Last night Keith Richards visited me in a dream. He arrived suddenly, interrupting whatever else was happening, and was insistent that we head immediately to a bar to be able to sit and talk at length. He then launched into a treatise on electric guitar and guitar more generally-- history, achievements, notable players, fads and trends. He talked about his dismay at the current situation full of dogmatism and pedantry and was fearful of what the near future would hold. He was worried that an instrument that had achieved so much and was so available to everyone, more so than any other instrument before it, was being lost. He did all this without resorting to the usual cynicisms and crankiness an older generation usually levies at the young-- he was genuinely concerned. He still saw the opportunities inherent in an instrument mass produced, cheaply available, easily modifiable, at home solo or in ensemble, electric or acoustic and was pissed that so few shared his vision. He still saw the vast network players of this instrument represent, and lamented that he had not been able to galvanize it in a useful way. To him it is now more of a market for trinkets than the organized force for societal change it could be. He talked about his own wager on the instrument and where it had taken him: his achievements both technical and compositional, his connection to and respect for the instrument--so visible whenever it was in his hands, his fame, his failures. I tried to ask questions but every time he waved me off saying there was no time he was not long for this world. "Is Keith Richards dead?" was the first thing I asked getting up in the morning. I am thankful for the lesson but glad he is still with us for a bit longer.
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