Post-punk basslines deserve a dedicated appreciation thread so here it is.

The bass in classic post-punk is doing something that barely exists in other rock genres: it's the melodic lead. The guitar in post-punk is usually providing texture or angular punctuation — the bass is where you follow the song. Joy Division is the canonical example but there are dozens of bands in that tradition where the bass player is functionally the melodic composer and the guitar player is the texture provider.

What this means for listening to post-punk is that the correct thing to follow is usually the bass, not the guitar. Once you make that shift, the music opens up completely. The architectural quality of the arrangements becomes clear — you can hear how the texture and the lead are in conversation rather than competition.

Who are your favorite post-punk bassists? I keep coming back to Peter Hook, but I want to find the underrated ones.