Best song by Alice in Chains?

[leftist_rebel1569]

Poll question: Best song by Alice in Chains?

My personal favorite is "Would?", but I have a feeling "Man in the Box" is gonna win this...

Poll result (42 votes)
Would?	(10 votes, 24%)	Vote
Man in the Box	(5 votes, 12%)	Vote
Rooster	(8 votes, 19%)	Vote
Angry Chair	(0 votes, 0%)	Vote
We Die Young	(1 votes, 2%)	Vote
No Excuses	(1 votes, 2%)	Vote
Again	(3 votes, 7%)	Vote
Got Me Wrong	(2 votes, 5%)	Vote
Down in a Hole	(7 votes, 17%)	Vote
Other (Please Specify)	(5 votes, 12%)	Vote

[jenk]

1. sea of sorrow

.

[Paragon]

2. Again

doo doo...yeah...doo doo...yeah...doo dooooooo

[ronzo]

3. Them bones...

what an opening for a record.
.02

[leftist_rebel1569]

4. good choice

Kinda wish the polls had a few more spaces, I would have thrown that one on. But, the limit's ten.

[ronzo]

5. I hear ya...

I'll listen to Dirt end to end, and often do. Hard to leave any of those tunes off. Good poll.

[leftist_rebel1569]

8. Thanks

And yes, Dirt is an AWESOME album. Jar of Flies and Sap were also very great, but could have used a few more songs (Jar of Flies had 7 songs and Sap had 5). But, I really can't complain...there isn't a bad song off either of the two. Facelift is good too, but Dirt is my favorite of their albums.

[GOPisEvil]

6. I'm with you - "Would"

Yes, it's on the "Singles" soundtrack thankyouverymuch!

[vi5]

7. Whatever their set list was when they looked like this...

Horrible bunch of posing bandwagon jumpers.



If you look closely at the third picture from the bottom, you can see the thought balloon above their heads saying "Hey! We're from Seattle too!. Let's trade this hair spray and spandex for some flannel and dreadlocks and cash in while the cashin's good!"

[leftist_rebel1569]

9. "Cash in when the cashin's good"?

huh? Why are you implying they've jumped on someone's bandwagon? And a better question, who's bandwagon (which they didn't, btw)?

[vi5]

10. Well, as you can see by the pictures, they were a hair metal band...

A la Warrant or Poison. And they played generic pop metal tunes about partying and women. I saw it when I saw them live with my own eyes in this incarnation in the late 80's out in Seatle.

Then all of a sudden Nirvana and Soundgarden and Pearl Jam start blowing up and Alice N' Chains becomes Alice In Chains and they suddenly become a "grunge" band who sport dreadlocks and flannel and wool caps and sing about dark, disturbing things like heroin.

And on edit: If you had to ask whose bandwagon I was saying they jumped then how do you know they didn't jump one (which theyd did btw...I'm old enough to remember and have been witness to it). If you like the tunes then fine. But to deny their strategic change and the timing of it is naive.

[leftist_rebel1569]

13. Okay...

so they changed their sound. Hair bands were dying out at that point, and their sound evolved with the times. What's your point?

BTW, I'm guessing you don't have a favorite song by Alice in Chains, do you?

[vi5]

19. I'm just busting chops.......

Hey. I give them credit. They were shrewd businessmen, and that's mostly what major label music is. I just remember finding it funny that they "evolved" so drastically within the course of a year. I wasn't even a particular fan of Nirvana or Soundgarden but I recognized that at least they had been slugging it out doing what they had been doing for a while and releasing some indie albums before becoming big. Then there were bands like Stone Temple Pilots and AIC who all of a sudden went from hair bands to "alternative" bands when the trends were dying. And it worked, so more power to them. I give more credit to someone like Billy Corgan who at least after the fact admitted that his record label made him play up the "alternative" card and put on an image that wasn't really true to what he was and what he wanted to do. I always gave him credit for at least fessing up to that.

And despite my overall dislike of Alice In Chains, I will say that Would? was a pretty cool tune and that's the one I voted for.

[leftist_rebel1569]

20. it's alright

we all have our opinions, and I respect yours. Sorry if I came off a little condescending...

[opiate69]

42. And, Black Sabbath started as a skiffle band,,,,

Bands change... sorta the nature of the game.

[ronzo]

11. Wow... I actually played in one of those bands back when.

Sure, we can laugh about it now....

[swanny]

12. Good choices, but..

in this day in age, Rooster's gonna win.

[leftist_rebel1569]

14. Welcome to DU, Swanny!

But, I don't know about "Rooster" winning. Hell, i'm actually kinda surprised...I thought "Man in the Box" would be getting as much votes as "Rooster". Oh well...

[swanny]

22. Much to my husband's dismay

Rooster turned me on to grunge. It is one of my all time favorites, along with most of their others.

I come from the Kansas, Heart, Rush and Bob Segar age after being shown the art of Zepplin, Guess Who, Santana and Iron Butterfly; Mozart, Dvorak and Beethoven; Robert Johnson and all the blues greats by my dad.

[imhotep]

15. nutshell

is the best song ever.

[leftist_rebel1569]

16. If I could have had one more slot,

I would have thrown that one in. I love that song so much, it's just that there's a lot of good AIC songs and not enough room...

[thom1102]

27. I agree,

Nutshell is great!

[Skip Intro]

17. Godsmack? Voted "We Die Young" but the "Dirt" CD - My God - perfection

"What in God's name have you done?????"

This band was the best around for a while, imho.

A friend turned me onto Alice when he got Facelift - which was a damned good album.

But then came Dirt - and man, I'm not sure a better metal-ish album has been made since. That thing still rocks my a$$.

Them Bones - "I...!"

You know, in many ways, imho, this one one of the last great bands - no one's come along that matches this level of sheer musical genius since, that I know of. Can't sing their praises enough.

Its a real shame there won't be anymore.

[leftist_rebel1569]

18. Alice in Chains ROCKED MY WORLD

when I first heard "Dirt". I have simply been in love with them (especially Layne's voice) ever since. Like I keep saying, I wish I had more spaces for stuff, there's too many good songs I left out.

It's too bad there's gonna be no more. RIP Layne...

[leftist_rebel1569]

21. BTW, My second choice was "Down in a Hole"

A simply BEAUTIFUL song. I can identify with the lyrics of the song like almost no other at times...

[mitchum]

23. that "take time when you're cooking ham" song....

fuck, I don't know...always sounded like Mountain on cough syrup if Leslie West had Eddie Vedder caught in his throat. Further proof that a downtown habit doesn't make you good.

[Swede]

24. I voted for Would

It was a sad day when Layne Staley died.

[leftist_rebel1569]

26. April 19, 2002

I will NEVER forget that day...

yeah, it was a sad day...very sad day

[Selwynn]

25. Nutshell.

[ronzo]

28. AIC: grunge or metal?

I know what I think... anyone?

[leftist_rebel1569]

29. hmm...good question

I say Grunge, though...

[ronzo]

33. I humbly disagree.......

I think the dividing point between metal and grunge in the Seattle scene was Soundgarden.
Alice in Chains was a metal band IMO and a damn good one. Cantrell is an ace. And as one poster observed, they made one of the best damn rock albums in 20 years with Dirt.

Grunge was an extention of the low-rent alternative scene. You want grunge?... Dinosaur, jr. scooped Seattle. The real underground indy guys were grunge.

Soundgarden was just kick ass rock and roll.

Alice in Chains was the evolution of metal, before Pantera.

Dirt is top five for me.

beer...

[rppper]

44. pantera was a hair band too folks......

sorry to break this too you, but in the early/mid 80's pantera was a slightly heavier version of poison...i have smoked weed, dropped acid and partied with the abbott brothers long before they were the metal gods they are now. i snicker everytime someone says "dimebag darrell"...his old name was "diamond darrell" and, yes, he wore eyeshadow. i snicker more at how fat he has got since the 80's. vinnie was always heavy, but i can see why they don't go near spandex anymore. they would mooch couch space to sleep on and bring women and weed with them...it was hard to say no. their 1st singer was some guy named terry something or other...gaze or glaze...who knows...it was 2 decades ago...hell, even phil had the hair thing going on before cowboys from hell came out. when i knew them they had realeased their 2nd record and were recording their 3rd...they had a huge following in the DFW area. phil came on when they recorded their 4th record...not cowboys from hell, but i am the night...a record you will never find anywhere...just like the 3 previous records

[ronzo]

45. Alright......

I won't fuck with it.

I remember Phil from which band... Lillian Axe? 24K? one of those old new orleans bands... Pantera made a mark.

Don't fuck with that.

[rppper]

46. i love soundgarden too....but.....

i bought "louder than love" waaaay back in 89'...i was hooked...but i had to wait until feb 97 to see them...the infamous aloha bowl concert where the bassist stopped playing in the middle of the song...jesus christ pose...flipped of the audience, spit, and walked off stage...and poof...they anounced they were breaking up a few weeks later....

i also saw the guns and roses concert in the L.A. collisium, when they opened for the rolling stones. axl rose stopped singing mr brownstone mid song, said the rest of the band was fired for being junkies, added some racial slurs about the opening act, living colour, then walked offstage....

me and stadium shows are like oil and water......

AIC...i loved them...i got through a lot of bad times listening to the dirt lp...jar of flies is another favorite

won't fuck with it?...i'll take that as an i don't believe you...whatever...it's the truth...i'm not selling anyone a story they don't already know...it was all a moment in history i was involved in...nothing more, nothing less.

[opiate69]

36. definitely metal....

Hammerbox, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees etc.. that was grunge...

How about the Melvins? I have a hard time pinning them down...kinda punk/metal/grunge/stoner... cool band, though

[opiate69]

30. "I stay away"

...

[SmileyBoy]

31. "Got Me Wrong" is the BEST of ALL TIME!!!!

Honourable mention goes to "Rooster" and "Heaven Beside You".

[Elidor]

32. I'd almost say Down in a Hole or Them Bones, but THE song is

Would?

A song about a young, up-and-coming rock singer who killed himself with heroin - sung by another young, up-and-coming rock singer who killed himself with heroin (and cocaine). Layne Staley wrote his own epitaph with Would. I wonder if the other guys in the band, hearing it for the first time, had to finally realize that Layne was a dead man walking.

Into the flood again
Same old trip it was back then
So I made a big mistake
Try to see it once my way

"Angry Chair" was always my personal fave. Jerry's harmonies show his deep interest in chant, and the disembodied pain of the lyrics is sublime. I always thought Jerry Cantrell was the standout musician of the group.

Layne's final interview should be must-reading for anyone who has ever considered using heroin:

"I know I'm dying," he rasped through missing teeth. "I'm not doing well. Don't try to talk about this to my sister Liz. She will know it sooner or later."

"This f---ing drug use is like the insulin a diabetic needs to survive," he said. "I'm not using drugs to get high like many people think. I know I made a big mistake when I started using this sh--. It's a very difficult thing to explain. My liver is not functioning and I'm throwing up all the time and sh---ing my pants. The pain is more than you can handle. It's the worst pain in the world. Dope sick hurts the entire body."

The most chilling passage of the interview reads like a suicide note.

"I know I'm near death," he said. "I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way. I know I have no chance. It's too late. I never wanted (the public's) thumbs' up about this f---ing drug use."

[opiate69]

34. Changing my vote to....

"Rain when I die".... killer song.. pretty much sums up the entire AIC experience.

[ronzo]

35. You get it. n/t

[jayfish]

39. "God Am" and...

"Down In A Hole"

Jay

[GregW]

37. Heaven Beside You ... followed by Rooster

For those of you who have the AiC DVD ... check out the MTV unplugged version of "Heaven Beside You". Layne is completely smacked out of his gourd!

[ronzo]

38. Of course we know the origin of "would?", right?

anyone?

edit:
OPIATE... I'm looking in your general direction...

[opiate69]

40. Oh yeah....

Mother Love Bone. (Andrew Wood, to be exact)....He's really the reason I never could warm to Eddie Vedder, actually...kinda seemed like Vedder (by joining with McReady and crew) enjoyed the fruits of Andrew's labors..

on edit: That reminds me.. I need to replace my Temple of the Dog cd that my ex-roomate swiped form me.. bastard.

[ronzo]

41. Andrew Wood OD

If I Wood, could you?

[opiate69]

43. A sad night...

I had just moved out here from Connecticut, and was working the night shift unloading trucks at goodwill when he died. I can remember to this day the dj talking about how MLB was poised to be The band that put Seattle on the map.