In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week, we’re picking our songs that highlight some of our favorite guitar riffs.
I’ve never been one for really ripping guitar riffs. I like Jimi Hendrix just fine, but all that noodling around never really got me going. What I prefer, though, are really driving guitar lines and maybe the occasional short little solo to really set a song off. (Weezer’s “Only In Dreams” being the quintessential example of the perfectly placed solo.) And thus I love Primal Scream’s “Rocks,” off the group’s somewhat disappointing Give Out But Don’t Give Up. Though the drums and tambourine really set the beat that drives “Rocks,” it’s the grimy, Rolling Stones-influenced guitar overlay that makes the track, well, rock. While I certainly tip my hat to Bobby Gillespie’s shit-kicking lead vocals, it’s Robert Young and Andrew Innes’ guitar work that really helps me get my rocks off—in the cleanest way possible, of course.