Bass-less accusations

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Anyone see the Don Letts 'Invisible Jukebox'? He made some comment to the effect that "Music with no bassline usually has no moral content". Or was it Jah Wobble? I think it was both on different occasions actually. I think this was a very interesting comment (and I'd like to arrogantly pre-empt anyone who says "Oh well that's just stupidity" with the tired old "People who claim music can inspire people for 'good' can also...as above so below etc"). What examples could they have been thinking of? White Stripes? UK Garage? 'Flowers of Romance' in Wobble's case (although 'FoR' could be a subject of my own personal thread, the 'Stuff U Used 2 Luv' type thread, where it had assumed mythic proportions in my mind as the ne plus ultra of music and when I finally replaced my copy after [can it be?] 19 years it sounded like treadwater goth windbag shit, except for the instrumentals)? The apres-'Sleng Teng' deluge? (Letts claims to like 'Sleng Teng' tho - somewhat cleverly, perhaps.) Also, what are your favorite trebly high-end tinny BASSLESS records? There's so many I like I don't know where to start, I'll be back later with a list, although Bathory's 'Equimanthorn' comes to mind!

― dave q, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Strictly tangential to thread btw - I thought Letts's comment about 'the punky reggae party being a one-way street' was true and interesting - the reasons for this could use some investigation

― dave q, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

goddamnit dave, i KNEW this was gonna be about that before i even opened the thread. i really do think i'm becoming psychic...

― jess, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

when doves cry has no bassline.

― chaki, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

flowers of romance could really really really have used a bassie in places (or anyway at least ONE playa apart from jeanette lee who understood time) => that amplified watch is still kewl tho

ok levene understands time, but he doesn't KEEP it...

― mark s, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

side ?: is that totp performance of "f.o.r." as coocoocaca great as everyone mythologizes it as?

― jess, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

it was at the time

― mark s, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

''He made some comment to the effect that "Music with no bassline usually has no moral content".''

What is music with moral content? Is the 'morality' to be found in the Lyrics, or in the notes and chords themselves?

Great music with no bass: A Derek Bailey solo guitar album? And wasn't Ben watson doing this particular jukebox?

― Julio Desouza, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Neu!

― Damian, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

UK Garage has heaps of bass in it. A lot of it's *just* a bassline and 2-step beats.

― Tim, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It's mostly subsonics or 'sawtooth' notes tho, isn't it?

― dave q, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Hmm some of the older stuff yeah. Dave I should make you a tape... too bad all the best stuff I have is mixed.

To answer the question - I think there's always something a bit pinched and tense about bass-less music. Surely most obvious current practitioners = Sleater-Kinney. Bassless music *and* bassless vocals.

― Tim, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

there's lots of bassless 2-pieces I'm sure. Magic magicians, quasi, the gossip (beth only sings so it's guitar/drums) the prev. mentioned stripes, mates of state. OK, MOS and qusasi can get the bass frequencies off those organs.

I can think of two examples of a two piece outfit with bass and drums: C.O.C.O. and Evil Beaver, maybe they're über-moral

― Ron, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

actually listening to evil beaver she's gotta be playing some guitar too, maybe not but probably

― Ron, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion--pretty much everything (although curiously it seems to be _missing_ as opposed to "not-present" on live recordings of them). _Slanted & Enchanted_. Prince's "Kiss" too, right? Hrvatski's awesome _Oiseaux_--drum 'n' bass with no bass!

The Doors had no bass player either, but I hate them.

― Douglas, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I finally found my raw power and 'search and destroy' is incredibly thin sounding and crappily recorded but it r0x0r

― Ron, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

HERE COMES TREBLE

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

there's so much music with great BASS
that music without Bass is interesting too, for sheer contrast

likewise - drums are bloody everywhere
so why shouldn't drumless music be a thang of the future
sorry now i'm off the e.q subject and on to instruments
also no examples at the mo, but maybe i'll think of some
dropouts are some of my fave parts of tunes, tho

― Paul, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Hip hop /miami bass or techno heads might be prone to outfitting their cars with elaborate stereos with lots of big woofers. I was amused at the possibility of some rawk heads filling their cars with barrages of tweeters so he could really rock the treble 'dude, you gotta hear the cymbals on this track!'

― Ron, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Doors had no bass player either, but I hate them.

Yes, but they had session musicians playing bass on the songs (see the proper LPs for small font credits).

― Vic Funk, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

But it's a moot point anyway since Manzarek was playing the bass lines. Organ bass is bass too.

― Jordan, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Some earlier Pavement stuff has no bass. Beat Happening are bassless (but Calvin's voice fills those frequencies).

― electric sound of jim, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

READY FOR THE TREBLE INJECT!

― Tim, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

OHHHHHHHH MYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

― jess, Sunday, 7 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

How could I forget By Coastal Cafe, they're excellent.

― dave q, Monday, 8 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Some of PJ Harvey's stuff has no bass, eg a couple of the tracks on "To Bring You My Love". I'd have prefered it with a bass player - it'd sound less "different", but better.

― Naomi, Monday, 8 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

did someone say slanted and enchanted? 'In The Mouth A Desert' has awesome bass in it

― Keith, Tuesday, 9 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Houserockin
I Know You Fine, But How You Doin
Outta Here

it's gonna jump on you baby, and stay in your dress! here it comes!

― tracer Hand, Tuesday, 9 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Pre-'67 recordings have NO BASS relative to what we're accustomed to now. Even Jamaican records were trebly as fuck up until rocksteady really took hold.

― fritz, Tuesday, 9 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm not implying that this was better or anything - more maybe that we always wanted BIG BASS but it took a long time for recording technology to catch up to that desire.

― fritz, Tuesday, 9 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

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