Solo or not to solo.......

if i copy and paste "the illiad" from a website onto MSWord, does that make me an epic poet?
what if i only copy and paste "ode on a grecian urn"? does this make me a lesser poet?
Neither. Both make you a plagiarist.

" Solos are for ego maniacs, my music I write comes from the heart and no with no frills" =

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY LEAD GUITAR

Period. You've got to know how to read between the lines. :D

I guess I am not that judgemental on other people's abilities and their style. What this person said really just opened my eyes to the fact that most of these so-called "metal" bands are so anti the solo and then label a person who can actually play lead guitar an egomaniac. All I know is all of this will come back in full circle :D :D :D

Long live the solo!! 8)

I can't wait til the 10 minute drum solos come back into music

yes, but the illiad takes longer to copy...

Too often, there was no d@mn good reason for that pile of notes that just fell out of someone's guitar and onto the floor as they had absolutely nothing to say. There is no formula -- the results and the messages rule. Sometimes (as F. Zappa often demonstrated) the message is obscene and grating, but yet gravid with validity.

I listen to a lot of different music. I might be listening to Ice Cube one moment, Leo Kottke the next and classical after that. My main influence however, has always been underground/diy hardcore. Part of the punk sound has been what's been said about inability and making the best music you can with three chords, as well as the importance of message. In punk/hardcore solos are often seen as empty space. Dead Kennedys are a well known band and the disdain for solos can be seen in "Triumph of the Swill" Full lyric at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/deadkennedys/triumphoftheswill.html

Music is banned in Khomeini's Iran
On the grounds that it stimulates the brain
We've done him one better in the land of coke & honey
Using music to put people's brains to sleep

The disdain for solos though comes more from a distrust and contempt for the music industry. Along with this Punk/hardcore has always been very political/socially conscious and there's a rage that comes out in the music. One of the most important bands Larm came out with "Campaign for Musical Destruction". So with a raging political outlook and contempt for the music industry it's understandable in the 80s solos became a target for the punks. Also, traditional solos don't really fit the context of rage. But with the similarities between hardcore and metal it was inevitable there'd be some intermixing, so with bands like DRI and Cryptic Slaughter you had crossover. The hardcore ethic with a metallic sound. And Slayer kind of detroyed what i had said about no rage in the solo. That sound makes up a lot of metalcore. I'll also mention the attempt to bring down barriers between the band and the audience in hardcore, to the point where some bands playing at a staged venue will bring the drum kit down into the audience where they'd be knocked over by slam dancing. This element of music along with slam dancing is part of the heaviness and rhythm of punk/hardcore so you often have the Breakdown instead of solos which is a slower more driving rhythm good for circle pits windmill dancing etc..

You'll find a lot of fashion and heavy music comes out of hardcore a few years after the fact in the watered down form of popular music. System Of A Down was largely a fusion of emo and hardcore brought together with a sound more massively appealing. Also, today you'll find more of the metal bands coming out with discordant/dissonant sounds. This stems back to "Campaign for Musical Destruction" in the 80s where you have a backlash against accepted modern Western music. It was inevitable that this backlash would extend towards the chord structures/patterns of Western music. It doesn't sound proper to most ears, but within hardcore it has a very destructive sound. Well known bands would be Dystopia and His Hero Is Gone.

I think it has more to do with the music than ability. Minor Threat created simple to play straight edge hardcore with three riffs and power chords. But they also went on with Fugazi to single handedly build the Indie music scene and make quite complex music. A few months ago in Guitar World or Guitar One they mentioned Municipal Waste (hardcore thrash, i'd recommend hearing at least the song Nailed Casket) as an album choice. And bands like Darkest Hour (metalcore) can also be seen in these magazines. I've never been a fan of metal solos or most solos in general. I'd always cringe in Metallica songs i enjoyed when the solo came. But that's my personal taste in music. I think solos can be fitted into music and work, although i think you have to be careful as gnease said.

I think you just blew my brain.