GRUNGE
Pearl Jam: Twenty is a Cameron Crowe documentary that highlights the first 20 years of the Seattle rock legends' career, from their small-town beginnings to their 90's mainstream explosion. The documentary, which hits stores tomorrow will include a companion book, highlighting the history of Pearl Jam from the band and crew themselves.
In addition to the film and book, the band is releasing a 29-track soundtrack CD featuring rare recordings and demos, in addition to live recordings from the group's appearances on Saturday Night Live and MTV: Unplugged.
A friend once burned me a CD entitled “Green Eyed Fighting Peppers.” It was a mix of Green Day, Third Eye Blind, The Foo Fighters and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I’d say throw some Goo Goo Dolls in there and you’ve got one of the best alternative playlists I’ve ever cruised to.
I was never a big fan of the Foo Fighters, not because I didn’t like them, but I had never listened to them much. Sure, I had played Rockband before and so I was familiar with “Learn to Fly.” However, it wasn’t until that CD that I first peered into the Foo Fighters, and my god, it was one hell of a journey.
He started me off with some of the more popular songs like “Times like These,” “My Hero,” “The Best of You,” and “Everlong.” And yet, he exposed me to their second album, The Colour and the Shape, which was hosting “Walking After You”. To this day, “Walking After You” is still one of my favorite songs to doze of too.
Its been 5 years since The Foo Fighters last album so there were many skeptics out there. However, after taking forty minutes to listen I can only imagine people are blown away by what the Foo Fighters have produced.
The first track, “Bridge is Burning,” catapults you into the Foo Fighters rocking world. It starts off with some mean guitar and hits you with the first, ironic lyrics of the album, “These are my famous last words!” Sure, there’s a bit of screaming, but when the chorus comes around Dave Grohl harmonizes better than anyone.
“Rope,” the second track in the album starts off way more relaxed, however the chorus once again, blows my mind. Not only are the lyrics an intense play on suicide, but Grohl is nothing short of fantastic. I find myself only able to dance back and forth as the upbeat vibe of "Rope" strangely complements springs sunshine quite well; and trust me, I'm a great dancer.
Give me some rope I'm coming loose, I'm hanging on you
Give me some rope I'm coming loose, I'm pulling for you now
Give me some rope I'm coming, out of my head, into the clear
When you go I come loose
The third track “Rosemary,” is catchy yet it makes you wonder what goes on in the heads of these talented musicians. Rosemary, if you ask me, sounds like a bittersweet bitch.
You got away got away got away from me
Now get away get away get away from me
I found the fourth track, “White Limo,” to be kind of strange. The vocals consisted of screaming, yet there was a strange distortion to them; as if they were hushed. In a strange way it reminds me of the Beastie Boys, “Sabotage.” This is definitely a song I could rip it up in the gym to. This would also make for one hell of a guitar hero experience.
The fifth track “Arlandria,” brings Dave back to life.
In an epic band regrouping comparable to that of the post-Joliet Blues Brothers' “mission from Gawd,” grunge-rock fans are furiously typo-tweeting and updating their dismally life-affirming Facebook profiles with the news that genre-defining angst-therapy band Soundgarden will be officially reuniting in 2010. Word came as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve via lead singer Chris Cornell’s Twitter feed that, “The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!” He then provided a link to the new official band website where fans can keep updated on all upcoming news and sign up for email updates.
Adorned with a cover photo of Kurt Cobain, the newly released Grunge photo book chronicles the pivotal scene that dominated the music in the Pacific Northwest during the late eighties and early nineties. The photos, comprised from Sub Pop photographer Michael Lavine’s personal collection, provide an unabridged look at the bands that dominated the pivotal scene in American music as well as a look at the group of young fans disenfranchised by an over-commercialized music scene. Lavine contributed to the alternative Sub Pop aesthetic by providing the album art photos for Nirvana, Mudhoney, Dwarves, Screaming Trees, and others.
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