I'm Sorry, But Pop Music Without Guitar Solos Sucks.

[László]

Just my opinion.

Guitar solos are far more interesting then synth pop bullsh!t, even though I often create synth pop bullsh!it for ads (but that's on client instructions and I have to make a living). I don't know what people are thinking!

Incidentally, I include rock music in the category of Pop music. Because it's still marginally popular.

 

[Black Plaid]

As a guitar player, my completely unbiased and objective observation is to unilaterally agree.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

100% agree! Now, not to derail, but I’ve said this before… too much of todays pop is not even played by ANY musicians. Synth loops pasted together on a computer. It has NO SOUL! But even the stuff that is actually played, just lacks with no guitar solos.

I could be here all day listing the killer guitar players who played solos on “pop” songs. But Jimi, EVH, Jeff Beck, Tim Pierce, SRV and ON AND ON AND ON goes the list. These days, many of the songs would be better if they even let ME play a solo for them.

Ok, in my mind, anyway.

 

[Gtrbldr]

I woud like to cast my support for your observations and whole heartedly support DTRs observation about soul

 

[FragileThunder]

 

[Birdsofprey]

Whether you like the genre or not if you want to hear guitar solo’s and great guitar tones listen to modern Country. Not my genre of choice BUT I sure can pick out some great solos, song craft and tones. It’s a crying shame it’s not in mainstream pop/rock. If I’m missing something here please school me lol.

 

[aphantomvaper]

In an old Metallica documentary...2000's?....there is a scene where they are all arguing about guitar solos while recording the current album of the time.

Bob Rock: guitars solos are from the past and you want to stay with the times

Kirk Hammet: That's exactly why we need guitar solos so we stand out

Need guitar solos always IMHO!!

 

[Wakester]

I like the principle where everyone gets a solo.

I sometimes sing solo. So low no one can hear me.

 

[dbrian66]

My nephews band is a trio. Keys, bass, and drums. I like their music, but I keep telling them they need to add a guitar player! LOL.

 

[RickP]

The lack of human contribution to the writing of songs puts an homogeneous lid on much of the music created in the last several decades. But many of the listeners grew up on thousands of hours of repetitive, synthesized video game music, and I think it’s just not as offensive to their ears… just a theory.

When I listen to much of the most popular music of my not-insignificant number of years I realize that, on the average, the performances were far from perfect. But they had breath and life in them, maybe even because of the glitches. And it surely made it apparent when a really good vocalist or player made an appearance. It had range, edge… life!

So back to Les’ point. Guitar solos, especially non-heavily-distorted ones, have never been convincingly synthesized. So Mike-Landau-In-A-Box isn’t a plug in, and that somewhat accounts for the lack of guitar in modern music. You’d have to hire a real person, and not just hack a track together and have a singer come auto-tune over it. Again, just my theory.

Still, guitar playing and guitar sales surged in recent years. I’m hopeful.

 

[Aahzz]

I'm going to be weird as a guitarist - I get tired of solos. I enjoy a GOOD solo, but not every song needs to have one IMO. I do, however, absolutely prefer guitar-driven music made by real musicians to synth pop, even if I also dearly love Depeche Mode.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I'm going to be weird as a guitarist - I get tired of solos. I enjoy a GOOD solo, but not every song needs to have one IMO. I do, however, absolutely prefer guitar-driven music made by real musicians to synth pop, even if I also dearly love Depeche Mode.

Word. Guitar solos in “Pop” music were like a fad whose time had come to an end, and is like lamenting the loss of a partial nudity sex scene in films.

They both came about a third of the way through the piece too! Sometimes it was great, but it became so formulaic and predictable. I actually recall routinely fast forwarding through the important bits of songs and movies to get to the solo/t!ts as a young man.

I won’t go as far as saying I like guitar driven music more than Depeche Mode though. I love Depeche Mode.

 

[jxe]

instrumental rock guitar is like 75 straight minutes of only partial nudity.

 

[DISTORT6]

instrumental rock guitar is like 75 straight minutes of only partial nudity.

…and being shot with a tranquilizer dart.

 

[jxe]

i would like to play guitar with nitzer ebb or electroforez or front 242. my guitars are not right tho, i’d need something like rickp’s big white hb594.

 

[jxe]

…and being shot with a tranquilizer dart.

i want to like those bands, because they are full of guitar geniuses, but instrumental electric guitar is pleated pants to me.

 

[jxe]

same goes for the dub versions of clash records, nobody cares guys.

 

[garrett]

I dunno, I enjoy plenty of stuff without solos and even stuff without guitars. To each his own, though I'd be fine with more pop music being like this...

 

[sergiodeblanc]

same goes for the dub versions of clash records, nobody cares guys.

Un-Irie

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I dunno, I enjoy plenty of stuff without solos and even stuff without guitars. To each his own, though I'd be fine with more pop music being like this...

That was the most watchable I have ever found their music to be.