Don't make it cry or sing, just gimme your favorite rhythm guitar bits

Cafe Society
#1

I think we’ve had polls on just about every kind of song, but I don’t recall seeing one about rhythm guitar riffs.

I’ll start. Feel free to mix and match acoustic and electric:

“Riding the Rocket” - Shonen Knife
“Mr. Jones” - Counting Crows
“The Name of the Game” - ABBA
“I Fought the Law” - The Bobby Fuller Four
“Long Time” - Boston
“Semi-Charmed Life” - Third Eye Blind
“Sister Golden Hair” - America
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Nirvana
“Queen Bitch” - David Bowie
“Suffragette City” - David Bowie
“Across the Border” - Electric Light Orchestra
“Heart of Gold” - Neil Young

More to come…

#2

Crazy Train
Iron Man
Ten Years Gone
In the Evening
The Wind Cries Mary
Layla (electric)
Orion (Metallica)

#3

Roxanne - The Police

Baracuda - Heart (not sure if this one really counts as rhythm)

All Wrong - God Lives Underwater

Good Intentions - Toad the Wet Sprocket

Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On - Mel McDaniel

#4

This is what I play when I pick up my guitar, since I only play lead if forced.

First, the be-all-and-end-all of all rhythm guitar parts:
Pinball Wizard by The Who

Also (in order of most popular to more obscure)
House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2
Foxy Lady by Hendrix
White Room by Cream
Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel
Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King
Boogie Chillin and Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker
China Cat Sunflower by the Grateful Dead
Pink Moon by Nick Drake
Title and Registration by Death Cab for Cutie
Dalliance by The Wedding Present

And Mr. Blue Sky, my favorite Ronson lick from David Bowie is Andy Warhol off of Hunky Dory. Which shares striking similarities to IIRC Master of Puppets by Metallica.

#5

Two I forgot
Jumpin Jack Flash by the Stones
Fuck and Run by Liz Phair

#6

There are a lot, but I love the guitar in Van Morrison’s Wild Night.

#7

Oh, and edwino just reminded me:

Beast of Burden by The Rolling Stones. I could loop that for hours.

#8

Spiffy, that’s my favorite band!

For myself, Lou Reed- Viscious
The Beatles- Help

#9

Good calls, I’ll go by what’s fun to play rather than by any value judgement:

Let’s start with The Who
Bargain (tune down a semitone)
Won’t Get Fooled Again Listen carefully there’s more to it than you might think.
Behind Blue Eyes The loud bit with all the power chords.

Moving on. . .

Golden Years Bowie/Alomar(sp?)
Let’s Dance Bowie/SRV? Need a delay unit for this one.

Modern Love Peter Gabriel

Any Major Dude Steely Dan
Kid Charlamane (spelled wrongly) also Dan

Anything off Never Mind the Bollocks Sex Pistols

Park Life Blur. Not really a fan but I love dumb effective riffs.

Run Like Hell Pink Floyd, another one you need an echo box for.
The outro from Sheep Floyd again

Sing it Back Moloko. I don’t actually know the chords for this one, any help?

A bunch of tracks off Permission to Land The Darkness - the rythm parts are a hoot, you need to get all the little grace-notes not just knock out the chords.

I’ll stop now or I’ll be here all day, thanks for the thread Blue

#10

Nah, though I like the little chromatic hook that George plays under ‘He-e-elp’. Im going for A Hard Day’s Night

CHANG!

I always had my suspicions about that chord, 'coz you can’t really get it to sound right. Turns out there are (at least) two guitars and a piano in there.

I’ll nominate one more Beatles song Get Back

OK - two Come Together

three Helter Skelter

#11

Going to the title of the OP, I love pretty much any of the rhythm parts on Dire Straits and Communique. Wonderful chord voicings throughout, and it was before Mark Knopfler became quite so Springsteen-y, so it goes down quite a bit better.

Also, the rhythm parts on Van Morrison’s Moondance-era songs, especially “Into The Mystic.”

(I’m sure I’ll think of more…)

#12

I’ll limit myself to five, or I’ll be here all night.

Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (Rolling Stones, Richards/ Taylor)
Jailbreak (AC/DC, Malcolm Young)
To Bring You My Love (PJ Harvey)
Dirty Blvd (Lou Reed/ Mike Rathke)
I Want You (Elvis Costello)

#13

Anything from Ben Folds Five. :stuck_out_tongue:

#14

I know most people think it’s a crap song, but I love the guitar riff under Banarama’s “Cruel Summer.” So there.

Other faves:

“Son of a Gun,” the La’s
“Your Haunted Head,” Concrete Blonde
“Revolution” (both versions) and “Norwegian Wood,” the Fabs

#15

Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard - Paul Simon

#16

I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!

#17

New Day Rising (Husker Du)
What I Like About You (Romantics)
Under the Milky Way, Almost With You (The Church)
Dogs (intro) (Pink Floyd)
Killing Floor (Howling Wolf)

#18

Psycho Killer - Talking Heads

#19

All Along The Watchtower - Hendryx
Bicycle - Queen
My Sharona - The Knack
Black Magic Woman - Santana
Foxy Lady - Hendryx
Hey Joe - Hendryx
My Girl - The Temptations (guitar riff courtesy of The Funk Brothers)

#20

Has anyone mention Dire Straights’ Sultans of Swing yet?
After all, it what the title is virtually quoting. :smiley: