[QUOTE=Kaffirlime]
Think back to the ill-matched 1996 G3 tour when Eric Johnson and Steve Vai toured with Satriani. I recall one particular song where Eric opened with some beautiful soulful blues licks which Vai and Satriani mimicked proving they knew the 'technical' side of blues but they used three dozen notes for Eric's handful - to my mind demonstrating that they just didn't 'Get' blues

QUOTE]

Come on man, you cannot honestly say that Steve Vai does not "get" ANY style out there. If you had a selection of his albums you certainly would not classify him as shred. His stuff is off the wall original, plain and simple. I think he is excellent but I don't like a lot of his work. Besides, this whole shred is crap debate is ridiculous. It seems to hinge on the "fast playing has no feel" line of thinking. That for a start is a load of bull. Music is about what the individual gets out of it. Take Francesco Farreri for example. This guy plays woefull shred in my opinion, easily in the top five fastest players on the planet but to my ears it just sounds like a collection of frenzied notes in key. Read his articles about the concepts behind what he plays and it starts to make sense. I still hate his music but I have to respect it. Its about what the msucica puts in and what the listener gets out of the music.
Personally, blues makes me want to throw my stereo out the window. If blues was the only style of guitar invented, I would try to invent a new one because it bores me to tears. But thats what GOOD music is all about, not appealing to the masses on a commercial level but going deaper to a more profound level which appeals to individuals. Whether we all like it or not, there is good shred and there is good blues, and there is a whole lot more crap than good in both genres.
If it comes to learning the guitar I still advocate learning the virtuostic because once you have mastered technique you can play anything you want... and no, shred does not have to be played consistantly at 180 bpm's, it can slow down in between licks. If you are learning guitar and you like blues and shred, what's to stop you from learning both at the same time???? Why not just get music theory lessons and apply what you like to what you learn without being influenced by a teachers specific taste in music?