The iconic musical move has become less of a fixture in rock — but it is far from dead.
 | By Indrani Sen Culture Editor, Opinion |
I'll confess, I was one of the guitar solo skeptics that Nabil Ayers describes in his interactive guest essay. I tend to tune out when the guitarist starts shredding and have definitely thought of the solo "as an arrogant, unnecessary display of prowess, most effectively ridiculed in the 1984 mockumentary 'This Is Spinal Tap.'" |
His exploration of the history of the guitar solo is an absorbing read — and the beautiful visual and sonic elements designed by Jessia Ma and Ana Becker are certainly worth spending a lunch hour enjoying this week. |
In it, Ayers describes an epiphany he had recently, watching Adrianne Lenker of the band Big Thief perform an acoustic show in London. When the folk-rock star launched into a solo, Ayers writes, some in the otherwise silent audience couldn't contain themselves: They erupted into cheers. What they seemed to be responding to was her vulnerability and openness in that moment. |
"That, to me, is the power of the guitar solo," Ayers writes. "It's a moment of risk for the player, a demonstrative attempt to connect sonically, physically and emotionally with the audience — even if only for a moment." |
That surge of connection between performer and audience is palpable from the stage too, as the Dinosaur Jr. singer, songwriter and guitarist J Mascis told Ayers: "Songs and vocals might seem the same night after night, but each night I look forward to the guitar solo," he explained. "They are my way of communicating how I am feeling and how this night, this show, is different from all other nights. How the crowd reacts inspires me to play different things in different ways." |
Guitar breaks are no longer de rigueur — and indeed, there was only a smattering of them among the nominees in the rock song and performance categories of the Grammys yesterday — but it's not yet time to write the solo's obituary. |
It has morphed into something new with each generation, and it still thrives, Ayers writes — on new digital platforms, in genres far afield from rock and even in abstracted forms such as air guitar contests. |
Despite my previous aversion to all that shredding, I found myself relieved to hear that. |
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