So I bought my first bass the other day. I've never owned a bass. I've only ever played my bandmates'. I'd been doing some recording and for whatever reason, I felt like I'd get a better sense of the "song-ness" of the song if there was just a little more flesh on the bones. So I bought this Ibanez bass from Trade Up for $300 and started recording with it. I discovered: playing the bass is pretty easy, but playing it even remotely passably is incredibly difficult.

So here I've assembled my favorite, song-saving bass parts of all time, in defense of that much-maligned 4 stringed instrument. . .

(in no particular order)

1. Blur, "Boys and Girls" God, it's brilliant! Without it, that song would slowly cave beneath its own archness.

2. APB, "Shoot You Down" A predecessor to the white-boy no-wave of "Boys and Girls," I've never understood why this song wasn't a massive hit in its day. That bass line runs a marathon during the 3:36 brief, angular minutes of the song. . . The only unfortunate decision on the part of the bass player being that ill-advised bit of slap bass around 1:52.

3. Broadcast, "Come on Let's Go" A master-work in bass simplicity, it's that little slide he does on the 4 count during the verse that KILLS me -- so ssssatisfying!! A must within anyone's air-bass playing repertoire.

4. Red House Painters, "Grace Cathedral Park" I had this song on eternal-repeat for about 4 months straight when it came out. It's such a simple chord progression (at least it is in the verses -- he starts to move into Kozelek-land near the end of the middle-8) but it's the bass line that sells it -- the way it moves so casually around the strum of the chords, giving those simple open chords a movement that isn't there otherwise. Try playing it without at least implying the bass line: it won't work!!!

5. Anything by The Feelies. I've always said that if I were ever approached to play bass in a cover band, it would have to be the Feelies. So much fun to just sit on those root chords. . . Not that I ever imagine to be approached to play bass in a cover band. Though I do now own a bass. . . whatever, moving on:

6. Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, "Devil's Coachman." This seems to be on the waning end of the Andy Metcalfe's exclusive use of fretless bass in Egyptians records. Though I can be iffy on fretless bass in general, I have to say that Metcalfe's fretless stuff on these records helped make a sound of its own on songs that would otherwise be overshadowed by Robyn's songs. See also "The Leopard" from Element of Light.

7. The Smiths, "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now." I don't know why Andy Rourke doesn't get more love. I remember hearing something about him being the worst bass player in Manchester at the time Smiths were getting together, but he was the only one available at the time. Unless Johnny contrived all the bass parts himself -- and played them -- I think that story's a crock of shit. In fact, I would go so far to say that Andy Rourke is as much responsible for the overall sound, the aesthetic, of the Smiths as Johnny Marr. Other evidence of this: "Rusholme Ruffians," "This Night Has Opened My Eyes," "Barbarism Begins at Home," "Cemetary Gates". . . the list goes on and on.

8. U2, "With or Without You." I'm not a huge U2 fan or anything, but that's a sexy bassline.

9. fIREHOSE, "Under the Influence of Meat Puppets." It's hard to pick a Watt-responsible bass part among the brilliant mass that exists, but here's my stab. "Brave Captain" is pretty hot too.