by Streeter

Welcome to a new week, Indaba.  It's Monday and that means it's time to talk shop on the ol' Indablog here.  But what to talk about?  We've argued about guitars and keyboards and drums.  And we've argued about music videos and bands.  We've argued about cover songs and you've given me buying tips for new instruments.  So what's left?  Well, how about we argue about something a bit smaller.  Let's argue about guitar solos. 

The guitar solo is one of those most cherished commodities of a rock band.  A good guitar solo can be more memorable than the song that surrounds it.  There are hundreds of great ones, thousands of decent ones and even more bad ones (listen to any Limp Bizkit guitar solo and you'll know what I mean).  A good solo can lift a song to a new level and lift the public's opinion of a band up with it.  What would Zep be without Page?  The Stones without Richards?  Bon Jovi without Sambora? The list goes on and on. 

So I ask you guys today to name off some of your favorite guitar solos and give me a little explanation as to why.  I'll start:

• "Let It Be" The Beatles - George Harrison rips this guitar solo no questions asked. The songs is fairly slow and rambling but then, out of nowhere, he punches in and really kicks it up.  The solo gives the tune the energy it needs to finish strong.  And finish strong it does, thanks to Harrison's great guitar work. 
  
• "November Rain" Guns n' Roses - Yes, it's hair metal, leather pants, overblown 90's cock rock at it's finest, but damn if that isn't one good solo.  If you can block the image of Slash standing in a desert, wailing on a Les Paul for a minute and instead just listen to the licks, you can hear why Slash will be remembered as one of the great rock guitarists of all time.  He played exactly what the song needed and that song needed a lot. 
  

Now it's your turn.  Leave your favorite ones in the comments.

For the past two weeks we've been taking a look at videos of amazing kids.  First we saw three incredible kid drumers and then we took a look at a few kid pianists (If you say that out loud it sounds horrible...don't do it).  Anyway, this week we're going to move on to another popular thing for little kids to be better at than me: the guitar.  Now, aside from guitars being comically oversized for most kids, their little hands normally have trouble making chords and pushing down heavy strings.  Not these tikes, though.  These kids will make you want to close your Indaba account, throw away your instruments and join the corporate world. 

First up is 9 year old Yuto Miyazawa.  This clip, from Ellen, features Yuto playing "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne.  He has a long way to go on the vocals - the curse of youth, as far as rocking is concerned - but his axemanship is spot on.  But unlike most kids who play "Crazy Train," Yuto doesn't just play the opening riff and call it a day.  He does the whole damn song.  Even at the onset, before a note is played, you can tell he knows his way around an electric guitar and all the accouterments that come with one.  Comically over-sized?  Yes.  Amazing musician in the making?  Indeed.  Bad voice?  Yes, but let the boy grow up a bit first, you judgmental jerk. Check out more Yuto on his MySpace page.

Yuto Miyazawa, Age 9

Next up is a little dude going by the handle T-Man (Real name: Tallan Latz), a 8 year old kiddo from the midwest.  Unlike Yuto up above, Tallan rocks some heavy, smokey blues in this clip from a local news show (Side Joke Alert! The newscaster says "While other kids are watching videogames..."  Watching videogames!  Thanks Grandpa!!!)  Anyway, Tallan clearly knows how to step up and down a pentatonic and seems to be learning the standard blues head motions - close eyes, rock head back-and-forth, scrunch face, etc.  Tallan is a little older now - he's almost 10! - but according to his MySpace page, he's got a pretty busy summer of gigs lined up.  And of course, comically over-sized axe!

Tallan Latz, Age 8

Lastly, I wanted to show you someone who is as good at fake guitar as these kids are at real guitar.  And before you dismiss it, think about the hand-eye co-ordination that goes into doing this.  I'm not going to say it's more impressive than an 8 year old rocking a blues song, but it's impressive in it's own little way.  Here is some guy playing a Dragonforce song on expert and getting 100%. 

Some Guy, Age ?

Hello Indaba and welcome to another week.  It's Monday and that means it's time to talk shop.  Last week I threw out an open-ended call for keyboard knowledge and you guys responded.  This week I want to do the same for a different instrument.  This week I want to talk about acoustic guitars.  I want anyone with an opinion about wireless axes to leave a comment about their preferred model but I want more than that, too.  So, if you're inclined to rock without power, let Indaba know...

• Which acoustic guitar you like the best?
• How much is a reasonable amount to spend on an acoustic guitar?
• If you had all the money in the world, what acoustic guitar would you buy?
• What is the worst acoustic guitar you've ever played?
• What is the most fun song to play on an acoustic guitar?

That's all!  So weigh in with answers to any and all of my questions in the comments and have a great week, Indaba.