Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 02:00:21 -0400 Subject: SOMMS Digest - 25 Sep 1997 to 26 Sep 1997 There are 28 messages totalling 1332 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Lollapalooza '92 boot / Soundgarden Trade Page 2. how SG will be remembered/A-sides (2) 3. GH, BHS, and Unplugged. (2) 4. Drums and SG 5. just a thought... 6. A-sides on ATN 7. A-sides 8. digest 9. characteristic songs/influences (2) 10. My first SOMMS meeting! 11. how SG will be remembered (2) 12. soundgarden unplugged...coming soon (2) 13. Things could be turning back around 14. from the OFFICIAL website.....wow. (3) 15. A-sides...what a drag 16. Beyond the wheel 17. SG concerts 18. new shit 19. we steal that smile from your face... 20. unplugged and stuff 21. The A team! To UNSUBSCRIBE from SOMMS, send email to LISTSERV@MITVMA.MIT.EDU with the following in the body of your message: SIGNOFF SOMMS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 23:05:10 -0700 From: J Thompson Subject: Lollapalooza '92 boot / Soundgarden Trade Page I just picked up the Lollapalooza '92 cd bootleg from my local record shop. I never really wanted to trade for it because everyone seemed to agree that the sound was absolutely the worse. I have to disagree. It's a decent audience recording, not any worse than most other Soundgarden bootlegs. I don't know if Kiss the Stone remastered this version or maybe people just got shitty tapes, but it's not too bad. Anyway, the set is around 48 minutes. I still haven't listened to the whole thing - I'm listening to it as I type this now. They just finished Cop Killer, which is the main reason I wanted the cd. The setlist is: Face Pollution Outshined Gun Jesus Christ Pose Cop Killer Hands All Over Rusty Cage Slaves & Bulldozers If you want to trade for a copy, swing by the Soundgarden Tape Trading Page at: www.intertwine.com/jason/index.html You can find the trade lists of other Sommsters and Soundgarden traders, including both audio and video tapes of rare Soundgarden stuff. HAH! Chris just asked for the crowd to yell as loud as they could so he could record a bootleg copy of the crowd screaming for himself. Then he held his recorder up to the mike and played it back for them. pretty funny :-) Later, Jason ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 04:12:20 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: how SG will be remembered/A-sides I got my copy of Hype! today. It made me laugh a LOT, but when it got to SWMGEC, when they broke into the first verse, I suddenly had tears in my eyes. I was smiling, too, because it was so wonderful to see, but the ache was very real. I started thinking about this thread. We all know how WE will remember them, how their friends and fellow musicians will remember them. As for the rest of the public, well, I'm rather cynical about that. I don't think it's just a matter of BHS and Outshined being the songs tacked onto their name automatically. Nor is that necessarily a bad thing, as neither is at all a bad song. Quite the contrary. Any sane band would be thrilled to be associated with such quality material, and any fan of any calibre should be proud to love the band that produced it. Here's the rub, imo. SG sold a lot of records, and SU was very popular and well-received, but in the whole giant rock star machine, their sales rank well below many other bands, and those bands have more than one huge seller under their belts. And that is what the industry recognizes and publicizes. That is what gets rewarded, and that is what keeps a band's name in the public eye long after its demise. I'm not so sure that SG has that kind of staying power in popular culture and industry terms. I think that for the next 5 years or so, and that may even be optimistic, that SG will be remembered. At some point, though, even nostalgic interest in the Seattle "scene" as it was perceived and propogandized, will wane. Some other "scene", or two, or three will take its place. How many people these days still talk about the Athens scene, or the Minneapolis scene? This is what I see happening further down the road. A new crop of bands will be rising to prominence, and as their influences are delved into, many of them will be listing SG, and looking wistfully toward the ceiling with their loving, nostalgic thoughts. The name will be there, in that way, just as so many good 80's bands pointed to the Stooges, Wire, Magazine, Big Star, etc. Only those fans of the new bands with a real interest in music or of their band's origins will delve into the wealth that was SG. They will be richly rewarded, if they are intelligent enough to appreciate what they find, and with them the SG torch might continue to burn. But I think it will be a small percentage of people. I could be wrong. It would be nice if I were. I guess time alone will tell. As for A-sides, it is about what I would have expected all along. I would not totally discount the possibility of B-sides emerging at some future date, though I doubt it would be anytime soon. And that possibility might in fact ride on how successful A-sides is. I plan to buy it. I'm sure a lot of us will. I'm sure some of us won't. But I think it's time to stop whining about it. If you don't want to shell out for it, don't. If you really did expect much more, then you have been wearing rose-colored glasses all along. Regardless of any of that, it is a selection of damn good songs, and one that any band or fan should be proud of. And don't ever discount the possibility that someone who was too young or broke or out of touch to buy the albums these are from the first time around won't be thrilled enough now upon hearing A-sides to pick up the back catalogue. It has happened to me with other bands. Hey, buy them for all your out-of-touch friends for Christmas. And another thing-- how many GH albums can you think of that have a song like Ty Cobb on them?! Jen ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 09:22:49 -0500 From: MICHAEL APPLE Subject: GH, BHS, and Unplugged. Date sent: 25-SEP-1997 09:11:51 Hey, all, This "A-Sides" album has turned out no better than I expected. I want "Bleed Together", but I'm not sure if it's worth $15 for one song. Oh, well. We'll all have to wait until the Soundgarden Anthology comes out. :) People, please. Stop dissing Black Hole Sun. Just because it is Soundgarden's biggest hit song, and it was extremely overplayed, it doesn't make it a bad song. That song really jumped out at me, when I first got SU , way before it was released as a single. It's a good song. Soundgarden would be wonderful on Mtv Unplugged. How many people caught Alice In Chains' show? They had no problem playing songs like "Would?", "Angry Chair", and "Sludge Factory", songs that are traditionally designed to be played on noisy electrics. The transition to acoustic was beautiful (especially in the case of "Would?"), and I have no doubts that Soundgarden would be able to do the same thing. And solos aren't a problem on acoustics, especially if you use an Ibanez guitar (the strings bend really easily on them) and you tune the guitar down, like Soundgarden does most of the time anyway. Let's turn this into a thread: What Soundgarden songs do you think would sound best in an all acoustic show? My List: Black Hole Sun Burden In My Hand Outshined (I've tried this one. It works.) Room A Thousand Years Wide Incessant Mace Like Suicide Fluttergirl Uncovered Blow Up The Outside World Boot Camp Oh, and one last thing. Seth, don't worry about the apparent difficulties with the list right now. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that everyone is always complaining on mail lists and newsgroups. Usually, the problems are much less severe than people let on, so just give us some time . Things will turn back around, and I think you'll like it. :) Later, Mike Apple ******************************************************************************** ** edit ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 09:52:04 -0400 From: Matt Artis Subject: Re: Drums and SG I think that Head Down is one of the greatest drum songs that I've ever heard. This is one of the few songs (I guess JCP would be another one of them) where the whole mood of the song is set by the drums. Listen to the soft cymbal playing in the background, it almost puts you to sleep. Or the awesome off-beat stuff he does, the creativity of it blows my mind. To me this song is the best example of what Matt added to Soundgarden. ~Matt ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 11:02:47 -0400 From: Marsinay Smith Subject: just a thought... re: this whole greatest hits discussion.... first, let me just say that i'm not interested in buying 'A-Sides.' but i am really surprised to read that so many people are upset by the setlist on the album A&M are putting out, considering it is a *Greatest Hits* album.... what on earth else *would* you put on a greatest hits album, but a band's greatest hits/most popular songs? that setlist is true to its name, no...? i think, on the other hand, that if SG had put out an album called 'The Best of Soundgarden,' or 'A Soundgarden Anthology,' then you'd have a point. god knows *i'd* love to see an album like that, with a variety of different SG songs -- some popular hits, some b-sides, some live songs, some demos, some covers.... but that's not what this album is. it's an album of greatest hits. in that respect, it's right on target. -marsinay ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 23:40:34 +0800 From: sabrina Subject: A-sides on ATN From Addicted to Noise: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- News Flash: Soundgarden Greatest Hits LP Spans Career Includes previously unavailable song from 1996's Down on the Upside sessions. Photo by Jay Blakesberg. Five months after their break-up, Seattle's Soundgarden will release their first career-spanning greatest hits album, A-Sides (Nov. 4), which will also contain one previously unreleased song, "Bleed Together," from 1996's Down on the Upside sessions. The singles collection from the pioneering grunge/metal band, which broke up in April of this year, spans the group's singles from "Nothing To Say," taken off their debut 1987 Sub Pop EP Screaming Life, to "Blow Up The Outside World" from their final studio album, 1996's Down on the Upside. "Bleed Together" will be the first single from the 17-track collection. Also included are songs from their 1989 major-label debut on A&M Records, Louder Than Love ("Hands All Over," "Loud Love" and "Get on the Snake") as well as tracks from from 1991's Badmotorfinger ("Jesus Christ Pose," "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage"). "Rusty Cage" was later covered by country legend Johnny Cash on his 1996 album Unchained. The band's most fruitful period is represented by several songs from 1994's breakthrough album, Superunknown (including the mega-hit "Black Hole Sun," "Day I Tried to Live," "Spoonman" and "Fell On Black Days") and four tracks from Down on the Upside ("Pretty Noose," "Burden In My Hand," "Blow Up The Outside World" and "Ty Cobb"). Documenting the band's early years on SST records is the song "Flower" off 1988's Ultramega OK. Soundgarden were one of the first bands signed to the influential Sub Pop label, early home to Nirvana, Tad and Green River, as well as one of the original metal/punk hybrid acts from what would become the Seattle grunge scene of the late '80s and early '90s. Fronted by singer Chris Cornell and anchored by the aggressive guitar work of Kim Thayil, the group formed in 1984 with an original line-up that included bassist Hiro Yamamoto and singer Cornell on drums (soon replaced on drums by Scott Sundquist). After their debut EP on Sub Pop, 1987's searing Screaming Life, Soundgarden followed with another EP, 1988's Fopp, after which they became one of the first grunge bands to sign to a major label. Their over-the-top, '70s-rock-inspired sound garnered a Best Metal Performance Grammy in 1990 for Louder Than Love. New bassist Ben Shepard joined the clan for 1991's Badmotorfinger, the album that set the group up for their breakthrough, 1994's Superunknown. That album debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, bagged them two more Grammys and gave birth to their biggest hit to date, "Black Hole Sun," as well as the radio tracks "Spoonman" and "Fell On Black Days." Soundgarden surprised fans earlier this year by announcing their break-up. It came two months after an announcement the band would be taking the summer off from touring, the first time they'd done so since 1988, reportedly to work on new material, although rumors of a possible break had already begun to surface. The last date of their 1996/1997 tour, a Feb. 9, 1997 show at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, was their last live gig. Soundgarden's albums have sold more than 20 million copies. -- Gil Kaufman [Wed., Sept. 24, 1997, 3:30 p.m. PDT] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- basically nothing new, but I thought I'd post it anyway.... sabrina ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 13:04:13 -0500 From: Geoff Subject: A-sides I'm sitting here scratching my head trying to figure out why everybody is whining about the tracklist for the soundgarden greatest hits albums. What did everyone expect? A&M is out to make money. They are a business. That's what businesses do. They're not going to produce an album full of obscure songs and pray that people buy it. They are counting on the fact that people have heard one or two of the songs on the album and will buy it because of this. In case some of you are unaware, a greatest hits album is a compilation of songs rereleased in another format. For me, it doesn't matter what matter what songs they put on the album, because I own 95% of the songs SG has released in any form. I'm going to buy the album, if only to hear those songs in that order. (I'm not fortunate enough to own a cd-changer -- i'm the CD-changer). Anyway, I did find it ironic that the album is named A-sides after we heard ranting on the list for 2 months about how everyone hoped there would be B-sides. B-sides, B-sides, B-sides... We do know that A&M was watching the list... Geoff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 13:06:20 -0500 From: Geoff Subject: Re: how SG will be remembered/A-sides Excellent point!! Nobody can say Soundgarden doesn't do it with a certain style. Geoff Jenny Grover wrote: > And another thing-- how many GH albums can you think of that have a song > like Ty Cobb on them?! > > Jen ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 15:09:57 -0400 From: Rachel Potter Subject: digest can someone please forward me the somms digest for 9-24 through 9-25.... my mail box somehow deleted it thanks, Rachel ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 16:38:46 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: characteristic songs/influences Ruth Emsden wrote: > which songs do you think really characterise ben, chris, kim or matt's > style of songwriting? and which songs, written by one band member, do you > think have been heavily influenced by another member when they perform it? This question is harder than it looks. There are many elements to each member's writing style, and no one composition captures them all. Even generally speaking, each member has a soft side and a hard side. But I'll make my attempt at encapsulation here: Ben- Dusty Kim- Hands All Over Chris- Blow Up the Outside World Matt- Rhinosaur As for the influences part, we could sit here and dissect every song on every album. The effects each had on the compositions of the others is great and often obvious, examples being Kim's influence on Like Suicide, Matt's general running the show on JCP, and Ben's rescuing FOBD from the scrap heap. And I wouldn't discount the idea that when they wrote for SG they had an idea in the back of their minds, if only subconsciously, what the others might do with it, and slanted things in that direction. I'm sure they were well aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses, and their own, and that is an extremely important element in making any band a good band. Jen ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 16:59:17 -0400 From: "Freer, Nicole A." Subject: Re: characteristic songs/influences >Ruth Emsden wrote: >which songs do you think really characterise ben, chris, kim or matt's >style of songwriting? and which songs, written by one band member, do >you think have been heavily influenced by another member when they >perform it? well, i'll say something like this: ben- an unkind, head down, dusty kim- nothing to say, NTMF, kickstand matt- fresh tendrils, limo wreck, mailman chris- (hmm, this is hard) hands all over, let me drown, like suicide, butow i don't have much on the influences part, because i think every song written and performed must have changed a little bit when it was propsed to SG. look at like suicide and spoonman! = ) mind riot > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 15:46:12 PDT From: The Koggle Subject: My first SOMMS meeting! hellooo list folk! *big grin* it'd be a crappy morning if not for the events that happened last night (or should i say early early this morning.. hehe) i was sitting in a corner in a Brisbane club sobering up, when what do my eyes spy? the words "..with my good eye closed" in red letters on the back of a shirt... of a guy that was going out the front door..! arghhhh! i panicked.. would i look really stupid if i ran after this guy and it turned out to be a non related shirt?? and a mean ol guy?? hehe but i thought to hell with that, and ran up the stairs and out the front door and grabbed his arm and said "Where did you get that shirt from??".. it was the somms shirt.. w/ "somms@mit.edu" on the front of it and chris's fork and "Posting with my good eye closed" on the back (Incidentally, this may be the answer to all the list problems.. hehe OPEN YOUR GOOD EYE WHEN EMAILING, DAMMIT!!!) ehhe and he said the SG list and we like introduced ourselves to each other and it was Lee, who lives in Brisbane, QLD Australia.. (you might not recognise the name cos he's a lazy bugger who gets it by digest and doesn't know a thing about the greatest hits yet.. *snicker*) cooooooool shirt by the way.. i hadn't really seen it before and i want one too.. bahhh.. so i filled him in on some of the latest happenings ("Sunshower?") and he swears to post sometime soon (yeah right.. hehe) and then he went back into the club with me and we had a good ol mosh and a drink.. when i went home, i told him that i'd tell you all about it.. hehe because its related!!! he says i'm the 3rd sommster he's met and he told me all about the cool vinyls he had.. as well as somms.. *sniff* i was just green with envy.. "oh i only have DOTU on vinyl" "the clear one?" "*sigh* no, just black" .. but i now know some cooler places in brisbane to look for vinyls and stuff.. and ohh i know the super secret password too! he told me! he told me! *lips sealed* anyhow i won't clog your mailboxes with anymore of this crap.. hehe i had a really cool night and it was greattt to finally meet someone from the list.. Hail to SOMMS!! Hail to the SOMMS Shirt!!! my tip for all of you with shirts is to wear them in public as many times as possible and you'll get seen sooner or later.. and hey.. is there any chance that more shirts might be made? i think i remember someone saying that the last lot actually WERE the last lot.. anyway, it was a really good experience and it was nice to meet you, Lee :) later all.. - kogg - ps. i had the worst chances of meeting him because he goes to the particular club maybe once every two years.. and because he was wearing a shirt over the t-shirt for most of the night.. the ghost of soundgarden was watching over their sommsters.. hehe ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 17:50:18 -0500 From: Richard E Horner Subject: Re: GH, BHS, and Unplugged. About SG unplugged: You can hit the notes and bend and all that other shit on an acoustic guitar but the SOUND wouldn't work for a lot of Soundgarden solos. Alice In Chains is completely different than Soundgarden. Jerry Cantrel kicks ass but he doesn't do many speed solos besides Grind. Jerry is an very inventive soloer and thats cool. Its just that Kim could never play the solos to Black Hole Sun, Like Suicide, Beyond the Wheel, Tighter and Tighter, or Superunknown (just to name a few) on acoustic and have them resemble what they were meant to be. So like I said you'd have to cut them out like Chris did for Like Suicide acoustic. I don't the idea of cutting out solos. But then again I'm one of those guys who can sit through an entire guitar album that has no lyrics. But anyway, a lot of techniques you use when soloing fast on an electric don't produce any sound on an acoustic, like four quick, successive, pull-offs on a non open string just doesn't produce any sound. I don't think Jerry plays like Kim at all, just 'cuz they're from the Seattle scene doesn't really mean anything, Seattle also put out Collective Soul and Queensryche who aren't like Soundgarden, Alice In Chains or Nirvanva (I don't play like any bands that are from St. Louis). Rich "Dying on your feet for Honest Abe" Soundgarden, Metallica, and Megadeth, Injustice for All http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stage/4984 .' `. .'/ __ ___ ______ _ _ _ __ \`. .'/ \/ || _||_ _/ /|| | | | | | / \ | `\. ' / /\/| || |_ | | / || | | | | |/ /\_\| |\\` / / | || _| | | /_||| | | | | || _ | _ \ / / | || |_ | | / || |_ | |_ | |\ \/ /| | \ \ / / | ||___| |_|/_/|_||___||___||_| \__/ | | \ \ / / |/ \| \ \ /.' `.\ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 00:15:30 +0200 From: Nacho Priego Subject: Re: how SG will be remembered My point is that they will be remembered, and i'll tell you something about how i knew SG and other things, so you can understand it. As many, i was very interested in Nirvana. I liked their depressing music, their style, and i was very shocked when Cobain dead. So i wanted something new, i wanted to learn more from the Seattle scene. I heard about Pearl Jam, but that wasn't what i was looking for. And then, i knew SU and SG. It sounds different. It's not Nirvana, has nothing to do with it, but it has something that have influenced many bands. As somebody said, they were the first ones using that odd timings, that i love, and makes their music that hard to understand at the first time. I bought every CD of SG and i liked all of them, and i realized other thing. Although there's something that makes their style (complex melodies, timings, intense poliphony), they sound always different: The dark sound on Ultramega, the ??? Louder, the melodic Badmotorfinger, the variety in SuperUnknown and that mixture of pop, rock and hard rock if DOTU (amongst masterpieces as Applebite and Boot Camp). You know, you can listen to many Beatles' songs, they have an style but sound all different. The same goes to SG. But here's the point of the post: Apart from the things i wrote before, they were a decisive band in Seattle sound's history. They were very SubPop related, and Sub Pop was very, very important in that movement. And every hard rock band that appear now, may be influenced by Seattle sound, and, of course of SG. I can recognize SG 'innovations' on many of the modern bands. If you don't believe me, play your Screaming Life. Listen to Hunted Down intro. And now, tell me how many bands sounds like that (i found >10). And all of them were AFTER SG. What I mean is that when somebody, in the 2020, study the 90 sound, they'll refer to Seattle, and that means SG. Hope made sense. Nacho Priego - Alive in the SpanishUnknown ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 00:37:49 +0200 From: Nacho Priego Subject: Re: soundgarden unplugged...coming soon On Wed, 24 Sep 1997, Maria Joseph wrote: > them, look for it, but Chris says basically : We would never to an unplugged > show because we have nothing to unplug.. or something like that.. ok, ok, > let's not start a huge discussion about this.. we've got Seasons, Like > Suicide.. Mind Riot could work, BUTOW, BHS, etc... but it would be kewl if it > happened (I guess I couldn't resist saying my opinion, huh?) I'll look this > statement up.. I have copies of stuff like this.. > > -Maria > I thought that Nirvana wouldn't fit on an Unplugged Session... Here is my list of what they could play: Flower Uncovered Mind Riot Outshined Black Hole sun Like Suicide Fell on Black Days Blow up the outside world Boot Camp .... and Applebite! And maybe Nazi Driver, a light version (not meaning softer, you can do powerful music with an acoustic guitar) Nacho Priego - Alive in the SpanishUnknown ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 18:58:06 -0500 From: William Flanders Subject: Re: how SG will be remembered --> At 12:15 AM 9/26/97 +0200, Nacho Priego wrote: Hmm, what does "nacho" mean in Spanish? Is that a nickname? >My point is that they will be remembered, and i'll tell you something >about how i knew SG and other things, so you can understand it. > > As many, i was very interested in Nirvana. I liked their depressing >music, their style, and i was very shocked when Cobain dead. So i wanted >something new, i wanted to learn more from the Seattle scene. I heard >about Pearl Jam, but that wasn't what i was looking for. And then, i knew >SU and SG. > > It sounds different. It's not Nirvana, has nothing to do with it, but it >has something that have influenced many bands. It's interesting that you mention Nirvana, because they are possibly the grandfathers of 90s rock. (What about Mudhoney?! you say. Screw that, raw style without rare talent would never be enough to spread Seattle to the nation.) But 90s rock would be incomplete if it were only inspired by such simple music as that made by Nirvana. Soundgarden is the Mozart of alternative music, providing it with innovative complexities. Hopefully this will be noted... >As somebody said, they were >the first ones using that odd timings, that i love, and makes their music >that hard to understand at the first time. I bought every CD of SG and i >liked all of them, and i realized other thing. Although there's something >that makes their style (complex melodies, timings, intense poliphony), Since I don't play an instrument, I don't have a lot of experience with timing. But every time I listen to a Soundgarden song it takes me a while to get used to where Chris decides to begin syllables. But after I hear it a few times, I realize what a powerful effect these delays have. This is another thing sorely missing in Nirvana songs. You can pretty much hum one of their songs after hearing a single verse. To me these deviations from what is expected are what make Soundgarden so powerful. >they sound always different: The dark sound on Ultramega, the ??? Louder, >the melodic Badmotorfinger, the variety in SuperUnknown and that mixture >of pop, rock and hard rock if DOTU (amongst masterpieces as Applebite and >Boot Camp). You know, you can listen to many Beatles' songs, they have an >style but sound all different. The same goes to SG. And what's really cool about Soundgarden is that they didn't write many, IMO, totally annoying and embarassing songs like "I wanna hold your hand" ,"8 days a week", "A Hard Day's Night" , and "Yellow Submarine" yet still had an awesome variety. Bill ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 20:05:33 -0400 From: Nadezhda Ball Subject: Things could be turning back around Hola SOMMSters near and far, far and wide, wide and thin, thin and all th= at jazz... number one) I want to congradulate everyone for being civil, for all I ca= n see, for the past few days, and i do mean few......... number two)I know y'all probably have seen this......but, for those that didn't.......here's some love........ From that silly official website dealie, rocktropolis and all: "There is a bit of irony over that, because we certainly weren=92t a Top=20 Forty band," says unofficial band historian Thayil. "But it=92s good to=20 compile all these singles together because there are fans who are into=20 that, and in a way, it offers some closure for the fans, in regard to=20 the band=92s splitting and everything."=20 ~~~~~~~~~ and......=20 ~~~~~~~~~ "The advantage of a compilation like this is that someone can be driving=20 in their car and can hear the most popular songs in sequence, without=20 having to rummage through a half-dozen CDs," says Thayil. "It=92s a good,= =20 quick reference for the fans who want to have these songs all in one=20 place."=20 ~~~~~~~~~ Oh fuck it, the rest is just dear old Kim talking about it, I might as we= ll post the whole damn thing..... ~~~~~~~~~ As one might expect, compiling the songs for A-Sides was a little like=20 taking the proverbial trip down memory lane for Thayil. "Certainly, I=20 remember =91Nothing To Say,=92 which was the very first Soundgarden recor= d=20 for Sub Pop. That was a big deal, when that came out, to see our songs=20 on blue vinyl=97it was originally released on blue vinyl, the =91Hunted=20 Down=92/=92Nothing To Say=92 single. And then, of course, =91Flower=92 wa= s our=20 first voyage into video-dom. There are definitely milestones in there.=20 And the stuff from Louder Than Love...there=92s material here from three=20 successive records on Sub Pop, SST, and A&M, and they=92re each a rite of= =20 passage in their own way.=20 "Specifically, I remember playing those songs live quite a bit, and I=20 remember the experiences of making videos for most of the songs, "=20 continues Thayil. "We weren=92t a band that was the most comfortable with= =20 making videos, being that we considered ourselves songwriters and=20 musicians before we considered ourselves actors or entertainers. But I=20 guess this represents our voyage into the world of entertainment, so=20 they=92re certainly memorable in that regard."=20 Thayil also admits to the difficulties of compiling and album such as=20 A-Sides for a band with such a long and rich catalog. "Unfortunately, we=20 had to leave a few songs off in order to include singles from our=20 independent days on Sub Pop and SST,=92 he says. "So by including those,=20 we had to skip a few later songs like =91My Wave=92 and =91Superunknown.=92= =20 Basically, I love all the albums individually, and all of them have=20 songs that are great and perhaps closer to my heart individually, and to=20 the other members of the band, than these singles. But these songs were=20 often the ones we thought were good representational vehicles for the=20 albums, and the record company often concurred. They weren=92t always the= =20 songs we listened to the most, or the songs we enjoyed playing the most,=20 but they were certainly songs that we did enjoy and that our fans=20 especially enjoyed."=20 Thayil would like to see a video collection emerge at some point as=20 well, featuring all the band=92s clips from "Flower" to "Blow Up The=20 Outside World," and he is also keen on compiling, for future release,=20 every B-side, live recording, alternate or demo mix, and non-album track=20 (original and covers) that Soundgarden ever recorded. For the hardcore=20 fan, A-Sides provides a taste of what may come in "Bleed Together,"=20 which has only previously appeared as the European B-side to "Burden In=20 My Hand." "=92Bleed Together=92 was a song we recorded for the Down On Th= e=20 Upside sessions, which didn=92t make it to the album because of time=20 considerations. So we decided we would save it for the future as a=20 single or a B- side," says Kim, adding in his deadpan style, "And it=92s = a=20 hard-driving punk rock song with a hooky vocal melody!"=20 Just as they did everything in their career, Soundgarden disbanded in=20 unconventional fashion, electing to go out at the peak of their creative=20 and commercial success. For Kim Thayil, the band=92s breakup last April i= s=20 still something that=92s too fresh for him to garner a sense of the band=92= s=20 place in rock history. "It probably needs a little more time. I=20 understand it in terms of numbers and chart positions, sales, record=20 reviews, influencing other bands...I can understand it in those terms,=20 but I think time will put in in a better perspective as well."=20 In these days of one-hit wonders and disposable music, it=92s virtually a= =20 given that Soundgarden=92s repertoire will stand the test of time. For=20 now, A-Sides is not just a chronology of Soundgarden=92s best- known and=20 best-loved songs, but a reminder and testament of a potent rock and roll=20 legacy.=20 ~~~~~~~~ Well, there ya go..... Now.... this part..... """Thayil would like to see a video collection emerge at some point as=20 well, featuring all the band=92s clips from "Flower" to "Blow Up The=20 Outside World," and he is also keen on compiling, for future release,=20 every B-side, live recording, alternate or demo mix, and non-album track=20 (original and covers) that Soundgarden ever recorded. """ Now are you happy kiddies? It looks as though one member, my big hariy ma= n!, is gonna help bring us the b-sides, so quit yer yappin! And looks as thou= gh he's gonna bring alive the video version, or something like that, ya know what I mean, scroll up damnit. Now who's idea was that, when we answered = that thread dealie about "would you by GH if it was colored vinyl, vid, or cd/tape?" Well buddy, you must be a lil on the psychic tip, or he's Kimmy himself. Well that's it for me. Take care, much luv, and all that jazz...= .... DeZHy "if thisd isn't makin sense,=20 it doesn't make it lies." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 20:09:19 -0400 From: rita Subject: from the OFFICIAL website.....wow. >>"The advantage of a compilation like this is that someone can be driving in their car and can hear the most popular songs in sequence, without having to rummage through a half-dozen CDs," says Thayil. "Its a good, quick reference for the fans who want to have these songs all in one place." << hmmm sounds to me like Kim is trying to justify the release of this obvious cash cow....sorry boys, but that "the fans will like it cuz all the songs will be in one place" crap doesn't cut it...you see, some years ago a handful of audio technological wizards perfected this concept where you actually can tape from a cd or record. really A&M, you shouldn't have gone to all this trouble for us, we've been compiling our own greatest hits for years....oh silly me! by making our own tapes you don't get any money....awwwwww poor multi-million dollar corporation! come on people, violins...sad faces...let's go. >>For the hardcore fan, A-Sides provides a taste of what may come in "Bleed Together," which has only previously appeared as the European B-side to "Burden In My Hand."<< um...wouldn't a "hardcore fan" have heard Bleed Together by now? They're really trying to sell this one b-side as some huge bonus for us, try again. Are we supposed to do back flips of joy that they included Bleed Together? If you ask me, that is one hell of a tease, and in my opinion, it isn't even close to being the best b-side. And I really can't imagine Kim saying half the stuff he said about A-sides with a straight face, if he truly believed half the bullshit he said, well...my heart just broke more than it did the day they broke up. I apologize if this came off a tad too cynical, but I'm bloody dissapointed. Not only did i never see a Greatest Hits in their future, I think the fact that its come so soon is rather...um...tactless i guess. And yes I hear you all now, well what did i expect from a Greatest Hits album? B-sides aren't greatest hits, well yeah, that's the thing, I never expected a Greatest Hits to begin with. If there were a compilation, I hoped that it would accomodate their die hard fans, in other words, an album of rarites and stuff. I don't blame the members of Soundgarden, and I shouldn't blame the record company, its their job to make money...I blame myself for still believing in heroes. damn it, that was dramatic :P ~rita p.s. if you people have no idea where I quoted all this stuff from, its from the official website...sorry I'm on the digest and have no way of knowing if this reached you all already. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 13:37:22 PDT From: Laura Pacifico Subject: Re: A-sides...what a drag > At 01:48 PM 9/24/97 -0700, you wrote: > >I don't equate b-sides with greatest hits. I was just wishing that the > > >record company would be nice and give the fans what they really want. I totally agree with this. Who will buy the CD? We, the fans! Do you Somm= sters really think that SG's gonna get new fans with the release of this = CD? I don't. Toni wrote: > The reason is: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ > They are not going to put out B-sides when only a small percentage of = the population will buy it. They will put out a greatest hits package = which might interest the marginal fan who will than buy it thus putting = money in A&M's pocket(plus Soundgarden's) Do you think there are lost of "marginal" fans? Really? I don't. Don't get me wrong, Toni, you know I love you. Laura The Southamerican Sommster ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 14:18:21 PDT From: Laura Pacifico Subject: Re: Beyond the wheel Matt wrote: > Hey everybody. Is the song Circle Of Power as underrated as I think = it > is? I have never heard anyone saying how cool it is or anything. I like it, it really rocks. I love to listen to it when I go bicycling = with my walkman. It has one of the few guitar solos that I like. > A lot > of other songs are underrated too. Such as: > > -665 > -Half > -Holy Water > -Never the Machine Forever Holy Water is one of the BMF songs that I like best. I've read some good = opinions about NtMF on this list (it's not bad, but it's not one of my = favorites either) I really DON'T like Half, and 665 it's kind of a mad thing. Laura The Southamerican Sommster ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 14:31:34 PDT From: Laura Pacifico Subject: SG concerts I want all of you who lived a SG concert experience, to tell me who is = it like, cause I have never had the possibility to see them. If you think this is quite repetitive for the list, email me your comment= s privately Laura The Southamerican Sommster ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 17:33:25 -0700 From: James Bartlett Subject: new shit there's some new shit on the official page. It says it has Kim's comments on a-sides. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 10:40:00 +1000 From: justin nicholls Subject: we steal that smile from your face... On Thu, 25 Sep 1997, Jenny Grover wrote: > Ben- Dusty > Kim- Hands All Over > Chris- Blow Up the Outside World > Matt- Rhinosaur not bad choices, jen. mine are a little different, though. ben - 'head down' kim - 'nothing to say' early chris - 'the day I tried to live' later chris - 'black hole sun' hiro - 'I awake' and matt - 'limo wreck'. I split chris' up because, frankly, his writing style really changed between _badmotorfinger_ and _superunknown_ imho. first it seems that he was very much influenced by kim's style, the riff being central to the song, and then he moved into a more vocal-oriented style, where the vocal melody was the heart of the show. weird that I would pick two songs from the same record to typify his different writing modes, but 'the day I tried to live' really has everything in it, so I had to make that my choice over stuff like 'outshined' or 'gun'. as other listers have said, it is difficult to pin down any one song as a writer's main squeeze. you could definitely make a list for all five guys, and then still not have encompassed even half the facets of their writing. that, in addition to how well those styles intermingled, was definitely one of the main allures of the band and their music. other stuff - the _a-sides_ record is not disappointing, acceptable for what it is, but no less hokey than we all expected. I'll probably buy it, if only to alllow my sg cd collection closure ;) the short blurb from kim on the official site is interesting, obviously the part about future video and b-side collections is close to all our hearts. I have total faith that kim will treat this project with the requisite care. perhaps the only real light at the end of the _a-side_ tunnel is the release of 'bleed together' as a single, since it might have a b-side all it's own. but then again, that b-side will probably be 'fell on black days', album version ;) to finish, there is this, stolen from addicted to noise. a small story about johnny cash's most recent show... "when I first heard this song, I said, 'there's no way I could sing a soundgarden song,'" said cash, introducing "rusty cage" to the invitation-only audience of 700. exactly. who else would fancy cash a soundgarden interpreter at first thought? It's precisely cash's willingness to challenge himself in such ways that keep his recent albums and performances fresh...but it was "rusty cage" that received the evening's best reception, and deservedly so. cash and his four-piece backing band cut into the song with verve and served it up to the crowd with lean muscularity. the band -- including "father of the drums," w.s. holland, who's played with cash for 38 years -- obviously enjoyed digging into the new material as much as cash did..." that's it from me. justin ----- in your real life, treat it like it's special in your real life, try to be more kind in your real life, think of those that love you in this real life, try to be less blind words by vernon reid ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 17:51:45 -0700 From: Dave Subject: unplugged and stuff Hmm what would I like to see unplugged...... one song from each album, Nuthin to say, Nazi Driver, Loud Love (reprise), Somwhere, Fell on Black Days, and Zero Chance. I think I left something out. But I can hear these songs unplugged. What do these things -->_ <--mean, when you do this, -->_Badmotorfinger_<-- with them? Ok as for the what song repesents a member of SG. Chris-Outshined, cos of the I got up feeling so down part. I dunno just seems like Chris. Kim-Room1000 years wide. Its got Kim written all over it :) Ben-Ty Cobb. I wonder why? Matt- Jesus Christ Pose, he plays an intrical part of that song and not just because he is the drummer. Well maybe these songs dont really represent those members of the band but every time I listen to these songs these are who I think of. I'm done now. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 20:01:56 -0500 From: William Flanders Subject: Re: from the OFFICIAL website.....wow. At 08:09 PM 9/25/97 -0400, rita wrote: >>>"The advantage of a compilation like this is that someone can be driving >in their car and can hear the most popular songs in sequence, without >having to rummage through a half-dozen CDs," says Thayil. "Its a good, >quick reference for the fans who want to have these songs all in one >place." << > >hmmm sounds to me like Kim is trying to justify the release of this >obvious cash cow....sorry boys, but that "the fans will like it cuz all >the songs will be in one place" crap doesn't cut it...you see, some years >ago a handful of audio technological wizards perfected this concept where >you actually can tape from a cd or record. really A&M, you shouldn't have >gone to all this trouble for us, we've been compiling our own greatest >hits for years....oh silly me! by making our own tapes you don't get any >money....awwwwww poor multi-million dollar corporation! come on people, >violins...sad faces...let's go. Tapes suck. What would make a greatest hits album NOT a cash cow? Releasing a bunch of never-before-heard Soundgarden songs? That's not a greatest hits album. >>>For the hardcore fan, A-Sides provides a taste of what may come in >"Bleed Together," which has only previously appeared as the European >B-side to "Burden In My Hand."<< > >um...wouldn't a "hardcore fan" have heard Bleed Together by now? They're >really trying to sell this one b-side as some huge bonus for us, try >again. Are we supposed to do back flips of joy that they included Bleed >Together? If you ask me, that is one hell of a tease, and in my opinion, >it isn't even close to being the best b-side. > >And I really can't imagine Kim saying half the stuff he said about A-sides >with a straight face, if he truly believed half the bullshit he said, >well...my heart just broke more than it did the day they broke up. Bear with him. He's not a fan. IMO, this album is not for dedicated fans, but for people who aren't really that interested in Soundgarden enough to acquire the taste for songs like Nazi Driver. It's just like how I bought a best hits Roy Orbison CD. I like some of his songs. But by no means would I buy all his music. He only has about 10 songs that I like enough to listen to. Likewise, some people are like that with Soundgarden, and there is nothing wrong with that. >I apologize if this came off a tad too cynical, but I'm bloody >dissapointed. Not only did i never see a Greatest Hits in their future, I >think the fact that its come so soon is rather...um...tactless i guess. >And yes I hear you all now, well what did i expect from a Greatest Hits >album? B-sides aren't greatest hits, well yeah, that's the thing, I never >expected a Greatest Hits to begin with. If there were a compilation, I >hoped that it would accomodate their die hard fans, in other words, an >album of rarites and stuff. There is one good reason that the greatest hits album is being released so soon after the band's demise: so people can get into them before they fade out completely. In other words, there is some maturing 25 year old out there who always liked what he (or she, etc) had heard of Soundgarden, but never bought a CD. Is he going to go out and buy every CD? No, that's too risky. So he'll buy the GH CD and figure out that Soundgarden had a lot of great songs that he never encountered on MTV. And he just might go out and get into some of the older material. And before you know it, he's wearing a "Posting with my good eyes closed" shirt! Bill ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 21:06:28 -0400 From: Nadezhda Ball Subject: Re: from the OFFICIAL website.....wow. In a message dated 97-09-25 20:13:47 EDT, you write: << um...wouldn't a "hardcore fan" have heard Bleed Together by now? They're really trying to sell this one b-side as some huge bonus for us, try again. Are we supposed to do back flips of joy that they included Bleed Together? If you ask me, that is one hell of a tease, and in my opinion, it isn't even close to being the best b-side. >> Rita, I usually agree with you on things, but this, I have to disagree with you on this one. Oh I kinda disagree with the post.....Okay back to what I was saying, I know that some people have brought this up, but it's time again. I would really really like to know what a "hardcore fan" is, because this would apparently make me on the otherside of things, according to you, and a lot of other people on the list. Personally I have not heard Bleed Together, because I usually have no money to buy all the singles as well as vinyls and side projects and bootlegs, so I rarely look for them, and just stick to the cds, although I do have a small, very small collection of 'em. But does that make me any less of a fan? Maybe a less fortunate one. Sometimes I try to look hard for the things i don't have, even when I ain't gotz the money. I don't think anyone can judge a hardcore fan at all, well, lemme rephrase that, I don't think you can really "generalize" "hardcore fans." I feel that if you love the band enough, try to do what you can do, thirst for more, whether you can get it or not, but just be glad that you at least got something, and ain't in it just because one of SG is cute, but yet a group of rather talented musicians, and are moved and are taken with the music to a place that doesn't care what you got or how ya got there, but that yer there, then you my friend are a fan, an equal true bona fide fan follower type person. It don't matter. But if it does, then hey, I guess I'm one of those (as Ozzy would say) one of those eMpTyV children. Oh well, either I just wasted my breath or opened up a few minds, again and again. Hopefully the latter. This is why I feel this post is werthy. So......take care, much luv, and all that jazz........... DeZHy P.S. just remember, this post was for everyone, not just Rita, babe, I didn't mean to single you out, but I just did, so sorry. it's just something that needed to be taken care of. P.P.S. Oh about Kim, don't shoot the guy down. Yeah, it's kinda not something we all wanted to hear, but like you said, it could be sarcasm, of course we cannot read human voices and emotions over the screens of our computers, unless they're written So whatever, maybe he just feels this album is for people getting to know SG. In the rest of the article he goes on to say that he's gonna try working on a B-Sides compilation. So it seems as though the guy has gained back all his happy points. Okay enuf of me.......... P.P.P.S. this was not meant to be a flame, for those who took it like that, just trying to try out that express your opinions without belittling someone's emotions in front of everyone dealies. Did it werk? hmmm..... "if this isn't makin sense, it doesn't make it lies." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 21:16:42 -0400 From: Scott Hammer Subject: Re: soundgarden unplugged...coming soon I think Soundgarden could pull it off. I know that when I play a song meant for electric on accoustic I take it and warp it a bit...the whole solo thing ends up being written all over again. Sometimes it comes out better than before and sometimes it's just down right shitty, but I think with Kim's amazing creativity he could pull it off with one arm tied behind his back. It would be interesting to see how the boys would adapt a set of their music for accoustic... ~^v^OzzY^v^~ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 20:41:00 -0500 From: tonerkin Subject: The A team! At 01:37 PM 9/25/97 PDT, >Toni wrote: >> They are not going to put out B-sides when only a small percentage of the population will buy it. They will put out a greatest hits package which might interest the marginal fan who will than buy it thus putting money in A&M's pocket(plus Soundgarden's) >Laura wrote:>Do you think there are lots of "marginal" fans? Really? I don't. Yes, I do. They are the people who "LOVED" the Black Hole Sun video and liked Pretty Noose when they heard it on the radio but never actually bought a Soundgarden CD. They will buy the greatest hits package. Like Bill in his post mentioned. Sometimes you like a band somewhat but never enough to shell out $14 every time one of their CD's come out! For some people it is a matter of money. You have to pick and choose what groups you are going to spend the cash on. If you never bought a Soundgarden CD....this is the one for you. And for all the rest of us Soundgarden freaks who HAVE to own it all!!!......... even you lovely Rita :) toni ------------------------------ End of SOMMS Digest - 25 Sep 1997 to 26 Sep 1997 ************************************************