Bludgeon Riffola!

And so the challenges continue.  This time, my challenge to Simon was to name his ten favourite riffs.  I put it to him this way...

"Right, after a lot of indecision and prevarication, the next challenge is out there.
And it's the Riff.  The guitar line (and it has to be the guitar line) that turns a good song into a classic.
I want your top ten riffs.
No more than two or three bars.  Played to death by young boys in guitar shops.  Long of hair, behatted and beaded, no doubt.
I'm not talking solos here, I'm talking riffs.  Ba-danga-danga-da-dang dang.  Ba-danga-danga-da-dang dang.
You know what I mean."

Simon's response to the challenge is here -and mighty impressive it is, too, avoiding the obvious and embracing the concept in equal measure.  Including a number of riffs that I should have thought of as well.

As it is, there was only one riff on Simon's list that was in my provisional ten - Seven Nation Army - so I have adjusted my list accordingly.  I similarly decided that Smoke on the Water (and one or two others) were a little too obvious to include.

So - ten riffs to send you running to the air guitar shop.  In no particular order, of course...

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

And here's me saying I was going to avoid the obvious.  But how could you not include this?  What swung it was the moment in the recent documentary, "It Might Be Loud", where Jimmy Page plays this riff to an audience of The Edge and Jack White, both of whom know a good riff when they hear one.  The look of joy on their faces as the power chords rang out was probably the highlight of the film.

Back in Black - AC/DC

I very nearly went for 'Whole Lotta Rosie' but of course could have gone for just about any AccaDacca tune. In the end though, it had to be 'Back in Black', if only for its punchiness and attack.  The quintessential AC/DC riff.

Enter Sandman - Metallica

When I was editing down the individual tracks on this list to the essence of their riffs, most could be distilled into ten or twenty seconds, max.  Enter Sandman - I just kept the edit playing and playing, as the riff develops and grows.  Over a minute of pure riffage before I pressed 'cut'.

The Jean Genie - David Bowie

Generally, Glam Rock gave good riff - and this is David Bowie right in the middle of his Glam phase.  Probably the only riff to be in the charts at the same time in two different forms - exactly the same riff graces Sweet's 'Blockbuster'.  But this is the definitive Glam riff, courtesy of Mick Ronson, of course.

She Does It Right - Dr Feelgood

Wilko Johnson, with some spectacular pub rock riffage, mastering the art of playing rhythm and lead at the same time, in the same riff.  I've seen footage of him playing this riff live, and I still can't work out how he does it.  A simple riff on the face of it, but deceptively complex to master.

Safe European Home - The Clash

This is what you get when punk meets heavy metal - The Clash produced by Sandy Pearlman.  It irked the purists at the time, but Pearlman added weight and depth to the band's natural intensity, to produce this master opening to the album.  It was even better live.

American Idiot - Green Day

Playing this riff immediately after The Clash, and the similarities are obvious.  Not just in the choice of notes (there are only so many to choose from, after all) but in the depth and intensity.  Often unfairly lumped in with the mass of lumpen Tattoo'd American Punk bands that came through in their wake, this riff kicks off an album of intelligence and variety that transcends its genre.

Song 2 - Blur

Another great riff from a band not really known for their riffage.  It also has the classic riff 'trick' that gets me every time - playing the riff once with little tone, then hitting the 'gain' pedal (turned up to eleven) to really hammer the point home.  It's got 'woo hoo's' as well.  Set the crowd alight at Glastonbury last year.  Not that I would know, I was in the Acoustic Tent listening to Georgie Fame.

Walk This Way - Aerosmith

I love this riff - deceptively simple, just four notes played pretty much in sequence four times - but it's perfect in its simplicity and when combined with the opening drum pattern and hint of turntable scratching, sets up the mash of rap and metal perfectly.

Sweet Jane - Lou Reed

This is the lodestone - essence of riff.  Three chords - D/A/G - with perhaps a Bm in there as well - it doesn't get any simpler.  Can be played gently (as in the VU original) or as an out and out rocker.  This version - from Lou's 'Take No Prisoners' live album - is at the rocky end of the spectrum and none the worse for that.



(Oh - and bonus points to anyone who knows where the title of this post comes from...no Googling now, you'd just be cheating yourself...)

Day 23: Busy Busy!

Today's soundtrack: Dr Feelgood - Down By The Jetty

Well, in stark contrast to yesterday, I've not stopped today!

Up early this morning to trawl the job sites (nothing doing, obviously) and to get my paperwork together in advance of signing on just after lunch. Needed to get them to sign off on a particular piece of paperwork today, and despite half expecting to be pushed from pillar to post, the lady who signed me on was very happy to do the necessary while I waited. So again, it's not the most pleasant of experiences, but it has been remarkably painless (and quick) both visits so far.

And they are going to give me money as well!

Before setting off, I finally got round to confirming the green light for Latitude this year, so got the ticket bought post haste - and happily one of the lightweights I referred to a while ago (See Day 9) turned out to be far less lightweight than expected so I've got some company as well! Just need to work on the other two 'Musketeers' now - you know who you are!

Last year, Latitude was a real highlight for me - a nice, compact festival in (generally) decent weather with a good range of bands and a remarkably strong lineup. The headliners were excellent, but the real joy was in discovering some real gems on some of the smaller stages. And getting our picture taken with Seasick Steve, of course. This year the lineup is slightly (but only slightly) less appealing than last year, but there's a lot of acts to be announced yet.

My Latitude photo album can be found on Photobucket here if you're interested.

After signing on, I headed off to Northwich to pick up the raw ingredients for tonight's culinary masterpiece. I hinted at carrot and coriander soup, but Mrs W put in a request for some ham & lentil soup instead, so that's what we shall be having, with some thick lumps of home-made bread (baked a wholewheat loaf last night - bit 'heavier' than the others, but a delight toasted and will set the soup off perfectly.)

You don't want the recipe for this as well, do you? Really? Oh, ok then.

Take a gammon or bacon joint (smoked or unsmoked - your choice) and wash it under cold water to reduce the saltiness. Cover in a big pot with boiling water (might take a couple of litres), and boil the joint for an hour or two, until the meat is tender and starts to break up easily. Remove the meat ands set to one side - you'll need it again soon.

Add a couple of chopped onions to the pot, along with three or four chopped sticks of celery and the same number of chopped carrots. Cook until the carrots begin to get tender, then add a decent cupful of split red lentils (check the pack - they probably won't need pre-soaking, but just make sure and soak if necessary). Continue cooking until the lentils and veg are tender - probably another hour or so.

NB: you can cook the veg along with the meat if you want - will all be blended at the end so it's difficult to 'overcook' the veg.

Once you're happy with the tenderness of your veg and lentils, do the whizzy thing with your hand blender to get your desired consistency. Taste and season although you shouldn't need any salt.

While your veg are cooking, and when the meat is cool enough to handle, take as much as you want to return to the soup and pull it into 'flakes'. It's far nicer if you do this by hand rather than cutting into cubes - but if you prefer cubes, be my guest. Add the flaked/cubed meat back to the blended soup and heat through until you are happy.

You can add herbage and cream if you want but really, it doesn't need it.

Easy stuff, honestly. Takes a long time to cook from start to finish but there is very little actual 'cooking' involved - just chuck stuff into the pan when necessary and let it look after itself.

Dr Feelgood's brand of rhythm 'n' blues is stripped down to the bone, and so much the better for it. Down By The Jetty is their first album - recorded in mono in 1976 - and the short, sharp songs were the precursor to the punk explosion that was just round the corner. The original (and best lineup) had Lee Brilleaux on vocals and harp (no, not the big stringy thing), Wilco Johnson on guitar, John B. Sparks on bass and The Big Figure behind the drumkit. The whole group was tight as a gnat's chuff, not an ounce of fat anywhere and no more notes played than absolutely necessary. Brilleaux (now sadly deceased) exuded anger and tension in his trademark off-white jacket and narrow tie, as tight as a wound spring. Wilco moved around as if on rails, manic stares in all directions, wielding his guitar like a machine gun, seemingly playing rhythm and lead at the same time. The engine room kept the beat sharp and tight. But rather than me try and describe it, just listen here or watch below. And learn - just how lean and focused rock and roll can be.

These boys deserve two clips - firstly doing 'Roxette' on the Whistle Test, with (overlong) introductions from David Hepworth and Mark Ellen:



Then doing 'She Does It Right' live on 'The Geordie Scene' in 1975: