If you’re like us, you basically denounce your youth and try and forget you saw bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden about 4-5 times each in their heyday.*
Grunge hasn’t aged well and its culture of complaint moaning has arguably never left (hello Nickelback, Creed, etc.), but damn if the “Singles” soundtrack, curated by the film’s director and romantic mixtape enthusiast Cameron Crowe, isn’t holding up rather fine.
We essentially loathe the Smashing Pumpkins (arguably not grunge), but their song “Drown,” is a gorgeous soundscape that rests among their 10 best all-time songs (there’s about 11 tolerable SP songs, btw).
Chris Cornell? We try and renounce his entire existence. If there’s ever a musician that went from pretty respectable to completely loathsome cheeseball, Cornell is at the top of the list. But what if his solo career would have stayed on the trajectory of “Seasons,” a folky, open-chorded Zeppelinesque number which still holds up.
Similarly, Pearl Jam were at the top of their game here. Perhaps we’re in the norm, but this band puts us to fucking sleep. They’re Bruce Springsteen and the Grateful Dead wrapped in a modern, flannel jacket covered in old meatloaf and gravy, but the rocker “State of Love and Trust” is one of the few songs we don’t mind revisiting.
Again, Alice In Chains: we admit to seeing them more times than we want to remember and almost none of their material holds up, (arguably the Creed-Nickelback grunge hangover owes more to AIC, than any other so-called Seattle band), but anytime “Would?” pumps out the speakers we can reminiscence about being in mosh pits and not feel completely embarrassed.
Touch Them They’re Dick
Paul Westerberg’s happy-go-lucky songs are also a nice break from the distorted guitars and throaty whining. Hell, even the Heart (hey, it’s essentially Heart), Led Zeppelin cover is great. No matter what you think of this era (grossly overrated) and the movie (grossly overrated and mildly entertaining), the Singles soundtrack is one mixtape-as-movie that Cameron Crowe need not be embarrassed about (for that see “Vanilla Sky” — great musical choices that are incorporated with random gratuity throughout). Oh and who can forget Citizen Dick (Matt Dillion’s fictional backing band that featured PJ’s Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament)?
*Duly Noted: The second time I saw Pearl Jam in ’92 I wore a (wait for it…) Mother Love Bone T-shirt to the show I suppose to prove like I was in the know or something (ok, the funny-hat wearing bassplayer did point and smile). A guy who was practically twice my age asked me where I bought the shirt and I casually lied on the spot telling him that I was friends with “Stone and Jeff” and they had given the shirt to me as gift (while my friends quickly turned away trying not to laugh and blow my aspersion). He offered me $100 on the spot for it and I was about 18 years old and would have loved the cash, but it was the only thing I was wearing and didn’t want to freeze on the way home. True (awesome) story. Your life is now better for having read this.
Download: Paul Westerberg – “Dyslexic Heart”
Download: Chris Cornell – “Seasons”
Download: Alice In Chains – “Would?”
Download: Smashing Pumpkins – “Drown”
Download: Pearl Jam – “State Of Love and Trust”