Get Rhythm....

Rhythm sections are a lost art I think (that's the bass and drums by the way in case you were unawares). A few albums recently have made me realize this. Anything that can get a goofy moving white dude to shake that ass has got to be good. Here are a few of my favorite rhythm sections. Not the best ever necessarily but out of my personal collection:

Jeff Ament/Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam
Cameron was good in Soundgarden but I wasn't a big fan of Ben Sheperd, combine him with Ament though it is lethal. They tend to get overlooked by the hooks and vocals but these guys anchor the whole thing down. Life Wasted and Marker In The Sand off the new record are good examples. Live, it is Ament and Cameron who are the lynch pins under that wicked McCready solo during Evenflow.

Matt Tong/Gordon Moakes of Bloc Party
Bloc Party was the band who got me paying attention again to bass/drums combo. Their first record is just unbelievably tight and well played. Example, EVERY SONG. Really no point in singling out one. I don't know if Bloc Party would be half as good without these guys in the band. I think they are probably the best in music.

Chris Morrissey/David King & Brian McLeod of Mason Jennings Band
It is a bit unusual that I would have a rhythm section for a singer/song writer. But songs like Some Say I'm Not and Jackson Square off Jennings new record have an undeniable and unique groove. King is the drummer responsible for this but McLeod on Use Your Voice was just as good though more subtle. The quality also is probably partly due to Jennings being a drummer himself and being able to dictate his ideas on songs.

Eric Judy and Jeremiah Green of Modest Mouse
Though Benjamin Weikel of Helio Sequence subbed in on the last record, I think I read somewhere that Green wrote most of the parts before quitting during the sessions (he is since back in the band). Regardless, there is not much 'meat' so to say in Isaac Brock's tunes. The rhythm section is really what brings it home. Let's face it, Float On really is just a cheap hook. The bass and drums are what make the song kick. The Lonesome Crowded West is their best record and subsequently the best display of the Modest Mouse rhythm section.

Carlos D and Sam Fogarino of Interpol
Interpol is similar to Modest Mouse. Not much in the hook department so these guys really give the songs tone.

Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney
So there is no bass player in the band. That doesn't mean Weiss isn't bad ass! One Beat is the ultimate SK song because of her.

Meg White of White Stripes
Okay just kidding, trying to give Ward a heart attack!

Damn, that took a lot longer than I thought!