Bootsy on the Superbad Soundtrack

[Dr. Cheese]

I just got the current issue of BassPlayer, the one with Peter Cetera on the cover today. In the letters section, there is a guy ripping BP for an interview with Bootsy on the Superbad soundtrack. He says Bootsy is just a clown, and that his lines are so simple that there is value no in learning them. Here is the link to that interview:

http://www.bassplayer.com/article/bo...d/sep-07/31268

I know Bootsy basslines are not difficult compared to many contemporary players, but this man played bass on historic recordings that changed the course of music history. If he is not worth talking to, no pop bassist deserves coverage.

[Thunder_Fingers]

But that is very, very true! No pop bassist realy deserve coverage, they/you all sound the same! exept for that guy from killers, he sounds like hes doing his own thing at times.

However, i have never heard much of bootsy's playing, but what i have heard of him implies that this is a man with a unique sound.

The very majority of bassing out there is VERY boring, no suprises or attempts to sound individual.

[69nites]

just because a line isn't difficult does not mean it's not interesting or that it doesn't have an impact.

[jerry]

It wasn't Jeff Berlin writing the letter, was it?

[bassbrad]

I have been enjoying the Superbad sountrack and Bootsy's use of effects, plus he knows when to blow and when to groove.
To give Bootsy his props is only fair, few can match his playing resume and he has his own sound and style and has sold a heck of a lot more records than most of us ever will.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by jerry

It wasn't Jeff Berlin writing the letter, was it?

No.

[Senor SQUID]

That guy that wrote that is a fu$K!n loser bro. Bootsy is the man. THe simpler bass lines always sound better to me than those billy sheehan wannabes anyway

[pbass2]

Originally Posted by JOEY SQUID

That guy that wrote that is a fu$K!n loser bro. Bootsy is the man. THe simpler bass lines always sound better to me than those billy sheehan wannabes anyway

yeah, and look at the kind of players that actually get HIRED. Not to diss super flashy virtuoso-type bassists, but the guys you see in most album credits are players who know how to lay it down solid and often VERY simple and tasty. The flash guys can usually just be heard on . .. well, bass solo albums!

[Sneckumhaw]

Originally Posted by Thunder_Fingers

But that is very, very true! No pop bassist realy deserve coverage, they/you all sound the same! exept for that guy from killers, he sounds like hes doing his own thing at times.

What is this all about?

Besides, since when are Bootsy's lines too simple?

[Thunder_Fingers]

But he does sound like everyone else the majority of the time though. If a line is intresting or not, have nothing to do with how hard it is.

What i meant is that todays bass players is so afraid of overplaying, that they often barely play at all...

[JAUQO III-X]

Originally Posted by Thunder_Fingers

What i meant is that todays bass players is so afraid of overplaying, that they often barely play at all...

Usually overplaying can get you fired and not called back.

[Woofenstein]

Originally Posted by JAUQO III-X

Usually overplaying can get you fired and not called back.

Yep - and besides - since when is something "simple and tasteful" easy? I can think of a ton of bassists that don't play particularly complicated lines, but what they play sounds so good you'd be hard pressed to think up something better for the song. These are the players I admire most.

[Thunder_Fingers]

Im not talking about not playing "Simple and tastefull", im simply talking about not doing what the guitars do. there is very few indidual voices on bass today, even the Solo bassists generally sounds the same.

[sir juice]

he grooves better than ANYONE, who cares how many notes you fit into a groove

[69nites]

Originally Posted by Thunder_Fingers

But he does sound like everyone else the majority of the time though. If a line is intresting or not, have nothing to do with how hard it is.

What i meant is that todays bass players is so afraid of overplaying, that they often barely play at all...

bootsy sounds like everyone else?

you've got the time line screwed up people try to sound like bootsy...

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by 69nites

bootsy sounds like everyone else?

you've got the time line screwed up people try to sound like bootsy...

+1

How is this even a rational discussion? The man was the bass player for James Brown AND Parliament. Bootsy Collins is as large a figure in the world of funk as almost anyone I can name. His lines aren't worth learning? I hope somebody told Victor Wooten and Flea.

If the benchmark for bassplayers were note count and complexity, then yeah, I suppose Bootsy isn't going to be at the top of the list. But IMO the judgment of a bass player is how well he fits the music he's playing. Bootsy's job is to groove. And he does it as well as anybody that's ever played the instrument.

[msquared]

What's the quote that Wooten likes to bust out? "There's a reason Nathan East owns an island and I'm touring small clubs in a bus" or something?

I have to imagine that the letter to BP was only put in for its humor value. Playing slap lines that sound like a helicopter is one thing. Actually writing good bass parts and locking them in with a drummer is another.

[Thunder_Fingers]

Originally Posted by 69nites

bootsy sounds like everyone else?

you've got the time line screwed up people try to sound like bootsy...

I werent talking about Bootsy, sorry, i meant the killers guy, i was just kinda replying to myself.

Bootsy, is one of the people who actually have a personality in his playing, and Bootsy also doesnt fit in in the "modern" player

[burk48237]

The Bass line on We want the Funk is easy?

I'll bet half the guys on this forum can't play that line in time.

[Audiophage]

Originally Posted by 69nites

bootsy sounds like everyone else?

you've got the time line screwed up people try to sound like bootsy...

I think you're jumping to conclusions, unless there was an edit before I got here. Thunder Fingers never actually said that Bootsy sounds like anyone else.