[A humble request: If you can, please donate to help me carry on tracing word histories. Thank you.]
Particularly used in music journalism, the colloquial humorous noun rifferama, also rifforama and riffarama, designates music characterised by excessive or extravagant riffing.
This noun occurs, for example, in an article about the heavy-metal concerts that were to take place in Weymouth on Friday 17th May 2019—article by Nick Horton, published in the Dorset Echo (Weymouth, Dorset, England) of Friday 10th May 2019 [page 25, column 2]:
The hard-working weirdos at Realms of Wrongness Promotions have simultaneously pulled out all the stops and their collective fingers to offer up a cracking night of bowel-voiding rifferama and punishing blast beats.
The noun rifferama, also rifforama and riffarama, is from:
– the noun riff, designating, in jazz and popular music, a short repeated musical phrase, often with a strong or syncopated rhythm, played over changing chords or harmonies or used as a background to a solo improvisation;
– the suffix -orama, used to form nouns designating a display, event, etc., usually of considerable size or expanse, the nature of which is indicated by the first element.
These are, in chronological order, the earliest occurrences of the noun rifferama, also rifforama and riffarama, that I have found:
—Note: In the sense of music characterised by excessive or extravagant riffing, this noun first occurred in newspapers published in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA:
1-: From an article about the opening of Norwich Arts Workshop on Saturday 24th May 1975, published in the Eastern Evening News (Norwich, Norfolk, England) of Monday 19th May 1975 [page 4, column 6]—here, Rifferama is the name of a Norwich rock band:
Saturday’s entertainment, for a modest 25p, includes music from Meals, Crazy Lizard, Rifferama, Greenpeace John and the Bishopgate Quirky Circus.
2-: From a review of Inner Worlds (Columbia), by John McLaughlin & Mahavishnu Orchestra, and of Glory of the Inner Force (Atco), by Finch—review by ‘Your Sacred Cowboy’, published in The Massachusetts Daily Collegian (Amherst (Massachusetts): University of Massachusetts) of Thursday 4th March 1976 [Below the Salt supplement: page 7, columns 4 & 5]:
It became apparent that what had been a bold striking forth and an opening of whole new worlds for rock exploration was being cooled into a set process. This process, by John McLaughlin out of Miles Davis, was quickly adopted by every electric band capable of playing in exotic time-signatures and is hence responsible for most of the mindless rifferama being released today, even by musicians who have the talent to do better and should have the brains to know better, like Chick Corea […].
[…]
Now Finch, a Dutch band, is the Rifferama Syndrome personified. Or perhaps ‘personified’ is the wrong word, as one of the main problems engendered by the R.S. is lack of personality. The Syndrome, or “Corea’s Disease”, consists of a mental disorder in which an entire band succumbs to the delusion that any pieces of music which move generally fast but change a lot and involve a lot of complex soloing are self-justifying.
3-: From a review of On The Mountain (PM), by Elvin Jones—review by M. C. Kostek, published in the Valley Advocate (Amherst, Massachusetts, USA) of Wednesday 21st April 1976 [page 32, column 3]:
On The Mountain is a 1975 recording that works best when Elvin’s shambling style keeps Jan Hammer on his melodic toes and away from his rifferama waterfalls.
4-: From a review of Presence (Swan Song), by Led Zeppelin—review by David Sokol, published in the Valley Advocate (Amherst, Massachusetts, USA) of Wednesday 12th May 1976 [page 21, column 1]:
Led Zeppelin have gotten themselves so deeply entwined in their dense riff-o-rama that they’ve now almost entirely forsaken the clean hard rock of their early music. Presence is cover to cover, premeditated bulldozer-rock, chunky, cluttered and directionless.
5-: From The Bridgeport Post (Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) of Tuesday 21st September 1976 [page 11, column 6]—here, Rifferama is the name of a radio programme:
WSHU ENGLISH MUSIC
Beginning tonight at 9:15 pm., and at that same time on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, WSHU 91.1 on the FM dial will be airing an “Engilsh [sic] and European Extravaganza.” The artists and their music featured are widely known in their own countries, and yet all but neglected here in the states.
Tonight at 9:15 on “Rifferama,” host Joe Miko will spotlight the new “Liverpool Sound” from a group known as Supercharge, as well as English singer-composer Kevin Coyne.
6-: From an interview of the U.S. musician Frank Zappa (1940-1993), by M. C. Kostek, published in the Valley Advocate (Amherst, Massachusetts, USA) of Wednesday 24th November 1976 [page 25, column 2]—this interview followed Frank Zappa’s concert “inside of Springfield’s Civic Center in front of some 7,000 people”:
[These 7,000 youths in Springfield] wanted Frank’s heavy 4-4 music, replete with unmistakable easy riffs repeated many many times. […]
[…]
Zappa has really switched gears, to the point where he takes this rifferama munchkin poodle bites rock as seriously as anything he’s ever done. Maybe more so, as he’s never spent so much time playing the same sort of music.
7-: From a review of Manifest Destiny (Asylum), by The Dictators—review by M. C. Kostek, published in the Valley Advocate (Amherst, Massachusetts, USA) of Wednesday 6th July 1977 [page 16, column 3]:
Manifest Destiny packs a nice overall punch, split about even-Steven between clean melodic hooks and head crushers. But it’s not mindless Kissian rifferama we’re discussing here, nor is it Eagles-esque blank harmonies. The last three songs on side two are hot shot rockers to compare with any.
word histories 