Cupid de Locke has the best bass part of any SP song

[redbreegull]

It's true. If you don't believe me, go ahead and relisten now and really pay attention to the bass.

This is a thread for talking about really great SP bass parts

[redbreegull]

oh fuck mods can you do something about this, I done goofed

[smashingjj]

we can

[smashingjj]

also, I disagree. it's very present but I fail to see any other stand out qualities

[smashingjj]

like with most SP basslines

[smashingjj]

they just do the job, mostly

[redbreegull]

Originally Posted by smashingjj

like with most SP basslines

that's kind of the fun challenge. we're picking the best bass lines from a band that doesn't care about bass

[houseofglass11]

Great bassline yes, especially the chorus part with those subtle little slides and stuff. That shit is romantic.

[T&T]

STRJ wouldn't be what it is without the bass part.

[smashingjj]

No other song would, either.

[Rairun]

STRJ has already been mentioned. It was my first thought as well.

I like the bass in To Forgive. It doesn't do all that much independently, but I feel it adds the texture I associate with the song the most (more so than the guitars)

Same for Shame.

Quiet is a song that I think of as bass driven as well. It's a cool riff, and I like the melody underneath the lyrics "... never forget, you see" (this is one of the few moments where this line is under the vocals, so it's easy to single it out, but I like it when there are no vocals on top of it; the interplay between it and the guitars/drums, where one slows down so the other can run, is cool)

The I of the Mourning bass line pops up above the rest in select parts of the song to great effect.

Hummer also wouldn't be nearly as good without that bass melody.

[smashingjj]

Originally Posted by Rairun

STRJ has already been mentioned. It was my first thought as well.

I like the bass in To Forgive. It doesn't do all that much independently, but I feel it adds the texture I associate with the song the most (more so than the guitars)

Same for Shame.

I think this is just the effect of letting out certain parts to make the song more sparse. The bass line in itself isn't out of the ordinary, it's the effect it has on the song when you let the part shine. Good song, not good bass line specifically.

[Shadaloo]

Cherry

[New Art Rioter]

Crush is also top tier bass song. Wonder if D’arcy played it or Billy.

[eviltimeban]

I was listening to Drown today and the bass stood out. It's so fluid, and there's all these little grace notes and runs leading back to the root notes. Like mentioned above, I wonder did D'Arcy do it. Not questioning her abilities, but it sounds more like Billy.

[Joey Goldberg]

i'm a SLUT for those Hummer verses...

[Joey Goldberg]

& to be quite honest, a WHORE for BWBW

sure it's mainly just falling the roots notes of dat guitar, but somehow feels like it's essentially driving those parts & when i think of the grand pantheon of Smashing Pumpkins songs & the basslines that accompany them, BBWWBWBW is 1 that quite quickly pops 2 mind

(big beautiful women with bullets with butterfly... wings....)

[Slurpee]

D'arcy my beloved

[Squish Squash]

Originally Posted by New Art Rioter

Crush is also top tier bass song. Wonder if D’arcy played it or Billy.

Iirc D’Arcy only played bass on Luna for the first two albums. And of course she sang Daydream. I’m not sure if she plays bass on Pisces Iscariot. She does play bass on MCIS, TAFH and Adore and some of the Machinas (it’s unclear how much she played on the Machinas, someone told me she’s only on the first one not sure if true).

[Squish Squash]

Originally Posted by Joey Goldberg

& to be quite honest, a WHORE for BWBW

sure it's mainly just falling the roots notes of dat guitar, but somehow feels like it's essentially driving those parts & when i think of the grand pantheon of Smashing Pumpkins songs & the basslines that accompany them, BBWWBWBW is 1 that quite quickly pops 2 mind

(big beautiful women with bullets with butterfly... wings....)

During some live shows, D’Arcy and the drummer would be the only one playing during parts of BWBW, so I’d say the bass is one of the keys to the song for sure.

[eviltimeban]

Originally Posted by Squish Squash

Iirc D’Arcy only played bass on Luna for the first two albums. And of course she sang Daydream. I’m not sure if she plays bass on Pisces Iscariot. She does play bass on MCIS, TAFH and Adore and some of the Machinas (it’s unclear how much she played on the Machinas, someone told me she’s only on the first one not sure if true).

Pisces Iscariot is Gish and SD, so whatever she played on them carries through. She would've played on Girl Named Sandoz as that was a live Peel Session, and Pissant was a "live in studio" recording to she likely also played on that. Possibly also Plume and Blew Away, as I imagine James would've let her.

Billy said they used to carry on the ending of Whir for ages, and as it was recorded after the SD sessions, I imagine she probably played on that.

My understanding was that she played more Gish bass than she did SD bass.

[houseofglass11]

Doubt she played on any of the SD outtakes on Pisces (Frail, Whirr, Kitty Kat, Pissant). If the arrangement in the studio had been that Billy was playing all the bass I doubt they would’ve done anything different on those. Luna is the only one we know for sure that she plays based on her own words. And that one shows that definitely was capable, but Billy and Butch were clearly being misogynistic control freaks and wouldn’t let her.

[eviltimeban]

Whir was recorded after SD was complete (released?). So she may have been involved at that point as they were "only" recording b-sides.

Pissant was a live band take so she would've been on that.

[Squish Squash]

Originally Posted by houseofglass11

Doubt she played on any of the SD outtakes on Pisces (Frail, Whirr, Kitty Kat, Pissant). If the arrangement in the studio had been that Billy was playing all the bass I doubt they would’ve done anything different on those. Luna is the only one we know for sure that she plays based on her own words. And that one shows that definitely was capable, but Billy and Butch were clearly being misogynistic control freaks and wouldn’t let her.

I mean anyone who's listened to live shows knows D'Arcy could play anything Billy wrote. Not sure why he always acts like he was writing Dream Theater level bass parts and only someone of his skill level would be able to play them.

[lionheart0]

Some great mentions here. Only one I would add is Speed Kills form the SIYL single.

[paranoid]

flood has stated that Darcy did all of her bass parts on mellon collie.

And I believe him.. bass is a bit different on that record than other records.

[Ram27]

Originally Posted by Squish Squash

I mean anyone who's listened to live shows knows D'Arcy could play anything Billy wrote. Not sure why he always acts like he was writing Dream Theater level bass parts and only someone of his skill level would be able to play them.

yeah i hate that. it seems like it was more about performing under pressure than pure ability, i guess. d'arcy had amazing feel, the warmth and legato under the fuzz guitar is amazing:

[eviltimeban]

The real skill of a bassist is coming up with the parts, because unless you're going into Thundercat-levels of performance, playing the bass isn't particularly difficult.

There is definitely a certain fluidity to Billy's playing which can be heard on the earlier records (aforementioned Hummer for example). Something that D'Arcy was once praised for in an interview (well done, Melody Maker).

Saying that, as he played bass on the last few records, I haven't really heard evidence of that style recently. I must listen to AMM more closely to see if the bass is similar. It's harder to hear the individual instruments the way it is mixed.

[Rairun]

Originally Posted by Squish Squash

Iirc D’Arcy only played bass on Luna for the first two albums. And of course she sang Daydream. I’m not sure if she plays bass on Pisces Iscariot. She does play bass on MCIS, TAFH and Adore and some of the Machinas (it’s unclear how much she played on the Machinas, someone told me she’s only on the first one not sure if true).

I'm fairly sure she didn't play on Machina I. James recorded the bass parts. She is credited on the album as part of the Smashing Pumpkins, but she left too early in the process for her recorded parts to make it. I'm not sure about Machina II though.

[redbreegull]

I thought her parts were mostly done when she was fired