Monumental Grooves

  Song: Perdido en el túnel del tiempo Artist: El Último Sueño Album: El Túnel Del Tiempo (7", 1982) Bassist: Juan Carlos Palomo Drummer: José Enrique Siguero Place: Madrid, Spain Notes: For a while here at Monumental Grooves, we have argued that the bass embodies the verb "to carry." This is a perfect example of a song where the bass carries. Let's break it down: Fun disco octaves to open things up. They carry well with the dancey drums. Then a little ascent section at 0:49. Then at 1:09 a quick melodic lead. Drum and bass break at 1:44 let's go. Are there two basses at 2:04? That's sick. Lines dancing all over the place. Nice fills at 2:14 to bring it back to the melodic lead. Ooh 16th notes at 2:28. Truly a great bass performance. Thanks to Mariana for showing this

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