HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Playlist of the Week - Guitar Heroes

It seems that at present an awful lot of contemporary indie and alternative music is severely lacking a significant guitar presence. The cool music du jour often features synth timbres as the main instrument, and although guitars are present they are often heavily affected, with large amounts of flange, oscillations and other such effects that make the traditional old guitar sound very unusual and synthetic. We at Here Comes Everyone do not want to criticise this current trend; in fact we utterly love the indie music scene at present, and really enjoy the mellow contemplative vibe it exudes. But we were also bought up on guitars, and do experience withdrawal symptoms on occasion. So here is this week’s playlist, full of guitar centric songs old and new, with no synths in sight!

1. cKy – “96 Quite Bitter Beings”
“96 Quite Bitter Beings” is probably cKy’s most widely renowned song, and was featured heavily on the TV show Jackass. It has a thick, distorted, overdriven guitar sound, which (as it has little other effects or modulations) has dated fairly well, especially for turn of the centaury commercial metal. It also exhibits a surprisingly complex layering of guitar parts, which lend the track a slightly prog-metal edge, creating what only be described as a bitchin’ guitar riff.

CkY - 96 Quite Bitter Beings by J0H.Z!

2. Bloc Party – “Banquet”
Arguably their most successful, guitar-driven track, “Banquet” exhibits all of Bloc Party’s usual intelligence and subtly, coupled with a renowned guitar riff. On first impressions the guitar part appears deceptively simple, but it is actually two guitar parts combined perfectly. “Banquet” is a good example of how Bloc Party are a great guitar band as well as an innovative alternative band.

Banquet - Bloc Party by sergeproductions

3. Everclear - “Amphetamine”
US band Everclear are a great example of how American rock and guitar-based music was really fantastic in the 1990s. Grunge, post-grunge and its various predecessors were just so much more interesting and forward looking than our archaic Britpop counterparts, with more insightful lyrics and generally more musical dynamism. This track is speedy and snappy, (as you might expect), and has attitude whilst retaining a fragile and vulnerable quality.



4. Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
There are few bands that do simple American rock better than the Foo Fighters. With a simple, repetitive guitar riff and a building, euphoric chorus section, “Everlong” is typical Foo Fighter’s fare, and well loved for it.



5. Dinosaur Pile-Up – “My Rock and Roll”
A newish band here. Originating from Leeds, Dinosaur Pile-Up released their debut album in 2010, and are part of a new wave of UK grunge acts that are becoming popular, such as Pulled Apart By Horses and Mother Vulpine. “My Rock and Roll” has a dark and brooding air to it at times, but it also has an intelligence, with exacted musical phrasing and deep dynamic peaks and troughs.

GROWING PAINS by DINOSAUR PILE-UP

6. AC/DC – “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”
It would be very difficult to have a guitar based playlist and not include some old school heavy metal, and AC/DC and their music are arguably the best value in terms of humour, quality, and sheer colossal riffage. Not only does this track have the iconic main ”DDDDC” riff, but it also exhibits some mean solo guitar skills.

03- Dirty deeds done dirt cheap by miubu

7. The Joy Formidable – “Cradle”
This track does not have a particularly obvious riff, but the guitar features heavily and well throughout, pulling a variety of shapes. There are short-lived, punchy solos, thundering chorus sections and ambient backing parts within “Cradle”, all created by the first and only female guitarist on this list, Ritzy Bryan.

The Joy Formidable - Cradle by NapaIndie