It’s only a matter of time before Dave Grohl gets his own Comedy Central sketch show. Or directs a hilarious buddy comedy. Or, you know, rules the world. Here he displays his directing skill — and great sense of humor — with the guys of Soundgarden, who play along with awesome deadpan seriousness. It’s the video for “By Crooked Steps,” another visceral rocker from the band’s triumphant return, King Animal. You will laugh, or at least grin, at 37 seconds. I think even Skrillex shows up, also with a wink, a little later. Enjoy.
Tag Archives: King Animal
Top 10 Reasons 2012 Rocked Like 1992
For those of us who discover new music in used vinyl bins rather than at the club or on the radio—KEXP, I really will tune in more often, and Jet City Stream, I love you when I do—all the year-end best-new-whatever lists go right over our heads. The pleading from hipper friends to listen to Alt-J and Head and the Heart (what, not new?), just reminders of how blissfully out of touch we are with today’s darlings.
That’s because yesterday’s are so much better. And if you’re still with me, this look back at 2012 rock by way of the early ’90s is for you. Here’s to another excellent year of grunge-era revival.
10. New and reissued Brad records
Known since 1992 as Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard’s side project, Brad has created its own spotlight in recent years. (Thanks in no small part to vocalist Shawn Smith’s beautiful delivery and various solo and collaborative efforts of his own.) April 2012’s United We Stand is one of their best releases, a collection of melodic, optimistic tunes consistent with their rock-lite sound. Razor & Tie, the label behind the latest record, also reissued Brad’s out-of-print Welcome to Discovery Park, originally released in 2002—the first step of a planned catalog reissue. A side project no more, the band will tour Europe in February.
9. Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder ditch electricity, get songs onscreen again.
In 1992, Cornell’s quieter-than-Soundgarden “Seasons” appeared on the Singles soundtrack and Pearl Jam performed a still-rousing MTV Unplugged. Twenty years of full-band backing must have had the frontmen eager to ditch the earplugs. Following acoustic solo album releases in 2011, they each embarked on one-man acoustic tours highlighting their crooning and plucking talents. (No shows for either in Seattle, though.) Both also lent solo songs to films in 2012. For Gerard Butler dud Machine Gun Preacher, Cornell performed (and received a Grammy nod for) “The Keeper,” while Vedder’s “Satellite” appeared in West of Memphis. The West Memphis 3-benefiting film opened on Christmas Day; the soundtrack drops January 15.
8. New Original Sonic Sound plays after decade-long hiatus.
What happens when the statesmen of Mudhoney and a couple of friends (Tom Price, Bill Henderson, and Young Fresh Fellows’ Scott McCaughey) get together and cover ’60s garage legends the Sonics? Fuzzy, red-hot rock that’s faithful to the original’s near-frantic pace and power—and screaming only Mark Arm and original Sonics vocalist Gerry Roslie have the pipes for. The guys came together, played several shows, and released a covers record in 2000, then went silent until December 2, 2012. That date saw them reunite at the Tractor Tavern and rip through four Sonics classics. Even better, Mudhoney and the Sonics share a Showbox bill on February 2.
7. Pearl Jam and Jay-Z recall Pearl Jam and Cypress Hill.
In 1993, some record label genius (seriously) thought to pair then-popular rock and hip hop acts for the soundtrack to the pretty cool (no, seriously) flick Judgment Night. The compilation record featured Pearl Jam jamming with Cypress Hill on “Real Thing,” possibly thanks to the acts meeting at the rock band’s “Drop in the Park” concert a year earlier. (Most daring/awesome mashup: Mudhoney and Sir Mix-A-Lot on “Freak Momma.”) Nearly two decades later, with Pearl Jam headlining Philadelphia’s Made In America fest, hip hop magnate Jay-Z led the band through a heavy rendition of his “99 Problems.” Long live rap rock. The good stuff, anyway.
6. Eddie Vedder, Radio DJ
Twice in the nineties (’95 and ’98, so sue me), Vedder hosted broadcasts of live music, songs off his favorite records, conversations with friends, and, of course, political musings. On December 5, he returned to the airwaves with a shorter, but similar program of special punk tunes and seemingly bemused, low-voiced commentary. While the first two shows were available to anyone with a radio, last year’s was on Sirius XM’s fan-fueling Pearl Jam Radio. Bet the audience was a good chunk of those earlier listeners, though. Vedder’s show was the launch of a series, so we’ll hear more from him (and his record collection) this year.
5. Mark Lanegan releases seventh solo record.
Former Screaming Trees frontman Lanegan has, since that band’s 2000 demise, collaborated with many (and varied) artists and released several of his own records. This year’s solo Blues Funeral was perhaps the best release of them all. Like Lanegan’s post-Trees catalog itself, it’s a unique offering that’s less guitar rock than trippy blues grab-bag. He croons over drum loops and atmospheric fuzz, jangly riffs and heavy percussion. The marriage of somber themes (“Harborview Hospital,” “The Gravedigger’s Song,” “Bleeding Muddy Water,” etc.), layers of static-laced instrumentation, and dance-floor beats adds up to one surprisingly addictive record. It’s Lanegan’s latest reminder that a well-established musician need not stay within genre, or even show himself—the guy rarely appears onstage in the US—to stay relevant.
4. Barrett Martin rocks again with new band, old songs.
You may be more familiar with Martin contemporaries Matt Cameron and Dave Grohl, but the Screaming Trees and Mad Season drummer’s talents shone just as bright in 2012. Martin, who nearly achieved a PhD in Musicology, traveled the world, released his own jazz records, and sessioned with a slew of artists since his former bands gained grunge fame, jumped back into rock with Walking Papers, a bluesy supergroup fronted by the Missionary Position’s Jefferson Angell. His global music education gives the band’s self-titled debut world music flavors that deftly complement his heavy percussion. Live, Martin pounded like no other—with a big, happy grin. And as he told this fortunate writer, he not only played a couple of Mad Season songs at Walking Papers shows, he also worked with guitarist Mike McCready on a 2013 reissue of that band’s work. He’s also Walking Papers’ social spokesman, posting eloquent Facebook updates on their tours and progress on a second album, planned for 2013.
3. Mudhoney finally takes the spotlight.
If any of Seattle’s grunge-era bands deserve the documentary treatment, it’s Mudhoney. They came before all the ones you think of as classics, and are still around after so many others have faded away. (January 1, 2013, in fact, marked 25 years.) They’ve survived personnel change, addiction, the major label rollercoaster—and the 2012 doc I’m Now relates the entire story. Brought to you by the team that made Tad: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears, the film will handily satisfy rock fans of all stripes, not just those who get a kick out wry, punk-loving frontman Mark Arm and his cohorts. It was a great year for those folks, though: a DVD of the band’s blissfully ignorant 1988 Berlin show was also released, and Mudhoney revealed that its eleventh studio record will hit this spring.
2. Storied Seattle rockers highlight 12.12.12: The Concert for Sandy Relief.
The highest-profile live music event of the year (decade?) included key players from our city’s grunge glory days—all who re-cemented their mythic status by bookending the Madison Square Garden-set spectacle. Early on, Eddie Vedder joined Roger Waters for a slow-burning performance of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.” Hours—and killer Stones and Who sets—later, Paul McCartney invited Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic (and Pat Smear) to the stage. The quartet basically reset the rock and roll universe with “Cut Me Some Slack,” an original, out-of-nowhere jam. Watch and get chills—again.
1. Soundgarden returns with King Animal.
Thanks to a slick, long-term PR/social media campaign, by the time Soundgarden’s King Animal dropped on November 12, the band’s studio return surprised no one. The same can’t be said for the mighty, majestic record itself. It’s solid from start to finish, 52 minutes of heavy-duty rock only this band could make. That’s the key: it sounds like Soundgarden—evolved. Big, loping tracks that draw from punk and metal and classic rock without a single derivative note. Chris Cornell’s golden voice deftly soars and dives. Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd power each song with near-ruthless rhythm. Kim Thayil shreds with unearthly skill and creativity. Maybe it’s just giddiness induced by the band’s resurrection, but there’s a real sense of healthy inspiration in Animal’s 13 songs. Soundgarden, again, sounds like a band with a future. Next chance to see that translated live (if you actually scored tickets): February 7 and 8, at the Paramount. Here’s betting that won’t be our last chance.
Picking the 12 Best Northwest Music Releases of 2012
So what rocked your socks off this year? For me, there was a lot.
I won’t bother with clucking on about how so many great releases sprang from regional musicians in 2012 that I almost gave up on even compiling a list (even though it’s true). And as far as some far-reaching, all-encompassing summary of the Year in Northwest Music, here goes: A lot of really good two-person bands popped up in town, an exceptional bumper crop of local hip-hop releases surfaced, and a fair amount of bands looked to the sounds of the past (be it way back in the era of the original Girl Groups of the 1950s and ’60’s, or the retro pulse of 1980s new wave) for inspiration, with sterling results.
Enclosed, please find the twelve Northwest releases I listened to the most in the 2012 calendar year–the ones that stirred me most, and to which I’ve continually returned to since their release(s). That means it’s also subjective, informed by what I like and what I’ve been exposed to (much as I heard this year, I didn’t get around to every significant recording by every musician in the Pacific Northwest, for Pete’s Sake). Listen, thank me later, and discuss.
12) Atomic Bride, Dead Air: If you’ve ever wondered what The Cramps and the B-52’s knife-fighting in an alley with Cheap Trick, Dick Dale, and Alice Cooper would sound like, you need to hear Dead Air. Hell, even if you’ve never pondered said scenario you need to hear Dead Air. It’s the best soundtrack for a nonexistent B-movie that I heard in 2012.
11) The Good Sin, The Story of Love X Hate: Not every hip-hop record needs to be stuffed with empty posturing or gaggles of production tricks. Sometimes, all you need is a smart and charismatic MC with a knack for storytelling, some phat beats, and melodies that won’t leave your head. Good Sin delivers refreshingly honest lyrics in a resonant baritone that’s one of the best hip-hop instruments in this town right now. He’s got enough radio-ready tunes to back that voice up, too.
10) Absolute Monarchs, 1: Most new bands plumbing the depths of post-punk music lean towards tweeness, dutifully trotting out jerky rhythms and spiky guitars with precious little substance. Here’s to the Monarchs, then, who turbocharge those elements with undisguised ferocity and jackhammer force. Between his blues-rock growl with My Goodness and his unhinged screaming here, you’d think there were two different Joel Schneiders singing in two great Seattle bands.
9) Tea Cozies, Bang Up EP: Bang Up opens with one of my favorite singles of the year, “Muchos Dracula,” a quintessential slice of Tea Cozies hard-candy buzz pop replete with roller-rink keyboards and stuttering rhythm guitar. The band also deviates from their signature sound to wonderful effect on this EP: the sweeping psychedelia of “Cosmic Osmo” and the anecdotal melancholy of “Silhouette in a Suitcase” work so famously, you can’t help but ache for a full-length release something fierce.
8) Eighteen Individual Eyes, Unnovae Nights: There’s not much more to say about EIE’s terrific debut that I didn’t say earlier this year–except maybe that Unnovae Nights‘ dark animal passion and jagged power remain undiminished after God knows how many listens.
The Young Evils, Foreign Spells EP: Yeah, there are only four songs. But they’re great pop songs with teeth to compliment the earworm hooks, and they serve as a clarion call for the awesomeness that’s sure to come.
6) Erik Blood, Touch Screens: Blood’s impressive production credits in recent years have obscured his gifts as a musician and songwriter. This dense, swirling concept album about vintage porn–equal parts shoegazer headiness, pulsing electronic danceability, and gothic throb–brings those gifts back into sharp focus.
5) Radiation City, Cool Nightmare EP: I was going to make this year’s list all-Seattle, but then this amazing Portland band forced my hand. Somehow, they toss together cushions of gorgeous harmonies, Beach Boys-style kitchen-sink symphonic bursts, new wave keyboards, bouncy bossanova, and dreamy psychedelia to create catchy, haunting, and utterly indelible songs. If this were a full-length release and not an EP, it’d probably be my favorite Northwest recording all year.
4) Hounds of the Wild Hunt, El Mago: The hooligans formerly known as the Whore Moans have delivered a great rock record, sung with take-it-or-leave-it snarl and delivered with ambition to match its fury. How does a punk band reach for the stars, yet not come off like a bunch of sell-out wimps? This is how.
3) Tomten, Yesterday’s Children: Tomten leader Brian Noyeswatkins may wear his influences (Village Green-era Kinks, The Zombies, Pulp) on his paisley-print sleeve, but his catchy pop songs and playfully surreal lyrics cast a spell all their own. End result: a record that glitters like Seattle on an unexpected Indian Summer day.
2) Soundgarden, King Animal: Bigger than life, loud as hell, and long overdue, Soundgarden’s newest obliterates the notion that only youngsters can pull off epic, irony-free, truly heavy rock.
1) THEESatisfaction, awE naturalE: Nine months after its initial release, awE naturalE continues to shake my booty, activate my brain, and seduce my ears like nothing else I heard this year. It’s a treasure trove of surprises, packed into a lean 30-minute run time: Smooth Afro-and-female-centric rhymes that make their point without preaching, impossibly luminous singing, and a stripped-down production that nonetheless gains depth and nuance with each listen. Oh, and it grooves like hell. Most critics and fans point to the incomparably cool rubberized funk of “QueenS” as awE naturalE‘s high point–and it’s great–but me, I’m partial to “Deeper,” the most hypnotic and sensual three-plus minutes anyone, anywhere, committed to recorded posterity in 2012.