Who's "Spin's" 100th greatest guitar player of all time?
Skrillex!? ...really? ...what, cause of his hair?
I was a bit perplexed to see him at that spot, a little miffed because they started right off the bat with a little bit of nonsense. Even without reading the intro first I knew what they were up to.
Then I notice they had two entries for one spot, then again... and again. Not only did it seemed that Spin wasn't too concern with the definition of a "guitar player" it also seem apparent they didn't know how to count to 100. What I mean by
they I mean the writer and the editor - come on - neither of them took notice there were
"108" names on a "
100" Greatest... list?
I'm pretty sure it's 108. I scan through the article, I might have miscounted but not by a margin of 8%. Two guitar players in the number one spot is proof enough of their Count von Count shenanigans. By the end I wasn't too upset to see Skrillex at Spin's 100th spot, cause I knew he was really the 108th and technically didn't make Spin's list of 100 Greatest Guitar Players after all. whoosh
After glancing over the 108 names and reading the intro I am surprised the editor of Spin didn't stand outside a music store to hand out trophies to anyone who walked by and stop to look at a guitar.
They seem to be suffering a love/hate relationship with the Baby Boomers. Did they leave off the guitar favorites of the Baby Boomers? Yes. Did they include guitar players born during the Baby Boom/Hippie generation? Yes.
OK here was their preamble of pretentiousness:
Quote:
|
To celebrate the new generation of shredders profiled in our May/June "Loud Issue," the SPIN staff decided to find some wheedle in a haystack, taking on the impossible task of ranking our favorite guitar players of all time. Traditionally, the "greatest guitarist" timeline begins with Robert Johnson magically conjuring the blues, nears perfection with Eric Clapton mutating it beatifically, and then ultimately reaches a boomer-baiting Rock and Roll Hall of Fame apotheosis with the free-spirited Jimi Hendrix shooting it into space like feedback-laden fireworks. For this list, we veer toward the alternative canon that kicks in with the Velvet Underground trying to erase that form entirely, making guitar solos gauche and using instruments as sadomasochistic tools for hammering out sheets of white heat.
|
Now does Robert Fripp, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, Vernon Reid, and Dimebag Darrell make those lists that Spin was trying so desperately not to be? Yes, in fact they do. So what did they achieve leaving off Jimi Hendrix?
He was just as experimental as any other guitar player on that list. The Pixies influenced some on that list, and Joey Santiago was influenced by Jimi Hendrix (among others). So he's not out of place... oh wait a minute did they mention Joey?
