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Bassists you just can't watch

#102
Wow, this might be a bad first impression to make but uh...I like Pete Wentz. I mean, he doesn't get down and have all of the walking stuff like John Paul Jones did back in the day, but all in all, not many bassists do these days. I think Wentz' bass skills show quite well in "Dance, Dance" "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" and "I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me".

As far as bassists that I can't stand to watch? Well, as much as I love the guy, John Paul Jones. He's so still and rigid, and people wonder why bassists don't get much attention these days.

Pete Wentz gets attention, not only because of his looks, but because he has shattered the stereotype that all bassists are lame failed guitarists and have a rigid, non-moving, frame.
 
#106
I'm pretty much with most of you. Pete Wentz is absolutely painful to watch and listen to. Trujillo has chops and skill, but that gorilla crabwalk he does is ridiculous, and not in a good way. Fieldy is another one who looks like he's just bashing on his bass like an ape. If you watch the video for "Denial" by Sevendust, I winced and gagged at that crap-tastic bass playing.

On the other hand, I love the funky fresh moves and style of Verdine, Bootsy, and Flea. I can easily see how others would see their whole stage vibe as gaudy rather than cool.

But then again, I find it just as painful to watch bassists who stand still in the shadows, stare at their fretboards the entire set, do absolutely nothing, have zero presence and don't engage the audience at all.
 
#109
f'nar f'nar said:
I can't remember his name, but the guy from Coheed and Cambria has this weird hand flick thing going on, it frustrates me because I don't understand what he's doing...

Also

I can watch him, but I hate the extent to which Wooten's thumb can bend backwards... It just creeps me out.
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Mic Todd is his name. He looks like a tool.

And speaking of Pete Wentz, has anyone seen the new Blender magazine with Kelly Clarkson on the cover? The tagline for Pete says it all.
 
#110
Thunder_Fingers said:
Trujillo: He looks plain stupid, and like stated before, like a gorilla playing bass, also the way he throws his head look even worse.
Cliff Burton: I cant stand his right hand technique, it looks very awkward and unproffesional.
Fieldy: Pretty much same reason as Trujillo.

Of all the "proffesional" bassists i have seen, its only these 3 that marks out as "unlookable" so if that is a sign that they have their "own style" so be it.

Ofcourse, all this is IMHO.
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I believe Cliff's right hand was locked in some sort of carpel tunnel type thing, so he just worked with what he had. That's the way it looks in various pictures.





Personally from seeing Metallica w/ Trujillo live, I like seeing him. He's energetic as heck.
 
#119
El Bajo said:
Any indie band eg Kooks, Keane, Coldplay, any band that begins with 'The'.
The basslines are just so boring, My woamn is sick of me commenting 'he should have put a fill there' 'why didnt he do a run?' etc. I've become a musical snob!
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Yeah. Those bands you listed have pretty stale bass lines. I wouldn't trash all of the "The" bands. Nikolai Fraiture from The Strokes has some great lines. He's also entertaining to watch as well. He wears his Fender Jazz really high and stands stiff as an Entwhistle.
 

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