Unless it’s done to conceal or
rehabilitate a damning past or water down a perhaps too strident orthodoxy,
revisionism is not necessarily a bad thing. By definition, its intent is to
challenge pre-existing views or theories. Nothing wrong with keeping us all
honest. But when it’s done as a clear but feeble attempt to blithely alter a
paradigm, or worse, to appear cool and/or be subversive, it has wandered into
sad, unfunny joke territory. To wit: Spin magazine’s recent list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.
We have neither the time nor inclination
to go any further into dismantling the list, but any aggregate of this nature which
includes Skrillex (?!); has Jack White and Steve Albini (?!) ranked higher
than, say, Robert Fripp; and features Jam Master Jay (??!!) in its top 10, is just
an exercise in douchebaggery. Simple as that.