During the brief period I tried to learn electric guitar, I spent about 30% of my time hopelessly attempting barre chords, and 70% messing with my amp to get the gnarliest distortion possible. Nothing beats a really punishing gale of guitar noise, like a Swedish massage for the ears. The first half of this chapter is full of exquisite distortion: Wire’s pulsing flange, Love And Rockets’ barreling storm, My Bloody Valentine’s obsessively-mixed whale cries. The second half is cleaner, but does include, thanks to Phil Collins, the perfect (slightly crunchy) drum fill.