Top 5 punk bass guitar intro
The best bass intros in punk music according to Flamingo Records
When you listen to punk it is just a matter of time before something happens: sooner or later, you can be sure that you will get the unhealthy idea to start a band. Groups that have failed by a trial-and-error, lucky punx who have found themselves to be the representatives of the underground or, simply, unnecessarily horrible bands. The first approach with the guitar is usually disastrous, those fingers that do not respond and try uselessly and awkwardly to place themselves on the keyboard to compose what should be a chord, then it’s time for renunciation, depression, failure.
Finally the epiphany: even you who don’t understand shit about music, you know that Sid Vicious almost couldn’t handle his instrument, yet he was in a world-famous band… what was he playing? Ah, yeah, the bass! Fuck, how did you not think of that before? The bass guitar plays one note at a time, it’s not as bulky as the drums and it is not demanding like singing! So you catch a guy who has drums, a very rare tool set, but who only listens to the Doors and who thinks more about making out (you’re starting to play just to reach his state of alpha-ape) than playing, a half-metal guitarist but mediocre, the only girl in your high school with eyeliner and colored hair as singer and you book the rehearsal room to try a desperate and horrible punk cover of the only song in the guitarist’s repertoire: Knockin’ on Heaven’s door.
But after all, everyone must have started somewhere and, even if it seems incredible, there are those who have learned how to use this damn bass guitar and have composed unforgettable songs, historical lines and astonishing intro, so here is the top 5 (plus some extra) of the greatest bass intros in the history of punk!
5) Green Day – Longview (Mike Dirnt)
Open chords in which unforgettable bass lines are embedded, this is certainly not the formula for the worldwide success and longevity of Green Day, but it certainly constitutes a good slice of it. This intro is perhaps one of the most famous of the Californian bass player and since 1994, the year of Dookie’s release, is one of the most important moments of every live performance for fans.
4) MDC – John Wayne was a Nazi ( Mike Offender / Franco Mares)
The award-winning debut bass player Mike Offender / Franco Mares has generated one of the best punk tracks ever, an intro to be blown to the nose by those who try to repeat it faithfully.
3) Rancid – Journey to the end of the east bay (Matt Freeman)
The first bass player whose bass lines I tried (with little success) to play. Matt’s touch is unique and it is no coincidence that he is considered one of the best punk bass players ever, famous both for impossible bass parts, like the famous Maxwell Murder solo, and for unforgettable melodies like this one
2) Descendents – Myage (Tony Lombardo)
Fascinated by the story of my friend Robi Incardone, according to whom the first bassist of the Descendents had refined his famous downstroke by training to play with elastic bands on the elbow, I have repeated this song alone at home hundreds of times, always with poor results. Ah, if you don’t love the Descendents you are not my friend.
PS The Descendents basslines are all beautiful, I choose this intro because it is absolutely iconic
1) RKL – Betrayed (Joe Raposo)
The greatest punk bass player of all time, in my opinion, is definitely Joe Raposo, now in Lagwagon, Vulture Wake but author of a couple of albums with Rich Kids on LSD. This is one of his best intros, perfect technique without annoying with unnecessary virtuosity, powerful to the right point, at the scream BE-TRAYED the song makes you scare as if there was no tomorrow. Just love for little Joe, one who makes the instrument speak but who has much less fame than he deserves, why? Probably because he moved almost always to already established bands and he didn’t found one of the historic punk bands, this cost him something in terms of fame, but it doesn’t take away the merit of having composed the best bass punk intro ever.
Bonus
An Italian track: Frammenti – Scivolando via (Slipping away) (Borga’s suggestion)
Obviously, I gave precedence to historical punk songs but there are a lot of really nice intros that are left out, write your chart and send it to us! You can find our contacts here!