Do you think guitar music will ever be great like it was from 1954 to 1979?

Sérgio

Sérgio

Ambassador of CaliZilian Affairs
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Self explanatory title, but let's get a little bit more into this.

Of course, we still have some great blues-influenced guitar heroes, like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jared James Nichols, Art Menezes, Joe Bonamassa and a handful of others. But I mean - no offense at all to contemporary artists - I have them all in my Apple Music playlists, but sincerely, I can't name many songs by anyone of them. If any.
I listen to everything, it's cool, they play really well, some are definitely as good or better than Clapton, Page or whoever, but the music is just not as breathtaking as it used to be.

Of course, streaming and internet advertising takes away a lot of the "hey, the Rolling Stones released a new album, let's take a trip to Tower Records and buy it!" feeling and that impacts the circumstance of music as a product a lot. Just as CDs and MP3 began to destroy the pleasure of owning, touching and looking at a vinyl record, cover art having been reduced to basically an ID of the disc.

This ain't just me speaking, I've read several references to this, articles and forum threads...

So, what do you think? How do you see this picture? Will guitar music ever rise above again or are we forever doomed with streamed "plastic" music?
 
Sérgio said:
Self explanatory title, but let's get a little bit more into this.

Of course, we still have some great blues-influenced guitar heroes, like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jared James Nichols, Art Menezes, Joe Bonamassa and a handful of others. But I mean - no offense at all to contemporary artists - I have them all in my Apple Music playlists, but sincerely, I can't name many songs by anyone of them. If any.
I listen to everything, it's cool, they play really well, some are definitely as good or better than Clapton, Page or whoever, but the music is just not as breathtaking as it used to be.

Of course, streaming and internet advertising takes away a lot of the "hey, the Rolling Stones released a new album, let's take a trip to Tower Records and buy it!" feeling and that impacts the circumstance of music as a product a lot.

This ain't just me speaking, I've read several references to this, articles and forum threads...

So, what do you think? How do you see this picture? Will guitar music ever rise above again or are we forever doomed with streamed "plastic" music?
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I dont think we'll get the golden age of music back again, due to changes in the world around us like Youtube artists, streaming, MP3s and just a general lack of radio/TV publications. There are some great artists that still emerge daily, but because of all of these factors suppressing the focus of an artist, concerts dropping in attendance and albums becoming a thing of the past, i sadly think its gone as we know it.

Music moves in waves and cycles too however and that maybe a glimmer of hope: it could always come back around, but im not sure how.
 
Sérgio said:
Of course, streaming and internet advertising takes away a lot of the "hey, the Rolling Stones released a new album, let's take a trip to Tower Records and buy it!" feeling and that impacts the circumstance of music as a product a lot. Just as CDs and MP3 began to destroy the pleasure of owning, touching and looking at a vinyl record, cover art having been reduced to basically an ID of the disc.
Click to expand...
I think this is a big part of it. So much of the mystique, and wonder of it is missing now.
 
I think its our own individual response to make the music we want to.. being on the original side..we control what we do. Have to take the blinders off...dont worry abut the wanna be critics & just make music..back then..stack left & right..it was loud ..todays..stack left stack right next time out. No compromise..thinking 1 thing only..how can we rock you for the 2 sets & get you up front with us
 
I have to disagree with the premise. I feel guitar music has done nothing but expand in its excellence, year after year. The players just keep getting better and the music keeps getting more interesting - I listen to older music out of a sense of nostalgia, not because I think its better. Most of my listening is to music made in the last 10 years and I search out new music each and every day. We've never had such easy access to new ideas and unbelievable players and I'm constantly blown away by what I am hearing.

I know you mention references to this idea, and I've seen this mythology myself, but I think it is rooted in the fact that guitar music is not currently that popular, not in the objective excellence of modern guitar music or modern players. It also seems to me so many people in the "guitar community" are constantly looking in the rearview for their references instead of looking at the guy standing next to them. And, we really have to stop comparing anything to Blues, which has to be the most stagnant music form there is. I mean, are we really still holding up Clapton as some kind of great player? Maybe that's the problem.
 
gball said:
I have to disagree with the premise. I feel guitar music has done nothing but expand in its excellence, year after year. The players just keep getting better and the music keeps getting more interesting - I listen to older music out of a sense of nostalgia, not because I think its better. Most of my listening is to music made in the last 10 years and I search out new music each and every day. We've never had such easy access to new ideas and unbelievable players and I'm constantly blown away by what I am hearing.

I know you mention references to this idea, and I've seen this mythology myself, but I think it is rooted in the fact that guitar music is not currently that popular, not in the objective excellence of modern guitar music or modern players. It also seems to me so many people in the "guitar community" are constantly looking in the rearview for their references instead of looking at the guy standing next to them. And, we really have to stop comparing anything to Blues, which has to be the most stagnant music form there is. I mean, are we really still holding up Clapton as some kind of great player? Maybe that's the problem.
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Clapton accomplished more than i ever have so yeah, id give him his due honestly lol
 
Clockworkmike said:
Clapton accomplished more than i ever have so yeah, id give him his due honestly lol
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He deserves his due, but I don't believe to be looked at as an influence any longer. We're several guitar-player generations removed from Clapton and his contemporaries, and as monumental as their contributions were they just are not that relevant any longer vis-a-vis new music. They guys he influenced went ahead and influenced another generation of players and they another generation after that and so on. I get that we are a bunch of old curmudgeons here and many of us have the conceit that "our" music was the best, but I don't see the young players who are making new music giving a rip that Clapton was God when their grandfather was in college. When I say we need to stop looking in the rearview it's exactly that - we as players need to be more open to music that doesn't share the same few reference points that we learned to listen and play from. The World of music is passing us by if we do that, and we're also missing out on some pretty great tunes.
 
I probably ride the fence on this one. Being a kid of the 60/70s.... that’s still “my music.” It’s still what I like best. But there’s some pretty good stuff out there right now as well. My kids grew up listening to groups like Blink, Green Day, Nirvana.... etc. while not my favorite bands.... just like some of the bands I grew up on that were also not my favorite bands..... had tunes I liked. Just not their complete catalog.

But I do understand what Sergio is saying. The music landscape today is vastly different that it was when I was growing up. Doesn’t make it bad necessarily.... just different.
 
For me personally, the last great wave was 2003-2008 when a bunch of new American heavy metal bands emerged under the New Wave of American Heavy Metal genre ( Killswitch Engage, Devil Driver, Mastadon, God Forbid, As I Lay Dying, Ashes Remain etc). I understand thats not every one elses cup o tea but thats just my personal opinion. Regardless, its been 13 years and if you asked me for another great wave? I cant name one, against other genres and thats kinda sad really. Theres been great independent artists but no large movement in any genre from blues, rock or metal
 
gball said:
He deserves his due, but I don't believe to be looked at as an influence any longer. We're several guitar-player generations removed from Clapton and his contemporaries, and as monumental as their contributions were they just are not that relevant any longer vis-a-vis new music. They guys he influenced went ahead and influenced another generation of players and they another generation after that and so on. I get that we are a bunch of old curmudgeons here and many of us have the conceit that "our" music was the best, but I don't see the young players who are making new music giving a rip that Clapton was God when their grandfather was in college. When I say we need to stop looking in the rearview it's exactly that - we as players need to be more open to music that doesn't share the same few reference points that we learned to listen and play from. The World of music is passing us by if we do that, and we're also missing out on some pretty great tunes.
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Though I’m not young I definitely don’t think of myself as an old curmudgeon, nor do I find this persona cool or clever...

I agree with you, there is a whole new world of great music and great players, my point being that the New Stuff doesn’t get as much appreciation as the old stuff did...
 
iblive said:
I probably ride the fence on this one. Being a kid of the 60/70s....

But I do understand what Sergio is saying. The music landscape today is vastly different that it was when I was growing up. Doesn’t make it bad necessarily.... just different.
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Exactly. And this new perspective kinda avoids the existence of real great hits or iconic albums
 
Sérgio said:
Though I’m not young I definitely don’t think of myself as an old curmudgeon, nor do I find this persona cool or clever...

I agree with you, there is a whole new world of great music and great players, my point being that the New Stuff doesn’t get as much appreciation as the old stuff did...
Click to expand...

I think we are saying the same thing. If, for example, Rock was still king we'd be having a different conversation. But because the awareness of new guitar music is muted many people (including, unfortunately many in the guitar community) are not aware of it and therefore don't have the appreciation.
 
Every generation pumps out decent music for their time. I’m sure music lovers way back in the days of Mozart, Handel, etc..... said things like..... “this is the best. Music will never be this good again.” A few hundred years later, we’re still throwing out the same arguments.
 
Sérgio said:
Exactly. And this new perspective kinda avoids the existence of real great hits or iconic albums
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But that does beg the question: does it need to be a great hit or iconic in order be as good or better than what came before it?
 
gball said:
But that does beg the question: does it need to be a great hit or iconic in order be as good or better than what came before it?
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Nope. Doesn’t mean I have to listen to it or like it. But I acknowledge someone does like it or it wouldn’t exist. Personally. I do not like Rap or Hip Hop.... I personally don’t see anything remotely musical about it or socially redeeming. It hurts my hears and insults my being.... but that’s me. Pretty sure when I was listening to Sabbath or Alice or In-a-Gadda-Davida, my parents were in the other room going..... “what is that crap..... sure doesn’t sound like Elvis or Johnny Cash.”
 
Bah, humbug I say!

We're heading into another golden era of music. The possibility to self publicize your music and reach millions of people across the globe is something new and we're just seeing the beginning. For the first times, artists can have their music heard by everyone without the record company leaches behind them.

We old farts may think that the music made between 1954 and 1979 was the shitznitz but music is subjective. There is a lot of good music being made today, perhaps even more than ever before. You just have to know where to look.
 
Just a side note: if Clapton wasn’t a great player, I sincerely wonder who is. I was listening to Disraeli Gears just this morning and thinking about his tone and phrasing.

But anyway this thread is not about not having great contemporary players. I said above that some of the new guys can be deemed ‘better’ than older ones but this is mainly subjective.
 
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