I put in a lot of years and hard work to achieve curmudgeon status. I'll nay be givin' it up without a fight. Or a least a long winded diatribe about how good things used to be.

Jesse Screed
You all need to search a bit more.  There are some fantastic musicians from my generation that can play well, and want to do more than shred. 

Links or it dinnit happen.

Jesse Screed
You old guys slay me.
 
This is about the nth "what's wrong with kids these days," thread in the last month.  I think I'll start a thread called "old people know everything except when to stfu."
 
You all need to search a bit more.  There are some fantastic musicians from my generation that can play well, and want to do more than shred. 
 
It gets kind of old hearing how stupid, lazy, spoiled, and lowbrow we kids are. 
 
Sorry for the rant, go ahead, ban me, or pillory me, or ignore me, or whatever else you old farts do when someone young calls out your BS.
 
The coffee house is all yours gramps.
 
Jesse Q. Screed

Assuming much, aren't we? 
 
Instead of suggesting that people search more, how about you take the time to actually read what is written?
 
Had you done so, you'd seen that I included a lot of folks my age, therefore adressing the issue as a trend, not one of age group.
 
You'd also see that nowhere did I write that no young musicians could play with gusto. 
 
I'll not blame your jumping to conclusion on your age group either, though I think it is a most deplorable attitude.
 
 
 

Being old, and a guitar player who learned how to play from the Beatles and the other musical groups of the 60's.... yeah I can relate.
 
I see YouTube videos of kids, posted on Facebook ... both boys and girls who can flat out shred a guitar fretboard.  And in the one that comes to mind, the little girl (she looks to be about 12 years of age)  is setting there shredding to a Metallica song or some other technically advanced song and not a hint of emotion on her face or in her playing. None.... Just the display of the technical skills and ability to play at a high rate of speed.  Perhaps one day she will hear some Santana and that will touch her and she will learn about soul and how to incorporate it into her technical prowess.

I have seen that, and like so many others here, had the proverbial, "I should burn my guitars and quit playing" moment. However, I remember there are guitarists like Carlos Santana, Mark Knoppler, Chet Atkins and so many other really talented and tasteful players. Too many to recall or name. And I want to align myself with that group. The ones who touch the heart and soul of the listener.

Give me a choice between technical shredding and tasteful soul and I'll take the slower, tasteful, emotional playing every time. It may not be fancy and the Metallica crowd would likely find it boring, but it touches the deeper parts of the listener's soul and if it takes them away for that brief moment, it was all worth it.

Rain,
 
Mega-dittos to everything you said. Unless you are doing Whipping Post, or some such number where the whole point of the song is furious jamming/shredding, then the guitar solo needs to enhance and call attention to the song itself. Inappropriately flashy GTR playing calls attention to the GTR player and not the singer and his song. Are we trying to make music, or just show off?
 
Also, I object to this idea that playing lead guitar is a note playing contest; that is to say that the guy that plays the most notes in time & tune is the best guitarist. To me that is more like organized noise than music. I am more impressed by players that play within the song/composition. Warmth and melody are what please me. I'm thinking Ry Cooder. I actually prefer Jimmy Vaughn's work to Stevie Ray's.
 
And Keith Richards raised rhythm guitar to a very high artistic level. 
 
Yeah, I know exactly what you are saying.
 
Cheers,
 
Bert

craigb
Randy wins. 

+1

I wonder if Gilmour just starts laughing whenever he hears people talk about how fast someone plays...
 
Man, you aren't kidding about Guthrie!  Except for when he talks, he was looking extra-sketchy in that video.  Looking a bit like some meth-head the day after.

I'm still watching Guthrie videos. 
 
My last custom guitar has been on hold for some years now.  It's paid for but, between my situations and the luthier moving to a larger, four acre, fixer-upper house AND trying to keep his job which sucks over 12 hours out of every day from him, we've mutually agreed to let the project sit.  Well, he's finally getting some time (and some new tools just arrived) plus I FINALLY have a job that pays well again so he's started working on the guitar again (just got some new "in progress" pictures today!).
 
Then I watch those Guthrie videos and realize that I'll need about 30 more years just to become somewhat proficient... 
 
Oh well!

I think a good test for the shred kiddies would be to see how long they can make a SINGLE note say something. 

Rain,
I think we probably started at around the same time, and the Widdlie Widdlies were pretty dominant then.
I started playing because I wanted to be Keith Richards, so I focussed mostly on rhythm timing and technique.  But lots of my friends were big hair metal guys.  They all had pointy Ibanez's and practiced scales only for speed and dexterity.  Most of my friends didn't know more than Major, Minor, and Power chords.
 
What you're seeing now isn't new, I just think we didn't recognize it so evidently when we were young (while the old farts were saying exactly what we are now).