History Main / NobodyLovestheBassist

This trope tends to be averted in jazz, soul, funk, and R&B music, especially from the '60s and '70s, where the bass is much more prominent than it is in rock and pop. In smsll jazz groups, the bassist may get a solo on most songs. In soul, elaborately decorated basslines are a key to the sound. In funk, bassists do percussive slapping and popping along with muted "dead notes", hammer-ons, ans slides.

This trope tends to be averted in jazz, soul, funk, and R&B music, especially from the '60s and '70s, where the bass is much more prominent than it is in rock and pop.

This can be [[EnforcedTrope enforced]] or [[JustifiedTrope justified]]. The inherent structure of much rock and pop music encourages a simple, supportive bass line. This makes it [[http://mic.com/articles/120137/science-suggests-bassists-are-far-more-important-than-most-people-realize hard for a bass player]] to stand out naturally, and doubly hard to do so without simply showing off at the music's expense. So most of the time, a bassist doing his job properly ends up drawing relatively little attention to himself; bassists who try to defy this and push their way into a LeadBassist role without actually taking the songs themselves into consideration will quickly piss off their bandmates and be shown the door. At worst, they may be treated as a ButtMonkey or TheFriendNobodyLikes.

In the music industry, nobody has worse press than the bassist. The singer is almost always [[TheFaceOfTheBand the first person who comes to mind when thinking of the band]], the guitarist is the second (complete with AirGuitar), next there's the [[AllDrummersAreAnimals wild and crazy drummer/percussionists]], then the keyboardist/pianist turning out a lightning-fast solo, and then maybe musicians playing instruments which are found in jazz, orchestras or cultural bands - saxophonists, violinists, banjo players, trumpeters, etc.

* In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xLSkpF_E8c music video]] for "Legend of Archery" by Music/DriftlessPonyClub, Sam Grant gets scolded by Matt, flipped off by Nate, and ultimately kicked out by Craig. [[spoiler: [[KillEmAll It doesn't go over well for them...]]]]

** Justified with the Killmaster and his Thunderhogs are capable of healing your infantry with their bass music, however, they have no offensive capabilities and thus they only serve as support units while the rest of your army does the heavy lifting.

** By unanimous consent, Murderface's bass lines are always left out of the final mix.

** The most famous such band is Music/TheRollingStones, who haven't had an official bassist since Bill Wyman left. Darryl Jones has largely replaced him, but he's a salaried employee of the band, not an official member.

** In ''Desibelles'', which is centered around an all-girls punk rock band, NaiveNewcomer Mokki is of course saddled with the responsibility of playing the bass. Gina makes a real effort to convince her of the importance of the bassist, to the point where Mokki [[SincerityMode sincerly]] wonders if Gina shouldn't play the bass herself. Gina's response is "Pfft, I ain't playing no lame bass!"

** In ''Hjalmar'', the title character's son is adviced to go to school with a guitar case as a trick to impress girls. When he comes home, Hjalmar is relievd to see that he didn't open the case, because he accidentally packed a bass. When asked why that would make such a difference, Hjalmar tells him that "Bassists rank below [[PolkaDork accordionists.]]"

** During Ross Valory's absence from Music/{{Journey}}, the band replaced him with non-member hire Randy Jackson (later of ''Series/AmericanIdol'').

* The LP sleeve artwork for Music/DeepPurple's album Music/DeepPurpleInRock shows the Presidents of Mount Rushmore replaced by the band members of Deep Purple, as if the mountain has been resculpted. Washington, Jefferson, Rooseveldt and Lincoln are replaced, left to right, with Ian Gillan[[note]] lead singer[[/note]], Ian Paice[[note]] drummer[[/note]], Jon Lord[[note]] keyboards[[/note]] and Richie Blackmore[[note]] lead guitar[[/note]], who retain the relative positions of the four Presidents. However, a fifth band member necessarily had to be fitted into the picture which posed a problem. Bass player Roger Glover is relegated to the bottom right of the picture, a lot lower than the other four and in a distinctly subordinate position.

* Throughout early Music/{{Genesis}} albums, all bass parts were played by the band's rhythm guitarist Mike Rutherford. Playing live he would spend roughly equal time between guitar and bass; when he was on guitar, the bass notes were either left out or played on a pedal bass synthesizer. After lead guitarist Steve Hackett left the group, Rutherford would alternate the two instruments with sideman Daryl Stuermer, generally playing guitar for more contemporary songs. All the instrument swapping led to him using a series of AceCustom 12-string/bass double-neck guitars; the most famous of which was a Shergold construction (played from 1977 until about 1990) which allowed him to rapidly swap three different guitar uppers (12-string in two different tunings, and a six-string) onto a bass lower section.

* In ''Manga/KOn'', the classical lack of attention towards the bassist is Mio Akiyama's reason for choosing to play the bass, as she has significant self-confidence issues. This would've been played straight had it not been for one unforeseen, panties-flashing circumstance during their first school festival performance resulting in her being the band's most popular member.

* In ''Manga/KOn'', the classical lack of attention towards the bassist is Mio Akiyama's reason for choosing to play the bass, as she has significant self-confidence issues. This would've been played straight had it not been for one [[PantyShot unforeseen circumstance]] during their first school festival performance resulting in her being the band's most popular member.

* The same story plays out in childrens' classical piece ''Tubby The Tuba'', in which the eponymous musical instrument gets very depressed that his only role in the orchestra is to provide the monotonous repetitive underlying theme on the bass clef staves, the one that more favoured trumpets and trombones and French Horns get to structure their more varied parts and solos around. At one point Tubby laments that nobody realises the tuba is actually there until he gets ideas thought to be beyond his lowly station (for which the other instruments mock him mercilessly).

[[/folder]]

* Music/DireStraits was fronted by lead guitarist and lead vocalist Mark Knopfler from its formation in 1977 to its dissolution in 1995. Everyone else came and went as needed...except for bassist John Illsley, the guy standing way, way, ''waaaaaay'' at the back of [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dire-straits_3142.jpg this photo]] who looks like he's not even sure the camera picked him up. In 2019, Illsey was infamously put on the spot and had to do the band's UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame induction speech himself because no one had offered to do it for them (In part because Knopfler declined to show up).

* Famously averted with the Music/RedHotChiliPeppers - Flea has been around since the very beginning and is once of the most recognizable members of the band.

* [[DownPlayedTrope A downplayed example]] happens in the Series/{{VIP}} episode "Hard Val's Night" where the members of Lit guest star [[AsHimself as themselves]]. Of all the members the band's bassist gets the least amount of lines and is usually positioned behind the other members. And in the music video at the end of the episode, [[spoiler: he's the first one Val eats.]]

!! Examples in media:

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* The bass player was the only band member ''not'' involved in Creator/AyaHirano's career-derailing sex scandal (and subsequently the only band member not fired), though he reportedly had to deal with some sexual harassment.
* In ''Anime/BangDream'', Himari is supposed to be the leader and FaceOfTheBand for Afterglow, but for all intents and purposes, those roles actually befall Ran, who’s already the lead singer and thus naturally the one the audience would look at. Even RealLife marketing treats Ran as the band’s leader and front-figure!
** Also, Chisato is a child actor who naturally assumed she would be the face of Pastel Palettes when it was created, only to be visibly annoyed when she was given the role of bassist instead.
* Wada (stage name Jagi), the bassist of ''Manga/DetroitMetalCity'', is the least-focused on of the band trio. Off the job he is a professional musician who does his job because it's his job, [[TheGenericGuy and is neither as conflicted about his role as Negishi or as outright crazy as Nishida]]. His only DayInTheLimelight involves this trope being lampshaded by fans talking about how the other two members overshadowing him.
* In ''Manga/{{Fuuka}}'', during Blue Wells’ nationwide tour, the band quickly manages to sell lots of photos of the different band members, except for Yuu. It probably doesn’t help that Yuu looks very plain and unremarkable compared to the rest of the band. Even when they play a gig in a rehearsal studio (for an audience of 11 people), nobody wants to talk to Yuu after the gig, except a middle schooler.
* In ''Manga/KOn'', the classical lack of attention towards the bassist is Mio Akiyama's reason for choosing to play the bass, as she has significant self-confidence issues. This would've been played straight had it not been for one [[PantyShot unforeseen circumstance]] during their first school festival performance resulting in her being the band's most popular member.
* The anime of ''Manga/LycheeLightClub'' pokes fun at this, at one point. The club decides to form a band, and everyone is eager to participate until Zera asks who will be the bass player. Everyone goes dead silent.
* Invoked with Ako in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', who struggles with worries that she is nothing but a minor character destined to live forever in the background (which, well, [[GenreSavvy is kinda true]]) and plays the bass in a high school rock band.
* ''Anime/ShowByRock'''s adaptation has the bassist of Plasmagica, Retoree, bring this up. She doesn't have the star power of Chuchu, nor the playing ability and wow factor as RookieRedRanger Cyan, so she confesses that she feels like the rest of the band and fans don't care for her. Luckily Cyan puts those fears to bed since she considers everyone in the band her dearest friends.

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* Discussed in a ''ComicBook/{{Rocky}}'' strip, where Rocky and his buddy concludes that being a bassist is a job for slackers since nobody cares if you show up for rehearsals or even for the ''concerts''.

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/AlmostFamous'' Stillwater's bassist Larry has maybe three spoken lines in the whole film, and he's mainly treated as the dumb one. The director's cut includes this hilarious exchange when he's being interviewed by protagonist William:
-->'''William:''' How would you describe your role in Stillwater? What is the chemical that you add to the chemistry?\\
'''Larry:''' I'm the bass player.\\
'''William:''' Right. And when you take that away... what would be missing? Stylistically? What chemical?\\
'''Larry:''' The bass?
* Quinn from ''Film/EddieAndTheCruisers II: Eddie Lives!'' is pretty much ignored by the plot, the director, the rest of the cast, and the audience. Ironically he was the only real-life legit rock star in the cast (he's Mark Holmes from the Canadian new wave band [[http://www.platinumblondeworld.com Platinum Blonde]]).
* The MadeForTV Music/DefLeppard biopic ''Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story'' turns bass player Rick Savage into a SatelliteCharacter with few lines; while he does get plenty of close-ups to remind us that he's still there, he only has one significant chunk of dialogue, and even that is a bit of a backhanded LampshadeHanging as it is essentially just him noting how he tends to stand at the back of the group watching everyone else.
* [[Creator/RosarioDawson Val]] from ''Film/JosieAndThePussyCats'' is constantly pushed to the sidelines. According to [[WordOfGOd DVD commentary]], it's because she's the bass player.
* Creator/MichaelCera seems to have a thing for this, playing the role of loser bassist in ''Film/NickAndNorahsInfinitePlaylist''.
* ''Film/SchoolOfRock'': Bass player Katie has few spoken lines, and is the only one who doesn't get an end-credit solo (at least in the final cut; Creator/JackBlack would later [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3dlWNQbhJ0 let her perform a solo in the reunion concert]]). The movie's only ''named'' bassists are unsympathetic acquaintances of the main character.
* ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'': In the film, Scott and one of the evil exes engage in a "bass battle," which is treated as a self-evident gag scene.
* In ''Film/ThatThingYouDo'', when the bass player of the Wonders is referred to (which isn't that often) it's always by description rather than by name. In the credits the character is listed as "T.B. Player," and when he disappears during the band's trip to Los Angeles, nobody really cares; they replace him with a studio musician. Also averted with the replacement bassist in that when the Wonders fall apart the manager tells him (paraphrased) "see you around" while his attitude towards the actual band members is closer to "goodbye and good luck."
* In ''Film/DetroitRockCity,'' Lex is definitely the fourth man of the cover band Mystery; ironic in that Gene Simmons is a prime example of the LeadBassist in Music/{{KISS}} itself.

[[folder:Humor]]
* A couple is seeing a marriage counselor, but are far too shy to open up about their relationship problems. After many minutes of fruitless attempts to start a dialogue, the therapist sighs, takes out a bass guitar, and starts playing - and after a moment, the couple starts talking! The problem is actually very simple, though embarrassing, and at the end of the session, they thank him profusely. "Thank you so much! But, what was the bass solo for?"\\
The counselor's good mood evaporates instantly. It visibly pains him to explain: "My friends and I have a band, and I know from experience: during the bass solo, ''everyone'' talks."
* Another joke: A man vacationing on an island is driven crazy by the constant sound of drums, but whenever he tries to ask the natives when it will stop, they look horrified and tell him, "Very bad when drumming stops." Finally, he plucks up the courage to ask what happens when the drumming stops, and the response is, "Bass solo."
* In the ''Website/CollegeHumor'' video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5QCs3PnQBc Learning Guitar to Get Laid]]", it ends with a (fake) ad for a video cassette called: "Learning the Bass and NOT Getting Laid."
* Let the ''Series/TheKidsInTheHall'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwAYUUJ28UU demonstrate.]]
* Q: How many bass players does it take to screw in a light bulb?\\
A: [[spoiler:None. The keyboard player can do it with his left hand.]]
* Q: What do you call a woman at a bassist's arm?\\
A: [[spoiler: A tattoo.]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/TheCommitments'' (the novel), Derek is easily the least competent of the instrumentalists in the band.
* In ''Literature/IAmAmericaAndSoCanYou'', Stephen mentions how while the singer and guitarist pick out a group of grade-A groupies to spend the night with, you the pitiful bassist are forced to take from the lowest C-grade dregs. Also, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking you're expected to room with the drummer]].
* [[Music/TheKLF Bill Drummond and Jim Cauty]] discuss the disdain for bass in general in their book ''The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)''. They note that white Europeans care so little about bass that ''bass rhythms aren't covered by copyright''. Although Drummond and Cauty encourage their readers to make the ''melody'' of their future #1 hit [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong suspiciously similar to some other hit song]], when it comes to the bass, they tell the readers to just go ahead and directly copy a good bass line from some other song. They also note that the trend is to use synthesizers for the bass lines (the book was written in 1988) because that's preferable to dealing with some "thumb slapping dick head" of a bass guitarist.
-->"The great thing about bass lines is that they are in public domain. Nobody, even if they do recognize it, will seriously accuse you of ripping somebody else's bass line off."
* In ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'', bass players are two for a penny in Han Dold City.
* In ''Literature/SoulMusic'', none of Insanity/The Blots/The Whom/Surreptitious Fabric/And Supporting Bands can actually play their instruments, but the bass player Noddy has it particularly bad since no one seems to care that he has an instrument that is ''impossible'' to play (the guitar maker, giggling hysterically, had made it from a lump of wood and some fence wire).

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* An episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' seemingly plays this trope straight when the bass player is the only member of a band to never actually appear in the episode because he and 22 other people are killed off-camera in the opening scene. The trope is later subverted when the lead guitarist laments about how the band will never be the same because the bass player was a musical genius.
* [[DownPlayedTrope A downplayed example]] happens in the Series/{{VIP}} episode "Hard Val's Night" where the members of Lit guest star [[AsHimself as themselves]]. Of all the members the band's bassist gets the least amount of lines and is usually positioned behind the other members. And in the music video at the end of the episode, [[spoiler: he's the first one Val eats.]]
* In the short-lived British sketch comedy series, ''Series/{{Bruiser}}'', the band members of "Pussy on a Stick" all get applause, except for Holness, the bassist. After the performance, they all get women's underwear thrown at them... Holness gets an egg. Backstage, they are making out with groupies, except Holness, who sits alone reading a newspaper.
* ''Series/DeathInParadise'': In "Music of Murder", the bassist of the Venerators, [[spoiler:after being discovered by Richard to be the one who did it, is dragged away and]] rants about how he'll be remembered forever. Richard expresses his doubts. The guy's just a bassist, after all.
* A segment from ''Series/TheKidsInTheHall'' features Kevin [=McDonald=] lamenting the woes of being a bass player (represented by Bruce [=McCulloch=]) while simultaneously showing admiration.
-->'''Kevin:''' No one invites the bass player to the party after the show...\\
'''Bruce:''' Hey, what are you guys doing after the show? ''(beat)'' Oh, nothing? Okay.\\
'''Kevin:''' If he ''does'' go to the party, he can only get the good-looking girls'... best friend.
* In ''Series/{{Lost}}'', Charlie's singer brother invokes this while talking to him (who's [[LeadBassist the bassist and main songwriter]]): "[[IAmTheBand I am Drive Shaft!]] Nobody even knows who the sodding bass player is!"
* When Steve Harvey was a guest on ''Series/TheTonightShow'' in 2014, a game of ''Series/FamilyFeud'' was played that pitted Jimmy Fallon, Jason Segel, and Steve Higgins against members of The Roots. The first survey question was, "Name an instrument least likely to get a band member groupies." One of the top three answers was "Bass". Cut to a shot of the band's bass player, looking embarrassed.
* Nina Van Horn in ''Series/JustShootMe'' insists that she "would never sleep with a bass player unless I was [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl bombed out of my mind]]... oh." The fact that she did precisely that years earlier is the punchline to the entire episode "[[spoiler:Nina in the Cantina]]."

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* Zia from ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'' knows how to play both bass and piano, but prefers to emphasize the latter due to the unpopularity associated with being a bass player.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'':
** Justified with the Killmaster and his Thunderhogs are capable of healing your infantry with their bass music, however, they have no offensive capabilities and thus they only serve as support units while the rest of your army does the heavy lifting.
** Inverted with the bassist in Kabbage Boy: he's the only member of the band who treats Eddie with respect and is subsequently the only one who survives Ormagödden's arrival.
* ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'':
** Songs in the ''Guitar Hero'' franchise didn't always ''have'' bass guitar tracks even if the songs themselves featured the instrument (e.g. "Through the Fire and Flames"). Some had rhythm guitar instead, so if you wanted to form an in-game band (such as it was) with a friend, one of you would have to play second fiddle - but it wouldn't always be bass. It wasn't until the series went full-band that the bass guitar was accounted for in every song that made use of it.
** In ''VideoGame/GuitarHero 2'', several of the loading messages between songs played along with this trope [[RuleOfFunny for laughs.]]
---> ''You need a mini-fridge in your practice space. It's more important than a bassist.\\
If you can hear the bassist, your speakers are too loud.''
** Also this one from the third game:
--->''You seem to be having a problem with your bass amp. I can hear it!''
** This is the bassist's problem in ''VideoGame/GuitarHero World Tour''. She quit her former band because she was sick of being overshadowed by the others. At the end of her story mode, she makes a solo album and becomes famous... with [[LouisCypher Lou's]] help.
* In the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' website for the [[FakeBand Midnight Riders]], bassist Jake Thorne is referred to as a [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment "provisional temporary band member"]] despite playing with the band since 1985 on 23 albums, [[AllTakeAndNoGive and writing most of the band's songs]].
* Notably {{averted|trope}} in ''VideoGame/Mother3'', where the bassist of DCMC is ''one of the main protagonists''. When the band performs on stage, they all seem to get the same amount of attention. However, the game ''does'' have an example of Nobody Loves the ''Bass'', given it has a [[AnimateInanimateObject dusty old bass sitting in the attic as a boss]].
* ''VideoGame/PowerGigRiseOfTheSixString'' did not include a bass mode.
* ''VideoGame/RockBand'':
** The first game had no solo bass career, as allegedly the bass didn't have enough interesting songs to warrant a solo mode. Fans of the bands found under LeadBassist disagreed.
** The instrument shop has an oversized double-neck Fender custom with the description "For once... they will pay attention... to the ''BASSIST''!"
** One of the loading tips said that if your bassist claims he has an idea, give him a Kit Kat and tell him to think it through a bit more.
** In ''VideoGame/RockBandBlitz'' you can unlock the super bass power which comes with this description:
--->Bass notes are now worth more points. (Bassists, however, are still not worth that much.)
* ''Rocksmith'', the game that touts itself as the first console game to teach guitar, initially didn't even ''have'' a bass guitar mode. That was only added via downloadable content two months after the game's initial release. It has since become standard for all tracks in both of the series' games, so that ''Rocksmith 2014'' never lacked it, but it's odd that it was not only left out of the first game's initial release but added shortly afterward, not a great while afterward as if it needed way more development time or something.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'': Perhaps playing on this idea, Mario's [[UnpopularPopularCharacter underappreciated and neglected]] younger brother Luigi has been seen playing the bass in [[AllThereInTheManual booklets]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/NineteenSeventySevenTheComic'', where central character Bud Chambers realizes that nobody notices the bass player. Ever.
* ''Webcomic/{{Fanboys}}'' makes sure to promote the air-bass whenever they mention ''VideoGame/GuitarHero''.
* Subverted in ''{{Webcomic/Rhapsodies}}'' where Shilo, the Circle Band's bass player serves as the band's unofficial executive officer. He's also happily married with kids.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Adam Neely (musician and maker of music theory videos on Youtube) is a bass player himself and generally in favor of bassists. But even he admits that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uylycPdtwjw&t=826s bass solos suck more often than not]].
-->'''Adam Neely:''' Because the bass, up until that point in the performance, has been the foundation, harmonically and rhythmically, when you take a solo that foundation goes away, and the forward momentum of the performance stops dead in its tracks.
* ''Website/BabylonBee'' has an article about [[https://babylonbee.com/news/fender-introduces-new-two-string-bass-guitars-for-church-bassists a new, dumbed-down bass guitar model specifically for worship bands in church]], noting: "It also has decorative knobs, so you can pretend to adjust settings and turn up your volume, even though the church bass is turned off in the house anyway."
* A Website/{{Cracked}} photoplasty of "25 Team-Ups in History That Would Have Changed Everything" had [[http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/photoshop/0/4/5/125045_v1.jpg this]]. Noticed the lack of bassist? (we could guess the guy put [[Music/{{Metallica}} Kirk Hammett when he wanted Cliff Burton]], but that's giving him too much credit)
* Used as a diss in ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'' by UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, pointing out to UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt that if (Mount) Rushmore was a band then Roosevelt would be its bassist (being overshadowed by UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson, and UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln).
* Glenn Fricker, owner of Spectre Media Group and longtime heavy metal record producer, elevates this trope to an art form. He ''constantly'' makes jokes at the expense of so-called bass players; those who ''can'' play & maintain their bass guitars as needed simply laugh it off and even wear the T-shirts he sells with his controversial statements on them[[note]]"Rule #2 [of recording]: Your Bass Player Is A Useless ####" and the more recent, more work-safe "Bass Players Do It Worse"[[/note]], but very often there are bass players who take it completely the wrong way and flame the comments of his Website/YouTube uploads. Naturally, he often reads these and makes fun of them, as they often do nothing but ''validate'' his many criticisms of bass players. He usually plays this trope straight but also [[DiscussedTrope discusses]] it quite frequently, especially in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX6sX3AF1ks How to Not Completely Suck on Bass Guitar]].
** He despises bass players because he has spent decades producing records for bands with bass players who give their instrument a bad name. The ones he hates are legion, though he doesn't hate them all - the ones he hates have many things in common: They can't play their instrument because they never intended to, thinking that since the bass guitar usually has only four strings and bass riffs usually aren't ''that'' hard they don't even need to practice; they can't perform proper maintenance on their gear, including changing strings more than once a decade; and they waltz into the studio unable to play, not knowing their own material, and not caring because they think the producer can just use computers to fill in the gaps. They also tend to spend way more money on tattoos or booze than on anything important to their careers, like good gear or their bands' records. In short, they're more interested in the rock 'n' roll ''lifestyle'' than rock 'n' roll itself.
** That being said, when a 13-year-old kid asked if he should learn bass or guitar, Glenn told him to learn the bass and practice hard and become a great bass player, assuring the kid that a great bass player is in demand wherever he goes. He also advised an aspiring session musician to do the same, for the same reasons.
* ''Website/TheHardTimes'':
** A helpful article about [[https://thehardtimes.net/hardstyle/how-to-tell-your-bassist-none-of-their-takes-made-it-on-the-album/ "How to Tell Your Bassist None of Their Takes Made It on the Album"]].
-->On the bright side, this may lead to one of the most productive periods of your band’s existence. Be sure to write as many songs as you can while your bassist auditions for, and is subsequently rejected by, jazz outfits found on Craigslist. [...] Who knows? Maybe at some point, you’ll be able to inform your bassist that their amp is never turned on during shows and the keyboardist plays all the bass parts.
** [[https://thehardtimes.net/music/irresponsible-musicians-leave-bassist-hot-van/ Irresponsible Musicians Leave Bassist In Hot Van]] ends with the bassist chained to a fence.
** [[https://thehardtimes.net/culture/bassist-on-zoom-still-hasnt-realized-hes-muted/ Bassist on Zoom Still Hasn’t Realized He’s Muted]].
** [[https://thehardtimes.net/culture/activism/heartbreaking-immigrant-bassist-was-lead-guitarist-in-home-country/ Immigrant Bassist Was Lead Guitarist in Home Country]] compares said immigrant's plight to [[WorthlessForeignDegree a doctor becoming a taxi driver]].
** [[https://thehardtimes.net/culture/bassist-on-life-support-not-even-plugged-in/ Bassist on Life Support Not Even Plugged In]]: The bassist's own ''mother'' doesn't care that her son's dead, treating his continued attempts at living and breathing as, well, trying to pursue a musical career.
* WebVideo/StevieT created a sketch about how being in a band sucks (and in which he plays all the characters, including the bassist's girlfriend). Not only does the bassist make the ''universally hated'' move of bringing his girlfriend to rehearsal (an unspoken rule of being in a band is [[YokoOhNo you NEVER get your significant other involved]]), he also designs a band logo that the singer dismisses as resembling "a hairy anus", adding, "Yeah, well, you're the bassist, so no one really cares." [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope But then the guitarist & drummer really like it,]] so it becomes their band logo by majority vote.]] And then the bassist turns out to [[spoiler:not be the one who doesn't know the material for once - it's the ''guitarist'' who doesn't know the song and has to make up excuses about how ''two weeks'' wasn't enough time to learn it]]. It's also worth noting that the singer throws drumsticks at [[spoiler:everyone in his band, even the bass player's girlfriend but NOT the bassist.]]
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
** In "Weclome Back", Cool Tapes' members are referred to by Marzipan as "me and The Cheat and our bass player." (It's [[DumbMuscle Strong Mad]], for the record.)
** In one issue of ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'', the girls form a band and [[ButtMonkey What's Her Face]], despite her wishes to the contrary, "gets stuck playing bass".
** In the same sketch, even after half their members are lost, Cheerleader still introduces the band as "I'm Kissyboots, and she plays bass."
* The Website/CollegeHumor skit "Learning Guitar to Get Laid" plays as the first installment of an instructional video series which only teaches the bare minimum of guitar techniques necessary to [[GirlsLikeMusicians attract girls]]. The ending gag is an ad for another fictional video series, ''Learning the Bass and NOT Getting Laid!''
-->'''Bass Player:''' ''(strums some chords)'' That was "Free Falling," I think.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Laney, the bassist for ''WesternAnimation/{{Grojband}}'', is the OnlySaneWoman whose objections are often ignored or disregarded by the other band members. She's also frequently [[LadyLookslikeADude mistaken for a boy]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HomeMovies'' episode "Guitarmageddon", Jason complains about getting saddled with bass, saying it's thankless and the bass player is "the loser of the group." His friends disagree, but when he offers to trade instruments they back out quickly.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': Juniper and her brothers have a band named "Short Angry Freuds". She told her big brother Dennis nobody would pay attention to him because he's the bassist.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'': Murderface is generally TheFriendNobodyLikes, and his role as Dethklok's bassist is often ([[NegativeContinuity though not always]]) said or demonstrated to be completely superfluous:
** "[[http://video.adultswim.com/metalocalypse/arent-you-the-bass-player.html Why don't you make like a bass guitar and be inaudible?]]"
** By unanimous consent, Murderface's bass lines are always left out of the final mix.
** Their producer Dick Knubbler refers to Murderface as "almost part of Dethklok." ''To his face.''
** In ''The Doomstar Requiem A Klok Opera'', a rock opera where almost every line of dialogue is sung, Murderface gets the least amount of dialogue. He's the only major character that doesn't get a song or major verse of some kind. Mind you that characters like Abigail and Ishnifus, who had just appeared in the tail end of the previous season, both got full-length songs. This was due to Tommy Blacha (Murderface's voice actor) being unable to sing in key, leaving his parts dealt out to other cast members.
** Murderface admits that sometimes at concerts he'd leave his bass unplugged and just "pretend play". No one noticed.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Dude, We're Getting The Band Back Together!", the boys are trying to re-form [[HeavyMetalUmlaut Love Händel]]. When they approach the bass player, Bobbi Fabulous, his response is "You don't need me. I just play bass in the background. Nobody even remembers me."
* In ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', Mordecai skips the name of the bassist while naming off the popular band 'Hair To The Throne' when they show up at the park, and just calls him "the bass player", then the bassist frowns. He's also the only band member who gets no speaking lines.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E2HowISpentMyStrummerVacation How I Spent My Strummer Vacation]]", Homer goes to a rock-and-roll summer camp, and when they begin to run out of guitars, Music/ElvisCostello is forced to suggest that someone learn the bass. The camp-goers don't take it well.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS26E8Covercraft Covercraft]]", a music store owner suggests that Homer play bass guitar, and asks him to simply pluck the same string over and over. The owner starts shredding on his guitar, and Homer wonders if he'll ever be able to play so well. The owner responds that he's already one of the greatest bass players of all time.
* ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'': Philly Phil is very likely the least popular kid at Westley and is strongly implied to have had both a FriendlessBackground and have no friends other than his classmates. Not coincidentally, he's also their bass player.
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