THE ULTRAMEGA OK SOUNDGARDEN EXTRAVAGANZA (re-post)
Sunday, December 16th, 2007 at 3:32pm by Kip WingerschmidtOkay, so Vince may have beaten me to the punch in reminding y’all bout the strength of seminal Soundgarden in light of recent/impending poop from lead singer Chris Cornell, but I simply cannot remain mum on the subject given just how f’n AWESOME the band was — here’s a fistful-o-tunes to get yr weekend started…
I still can’t get enough of this band. What a milestone and a treat it has been to experience the magic of Soundgarden; who else is writing songs with this much dynamic and range that r-o-c-k so fucking hard? This is some of the smartest and most heartfelt aggressive songwriting EVER.
And there’s no question that Chris Cornell was the 90s Robert Plant — a title that Cedric from The Mars Volta rightfully earns (so far) for the 21st century — similarly, Cornell can wail and sustain for so goddamn long, at such a high register, that from time to time it’s hard not to wonder if he is indeed a castrati. Girl can sang!
SOUNDGARDEN – “Hands All Over”, from Louder Than Love (1989)
**SOUNDGARDEN – “Birth Ritual”, from Singles Soundtrack (1992)
SOUNDGARDEN – “Rusty Cage”, from Badmotorfinger (1991)
SOUNDGARDEN – “Jesus Christ Pose”, from Badmotorfinger (1991)
SOUNDGARDEN – “Mind Riot”, from Badmotorfinger (1991)
SOUNDGARDEN – “Holy Water”, from Badmotorfinger (1991)
SOUNDGARDEN – “Let Me Drown”, from Superunknown (1994)
SOUNDGARDEN – “Fell On Black Days”, from Superunknown (1994)
SOUNDGARDEN – “The Day I Tried To Live”, from Superunknown (1994)
Enjoy — but leave the frickin flannel in the back of the closet, fer chrissakes!
-KW
BONUS!!
Checkacheckout Soundgarden’s first-ever music video, for “Flower”, from Ultramega OK (1990):
Damn, Soundgarden were great. Where Pearl Jam were more hard rock, and Nirvana punk, Soundgarden definitely had a Sabbath-esque, metal feel. So logically everyone here should like them. Right?
And is it just me or does Chris Cornell in that last picture look kind of like a long-haired Shia LaBoeuf?
I saw Soundgarden open up for GNR in the late Eighties and no one knew who they were. I was up on my feet for the whole set, fist pumping in the air, and someone behind me actually said, “Hey buddy, why don’t you sit down?”
Seriously!
I also saw Alice In Chains on the Clash Of The Titans tour in ‘91, and the crowd looked really confused during the set from this unknown act opening up for Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer. It was beautiful.
Oh, and “Hands All Over” isn’t working, but that’s okay since I already have it on my computer. This just inspired me to pull it up again. What about “Flower” from Ultramega OK?! One of the most killer riffs from the “Grunge” era!
The band by which all future rock should be judged. If they ever get together again before Chris Cornell’s voice is permanently shot I’m there.
Badmotorfinger has some seriously metal moments—”Slaves and Bulldozers” anyone?
They may not be as “dynamic” as Soundgarden (though they come close), but you CANNOT overlook Screaming Trees. They should definitely be the subject of your next post. To this day I can’t understand why they never achieved the same amount of success as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. They were an amazing act that influenced countless other bands.
Kip, how come no love for Down on the Upside?
Devil, I had no idea we were so aligned in our thinking – stand by for my final grunge weekend post on the most “grunge” of em all, Screaming Trees.
Vince, to be honest most of *Down on the Upside* kind of bores me; never found a taste for it. Yr picks? Definitely a couple good tracks but overall pales in comparison to the other Soundgarden albums, maybe to the point of irrelevance methinks…
one of my favorite sg songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXghlhaPHDk
how often can you say “really awesome banjo playing”