Medialoper

Certain Songs #2398: The Soundtrack of Our Lives – “Heading For A Breakdown”

July 13, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Origin, Vol 1.
Year: 2004

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As was the fashion of the times, it was three years after Behind The Music before the The Soundtrack of Our Lives released their next album, 2004’s Origin Vol 1. And, of course, it wasn’t released here in the U.S. until 2005.

And while I didn’t like Origin Vol. 1 quite as much as Behind The Music, there were still some terrific songs on it, like the raging “Transcendental Suicide,” the wistful “Across The Borderline,” and today’s entry, the rollicking “Heading For A Breakdown.”

Certain Songs #2397: The Soundtrack of Our Lives – “Mind The Gap”

July 12, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Behind The Music
Year: 2001

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What little notoriety The Soundtrack of Our Lives got here in the States came during that weird “rock and roll revival” period at the turn of the century where bands like The Strokes, The White Stripes, Jet, The Vines and The Hives all made small inroads on the radio or even the charts.

This was also the last time I can remember non-American rock bands making any kind of significant inroads here, as Jet and The Vines were from Australia and the Hives were from Sweden. As were The Soundtrack of Our Lives, though you really couldn’t tell that from anything but the names of the members.

Certain Songs #2396: The Soundtrack of Our Lives – “Sister Surround”

July 11, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Behind The Music
Year: 2001

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One of my favorite bands of the 21st century that nobody has heard of, The Soundtrack of Our Lives were formed in Sweden in 1995 with the admirable goal of trying to play every single form of rock ‘n’ roll in every single song, which is only a slight exaggeration. The resultant stew could have been a mess — and it sometimes was — but at their best, they made a big psychedelic noise that reminded me of a less cynical, more joyful Oasis.

Certain Songs #2395: Soundgarden – “A Thousand Days Ago”

July 1, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: King Animal
Year: 2012

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I remember being kind of sad and surprised when Soundgarden broke up in 1997. With the exception of Pearl Jam, they seemed to be the Seattle band with the fewest amount of internal problems: solid lineup, no overt drug issues, still making great music.

But bands are delicate balancing acts in the best of times, and at some point Soundgarden got unbalanced enough that — after a disastrous final straw gig in Honolulu — they broke up in April, 1997, each member going in a different direction. Chris Cornell started a solo career as well as teamed up with the Rage Against the Machine guys to form Audioslave, which I liked way more on paper than in actuality; Ben Shepherd & Kim Thayil did studio work for various people and Matt Cameron became Pearl Jam’s first drummer to not die of spontaneous combustion, bizarre gardening accidents or choking on someone else’s vomit.

Certain Songs #2394: Soundgarden – “No Attention”

June 30, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Down on the Upside
Year: 1996

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A terrific deep cut up on the backside of Down on the Upside, “No Attention” wasn’t a single or anything like that, but it showed again that Soundgarden could take their hard rock roots, shuffle them around a bit, and come up with something cool and new while still acknowledging those roots full force.

So, if “Outshined” reminded me of Black Sabbath, “Head Down” The Beatles and “My Wave,” Led Zeppelin, then “No Attention” is a pure Aerosmith homage. It easily could have fit just fine on either Toys in the Attic or Rocks. So not just Aerosmith, but fucking great Aerosmith.

Certain Songs #2393: Soundgarden – “Burden in My Hand”

June 29, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Down on the Upside
Year: 1996

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But my favorite song on Down on the Upside was Chris Cornell’s dynamic “Burden in My Hand.” And in fact, except for “Superunknown” and “Head Down,” it’s my favorite Soundgarden song, period.

“Burden in My Hand” starts with just Chris Cornell singing over a couple of guitars, one of which I swear to god is a piano, except nowhere in the credits is there any mention of a piano, so I guess it has something to do with the jauntiness of the guitars, even without any real drums.

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

June 28, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Down on the Upside
Year: 1996

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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.

Certain Songs #2391: Soundgarden – “Ty Cobb”

June 27, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Down on the Upside
Year: 1996

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The fifth and final studio album of the initial phase of Soundgarden’s career, Down on the Upside, came out in the spring of 1996, and it’s one of those records that I associate with a specific place and time in my life. In this case, it was the transition from Art & Science, the first web digital agency I ever worked for, to the much larger and more stable Organic, where my first assignment was to build out a special 1996 Olympics website for a little shoe company in Portland called Nike.

Certain Songs #2390: Soundgarden – “Kickstand”

June 26, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Superunknown
Year: 1994

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The first song tracked for Superunknown was one of the shortest songs that Soundgarden ever recorded, coming in at just 1:34, a reflection on one of their other great influences – the Ramones. That said, I’m not sure that — leather jacket iconography aside — any of the Ramones were mountain bike riders, especially since they were so associated with New York City.

Certain Songs #2389: Soundgarden – “Spoonman”

June 23, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Superunknown
Year: 1994

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The first single from Superunknown, “Spoonman” was probably an indication that things were going to be slightly different on their new album: it was a supercharged slab of heavy-ass funk, full of stops and starts and asides. It also had kind of a weird origin story, as inside Seattle as you could possibly imagine.