mainstream is downstream thing/thread i think...

[Scott Hansen <evanpeewee@gmail.com>]

i'm late to this, don't really have great answers to any of it:

do people honestly care about pop music on this list? i don't . do i buy pop music? no. 
although i will say that i hear more pop music now than ever, that's probably b/c of my wife & kids. i don't think it's bad 
i mainly listen to our ipod (which is my son's) when i exercise inside (winter snow-hate!). i have heard kanye, katy perry, kei$ha,
the songs are ok for exercising to, i don't buy their albums, i've seen a few live youtube clips, pop music is just like it's always been.
it's popular b/c there is some beat/rhythm/melody/words that appeal to people on a grand scale. it could be that people get sucked into
an image/idea of rock star-ness (i guess this is the lady gaga or katy perry trying to take the mantle from madonna...i guess).
anyway.
here's a good book to read: "Rock in Time: social history of rock and roll". i'm currently reading it. it's interesting. honestly, i don't think
rock music has changed at all. it's always about the youth, there is an image involved (which could be more make believe/fantasy than real),
it has ALWAYS INVOLVED MEDIA, since DAY 1 people (elvis is the 1st rock star b/c he is seen on TV, plain and simple), parents/older generation
always hates it, bla bla bla...it's all the same, nothing has really changed.

comments, as to a few of the things luis A said:

re: segovia & technique. i watched a thing of christopher parkening demoing how segovia played. it is very interesting. the range of sounds
and how he manipulated it, i'm sure that's where segovia is coming from. and i attended a master class about 13 yrs ago that parkening gave.
man, some of the suggestions he had for the students, you'd think they were so simple, but he spotted them in a second & the stuff he said made sense.
it's really all about an expert giving a novice advise. the novice can take the advise or not (your choice).
but i will say the things i heard parkening say was pretty amazing (and i am not a classical guitarist-AT ALL). he was a great teacher. 
and i know i've seen interviews where he said that segovia could be VERY INTIMIDATING. i don't doubt that. but watching that demo of how segovia 
would pick-it honestly reminded me of how danny gatton played. the more tools in your bag the better at creating you can be. the tools are there,
you can use them if you'd like or not.

as for the EVH & teaching thing-i don't know him, etc, but i've never gotten the idea that he would have any desire to teach anyone.
but the thing about him, watch him play (and it's the same w/ hendrix), man he really knows what he's doing. my wife (a non guitarist) was 
watching clips one time w/ me of EVH & hendrix and her comment was you could tell they are experts in what they do, there is a certain mastery
of technique and confidence in their playing, that it looks very different from novice players. and in both of them i'd say watch their picking hands,
especially jimi's, he had the loosest wrist i've ever seen. (now could evh work on his interpersonal communication skills w/ lead singers-YES!)

as for teaching guitar, more power to you, and good luck. my oldest son took lessons in 1st grade, he liked it, but kids today have so many distractions,
he hasn't picked up the guitar since then w/ all the stuff he does (and it's vid games at home!!!). 

the other thing i'd think w/ the explosion of media, both print and youtube in the last few yrs, you'd think there would be this explosion of
technical guitarists, but i honestly haven't seen them. i mean in the late 70s there was Randy Rhoads who exploded w/ ozzy solo and then early
80s yngvie came out, and of course there was the wave of stuff from the 80s (shranel), but i thought w/ all that is available that we'd see more, but
i really haven't, but it could be that guitar in pop music scene has really taken a back seat in the last few yrs, really since grunge...oh well....
more blathering than i needed too...

s---
www.myspace.com/scotthansen