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--- In , Unsteady Freddie
<schizofredric@y...> wrote:
Lately, I've been really listening to a
> lot of Nirvana, and
> frankly, I don't give a damn that Kurt Cobain's skills were
> rudimentary. He wrote inspired
> and inspiring music with really great pop hooks and fascinating, if
> often cryptic and weird
> and confusing, lyrics.
Cobain was definitely light years ahead of everyone. I believe his
skills went far beyond mere hooks, though. His sense of timing and
anachronistic harmonic sense still resonates today. Compositionally,
he was able to fit things together that don't make any sense at all
from a theoretical perspective. He let his ears and his heart lead
him, though surely much of his angst was due to feelings of being
unable to truly evoke the moods and sounds he heard in his head.
>
> I often find myself going back to the earliest surf recordings for
> inspiration in my own
> playing because, no insult intended, a lot of the current surf music is
> a little too good. The
> musicianship is there, but the raw character of the teenage surf bands
> is part of the
> genre's appeal for me. Sometimes, our modern surf bands play a little
> too well for my
> taste.
Personally, I do like listening to the old stuff too, for the sake of
the simplicity and directness. Mainly, I listen to the old stuff to
get cues on tone, phrasing, and aggression. Yet, what has always
inspired me is the work of the modern rock guitar instrumentalists,
such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Steve Morse and others.
A lot of their stuff is so far advanced and beyond the technical
facilities of us mere mortals, so it's easier for me to give in to the
magic. Guess I'm on the opposite extreme: I want to hear the
boundaries being pushed and big chances being taken both technically
and compositionally. Like all music, I'll admid that it's hit and
miss... what good is a song that's merely a vehicle for laying down
one-dimensional technical proficiency? Yet, when it does come
together and hits on all cylinders, it makes me feel great, and I know
there there is definitely a bright future for instrumental rock guitar.
>
> It's difficult to articulate what I am saying here, but I will be
> curious to see if it stimulates
> some discussion.
>
>
I hope so too!
