gritty versus clinical

three from Ohio funkateer Joe Walsh





seems apt somehow that at Kent State Walsh majored in an "odd conglomerate" of "electronics, music theory and welding"

and now for the clinical -- one of the greatest hard rock productions ever, surely



Scorpions are the kind of band that was anathema to me as metal-despising postpunk youth, and in truth i almost didn't post this when i landed on one of those YouTubes that has the lyrics scrolling across it

sleeker and more clinical still:



(that one actually nominated by Craig Allen [who also mentions "Money For Nothing", which i suppose is a riff and a half yet curiously muddy and shapeless--always wondered how technically that riff/sound was achieved])

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Carl always has a surprise up his sleeve--I'd never have taken him for a Ron Johnson-type shambling band fan. Most of that stuff I think suffers for taking the blues out of Beefheart, resulting in a rather stubby sound. He's right about Big Flame though.

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Riffs Mailbag

Stuart Argabright suggests UFO's "RockBottom" or "Doctor Doctor" . "Also they had nice Hypnosis album covers ...:

AJ Ramirez avers that as regards alt-rock riffage, "aside from the grunge boys and Smashing Pumpkins ("1979" is the best riff Peter Hook never wrote, while I have a personal soft spot for "Rocket" and "Siva"), R.E.M. definitely sprang to mind early on. "Driver 8", "Harborcoat", "The One I Love" (admittedly "Driver 8" rewritten), "Talk About the Passion", etc. Peter Buck may has shied away from beng cast as a tradtional guitar hero, but he certainly grew up with classic rock, and no one who grew up on classic rock can quell the desire to build a song around a killer riff. Also let's not forget: Violent Femmes - "Blister on the Sun" Beck - "Loser"
Weezer - "Say It Ain't So" Husker Du - "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill" Stone Roses - Mani's bass riff in "I Wanna be Adored" Sleater-Kinney - "Dig Me Out"
Blur - "There's No Other Way" Suede - "The Beautiful Ones" (hey, I like it . . .)
Modest Mouse - "Float On" (definitely very annoying after a while, though)
Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out" (the great thing here is you have two riffs playing together simultaneously) White Stripes - "Seven Nation Army""

do any of these US hardcore songs have riffs, as such, in the "Smoke On the Water" sense? Too fast, too flailed? Ach who cares, some of the rockingest rock ever rocked.

















that one closer to a "lick" maybe, but crunching mightily in parts

now what is the difference between a riff, a lick, a vamp, a chord progression, and a, i dunno, guitar part? Eh?

less talk, more riffs

another example of Drops Away Syndrome, is how the distinction between Seventies punk and Seventies hard rock seems to fade to near-nothing as time goes by

e.g. compare these groovy bruisers




with these low-slung lean n mean anthems from the album that topped NME's Critics Poll in 1976




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answering the call for alt-rock to get its due, plus long overdue appearance of womankind

is this a riff, or a groove? Whatever, pummeling, and reminds me of Led Zep's "Four Sticks"


also this, not quite a riff but more like a spasm, or a stab


heavy band, Throwing Muses

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good riffological thoughts from Seb at And You May Find Yourself...

good Rockological thoughts from Cybore