History Main / NobodyLovestheBassist

* 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.

* In ''Manga/BocchiTheRock'', Nijika firmly believes this, claiming that the three B's of a bad romantic partner are [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment "bassist, bassist, and bassist"]] and being none too fond of the main bassist characters in the series, Ryo and Kikuri (though it doesn't help that both of them are pretty scummy in their own ways). Kikuri, meanwhile, is a LeadBassist.

** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E22TrashOfTheTitans Trash Of The Titans]]", Music/U2's bass player, Adam Clayton, is [[ButtMonkey the least respected member]] within his ''own band'', with the other bandmates refusing to let him go with them to Moe's bar and lead singer Bono tossing one of his collectible spoons while they're flying to their next gig.

* 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.

* Noel Redding, the bassist of Music/TheJimiHendrixExperience, was frustrated with his position in the band (he was a guitarist before joining) and thought that he wasn't getting enough attention or input. He and Music/JimiHendrix clashed so much that he left the band and went back to playing guitar.

* Did you hear about the drummer who locked his keys in the car.\\

A: [[spoiler:None. The keyboard player can do it with his left hand.]]

A: [[spoiler: A tattoo.]]

** Music/Periphery haven't had an official bassist since Nolly quit. He still plays on the albums but live, his recorded tracks are simply played through the PA with no bassist onstage.

* Since bassist Nic Potter left in 1970, Music/VanDerGraffGenerator, the bass parts have been played on Hugh Banton's organ pedals, which has contributed greatly to VDGG's signature sound. Potter occasionally drops in to play the odd bass part when the organ pedals won't cut it, though.

* Comedian Nish Kumar makes a routine about wanting to be either the drummer or the bass player from Music/{{Coldplay}}. Simply because this way, he'd still get a lot of money - and remain totally anonymous and disregarded whilst Chris Martin gets all the hate from people who can't stand Coldplay.

** Music/TheDoors

* Music/TheDoors didn't even have a bassist, relying on session players or Ray Manzarek's specially tuned "bass keyboard."

** Music/PinkFloyd went from having a LeadBassist to none at all when Roger Waters left, and stayed that way, hiring session musicians (usually Guy Pratt) and using programmed synth basses. Waters himself is a curious example; while certainly a LeadBassist, he's better known as a songwriter, and didn't seem to care for his primary instrument all that much. A considerable number of Floyd songs ("One Of These Days" and "Sheep" come to mind) have bass lines that are essentially single note drones, and David Gilmour ended up doing quite a bit of the actual bass playing in the studio when Waters couldn't be bothered. For [[Music/Animals1977|Animals]] he was the band's de facto rhythm guitarist, and for [[Music/TheWall]] the stage setup meant he was more or less lead singer with no instrument.

-> ''I mean, Spitz wanted to play bass. Usually you have to force that on the worse guitarist."''

->''"More Eddie! More Alex! More David! More of that other guy (Michael)!"''
-->-- '''"Ted Templeman"''' recording Music/VanHalen, ''WebVideo/YachtRock''

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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]] as they perform the vocal melody and they are in the spotlight. The lead guitarist is the second (complete with virtuoso solos, AirGuitar, dramatic guitar face, and strutting around the stage), 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 lead instruments which are found in jazz, orchestras or bands - saxophonists, violinists, banjo players, trumpeters, etc.

* 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!

* 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.

* ''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]].

* Did you hear about the drummer who locked his keys in the car.

** Music/PinkFloyd went from having a LeadBassist to none at all when Roger Waters left, and stayed that way, hiring session musicians (usually Guy Pratt) and using programmed synth basses. Waters himself is a curious example; while certainly a LeadBassist, he's better known as a songwriter, and didn't seem to care for his primary instrument all that much. A considerable number of Floyd songs ("One Of These Days" and "Sheep" come to mind) have bass lines that are essentially single note drones, and David Gilmour ended up doing quite a bit of the actual bass playing in the studio when Waters couldn't be bothered.

* ''Literature/DaisyJonesAndTheSix'': Pete Loving, the bass player for the titular [[FakeBand The Six]], gets the least amount of focus compared to the rest of the band. He ultimately appears to have been the most stable member, never getting into arguments with the others and staying with the same girlfriend he'd had since before the band got together. The only time he's interviewed is towards the end of the book, and even then he admits he doesn't really have anything so say about about his time with The Six.

** By unanimous consent, Murderface's bass lines are always re-recorded by the band's lead guitarist Skwisgaar in the final mix.

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]] as they perform the vocal melody and they are in the spotlight
The lead guitarist is the second (complete with virtuoso solos, AirGuitar, dramatic guitar face, and leaping around the stage), 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 lead instruments which are found in jazz, orchestras or bands - saxophonists, violinists, banjo players, trumpeters, etc.

This can be [[EnforcedTrope enforced]] or [[JustifiedTrope justified]]. The inherent structure of much rock and pop music encourages a simple, supportive bass line that emphasizes root notes and accompanies the melody. 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.