Saturday, October 27, 2012

Song #285 of 9999 - Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden

Song #285 of 9999 

Title: Black Hole Sun
Artist: Soundgarden
Year: 1994
Album: Superunknown



I have to be somewhere so I'm only allowing myself twenty minutes to write this. Therefore, it will be sketchy and probably won't say anything interesting. But at least you get to hear a good song.

I never thought Soundgarden would amount to anything I would really want to listen to. I understand the appeal of their early records but it just wasn't for me. A song like "Jesus Christ Pose," which personifies early Soundgarden for me, is just a little too pretentious for me in my post-Rush years. And Chris Cornell's voice is a little too....well, again I'm living my post-Rush years. Cool riff, but not for me, at least in terms of repeated listening.

Then suddenly, they showed up with a controlled singer (with a GREAT reedy baritone) and a song with chord progressions that could have come from The Beatles songbook. "Black Hole Sun" is a dramatic departure which may have resulted in the loss of many from their fan base if they weren't simultaneously churning out mediocre pat like "Spoonman." But they continued to evolve and 1996's Down on the Upside was another huge step forward in terms of their crossover success. Unfortunately, not everyone went along for Cornell's ride and the band dissolved shortly thereafter. Frankly, I think it was worth it for this song alone.

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