When I came up with Backwards Rock, the idea was simple. Let’s take some classic rock riffs and play ’em in reverse! Some would be far easier to do than others – like, say, a classic heavy metal riff that’s coming soon – and some would turn out a little bizarre. I’m pretty sure today’s segment falls into the “bizarre” category. I give you the main riff from the iconic early-90s song “Smells Like Teen Spirit”… backwards.
The thing that saved this riff from turning boring – and also helped keep everything in line – is the generous helping of muted string hits. That open string chord in the middle (it’s in the original, you just don’t really notice it) feels incredibly out of place when you play the riff backwards… which is what happens when you take a thing you don’t think about on the “and” of 4 and place it on beat 1… Also, I kept the drums close to the original, which included the opening fill. Enjoy, let me know what you think, and I’ll see you next time.
Ed Makes Things 