80s and 90s songs with memorable but easy to play bass lines

April 21, 2023 5:04 PM

New bass! I have played guitar some and am not an abject beginner but I don't have the very most skills. The things I've been playing along with bass-forward youtube videos of are "Psycho Killer" and "Sunday Girl." The theme need not all be CBGB but sort of arty/indie is good and maybe not much after 2000 because I'm old. Suggestions?
posted by less-of-course to Media & Arts (34 answers total)

"Jeremy" by Pearl Jam?
posted by virve at 5:10 PM on April 21, 2023

Once in a Lifetime!
posted by Daily Alice at 5:19 PM on April 21, 2023 [3 favorites]

Any one of a number of songs by the Pixies?
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 5:20 PM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Maybe houseier than arty/indy but hell, Bootsy's, in there, so: Groove is in the Heart by Dee-Lite?
posted by happyfrog at 5:37 PM on April 21, 2023 [5 favorites]

The judy's guyana punch (later covered by tullycraft if you want a version on streaming services)
posted by noloveforned at 5:41 PM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

The best bassline ever written, Gigantic.
posted by kevinbelt at 5:43 PM on April 21, 2023 [6 favorites]

Guy Pratt did tutorial videos for a load of his basslines a couple of years ago - I really liked Ain't No Doubt (Jimmy Nail) and Last Plane Out (Toy Matinee), both of which are simpler than they look once he breaks them down.
posted by offog at 6:03 PM on April 21, 2023

Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams?
posted by ambulatorybird at 6:07 PM on April 21, 2023

It's a little before your window, and I'm sure it's already in your rep, but Superstition has one of the best bass lines ever.

How about Would? by Alice In Chains?

It's well past your time window, but Yorugaakeru from the anime "Given" winds up in almost all of my playlists, just for the bass.
posted by xedrik at 6:21 PM on April 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

Radio Free Europe has a nice mix of eighth notes and ascending/descending scales.
posted by credulous at 6:30 PM on April 21, 2023

Smithereens’ “Blood & Roses”? The bass is the song’s signature. Never played bass so I don’t know how easy it is.
posted by sesquipedalia at 6:35 PM on April 21, 2023

The summer after I graduated from high school I bought a used bass and learned every song on Metallica's black album (yes, there's bass). I don't remember any of the songs being particularly difficult, although it was a long time ago.
posted by goatdog at 6:44 PM on April 21, 2023

Right at 2000, a super fun and beginner friendly minor key riff: So Fresh, So clean.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:14 PM on April 21, 2023

Interpol - Untitled. It's one basic pattern that evolves to get more fiddly, so you can punt on the fiddly bits until you are more confident.
posted by credulous at 7:29 PM on April 21, 2023

Longview by Green Day, bass line makes the song
posted by shock muppet at 7:30 PM on April 21, 2023 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Will check these out, thanks!
posted by less-of-course at 7:49 PM on April 21, 2023

Fugazi - Waiting Room popped into my head when I read the question, probably fits the bill.
posted by p3t3 at 8:33 PM on April 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

Truly shocked no one has mentioned Cannonball, by the Breeders.
posted by LeeLanded at 8:44 PM on April 21, 2023 [7 favorites]

Under Pressure. Another One Bites the Dust.
posted by gnutron at 8:49 PM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Rarely is the question asked: are the Violent Femmes too advanced?
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:55 PM on April 21, 2023 [5 favorites]

The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums
Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name

Also, if you're not already practicing the Seinfeld theme...
posted by ZaphodB at 8:59 PM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

*ahem*

"Big Bottom" by Spinal Tap.

They even brought out "every bass player in the known universe" to join them when they did it live at Live Earth back in like 2006.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:28 PM on April 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

The Cure - "A Forest"
Joy Division - "New Dawn Fades"
Eurythmics - "Sweet Dreams"
U2 - "New Year's Day"
posted by davidwitteveen at 9:47 PM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Primus' Southbound Pachyderm is a fun one that is much more doable than other Primus bass arrangements.
posted by subocoyne at 9:59 PM on April 21, 2023

Not sure if it is CBGBy enough but Groove Is In the Heart is a lot of fun to play.
posted by synecdoche at 3:44 AM on April 22, 2023

Cure is a great suggestion, I'd also add Fascination Street.
posted by saladin at 4:19 AM on April 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Cannonball by the breeders.
posted by chasles at 6:52 AM on April 22, 2023

Girlfriendofselection says:
Songs I've been enjoying with reasonably easy bass lines for a beginner are:
Sublime: caress me down
Gary Newman: cars
PJ Harvey: send his love to me
Nirvana: about a girl
Cake: daria
Sunny by Buddy Hebb is also deeply, deeply satisfying to play through.
posted by agentofselection at 8:43 AM on April 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Better than Ezra - good is really simple to practice on. It’s like 4 notes.

Also the ska baseline of one step beyond will get you far.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:07 AM on April 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Just Like Heaven is iconic for 80s baselines.

Sisters of Mercy have a bunch of bass driven songs - I'm particularly fond of Lucretia My Reflection.
posted by Candleman at 12:38 PM on April 22, 2023

Ultravox - Vienna
posted by paper scissors sock at 1:14 PM on April 22, 2023

U2 - "New Year's Day"

Another good U2 one - Bullet The Blue Sky.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:43 PM on April 22, 2023

And I just found this list of "50 songs with good bass riffs". Although it includes White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army", which actually is NOT a bass riff - but it sounds a whole lot like it should be.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:47 PM on April 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Chris Murphy of Sloan is a lot of fun to play with, while often keeping it beginner/intermediate-level: Money City Maniacs, Worried Now, The Good in Everyone, Take Good Care of the Poor Boy, and a bunch of others are all from the '90s, though a lot of the time he's supporting the song/sticking close to what the guitars are doing rather than being bass-forward, maybe. Don't discount them if you're more looking for songs you already know; after you hear them, you'll listen again and again, and then you'll know them. :)
posted by troywestfield at 8:40 AM on April 27, 2023