why are guitar solos not cool anymore?

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shredder.

I think Nave has an excellent point about the whole wham-bam-thank-you-maam approach to marketing. The general public seems to be shamefully musically illiterate, and has an equally embarassingly short attention span unless they are being bludgeoned to death with a chorus. Guitar solos would send many listeners off to a barren wilderness, making them wonder how they got there so quickly, and ultimately, causing them to sue the record companies for pain and suffering and lost wages.
:rolleyes:

Chris [/B]
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Pop and rock songs in the future will degenerate into ten-second pulsing sine waves produced by one-key synthesizers.

The more experimental pop artists will have extended songs of exactly 30 seconds. These epics, fitting perfectly as the music for soda pop commercials.
 
you know...i've been thinkin' about it and i think is has alot to do with the drugs that are being used at the time. in the late 60's and early 70's (the heyday of the long improvised guitar solo)...everyone was dropping acid and tripping out on things like the allman brothers soloing on a tune for 30 minutes, hendrix, santana...its was all about the vibe and going through changes and different grooves

then throughout the mid 70's everyone was smokin' pot and doing qualudes and it was more structured laid back music with vocal harmonies...chill out music

then in the late 70's and ealy 80's cocaine was all the rage and disco hit cause people were wired and wanted to dance all night...the wired ones that didn't dance were into shred...the faster the better

in the 90's heroin made a comback and the grunge thing got big...short songs with not much soloing (end this fucker before the crowd nods off man!)

now its crack cocain, crystal, and ectassy ...a real mosh pit buzz...sothe crowd wants power chords with that low drop d tuning sound and rap lyrics

wonder what drug is gonna be popular next? :D

if its acid..look out....15 minute long guitar solos will be back in style!!
 
DUDE!

now you've gone and linked drugs to music...

people won't like that...

and i never liked playing other peoples music... it seems though that the real shredders have like a repertoire of a hundred songs they know by heart... I always got bored really quick i'm afraid...

Dp ypou guys play a lot of of stuff fron records and shit or mostly improvise along?

Guhlenn:)
 
Guitar solos aren't cool anymore because of two reasons...

1: Today's teens like simple, repetetive songs with little or no creativity whatsoever.

2: The bosses at the big labels don't want guitarists to play solos.


If you'd like to know the reason for the second statement, read #1 again.
 
guhlenn said:
Do ypou guys play a lot of of stuff fron records and shit or mostly improvise along?

Guhlenn:)
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I almost NEVER lift a solo right from the record. Quite frankly, I'm too lazy!! Well, that, and the fact that I know I CAN improvise something that will sound good.....

Chris
 
I improvise too, don't like to sound exactly as the original song, with the exception of very memorable or "famous" solos (Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2, Hotel California, Stairway to Heaven) which I try to replicate within my own style.
 
Buck62 said:
Guitar solos aren't cool anymore because of two reasons...

1: Today's teens like simple, repetetive songs with little or no creativity whatsoever.

2: The bosses at the big labels don't want guitarists to play solos.


If you'd like to know the reason for the second statement, read #1 again.
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I have to respectfully disagree with both points. In regard to #1, I think the idea that teens are stupid suckers that lap up the warm-milk-pop-crap that the media feeds them is wrong, for reasons I mentioned in an earlier post. I think the biggest audience for the pop drivel we all hate is probably the pre-teen age group. Most of the kids I know that are in high-school are pretty saavy when it comes to music. They know what is art and what is merely product.

Regarding #2, the label bosses aren't biased, they're apathetic! They could care less about the content or quality of music. They will promote whatever makes them a profit, period. If 10 minute guitars solos were what was selling right now, that's what they would be dishing out, and they would keep on selling it until the market was vomiting guitar solos and could take no more. I offer the '80's as proof of that.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
Speeddemon said:
Shredding and 80's hairmetal WILL come alive again if the 4 Horsemen rejoice!
Gidge
Lopp
Chris Tondreau
Speeddemon
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Isn't that the four ASSmen?
 
Ive been these argument before, especially in my last band in the mid 90's where the industry was moving out of shred and into other things. Im a shredder. Im also trained in other styles because I believe that a broad knowledge base in other styles is important in fusing or forging new styles of music. My first teacher liked blues as his favorite syle, he graduated from the UW with a 4 year degree in music. My second teacher was Rich Severson, and we focused on Jazz, Blues, because they are the building blocks. We did classical to, but it was simpler than Jazz was to me. My favoite player is Vai and I have nearly everything he has done with only a few exceptions. But I am very diverse in my tastes and abilities and I play what I feel like playing. Do I hate myself because I like Paul Gilbert and Paco Pena? Or the fact that I own an Nsync Cd and a Satriani should make me insane. I also have a black guitar next to a white one. I even like songs with out guitars as well.

Guitar solo's aren't popular in certain, but not all musical circles, but that doesn't mean they aren't cool right. Right now its vocalists, doing the technical acrobats. They see how many techniques that can jam in every word of a song. Its still cool to me though. Shred was an invaluable step in the evolution of music.

SoMm
 
Son of Mixerman said:
Ive been these argument before, especially in my last band in the mid 90's where the industry was moving out of shred and into other things. Im a shredder. Im also trained in other styles because I believe that a broad knowledge base in other styles is important in fusing or forging new styles of music. My first teacher liked blues as his favorite syle, he graduated from the UW with a 4 year degree in music. My second teacher was Rich Severson, and we focused on Jazz, Blues, because they are the building blocks. We did classical to, but it was simpler than Jazz was to me. My favoite player is Vai and I have nearly everything he has done with only a few exceptions. But I am very diverse in my tastes and abilities and I play what I feel like playing. Do I hate myself because I like Paul Gilbert and Paco Pena? Or the fact that I own an Nsync Cd and a Satriani should make me insane. I also have a black guitar next to a white one. I even like songs with out guitars as well.

Guitar solo's aren't popular in certain, but not all musical circles, but that doesn't mean they aren't cool right. Right now its vocalists, doing the technical acrobats. They see how many techniques that can jam in every word of a song. Its still cool to me though. Shred was an invaluable step in the evolution of music.

SoMm
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Very well put.
Vai's "For the Love of God" has amazing soul and feeling. And amazing technique in it. Someone accusing Vai of just being a shredder is missing out on one of the best virtuoso musicians this century.
 
Hey Aaron,

Although you said you disagree with me, you explained the point I was trying to make quite well.

Thanx for saving me all that typing! ;):D
 
shagfu said:


Pop and rock songs in the future will degenerate into ten-second pulsing sine waves produced by one-key synthesizers.

The more experimental pop artists will have extended songs of exactly 30 seconds. These epics, fitting perfectly as the music for soda pop commercials.
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It`s a shame we already have that. Folks that have never pursued the art or ever hummed a tune in their life and the "quick sale marketers" have exploited drag-n-drop capabilities to the point that retail record shops can`t keep up in their inventories and radio `s music sounds like the 30 second commercials that pay for it.

Sometimes I wish the electricity would go out all over the world forever and we`d be back to going down to John Lee`s house on saturday night to sit on the porch and listen to art from the heart.
 
Toki987 said:
Sometimes I wish the electricity would go out all over the world forever and we`d be back to going down to John Lee`s house on saturday night to sit on the porch and listen to art from the heart.
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A VERY interesting point! There is nothing that changed music during the last century as much as electricity, and nothing (I predict) that will change it in this one as much as the computer.

(Anytime, Buck. Just trying to save you fingers so we can jam next time you're in Seattle.)

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
Stand back, boys, I know how to use this thing! One of the great things about self-producing is you get to do what you want, and I guarantee my current project disc will have several full-contact guitar solos. I was raised on Jefferson Airplane. Listen to "Star Trak" on the album "Crown of Creation" sometime. It may sound very good, but not outstanding. Then consider that while that was being tracked, the U.S. was grooving to the sounds of The Dave Clark Five, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and The Monkees! That may give you a little perspective. Well, damn the critics, and damn the punker posturers, play the damn thing.-Richie
 
There are more instruments than just guitar. What about a bass solo? Or a drum solo? Or a keyboard solo. A lot of new rock bands are just keeping things more to the point and focusing on groove and melody, which I think is better, unless your solo actually adds a worthwhile element to the song as a whole (Dimebag Darrel on Floods, Etc.) in which case a guitar solo should difinitely be in there. But soloing kind of got of hand when guitarists started adding solos "just because a song needs a guitar solo."

It is my strong opinion that a solo shouldn't be put into a song unless it compliments the song, not just one musician.

But blues guitarists, now they know how to pull it off. And they don't over do it either. They can squeeze out 5 notes and sound better than a lot of shredders can (In my opinion).
 
Uladine said:

It is my strong opinion that a solo shouldn't be put into a song unless it compliments the song, not just one musician.

But blues guitarists, now they know how to pull it off. And they don't over do it either. They can squeeze out 5 notes and sound better than a lot of shredders can (In my opinion).
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I agree, a song doesn't necessarily needs a solo.

Blues (and generally speaking tasty) guitarist don't do it for flashing their chops, but because it brings a different emotion to the song.
 
The thing is, just because a tune is a blues or jazz tune doesn't mean the guitar solo is all that much better or more fitting than any other guitar solo regardless of genre!

What about blue-grass? Blue grass can be more shredding, cliche, and over done than all of the shredder metal tunes put together!

If you have chops and want to show off, do it! If the audience likes it, cool! If not, so what! Just leave my mullett out of it!
 
You're right. It depends on the mood of the song, the context and the audience, even the player's mood.

My opinion is that I like solos, even large ones, if they can keep my attention and are pleasant to hear to, which unfortunately is not the case of most shredders. I like to hear music, not finger athletics! :)
 
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