Top 10 of indie guitarists

The point of this blog is to highlight the work of indie guitarists. But which guitarists? And in which order? It took me some time to answer these questions as, to do so, I went through a cumbersome exercise of ranking them with a minimum of rigor. And here we go!

So check out the top 10 here below and a wider ranking with details of the methodology here. I’m looking forward to focus on these inspiring guitarists in the coming weeks but for now let the countdown start…

 

 

10. Joey Santiago (Pixies). Since “Where is my mind?”, everybody knows Joey Santiago’s guitar playing. Most of the time unconsciously. And that’s too bad as the Pixies can not be limited to Frank Black and Kim Deal, the most famous members of the band. The diversity of Joey’s guitar lines inspired a lot of well-known indie guitarists, incl. Jonny Greenwood. His way of playing based on catchy lead tunes and solo parts full of nearly-dissonant bends has contributed to develop indie rock and to extend the indie landscape to new unexplored lands. If bending guitar strings was not so common in indie rock before him it has definitely changed afterwards.

On top of that Joey may be told he’s quiet but he can be such a showman – watch videos here below – and has a sense of humor – like when he said to the head of Pixies’ label 4AD: “All I care about is that you make me famous in the Philippines because all the chicks are really pretty”.

Iconic videos: “Dead” for the heavy use of bends and “Vamos” for a “magician” solo.

 

9. Annie Clark (St Vincent). Gifted guitarist and UFO in the sky of indie rock, Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, is really special. I can’t say I like all what she has made but I can’t deny I’m fascinated by her work. She’s a kind of an indie Jimmy Page for all her collaborations on stage and in studio (Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stevens, David Byrne) and a kind of an indie Jimi Hendrix for her ability to make her guitar wail, moan, cry like never.

In addition she’s so comfortable with a guitar that she can play the hardest guitar lines for you and me like she was playing “Come as you are” (no offense Kurt but I think this is the tune that every beginner starts playing) and still be singing without batting an eyelid. Actually it’s a pity that she doesn’t play more guitar on her records. But I get it since playing guitar is just for her one of her many artistic talents.

Iconic videos: “Prince Johnny” for the solo between classic and indie rock and “Surgeon” for the amazing rhythmic guitar lines.

 

8. Stephen Malkmus (Pavement). I think I started to enjoy listening indie rock music with Sonic Youth and Pavement. I remember “Shady lane” was for several weeks the only song that matters. So Stephen Malkmus is to me like a dinosaur (Sr? …) of the genre, his guitar playing together with his bandmate Scott Kannberg is iconic of indie rock.

Never too much never too less but definitely indie. Of course there is that noise and ill-tuned approach but what makes it so special is that constant effort for perfecting his imperfections. I read that Pavement’s first drummer Gary Young once complained that Malkmus was a much better guitar player than was reflected on the California band’s records, as if he was intentionally slumming in his approach to his instrument. Work so hard to sound imperfect and still deliver at the end of the day such a solid massive music material is why I admire him so much. I’ve tried to make this ranking a bit rigorous but he would definitely move up several places if it was just me.

Iconic videos: “Shady Lane” because it’s an indie anthem and “Out of Reaches” for the pieces of solo and charismatic attitudes.

 

7. J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr). Speaking of J Mascis in a ranking of best indie guitarists is self-evident. He’s probably the main guitar-hero of indie rock even if being “guitar-hero” and “indie” is contradictory. That’s actually his great power, he can play wailing guitar solos, wah’ed rhythm parts, massive riffs at extremely high volume but stay underground by including slightly dissonant bends for example.

He’s definitely charismatic but he would be nothing without a strong songwriting leading to some masterpieces of indie rock (“Feel the pain”). Who knows what would have happened if he had accepted the proposal of Kurt Cobain to join Nirvana? Well, actually if J’s ego could not stand Lou Barlow’s artistic growth, not sure it would have been better with Kurt …

Iconic videos: “Feel the Pain” for the masterpiece and “Little Fury Things” with Lou Barlow to show that he can also play a song without solo.

 

6. Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine). Shoegazing? Well, that major subgenre of indie rock would maybe not exist without him. Of course this is quite a shortcut as Kevin Shields himself said My Bloody Valentine never used typical features of the Shoegazing, i.e. chorus, flanger or delay effects pedals, and also there were other bands like the Cocteau Twins, the Jesus and Mary Chain. However in terms of guitar playing, he was the most striking one. The sound he shaped is My Bloody Valentine’s trademark and features high distortion created by tenths of pedals, heavy use of tremolo resulting in the creation of the “glide guitar” technique and specific production work.

But that would be unfair to limit him to his sound considering the quality of his songwriting, his guitar technique and overall the emotion that is passed in his guitar playing. Among others Billy Corgan and J Mascis mentioned him as an influence. When one listens to their music and thinks about it for one sec, it becomes pretty obvious as it’s so recognizable.

Iconic videos: “Only Shallow” for an introduction to the genre and “You made me realise” for a good slice of riff and a full plate of noise.

 

5. Graham Coxon (Blur). Unhappy and head lowered in the spotlight, thrilled and alive when allowed to let his guitar effects scream, Graham Coxon is an archetype of indie guitarists. His look and his attitude hide his powerful music skills but he realizes his full potential when you give him a chance to write a song (“Coffe & TV”), play rhythmic (“Beetlebum”) or lead guitars (“This is a low”). He’s one of the masters of these lead guitars sounding “more like anti-solos” as Damon Albarn called them.
Hell yeah, his “anti-solos” prove his value, listen to “Spectacular” and “Freakin” for his punk rock abilities and to the album “The Spining Top” for his acoustic skills. For sure, subsequent British indie bands took some inspiration from him. But they did it as discretely as possible… as Graham would have done it.

Iconic videos: “Coffee And TV” for his full set of capabilities and “This is a low” for his unchained solo at the end.

 

4. Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets). Wikipedia says “Meat Puppets has influenced a number of rock bands including Nirvana, Soundgarden, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh and Pavement”, namely some of the most influent US indie bands. Well I really think Meat Puppets did. And it’s more than mostly due to their guitarist/singer Curt Kirkwood.
His guitar playing can be sometimes dark and mind-blowing (“Plateau”), sometimes light and refreshing (“Climbing”), sometimes technical and tuneful (“Up on the sun”) and sometimes hard and punk like on their debut album “Meat Puppets”. Sounding so perfect in the not perfect Curt has the exact full range of skills for being one of the best indie guitarists ever.

Iconic videos: “Plateau” and “Oh, Me” because everybody’s got to know the originals.

 

3. Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead). His heavily overdriven staccato clunks on “Creep” made him famous in the indiesphere but that was just the beginning. Jonny proved then it was not a one-shot and he demonstrated the full range of this personal playing technique and his expertise in monster guitar effects like on “Paranoid Android”.

With songs like “I might be wrong” he also showed some talent in songwriting even if his bandmate Thom Yorke is the in-house genius in the subject. And his own personal work either in movie soundtrack or with the London Contemporary Orchestra is remarkable too. Jonny’s definitely worth waiting until he lifts his hair up and unveils his true face.

Iconic videos: “Best of” for his most astonishing lead guitar lines and “Loop” for something more personal.

 

2. Johnny Marr (The Smiths). How can Johnny Marr not be at the top of a ranking of indie guitarists? He’s got all it takes. Nobody plays as tuneful as him. His technique is recognized by the best guitarists as he can sound like a full band just on his own. His influence is huge on next generations, especially with his ability to pass deep emotions so easily while there is nothing easy in his playing.
His technique and his sense of melodies are most probably the best of all indie guitarists. Many tried to sound like him but nobody does. Then why would he be ranked #2 only? Well, check out who’s #1…

Iconic videos: “Barbarism Begins at Home” for enjoying the full range of his guitar playing and a private lesson on “This Charming Man”.

 

1. Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth). With his bandmate Lee Ranaldo they were pioneers in the field of bright use of dissonance, noisy and drone sounds, alternate tunings, altered cheap guitars, which all became then characteristics of indie rock.
But the genius of Thurston Moore was to mix that experimentation with pop influenced songwriting that birthed indie rock and influenced so many bands.
In addition he has kept an indie spirit for a long time (around 40 years so far) and managed to lead Sonic Youth through years with many iconic records all along. He’s probably not the guitarist with the best technique but he has kept on experimenting new things and he has been amazingly prolific with so many songs that blow your mind that he’s my number one and overtakes the others.

Iconic videos: “Incinerate” for the songwriting and “Washing Machine” for the indie spirit.