12 Greatest Hard Rock Riffs Of The 1990s
3. Spoonman - Soundgarden
Out of all the bands working their way out of Seattle, Soundgarden seemed most indebted to the '70s rock of old. While the band's riffs may have been weird for their time, the amount of charisma in Chris Cornell's voice made them seem like spiritual brethren to hard rock titans like Led Zeppelin. Even when they were talking about the dumbest subject matter imaginable, the riff always made you want to pay attention. Enter: "Spoonman."
For the most part, this song is one of the sillier compositions the band has ever made, as most of its lyrics are just inspired by the relentless tapping of a street performer who played...yes...the spoons near the band's old stomping grounds. Something like that seems to be destined for album filler, but the amount of muscle behind this riff is more than most bands are at their best. Written by Cornell, the riff hooks you in from the very beginning, as it slides up and down in drop D until you settle into its groove.
In fact, the riff was so catchy for this one song that it was even able to chart on the Billboard Rock Charts, becoming one of the biggest hits from the band's album Superunknown. It's tough for any song with a lyric sheet as weird as "Spoonman" to get on the charts, but with a riff this ominous, even the most questionable lyrics can get a pass/