I pity the poor writers at Spike.com. Just think of the hours of awful music they must have subjected themselves to before compiling their new list of the "Top 7 Worst Guitar Solos of All Time" — not the "baddest," mind you, but actually the worst. And it’s a complicated question: What does it mean to be the worst guitar solo of all time, anyway? Are we talking about the most boring? The most off-key? The most bloated and indulgent?
All those and more ended up on Spike.com’s list. They made some good calls, like singling out Lil Wayne’s inexplicable belief that he can play guitar, which is an ongoing embarassment to humanity. They’re also way off-base at times: I’m sorry, but there is nothing wrong with the solo from "Smells Like Teen Spirit." And their list is far from complete. My personal least-favorite solo of the past few years comes from Vampire Weekend, a band so wildly overrated that I almost feel bad pointing out how overrated they are. (Almost.) The limp little "solo" in their single "Oxford Comma" (below, at about 2:00) typifies everything that’s wrong with those smug, lazy prepsters.
But that’s just me! What are your least favorite guitar solos of all time? Post ‘em up below. And no, fake shredding doesn’t count, sadly.
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i don’t know… the “teen spirit” solo is pretty lazy. it’s just the vocal melody translated to guitar. still a great song and great band but they resorted to that a lot in their solos.
but “champagne supernova” has a great solo. it’s a little jive, i suppose, but it’s memorable and fun
For shame, Vampire Weekend are amazing. And the guitar solos aren’t really the point of their songs, they’re afro-pop not rock.
That solo is really not that bad. Chill out, Simon.
I agree. Vampire Weekend is overrated.
vampire are a great band built on their songs not a guitar solo. while their solos aren’t especially great their music is.
My vote goes to Robbie Krieger of the Doors for his inane, lazy ride on “Love Her Madly.” The fact that he was a pretty decent player only makes that stupid solo even more unforgivable.
i agree. vampire weekend is overrated. although i don’t see anything really wrong with that little solo. it’s not a major part of the song and it’s not supposed to be.
Vampire Weekend is not overrated. Your writing is smug and lazy because I relazed song like “Oxford Comma” is not going to have shredding solo. Come up with some real reasons rather than “lazy” attacks.
Thank God I’m not alone in my non-appreciation of Vampire Weekend. I was worried they were actually good and it was just me slipping into my cranky-old-man era decades too early.
I kind of agree about Vampire Weekend. I listened to 3 or 4 of their songs and was done. They definitely aren’t great.
Can Vampire Weekend really be *that* overrated when it seems like half of what I read about them is people complaining about how overrated they are?
Meg has a point. At this point they might just be rated.
The brief solo in Vampire Weekend’s “Oxford Comma” isn’t anywhere near what a classic, legendary guitar solo is supposed to be, but that’s not the point. It’s like a throwaway moment. The band’s music is just fun.
Vampire Weekend’s music shouldn’t have any crazy guitar shredding in the first place. They’re not a guitar heavy band, and I think a lot of people are missing out when they just listen to a couple songs and automatically say they’re overrated. Weak argument, Simon.