![Quote](images/misc/quote_icon.png)
Originally Posted by
Terry
Like, growing up, the first few years I started playing guitar, me and my two other buds who started playing at the same time...we were 12-13 years old...early 1980s...back then, speed and flash guitar was king, right?
Every other week it was:
Hey, you figured out THIS Eddie Van Halen lick yet?
Hey, have you heard Warren DeMartini?
Hey, have you heard George Lynch?
Hey, have you heard about Steve Vai?
Hey, did you fucking hear Yngwie Malmsteen? Man, he's, like, the best EVER!!
Back then, it was cool to show off how fast you could play, or how well you could cop some famous players licks. You know...greasy kids stuff.
Eventually, it comes down to the songs in the end. At least for me, THAT is what resonates years and years down the line. By the same token, a lot of the better known 1980s flash guitar players...I can't even listen to a lot of that stuff now, because in all too many cases the songs were half-assed and little more than a coat hanger to hang (yet another) bitchin', everything-and-the-kitchen-sink guitar solo on.
Now, there are ten bazillion axe wankers posting youtube clips of them playing someone else's stuff. It's beyond boring.
Some of my favorite stuff continues to include AC/DC, The Ramones, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones...all pretty elemental stuff in terms of technique...but it all still resonates like a motherfucker to my ears.