Greatest Guitar Songs: What were they thinking?

Back when I had finished just the Rolling Stone list, I wrote a little about the question of what would make a great guitar song. Does it have to be difficult to play? What if it is really catchy, and gets under your skin, but a beginner can pick it out?

It is tricky to explain how music makes you feel, and why you respond to it - often you only have an idea that cannot be fully expressed or understood verbally. Isn't going beyond words kind of the point of music?

Because of this, justifying the place of any songs on the list, as well as justifying the existence of a list, is questionable. However, there are a few things where I could totally see why, and a few where I think I know why, and I kind of want to explore those a little.

The one that was most baffling was the inclusion of Rachel and the Lawn Grower. I did finally find a couple of videos on Youtube. Now, it is certainly possible that they have a larger body of work that I just couldn't find and their inclusion was based on that. I only know that my comment by their place on the list was "No, that's insane."

Yes, there was a guitar, but that was it. It was like a duo playing for tips in a coffee shop, like Nicole Parker and Jordan Peele on MADtv, but without the racial tension. And there is nothing wrong with that, but for "Greatest Guitar" it just didn't fit. So, the only thing I can think is that this is someone's favorite band, or they are emotionally invested in them, and so they are just going to add them to every discussion in the hopes of getting their names out there.

I can sympathize with that desire, but adding them to inappropriate discussions is ineffective. For something like that, most people probably aren't even going to look, and then the ones who do will be grossly disappointed. Even internet comments should make sense. I mean, I will be mentioning some of my favorite songs and bands and some point, but I will not be throwing in "Take On Me" by A-ha, even though the music video clearly showed a guitar, because it just doesn't belong there. (If we are going into great keyboard songs, on the other hand...)

Some I believe were added because of their unique sound. I get that, but I also did not end up liking most of them at all. I guess I had always intended to give Buckethead a listen, for Viggo Mortensen's sake, so I don't regret listening, and having specific song suggestions to listen to. It was interesting listening to some tracks by the Russolo brothers, trying to figure out which the original poster meant, but it was only interesting. The music did not hold me.

That doesn't mean that it didn't hold the people who suggested it. Yes, there is a part of me that wonders if they didn't just post those names to show how smart they are, but I know that tastes vary. This project has taken me from knowing that Tool is a band to really hating them, but not everyone feels that way. I have a friend who is a big David Bowie fan and I called her for advice, so we were discussing all of it, and she works with someone who is a huge fan of Tool. He wears the shirts, and does not get the jokes about labeling himself. So there could totally be people who consider Keiji Haino to be the greatest, and not ironically.

(Though I still feel that anyone who did not suggest specific songs was missing the point.)

One thing with the experimental musicians is that even if I do not find their sounds pleasing, they do convey that they are thinking about what music is, and can be, and often they do have some expertise. That leads to the final type of inclusion that I am getting to today: players with mad skills.

They were names that I recognized, and have heard good things about, and there was nothing wrong with listening to them, but again, most of them didn't grab me. The one exception was "Surfing With The Alien" by Joe Satriani.

The interesting thing to me about that is this is a case where someone recommended a specific song, and it was totally deserved. Usually they just put the names, and there was nothing wrong with listening to their tracks, but I think the most magic comes from bands. The different players, with their instruments and their personalities, come together. Maybe it will be the guitar that stands out, but it is fitly framed, and all goes together.

Tomorrow will be some of the ones I really liked.