[Genteel Death]

Sebadoh* - Too Pure
This song is definitely about being addicted, and better at describing the falldown than, say, VU's ''Heroin'', which I think kind of glamourises heroin somehow.
*fell in love with Sebadoh, yes.

[GeneticKiss]

Anything off Alice in Chains' Dirt, with the possible exceptions of Them Bones and Rooster.

[atsonicpark]

You know, I often get this feeling listening to a lot of Jandek's stuff, like he's talking about stuff...

Otherwise, JUNKIE'S PROMISE! Heheh.

[atsonicpark]

Oh, glad to see you on a Sebadoh kick. One of my fav bands ever.

[demonrail666]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKYb6XVWsIs

[hipster_bebop_junkie]

Originally Posted by GeneticKiss

Anything off Alice in Chains' Dirt, with the possible exceptions of Them Bones and Rooster.

Mmm. Pretty much all of Alice In Chains' work contains a lot of references to dealing with drug-addiction, except when there appear a few bits and pieces in it inspired by some other fucked-up muses of Jerry Cantrell's, which some have had something to do with his father (for example, "Rooster"), and a few others with his own failure regarding personal relationships (for example, "Heaven Beside You"). Their first successful song, "Man In The Box", already hinted at the situation Layne Staley must have been going through in regards to consuming heroin, and it was released way before anything on "Dirt". It seems he became more of a junkie as time went by, and that certainly got reflected in his lyrics: "Rotten Apple", "Sludge Factory", "Head Creeps"... The lyrics on Mad Season's album, "Above", are not excluded of this same pattern, although i seem to remember Layne saying in an interview that the lyrics in that record weren't solely inspired by his own problems, apparently Kurt Cobain's death had some impact on the songs as well. "Wake Up" was one of my favourite songs written and sang by Layne Staley. I don't know what can i get off of it these days, though. It has been a long, long time since i last listened to it. So anyway, GeneticKiss, i think you are right in a sense, but still it seems very limiting to mention only "Dirt" in this context. These kinds of themes are prevalent even in Jerry Cantrell's solo albums (Listen to songs like "Bargain Basement Howard Hughes", "Pig Charmer", and "31/32" off of "Degradation Trip", if you already haven't; i'm sure you'd understand what i'm talking about). That current incarnation of Alice In Chains still have made lyrics about Layne recently, although i certainly do not recommend to pay any attention to those.

[atsonicpark]

I'm not a big Alice in Chains expert, but for some reason I always thought ROOSTER was about war.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

I'm not a big Alice in Chains expert, but for some reason I always thought ROOSTER was about war.

Had to do with Jerry Cantrell's father's time in the Vietnam war. #aliceinchainsswag

[atsonicpark]

So, we were BOTH right!

Nice!

[hipster_bebop_junkie]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

I'm not a big Alice in Chains expert, but for some reason I always thought ROOSTER was about war.

It is indeed about war. According to Jerry Cantrell, "Rooster" was inspired by the hard times his father spent in the Vietnam war. It shows a lot of empathy for him, even though they had a pretty tough relationship for a while. Allegedly, he was really mean, abusive and violent once he got back, but according to Jerry, he has since realized that was a consequence of the traumas that being in war had caused to him.

Jerry's parents divorced when he was seven and Jerry lived in poverty with his mother for a while, he has said the only thing they ate for some time when he was a child, were tomatoes that her mom cultivated in their house's backyard. It was until he was an adult that he made peace with his father, around the time of the filming of the video for "Rooster". Mark Pellington, who directed the video, interviewed Jerry Cantrell Sr. and supposedly took his anecdotes in consideration, so the visual counterpart of the song is also inspired partially in his ugly adventures (the video depicts scenes of war, mainly taken from the movie "Platoon", by Oliver Stone). While being in Alice In Chains and putting the excess attributed to stardom in practice led some to a grim life (and death), in the case of Jerry, writing "Rooster" apparently was useful for him to renew affective links and communication with his father and his family. Locations for the "Rooster" video included Jerry's grandparent's property in Oklahoma, which many years later appeared in an episode of MTV Cribs, i remember Jerry opened the freezer and there was only lots of beer and meat in there. He was kind of doing good in life, while Layne Staley had just recently passed away due to the lots of years of drug-abuse. I think at the time, Jerry was promoting "Degradation Trip", which i consider to be highly superior to the lame shit he's involved in these days and would have liked if he'd kept on going that route.

By the way, do you remember the line "Gloria sends me pictures of my boy" on "Rooster"? Well, Jerry Cantrell's mother's name was Gloria. She died of cancer in the late '80s. The songs "Psychotic Break" and "Mother's Spinning In Her Grave" off of "Degradation Trip", are reflections again, such as "Rooster", of the consequences war had in his parents.

I used to know a lot about Alice In Chains and Jerry Cantrell. I was a huge fan years ago, but right now i just look at my book shelves and for the life of me, i cannot longer remember where the hell i read all of this shit. I just hope my memory ain't so messed up, or that my mind isn't playing tricks on me.

Originally Posted by Bytor_Peltor

Me too - more specifically, another name for helicopters with machine guns on them......or a name for that specific flight division?

 

True. Supposedly, Jerry Cantrell's father was nicknamed "the rooster" while on the army as well.

[hipster_bebop_junkie]

Anyway, here's another song inspired by the life and times of Layne Staley, although Courtney Love reportedly was upset thinking it was exclusively about her:

MUDHONEY
Into Yer Shtik

Lyrics:
You're so tormented
Demented
Indebted
To all the assholes
Just like you
Who've come and gone
Before you predictable
Just plain dull
Why don't you
Blow your brains out, too
You're so into yer shtik

You're so hounded
Ungrounded
Surrounded
By scum suckin' leeches
Who will shovel your shit
Sweep your dirt up before and after, man
Feed your ego
They never tell you no
All of you
Make me sick
You're so into yer shtik

And they're all into your shtik

Well, Mitchell's got a new girl
She's nineteen
Hollywood model
Star of the screen
Well, she's up here
To support the scene
It's all part
Of his rock and roll fantasy

Stan was at the bar
With bandaged hands
They tried to dry him out
And he got mad
Cut his fist
Punchin' hospital glass
Made his myth
Now he's trapped

Susie's just a girl
Who's doin' her job
That came to New York
And wanted a car
Workin' with the management
To the stars
Kissin' ass
Is a part of the job
Well, it's part of the job
Yeah, it's part of the job
Oh she loves her job
What the hell
She does it so well

I'm not perfect
I've lived a life of mistakes
I'm not perfect
But there's one thing I can't take
You are into yer shtik
You're so into yer shtik
And they're so into yer shtik
Fuck you, you make me sick

Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9acFE75pI6M

In words of Mark Arm (Taken from the book, "Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History Of Seattle Rock Music", by Greg Prato):

"Pearl Jam did this satellite radio thing -they did that twice and we played both of them. Mad Season played one, and i remember Layne coming in- he had his hair up in this knob off the top of his head. He was so thin, and greenish-grey. I had a hard time looking at him. I didn't even have the guts to go talk to him. The whole thing made me squeamish, and reminded me of my own bad times. Even if i did talk to him, i don't know what i would have said. Seeing him so far down the line on this trajectory that he had set for himself made me queasy. It seemed to me like once he discovered heroin, he decided he was going to fully embrace it. Based on the songs on "Dirt", he just jumped in. There was no turning back. It was unfortunate and pathetic. That was the myth he made for himself, and he was living it out. The reference to him in "Into Yer Shtik" is about that. Once he created his persona of a wasted rock star, he had to follow it to its ugly conclusion".



Here's a photo taken the same day as the Pollution radio session mentioned by Mark Arm:

 

The performance of "Lifeless Dead" that appears as an extra on the VHS tape "Mad Season: Live At The Moore" is also from this session:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR9FDIaP4fE

[pad_023]

Spiritualized - I Think I'm In Love

Sun so bright that I'm nearly blind
Cool cos I'm wired and I'm out of my mind
Warms the dope running down my spine
But I don't care 'bout you and I've got nothing to do
Free as the warmth in the air that I breathe
Even freer than dmt
Feel the warmth of the sun in me
But I don't care 'bout you and I've got nothing to do
Love in the middle of the afternoon
Just me, my spike in my arm and my spoon
Feel the warmth of the sun in the room
But I don't care 'bout you
And I've got nothin'

[SONIC GAIL]

Probably evry song I like

Rolling Stones- Dead Flowers
SY-Winner's Blues
SY-Junkie's Promise
Red Hot Chilli Peppers-Otherside
Nearly every Nirvana song-Lithium, Help Me I'm Hungry, Dumb, Anerusym to name a few
Steve Earle-Heroin
Velvet Underground- Heroin
Beatles- Happiness is a warm gun
Beatles-Helter Skelter
Pink Floyd- Comfotably Numb
Johnny Cash-The Beast in Me
Johnny Cash-Hurt (cover)
Johnny Cash-Kneeling Drunkard's Plea
GNR-Bad Obsession
GNR-Mr Brownstone
GNR-Aint it fun (cover)
Jesus Lizard-Needles for teeth
Jesus Lizard-Happy Snakes
Smashing Pumpkins-Soma
Hank III- Every song especially Long Hauls an Close Calls, Them Pills I took,
Neil Young-Hitchhiker

A shit ton more I can't think of right now but I will add them as I do

[Derek]

Does Neil Young's Hey Hey My My count? I know it's a eulogy for rockstars such as Johnny Rotten and Elvis but the lines 'out of the blue and into the black' sort of suggest something else.

[SONIC GAIL]

yes

[SONIC GAIL]

Originally Posted by Genteel Death

Sebadoh* - Too Pure
This song is definitely about being addicted, and better at describing the falldown than, say, VU's ''Heroin'', which I think kind of glamourises heroin somehow.
*fell in love with Sebadoh, yes.

VU definitly glamourised it. they make it sound delicious to me

[SONIC GAIL]

Eric Clapton-Cocaine
Rolling Stones-Cocaine Eyes

[narlus]

Originally Posted by pad_023

Spiritualized - I Think I'm In Love

Cop Shoot Cop

[Torn Curtain]

Rolling Stones & Marianne Faithfull (she's credited as having co-written it) - Sister morphine
Jeff Buckley - Mojo pin
VU - Heroin
Neil Young - Tired eyes
Television - Venus
Tim Buckley - Pleasant street

[Torn Curtain]

The Jesus & Mary Chain - Just like honey
Depeche Mode - Never let me down again
Metallica - Master of puppets
U2 - Running to stand still