# Best guitarist of the New wave/Punk era? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 13, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481 "2009-11-13T20:50:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/21 "2009-11-14T08:44:06Z")
Add my votes to those who’ve said Tom Verlaine, Bob Mould and D. Boon. I’d like to nominate Robert Quine, though I don’t know if he’d count. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/22 "2009-11-14T09:54:29Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Well Mark Knopfler was from the era, though he wasn’t exactly punk or new wave. Does he qualify? I love his guitar playing, but in no way his style resembles new wave/punk. Same applies to Mike Campbell. They just became popular at the same time as punk. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/23 "2009-11-14T10:36:01Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Add my votes to those who’ve said Tom Verlaine, Bob Mould and D. Boon. I’d like to nominate Robert Quine, though I don’t know if he’d count. I was thinking the same thing…his work with Richard Hell & the Voidoids was amazing, though. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/24 "2009-11-14T12:28:26Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ll add James Honeyman-Scott (Pretenders) and perhaps Andy Gill (Gang of Four) to the list. If The Smiths can qualify as New Wave (which I think is a stretch), then you can absolutely add Johnny Marr to that list. The Honeyman was amazing - an awful loss way too early. Nice catch. I was going to mention Gill in my first post, but held off for some reason…well, because he purposely chooses a harsh, grating tone - hard to take at times, but that was a choice he was making. The intro to Love Like Anthras - a fave or mine - sounds like he is drilling metal on metal… ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/25 "2009-11-14T12:57:10Z")
Stuart Adamson deserves a honourable mention, I think. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/26 "2009-11-14T13:35:29Z")
Although I gave my vote to Tom Verlaine in the OP, I think that Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo (you can’t separate them) deserve a mention. Both certainly influenced by Verlaine (and Richard Lloyd), but as inventive and stylistically unique as him. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/27 "2009-11-14T13:46:23Z")
More noms: Bob “Derwood” Andrews from Generation X Um, Paul Weller? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/28 "2009-11-14T14:48:13Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Um, Paul Weller? Great songwriter, but exceptional guitarist? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/29 "2009-11-14T15:22:57Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Great songwriter, but exceptional guitarist? I don’t think so. Disagree - in a Kurt Cobain-y, Pete Townshend-y, Alex Lifeson-y, Billie Joe Armstrong-y approach, he filled out a three-piece lineup very effectively. Not as flashy as gunslinging, but, speaking from experience, very hard to do. Different from EVH, Hendrix, Page, Clapton/Cream supergroup three-piece guitar playing… The former kind of “sonic layer that’s a foundation to the song” rhythm guitar player is real inside-baseball muso stuff that a lot of non-players don’t appreciate. No offense at all, just trying to provide a player’s perspective… So yeah: go Paul Weller. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/30 "2009-11-14T15:43:34Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Disagree - in a Kurt Cobain-y, Pete Townshend-y, Alex Lifeson-y, Billie Joe Armstrong-y approach, he filled out a three-piece lineup very effectively. Not as flashy as gunslinging, but, speaking from experience, very hard to do. > > Different from EVH, Hendrix, Page, Clapton/Cream supergroup three-piece guitar playing… > > The former kind of “sonic layer that’s a foundation to the song” rhythm guitar player is real inside-baseball muso stuff that a lot of non-players don’t appreciate. No offense at all, just trying to provide a player’s perspective… > > So yeah: go Paul Weller. OK, after thinking about the points you made (and thinking about his music), you convinced me. And I love “Days Of Speed”, where he proves that he can take the stage alone with only an acoustic guitar and make a hell of a sound. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/31 "2009-11-14T17:32:46Z")
I’ll second the nomination for Johnny Ramone. Watching that guy play was an awesome experience. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/32 "2009-11-14T17:48:03Z")
Honeyman-Scott, Verlaine, Quine…you can’t really go wrong with any of them. If you want someone with a bigger catalog, maybe Ron Ashton. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/33 "2009-11-14T20:20:32Z")
I’ll third or fourth Billy Zoom, and thrown in Fred “Sonic” Smith. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/34 "2009-11-14T23:58:48Z")
Man, I was going to say Dr. Know and Robert Quine but I was beaten to both of them. Allow me to repeat those nominations then. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/35 "2009-11-15T00:18:35Z")
Gotta put Pat Smear and Paul Leary in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/36 "2009-11-15T00:28:07Z")
Oh, if Brian Setzer counts, he’d be a very strong contender, but you’d have to be pretty generous to count him in. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/37 "2009-11-15T00:31:02Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Disagree - in a Kurt Cobain-y, Pete Townshend-y, Alex Lifeson-y, Billie Joe Armstrong-y approach, he filled out a three-piece lineup very effectively. Not as flashy as gunslinging, but, speaking from experience, very hard to do. > > Different from EVH, Hendrix, Page, Clapton/Cream supergroup three-piece guitar playing… > > The former kind of “sonic layer that’s a foundation to the song” rhythm guitar player is real inside-baseball muso stuff that a lot of non-players don’t appreciate. No offense at all, just trying to provide a player’s perspective… > > So yeah: go Paul Weller. Good analogy, maybe there needs to be a “best musical utility infielder” thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/38 "2009-11-15T01:55:29Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Oh, if Brian Setzer counts, he’d be a very strong contender, but you’d have to be pretty generous to count him in. I love Brian Setzer and think he’s a great rockabilly/jump blues guitarist but I’m not sure The Stray Cats really fit in New Wave genre. I’m going to make an offbeat nomination: David Byrne. People really don’t think of him as a guitarist but rather as a singer and oddball frontman. However, I just re-watched “Stop Making Sense” a couple of weeks ago (best rock concert movie EVER) and I was really struck by what an excellent rhythm guitar player he really is. He can really lock on a groove with driving force. Also, seconding Andy Summers, Bob Mould, Mick Jones and Joey Shithead (the only one I was lucky enough to see play live). ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/39 "2009-11-15T02:26:16Z")
> [@Hodge](#): > > I love Brian Setzer and think he’s a great rockabilly/jump blues guitarist but I’m not sure The Stray Cats really fit in New Wave genre. > > I’m going to make an offbeat nomination: David Byrne. People really don’t think of him as a guitarist but rather as a singer and oddball frontman. However, I just re-watched “Stop Making Sense” a couple of weeks ago (best rock concert movie EVER) and I was really struck by what an excellent rhythm guitar player he really is. He can really lock on a groove with driving force. > > Also, seconding Andy Summers, Bob Mould, Mick Jones and Joey Shithead (the only one I was lucky enough to see play live). ## You have a good point, as I also usually think of David Byrne as more of a frontman/vocalist than for his guitar playing, but I saw him in concert twice this year, and was also very impressed with his work on the guitar ( I think he plays a Fender Stratocaster?) Someone upthread mentioned David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) and while I dont usually first think of Los Lobos as a new-wave band, I guess that they do have a proto-punk meets Americana meets Guadalajara garageband thing going for them. In any case, David Hidalgo is a great musician, no matter what genere one would place him in. (A couple of years ago, I saw Elvis Costello and David Hidalgo play together down in New Orleans, and it stands as one of the highlights in my 25+ years of travelling for live music) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481/40 "2009-11-15T03:40:52Z")
Howsa about we limit the discussion to guitarists who either cut their teeth in the new wave/punk/american hardcore scene or were best defined by that. For example, Robert Fripp should not be part of this discussion, while Bob Mould and Andy Summers should. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-the-new-wave-punk-era/517481.md?page=3)