THE GRUNGE MATCH - 030

Match 030:

Alice In Chains "Would?" (1992)
Nirvana "Stain" (1992)
Pearl Jam "Pry, To" (1994)
Soundgarden "No Wrong No Right" (1989)

I knew "Would?" would probably be taking today's matchup going in, seeing as it's my favorite Alice In Chains song.  This goddam song is perfect.  It starts with a great, slinking bass line (R.I.P. Mike Starr) and the rest of the song floats in flawlessly around it, coalescing in the powerful chorus.  The solo is amazing...honestly, I'd give this a 5 if I thought it was ethical.  (Then again, this is all arbitrary...)  Of course, Staley and Cantrell's two-headed harmonic hydra leads the thing on to victory.  If you've never heard this song, do yourself a favor and listen to it with no other sensory input.  Let it take you.

"Stain" is pretty average, but it's got a decent groove and doesn't stick around long enough to wear out its welcome.  Very straightforward and with just enough angst to keep up appearances.

"Pry, To" is the point where people hearing "Vitalogy" might start to wonder "What's wrong with Pearl Jam?"  It's a 1:03 long half-moaned, half-wailed screed about the importance of privacy with only one semi-intelligible lyric repeated four times, and the rest spelling the word P-R-I-V-A-C-Y.  It fades in for exactly half the song and fades out again for the second half.  And this is far from the weirdest thing on this album.  This is just the beginning.

"No Wrong, No Right" starts with an acrobatic drum fill and some Chris Cornell vocal warmups, then descends quickly into another dank half-time number (dank as in swampy, though maybe weed might help?).  It's got more to it than "I Awake" or most of "Ultramega OK", but it still feels a bit off.  Also, lots of needless guitar wankery in the background, to the point of self-parody.  By the time you get to the second chorus, the song does grow on you a bit, but then when you're waiting for it to kick into another gear, it just putters to a halt.

"Would?": 4
"Stain": 3
"No Wrong, No Right": 2
"Pry, To": 1

TOTALS:

Pearl Jam: 97
Alice In Chains: 77
Nirvana: 72
Soundgarden: 54

Today we say goodbye to "Dirt", and tomorrow, we say hello to "Jar Of Flies".  ?Feliz navidad?

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