Soundgarden Reunion: Finally, Something To Look Forward To
Some of us were crushed when Soundgarden split up. The band had recently had a string of hits, a phenomenon that generally directly precedes the demise of all great bands, especially hardcore grunge bands. In 1996, Metallica refused to play Lollapalooza unless Soundgarden also played. This further validation of their popularity was the final death knell for one of the original great grunge acts, who split in 1997 after a tension-filled world tour. Bandmates focused most of their anger on singer Chris Cornell, who brought his own Yoko into the picture after he put a wedding ring on the finger of Alice In Chains manager Susan Silver. Some claim that members of Soundgarden asked Silver to take over managing duties. Most call her “Yoko”, which is never a good thing.
BUT THE GREAT NEWS IS…
A Soundgarden reunion was announced by uber-hottie Cornell on New Year’s Day.
No "One Tree Hill" Soundtrack Nonsense Here.
Genius Guitarist Kim Thayil, Bassist Ben Shepherd, and Drummer Matt Cameron have been playing together recently, have been interviewed together, and seemed to get on just fine. There was only one thing missing from the equation that equals Soundgarden: the screaming vocals of one Chris Cornell. And the boys didn’t seem too anxious to see him again, with Thayil even saying, “I’d imagine [a reunion] could [happen], it’s perfectly within the realm of possibilities—everyone’s still alive. But I don’t see it happening”. That was in early 2009. The implication is that they didn’t feel the love for Cornell anymore.
I mean, he has changed. He’s married again, has 2 new kids, and lives in Paris. He recorded his last album with hip-hop producer Timbaland. The good thing about “Scream” is that it did show us that Chris hasn’t lost his formerly-signature vocal ability. The bad thing is…well, pretty much everything else. It was like someone put him on a short leash. Even the video for the single “Scream” makes it seem like he was dying to push further.
Some of us still crave “Pushing Forward Back”, not ‘restrained vocals with a backbeat suitable for “One Tree Hill”’. I mean, really. We don’t want “Part of Me”. We want “Big Dumb Sex”.
The band reunited onstage with Pearl Jam on October 6, 2009. During the encore, Temple of the Dog reunited for “Hunger Strike”, and, like magic, all four members of Soundgarden were collaborating.
After all, everyone has changed since 1997. Everyone cut their hair, married, had kids. Well, Kim Thayil still looks and acts exactly the same, continuing to rock out all over the Seattle area. He’s the exception that makes the rule, the walking time machine. But Ben Shepherd has a daughter and owns an upscale Seattle bar called “Hazelwood”. Matt Cameron is happily married and has 2 kids of his own. I mean, these guys are now in their 40s.
On the re-vamped SoundgardenWorld.com, the video on the homepage is vintage Soundgarden, a live performance of “Get On The Snake”, showing four guys needing haircuts and showers, banging their collective heads. They are bringing us back to the truly good days of Soundgarden, even before “Black Hole Sun” tore up the charts and marked the beginning of the end for a band that was best when only hardcore fans had any idea who they were.
There is a story that went with the release of “Superunknown”. It was said that the song “Like Suicide” was written by Cornell after a bird flew into his window. To end the severely-injured animal’s suffering, it is said that he hit it with a brick.
For Soundgarden’s fans, we have finally been hit with a similar brick, and our suffering will soon end. Now we just have to see if we still own flannel.