What do people think that bass is nowadays?

[jorah]

I was in a bookstore today looking at the magazine rack and I saw these two magazines, one was Bassplayer magazine and I forget the title of the other one.

Anyways, I picked up one of the magazines(This months issue had a bassist named Pete Wentz on the cover, I think he's from fall out boy) and started thumbing through it, and I ran across the article of this Pete Wentz, and what I saw pissed me off.

As I read down the page, there were other emo bassists listed(none that I remember the names of or have heard of because I don't listen to emo), and I ran across this quote from Pete Wentz that said,"I don't like hard basslines," and other bullcrap from other players similar to that. I'm setting there thinking that these bassists don't deserve the kind of attention that they are getting just by playing easy stuff and setting there looking pretty with a bass in their hands.

What about Cliff Burton(I know he's dead, but he was a hell of a bass player)? What about Victor Wooten? What about Geddy Lee? Paul McCartney(I don't know if he was the bassist or not, I think he is)? John Paul Jones? These were and are still the players that defined Bass playing and they get less publicity and probrably even less money compared to these people that are butchering the instrument by setting there hitting an open string for a whole song.

This pisses me off because the people that can't play bass worth crap are getting the publicity, and the people that can play are getting shafted and pushed aside by guys that care more about if their eyeliner is smeared than their playing ability.

What does everyone else think about this? I'm just curious, and I think it is a problem, but I guess bass is what you make of it.

[fenderx55]

This, my friend, is called opening up a can of worms lol. Traditionally, bass is just supplying the low notes and supporting the song. That is arguably what this guy is doing. I actually enjoy the hell out of fall out boy because they write really catchy songs and I appreciate that. There is a lot of emo I don't (or won't) listen to, but when I got to college I learned that if you don't listen to some things on principle alone, you're going to miss out on a lot of cool stuff. I wish I had learned that in high school.

There are going to be a lot of people agreeing with you, and a lot of people qualifying the bassists you listed. But I will say that just cause something's difficult to play doesn't automatically make it good. There is "wanking" after all. And lord knows that I hate wankers.

edit: Btw, eyeliner has it's time and place. FOB is that time and place.

[Sneckumhaw]

Originally Posted by jorah

What about Cliff Burton(I know he's dead, but he was a hell of a bass player)? What about Victor Wooten? What about Geddy Lee? Paul McCartney(I don't know if he was the bassist or not, I think he is)? John Paul Jones? These were and are still the players that defined Bass playing and they get less publicity and probrably even less money compared to these people that are butchering the instrument by setting there hitting an open string for a whole song.

You're mistaken. Pete Wentz will never have anywhere near as much acclaim or money as Paul McCartney.

[wtg203]

Meh. I don't like hard basslines either. I like basslines that work and move me. Writing "hard" basslines for the sake of writing hard basslines is just as bad as writing "easy" basslines for whatever reason. Sometimes the simplist basslines rhythmically are the hardest to play.


On a related note, I was asking a fellow bassplayer if he wanted some extra copies of BP that I get the other day. He gets like Bass guitar magazine or something. He said Pete Wentz was on the cover of his most recent. I said mine had Mike Watt. We both lol'd.

[Pete C]

^This is true, but it is ridiculous because proportionally this Wentz fellow is.

He does make a good point though, many people try to do hard bass lines and end up crowding the song. It annoys me to no end because people like these emos end up sucking the credibility from the bass.

[ProfGumby]

I look at part of it this way...whenever one goes to a show, sees a live video, watches a live concert on the TV...the bass palyer gets less attention than the doorknob to the stage door....if one plays bass in anyhting less than soloist...one must like being religated to obscurity.

Even Entwistle got so little attention on camera etc...until he soloed during the song, otherwise the cameras eye treated him like scenery too....

As to what else you have pointed out, right now the current trend in the publics eye are the soloists like Wooten, Miller etc....

I am just glad bassists are getting any acclaim from the pseudo mainstream....

I mean really, who talks about other bassists and their talent, or importance in a band, than other bassists?

IMHO

[afinalfantasy]

In the mainstream the bass is a joke basically. With these pop guys getting a lot of attention for having no talent and not even really taking the instrument seriously, it's a joke.

It's the same with guitars. All I see is this stupid shredding crap in magazines and it's like, I don't give a crap about that stuff. Who cares if you can play fast? You couldn't write a decent song to save your life.

It seems like people only take drums seriously anymore these days in a mainstream focus.

[Pete C]

A good band realizes the importance. My guitar player and I joke about people who think that bass is a bunch of eighth note runs and the guitar is just about playing as many notes as fast as you can.

[bleeding]

I do seem to find a common trend on this website, where many users refer to "emos" and such like this is a bad thing....and if you do that (and mabye no one has done that in this thread), I will question both your intelligence and your sloppy thinking.

Anyway, I can really appreciate that style of music, as well as the bass playing. No one ever criticized the rythm guitar player from strumming G,C,D...because there is a place for that, just as there is for simplistic basslines.

[bleeding]

Originally Posted by DeliriumTrigger

In the mainstream the bass is a joke basically. With these pop guys getting a lot of attention for having no talent and not even really taking the instrument seriously, it's a joke.

It's the same with guitars. All I see is this stupid shredding crap in magazines and it's like, I don't give a crap about that stuff. Who cares if you can play fast? You couldn't write a decent song to save your life.

It seems like people only take drums seriously anymore these days in a mainstream focus.

Its amazing how much people will just trash and bash things they don't like or understand...

[superbassman2000]

I'd venture a guess that 95% of popular music is about image...IMO it has been since the 70s--thats the way things go. remember that episode of the brady bunch where greg brady can become a celebrity because he "fits the suit"?
all I am saying is that this isn't anything new. Pete Wentz is an image. He wears all the popular brands and plays in the popular band. I doubt he will ever be as famous as the above listed bass players because Fall out boy is just a flavor of the week. They will have their 15 minutes of fame and be done with it, most likely with less money and popularity than they started with.

and as far as wentz being in BP mag, its just like the news--they need ratings as well, and while I don't know numbers, I'd say that the group with the most money to waste would be teenagers, and FOB is popular with them, so they'd pick up the magizine and hopefully they will read the other articles and read about other kinds of music and maybe learn about people like Bill Laswell or Reed Mathis or anybody else who really pushes forward in music.

[-Acid-]

you dont know if Paul Mcartney was a bass player?


and ive seen stuff about Pete Who???????????????????

that almost no one had heard of also

[JimmyM]

First, anyone who doesn't know if McCartney was the bassist or not shouldn't be questioning anything about bass magazines. At least I'm sure every single person who works for that magazine knows what instrument McCartney plays. Second, so what if they feature a bassist who isn't that great? Did someone hold a gun to your head and force you to read the article?

Listen, magazines are in the business of selling their magazines, not featuring bassists that one reader deems worthy. If they think featuring a popular band of the day will sell more magazines, they will feature that band. So you wasted 3 minutes reading an article about someone you don't like. Whoop-de-do.

You know, I never cease to be amazed at the intolerance of musicians for styles of music they don't like.

[fenderx55]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

You know, I never cease to be amazed at the intolerance of musicians for styles of music they don't like.

fo. sho.

[Chili]

Originally Posted by wtg203

Meh. I don't like hard basslines either. I like basslines that work and move me. Writing "hard" basslines for the sake of writing hard basslines is just as bad as writing "easy" basslines for whatever reason. Sometimes the simplist basslines rhythmically are the hardest to play.


On a related note, I was asking a fellow bassplayer if he wanted some extra copies of BP that I get the other day. He gets like Bass guitar magazine or something. He said Pete Wentz was on the cover of his most recent. I said mine had Mike Watt. We both lol'd.

the 'i dont like hard bass lines' doesnt make sense to me, what doesnt he like about them?, the fact that they are to hard for him to play? or he doesnt like the sound of every single 'hard' bass line ever created, what actually is a hard bass line? a hard bass line might be easy for someone else.

like you sed, the simplist basslines rhythmically are the hardest to play. so since they are hard rhythmically, you or the fall out boy bass player wont like it?

just that kind of statement really doesnt make sense to me, i dont judge a bassline on whether its hard or easy and then decide i dont like it, if i like the sound of it and it does something for me, i like it, regardless of whether its hard or easy

[BuffaloBass]

Well, by framing musicianship by "hard basslines", if I get the context right ( ?), the player isnt really a player. Mother music determines the basslines, and its your job to get your hands to do what she says. Sometimes its lazy half notes, and sometimes it aint.

I hear basslines I cant play ( imaginary lines for original compositions). Really frustrating. But at least I'm listening to the MUSIC and letting IT tell me what the bassline is. Need to refocus on my musicianship so I can play the stuff in my head.

Too hard for me. Drag that my mind "hears" them that way. Damn Wooten. I'm going to kick his ass when I see him again!

The bassist interviewed int he magazine hasnt figured it out yet. He's a kid. He will, if he wants to be a player.

BTW, I dont see it as a problem at all. Nuttin' but a thang is all.

Dont bust on other musicians, in deference to Mother Music, try to help them, enlighten them, or, if you have to, ingore them if they're wrapped in their own egos.

[Busker]

According to a (non-musician) buddy of mine, all bass players do is go dum dum dum. He was joking I think. Yeah, he must have been joking.

The average person doesn't realize the importance of the bass in modern music. Bassists are still probably thought of as not good enough to cut it on the guitar.

My mom was kinda disappointed when I switched from guitar to bass.

[Cristo]

Geddy Lee, Paul McCartney, Entwhistle, Cliff Burton, Wooten, JPJ, etc. have been in those magazines.

They aren't the guys doing anything "new," for the most part. All those guys have gotten plenty of publicity over the years.

And remember, pretty much NOBODY but bass players gives the slightest hoot about technical bass ability, or, for that matter, bass playing at all.

The magazines try to appeal to a broad audience with a broad range of tastes. All ages, all types of music, all types of gigs, etc. What is beautiful music to one person is a load of crap to another.

And I don't even know who the hell Fall Out Boy is so I'm not defending them specifically. Maybe those bass lines *are* crap.

Don't take magazine covers so personally is my advice.

I bought that same magazine - I didn't give a crap about the guy on the cover, although maybe if I heard his music I'd like.

I got it for the music to Chic's "My Forbidden Lover." Now there's some tasty bass!

[bassbully]

I read that Pete Wentz article and for the most part came away with a better view of him. I knew he was a prop with a bass around his neck for the girls to ooze over and it works and he and his band work it. He was honest said he's not a great player likes simple grooving basslines a good show and guess what so does the crowd and folks who buy Fall out Boy's CD's...bass snobs everywhere jaw's drop....awwww the nerve doesnt know his fretboard ...simple playing...likes easy basslines.....well i've never heard of this ban Pete from the basshallism of life!!!!!!

Who gives a crap...Pete was honest and i respect that if he said and acted like a seasoned studio player or Wooten i would understand but he was honest said he just holds down the fort is trying and looks good. He getting rich famous and likes what he does...how many here can say this and how many here want what he has? A non slap monkey non theory trained dude making it big......i like it...bass is simple and fun if you want it to be.

[MammaryVest]

You guys must think the general public is retarded or something. People are are smarter than you think, and they like what they like. For some reason right now, they like Fall Out Boy (who sucks). This is one of those threads that really pisses me off because it reminds me of the whole "bass playing community" bullcrap. Playing an instrument isn't a status symbol, and I hate it when people treat it like that. No body is "out to get you", bass isn't "misunderstood" and most importantly of all, if a guy plays bass well enough to sell a million records, he's probably not that bad.