Saturday, December 28, 2024

SONG OF THE WEEK: 12-29-2024




SONG:  "Head Down"

ARTIST:  Soundgarden

ALBUM:  "Superunknown"

YEAR:  1994

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Seattle, Washington

YEARS ACTIVE:  1984 - 2017



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

The song “Head Down” by Soundgarden, featured on their critically acclaimed album  "Superunknown", explores themes of societal oppression and the struggle for individuality. The lyrics convey a sense of conflict between conforming to societal expectations and maintaining personal authenticity.

SOUNDGARDEN DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1988 - Ultramega OK (SST Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1989 - Louder Than Love (A&M Records)
* peaked at #108 on the Billboard 200

1991 - Badmotorfinger (A&M Records)
* peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200
* certified 2X Platinum

1994 - Superunknown (A&M Records)
* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* certified 6X Platinum

1996 - Down On The Upside (A&M Records)
* peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200
* certified Platinum

2011 - Live On I-5 (A&M Records)
* peaked at #47 on the Billboard 200

2012 - King Animal (Republic Records)
* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200

2014 - Echo Of Miles:  Scattered Tracks Across The Path (A&M Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2019 - Live From The Artists Den (Universal Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON SOUNDGARDEN:

Soundgarden is a legendary band from Seattle, Washington that got it's start back in 1984. Chris Cornell (drums/vocals) and Hiro Yamamoto (bass) founded the band. Soon guitarist Kim Thayil joined the band. In 1985, Scott Sundquist joined the band as the drummer allowing Cornell to focus on vocal duties. Sundquist would only last a year in the band and was replaced by former Skin Yard drummer Matt Cameron. In 1986, Soundgarden was part of a compilation release called "Deep Six" which featured other artists Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, Green River and The Melvins to name a few. In 1987, Soundgarden signed a deal with Sub Pop records and released the EP's "Screaming Life" in 1987 and "Fopp" in 1988. Also in 1988, Soundgarden released their debut full length album "Ultramega OK". This album was nominated for a Grammy award. In 1989, the band dropped their sophomore album, "Louder Than Love". Hiro Yamamoto would leave the band following this album, stating that he felt like he wasn't as involved with the songwriting process any longer. He would be replaced by Jason Everman of Nirvana fame. Everman would only last a year and in 1990, Ben Shepherd took over on bass and the classic Soundgarden line-up was now in place. In 1991, Soundgarden released "Badmotorfinger", their first album on a major label, A&M Records. This album started gaining momentum with the singles "Rusty Cage", "Jesus Christ Pose" and "Outshined". It would be the explosion of success by Nirvana's album "Nevermind" later in that year which would give "Badmotorfinger" a lift off! By the time Soundgarden would release their next album, 1994's "Superunknown", the grunge movement had already exploded and Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains were all the rage! Soundgarden, not to be outdone by any of those bands, dropped a masterpiece in "Superunknown". Backed by hit singles like "Spoonman", "The Day I Tried To Live", "My Wave", "Fell On Black Days" and arguably their most successful single and popular song, "Black Hole Sun", this album would debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts and has ultimately been certified 6X Platinum! In 1996, the band followed up that monster with the highly underrated "Down On The Upside". After touring to support "Down On The Upside", the members of Soundgarden were exhausted and dealing with lots of internal strife about the musical direction of Soundgarden and more. The members thought it was best to just disband and ensure they don't put out a half ass effort which would tarnish the band's name and legacy in any way. After the band disbanded, the members were all active in other projects, most notably Cornell joining forces with the guys from Rage Against The Machine (minus Zack) and forming Audioslave. As well as drummer Matt Cameron becoming the full time drummer for Pearl Jam. Luckily, in 2010, Soundgarder would reform and in 2012, they dropped a brand new album for the first time in 16 years, "King Animal". In 2014, the band released "Echo Of Miles" which featured most of the band's rarities. In 2015 and 2016, there were rumors that the band had been working on new material. Matt Cameron would confirm that the band had 6 or 7 tracks that were pretty much good to go. On May 18, 2017, while the band was on tour, Chris Cornell was found dead in his hotel room. He died of an apparent suicide. What an unbelievably tragic loss. Chris Cornell, in my mind, had the greatest rock and roll voice of all time. Especially hard rock. He could effortlessly wail in incredibly high octaves or he could melt you when he would sing in a lower register. I love all four of the "main" grunge singers and they're all awesome. Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell are arguably four of the best lead singers in rock history. But I always found Cornell to be the most dynamic of the four. He was just a beast so his passing is just such a huge loss for the entiee music community and it's fans. So tragic. Soundgarden will always be one of my favorite bands. I consider Pearl Jam to be my favorite band, but Soundgarden is right there. The beauty of the Seattle "grunge" bands, especially the top 4 was that they were all so different. Sure there were similarities, but they were four different bands. It was after their success that all the record labels were trying to imitate their sounds and the market got saturated with cheap copycats. But those four were and are still legendary rock bands that have stood the test of time. Soundgarden is just a monstrous band. What else can you say?!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Temple Of The Dog
Alice In Chains
Pearl Jam
Audioslave
Mad Season

TEN SOUNDGARDEN SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Fell On Black Days
2. Pretty Noose
3. Slaves & Bulldozers
4. Outshined
5. Black Hole Sun
6. Rusty Cage
7. Burden In My Hand
8. Blow Up The Outside World
9. By Crooked Steps
10. Been Away Too Long


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