From: fscll@acad3.alaska.edu (Christopher Lee Lott -- One foot in the grave and the other slipping)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar
Subject: Re: RE SLASH FLAMES
Date: 13 Aug 92 19:56:09 GMT
Organization: University of Alaska Fairbanks

In article <1992Aug12.212719.10763@wam.umd.edu>, reh@wam.umd.edu (Huddleston) writes:

>  
>        Well anyway dude, maybe you didn't quite get what I was driving
>        at before, what pissed me off was the good-effort wanna-be
>        axe heroes who instead of seeing someone elses style and going
>        "hey, well like, its different to what I might've played
>        for that solo" They can't open their minds enough to realise
>        that their own style is neither better nor worse, its
>        DIFFERENT and that is the key to having your own guitar style.
>  
> Well, I disagree, obviously.  Nothing personal; Slash is much, much
> richer than I am now, but I know lots of folks that can play circles
> around him.  I think it's ironic.  Edward Van Halen is an example of
> someone who is also much, much richer than I am now -- but I don't
> know anybody (personally) who can play circles around him.  I don't
> think that's so ironic.

You are missing the point here. The point is that there are always going to be
better technical guitarists out there than anyone. Hell, Iknow ten guys that
can play Van Halen in their sleep -- and sound just like him! Doesn't matter,
they still aren't as good as he is to me.

Second, by saying "play rings around him" you either mean tec=hnically (which
is always true so who cares) or you mean play "better" in a subjective way
which is exactly the Australian's point. He may have a different way of saying
it, but all he is saying is that it is all subjective, so why waste time
flaming people for it?

I know very few people that can play anything and make me feel it the same way
Slash does (Stevie Ray Vaughan is one)... on the other hand, I am not a big
Lifeson fan at all (and there are hundreds of not thousands that could play
rings around him technically) but he is still a good guitarist - I just don't
like him. Why waste time arguing things like that?

>  
> I like to think that there are certain things a guitarist should be
> able to play, whether or not they are inspired to play those things
> during a performance.  This is purely personal opinion, and I do
> completely understand that a personal opinion is a finite thing of
> limited scope.

You remind me of some of the literature professors I deal with all of the
time when they try to present some rational reason for the subjective
judgmemts. You may have these "requirements" in mind, but it is sad. The point
is not what someone has the capability of doing, it is what they DO. And if
you don't like what they do, don't listen. But don't waste time flaming
either-- what is the point?

>  
> Now, maybe Slash will release an album with, say, Julian Bream sometime
> later this year.  I'll happily eat my words.  Until then, it is my
> personal opinion that Slash isn't much of a player, technique-wise.

Well there are a lot of other players out there that could never record with
Juliam Bream, but they are still good. How about Stevie Ray, Page, Lifeson,
hell millions of people that couldn't play a good classical piece to save
their lives. You hate slash, I like him. You like pizza I hate it. We wouldn't
think of taking days to argue about pizza would we? and you could give all
kinds of reasons why its good but it wouldn't change my mind...

>  
>        Maybe if the narrow minded smegs devoted more time to improving
>        their own guitar they could one day be good enough that people
>        might listen to them and say "whoaa, thats different, but I like it."
>        The best thing about guitarists like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani
>        is that they're not just pouring out the same top 40 stuff
>        (whether you like that or not..) that a lot of other guys are doing
>        nowadays and maybe some people are not musically mature enough to accept
>        what they're doing...Who knows?
>  
> The Shadow knows, of course.
>  
> I can't help but get the feeling that some group of record execs is sitting
> around laughing at how the formula that GnR follows has made big bucks again.
>  

The formula they follow is NO different that the formula that ALL bands and
players follow if you want to put a definition on it. Theyplay their music and
if it sells great, and if not oh well. Some formula. And every band who has
had a big album rides that wave to more sales. Nothing wrong with that, it is
an economic reality. The guitarists you like (doesn't matter who they are) are
no different...

>  
> Richard Huddleston, reh@wam.umd.edu   NeXTSTEP is better: Boycott Microsoft.

chris
poet and pauper
Newsgroups: alt.guitar