Iris // The Goo Goo Dolls
The single from 1998 film City of Angels has been famously covered by the likes of Avril Lavigne, Boyce Avenue and Beyoncé. Upon its release it went platinum in the US and UK, but it was arguably not lead singer John Rzeznik’s raspy vocals that led to the song’s success, but the echoing guitar melody. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdYWuo9OFAw&w=740&h=422] With a length of almost 4 minutes, the instrumental accounting for over a quarter of that time, it runs the risk of feeling overly drawn out. However, the guitar part carries the piece, if anything, a role often bestowed upon the piano. The guitar’s tuning is untraditional, giving an unusual effect of an echo which creates depth to the music, which is a welcome change from the excessive synth that has become customary nowadays. The outro seems to linger after the track has ended thanks to the quiet plucking that feels more stripped-down than the rest of the song. It’s the guitar that makes Iris one of the few songs I’d happily listen to the instrumental of on loop. Words by Lauryn Green