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Certain Songs #2392: Soundgarden – “Blow Up The Outside World”

June 28, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Down on the Upside
Year: 1996

. . .

OK, so Soundgarden didn’t fully abandon psychedelia or big pop hooks for Down on The Upside, as was evidenced by the album’s centerpiece, the suitably massive “Blow Up The Outside World,” which had both in in spades.

Another master class in how to balance quiet verses with loud choruses, “Blow Up The Outside World” starts off with a mid-tempo Matt Cameron beat, relatively quiet guitars from Chris Cornell & Kim Thayil, and Cornell in his crooning mode, singing about fending off the slings and arrows of life.

Nothing seems to kill me
No matter how hard I try
Nothing is closing my eyes
Nothing can beat me down for your pain or delight
No

And nothing seems to break me
No matter how far I fall
Nothing can break me at all
Not one for giving up though not invincible
I know

And then, out of nowhere, the guitars get cranked to 42, Cameron starts hammering his snare with the guitars, and Cornell goes into his screamer mode.

I’ve given everything I need
I’d give you everything I own
I’d give in if it could at least be ours alone
I’ve given everything I could
To blow it to hell and gone
Burrow down in and
Blow up the outside
Blow up the outside
Blow up the outside world

After the second chorus, Kim Thayil takes a long, almost disjointed solo panned way over to the side, and after one final chorus, it’s up to Chris Cornell to take us home by chanting “blow up the outside” approximately 4,867 times while the guitars are trying to do just that.

It’s one of those outros that sticks with you, because who hasn’t wanted to blow up the outside world at least once?

Like all of the singles from Down on the Upside — except for that hard-headed fuck you all, “Ty Cobb,” — “Blow Up The Outside World” did very well on both the mainstream and alternative rock radio formats, topping the former and making it to #8 on the latter.

“Blow Up The Outside World”

“Blow Up The Outside World”

“Blow Up The Outside World” live on MTV 1996

“Blow Up The Outside World” live 2010

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Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Blow Up The Outside World, Down on the Upside, Soundgarden

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Previously on Medialoper

  • Certain Songs #2422: Spiritualized – “Walkin’ With Jesus (Royal Albert Hall Oct 10, 1997)”
  • Certain Songs #2421: Spiritualized – “Medication (Royal Albert Hall, Oct 10, 1997)”
  • Certain Songs #2420: Spiritualized – “Electric Mainline (Royal Albert Hall, Oct 10, 1997)”
  • Certain Songs #2419: Spiritualized – “Electricity”
  • Certain Songs #2418: Spiritualized – “I Think I’m In Love”

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