THE GRUNGE MATCH - 010

Match 010:

Alice In Chains "Confusion" (1990)
Nirvana "Mr. Moustache" (1989)
Pearl Jam "Deep" (1991)
Soundgarden "Flower" (1988)

"Confusion" is my least favorite song on "Facelift".  It's dull, drab, it drags on for six minutes when four would've done.  The chorus is all right I guess, but ultimately it suffers from the same problem "Porch" did from "Ten": it sounds too much like you've heard this song before on the same disc.  There's one like it on just about every good to great album so no shame in that, but there's a reason this never became a fan favorite.

"Mr. Moustache" is in the poopy vein of "Scoff", but it's peppy enough and the vocals are less annoying, so it's elevated off the floor of "Bleach" by virtue of feeling it has a reason to exist.  It's definitely more energetic than your average Nirvana song, and the chorus has some timely stops that add to the frenetic feeling.

Is there such a thing as a psychedelic grunge waltz shuffle?  Cuz that's what "Deep" sounds like.  It's one of my favorite 'deep' cuts from Pearl Jam, so maybe the title is fitting.  It's a song that gets me amped, but the power is not your typical bash-you-over-the-head-make-you-mosh type of thing that makes you pump your fist.  Yet you can't deny there's something strong here.  I really didn't realize how much I loved "Ten" until I wrote these reviews.  If nothing else comes out of this, I hope we can all take away a newfound or rediscovered appreciation for that album.

"Flower" is the opening track and first single off of 1988's "Ultramega OK", and though the production sounds a little primitive, this is more like Soundgarden than anything we've been getting up 'til now.  Unfortunately, I find Chris Cornell's vocals far too plaintive and meandering to really give it full marks.  It's like he's all "I don't wanna, okay FINE" when he's singing this song.  "Flower" is a step in the right direction, but this band still had a ways to go before it became powerhouse it would become.

"Deep": 4
"Mr. Moustache": 3
"Flower": 2
"Confusion": 1

TOTALS:

Pearl Jam: 38
Alice In Chains: 26
Nirvana: 21
Soundgarden: 15

Things may look bleak, but fear not!  Tomorrow is the end of "Ten"'s tyranny, and it comes with my least favorite song from that album!  Let's see what the other bands can do against it!

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