I was talking to a friend today and the subject of Soundgarden came up and I mentioned these two EPs "Screaming Life" and "Fopp" and he had heard neither. So, I thought this post was necessary.
People who recognize how great this band are, are usually stuck in the "Superunknown" or "Badmotorfinger" crap, which is ok, but that stuff is fairly useless. Moments here and there, but overall a snooze fest. The REAL Soundgarden exists only on "Louder Than Love" and earlier. These two EPs are from '87 and '88 respectively, and this compilation of both EPs on CD came out in 1990.
Think Soundgarden aren't cool, are posers? Perhaps too weak, too poppy, too commercial? Listen to this, you can hear the influence of Melvins, Minor Threat as well as some serious doom moments and Chris Cornell can scream like no one else. So get a brain and check this out.
Hey, I love the Screaming Life and Fopp EPs and other early Soundgarden material as I revere pretty much all their material, but to dismiss Badmotorfinger and Superunknown as "fairly useless" and "crap" is like loving Picasso for "Les Demoiselles D'Avignon" while eschewing "Guernica".
ReplyDeleteThe former is a more primal expression of an artist in the relative infancy of an exploration, naked and raw in the development of a vocabulary and identity. The latter represents the form shaped, honed and distilled to its ultimate expression, with an emotional, lyric, melodic and rythmic depth and complexity that is simply breathtaking.
I agree, I was just being silly. I really dont believe they are useless works.
ReplyDeletewow your blog is so commercial, trendy and indie!
ReplyDeleteWhile I disagree with you about Ultramega and Badmotorfinger, Screaming Life/Fopp is a fantastic collection and another example of Soundgarden greatness.
ReplyDeleteWell, to be completely chaste with this blogger, I think exactly the same, they've a good lyric, and "Screaming Life" is the best production in this kind of genre, specially if we're talking about Soundgarden , most of the people knows about Soundgarden and the movement with the best rock. 23jj
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