To You - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Originally posted by zombywoof5050
"Ohio" - The Pretenders
"Another Brick In The Wall" - Pink Floyd
"Another One Bites The Dust" - Queen

I just wanted to clarify that I didn't choose these songs because I think they have some of the best basslines (by any means). It was the part about the basslines being very easy and attributing to the "catchyness" of the tunes.

Travelin Man-Lynyrd Skynyrd
Bass Played by Leon Wilkeson!

Originally posted by swe3702
Play that funky music white boy - The bass is really important and it's not very hard either!

:D

one thing that bugs me about that bassline is the unexpected note he plays under the end of the chorus- under "LAY down the boogie....."

maybe it's just my ignorant ears.....

how about:
down on the corner, ccr--probably the most recognized bassline anywhere...it is the first i learned to play

love cats, the cure?--another early one i learned

and crossfire, SRV---still blows me away when i hear it...great loud

Originally posted by The Mock Turtle Regulator


one thing that bugs me about that bassline is the unexpected note he plays under the end of the chorus- under "LAY down the boogie....."

maybe it's just my ignorant ears.....
Yea, that always seemed a little strange to me too. But it works, and it got your attention!:D
Nifty bass line on that one.

Bernadette is just "it" for me.

Maxwell Murder by Rancid

the bass solo from Metallica's Orion is always good, and another good one....sort of, is playing the intro of One on the bass.

not to mention a lot of RATM stuff... bombtrack, take the power back...etc. first 2 songs i ever learned.

My favorite two basslines to this day are (on electric) Lee Sklar's playing on "You've Got A Friend" on James Taylor's Mud Slide Slim and (on acoustic) Richard Davis' playing on "Roses" on Janis Ian's Aftertones.

Both these are so tastefully inventive, melodic and rythymic at the same time, I really wish I had that kind on creative tallent.

Jack Cassady's playing on Crown Of Creation was some of the first I heard that blew me away.

Gary Willis on "Got To B" and "Formula One" from Tribal Tech.

David Holland on "Now Here, Nowhere" and "See Saw" from Conference Of The Birds (how does this guy do this?).

God I cant beleive anybodys said this yet.....


Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch

Yeah, its a synth, but its sooo good.

Originally posted by modernday
God I cant beleive anybodys said this yet.....


Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch

Yeah, its a synth, but its sooo good.

In my opinion, there is always a place for synth bass (the city dump...or maybe recycled into a gaming device).