Mike Dirnt's bass playing

[Collingordon96]

So I'm bored, and I thought I'd contribute with a topic that isn't a cover (for once  )

Anywho, has anyone noticed that Mike's playing has dumbed down over the years. I mean, don't get me wrong , I love this band to death. It just makes me ponder. Take a listen to Dookie/Insomniac/Nimrod/and the title track Warning. Those bass lines were all over the neck, the more recent stuff just follows the root notes from the rhythm guitar. I used to say, "you can tell it's an old Green Day song when the bass lines are actually somewhat intricate". 

Does anyone else feel the same? (don't scold me too hard god dammit  ) 

[Chin for a Day]

I agree.  There isn't much to the bass in the later albums.  I can't answer why, but I have noticed it as well. 

[Collingordon96]

2 minutes ago, Scattered Wreck said:

I agree.  There isn't much to the bass in the later albums.  I can't answer why, but I have noticed it as well. 

I'm glad I'm not alone lol I feel like it might have something to do with their producer telling him to tone it down to focus more on the vocal melodies or something along the lines of that. 

[Maddie86]

he said he intentionally dumbed it down for american idiot, and I would assume he did for 21st too. he plays to the song, if he doesn't think it needs something, he doesn't add it. He killed it on the trilogy though, there's tons of great bass playing on those records. I feel like there's some songs on revrad that he could have spiced up a little bit but whatever, there's still some cool bass on that album too. I do wish he would do more backing vocals like he used to though!

[Otis Big]

They should have kept the bass intro to Baby Eyes.

[DeJennsitized]

It's a shame because Mike is so good and I'd love to hear him getting time to shine on the newer songs.

[AimieeSmith]

Have you not heared Stray Heart ?

[MillenniumFan]

Yes, as much as I'm not a fan of the trilogy as a whole, there's definitely some great bass lines, for example in ''Dirty Rotten Bastards''. However, I still much prefer his bass playing in their earlier stuff.

[Spike]

You're right, but part of it comes down to his maturity as a musician. There's a lot more focus on dynamic control, overall tightness and serving the song now. The arrangements on the earlier albums were very simple and he took on a Bruce Foxton kind of role, almost as a lead guitarist. On American Idiot and Breakdown there was so much going on it wouldn't have made musical sense to go wild, and he still throws in the odd decent fill when it suits. The Trilogy shows a nice mix of the two styles. He's still got it.

[St. Jonny]

the bass line he added in RevRad is killer!

[Thatsername]

I think Mikes bass playing on the trilogy is great - Stray Heart, DRB, Nuclear Family and others. There's really a lot of great stuff on those records. I also like his bass playing on RevRad, but you're right that the bass is more subtle on this record and there's no outstanding bass line like Longview or Stray Heart. But I absolutely love the bass on Outlaws, for example.

[Maddie86]

2 hours ago, Spike said:

You're right, but part of it comes down to his maturity as a musician. There's a lot more focus on dynamic control, overall tightness and serving the song now. The arrangements on the earlier albums were very simple and he took on a Bruce Foxton kind of role, almost as a lead guitarist. On American Idiot and Breakdown there was so much going on it wouldn't have made musical sense to go wild, and he still throws in the odd decent fill when it suits. The Trilogy shows a nice mix of the two styles. He's still got it.

yes, this! you summed it up perfectly

[Collingordon96]

Wow, great responses everyone. I will admit that I haven't really listened to much of the trilogy. In fact the only song that really caught my attention was Stop When The Lights Flash Red. I guess I'll have to give it a good listen.

[Fuzz]

it's definitely not as exciting as it used to be. It bums me out. I think there's some truth in the idea that bass doesn't need to be over-the-top to be what the song needs. But knowing just how great of a bassist he is, there should be some flair in there. He's capable of doing it and making it awesome. I miss that stuff.

[Grinch]

I was JUST thinking about this on the way home from the concert, listening to the Trilogy. I feel like Mike's bass playing is critically underrated on there. There's a lot of really good grooves coming out of songs on there to my surprise like Lazy Bones. He tends to be basic when it's necessary which is nice, although some songs could use a little more I feel like Missing You. Makeout Party is a crazy sick bass line mid-song after the guitar solo and same with Dirty Rotten Bastards. Nightlife is a great example of how his bass playing mixes so well with the guitars. Mike's playing in Stray Heart is what makes it so enjoyable for me. Don't forget Nuclear Family either.

 I'm starting to defend the Trilogy now because it got trashed on far too much. It's just jarring to listen to all at once because everything starts to sound the same going straight through all three albums at once. When listening to your favorites in a playlist or spacing the songs out, every track pretty good if you ask me. Many are absolute standouts like Brutal Love or Walk Away. It's just too bad that with Revolution Radio, Mike's playing went back to the American Idiot/21st CB style basic playing. I'm just happy that he's always into the music and having fun live!

[Ritz]

Yes, the bass in the subsequent albums after Warning hasn't been that awesome. Trilogy is a different story though. The basslines in the Trilogy were surprisingly good. Stay the night, Missing you, Brutal Love has a good punch in it! If you listen to the old albums, it is very apparent that the booming bass is a lot more prominent. The groovy lines, the melody, everything is so fucking good! 

 

When it comes to #RevRad, there are songs that have a good bassline. I like Somewhere Now and Forever Now a lot. The bass is a lot more prominent in those songs. What I miss? The bass solos! The bass on Castaway, Minority, Welcome to Paradise, Dirty Rotten Bastards are a gem. And yes, the bass intro for Baby Eyes on Demolicious just gives a energetical vibe to the song! They should have kept it on the record.   

[Justin]

The bass on Kerplunk is so good

[Shtrudel]

I feel his basslines became weaker even from back to Nimrod and Warning. Only a few songs from each album really shined, but the rest of these 2 albums didn't keep the moumentum up like their predecessors.

When they play JOS and Billie proudly presents Mike to play his solo, you get excited and pumped - then it all goes down because HE'S PLAYING ONE FUCKIN' NOTE!

I always thought Insomniac has the best bass work in their entire career - yes, even more than Dookie - and  alongside the killing drums, this makes Insomniac my favorite album.

[Second favourite son]

4 hours ago, Justin said:

The bass on Kerplunk is so good

100% agree, Welcome to Paradise and No One Knows are particular highlights for me but there are so many good basslines on that album.

[straighttohell]

I think Mike and Tre have always played whatever the song calls for. The earlier stuff was much simpler and kind of called for more fills and hooks within the song. As time went on they tailored their parts to Billie's changing style, sometimes that meant pulling things way back and playing exactly what was necessary (AI, 21CB), and other times that meant noodling around more (Trilogy). I dig it all for different reasons, but as someone who grew up with them in the 90s, I definitely definitely miss his older style. I mean, I miss ALL of their older styles tbh. They all have changed so much over the last couple decades, understandably of course, it's only natural, but I'll always have a soft spot for how they all played, sang, performed, wrote, etc, in the mid 90s. Mike's bass playing and harmonies in particular. So fucking great.

[Collingordon96]

On 4/12/2017 at 6:42 AM, T@l said:

I feel his basslines became weaker even from back to Nimrod and Warning. Only a few songs from each album really shined, but the rest of these 2 albums didn't keep the moumentum up like their predecessors.

When they play JOS and Billie proudly presents Mike to play his solo, you get excited and pumped - then it all goes down because HE'S PLAYING ONE FUCKIN' NOTE!

I always thought Insomniac has the best bass work in their entire career - yes, even more than Dookie - and  alongside the killing drums, this makes Insomniac my favorite album.

The bass is one of the main reasons that Insomniac is my favorite album, that and the in your face attitude.

[Second favourite son]

On 12/04/2017 at 8:18 PM, straighttohell said:

Mike's bass playing and harmonies in particular. So fucking great.

Mike's harmonies were the best.  The fact that they weren't quite as polished as Billie harmonising himself somehow made them even better, a lot more natural and genuine.  It really fitted the sound back then, but I guess maybe it wouldn't work as well with their current sound.

I remember saying before RevRad came out that I'd love real bass-led song, and I'm kinda sad we didn't get one.  It doesn't even necessarily have to be as much as Longview, but something like Castaway or Stray Heart would've been wonderful.  Mike's playing on the new album is solid, I wish he'd show it off more!