Monumental Grooves

Song: Carol Artist: Slint Album: Tweet (1989) Bassist: Ethan Buckler Drummer: Britt Walford Place: Louisville, Kentucky Notes: 40 seconds in you can really hear the weirdly rhythmic bass and drum groove. Noisy interplay with the guitars. Then this off-kilter drum beat at 1:20. The sound of breaking glass and the groove is back. "PAST WHERE THEY PAINT THE HOUSES!" Gnarly.  Also check out this 2024 remix that former bassist Ethan Buckler did: To my ears you can hear the bass better in this version. 

Song: Halloween Artist: Dead Kennedys Album: single released October 30, 1982 and appeared on the album Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982) Bassist: Klaus Fluoride Drummer: D.H. Peligro Place: San Francisco, CA Notes: Every Halloween I am reminded of Klaus' great bass playing on this song, and this album. It's a simple line, tab pictured below. But it goes hard, especially with how the guitars follow it. Fun fills at 1:33, 1:36, and 1:38. My favorite fills at 2:52, 2:57, 3:02, and 3:07. It's like he's talking back to Jello's vocals.  Here's a live video of the song. Poor audio quality but fun nonetheless. Jello shouts out "everybody who's dressed up" while rocking the homemade "FUCK THE DRAFT" t-shirt. Cool to see how the band takes it up a notch at 0:41 (pay attention to East Bay Ray's guitar playing). "Hi Klaus!"

Song: Lushlife Artist: Bowery Electric Album: Lushlife (2000) Bassist: Lawrence Chandler or Martha Schwendener  Drummer: programmed Place: New York City Notes: great bass tone, awesome drum beat comes in at 1:16, followed by bassline at 1:30, just keeps repeating while providing the foundation for additional layers. It just keeps repeating, takes a little break, and continues on. A bassline that stays in mind.  Thanks to Cass for showing this

  Song: Down In Hell Artist: JOCK Album: Labyrinth EP (2024) Bassist:  🤫 Drummer: Cass Place: San Francisco, CA Notes: Pounding jumpy bassline starting at 0:38. Then imprudent slide fills at 1:11. Ascent going up at 2:00, back to jumping. Wow all harmonic section 2:37-3:07. Incredible drumming throughout the song. 4:21 bassline sticking out. Lastly, 4:49 onwards bass and drum stops together. True rhythm section power. Gnarly all over.  

Song: Kangaroo Artist: This Mortal Coil Album: It'll End In Tears (1984) Bassist: Simon Raymonde (of Cocteau Twins) Drummer: none Place: United Kingdom Notes: really pretty bassline and tone. Great use of chords. The song's intro gives a glimpse into this: More pretty bass leads at 2:14. Blends attractively with the strings.  Thanks to Kiana for showing this. 

  Song: I Am an Exercise Artist: Pele Album: Teaching the History of Teaching Geography (1998) Bassist: Scott Schoenbeck Drummer: Jon Mueller Place: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Notes: Pretty sliding bassline. Fits in with the drums cleanly, also interlocks with the synth in a fun way. Such a nice fill at 0:52. Beautiful bass break from 2:42-2:55.  Here's a video of the band performing this song live in Japan in 2004. Cool to see all the layers of instruments. This was the last show of the band's original run. They reunited ten years later in 2014.  Thanks to Andrew for showing this.