Arctic Monkeys take on acts such as Guns N' Roses, Daft Punk and The Beatles in a search for the greatest guitar riff of all time.
In the hunt for the perfect combination of power chords, hammer-ons, pull-offs, double stops, string bending and whammy bars, a list of 100 tracks has been compiled by experts for BBC Radio 2, with artists as diverse as Buddy Holly, Pink Floyd, Isaac Hayes and Metallica also in the running.
But organisers have ruled that acts can only be represented just once in the list which means popular tracks such as Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix and Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks are edged out in favour of other songs.
And there is no place for stadium-filling rock heroes Muse, despite their song Plug-In Baby being ranked the greatest riff of the past few years in a poll of guitar players. It has now replaced Stairway To Heaven as one of the prime choices for musicians testing out new gear in guitar shops. Although they were spoilt for choice for Led Zeppelin riffs, it was Whole Lotta Love which made the grade, Queen are listed for One Vision and Hendrix is represented by his work on Purple Haze.
No riff was allowed from a solo performer which was already included with a group, although musicians who had riffed on tracks by more than one act were allowed. The most recent release on the list is last year's Do I Really Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys.
The list was announced by Radio 2 presenter Simon Mayo and listeners are being invited to vote at bbc.co.uk/radio2 with the top choices counted down during a programme on Bank Holiday Monday, August 25.
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