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The slow death of the electric guitar

washingtonpost.com

131–140 of 343 posts

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#131
post #125
post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nickleback is a good example of a band that keeps the guitar alive. Yes, they don't play ANY soli (or do they?), but they get serious airtime and I haven't heard kids call them old-fashioned..

Of all the examples to pick from...

So I'm downvoted on HN for mentioning Nickleback now?

If you listen to the whole of their albums and not only the commercial hits, it's a really solid rock band.

Now give me some of the other examples of rock bands that regularly make it to the top 10.

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#133
Norman's Rare Guitars is a fantastic YT channel for us who still enjoy guitars [0].

Thanks $deity not all new generation is into electronic. I have great hope when listening bands like Greta Van Fleet (ages between 18-21 years old) [1].

[0] https://www.youtube.com/user/NormansRareGuitars/videos

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJg4OJxp-co

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#134
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO there will not be a next Miles Davies or a next Jimmy Hendrix. Or rather, they've already been. The last 40 years of music have experienced such a revolution, we've already had many of those (most of them relegated to obscurity through sheer volume and industrialization of music). But now that I've re-read your comment you've already mentioned the niche-ization :) Hip-hop was a revolutionary genre like rock musi…

I don't listen to much electronic music, but I find no subtleties or sensitivity in what I hear. I understand that dismissing the new for no other reason is useless but I just don't feel it.

>I don't listen to much electronic music, but I find no subtleties or sensitivity in what I hear.

Personally, I listen to whatever triggers the release of happy hormones in my brain. I think this varies from person to person, but for most people (and me) it's close to pop. I'm fine with this being not high culture.

There's lots of sophisticated electronic music, but those are different subgenres to the point where they have less in common with the garden variety techno than they have with other genres. If you want to out-jazz jazz then something like Amon Tobin would probably interest you.

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#135

I've been saying this for a couple of years now. None of the music I listen to anymore features an electric guitar; it's all made on laptop computers. The fun part about knowing how to play guitar is that you can learn how to play your favorite songs. But if none of your favorite songs feature an electric guitar, what fun is it anymore? I'm 30 years old and have been playing the guitar since I was 12, but it's just n…

I give you Daft Punk with Nile Rodgers as a counter example.

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#136
post #131
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of all the examples to pick from...

So I'm downvoted on HN for mentioning Nickleback now? If you listen to the whole of their albums and not only the commercial hits, it's a really solid rock band. Now give me some of the other examples of rock bands that regularly make it to the top 10.

Foo Fighters?

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I for one, welcome the death of the guitar solo. I say this as a guitarist of more than three decades, and as a lover of great guitar playing. Rock and roll guitar solos are, by and large, the wankiest and most pointless waste of notes I can imagine. If we never get another, say Eruption , in exchange for no more awful weedly-deedly musical maelstroms I believe it is a more than fair trade. Even the good rock and rol…

If that moment in Sweet Child O' Mine when Slash kicks on the wah and runs up the fretboard doesn't give you chills... well...

But that's a real PART. It's kind of like the Jay Graydon solo in Steely Dan's 'Peg'. Yes, you can have a bunch of exciting notes doing things, but it can't be just any bunch of notes: fast or slow, content matters.

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#138
post #131
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of all the examples to pick from...

So I'm downvoted on HN for mentioning Nickleback now? If you listen to the whole of their albums and not only the commercial hits, it's a really solid rock band. Now give me some of the other examples of rock bands that regularly make it to the top 10.

Green Day had their moment, although it has passed.

The Black Keys are good, but maybe not that mainstream.

The best show I've ever seen was Avenged Sevenfold, which is definitely in the metal niche. But I'll never forget when they had a break in the middle of the show, and their lead guitarist came out and just solo'd for a while. Incredible talent.

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#139
post #27

I think it's a bit naive to believe that guitar heroes can bring the interest for the guitar back. People look back at the guitar heroes time with a nostalgic fondness for a time that doesn't exist anymore. This was already visible in Wayne's world and became more than obvious in school of rock. Guitar-heavy rock has become a geek genre. Pop has moved on. There are obviously various reasons for this: 1. Technological…

There's a whole section near the end of the article about a noticeable bump in sales of guitars to women, inspired by Taylor Swift. You just have to be more flexible about what "guitar hero" can mean.

Re: The slow death of the electric guitar

#140
post #117

You actually have to practice and have some skill to play guitar... not to mention finding a bassist, and an actual, real-life drummer, at minimum, for a full band. Compared to dicking around with a laptop and calling yourself a DJ, or slapping some drum loops and autotune on top of some vocals, rock music does require some actual work.

As someone who plays guitar and writes electronic music, getting good at the latter takes a comparable level of effort. I think you're underestimating how difficult it is to make electronic stuff that isn't terrible.
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