THE GRUNGE MATCH - 116
Match 116:
Alice In Chains "Pretty Done" (2013)
Nirvana "I Hate Myself And Want To Die" (1993)
Pearl Jam "Getaway" (2013)
Soundgarden "Storm" (2014)
"Pretty Done" is when I was pretty done with "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here". It has an okay mid section, but you have to get through those shitty verses to get there, and the first time I heard this album, I just wasn't having it, so I skipped it before I got that far. I've only listened to "Dinosaurs" twice, and there's a reason. Clunkers like "Pretty Done" are the exception, not the rule. Sure, the mid part repeats again after the third verse, but it's still not worth the time of day.
"I Hate Myself And Want To Die" was the leadoff track to "The Beavis And Butt-Head Experience", and it features a minute long intro from the titular characters. It was recorded during the "In Utero" sessions, and it's not a song I would've put on that album to replace any of the others. It's bog standard for fuzz rock, toothless for grunge and overall just good enough because of its catchy chorus to merit listening to in the first place. (But for the love of God, find a version without Beavis and Butt-Head. That shit was only mildly cool in 1993, and we were young as fuck and didn't know any better.)
"Getaway" right off the bat lets you know this has more guts than anything on "Backspacer". This is closer to the sound of the self-titled album, but with it's own flavor. Everything is solid, the lead break in the middle is just right and Eddie Vedder injects this shit with some much needed vitality. Rock done right in 2013? That's a rarity.
Okay, so I was wrong. Turns out this is the newest material released in The Grunge Match. "Storm" is the last song Soundgarden recorded before the untimely passing of Chris Cornell (which happened about 30 hours ago at the time of this writing). The opening riff reminds me of "I Ran" by A Flock Of Seagulls a little bit the way it echoes and trails off. It's not a typical Soundgarden song by any stretch, but it's definitely got something to it. It's very whispy, but manages to not be milquetoast or boring. It's not a style I've ever heard this band try before, and maybe could have been and interesting new direction. I guess we'll never know.
The long and short of it is, I didn't think I'd be writing these so soon after...what happened. But I've cranked out four already tonight. Not that it hasn't hit hard, but I've wanted to get this project done and over with so I can move on to something new for awhile now, and I'm not gonna let something like a musician that's been there since I started liking music up and deciding to end his life stop me from finishing this shit and doing it right.
"Getaway": 4
"Storm": 3
"I Hate Myself And Want To Die": 2
"Pretty Done": 1
TOTALS:
Soundgarden: 316
Alice In Chains: 299
Pearl Jam: 291
Nirvana: 253
See? That Alice In Chains song was so bad, it prevented them from getting to 300. They'll do much better tomorrow, though. That shit hard like a Stone.
Alice In Chains "Pretty Done" (2013)
Nirvana "I Hate Myself And Want To Die" (1993)
Pearl Jam "Getaway" (2013)
Soundgarden "Storm" (2014)
"Pretty Done" is when I was pretty done with "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here". It has an okay mid section, but you have to get through those shitty verses to get there, and the first time I heard this album, I just wasn't having it, so I skipped it before I got that far. I've only listened to "Dinosaurs" twice, and there's a reason. Clunkers like "Pretty Done" are the exception, not the rule. Sure, the mid part repeats again after the third verse, but it's still not worth the time of day.
"I Hate Myself And Want To Die" was the leadoff track to "The Beavis And Butt-Head Experience", and it features a minute long intro from the titular characters. It was recorded during the "In Utero" sessions, and it's not a song I would've put on that album to replace any of the others. It's bog standard for fuzz rock, toothless for grunge and overall just good enough because of its catchy chorus to merit listening to in the first place. (But for the love of God, find a version without Beavis and Butt-Head. That shit was only mildly cool in 1993, and we were young as fuck and didn't know any better.)
"Getaway" right off the bat lets you know this has more guts than anything on "Backspacer". This is closer to the sound of the self-titled album, but with it's own flavor. Everything is solid, the lead break in the middle is just right and Eddie Vedder injects this shit with some much needed vitality. Rock done right in 2013? That's a rarity.
Okay, so I was wrong. Turns out this is the newest material released in The Grunge Match. "Storm" is the last song Soundgarden recorded before the untimely passing of Chris Cornell (which happened about 30 hours ago at the time of this writing). The opening riff reminds me of "I Ran" by A Flock Of Seagulls a little bit the way it echoes and trails off. It's not a typical Soundgarden song by any stretch, but it's definitely got something to it. It's very whispy, but manages to not be milquetoast or boring. It's not a style I've ever heard this band try before, and maybe could have been and interesting new direction. I guess we'll never know.
The long and short of it is, I didn't think I'd be writing these so soon after...what happened. But I've cranked out four already tonight. Not that it hasn't hit hard, but I've wanted to get this project done and over with so I can move on to something new for awhile now, and I'm not gonna let something like a musician that's been there since I started liking music up and deciding to end his life stop me from finishing this shit and doing it right.
"Getaway": 4
"Storm": 3
"I Hate Myself And Want To Die": 2
"Pretty Done": 1
TOTALS:
Soundgarden: 316
Alice In Chains: 299
Pearl Jam: 291
Nirvana: 253
See? That Alice In Chains song was so bad, it prevented them from getting to 300. They'll do much better tomorrow, though. That shit hard like a Stone.
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