what basslines do you find memorable? i like "don juan's reckless daughter" by joni mitchell with the astonishing bassline by Jaco Pastorius. i've thought for quite a while that it must be the best bassline ever. i was listening to it on my headphones last night and although i was lying still and on the verge of uncosciousness i felt like i was a giant running across great plains (possibly of north america) with farms passing in a blur under my feet and pylons stretching into the distance. joni's rhythm guitar playing and zippy vocalising were the air under my heels constantly needling at me with the knowledge that only i could save myself from meaninglessness although the secret of where i was going and what exactly i would do when i got there remained elusive. anyway, this mild fantasy was given real depth and danger by pastorius who all the while was flying along nearby dropping these great big bass bombs left, right and centre and the shockwaves from the ensuing explosions threatened to throw me from my path, even possibly from life itself if he had been aiming them at me but it seemed he was oblivious to me and was intent on destroying the land on which i ran and on which i depended for my existence and meaning. the bombs themselves were finely engineered slick black lozenges which pastorius threw down with apparent disregard for precision targeting yet they all exploded invisibly (cos they work off sound, see?) with great destructively efficient power, each and every one one rattling me to my senses and at the same time pushing me to the limits of my mind.
