@@turke765 That was just a live thing. In the studio you can track the bass and vocal separately. But live they would trade instruments and Paul would play rhythm guitar and Joe would play bass. Paul couldn't play the bass part on that song in particular while singing, but he could play and sing in general.
I heard a part of an interview with Stewart Copeland from the Police talking about an early “punk” tour in which The Police and The Clash (among other bands) traveled across Europe together. He says that Sting and Paul Simonon really clicked over talking about bass technique in the back of the bus.
The Clash were a huge influence on Tim Armstrong and Rancid’s sound. “Spanish Bombs” off of London Calling in my personal opinion is one of the best songs ever written. When you talk about the dichotomy in punks songs of the lyrical content versus the actual music that song is a prime example. Very dark subject matter (war, death, etc…) but it’s all over just a beautifully written song. Definitely recommend checking it out. Also, “I’m Not Down” is another favorite of mine off of that album.
London Calling is a facinating album, one of my absolute favourites. They put so much thought and incorporated so many influences into the songs, every song is wildly different. It sounds so fresh and creative to this day and it took them way beyond "just" punk rock.
one of my (many) fave Clash songs...And it's genius songwriting: Strummer wrote the lyrics in reference to Mick Jones' childhood. He really managed to put himself in his shoes and that first line always floors me: "I wasn't born so much as I fell out Nobody seemed to notice me". Those words are so evocative and any Clash song sung by Jones is a gem to me. London Calling as a whole is just a masterpiece! I've been listening to it since I was maybe 16 and it's always stayed with me.
When I was younger and angsty I thought this album was too weak sounding to be punk. Fast forward a few years, and I now get it. Amazing songwriting and playing on this album. I love this song.
@@eboethrasher No, this was always punk both before and after. It's just later people got caught up in "true punk" and gatekeeping shit. Personal theory is that people equated punk with the only two really commercial bands (Sex Pistols and Ramones) that weren't really good at playing and making music, but good at making catchy melodies. Patti Smith was a punk too, and she doesn't fit the mold at all Bands from the same era thats a lot better than Ramones and Sex Pistols with their own unique sounds that shows the width of early punk: The Dead Boys Sham 69 The Damned Cock Sparrer Richard Hell and the Voidoids Black Flag Madness X-Ray Spex Stiff Little Fingers Death Bad Brains And the list goes on and on and on and on
To quote my brother: "If any of the songs on London Calling were played by any other band it would be their number one hit" Considering most people haven't heard Spanish Bombs are proof enough for me
"Stiff Little Fingers" are an Irish Punk band from way back, they were originally named "Highway Star" (after the Deep Purple song). They've had 2 bass players, Ali McMordie originally. He was replaced by Bruce Foxton. If that name is unfamiliar, He was Paul Weller's bassist in "The Jam", who also is a pretty established producer. So that's 2 for you, The Jam are officially a post-punk band, but find Me an old school Punk Who doesn't have at least 1 record with BF on it. SLF - "Gotta Gettaway" it's got a bass lead and it's 3:35, maybe their longest song. The Jam - "That's Entertainment", lead bass. This band was very Rickenbacker for most of their music. In this song, there's no other electric guitar than the bass, 2 acoustic guitars fill it out. At 3:32 it's kind of long for The Jam as well.
Joy Division - She‘s lost control, Dead Souls or Atmosphere have got some fantastic bass lines that really take the songs to another level. Absolutely essential post punk. Peter Hook is one of my favourite bass players.
NMA - very good call 🤘. Served me as an example and motivation for playing bass myself in the late 80s. Great bass tone. The Hunt is also very memorable. Saw them a few times live back in the days
Also, Check out Graham Maby (Joe Jackson) - anything off his 1st two albums and, Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello) Anything from This Years Model for starters...Lipstick Vogue perhaps
Great video. If you're doing early British punk bands, you **have** to do a song by The Jam. Tons of them with great basslines, but probably the most iconic of theirs is Down In The Tube Station at Midnight from their 1978 album All Mod Cons.
Has he done any Joe Jackson? I'd love to hear what you think of Graham Maby's playing and Joe's songwriting. I'm the man and look sharp were some of the first albums I found that made me fall in love with vinyl and vintage stereos
Topper is a truly incredible drummer. If you listen to his drumming on the whole of London Calling it's phenomenal. Sidenote, Simonon is self-taught and had only been playing bass for ~3 years when this was recorded.
I am a guitarist rather than a bass player but I love your videos dude. They are really fascinating and you explain the role of the bass playing in the songs really well. I am thinking of taking up the bass guitar once I am a little bit happier with my guitar playing. I don't see that as a relegation, as you have proven time and again, the bass is extremely important especially in punk rock. Keep up the great work dude 😀
Paul Simonon is my all time favorite bass player. His playing was tasteful and had great tone. He was the embodiment of cool and inspired me to pick up the bass.
Paul Simonon, one of the greatest alongside JJ Brunell and MIke Watt. And this song showcases exactly - as do a lot of his basslines. Hysterical watching Joe Strummer have to tune his bass on stage! And yes, always P-Bass (usually white) with a pick.
Going to the RRHoF and seeing the bass from the London Calling album cover was quite the experience. They've got it there, in the fragments that it ended up in, as a tribute to such a wonderful album. I was truly inspired and pleased upon seeing it.
There are a bunch of great British punk/post- punk bass players. Some of my favorites-JJ Burnel of the Stranglers, Dave Allen Gang of Four, Segs Jennings of the Ruts (Ruts Dc) who was also the bass player for Alabama 3 known for Woke up this morning….the Sopranos theme song, Steve Hanley of the Fall, Ali McMordie-Stiff Little Fingers, Bruce Foxton of the Jam.
Paul uses white Fender heavy 346 picks (I have one of his - a good friend of mine was in a popular band and hung out with Paul a bunch of times, and she gave me one of his picks since I'm a bassist). Paul was huge influence on many bassists (myself included; I have a 1980 white P-Bass) - even Duff McKagan cites Paul in this regard, which he said is why he plays a white P-Bass too!
Love The Clash!!!!!! I'd highly recommend checking out Clamp Down, The Magnificent Seven, and This is Radio Clash. All great songs, with cool bass lines.
And Paul is now in the Damned again and so is amazing drummer Rat Scabies! I've seen them about 4 times but if I can see this lineup, despite them being in their 60s it will be the best Damned show for me 💥🎸🥁🎤🏴☠️🥀🦇
Love this breakdown! Fastest bass player from this era of punk coming out of Europe... The Rezillos - Flying Saucer Attack The walking is absolutely insane!
So happy you finally got around to it. The way he adds "something" to every song on that album elevates them. London Calling and Guns of Brixton are testaments to that. Both are pretty easy to play but genius
Tasty bass by Simonon here indeed! Thanks for checking it out😀 Another suggestion: JJ Burnell from the band The Stranglers. They didnt consider themselves as punks but their first 3-4 records does definetively have a lot of punk in them. And the bass playing is outstanding by JJ Burnell (french parents) JJ also did the main vocals on a few of their songs such as «Something better change». Check out «Nice and Sleazy», «Get a grip on yourself», «Hangin around», «No more heroes» And why not check Scott Reeder of Kyuss. That man is all over the bass all the time! Tune down to C and enjoy! Excuse me if you already had those guys on your channel, Im new here.
I really appreciate all these deep dives into the theory and technique behind the bass parts to these songs. Through you I’m hearing songs I’ve loved for 20+ years through new ears, and it’s inspired me to re-listen to a lot of my favorite albums lately to see what nuances I can pick out that I may have missed before. If you’re looking for British punk suggestions to check out I cannot recommend Gang of Four highly enough. Pretty much anything off their first album would be worth breaking down.
The bass line for this song has a cool beat and a smooth sound. I’m not as familiar with this song but it has made my list of songs to check out. Thanks for the video.😎
If you're exploring British punk looking for interesting bassists to analyze, I recommend checking out The Stranglers. Their bassist, JJ Burnel, has a very unique approach, and an unmistakable crunchy bass tone.
All time favorite band. All time favorite album ! Hard to pick a favorite song. I hadn’t obsessed over any other band until recently when The Warning got into my head. I can listen to those 2 bands all day ! 🤟🏼🎸🥁🎸🎤🤟🏼
Great choice and reaction! Now we need a full album reaction to "London Calling" by The Clash. It's an epic classic album with plenty of bass greatness, you would love it!!
One of my all time favorite songs, didn't expect this one at all. Got London Calling tattooed on me as a wee youngin. Kind of surprised Guns of Brixton wasn't the clash pick but I definitely can't complain!
London Calling might be favourite album , my big brother played it endlessly in our bedroom when I was about 11 years old. Not a typical punk record. I strongly recommend listening to the whole album.
Before I even watch this video, let me just say that this has been my favorite clash song for as long as I've liked the clash. Mainly due to the fact that it's a very bass driven song. So it's pretty cool that someone requested it.
Since you've reached The Clash, the next logical place to go is Norman Watt-Roy who played session on their Sandinista! album (reining it in so that Simenon could manage to play the lines live) and is most famous for his time with Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
Having such a great time watching you in your discovery of punk recently. Would love to see you reacting to some Sublime stuff from the 40oz album (can't actually decide one song). There's also this gentleness and warm and groove feel but very dancy and still punk. I bet you'll like it too! Cheers from a brazilian part-time bassist! :)
I was reading a bit about that! I saw something that said he got excited and accidentally smashed the nicer bass instead of the burner bass he meant to smash. Unsure if that’s true, but if it is, makes the photo even more legendary and super rock n’ roll 😅🤘🏼
@@LowEndUniversity not excited, frustrated that he wasn’t feeling it for the show that night. true he regrets the prime bass was destroyed rather than the spare, but then it’s real moment not contrived
If you want to hear a great bassist from the British punk/pub era then check out Norman Watt-Roy, who played with Ian Dury, Wilko Johnson amongst others, and also, apparently if myths are true, played bass on some Clash tracks on Sandinista.
Jumping genres a tad but sticking to the British Isles a bassist (and band) I’ve been really enjoying recently is Burke Shelley from Budgie. He also handled lead vocals.
Fun fact-That's Paul smashing his bass on the London Calling album cover. Was apparently his favourite bass and he regretted it. But what an album cover!
I love The Clash. This was a fun one. I would recommend Revolution by Authority Zero, Skeletons by Much The Same (great intro), and Fading Out by Mute. A good time to be had by all.
One song you need to hear. The bass line is sick. I dont know if its on youtube, but you Will find it on Spotify. Cut city, Rival trial. You Will love it!
The Clash are one of my biggest influences as a bass player for all of the cool moves you highlighted in this video. You could learn to play bass just by learning the album London Calling.
The whole of London Calling is brilliant. My favorite song and bassline is Rudie Can't Fail and the best groove on that album is Revolution Rock. Paul Simonon learned to play bass by listening to reggae because they were the only records with audible bass. Many of the basslines on LC were written by guitar player Mick Jones and taught to Paul, so the riffs are second hand but the groove is all Paul. He absolutely has a feel of his own that blends flawlessly with Topper Headon's drums and those songs come ALIVE.
If I can.. as an amateur musician, I feel that the space that the bass and the drums give that song really *make* the song.. cause in the end, the song has a feel of melancholia, and loss and regret, while being somewhat playful. And that whole harmonic space that you single out, makes it effective.. the bass plays with the guitars, that are also sparse, too. They play around with the center of the harmony..
This period is epic... ! Check Nothing left from Buzzcocks And The Damned ! Especially with bassist Paul Gray... he plays in Rickenbacker and was on Eddie and the Hot Rods and UFO too. From the Damned with him : Wait for the Blackout , 13th floor vendetta, Billy bad breaks, life goes on (stolen by Nirvana)...
Thank you for the channel and exploration, of course every song that I listen to now has me thinking more about the bass line, what are they doing there, why are they doing that, how does that compare to so and so and such and such? 😂 and of course, oh, I would love to hear that explored on Low End University 😅
Paul Simeon didn’t played at Bass before he joined the clash. They taught him how to play bass he joined the band for his. Looks go read the book last gang in town.
London Calling was where The Clash strayed further from the more straightforward punk sound they had started out with. That's not necessarily a bad thing. As good as they were when sticking to a more raw punk sound, they had the talent to meld together a lot of different genres without it sounding cheesy or forced. It's an incredible album from start to finish.
British punk? Have a listen to "No Rest" by New Model Army. While they might not recognise themselves as Punk, their fans kinda do, and there's a whole lot of very interesting bass playing by one Stuart Morrow. Or alternatively, listen to "My Country" from the same album. They were a trio at the time but sure knew how to fill out their sound.
The Clash are incredible when they get into their reggae/dub pocket. Check out Paul's song "Guns of Brixton" or "Straight to Hell" which MIA sampled for "Paper Planes"
london calling is a classic album for a reason
Paul was a huge reggae fan, that’s a big part of why he’s such a great bassist.
their song Guns of Brixton has one of my favourite bass lines ever, worth checking it out
Written and sung by Paul Simonen, their bass player, hence the heavy bass influence.
I think it was Joe that taught him bass because he couldn’t play for shit when he joined the band.
@@NoxiousRob Paul also doesn't play bass on that song because he couldn't play and sing at the same time. Joe is playing
@@turke765 That was just a live thing. In the studio you can track the bass and vocal separately. But live they would trade instruments and Paul would play rhythm guitar and Joe would play bass. Paul couldn't play the bass part on that song in particular while singing, but he could play and sing in general.
So here for Simonon
He's so cool
I heard a part of an interview with Stewart Copeland from the Police talking about an early “punk” tour in which The Police and The Clash (among other bands) traveled across Europe together. He says that Sting and Paul Simonon really clicked over talking about bass technique in the back of the bus.
Love that so dang much. Bass players are always nerding out! 🤓🤓
The Clash were a huge influence on Tim Armstrong and Rancid’s sound. “Spanish Bombs” off of London Calling in my personal opinion is one of the best songs ever written. When you talk about the dichotomy in punks songs of the lyrical content versus the actual music that song is a prime example. Very dark subject matter (war, death, etc…) but it’s all over just a beautifully written song. Definitely recommend checking it out. Also, “I’m Not Down” is another favorite of mine off of that album.
yeah, that first Rancid was billed " Not the Clash but a reasonable facsimile"
With ya
Spanish Bombs is a banger.
Spanish Bombs is my favourite song ever.
London Calling is a facinating album, one of my absolute favourites. They put so much thought and incorporated so many influences into the songs, every song is wildly different. It sounds so fresh and creative to this day and it took them way beyond "just" punk rock.
one of my (many) fave Clash songs...And it's genius songwriting: Strummer wrote the lyrics in reference to Mick Jones' childhood. He really managed to put himself in his shoes and that first line always floors me: "I wasn't born so much as I fell out Nobody seemed to notice me". Those words are so evocative and any Clash song sung by Jones is a gem to me.
London Calling as a whole is just a masterpiece! I've been listening to it since I was maybe 16 and it's always stayed with me.
Same, got it when I was 15, 59 now and still listening at least once a week. For me the greatest album ever made.
@@grahambrook8164 agreed! If I had to pick just one album to take on an island, it would be that one for sure.
I thought I had it on vinyl
Apparently not cd only getting the vinyl soon.. 😮
@@Terry-ed1pi must-have! :-)
Gang of Four is a great one. As a young player you love an out front line you can hear
The Damned "Love Song " will check off all of the boxes you are looking for. Great early British punk rock song.
1979 masterpiece 💥🎸
Machine Gun Etiquette (Damned lp) and London Calling! 2 British 1979 masterpieces which expanded the punk pallets 💥🤘🎸🎭🌍
that song was ahead of its time! hardcore beat
Algy Ward was awesome player
@@garryherd3042 favorite bass player in the Damned.
Paul's bassline on police and thieves is fucking awesome.
Not the best showcase. It kinda just copied the original bass melody.
It does sound great but he didn’t write it. Their version of the song is great, tho
The only band that matters! I really enjoyed this! Thank you. Maybe some Stiff Little Fingers or The Jam next.
The Jam are up next! 😉
@@LowEndUniversityYES!
Then the Damned 'Love Song'?
Gotta Getaway by SLF would be nice
Some say the greatest rock album cover features Paul Simonon smashing his number one base.
The entire album is a great listen... lots of styles and the drumming is incredible.
When I was younger and angsty I thought this album was too weak sounding to be punk. Fast forward a few years, and I now get it. Amazing songwriting and playing on this album. I love this song.
This was them stretching out beyond just being basic punk, and becoming The Clash.
@@eboethrasher No, this was always punk both before and after. It's just later people got caught up in "true punk" and gatekeeping shit. Personal theory is that people equated punk with the only two really commercial bands (Sex Pistols and Ramones) that weren't really good at playing and making music, but good at making catchy melodies. Patti Smith was a punk too, and she doesn't fit the mold at all
Bands from the same era thats a lot better than Ramones and Sex Pistols with their own unique sounds that shows the width of early punk:
The Dead Boys
Sham 69
The Damned
Cock Sparrer
Richard Hell and the Voidoids
Black Flag
Madness
X-Ray Spex
Stiff Little Fingers
Death
Bad Brains
And the list goes on and on and on and on
@@eboethrashereh, the clash always mixed different genres for their songs. It’s kinda what they’re known for.
I was contemplating giving this album a play through today. This feels like a sign that I should follow through with that.
To quote my brother:
"If any of the songs on London Calling were played by any other band it would be their number one hit"
Considering most people haven't heard Spanish Bombs are proof enough for me
"Stiff Little Fingers" are an Irish Punk band from way back, they were originally named "Highway Star" (after the Deep Purple song). They've had 2 bass players, Ali McMordie originally. He was replaced by Bruce Foxton. If that name is unfamiliar, He was Paul Weller's bassist in "The Jam", who also is a pretty established producer.
So that's 2 for you, The Jam are officially a post-punk band, but find Me an old school Punk Who doesn't have at least 1 record with BF on it.
SLF - "Gotta Gettaway" it's got a bass lead and it's 3:35, maybe their longest song.
The Jam - "That's Entertainment", lead bass. This band was very Rickenbacker for most of their music. In this song, there's no other electric guitar than the bass, 2 acoustic guitars fill it out. At 3:32 it's kind of long for The Jam as well.
Ali also played bass for Moby and Sinéad O’Connor.
Joy Division - She‘s lost control, Dead Souls or Atmosphere have got some fantastic bass lines that really take the songs to another level. Absolutely essential post punk. Peter Hook is one of my favourite bass players.
Hell yeh so many great British bassists John Entwistle, Sting, Simon Gallup, Pete Hook, John Paul Jones, Andy Rourke
Foxton
Lost in a Supermarket lives rent-free in my head.
Same here.
I'm playing this song for a month and i feel happy!
Grade 2 are a top tier modern punk rock band that have a classic British sound, but modern at the same time. Definitely worth checking out!
New Model Army. Vengeance and No Rest Albums , Any track is pure class. Bass plyers name is Stuart Morrow.
Dude play his ass off.
Could not agree more first saw them in the mid 80's
Just discovered them this week! My buddy showed them to me. Sick band!
New Model Army- Great Expectations has great bass drive!
NMA - very good call 🤘. Served me as an example and motivation for playing bass myself in the late 80s. Great bass tone. The Hunt is also very memorable. Saw them a few times live back in the days
Also, Check out Graham Maby (Joe Jackson) - anything off his 1st two albums
and, Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello) Anything from This Years Model for starters...Lipstick Vogue perhaps
LOVE Graham Maby!
Gang of Four- Damaged Goods
Exactly what you are looking for in terms of British punk/post-punk bass
Rad, it’s in the queue!
Great video.
If you're doing early British punk bands, you **have** to do a song by The Jam. Tons of them with great basslines, but probably the most iconic of theirs is Down In The Tube Station at Midnight from their 1978 album All Mod Cons.
Hehe. They are next up! 😎
@@LowEndUniversity Both bands were hugely political and wrote some fantastic, intelligent lyrics
Has he done any Joe Jackson? I'd love to hear what you think of Graham Maby's playing and Joe's songwriting. I'm the man and look sharp were some of the first albums I found that made me fall in love with vinyl and vintage stereos
I’m 56 yo, try to stay relatively current with new music, and yet this has remained my all-time favorite album for decades now.
London Calling is a perfect album, top to bottom. This is one of the highlights, great playing on this song
Topper is a truly incredible drummer. If you listen to his drumming on the whole of London Calling it's phenomenal.
Sidenote, Simonon is self-taught and had only been playing bass for ~3 years when this was recorded.
sim (like the sims games) - in - in is how I've always heard it said.
I am a guitarist rather than a bass player but I love your videos dude. They are really fascinating and you explain the role of the bass playing in the songs really well. I am thinking of taking up the bass guitar once I am a little bit happier with my guitar playing. I don't see that as a relegation, as you have proven time and again, the bass is extremely important especially in punk rock. Keep up the great work dude 😀
Paul Simonon is my all time favorite bass player. His playing was tasteful and had great tone. He was the embodiment of cool and inspired me to pick up the bass.
Have you every tried to say "Simonon is not a synonym for cinnamon" I just tried right now, not so much.
half the songs he never played on, learn your history, blockheads player did most of his stuff fact
@@fashionicon1972most of his stuff??? Norman Watt-Roy played on some songs but “half the songs”??😅
My all time favorite song by them represents those teenage years so well
Also, the title for the show Kids in the Hall comes from this song: "kids in halls and the pipes in the walls"
Paul Simonon, one of the greatest alongside JJ Brunell and MIke Watt. And this song showcases exactly - as do a lot of his basslines. Hysterical watching Joe Strummer have to tune his bass on stage!
And yes, always P-Bass (usually white) with a pick.
Going to the RRHoF and seeing the bass from the London Calling album cover was quite the experience. They've got it there, in the fragments that it ended up in, as a tribute to such a wonderful album. I was truly inspired and pleased upon seeing it.
@@eboethrasher nice- had no idea that was there. Life changing stuff 🤘
There are a bunch of great British punk/post- punk bass players. Some of my favorites-JJ Burnel of the Stranglers, Dave Allen Gang of Four, Segs Jennings of the Ruts (Ruts Dc) who was also the bass player for Alabama 3 known for Woke up this morning….the Sopranos theme song, Steve Hanley of the Fall, Ali McMordie-Stiff Little Fingers, Bruce Foxton of the Jam.
Magnificent 7 is just amazing! Some wicked syncopated riffs
Paul Simonon's tone is still one of my fave ones to this day.
Forgive me for another post - but the bass line on The Clash - White Riot (original 1977 version) is pretty memorable.
Getting to see Paul Simonon live while playing bass in the Good, the Bad & the Queen was transcendental, to say the least.
Paul uses white Fender heavy 346 picks (I have one of his - a good friend of mine was in a popular band and hung out with Paul a bunch of times, and she gave me one of his picks since I'm a bassist). Paul was huge influence on many bassists (myself included; I have a 1980 white P-Bass) - even Duff McKagan cites Paul in this regard, which he said is why he plays a white P-Bass too!
Love The Clash!!!!!! I'd highly recommend checking out Clamp Down, The Magnificent Seven, and This is Radio Clash. All great songs, with cool bass lines.
Yes yes yes all my favs
Norman Watt Roy of the Blockheads played bass on Mag 7.
Clampdown is a Top 5 song all time for me.
Billy Bad Breaks by the Damned (with Paul Gray on bass, I think) is my favorite all time punk bass line.
And Paul is now in the Damned again and so is amazing drummer Rat Scabies! I've seen them about 4 times but if I can see this lineup, despite them being in their 60s it will be the best Damned show for me 💥🎸🥁🎤🏴☠️🥀🦇
@@mattjohn4731 I am planning on seeing them on this tour. It is my favorite line up of my favorite band.
Love this breakdown! Fastest bass player from this era of punk coming out of Europe...
The Rezillos - Flying Saucer Attack
The walking is absolutely insane!
So happy you finally got around to it. The way he adds "something" to every song on that album elevates them. London Calling and Guns of Brixton are testaments to that. Both are pretty easy to play but genius
Tasty bass by Simonon here indeed! Thanks for checking it out😀
Another suggestion: JJ Burnell from the band The Stranglers. They didnt consider themselves as punks but their first 3-4 records does definetively have a lot of punk in them. And the bass playing is outstanding by JJ Burnell (french parents) JJ also did the main vocals on a few of their songs such as «Something better change». Check out «Nice and Sleazy», «Get a grip on yourself», «Hangin around», «No more heroes»
And why not check Scott Reeder of Kyuss. That man is all over the bass all the time! Tune down to C and enjoy!
Excuse me if you already had those guys on your channel, Im new here.
Rancid's album "Life Won't Wait" was heavily influenced by the Clash album "Sandinista!". Both are great albums worth checking out!
Great shoutout to Rancid...I listened to life wont wait last week and it still holds up...Matt Freeman on base never gets old
100% agreed
I really appreciate all these deep dives into the theory and technique behind the bass parts to these songs. Through you I’m hearing songs I’ve loved for 20+ years through new ears, and it’s inspired me to re-listen to a lot of my favorite albums lately to see what nuances I can pick out that I may have missed before.
If you’re looking for British punk suggestions to check out I cannot recommend Gang of Four highly enough. Pretty much anything off their first album would be worth breaking down.
Heck yeah, that means so much. Thank you! Gang of Four are in the queue a little later this Spring. Stay tuned! 🙏🏼
Suggestion:
Refused - Summerholidays vs Punkroutine
The bass line for this song has a cool beat and a smooth sound. I’m not as familiar with this song but it has made my list of songs to check out. Thanks for the video.😎
This song gets me right in the feels. Probably my favourite Clash song.
Awesome! Everything I know about ska punk bass writing/ performing I learned from Matt Freeman & Paul Simonon.
If you're exploring British punk looking for interesting bassists to analyze, I recommend checking out The Stranglers. Their bassist, JJ Burnel, has a very unique approach, and an unmistakable crunchy bass tone.
All time favorite band. All time favorite album ! Hard to pick a favorite song. I hadn’t obsessed over any other band until recently when The Warning got into my head. I can listen to those 2 bands all day ! 🤟🏼🎸🥁🎸🎤🤟🏼
Paul was playing bass less than 3 years when London Calling was recorded. .he has amazing feel and great note selection for a beginner
I love playing bass along to this track.
Great choice and reaction! Now we need a full album reaction to "London Calling" by The Clash. It's an epic classic album with plenty of bass greatness, you would love it!!
The bass playing is so good compared with other songs on that album, it's almost as if someone else played bass
One of my all time favorite songs, didn't expect this one at all. Got London Calling tattooed on me as a wee youngin. Kind of surprised Guns of Brixton wasn't the clash pick but I definitely can't complain!
love hearing all these punk tunes covered, keep it up!
More to come!
‘Why Can’t I Touch it?’ Buzzcocks for more early British punk with killer bass.
Anything off of singles going steady! The strokes owe pete shelly everything.
Or, You Say You Don't Love Me
Or, I Believe
Garvey = brilliant player
Probably my favorite clash song good choice
One of my favourite albums ever. BTW that’s Paul on the album cover.
My all time favorite band
London Calling might be favourite album , my big brother played it endlessly in our bedroom when I was about 11 years old. Not a typical punk record. I strongly recommend listening to the whole album.
Check out the Vibrators - Whips and Furs. One of the coolest punk bass lines ever!
Before I even watch this video, let me just say that this has been my favorite clash song for as long as I've liked the clash. Mainly due to the fact that it's a very bass driven song. So it's pretty cool that someone requested it.
Rad!! Hope you enjoyed it man!
Since you've reached The Clash, the next logical place to go is Norman Watt-Roy who played session on their Sandinista! album (reining it in so that Simenon could manage to play the lines live) and is most famous for his time with Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
a telling thing you said was 'its not a ballad but it feels like it' .. that's absolutely right. it sounds sad and thoughtful
Having such a great time watching you in your discovery of punk recently. Would love to see you reacting to some Sublime stuff from the 40oz album (can't actually decide one song). There's also this gentleness and warm and groove feel but very dancy and still punk. I bet you'll like it too! Cheers from a brazilian part-time bassist! :)
That album cover of Paul about to bury his bass into the stage floor. Captured by Pennie Smith. The greatest rock photo ever taken
I was reading a bit about that! I saw something that said he got excited and accidentally smashed the nicer bass instead of the burner bass he meant to smash. Unsure if that’s true, but if it is, makes the photo even more legendary and super rock n’ roll 😅🤘🏼
@@LowEndUniversity not excited, frustrated that he wasn’t feeling it for the show that night. true he regrets the prime bass was destroyed rather than the spare, but then it’s real moment not contrived
Ah, thanks for clarifying. Also equally as rock n’ roll 😬
Suggestion for British punk: The Damned - Wait for the blackout, the bassist is Paul Gray
Oh hell yeah, my favorite Clash song!
If you want to hear a great bassist from the British punk/pub era then check out Norman Watt-Roy, who played with Ian Dury, Wilko Johnson amongst others, and also, apparently if myths are true, played bass on some Clash tracks on Sandinista.
Jumping genres a tad but sticking to the British Isles a bassist (and band) I’ve been really enjoying recently is Burke Shelley from Budgie. He also handled lead vocals.
Fun fact-That's Paul smashing his bass on the London Calling album cover. Was apparently his favourite bass and he regretted it. But what an album cover!
His playing on Havana 3AM is also great. And Sandinista is going to the desert island with me.
I love The Clash. This was a fun one. I would recommend Revolution by Authority Zero, Skeletons by Much The Same (great intro), and Fading Out by Mute. A good time to be had by all.
One song you need to hear. The bass line is sick. I dont know if its on youtube, but you Will find it on Spotify. Cut city, Rival trial. You Will love it!
Stranglers!!! JJ is a beast!
This is my favorite Clash song...
I LOVE this song!
Brit punk: the Damned, Crass, Slits, Poison Girls, Conflict, Discharge, Varukers, UK Subs, Adverts, Generation X (Billy Idol), Ruts, Doom, Zoundz, Wire 💥🇬🇧🏴☠️🎸
Cock sparrer, Vibrators, last resort, SLF, the business
The Clash are one of my biggest influences as a bass player for all of the cool moves you highlighted in this video. You could learn to play bass just by learning the album London Calling.
Love it!
The whole of London Calling is brilliant. My favorite song and bassline is Rudie Can't Fail and the best groove on that album is Revolution Rock. Paul Simonon learned to play bass by listening to reggae because they were the only records with audible bass. Many of the basslines on LC were written by guitar player Mick Jones and taught to Paul, so the riffs are second hand but the groove is all Paul. He absolutely has a feel of his own that blends flawlessly with Topper Headon's drums and those songs come ALIVE.
If I can.. as an amateur musician, I feel that the space that the bass and the drums give that song really *make* the song.. cause in the end, the song has a feel of melancholia, and loss and regret, while being somewhat playful. And that whole harmonic space that you single out, makes it effective.. the bass plays with the guitars, that are also sparse, too. They play around with the center of the harmony..
This period is epic... !
Check Nothing left from Buzzcocks
And The Damned ! Especially with bassist Paul Gray... he plays in Rickenbacker and was on Eddie and the Hot Rods and UFO too.
From the Damned with him : Wait for the Blackout , 13th floor vendetta, Billy bad breaks, life goes on (stolen by Nirvana)...
Thank you for the channel and exploration, of course every song that I listen to now has me thinking more about the bass line, what are they doing there, why are they doing that, how does that compare to so and so and such and such? 😂 and of course, oh, I would love to hear that explored on Low End University 😅
Haha, my master plan is working! 😉😅
@@LowEndUniversityHahaha, well done 😄
this sonnnnngggg!!!! is sooo goooddd!!!!!
Short list:
999 - Homicide
The Jam - Town Called Malice
The Stranglers - Nice 'N' Sleazy
Paul Simeon didn’t played at Bass before he joined the clash. They taught him how to play bass he joined the band for his. Looks go read the book last gang in town.
Great content, man!!
Appreciate it!
I feel like the uncomfortable climbing part near the end fits/highlights with the "being lost" aspect of the song!
London Calling was where The Clash strayed further from the more straightforward punk sound they had started out with. That's not necessarily a bad thing. As good as they were when sticking to a more raw punk sound, they had the talent to meld together a lot of different genres without it sounding cheesy or forced. It's an incredible album from start to finish.
Please do a video on The Jam " A Town called Malice"
They’re up next!
British punk? Have a listen to "No Rest" by New Model Army. While they might not recognise themselves as Punk, their fans kinda do, and there's a whole lot of very interesting bass playing by one Stuart Morrow. Or alternatively, listen to "My Country" from the same album. They were a trio at the time but sure knew how to fill out their sound.
The Clash are incredible when they get into their reggae/dub pocket. Check out Paul's song "Guns of Brixton" or "Straight to Hell" which MIA sampled for "Paper Planes"
Also, another great British punk band and song... Everybody's Happy Nowadays, by The Buzzcocks.
A band worth checking out is the Toy Dolls; a lot of people view them as a novelty act, but they're all very talented musicians.
his playing is very atypical... the bass line of "train in vain" is strangely simple and difficult at the same time. You could take a look at it too 🙏
The Clash doing the Magnificent Seven of you want a deep bass line! Great Clash reaction!