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Riffstory Lesson: Man Plays 100 Bass Lines From Mingus to Metallica, Nirvana and Beyond

Riffstory Lesson: Man Plays 100 Bass Lines From Mingus to Metallica, Nirvana and Beyond

When virtuosic YouTube music supercuts come together, it’s usually the singer or the guitarist whose contribution takes center stage. Finally, someone gives the rhythm section some, via Chicago Music Exchange. Witnessed above, bassist Marc Najjar and drummer Nate Bauman give us an aural history lesson in groove, chronologically working their way through 100 different bass riffs starting with the likes of Fats Domino and Charles Mingus, moving on through the Beach Boys and the Beatles, to Metallic and Red Hot Chili Peppers, to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, all the way up to Daft Punk, Tame Impala, and Queens of the Stone Age. The performance is more than an impressive feat — it also serves to point out just how vital the low end on a familiar song can be. Below you’ll find a list of every song tackled, and the corresponding timestamps (h/t Consequence of Sound).

1) Fats Domino – “Ain’t That a Shame” – 0:00
2) Charles Mingus – “Haitian Fight Song” – 0:14
3) Henry Mancini – “Peter Gunn” – 0:19
4) Booker T & The MGs – “Green Onions” – 0:27
5) Ben E. King – “Stand By Me” – 0:34
6) Wilson Pickett – “Midnight Hour” – 0:42
7) Beach Boys – “California Girls” – 0:50
8) The Who – “My Generation” – 0:59
9) Herbie Hancock – “Bring Down the Birds” – 1:04
10) The Beatles – “Taxman” – 1:11
11) Jefferson Airplane – “White Rabbit” – 1:16
12) Otis Redding – “Dock of the Bay” – 1:26
13) The Four Tops – “Bernadette” – 1:36
14) Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Fire” – 1:43
15) Cream – “Sunshine of Your Love” – 1:56
16) Iron Butterfly – “In a Gadda Da Vida” – 2:05
17) Rolling Stones – “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” – 2:12
18) Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back” – 2:19
19) Led Zeppelin – “Ramble On” – 2:29
20) Led Zeppelin – “Moby Dick” – 2:41
21) Allman Brothers Band – “Whipping Post” – 2:50
22) George Baker – “Little Green Bag” – 2:57
23) Chicago – “25 or 6 to 4” – 3:06
24) Black Sabbath – “N.I.B.” – 3:18
25) Jethro Tull – “Aqualung” – 3:27
26) Charles Wright – “Express Yourself” – 3:33
27) Yes – “Heart of the Sunrise” – 3:43
28) Marvin Gaye – “What’s Goin’ On” – 3:53
29) Curtis Mayfield – “Pusherman” – 4:01
30) Lou Reed – “Walk on the Wild Side” – 4:09
31) Bob Marley – “Stir It Up” – 4:20
32) Steve Miller – “The Joker” – 4:26
33) Pink Floyd – “Money” – 4:32 
34) Tower of Power – “What Is Hip?” – 4:39
35) Herbie Hancock – “Chameleon” – 4:49 
36) Sly & The Family Stone – “If You Want Me to Stay” – 5:08
37) The Artistic/The Talking Heads – “Psycho Killer” – 5:17
38) Aerosmith – “Sweet Emotion” – 5:25
39) War – “Lowrider” – 5:40
40) Jaco Pastorius – “Come On, Come Over” – 5:47
41) Stevie Wonder – “Sir Duke” – 5:59
42) Thin Lizzy – “The Boys Are Back in Town” – 6:18
43) The Commodores – “Brick House” – 6:30
44) Parliament – “Flashlight” – 6:39
45) The Damned – “Neat Neat Neat” – 6:50
46) Graham Central Station – “Pow” – 7:00
47) Elvis Costello – “Pump It Up” – 7:07
48) Grateful Dead – “Fire on the Mountain” – 7:14
49) Gang Of Four – “Ether” – 7:26
50) The Clash – “London Calling” – 7:38
51) The Clash – “Guns of Brixton” – 7:44
52) The Specials – “Gangsters” – 7:55
53) Police – “Message in a Bottle” – 8:02
54) Chic – “Good Times” – 8:15
55) Queen – “Another One Bites the Dust” – 8:24
56) Joy Division – “Love Will Tear Us Apart” – 8:32
57) Motorhead – “Ace of Spades” – 8:45
58) Rush – “YYZ” – 8:56
59) King Crimson – “Thela Hun Ginjeet” – 9:12
60) Rick James – “Super Freak” – 9:19
61) The Jam – “Town Called Malice” – 9:26
62) Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean” – 9:35
63) Iron Maiden – “Run to the Hills” – 9:43
64) New Order – “Blue Monday” – 10:04
65) Metallica – “Orion” – 10:16
66) Megadeth – “Peace Sells” – 10:32
67) Anthrax – “Caught in a Mosh” – 10:39
68) The Cure – “Just Like Heaven” – 10:49
69) Fishbone – “Bonin’ in the Boneyard” 11:02
70) Living Colour – “Cult of Personality” – 11:10
71) Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Higher Ground” – 11:20
72) Primus – “Tommy the Cat” – 11:27
73) Chili Peppers – “Give It Away” – 11:36
74) Jesus Lizard – “Nub” – 11:46
75) Ozzy Osbourne – “No More Tears” – 11:53
76) Rage Against the Machine – “Bombtrack” – 12:01
77) Pearl Jam – “Jeremy” – 12:20
78) Nirvana – “Come as You Are” – 12:34
79) The Breeders – “Cannonball” – 12:41
80) Sleep – “Dragonaut” – 12:50
81) Soundgarden – “The Day I Tried to Live” – 12:57
82) Green Day – “Longview” – 13:10
83) Weezer – “Only in Dreams” – 13:24
84) Failure – “Heliotropic” – 13:35
85) Jamiroquai – “Virtual Insanity” – 13:50
86) Erykah Badu (Ron Carter) – “Tyrone” – 14:00
87) Victor Wooten – “Me and My Bass Guitar” – 14:12
88) Daft Punk – “Around the World” – 14:20
89) Primus – “Lacquer Head” – 14:36
90) Tool – “Schism” – 14:44
91) Dream Theater – “The Test That Stumped Them All” – 14:56
92) Muse – “Hysteria” – 15:01
93) DFA 1979 – “Turn It Out” – 15:11
94) Broken Social Scene – “7/4 (Shoreline)” – 15:30
95) Gorillaz – “Feel Good, Inc” – 15:42
96) LCD Soundsystem – “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” – 15:54
97) MGMT – “Electric Feel” – 16:08
98) Tame Impala – “Elephant” – 16:22
99) Daft Punk – “Get Lucky” – 16:37
100) QOTSA – “My God Is the Sun” – 16:52