12 Greatest Hard Rock Riffs Of The 1990s
10. Everlong - Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters were a real light in the middle of a vast musical darkness. With everyone still uneasy after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, Dave Grohl stepped up to the mic and cheered everybody up with mindless rock songs with feel-good vibes. Some may have been skeptical if Grohl could make a career out of it, but "Everlong" showed the Foos' staying power in just a few notes.
Originally working on the song "Monkey Wrench," Grohl started strumming until he hit upon a chord that sounded like the indie rock band Sonic Youth. Looking to expand upon his idea, he started to move it all around the fretboard until it became the main melodic phrase that we know today. Once he brought the track to the rest of the band, it ended up becoming one of the Foos' biggest hits, whose staying power hasn't gone away after over 2 decades.
The song ended up being so good that people have even fallen in love with the acoustic version done on Howard Stern's show, which only features Dave and a guitar. This riff sounds great coming out of a dirty amplifier, but if you write a riff that can still sound badass on an acoustic, you have the makings of something amazing on your hands.