Double Bass DB joke -- don't get it (BG player)

[boynamedsuse]

I ran into the following joke on a piano forum (very classic oriented) and didn't really get it. Here it is:

Double bass choruses are like lightning; you never know where is it gonna strike, how long it will last, and the damage it will cause.

OK--I get the part that they are not looking forward to the "bass chorus." But what is the funny part? I've listed to hundreds of classic compositions that include double bass and I can't think of a double bass part that filled me with any negative emotions. Explanations? Opinions? Is it actually funny to a DB player?

 

[jtlownds]

Nobody likes a bass solo

 

[Anonymatt]

Just a metaphor, not a joke.

Jokes are like fire. There's a combustion triangle, and there's kind of a joke triangle too.

 

[Tom Lane]

I think I get it. It's not about choruses but solos and it's amusing, not a knee slapper because 1) usually the entire band drops out so the bassist can solo against the song form or not, so no one knows when it will end 2) because no one knows when it will end, if the bassist isn't really clear about announcing the end, the first few bars can be less than professional as the rest of the band searches for the correct chord and beat one.

 

[Roger Davis]

Just a metaphor, not a joke.

Simile?

 

[philip sirois]

Simile?

thank you

 

[boynamedsuse]

I think I get it. It's not about choruses but solos and it's amusing, not a knee slapper because 1) usually the entire band drops out so the bassist can solo against the song form or not, so no one knows when it will end 2) because no one knows when it will end, if the bassist isn't really clear about announcing the end, the first few bars can be less than professional as the rest of the band searches for the correct chord and beat one.

OK that makes sense. I suspect you are right in your evaluation as well: not a knee slapper.

 

[Tom Lane]

OK that makes sense. I suspect you are right in your evaluation as well: not a knee slapper.

 

[AClark]

Maybe it's referring to our intonation. Hehehehe.

 

[Tom Lane]

You know that the REAL name for a double bass is a *pitch approximation device*, right?

 

[bejoyous]

Plus, their fingers never hit the same spot twice!

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

It sounds like a Jazz reference - but it's still not funny really!