Originally posted by noticingthemistake
Always playing the lowest note will make the bass part very dull. ... and bass sounds it's best when it's melodic sounding.

That's no absolute, man. In my opinion you're wrong but to each his own. My advice to play the root of each chord was beginners advice and the word 'generally' was written for a purpose. You don't mean melodic, you mean flowing, and of course you can fill in the chords with triad crap and all this. The majority of bass work is boring though, and it's supposed to be. Some styles are more prone to independent bass work but the majority of the time in rock you're stuck plucking out the root or mimicking the guitar riff.

I couldn't imagine being a rock bass player.