Far Out argues that Josephine Wiggs’ bass introduction to The Breeders’ 1993 song ‘Cannonball’ is the greatest opening bassline in music history. The piece treats the judgement as subjective, contrasting it with more familiar contenders, but says Wiggs’ sparse, attention-grabbing riff made an already strong song distinctive.

The article lists basslines by Queen, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Lou Reed, Talking Heads and others as possible alternatives. It explains that ‘Cannonball’ begins with vocal sounds and percussion before the bass enters alone, pauses, then joins the band; Wiggs said its memorability came partly from the rarity of hearing bass unaccompanied, while an accidental semitone-flat note helped create its unusual character.