Not Enough Bass
The Decemberists, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Jason Isbell
“I've sang enough about myself
So if you're looking for some bad news
You can find it somewhere else”
—Jason Isbell
Good news, y’all. Today Jason Isbell released a new album. We like it when he sings about himself, but this time it looks like he’s going for “grown-up songs: songs about adult love, about change, about the danger of nostalgia and the interrogation of myths, about cruelty and regret and redemption.” That sounds awesome too!
Jonathan is out this week on an annual float trip, so we’ve asked our friend Mat Alexander to fill in for him with a song recommendation. We also have an excellent Bonus Track that we hope leaves you crying NOT ENOUGH BASS!!!!!!
June Hymn | The Decemberists (Mat)
It took me a couple of months to admit it to myself, but my beloved jasmine vine died. I was training it for three years to grow over our garage door, but a rare Alabama deep freeze claimed its life. When I hear, "Training jasmine how to vine up the arbor to your door,” I feel a little bit of sadness but also a fresh determination to plant a new jasmine and start the process over. This song expresses what I love about the warming (who am I kidding? the hot, hotter, and hottest) months in Alabama, even though the song is set in Oregon. It is an ode to the joy of watching creation wake up and embrace its verdant glory, a beautiful reminder of the beauty of place, and a perspective on the simple joys of life. I love it when summer comes to Gadsden, AL. Enjoy the catchy folk rhythms, the happy harmonica, the “Joyful, joyful, we adore thee” and Isaiah 55 lyrical vibes, the celebration of a simple place, and the joy of waking up as the yellow bonnets, ivy, tulips, jasmine, and all the branches burst abloom. A panoply of songs, indeed.
Also available on Apple Music.
1904 | The Tallest Man on Earth (Ben)
How many artists do you know from Sweden? Kristian Matsson (the singer-songwriter who goes by The Tallest Man on Earth) wrote this song about an earthquake in Sweden from over a hundred years ago - I don’t remember how I heard the story, but liked the concept. I like the song too. He’s got a little Dylan vibe going and has produced some stuff more recently that you might also like. (Try the title track on Henry St. (2023) for a different sound - it’s a slow, piano track with heart)
Also available on Apple Music.
Cast Iron Skillet | Jason Isbell (Kody)
This song is peak Isbell. Cast Iron Skillet is filled with several lines of Southern idioms and tells two separate stories that illustrate the brokenness of our world. The first is about a man, once a “sweet and soft” boy shying “away from the inside fastballs,” who killed another man and died “doing life without parole.” The second is about a father who refused to speak to his daughter ever again because she found a boyfriend “with smiling eyes and dark skin.” Isbell will leave you wondering how people can get so low.
Also available on Apple Music.
Bonus Track: Not Enough Bass by Bryan Stephens
Slapping the bass!
Slappa da bass!
Slappa da bass mon!
Slappa de bass mon!
— Paul Rudd as the bass-communicator Peter Klaven in “I Love You, Man” (2009)
I’m a bassist, and I want you to enjoy what bassists create. Bass isn’t top of mind for most listeners, but I hope that you too will be crying “not enough bass” after exploring these tracks.
Sly and the Family Stone | If You Want Me to Stay
Sly Stone had an ear for bass (and maybe even two ears for bass). We’re familiar today with music that heavily features the rhythm section — styles of rock, R&B, funk, hiphop, and EDM — because of Sly’s revolutionary style and the visionary bassists in his group. The band’s first lineup featured Larry Graham, the bassist credited with pioneering the slap bass style who’s also behind Sly’s classics like Everyday People, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), and Dance to the Music.
While Sly’s contemporaries were often shy about the role of the rhythm section, Sly and the Family Stone turned up the bass, let his bassists cook, and changed the way thousands of professional musicians approached the instrument. As Sly refined If You Want Me to Stay, he gave his bass track an increasingly prominent role in the piece. Enjoy this dancy, bass-driven track that captures Sly’s iconic rhythm-focused style.
Also available on Apple Music.
Grover Washington and Bill Withers | Just the Two of Us
The bass is a band’s best tool for opening up a piece with low-end and communicating to their audience a piece’s structure. People instinctively appreciate this aspect of the bass without acknowledging it. But what’s really going on down there in the mix?
I’d like you to re-listen to Just the Two of Us with this in mind: the bass is bringing its own melody to the mix (called a countermelody) while preparing the audience for each new idea in the song. Written by bassist William Satler, relisten to this classic and focus on how bassist Marcus Miller’s hooky countermelodies, soft runs in the spaces between melodic lines, and energetic transitions between verses and choruses brings Satler’s idea life.
Also available on Apple Music.
Vulfpeck | 1 for 1, DiMaggio
Need more bass in your life? Still on the fence? Let’s refine our bass palate with a sampling of Joe Dart from Vulfpeck. On this track, Joe Dart is driving each and every moment of the track with ferocious movement dripping with dancy rhythm and funk! A contemporary master of the bass, Joe’s drives 1 for 1, DiMaggio while sprinkling in tasteful, juicy countermelodies.
Also available on Apple Music.
Thundercat | Unrequited Love
You have to be quite the bassist to pull off a stage name like “Thundercat.” And Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner is quite the bassist!
The melody opening up this next track is equal parts deft and insane. Thundercat doesn’t let up after, however. The bass is absolutely holding down the feeling of the track, adds a ton of tension because it hangs behind the rhythm, and fills the piece with Thundercat’s angst from unrequited love.
Also available on Apple Music.
Bryan Stephens lives in Phoenix, AZ. As you can tell, he loves the bass. His favorite bassist is Flea and his favorite song on his playlist right now is “Lost My Treble Long Ago” by Vulfpeck.
Sorry for the late post this week. Hopefully, we’ve given you some great songs for your weekend playlist. Enjoy!
-TheMusicSwap
“She used to make me feel like the king of Oklahoma, but nothing makes me feel like much of nothin’ anymore.” Sheesh. What a record.
Bryan,
Check out Trevor Weekz on Goose’s Thatch. He is straight slapping that thing. https://open.spotify.com/track/0sduAtv66U89cmjco6DQ7G?si=KOIibBBvRheErgQ-VbaGjA
Also I know I sound like a broken record, but let’s show the Dead’s Phil Lesh some love. The guy was doing things with a bass that humans had never done before. And in the wall of sound days the height of the speakers correlated with the height of a full bass sound wave. This way the audience could really feel it! Crazy stuff.