My First Time Listening to Superunknown by Soundgarden | My Reaction
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- Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
- Watch me react to my first time listening to Superunknown, the fourth studio album from rock band Soundgarden.
*all comments in this video are completely subjective and I am not a music expert.
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0:00 Intro
0:32 Let Me Drown
2:18 My Wave
4:03 Fell On Black Days
6:01 Mailman
7:55 Superunknown
9:29 Head Down
11:45 Black Hole Sun
14:00 Spoonman
15:53 Limo Wreck
17:53 The Day I Tried To Live
20:01 Kickstand
21:02 Fresh Tendrils
22:41 4th Of July
24:43 Half
25:45 Like Suicide
27:52 My Final Thoughts
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#albumreaction #superunknown #soundgarden
The rattling you hear in the background on the song Spoonman is in fact Spoonman playing his spoons. I saw Soundgarden perform in Seattle several years ago, and Spoonman was there doing his thing.
Thanks for letting me know!
Artis the Spoonman... a Seattle street performer/busker/artist.
I was waiting for the breakdown to see if Molly would figure it out. I remember pretending to (wishing I could) play spoons when this came out. Cool vid, Molly!
Spoonman is the weakest song on the album and I saw the spoonman open the set at Red Rocks on the Superunknown tour and it wasn't that good. Fresh Tendrils, Head Down, Let me Drown, Limo Wreck, Superunknown, My Wave, Like Suicide, and 4th of July are classics and Black Hole Sun is a masterpiece.
I love Limo Wreck so much. The entire album is a masterpiece!
Limo wreck is the hidden gem in this album for sure! 💯🙌🏻
Limo Wreck is definitely one of my favorites from this album as well!
Limo Wreck strikes me as the
' Kashmir ' of the album. Love it.
Limo Wreck and 4th of July were the standout tracks, for sure.
Limo Wreck is my absolute favourite.It even goes in my top 5 Soundgarden tracks of all time.Along with Zero Chance.
I know a lot of people prefer Badmotorfinger, but to me this is their true magnum opus. They really showcase all of their talents in prime form here, and aren't afraid to experiment. Chris is at his absolute peak here, and the music almost enters prog territory on a lot of tracks. The band really pushes themselves here, and to me they kid of pull back in their adventurousness on their next one, Down On The Upside, which is a good album, too, but not in the neighborhood of this one.
This will always be my favorite Soundgarden album!
The production is really good on this album, but most of its classics are way too long; they devolve into jams by the end. "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" are two examples of this. Beware when bands are happy to listen to themselves on albums. Ahead be prog rock at that point. Badmotorfinger is almost perfect. Superunknown is spectacular, but not as raw or good.
@@John-tr5hn yeah, Badmotorfinger is my favorite start to finish. Perfect album!
I loved this album back then, and still do. However, there is no way this is even approaching prog.
Chris was notorious for tuning his guitar to Open C and using his index finger to form a simple bar and move it up and down the fretboard. That's how he went from singer on Bad Motor Finger to singer/guitar player for Superunknown.
@@John-tr5hnI want to hear musicians make music...wtf are you tal..........
There is not a single weak song on this record. It is absolute perfection.
One of my favorite albums of all time! This and BadMotorFinger are the two in their discography that I think are really amazing.
Chris Cornell definitely my fav singer from the grunge days, layne Staley a close second. Feel like this CD got worn out from the laser on my system in the day
This would be my Soundgarden album rank list
1) Badmotorfinger
2) Super unknown
3) Ultra Mega Ok
4) down on the upside
5) louder than love
Don't forget King Animal. Highly underrated.
@@misterscarisma haven't listened to it, but I will check it out.
@@jakesmith6233 I was skeptical at first but besides 2 weaker songs I don't care for (in the last half), their 2012 comeback album is really strong.
"I'm a walking believer, I'm a ghost and a healer."
The album before this, Badmotorfinger, is my favorite Soundgarden album. It's right in a transition zone where they were very experimental, had more heavier moments and Chris really started to shine compared to their more indie releases prior to it. For me, it's really what catapulted them into my top 5 bands.
I remember getting the bus into town with my mate and buying badmotorfinger from andys records with my only money in the world, good times
They've definitely changed A LOT throughout the years.
I used to be obsessed with the album Louder Than Love (1989), where Chris Cornell was an absolute beast. At the time I didn't know Soundgarden had other projects besided that, I didn't even know how big they were, I just loved the music. So one day I came across Superunknown and for some reason I listened to it without checking out the name of the band, all I had was the name of the album. Man I swear I completely thought it was a whole different band! Had to check the name a second time to know I wasn't crazy.
Louder Than Love was punk as hell, still my favorite Soundgarden album to this day. What a great and unique band!
Totally agree, Room a Thousand Years Wide is like their version of Rain When I Die ♥️
I'll definitely be doing a reaction for Badmotorfinger as well! Can't wait to hear it.
Do also "Down on the Upside", The song "Blow Up The Outside World" is a master piece.@@mollyesanborn
One of the best albums of the 90's. This and Badmotorfinger are their peaks, although Down on the Upside does has some true gems too. Louder than love is also very good.
I look forward to hearing all of them!
I think King Animal was very overlooked :(
Absolute classic of Rock music - regardless of subgenre or era. Michael Beinhorns production is brilliant. He started out as a New York dance music producer in the early 80's and produced some of the most beloved and influential records in that genre - Those who know, know! He has stated that dub reggae was an influence on the bottom end of Superunknown, and to me that is one of the secret ingredients that make this record stand out and STILL sound incredible nearly 30 years later - The bass and also that the album doesnt have that horrible glossy sonic sheen that was a hangover from 80's rock, but imho dated a lot of early to mid 90's rock too. You can hear the warm tape saturation on everythiing and the drums sound fat and round. Soundgarden dropped an album with no filler tracks, fearless ambition, and genuine musicality, rather than just showing off of their technical ability as musicians.❤
It was fun watching you sink into Fell on Black Days. Great shoutout to Matt Cameron on the drums. He’s bringing it on every track. Def interested in Badmotorfinger. Thank you!
One of my favorite albums of all time, this is the reason why i became a composer, the compositions are incredible.
Oh snap! Cornell time!!!
Yeppp! :D
Not sure if these things have been mentioned but:
-Spoonman is a song about a real life busker from Seattle who plays the spoons. The jangly percussion is the actual guy.
-Like Suicide is about a bird that flew into Chris's window. He had to kill it with a brick.
Wow, I’m surprised we got to this one already but it’s a welcome surprise! I love the fusion of Black Sabbath, Punk & Noise Rock that Soundgarden fuse together & Kim’s one of my favourite guitar players where he’s talented enough to create memorable solos, but chooses to make these odd sounds through this thick wall of fuzz. What an incredible group & I hope that the album that’s been stuck in legal disputes for years will be worth the wait. Regardless I’m gonna cry when it comes out. R.I.P. Chris
This just in... It's one of the greatest rock albums of all time. Glad you found it!
I feel this is the best heavy rock album of the 90's. Thanks for doing this. Your take was awesome!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the reaction! And yeah this album was amazing, so glad that I've finally checked it out.
YES!!!!! 4th of July is the heaviest song of all time!!! I was obsessed with this album and listened to it constantly!!
4th of July intro still gives me goosebumps
Such an incredible song, it might just be my favorite from this entire album.
@mollyesanborn Fun fact on the song. They were tripping on acid and rumor has it they saw a fire. Some say house, some say campfire. But they said it looked like hell, but beautiful at the same time
"Thought it was the end. Thought it was the 4th of July"
It's one of my favorite songs by Soundgarden. So good! Amazing review of this classic banger of a record
@@mollyesanbornnice! It’s my favorite song of all time.
An iconic album. But im really looking forward to your take on Down on the Upside as, IMO, its a very underrated album. And not because of the tracks that were singles (although Burden in My Hand is a favorite), but because of some of the lesser known tracks "Never the Machine Forever", "Zero Chance", "Boot Camp", "Switch Opens", "Overfloater", so many great songs on DotU.
Highly underappreciated. People think I'm crazy it but "Dusty" is my favorite from DotU.
@@Jay.McCartyI LOVE the remix from Soundgarden’s Echo of Miles compilation. So much more melodic and groovy.
heck yeah. my faves from that album are boot camp, never the machine forever, tighter and tigher, overfloater, and pretty noose. it has a very interesting vibe.
I’m glad you enjoyed this incredible album too. Like all truly great music, it has stood the test of time and then some. As others have pointed out, whilst it has the unique Soundgarden…err, well, sound, 😊…there’s influences of other artists that Chris in particular grew up on like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and even The Beatles. 👍🏼
I assume it's such a difficult challenge to "react" to something as familiar as the song black hole sun. There's almost no effect (even from the most beautiful melodic songwriting) after hearing it a thousand times everywhere. Sometimes I try to put myself into a fresh listeners mind when hearing those songs. I think that's partly why people love reaction channels. You try to relive that first experience, that's just not there anymore for you on your own...
Love your channel Molly, your concept and your beautiful language to express acoustic and harmonic experiences. (I'm not a native english speaker so I appreciate that element even more). Love your love for Chino 🤩
Favorite album of all time ❤ Glad you enjoyed it !
I’m so happy you liked Limo Wreck! Probably my favorite on the album, Chris’s vocals are so powerful. Definitely check out the album Bad Motor Finger, and Louder Than Love!
This album is soooo awesome that I cannot even put into words its awesomeness😉 Years ago I went to see Soundgarden in London. God! It was such an amazing treat!
One of my all time favorites. One of my first cassette tapes ever and listened to it over and over and over. Classic. ❤
Terrific album. A cornerstone of 90s rock. Very consistent and probably the best album they recorded.
4th of July os my absolute favorite song on this album. Its SO dark and the imagery in it haunts me. When this album came out, for some reason the lyrics made me think of the holocaust, most notably the first verse.
"Shower in the dark day, clean sparks diving down Cool in the waterway where the baptized drown Naked in the cold sun, breathing life like fire I thought I was the only one, but that was just a lie"
Cornell was pulled over once while tripping on LSD. That's what this song is about.
An amazing track! Might be my favorite from the whole album as well.
@@mollyesanborn Yeah, it's one of my top two favorites. "Like Suicide," too. Cornell wrote his share of excellent songs.
Ben's strange songs, Kim's unique guitar and Chris' amazing voice... RIP Chris we love you so much.
Kim and Chris both were guitarists
@@igortokarski9517 Ben and Chris both were vocalists.
And Matt Cameron’s groove. His drumming is never ordinary.
A great album. Badmotorfinger and Louder Than Love are my personal favorite releases of theirs.
Don't sleep on King Animal either!
My adolescence. 1st album I ever owned. Ground breaking album that opened Pandora’s box into hard rock/metal for so many including myself. 👌🏻💯🙌🏻
Me too 😊
The cosmic mysticism of the sound always intrigued me more than the emotions in the lyrics. Some of the guitar work would be perfect for sci-fi movie soundtracks. Especially in "The Day I Tried to Live." Grunge was always more about sound than words anwyay.
1994 was a really big transitional point of my youth ending/adult life starting...it was the worst and the best all together. This album always takes me right back to that headspace, those feelings, like no other album from that time. It's more like time traveling than nostalgia. Additional bits of info: 4th of July was written about an acid trip and Like Suicide is about a crow flying into Chris's window early one morning, breaking its neck in the process, and him using a brick to put it out of its misery.
so many great and different songs on that album. My favorite song is fell on black days, watch the official video version, even better than the album. Has anyone noticed the quality of the lyrics in limo wreck and the day I tried to live. Chris could do crazy things with his voice, man. No matter which instrument, bass, guitar, drums, even spoons everything has its place in the sun on that album. One song comes out heavy next one speedy, great riffs and melody parts. I really miss to see them live in concert. Thanks for the reaction to that just gorgeous piece of music. Lookin forward for their next album "Down on the Upside"
Soundgarden is my favorite band. I even got to see them live in 2014! It's worth noting that each member of Soundgarden wrote music and lyrics for each album. "Head Down," in particular, is written by their bass player...I think you're noticing that it sounds different. That's why they're my favorite band--every member contributes!
Oh lucky! Yeah this album was fantastic, can't wait to hear more from them!
@@mollyesanborn You should definitely do "Down on the Upside" by Soundgarden next! I think you'll like it even more. It's my favorite from them.
Badmotorfinger is as good as SuperUnknown
Saw them in Lollapalooza Argentina 2014 as well. Pretty much a perfect setlist, and I must've bawled my eyes out at least five times.
The greatest rock album of the 90s. There I said it. The variety and variety of instruments used. The odd tuning which sounds so distinctive and original and pretty much nearly every song could have been a single. A start to finish masterpiece.
Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" is a must!
I will definitely have to give that one a listen as well!
Ben Shepard’s bass parts on My Wave is rocking and really tasty at the end!
This record has been in my top five since the day it was released…thanks for the awesome review!
This album, NIN's Downward Spiral, and Magnified by the obscure but very influential band Failure are all amazing heavy albums that released on the same day, March 8th, 1994. What a year!
One of the best rock albums of all time.
SUPERUNKNOWN is one of those rare albums, IMO where every song is really good. It’s their best work as far as I’m concerned.
CC had THE best voice of any of the Seattle bands because he could really belt out his voice like no one else. “Birth Ritual” is probably the best example of how intense his vocals got. The pitch and volume was inhuman.
This album was one of my first tapes as a kid. I sat at my grandpas stereo with the headphones on for like a day amazed. What an album.. like hopelessness in music-form. has some triumphant moments and some really drag out gnarly ones. shit is killer
Nice! One of my favorite Soundgarden albums next to Badmotorfinger. My favorite track on that album is "The day I tried to live". Chris Cornell's music has really impacted my life. I still can't believe he's gone! I can at least keep his memory alive with his music.
it's SUPER and definitely UNKOWN!!!!!
The "rattling" that you heard in "Spoonman" was someone playing the spoons. It's literally two spoons back to back that when tapped make a ticking sound and is used mainly in folk and bluegrass music.
Their next album is amazing too, Down on the Upside. Lot of people hate on it for not being as good as this one, but damn what albums are? It's still so good with a lot of bangers.
Keep up the awesome content! Can't wait for Morning View from Incubus to come up in the rotation! If ever there was an album you should do a special "episode on a beach with a joint" for...it would be Morning View :P
I love Down on the Upside. But I like the more melodic Soundgarden. Apparently I'm a bad fan. All the cool kids love Badmotorfinger, judging by the comments. Down on the Upside has some of their most melodic songs.
Such a great album from them at their peak of fame and musicianship 👏👏👏
I love your appreciation for the production nuances 👍
Yep, this record was fantastic! So glad that I finally checked it out.
One of my favorite records. This and Vitalogy were daily listens during my senior year of High School.
The Sabbathy main riff of Limo Wreck will always be a favorite of mine. Great reaction!
Masterpiece! Their best album.
I love you Molly 😘
One of my favorite albums you've reviewed.
Standouts for me were "Let Me Drown" & "Spoonman".
Again, loved the enthusiasm in your reactions!
91 was a killer year for album releases. Metallica's Black album. Pearl Jam's Ten. Soundgarden's Bad Motor Finger. Nirvana's Nevermind. RHCP's Blood Sugar Sex Magic. Primus's Sailing Seas Of Cheese. R.E.M's Out Of Time. Smashing Pumpkins Gish. GnR's Use Your Illusion. The New Power Generation ( Prince ) Diamonds and Pearls. So many solid albums.
Man citing The Black Album as if it was a good album lol.
@dragonballfanscantread2383 Wow how original. Another Metallica purist. I bet you're in the camp who think that Jason was robbed on "And Justice." Bob Rock's production on the black album was killer. The guitar tone is so huge. He somehow managed to synthesise the atmosphere of Ride The Lightning with the clearer production of Masters and then cranked it to ten. It's sad that people slag that album off just because of some immature excuse that they think they had sold out or everything was too slowed down. It doesn't really matter though... the album sold well and broke the ceiling for legitimising metal as commercially viable, opening the door for other bands to follow.
@@atomcraft4067
AJFA had awful rock style drumming and disjointed song writing coupled with NO BASS.
The Black Album sucks because gone were the complex song structures and innovative riffs, but the use of melodic composition on guitar persisted from …And Justice For All, albeit in a form that fit well into the MTV lineup. Songs backed away from topics that might unsettle people into fairy tales about fears and personal drama, including the rage drama that Pantera was making famous.
Metallica had become the very thing people who got into metal for, had pushed back on.
recently rediscovered the songs "fell on black days" and "the day I tried to live". altogether, my fav SG album is Down on the Upside, but these two songs are genius too
Yeah there are so many great tracks on this record! I'll definitely have to give Down On The Upside a listen as well.
Next year it’s going to be the 30th Anniversary of the album and it still sounds very current, if I wasn’t familiar with it and someone told me that it was released in the last 5 years I would believe them.
I absolutely agree with you on this!
Simply put, one of the most atmospheric beautiful albums ever.
Great reaction. I encourage you to check out the band Temple of the Dog. It was made up of members of both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. They only put out one album called "Temple of the Dog" and it's an absolute monster of an album. It features some of the most memorable songs from that decade like "Hunger Strike" and "Say Hello 2 Heaven," which was penned by the late Chris Cornell in honor of his best friend Andrew Wood of Mudhoney who died of a heroine overdose. Each song on that album is really good, and it's worth the listen.
Andrew Wood was in Mother Love Bone, not Mudhoney
I've grown to appreciate the editing of these videos!
'Badmotorfinger' would be the perfect Soundgarden one to do next 👌
Thanks for that! I know the structure of my videos isn't for everyone as I edit out portions of the tracks, but glad you are enjoying them. I'll definitely plan on a reaction to Badmotorfinger as well :)
Yes!! This is easily in my top 10 90s albums (probably of all time). Truly a dark experience tho when i listened to this whole album the day Chris Cornell passed away 😞 hit me like a rock when Like Suicide came on, but regardless this album is 10/10
One of the greatest rock albums of all time. Glad you did it. Chris was the greatest.
I couldn't click fast enough when I saw this!
I'm glad you gave this one a go - it's definitely one of their best. My personal favourite is Louder Than Love, but I reckon 'Badmotorfinger' would be a good one for you next. Don't sleep on 'Down on the Upside' either, it's the album that follows this one and has them experiment further.
My #1 album of all time. Seeing them in concert was amazing.
Down on the upside sounds like a natural choice for your next video. It’s excellent imo. Sophisticated in its own right.
Can't wait to check it out!
Temple of the dog, Superunknown and Euphoria Morning are 3 of my all time favorite albums, funny they're all Chris Cornell albums...
I also recommend their next album, Down on the Upside. It is awesome and don't recieve much love like the others.
Aside from “Vs.” by Pearl Jam & “In Utero” by Nirvana this was the most anticipated album of the early-mid 90’s….great album,to me “Badmotorfinger” is so good it seemed impossible to match much less surpass but “Superunknown” did it 🖤🤤
There's two amazing alternative versions to "Like Suicide" (acoustic) and "Fell on Black Days" called "Black Days III". The later is so heavy with different lyrics/chorus....you'll be blown away by both
Probably my favorite album of all time.
I was 11 when this came out and I loved it then as well!
Great album. I’d say do their album Badmotorfinger next. That album is probably one of my favorite albums of all time along with Meteora, Angel Dust, Moving Pictures, Rust In Peace and many other albums.
Angel Dust is that kind of album that is respected by most musicians of that era.
The solo on Mailman... mezmerizing
I say this with no ill intention or animosity, but when you described the sound of "Spoonman" as "spunky," I twisted up inside like a pretzel. Certainly it's your channel and I respect you describing your experience. Just pleased to see more people experiencing good music given the state of the heavy rotation of modern radio. 🤙
Great vid Molly! DEFINITELY go thru Badmotorfinger now! It's definitely more metal sounding but still prime SG! 🤘
Fun fact, Like Suicide is actually about the time a crow hit a window in Chris’s house and broke its neck. He ended up having to put it out of its misery with a brick. “she lived like a murder” as in a murder of crows, the actual name for a group of crows.
This album slaps! You should do Mer de Noms by a perfect circle if you havnt already 🫡
Yes Superunknown was fantastic! And I did do Mer de Noms a while back, loved that album as well.
ua-cam.com/video/vgm_6kEBN4g/v-deo.htmlsi=tPcvMRZ40hBbbBnS
I would love love love to see you react to Blind Melon's self titled first album. I think you'd absolutely love it.
THIS!!! ONE BILLION PERCENT!!!!!
Badmotorfinger (1991) next! My personal favorite from my favorite band ever.
One of the great 90s albums. R.I.P. Chris Cornell. 😢
The third album is the best - "Bad Motor Finger". The second album "Louder Than Love" is great with four of my favorite tracks on it.
Whatever, I never start new reaction vids and here I am. Love your vibe and bare bones honesty.
Aw thank you! That is much appreciated. Glad you are enjoying the channel so far ❤️
The vocalist Chris Cornell is well known and respected by everyone. Everything he involved has an insanely good outcome. He also joined a band called Rage against the machine when the vocalist quit off and changed the name to Audioslave, and the rest was history. He also inspired many artists like Chester Bennington, Corey Taylor, Serj Tankian, Taylor Manson, etc.
This is my favorite album of all time🔥
Fresh Tendrils and Like Suicide are amazing.
I enjoyed listening to this with you. This is one of my favourite Rock albums ever made. I got my mom to buy me this tape in 96 or 97 which was 2-3 years late...but I couldnt get "Black Hole Sun" out or my head which got heavy TV and Radio airplay.
I remember my mom not liking it very much considering the dark sound of the album and suicidal themes.
The day I tried to live....that is all I have to say. They have/had some great tunes.
I'd like to see you react to their album, Down on the Upside. And after you're done with Soungarden, maybe you could react to some other Chris Cornell projects. I highly recommend one of his solo albums, Euphoria Morning. And you could also check out Temple of the Dog, his project with members of Pearl Jam.
Badmotorfinger is more grunge sounding but Superunknown is the album that was their most commercially successful. Both are masterpieces. Most bands only do one masterpiece but Soundgarden did two back to back. If you like the more grunge sound then Badmotorfinger is for you. If you like the more commercial sound then Superunknown will blow you away. I don't know which I prefer. it depends on the mood I am in. The vocals on the Badmotorfinger song Slaves and Bulldozers with give you chills. it was the very first Soundgarden song I heard. The song Spoonman is about Artis the Spoonman, a Seatle based musician who was famous for playing the spoons. It is one of Soundgarden's most popular songs.
Hey, Down On the Upside is really cool too, and some songs in King Animal are just as good.
When people suggested this, I don’t think they were suggesting skipping over the other to albums to get to it. Their album Badmotorfinger is a classic and I can’t imagine anyone wanting to skip over it
I'll definitely check out Badmotorfinger as well! :)
@@mollyesanborn I hope you like it when you do get around to it. Super unknown is great and is their most popular, but there’s plenty of people who would say Badmotorfinger is their favorite, myself included
How I'd like to see you reacting to two of my favorites "Ten" & "Yield" by PearlJam. Completly diferent but awesome at the same time. Love your reaction Molly 😊. Grettings 😘
And "No code"
One of my favorite albums of all-time. 🖤
the rattling sound in "spoonman" is someone playing spoons! (they play them by like tapping them against each other really fast lol)
Such a great record and fond memories. My best friend and I skipped a day in college, drove to Criminal Records in Atlanta and bought the 3 colored vinyls of Superunknown such a great album.
I like the way the guitars sound in 4th Of July, it's like they are being dragged across the floor.
I'm not sure if I already commented but Nine Inch Nails the downward spiral was number 2 album and this Soundgarden album is the number one that year I really hope you cover the downward spiral for it is a treasured Masterpiece amongst fans and non-fans. 1994 was one hell of a year with jar of flies superunknown and the downward spiral just a fantastic year for me personally and the music scene
I have heard The Downward Spiral already and yes, it is a superb album. Nine Inch Nails is one of my favorite bands. I'll have to do a video talking about it one of these days!
@@mollyesanborn how do you know to pick such albums from the best of times?
Great reaction, you definitely need to hear Badmotorfinger next and then the first Audioslave album.
LOVE your channel Molly, Soundgarden are one of my fave bands of ALL time, after this you HAVE to do 'BadMotorFinger' which is arguably their best album with this one...but once again brilliant upload/content. keep them coming and I'll keep watching!
Thank you! Glad you're enjoying the channel. I'll definitely plan on a Badmotorfinger reaction as well :)
I enjoyed watching this. You should check out their next album DOWN ON THE UPSIDE.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I'll definitely have to give Down On The Upside a listen as well.
This album reminds me of middle school. One of my all time favorites. Down on the upside, is a very solid follow up.
As relevant now as the day it was released in ‘94. Incredible record. You ought to listen to the bonus track included on the international release of this record, “She Likes Surprises”.
Drums, vocals, time signatures, alternate tunings, riffs, effects usage, weird solos, all awesome from prime Soundgarden.
One of my favourite techniques they use is "loose" timing with some riffs, adding a tense and lurching feel.
By loose I mean intentionally playing a note or chord a fraction ahead of or behind the beat, taking away the solid footing playing on the beat gives you.
I think this really helps describe why I have always loved this band so much. I like to think of them as perfect imperfections. There's this looseness to their music, and to a lot of music from this time, that is lost today. So much is overproduced and edited these days.
Sadly, this now applies to most media@@PeteOliva , though weirdly huge films often have very loose (read:terrible) CGI.
Back on topic, if you watch Zep's live Stairway video, during the solo Jimmy Page loses the beat so badly chasing the notes. It feels like it's about to turn into the biggest pile of crap (something not uncommon due to his love of…stuff), about to go off a cliff, then he hits the beat so hard all the tension is released.
Not exactly an example of playing beautifully off the beat perhaps, but perfect in highlighting what the effect can produce.
When I first listened to this back in 1994, I was stunned. What a masterpiece!
During their final show in Detroit, Chris said the song My Wave was written with these views in mind. I don’t remember his exact wording but it was basically this: “if you want to burn your house down, go ahead and do it. Just don’t burn anybody else’s house down in the process.”
He took his own life later that night in his hotel room.
Such a good album and I enjoyed this video. I was in the US on a Vegas trip in 2014 or 2016 and went to get my hair cut (or head clipped) in some random outdoor mall. There were a few photos of Cornell and the proprietor - turns out they were mates and had shared an apartment once, so he chatted about that while clipping. That's a pretty cool claim to fame from the lad. Chapeau.