EVERYONE has a musical blind spot. And if you don’t have one, you should.
Yours should always be the dissenting voice that speaks up when a consensus starts to form. And it can’t be a contrary knee-jerk reaction just for the sake of it – there should be substance to your counter-argument. My current blind spot (though there have been many down the years) is the band Muse.
Sure, you can appreciate their musicianship (whatever way you slice it Matt Bellamy is a preternaturally talented guitarist), respect their achievements and acknowledge that they are one of the best bands in the world today. But there’s just no engagement there.
As blind spots go it’s pretty benign. There are people out there (of extensive musical knowledge) who just can’t get their heads around a Springsteen, Dylan or a Clash. And it’s nothing to with genre – you can be a paid-up fan of a certain musical style yet still be left cold by one it’s most acclaimed practitioners.
All of which is a long way of saying that Muse's Plug In Babydoesn't really deserve to be voted the best guitar riff of the century. You'd certainly have to put in the top 10 of best guitar riffs so far this decade, but not at the very top spot.
But that's how the readers of Total Guitarmagazine had it when they voted for their favourite riffs. People were asked to keep their choices to this decade to prevent the poll descending into a predictable Jimi Hendrix/Led Zeppelin affair. Hendrix's Voodoo Chile regularly tops the best riff of all time polls.
Total Guitareditor Stephen Lawson said: "I think Muse won because Matt Bellamy is a guitar hero for the 21st century. He's genuinely innovative, a real creative type who comes up with unique parts. I'm sure it helps that his riffs are catchy too".
That's all very well but does the Plug In Babyriff really connect the way that a great riff should? Muse did very well with two entries in the top 10 (their Knights of Cydoniamade it to No 5) but there are some glaring omissions.
There's no room for either Red Hot Chili Peppers or The Darkness in the top 10 and you'd really have to put the latter's still magnificent I Believe in a Thing Called Lovein the top three. And the same goes for U2's Vertigowhich is one of The Edge's finest moments.
Velvet Revolver's Slitheris at No 2 in the poll, even though, out of all their work, it is perhaps their most paint-by-numbers track. But you'll find no arguments here with the mighty Avenged Sevenfold (Afterlife) at No 3, Queens of the Stone Age (No One Knows)at No 6 or The White Stripes ( Seven Nation Army) at No 7.
Quite what the readers of Total Guitarhad in mind when they placed The Killers and Mr Brightside at No 9 is anyone's guess as there's no discernible riff (as it's commonly understood) in the song. The term "riff" – short for either "rhythmic figure" or "refrain" – is usually defined as "a short, repeated, memorable musical phrase, often pitched low on the guitar, which focuses much of the energy and excitement of a rock song". Which rules out Mr Brightside, you'll find.
Technically known as an “ostinato” – which translates as “obstinate” – the idea of the riff is that it “obstinately” carries the melody line. If you want the perfect sonic description of how a riff should work within a song just listen to Day Tripper by The Beatles. It’s 11 notes long and, as such, really shouldn’t work, but it’s how they frame the song around that 11-note riff that is all-important.
You'll find a similar level of inspiration at work in what is the best Irish rock riff of all time – Therapy?'s Screamager, from their 1994 album Troublegum (which they will play in full at upcoming gigs in Cork, Dublin and Belfast). Although not eligible for the Total Guitarpoll (it was released in 1994), it wipes the floor with their top 10. And I'd fancy it in a riff-off with Voodoo Chile any day.
musicradar.com/totalguitar
