Guitar good, DJ's bad, etc (was LOOPING PHILOSOPHY)

["T.W. Hartnett" <hartnett.t@apple.com>]

Well, the list is livening up.

Some thoughts:

Various instruments can be used in various ways, some more commonplace 
than others.  If you're looking for an instrument to establish the 
rhythmic pulse of a piece of music, the drum kit (in its various 
configurations) is probably a good place to start.  If you're looking for 
someone to make an improvised melodic statement, the drums would probably 
not be near the top of the list of likely tools.

Why is it that in rock music, there's an acute shortage of "keyboard 
heroes", in the same sense that say, Jeff Beck is a guitar hero?  How 
many breathtaking solos can you recall that were generated by something 
with a piano-keyboard interface?

If someone says "I am not a musician", what does it mean if you insist 
that they are?  And vice versa?

Will say, Art of Noise records be referred back to in twenty years in the 
same way that Cream records are?  

Will Mobile Fidelity Sound ever release a remastered version of "It Takes 
A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back"?

Did fusion kill bop?
Did rock kill jazz?
Did hip hop kill rock?
Did rock kill disco?
Did rock kill dance music?
Did electronica kill rock?

No instrument can do everything.  It is not an admission of weakness or a 
lack of vision to concede this.

Why is it that it's "Guitar *Player* Magzine", and "Bass *Player* 
Magazine", and then "Keyboard Magazine"?  Why no "Keyboard *Player* 
Magazine"?

Do you suspect that I'm a Guitar Bigot, or just trying to cause trouble?

Travis Hartnett