The Kick

Surf guitars, impenetrable lyrics and a zesty melody that brims with confidence, this pop perfection from the Pixies was the closest the Boston (MA) quartet strayed to the mainstream. Guitarist Joey Santiago’s Byrds-style riff, multitracked on a Rickenbacker and Telecaster, has more jangle than Sir Jimmy Savile, while singer Black Francis imparts a sweet vocal line with just enough understated menace. “Big shake on the box car moving, big shake to the land that’s falling down, is a wind makes a palm stop blowing a big, big stone fall and break my crown’. Mad. But isn’t all genius?

Get it: Doolittle

Smith’s pop sensibilities come to the fore in this psychedelic, sun-kissed little number which boasts a distinctly west coast vibe. The lofty acoustic guitar intro hovers like a hummingbird before being swept aside by a wave of tumbling piano and crashing drums. Chugging guitars keep the carefree melody afloat as Smith sings discordant lyrics of apathy and loneliness. ‘So here he comes with a blank expression, specially for me, ‘cos he knows I feel the same. Cos happy and sad come in quick succession, I’m never going to become what you became’. Bled White may be lyrically downbeat, but its infectiously bright and breezy spirit is far from it.

Get it: XO

Blazing horns meld with grinding guitar to create a heart-stoppingly devastating intro. The tower block rocking beat then swells to near unmanageable levels as Greg Lake’s heavily distorted vocals push the corrosive bluster even further. The eye of the storm, the jazz rock middle section, Mirrors, plays around with wonderfully disjointed rhythms before Robert Fripp’s dissonant guitar whisks the rug out from under you. A disorientating muse on paranoia, war and consumerism, 21st … is an expertly played composition that was way ahead of its time. Kanye West sampled it too, and he only pilfers from the best.

Get it: In The Court Of The Crimson King

Beatific ballad that’s as stark as it is bold. The iceiness in Mitchell’s soaring voice belies the song’s real warmth of feeling. The well-worn musician’s plea for escapism is given a new twist here, with the vibrant River choosing self-deprecation above the usual ‘poor me’ fare. ‘I’m so hard to handle, I’m selfish and I’m sad’.
A genuinely touching tune that’s about as far from mawkish hum-drum balladry as it’s possible to get.

Get it: Blue

A skyscraping guitar riff kickstarts this neglected indie pop classic that bursts into life like a shooting star. The soaring rollercoaster melody almost scratches your knuckles on the ceiling before freefalling through the neon wilderness of its floodlit world. ‘Sometimes when it rains there’s a rainbow … behind every shadow is light’. Bold, cocksure and, like all great pop, a hint of poignancy bubbles just below the surface. Thrilling.

Get it: Everything Picture

Toy box guitars and a walking bass line slowly build into a three-minute squall of noise. Hazy and sweet, this is the track that really made people sit up and take notice of songwriter Rivers Cuomo. At nearly eight minutes, it’s a proper guitar-lovers wig-out.

Get it: Weezer (‘The Blue Album’)

Gutsy, edgy, melodic. This affecting elegy to the Vietnam war spits out rich imagery on a wave of pointed guitars. Instead of watching from the sidelines, Marah dive headfirst into the muggy and terrifying fog of jungle warfare: ‘Take the hits boys take the hits, don’t smoke your bible and don’t lose your wits. Because the sky is filled with shrapnel, and your eyes are filled with tears’. Stirring stuff.

Get it: Kids In Philly

Chiming guitars and a lilting melody make for a wonderfully sanguine track. ‘Got the notion that this rain’s never gonna last, ‘cos the scene always moves too fast’. Wistful, nostalgic and full marks for an acoustic guitar solo too. Indie pop with real heart.

Get it: Grand Prix

What should be an unworkable blend of meshing Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth with an uncharacteristically restrained ‘Enemy vocal, He Got Game far outweighs the sum of its parts. The result is a blissfully chilled hip hop anthem that’s perfect for the summer.

Get it: He Got Game single/album

‘I get the news I need on the weather report’. A wonderful carefree line that encapsulates all that’s great about Paul Simon’s shimmering, summery-sounding masterstroke. Radiating a hazy warmth despite its pangs of loneliness, the song is one of the duo’s finest.

Get it: Bridge Over Troubled Water