"Serious skills, but..."

[Jammy Jellyfish]

Can we ban people from saying things along the lines of, "Serious skills, but not for me," in this sub-forum?

I'm only half-joking, but can we have a discussion about it?

It seems like every time someone posts something about a new young and upcoming bass player, be it someone flashy like Thundercat or someone who holds the groove down like Michael League, most comments are something along the lines of, "They're great, but," and then some general complaint. Would we be saying similar things about Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten and James Jamerson?

And let's not even get into when the bass player is a woman.

It's getting very tiring, boomer-ish and boring.

It reminds me of browsing through guitar magazines/websites. It's always Paul McCartney and Steve Harris this, Slash and Eddie Van Halen that. Yes, they're great. But you know who's not created anything even remotely relevant this century? McCartney, Harris, Slash and Van Halen.

Rant over.

 

[FRoss6788]

Oh brother….

 

[Geri O]

Venturing into Thought Police stuff here….

 

[bassbrad]

We ought to be able to appreciate every player for the good things they bring (and learn from their mistakes), but that often begs more open mindedness and tolerance than a lot of us have. Age sometimes brings wisdom, if we be lucky.

I recall having to bite my tongue when teaching lessons about new players that were all the rage, admittedly I was quite the classical / jazz snob (what a fool was I back then). A huge lesson for me was when a student challenged me to listen to music he suggested just as I challenged him to listen to my suggestions. At first I was dismissive but then something caught my ear and soon was floored. That record was Van Halen 1. That open mindedness allows me to appreciate players and bands that I might not choose to buy or listen to in the car but could certainly give an open ear to and appreciate.

 

[Kaa]

I usually just say great player. I bite my tongue because, well, I'm simply jealous.

 

[bass12]

People have had plenty of negative comments about Wooten and Miller on TB. Jamerson less so for sure. Women players? If anything I see people going a little overboard with the praise as if they have to demonstrate how open-minded they are about female bassists. And then any criticism is labelled as sexist even if it's perfectly legit (as the criticism of Mohini Dey tends to be). The truth is that many of us fail to be impressed by the brand of bass playing - and often music-making in general - that has grabbed the spotlight over the last while. And yes, age and experience probably have something to do with it (when you see certain things being rehashed you might not be as impressed as someone who's seeing those things for the first time). As for boomers, we should all be so lucky. That was probably the last of the truly resilient generations.

 

[Nebadon2000]

All forums here are full of 'Assertions' disguised and touted as opinions

But someone saying "Thets not for me" or " Not my cup of Tea" while annoying sometimes 'why' it is actually just an opinion

It took me awhile in my life to learn but I am getting progressively better at ignoring rather than challenging

 

[Plectrum72]

There are plenty of bassists who have had a significant impact within the bass playing community, their specific genre, music in general, or any combination of the 3. There is always going to be someone who will acknowledge said player's impact or skill but still doesn't care for their playing. (Jaco is that one for me.) If everyone is 100% in agreement with an assertion of a particular player's level of greatness (which is difficult to do in matters of taste), then doesn't the discussion become an echo chamber?

 

[Solipsistik]

I just like music that doesn't suck.

And I reserve the right to compare that music to everything hyped that seems pretentious but doesn't deliver enjoyment. @ me

 

[porkynuggets]

The truth doesn't exist. Everything is an opinion, we can accept it or not, there's no difference other than how worked up you get.

I'm more of the mind that I should stay silent if I haven't something positive to add, slips aside.

 

[WG Plum]

Boss of me? I think not!

 

[BassSaxMan]

Victor Wooten was plenty trashed on this board back in the day. So were other great players like Hadrien Feraud. Not by everyone of course, just some.

I'll just say this. The mediocre are very threatened by those who are great. That's it.

 

[rtslinger]

I don't comment on players in general I have my influences and that certainly shows up in my playing good or bad, but that's just me. You do you and try to be the best you, you can be. And try not to focus on other players, be that player.

 

[mikeoso]

It's getting very tiring, boomer-ish and boring.

Yeah. Then, we could also ban comments that attribute stuff we dont like to someone's generation, as if being opinionated and judgemental were particular to old folks. In fact, we could just forbid everyone from saying anything someone else doesnt want to hear.

 

[Slade N]

No we can’t, or shouldn't. It is harder to appreciate something that you don’t enjoy or can’t relate to enough to get why someone else enjoys it.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to …we should

 

[toughluck]

There are some incredible bass players who gained recognition thanks to social media followers and it's fantastic to see them playing, even though I know I'll never attain even 10% of their skills.

Here's an unpopular (according to some) opinion: Recording companies and music magazines were the ultimate gatekeepers bent on preserving the status quo of the incredibly high barrier to entry to the business, forcing newcomers to accept a pittance for their labor and discarding most of them based not on their merit, but on fulfilling their own quotas and matching their unpublished and ever-changing criteria.

 

[bearhart74]

People have opinions and some of them can't resist expressing them.
Thanks the founders for the first amendment or else we would become north korea.
Welcome to humanity.

Ricky Gervais nailed it when he said "just because your offended does not mean your right."

 

[rmayer]

Can we ban people from saying things along the lines of, "Serious skills, but not for me," in this sub-forum?

I'm only half-joking, but can we have a discussion about it?

It seems like every time someone posts something about a new young and upcoming bass player, be it someone flashy like Thundercat or someone who holds the groove down like Michael League, most comments are something along the lines of, "They're great, but," and then some general complaint. Would we be saying similar things about Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten and James Jamerson?

And let's not even get into when the bass player is a woman.

It's getting very tiring, boomer-ish and boring.

It reminds me of browsing through guitar magazines/websites. It's always Paul McCartney and Steve Harris this, Slash and Eddie Van Halen that. Yes, they're great. But you know who's not created anything even remotely relevant this century? McCartney, Harris, Slash and Van Halen.

Rant over.

Hmm, I would think "serious skills, but not for me" is partially a compliment. So we can comment only if we agree with your definition of what's worthy bass playing? Consider this my contribution to the "discussion". Just another boomer.

 

[bass player 53]

Can we ban people from saying things along the lines of, "Serious skills, but not for me," in this sub-forum?

I'm only half-joking, but can we have a discussion about it?

It seems like every time someone posts something about a new young and upcoming bass player, be it someone flashy like Thundercat or someone who holds the groove down like Michael League, most comments are something along the lines of, "They're great, but," and then some general complaint. Would we be saying similar things about Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten and James Jamerson?

And let's not even get into when the bass player is a woman.

It's getting very tiring, boomer-ish and boring.

It reminds me of browsing through guitar magazines/websites. It's always Paul McCartney and Steve Harris this, Slash and Eddie Van Halen that. Yes, they're great. But you know who's not created anything even remotely relevant this century? McCartney, Harris, Slash and Van Halen.

Rant over.

You joined TB on March 3, 2026 and you’re already “tired, anti boomer, and bored”? Brother, have I got news for you…

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Can we ban people from saying things along the lines of, "Serious skills, but not for me," in this sub-forum?

I'm only half-joking, but can we have a discussion about it?

It seems like every time someone posts something about a new young and upcoming bass player, be it someone flashy like Thundercat or someone who holds the groove down like Michael League, most comments are something along the lines of, "They're great, but," and then some general complaint. Would we be saying similar things about Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten and James Jamerson?

And let's not even get into when the bass player is a woman.

It's getting very tiring, boomer-ish and boring.

It reminds me of browsing through guitar magazines/websites. It's always Paul McCartney and Steve Harris this, Slash and Eddie Van Halen that. Yes, they're great. But you know who's not created anything even remotely relevant this century? McCartney, Harris, Slash and Van Halen.

Rant over.

Sounds like you have quite a few hang ups of your own.