Algorithm for voting in these polls1) Is there somebody I actually think is the best and is he on the list? If so vote for him2) Is there somebody who deserves better but is probably going to get zero votes unless I step up? If so, vote for him3) Is there somebody who influenced or blazed a path for half a good number of the other jokers people in the running? If so vote for him.4) Keep clicking on the thread from time to time until the spirit moves me to pick somebody.
― Ian Hunter Is Learning the Game (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 21 May 2012 00:52 (eleven years ago) link
Sorry forgot 3b)Is there someone whose vocalist said of their band: "If someone told us we had to play Chuck Berry or die, we would have to die," vote for him.
― Ian Hunter Is Learning the Game (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 21 May 2012 00:56 (eleven years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Thursday, 24 May 2012 00:01 (eleven years ago) link
RIP The Blues I guess
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:30 (eleven years ago) link
Luckily the blues had a baby
― Ian Hunter Is Learning the Game (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:32 (eleven years ago) link
Kurt Cobain The "solo" that snakes through the final third of Nirvana's course-changing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is little more than a sly rip of the song's chorus melody.
EVERY Cobain solo is that. Was it always a "sly rip" when he did that bullshit?
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:35 (eleven years ago) link
Like does anyone ever go "DAMN that Cobain solo is fucking rad"
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:36 (eleven years ago) link
nice rhythm guitarist tho
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:37 (eleven years ago) link
yes - people who are really into the Cobain mythos/memories of the 90s imagine they hear something v. great in his playing
― cosi fan whitford (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:46 (eleven years ago) link
DAMN that Cobain solo is fucking sly
― lag∞n, Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:54 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.thisheartsonfire.com/images/SlyFox03.jpg
― flopson, Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:58 (eleven years ago) link
The funniest part of that line is that Cobain actually plays the verse's melody. He plays it over the harmony and rhythm of the chorus, which is the sly part, I guess.
I'd never claim the guy to be a lead guitar genius or anything but I think there were only a couple of songs where he actually just played the verse's melody for the 'solo'. IIRC there was a highly chromatic solo on one of the In Utero album tracks.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Thursday, 24 May 2012 05:13 (eleven years ago) link
(Definitely wouldn't rank him as the 4th greatest guitarist of all time though.)
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Thursday, 24 May 2012 05:17 (eleven years ago) link
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Thursday, May 24, 2012 5:13 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
well he didn't have that many guitar solos. Unfortunately he put them on some of his best songs.
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 06:21 (eleven years ago) link
In Bloom is probably my favorite 90s guitar solo
― billstevejim, Thursday, 24 May 2012 06:31 (eleven years ago) link
EVERY Cobain solo is that.
I'm pretty sure he only did that on Teen Spirit and Come As You Are.
― billstevejim, Thursday, 24 May 2012 06:33 (eleven years ago) link
youre dumb
― billstevejim, Thursday, 24 May 2012 06:34 (eleven years ago) link
heart-shaped box?
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 08:57 (eleven years ago) link
You're right that he did bother to actually write a solo for In Bloom though, good for him.
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 09:07 (eleven years ago) link
nah "heart shaped box" solo does not copy the vocal melody. pretty sure he only did that in 2 songs. :)
― billstevejim, Thursday, 24 May 2012 09:27 (eleven years ago) link
although you could be referring to the part that copies "i got a new complaint" but that's not really the solo section.
― billstevejim, Thursday, 24 May 2012 09:30 (eleven years ago) link
EVERY Cobain solo is that
Please see "Serve the Servants."
The funniest part of that line is that Cobain actually plays the verse's melody. He plays it over the harmony and rhythm of the chorus
The chord progressions for the verse and chorus are identical, only the rhythm changes, and the chorus has a brief turnaround at the end.
― it was a dark and stormy genitals. (Phil D.), Thursday, 24 May 2012 09:40 (eleven years ago) link
― billstevejim, Thursday, May 24, 2012 9:30 AM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Don't follow you here... I don't know what part of the song could be seen as copying that melody OTHER than the solo.
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:04 (eleven years ago) link
But yes, not EVERY cobain solo was just the vocal melody... But doing it in three different singles is a bit much don't you think?
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:07 (eleven years ago) link
Surprised Keith Rowe and Kevin Drumm aren't on the list.
Annoyed Pete Townshend and Bo Diddley aren't.
^ this. Except for Kevin Drumm, never heard him.
― Charles Kennedy Jumped Up, He Called 'Oh No'. (Tom D.), Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:10 (eleven years ago) link
Oh nvm bill you meant that outro part right?
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:12 (eleven years ago) link
ok ok the heart shaped box solo is really more just him playing the bass line from the chorus than the vocals. Kinda hard to separate the two in my mind.
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:26 (eleven years ago) link
voting Wayne Kramer & Fred "Sonic" Smith (MC5) cause at their best lead/rhythm merge and they function as ONE. also cause Sonic's wall of sound and songwriting skills paved the way not only for Sonic Youth but Nirvana too
― (REAL NAME) (m coleman), Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:32 (eleven years ago) link
wayne kramer is the most effortlessly cool guy on this list as far as i can tell
― You can do it Sun Myung Moon (NickB), Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:37 (eleven years ago) link
voted for Nile Rodgers.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, May 19, 2012 6:20 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
listen to his solo on "savoir faire" it fuckin shreds!!!!!!!!!!
― he bit me (it felt like a diss) (m bison), Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:59 (eleven years ago) link
― billstevejim, Thursday, May 24, 2012 2:31 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark
god yeah in bloom solo is so good
― some dude, Thursday, 24 May 2012 11:24 (eleven years ago) link
I love the one in 'Pennyroyal Tea'.
― Gavin, Leeds, Thursday, 24 May 2012 12:06 (eleven years ago) link
i thought this list was just greatest guitarists, though, not greatest solos or greatest lead guitar parts? obviously cobain wrote d0pe ass riffs
― flopson, Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:02 (eleven years ago) link
Well, there's kind of a point to doing it that way which is a whole anti-guitar-heroism thing but I don't really feel like getting into it.
― it was a dark and stormy genitals. (Phil D.), Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:09 (eleven years ago) link
its true the in bloom solo is awesome
― max, Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:13 (eleven years ago) link
― he bit me (it felt like a diss) (m bison),
or "Real People"!
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:18 (eleven years ago) link
truth be told i was on the wrong side of history in '92 and was a Pearl Jam fan who was lukewarm on the first three Nevermind singles and then "In Bloom" hit and i was like holy shit this is great
― some dude, Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:18 (eleven years ago) link
You're right. I should have said he plays it over the rhythm and arrangement of the chorus.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:38 (eleven years ago) link
dudes how come now one is talking about his flight of the bumblebee between the speakers on "breed"
― da croupier, Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:44 (eleven years ago) link
I think with this list Spin has finally and officially surpassed Rolling Stone as the most pathetic music publication.
― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:47 (eleven years ago) link
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtdWf-mJIZs/TzB0D4n3FwI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/n31OU7uPPmY/s1600/congrats11.jpg
― tylerw, Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:51 (eleven years ago) link
"Too many notes."
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z2pvpfssa5w/TC38lKv9EoI/AAAAAAAAMTg/j3vDOfPI0SM/s1600/jeffrey-jones-amadeus.jpg
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 May 2012 13:56 (eleven years ago) link
its sad they were a magazine
― rock the swagon and g.o.a.t. it (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:28 (eleven years ago) link
I liked your list, Whiney. I even bought two or three albums because of it. Was there any SPINsider drama about leading off with Skrilldog though?
― how's life, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:37 (eleven years ago) link
Given the logic of the list, two surprising omissions are Michael Karoli and Michael Rother. They seem like essential parts of the narrative.
― Träumerei, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:38 (eleven years ago) link
I had thought about Karoli when I read it. Never heard of Rother.
― how's life, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:41 (eleven years ago) link
He was in a couple of bands you might have heard of...
― Number None, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:43 (eleven years ago) link
Oh, duh.
― how's life, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:48 (eleven years ago) link
I'm much more of a fan of CAN than NEU, but I had one of their records once.
― how's life, Thursday, 24 May 2012 14:50 (eleven years ago) link
no doubt it's Fahey.
― global tetrahedron, Thursday, 24 May 2012 23:06 (eleven years ago) link