Guitarists you just don't get!

[MDV]

^ +1 (assuming by eddie you mean evh). That's a bit like saying you like football but don't like pele or george best.

Well, except that musical taste is subjective and success at a sporting activity is objective.

I find that the faster a guitarist plays, the less I like him/her. That's kind of objective isn't it?

New favourite band for you!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtnG6EHh1N4

[Frank]

See, that's another thing I don't get. Why is he dressed like Gandalf? Call me old fashioned but I just can't relate to all that silly black magic nonsense.

And don't get me started on bloody Rush. Songs about flying a spaceship into a black hole? Yeah right. Means less than nothing to me.

In fact, I'm adding Alex Lifeson to my list for this reason. That's my logic, I don't have to justify it to you people.

[nfe]

See, that's another thing I don't get. Why is he dressed like Gandalf? Call me old fashioned but I just can't relate to all that silly black magic nonsense.

It's theatre. That's it. Don't see what's hard to get, whether one likes it or not. Some folks have pyro and lightshows, some people have banks of dancers and some people fill stages with smoke and wear habits...

[Philly Q]

And don't get me started on bloody Rush. Songs about flying a spaceship into a black hole? Yeah right. Means less than nothing to me.

In fact, I'm adding Alex Lifeson to my list for this reason. That's my logic, I don't have to justify it to you people.

That was 1978!

Everything they've done since has been firmly earthbound, lyrically speaking.

[MrBump]

^ +1 (assuming by eddie you mean evh). That's a bit like saying you like football but don't like pele or george best.

Well, except that musical taste is subjective and success at a sporting activity is objective.

I find that the faster a guitarist plays, the less I like him/her. That's kind of objective isn't it?

New favourite band for you!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtnG6EHh1N4

Please don't post anything like that again.

[MrBump]

I've been struggling with this thread - trying to separate out guitarists that I don't get from those I don't like.

I don't LIKE a few - Hammett springs to mind.  I GET him, but I can't stand how he sounds, his tone, his vibrato.

In fact, the only guitarist that I can think of that I truly don't GET is...

... Derek Bailey.

[AndyR]

And don't get me started on bloody Rush. Songs about flying a spaceship into a black hole? Yeah right. Means less than nothing to me.

In fact, I'm adding Alex Lifeson to my list for this reason. That's my logic, I don't have to justify it to you people.

That was 1978!

Everything they've done since has been firmly earthbound, lyrically speaking.

Not... er... strictly true... :lol:

But, actually, Alex Lifeson (and Geddy Lee, in fact, Rush in general) is another very good example for me. I was there in the late 70s early 80s when hairy erks wandered around with "two thousand one hundred and twelve" (as my mother put it!) emblazoned on their shiny denim cut-offs. I suffered numerous chaps extolling the virtues and utter genius of Rush....

Left me dead cold. The music was far too jerky and complicated. The singer squeaked like a squeaky thing. And the lyrics... what a bunch of old tosh.

I thought I ought to give them a go, so I bought that triple album (Archive? Chronicle?) of the first three albums, and All the World's A Stage. I liked the first album (before the offending lyricist and possibly "over technical" drummer joined) apart from it being a bit squeaky. Fly By Night and Caress of Steel were obviously very accomplished but didn't half go on a bit (remember I was in the middle of converting from heavy metal to blues-rock and I was seeing Rory Gallagher live approx once a year or so at the time :lol:).

The live album was nearer to making sense to me, except it was SO tiring to listen to because of the sound of it - squeaky vox, lots of cymbals, and Lifeson's guitar...

I spent years going "I don't get Rush..."

Then a few years ago I looked into them again. I am now stunned by what I missed in the early 80s because I looked down on the jerky arrangements, the squeaky big-nosed bloke, and the art-student lyrics (I mean, what self-respecting bunch of musicians is going to let the drummer write the lyrics?! :lol:). The lyrics took me the longest to get over, but I've even managed that. They sometimes make me laugh, but I just accept them for what they are now - they are pretty much integral to the whole thing, something that I argued against very strongly 20-odd years ago.

Don't tell Freddie, but it's quite possible that if someone asked me to name my favourite (just one, no runners up allowed) artiste, I could no longer say Queen (:o). For the last two years, every day (during my commute to and from work) I have listened to Rush's entire back-catalogue, in order, over and over again. I spend a day or two trying other stuff, but I go back to Rush. There is no other artiste I can think of that I can do this with. I've tried it with Rory, and Queen, but I just get bored.


In a way, this is the perfect example of why I have trouble saying "I don't get..." out loud. There's plenty of stuff I don't get, but there have been a lot of instances now where I have discovered that I was a bit wrong...


Of course, when we go "I don't get...", it's actually a cry for help - "teach me how to love this, it's obviously good, but I don't get it..." (Example: Roo - Telecasters) (Sorry Roo! :lol:)

[nfe]

^ +1 (assuming by eddie you mean evh). That's a bit like saying you like football but don't like pele or george best.

Well, except that musical taste is subjective and success at a sporting activity is objective.

I find that the faster a guitarist plays, the less I like him/her. That's kind of objective isn't it?

New favourite band for you!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtnG6EHh1N4

Please don't post anything like that again.

Sunn0))) are great. Mind you I don't imagine Merzbow and Whitehouse would find much love here either. Suppose they fall firmly within the "get or not" class. As much as I hate when folks state that if people don't like something it's because they don't get it. Admittedly that's usually Radiohead obsessives.

[Philly Q]

Don't tell Freddie, but it's quite possible that if someone asked me to name my favourite (just one, no runners up allowed) artiste, I could no longer say Queen (:o). For the last two years, every day (during my commute to and from work) I have listened to Rush's entire back-catalogue, in order, over and over again. I spend a day or two trying other stuff, but I go back to Rush. There is no other artiste I can think of that I can do this with. I've tried it with Rory, and Queen, but I just get bored.

Three cheers for AndyR!  Hip hip....  :D

[gwEm]

And don't get me started on bloody Rush. Songs about flying a spaceship into a black hole? Yeah right. Means less than nothing to me.

thats an amazing song theme - might need to pocket that one.

[_tom_]

Most of the "big names" I think. To be honest quite recently I've started finding a lot of lead guitar-based stuff really tedious and cr@p to listen to.

[gwEm]

Most of the "big names" I think. To be honest quite recently I've started finding a lot of lead guitar-based stuff really tedious and cr@p to listen to.

this might change your mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-C_pA6WyfA (but maybe not, I personally really like it)

[Nephilim]

Most of the "big names" I think. To be honest quite recently I've started finding a lot of lead guitar-based stuff really tedious and cr@p to listen to.

this might change your mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-C_pA6WyfA (but maybe not, I personally really like it)

Now that's a tune!

[Frank]

Some folks have pyro and lightshows, some people have banks of dancers and some people fill stages with smoke and wear habits...

... and some people just walk onstage and play guitar with no gimmicks. And they at least try to write lyrics that make sense instead of some puerile teenage science fiction black magic fantasy guff about black holes and dragons. With a 20 minute guitar solo. In 7/8 time.

God I hate Rush so much. They're the reason we need Motorhead.

[nfe]

Some folks have pyro and lightshows, some people have banks of dancers and some people fill stages with smoke and wear habits...

... and some people just walk onstage and play guitar with no gimmicks.

They do. And all of things suit different acts. By definition though, some of the above are only gimmicks in the case of some bands. Certainly big lightshows and dancers aren't at big/pop shows since they are standard features. And mystic getup isn't within the dronedoom/black metal/noise etc spheres since again it's the norm, not the exception.

And they at least try to write lyrics that make sense instead of some puerile teenage science fiction black magic fantasy guff about black holes and dragons. With a 20 minute guitar solo. In 7/8 time.

God I hate Rush so much. They're the reason we need Motorhead.

I like that Rush are puerile teenage nonsense (which the early albums certainly are, lyrically) and Motorhead aren't :lol: Puerile teenage nonsense is what makes LOADS of music fun!