Midnight Oil

Band Bass and Bassists (was: Re: RE: [Powderworks] Continuing with the Band)

wcgraham@shaw.ca wcgraham@shaw.ca
Tue, 10 Jun 2003 13:52:24 -0600


Bass has seemed to me to be a bit of an odd thing with the Oils.

When I started, D&D was what was available to me, and most of the basslines seemed kind of monotonous:

"bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim,
 bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom
 bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim-bim"

Then I got into the back catalog.  The bass didn't jump out at me immediately, but that was because it is so low in the mix, at least on the CDs that I bought!  Once I got a system with bass boost, I realized how many of the old songs have clever and catchy bass riffs.

The newest material has really memorable bass too, sometimes.  I wonder why D&D is the way it is, or if I am exaggerating it in my mind.
[Come to think of it, there seems to be at least one song/part per album that goes that way:  Outside World, Profiteers, Don't Wanna Be The One (but that gets interesting in all the right places).]

Favorite oils bass:
  - Somebody's Trying to Tell Me Something
  - Someone Else to Blame
  - sure I'm forgetting a raft more...

Chris