Jimmy Page has a stronghold on the '70s, The Edge has the '80s cornered, and Jack White holds the title of the 21st century's definitive guitar god? Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim's (An Inconvenient Truth) latest doc, It Might Get Loud, chronicles each musician's work and climaxes in a perfect storm of guitar masters on a Warner Bros. soundstage, shredding and talking shop. (Via RollingStone.com) The film, set to be released August 14, received a standing ovation at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 19.

I wasn't conscious for any of the '80s or much of the '90s, so I can't speak to the Edge's inclusion. But White? Now, I love everything about Jack White—his twist on Bo Diddley, the Stripes' dirty Detroit grooves, and most recently his backbeats for the Dead Weather. And after watching the film's trailer, I especially love the insouciant saltiness that the heretofore laconic axman lends the otherwise sappy nostalgiafest. Affirmations like "Technology is the big destroyer of emotion and truth" get my Twitterview-hating panties in a twist.

But is White really this generation's guitar god? The documentary exhibits White holding his own among the greats, but still...how did Guggenheim single out the sometime Stripe? According to Rolling Stone:

"You could find other guitarists that were virtuosos, and you could find other guitarists that are legends, but you may not find three that are all searchers," Guggenheim said of his subjects. "Each one of them is still searching and still trying to figure out what it means to make music."

Right, well then. I agree White is certainly searching for something with his various side projects. But there are also plenty of other guitarists toiling under a similar burden, without the help of constant trumpeting by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and now Guggenheim. Marnie Stern and PJ Harvey come to mind. And the fact that women are never honored with "Guitar God" status.

So, BPB readers, a modest appeal for an informal poll: Who do you consider this generation's guitar god? And why no love for the female virtuosos?

• X, Steve Soto & the Twisted Hearts. 9:30 club. $25. All ages.
• Alex Rhoads, Midnight Ride. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Dean & Britta, Cheval Sombre. Black Cat. $15. All ages.
• Viva Voce, Cut Off Your Hands. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15. +21.
• The Kennedys. Jammin’ Java. $18.
• Threat Signal w/ The Agonist, Flatline, Thy Will Be Done, Cab Ride Home, Kysmet, Murder the Element. Jaxx. $12–$14. All ages.
• Capital Jazz Fest 2009: Alonzo Bodden, Natalie Cole, Fourplay. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $39.50–$100.
• Rock Solid: The Champions Production Hip-Hop and RNB showcase w/ Crimestoppers, City Limits, and the Ian Walters Project with Angel B. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• A Place To Bury Strangers, Caverns, True Womanhood. Rock and Roll Hotel. $12. All ages.
• Like Bells, Kadman, Stella Schindler. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• PJ Harvey and John Parish. Warner Theatre. $45.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Concert Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• John Prine, Steve Earle. Wolf Trap. $25–$42.
• Liberation Dance Party w/ Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. DC9. $8. +18.
• Subatomic Sound System, Dubblestandart, Jahdan Blakkamoore, Paul Zasky. Comet Ping Pong. $10. All ages.

Saturday

• Doves, Wild Light. 9:30 club. SOLD OUT. All ages.
• Hey Norton, Doug Parks and the Lone Wolves. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Lowen & Novarro, El Fin Del Camino. Birchmere. $29.50.
• Denali, Ki:Theory, Pygmy Lush. Black Cat. $13. All ages.
• Buster Brown & the Get Down. Fireflies. Call for price.
• King Wilkie. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10. +21.
• Early show: The Friday Night Boys (CD Release) with The Downtown Fiction, Bobby Faithful. $10–$12. Late show: The Fif, Violet Says 5, The Echo Boom. $10–$12. Jaxx. All ages.
• Washington Men’s Camerata: “Thanks for the Memories.” Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. $30.
• Shakin' The Blues Away w/ Doug Bowles, Alex Hassan, Cindy Hutchins. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Capital Jazz Fest 2009: Will Downing, George Duke, Norman Brown, Marion Meadows, Roy Ayers, Joey Sommerville, The Underground Divas. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $39.50–$100.
• BSO: Marin Alsop conducts violinist Hilary Hahn in a program of Beethoven, Higdon, and Dvorak. Music Center at Strathmore. $30–$85.
• The Black Hollies, The Breakups, DJ Bobby Babylon. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10-$12. All ages.
• Mittenfields, Typefighter, Vox Pop. Velvet Lounge. $8. +18.
• David Byrne, Devotchka. Wolf Trap. $25–$42.
• DJ Dk. Cafe Saint Ex.

Sunday

• Blues Jam with the Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Zac Brown Band. Birchmere. $25.
• Blind Pilot, Local Natives. Black Cat. $13.
• Disappears, Dangerosa. DC9. $8. +18.
• Capital Jazz Fest 2009: Al Jarreau, Kirk Whalum, Lalah Hathaway, Marcus Miller & Friends, Pieces of a Dream with special guest Phil Perry, En Vogue. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $39.50–$100.
• Louisiana Swamp Romp. Wolf Trap. $25.
• Thunders, Caustic Casanova, Seamonsters. Velvet Lounge. +21.
• Warm Gun, Another Empty Box. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• The Fairfax Wind Symphony. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• DJ Eskimo. Cafe Saint Ex.

Photo of PJ Harvey and John Parish via IslandRecords.com.

PJ Harvey & John Parish: A Woman a Man Walked By (Island)
Those waiting for PJ Harvey to drop her voice back to a low growl, pick up an electric guitar, and put the ethereal genius of '07s White Chalk behind her, sorry, that might still be a few years away. A Woman a Man Walked By, Harvey's latest collaboration with producer/musican/songwriter John Parish–coming ten-years after their first shared record Dance Hall at Louse Point–is decidedly high concept, which is to say, weird. Parish–who also helped produce White Chalk–provides the music here, ten tracks that veer from slanted Beefheartian-blues of "Pig Will Not", to the ethereal folk of "Leaving California," while Harvey sings, hollers, and groans. It's theatrical, to say the least, and you don't have to wait all the way until Harvey yelps the tongue-twister "Lilly-livered little parts", during the title track, to figure that out. But Harvey and Parish's show, gothy and freaky as it is, is a riveting one, full of strong songwriting and soft heartbreaking melodies.