I cannot disagree more with your second sentence. Les Claypool is a genius.
Edit: TIL.
“Primus sucks” is a long-running “inside joke” with the fans. Claypool used to open their shows with an intro like “This is Primus and we suck!”
It’s the same thing as saying Green Jelly Sucks!
If you happened to listen to them back in the day.
He really is though. When you talk to bassists that have encountered his playing, he’s one of those players that revolutionized their thinking.
I sometimes hang out with a buddy that fronts a sludge metal band, and the bassist is obsessed with Claypool. He rattles off all the bass player reasons, but they all amount to Les treating the bass as a full fledged art, which is why I love his playing.
I still get hooked on My Name is Mud every time I hear it and have to play it a few times before I can move on. Tbh though, as iconic as that song is for the bass line, the drummer (the one the link is about) is just as amazing, and so is the guitar. Both match Claypool’s bass creativity very well on that track. Tbh, they always do, but it stands out more on MNIM.
Shit. I just went full fanboy, didn’t I?
