Top Riffs of the 2010s

A good friend of mine, who speaks German, once told me that the translation for ear worm is literally Ohrvurm. Ironically this has always stuck in my head even though I can’t remember where I was when she told me or even when. I realise this isn’t a particularly revolutionary insight however this, I believe, is the key to a great song whatever the genre and can, I guess, be down to one or two key ingredients.

Melody is often considered the king and if you’re humming or whistling to a song, whatever the complexity, whether it be Bach, Blondie or The Beatles, you’re probably doing so because it has a catchy melody. If we’re going to descend into biology (we aren’t) it’s the meat of the song — what’s a song without melody? Just a random collection of notes? (don’t @ me folks of the techno ilk — your time will come) Potentially. Although i’m not convinced, I mean can you also tell me the most memorable thing about Smells Like Teen Spirit, Taxman or Rock The Casbah is the melody?

Lyrics are also, of course, key for all genres bar those without — i’m looking at the cool kids in dungarees who are digging jazz, classical and ancient folk revival here. One killer line *BITCH BE HUMBLE* is enough to bury the whole song into your memory. Or at least the article you’ve written on Medium.

The reason we’re here, however, is to celebrate something i’ve always had a fascination with and that is the riff. For me the riff when done right, is what gets you off your feet, dancing, stomping, shaking, and grooving through the week to the weekend and onto the mother fukkin dance floor. The riff is there for you when you want to celebrate, when you want to cry, love scream, shout or sing. Yes, it’s a versatile thing. My love affair with the riff started young with one of the first songs I ever heard at the grand ol’ age of 4; Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones. Here was pure joy in a handful of notes, a distillation of everything right with a rock n’ roll song, a fuck you to silence in the most joyous way that even a four year old could understand. It was certainly better than listening to the monotony of the trains next to Worthing station but that’s a story for another time.

My burgeoning love affair evolved as I, too, grew up. My parents always loved music and it was always on; Britpop, Rock, Pop and a smattering of James Brown usually ran proceedings and as soon as I was old enough I began to develop my own tastes. I wasted countless hours and afternoons in HMV, Virgin Megastores or indie record stores. Limewire as well (yes I gave my computer cancer but so did you) either solo or with my friends desperate to hoard ourselves with as much music as possible with the hope that eventually our heads would literally explode to escape the tedium of small town British life. Hopefully our aural death would be from too much The Offspring or Blink 182 (as if there is ever a thing — am I right?!)

Anyway, I guess that’s what has led me to writing this and we’re here, at the present day. Not all riffs were born equal and, let’s face, not even necessarily native to rock music. God no! Riffs could be anything. From the Crash Bandicoot theme tune to Nile Rodgers slinky funky funk - a riff is a riff my friend. As such, and in the spirit of things, I realised that copying is the sincerest form of flattery and i’ve been inspired by my good friend CWS to publish my top 10 favourite riffs of the Twenty 10s. Let’s wail out the beauty and the bullshit of the last 10 years by listening to songs that will burn all cynicism in a blaze of glory. Riffs are love. Riffs are life. On to the top 10;

10. Royal Blood — Figure It Out

Worthing innit. x

9. Sleigh Bells — Riot Rhythm

The first time I ever heard the disastrous duo of Sleigh Bells was in c. 2010. A mate of mine had sorted a few of us out with a job putting up a marquee at a private school for their summer ball. It was the breeziest job ever as, after putting up the marquee and putting out some cutlery (badly), we basically just sat around smoking and drank all the booze that was spare before gratefully collecting their tips. The first song someone put on in the car on the way home, in the late June heat, was Crown On The Ground from their debut and this began my love affair with the band. Although I didn’t get into their later work i’ve always loved bands with arena rock ambitions (more on this later) and, as such, the first two albums remain firm favourites of mine. Riot Rhythm takes the pick for me. It does EXACTLY what it says on the tin, creating an abrasive and irrational chaotic feeling despite the almost deafening silence at the beginning of the track. What sets it apart from many mega riffs is that it’s a higher pitch (my Grade 8 musicality rearing its head) and this gives it such floor stomping tension it becomes impossible to ignore. The way the riff comes in for one last armageddeon-esque refrain after Alexis Krauss’s fairy tale vocals in the bridge is earth shattering. You’ve gotta march.

8.IDLES — Never Trust A Man WIth A Perm.

Well. If you ever needed a dictionary of insults to throw at someone posh on the fly, channel your inner IDLES. You’ll be shouting “A HEATHEN FROM ETON!” quicker than a nepotic knighthood can be issued.

I love IDLES. I can’t believe it took me until the second album came out for me to get into them. Frankly, it was only when a friend of a friend played them at our flat one afternoon, that I even listened to them. It was the similarity to The Clash’s debut which caught my ear, whilst almost clearly having a modern, Hardcore abrasiveness to their sound without losing any of the humour that gives them a proper punk twist. Actually throwing back to The Clash influence it was also their politics. I saw them at Glasto with my best mate and they lived up to their album title, Joy As An Act of Resistance. It was everything I pictured Punk to be — joyous rebellion, a celebration of all ages against a common enemy. A winking up yours and a friendly FUCK YOU. This song is the best of that album in terms of riffs but a special mention to June which is a painful yet hauntingly beautiful recollection of a tragedy which none of us should ever have to endure.

7. Dinosaur Pile-Up — Back foot

The year is 2010. Seemingly out of nowhere (well Leeds really) arrive Dinosaur Pile-Up with a 10 tonne take on pop punk clearly taking cues from Feeder, Jimmy Eat World and of course Weezer. Tales of alienation and boredom rang true to the sound of harmonised vocals, the occasional scream and a big dose of riffage. Admittedly I didn’t really follow the band after that but they released a couple of ok-ish received albums and then… BAM — I heard Backfoot. This motherfucker hits you harder than a thousand Bercow’s screaming ORDAAAA. It’s huge, a face melter, it’s so confident in itself it sounds as though as if it’s being played deliberately slower than it should be just because it can. A proper street strut stomp. Pure audacity with no fuckeries given it perfectly captivates the frustration you feel when you are doubted and the release in realising that it doesn’t matter — believe in yourself and all will follow.

6. Arctic Monkeys — Why’d You Only Ever Call Me When You’re High?

Speaking of believing in yourself — Alex Turner’s doing alright for himself these days isn’t he? He’s gone from downing Tropical Reef’s and getting into scraps outside the taxi rank in Hunter’s Bar to drinking cocktails at the dystopian Tranquility Base Casino & Hotel on the moon. I don’t quite know the distance but I’m sure it’s far.

Before the moon there was 2013’s AM an evolution rather than a complete departure of the previous effort, Suck it & See’s sun kissed indie, it sounded like the night out in LA after the day at the beach in Santa Monica. Clearly influenced by R&B and Dr. Dre the album has a swagger unlike their earlier work. The album itself isn’t short of riffs and from the opener, Do I Wanna Know, that much is clear. Whilst I think the heaviest part of the album is probably Arabella it’s such a rip off of Sabbath’s War Pigs that I don’t think it can be counted here, instead i’m giving the nod to High. A slinky strut that properly burrows itself into your head, it’s not too loud or brash but perfectly encapsulates Turner’s lyric of failed attempts at a late night booty call and the loneliness of going home alone after a night on the tiles. It helps do what every great Monkey’s song does which is build a cinematic tale around the everyday.

5. Kendrick Lamar — HUMBLE

Not sure anyone really expected Kendrick to follow up To Kill A Butterfly with this did they? Many, quite rightly, uphold Butterfly as the album of the last 10 years with its state of the nation address on racism, gun crime and paranoia in the US, set to a complex sound strongly influenced by jazz (created with the help of Thundercat & Flying Lotus). The follow-up, DAMN., has a leaner, striped back sound without losing any of his trademark with or raw intensity.

Anyway there’s no real need to prattle on about this one. HUMBLE is an absolute stomper. Initially written for Gucci Mane by Mike Will Made It, the 808 riff just can’t be turned up loud enough, honestly i’ve tried, no speakers will go loud enough for this song. The genius of it all is even the enormity of the riff isn’t enough to contain Kendrick’s lyric, throwing down his rise as a fuck you to anyone who dares doubt. No wonder he won the Pulitzer, blimey.

4. Muse — Supremacy

I spent most of my teenage years absolutely obsessed with Muse. I’d relive Matt Bellamy’s theatrics in my bedroom on my beaten up guitar — of course it sounded woeful, a feedback that only the cat could communicate with. For me the appeal of Muse was that three dorky kids from Devon believed they were arena rockstars, right from the beginning it seemed only a matter of time before they would conquer. They had all the ingredients; incredible talent, a knack for a catchy chorus, utterly outrageous stage theatrics and riffs for daaaysssss.

The shine wore off once they actually reached full blown, stadium rock stardom and the eccentricities which i’d once marvelled at seemed to grow well… kind of tedious. Yes I want to listen a 7 minute sci-fi western but does a 6 minute Queen inspired message from 1984 really tick the same boxes? Somehow not so much. That’s not to say they didn’t have their moments in the last 10 years — Supremacy for me re-captures the power of those first four albums answering the question that no one had really asked; “What if Muse wrote a Bond song?” Well it would sound like a volcano exploding obviously. The heave and thud of this one is truly titanic, it’s like Godzilla doing fucking press-ups. Whilst the string section (naturally) gives a grandiose appeal, it makes it something you can imagine ol’ Bond running through his head as he saves the world and gets the girl. It’s truly bonkers but utterly brilliant.

3. St. Vincent — Huey Newton/Birth In Reverse/Cruel/Los Ageless

I’m cheating on this one because I couldn’t decide which single track of St. Vincent’s to put on this list but she has to be on here for her services to riffage over the past decade. I only really got into St. Vincent on her self titled and immediately loved what she was doing. It seems to me she is one of the only artists of the last 10 years who has really pushed rock music forward, which is ironic considering she’d probably baulk at the idea of being labelled a rockstar.

Like all great rock musicians there’s pop sensibilities in a lot of her work, you can feel the Talking Heads influence in a lot of what she does — she also somehow managed to squeeze out an album with David Byrne this decade. Catchy guitar hooks are often the soundtrack to alienation, frustration and well… masturbation. The latter refers to the immortal opening line of Birth In Reverse which like much of the rest of the s/t album has a riff like the jagged edges of a broken glass and a stomp to crush it with. Huey Newton is basically two songs stuck together — the first a strange lullaby. The second a behemoth. A juggernaut. Los Ageless captures the doubt and anger of MASSEDUCTION whilst seeming to reluctantly enjoy it’s seedy disco influence. Cruel is her true pop moment though — a bonafide ohrvurm with a proper sing-a-long hook. Dali Bliss.

2. Daft Punk — Get Lucky

There’s a reason why you’ve heard it a 1,000 times. Why you’ve heard it, your Mum and Gran have heard it, why dogs bark to it when it’s played on the internet and why it’s been endlessly parodied.

Because it is fucking brilliant.

Daft Punk had all but disappeared after their astonishing Alive 07 World Tour featuring the now legendary Coachella performance, which unfortunately gave birth to EDM, however I don’t think many people expected them to return with a homage to analog recording and disco. I’ve listened to this song a lot of times and I honestly just can’t fault it. It’s just so, so…funky. I mean it’s like a hot knife through butter and makes you wonder how on earth Pharrell can sleep at night knowing he cheated on this for Blurred Lines!? Bellend.

This is classic Rogers though, with his Hitmaker out in full force. You almost expect Bowie to belt out ‘Serioussss Moonlight’ halfway through. His unique picking is as effortless as the move to the dancefloor when this is on. I could go on but really there’s nothing to say other than it’s a masterpiece.

1. Refused — Francafrique

And the winner is… So Refused surprisingly came back after a lengthy hiatus which many thought would never happen. Dennis Lyxzén had been living it up with the International Noise Conspiracy for the last however long — I don’t really know because they were a bit dull to be honest.

This on the other hand is a motherfuckin’ jaw-dropping, hip shaping, feet stomping, supermassive riff. Its (somehow) got a funk to it that I can only assume is from listening to Rage, this one is very un-Refused but they truly nail it. Lyxzén’s howling anger against the injustices of capitalism is this time directed squarely at French colonialism but my god doesn’t he sound like he’s enjoying it? A true return to form if ever there was one.

So anyway that’s that. Devil Horns up, head down, rock out. C’mown.

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