July 2, 2016 editorial: comments

No Solo for Mio

From my vantage point, it seems like instrumental ability­— and soloing in particular — is not valued like it once was, especially in pop and rock music. Back in the day, there were solos in a large majority of songs. They served as a point of contrast to the vocals in an arrangement — a different sonic flavor — and when done well, they were another avenue for pleasing the ears and psyches of the listener. But nowadays, solos happen infrequently in many styles of rock, are rarer than ever in pop, and are just about non-existent in electronic dance music.

Thankfully, that decline hasn’t happened in all musical styles. Jazz, of course, is all about musical expression through soloing, and you regularly hear solos in blues, bluegrass, country (even the super-commercial kind from Nashville) and some forms of rock. Nevertheless, in the majority of the popular music world, it seems that the importance of being a good soloist has reached an historic low point.

Why did this happen? One of the root causes may have been the ridiculous, over-the-top nature of the soloing back in the 1980s. While good solos require both taste and technique, there was a time during the heyday of “shredding,” where the latter was all that seemed to matter. The result was players like Yngwie Malmsteen, who had great chops and were super flashy, but had little or no musical substance (many were annoyingly pompous, to boot).

To be fair, not all shredders were like that. Eddie Van Halen’s playing brilliantly blended great chops with great musicality But soloing in that era was often an exercise in self indulgence, rather than musicianship. This caused a backlash against the solo that still resonates today.

But it seems to me that the biggest reason for the decline in lead playing is the rise of electronic dance music styles that are more programmed than played. Instrumental ability is not a necessity in the EDM world, so as a result it’s become much less valued. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that electronic production doesn’t require skill (and being a really good keyboard player certainly helps), but just that because of its programmed nature, it rarely requires live musicians when it’s being produced, and the solo has never been part of its vernacular. (Too bad, because there’s plenty of room for some killer synth leads in it.)

Some people might interpret my viewpoint as nothing more than sour grapes. “You’re a guitarist,” they might say, “and you’re resentful that you’re no longer the center of the music universe.” While there’s a grain of truth there, I truly believe that soloing is an important part of musical expression, and that the music world is poorer for the lack of it.

I’ll be back with my next column on Saturday, August 5th, but do keep reading this newsletter in the meantime for a handy compendium of the weeks news stories, articles, and more from Audiofanzine.