Nirvana or Soundgarden?

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Man, every song from the 90s brings up memories of someone I used to know. Good memories, usually

I get that w/ 60's ,70's + 80's as well......

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

This.

Are you a musician?

I am indeed.

mainly percussion/drums....also play some bass + keyboards

 

[LoftonPack80]

Hmmm...this is tough. I generally have the great 'seattle' albums that I grew up with ranked as follows:

Pearl Jam - Ten
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Nirvana - Nevermind
Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies
Pearl Jam - Vs
Alice in Chains - Self Titled
Soundgarden - Down on the Upside
Everclear - Sparkle and Fade
Nirvana - In Utero

So probably Soundgarden. I might have to give this more thought. I consider all of these 10/10 albums, btw. I think if you count unplugged, I would give Nirvana and AIC the lead

If you take Superunknown and Down on the Upside off and replace with Badmotorfinger and Louder than Love you got something. Superunknown is good, but the 4 shitty songs you hear played on mainstream radio nonstop bring it down. I put Louder than Love up against anything they did.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

I love this topic because it's two of my favorite bands, and two bands from the same scene who were so very different.

In my opinion, not only is Soundgarden better than Nirvana, but they may be the single greatest band of the last 30 years. I love both, but Soundgarden is just about untouchable in my mind. They really have it all. They have incredible range and diversity of musical talents. They have the best lead singer since Freddie Mercury. Their style is cocky or in your face. No indulgent guitar solos. Just rich, complex music and lots of rocking. Matt Cameron may be the single most underrated musician in rock today. He's insanely talented.

Soundgarden were also the most important band to the Seattle music scene. They were the first band signed to Sub Pop, they were the first band to sign with a major label, they were the first band to get a major US touring gig, and they were the first band to get a Grammy nomination. They gave the scene national credibility while Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains were still in their infancies.

Nirvana is outstanding, but their popularity had more to do with Cobain's personality and what I'll call the "accessibility" of their music. They had pop appeal and Cobain was the perfect face for the "grunge counterculture".

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Without thinking: Nirvana

Thinking: Push


I think we give Nirvana points because Cobain blew his head off after one too many tummy aches, but Soundgarden is arguably the most influential band out of that Seattle scene. With that said, Nirvana was instrumental in killing hair bands before rap and pop garbage took control of the air waves.

Agreed, but without Soundgarden blazing the trail, does Nirvana make the national impact they did?

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Hmmm...this is tough. I generally have the great 'seattle' albums that I grew up with ranked as follows:

Pearl Jam - Ten
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Nirvana - Nevermind
Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies
Pearl Jam - Vs
Alice in Chains - Self Titled
Soundgarden - Down on the Upside
Everclear - Sparkle and Fade
Nirvana - In Utero

So probably Soundgarden. I might have to give this more thought. I consider all of these 10/10 albums, btw. I think if you count unplugged, I would give Nirvana and AIC the lead

Everclear? Might wanna check your geography there.

My Top 10 Seattle Albums:
1. Superunknown, Soundgarden
2. Ten, Pearl Jam
3. Temple of the Dog, TotD
4. Nevermind, Nirvana
5. Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden
6. Dirt, Alice in Chains
7. Lysol, Melvins
8. Vs., Pearl Jam
9. Sweet Oblivion, Screaming Trees
10. Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, Mudhoney

HM: Down on the Upside, In Utero, Vitalogy, Jar of Flies, Apple, Louder Than Love

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

I love this topic because it's two of my favorite bands, and two bands from the same scene who were so very different.

In my opinion, not only is Soundgarden better than Nirvana, but they may be the single greatest band of the last 30 years. I love both, but Soundgarden is just about untouchable in my mind. They really have it all. They have incredible range and diversity of musical talents. They have the best lead singer since Freddie Mercury. Their style is cocky or in your face. No indulgent guitar solos. Just rich, complex music and lots of rocking. Matt Cameron may be the single most underrated musician in rock today. He's insanely talented.

Soundgarden were also the most important band to the Seattle music scene. They were the first band signed to Sub Pop, they were the first band to sign with a major label, they were the first band to get a major US touring gig, and they were the first band to get a Grammy nomination. They gave the scene national credibility while Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains were still in their infancies.

Nirvana is outstanding, but their popularity had more to do with Cobain's personality and what I'll call the "accessibility" of their music. They had pop appeal and Cobain was the perfect face for the "grunge counterculture".

That should say "isn't". Their music is so textured and no one element of it takes precedence. It's a beautifully woven tapestry rather than a portrait.

 

[Clayton]

Superunknown is good, but the 4 shitty songs you hear played on mainstream radio nonstop bring it down.

You're way too harsh. Rock barely exists nowadays and its hard to find an album with 2 songs on it that are half as good as those 'shitty' songs.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

If you take Superunknown and Down on the Upside off and replace with Badmotorfinger and Louder than Love you got something. Superunknown is good, but the 4 shitty songs you hear played on mainstream radio nonstop bring it down. I put Louder than Love up against anything they did.

Why should it be held against the band/album/song that the radio stations and MTV played them to death? They're still great songs, even if they weren't the best songs on that album. It doesn't diminish the quality of the album at all.

By the way, which 4 are you referring to? 6 songs from that album got radio play. Black Hole Sun and Spoonman obviously got the most by far. Are the other two you're referring to My Wave and Fell on Black Days? The Day I Tried To Live and Superunknown got much less play, but still got plenty. Radio stations by me also played Let Me Drown very regularly. Anyways, all those songs are still great, even if you are tired of hearing them. I can understand getting tired of hearing it, but songs like that usually get overplayed for a reason.

I'd rank the songs from Superunknown:
1. Like Suicide
2. Fell On Black Days
3. Let Me Drown
4. Superunknown
5. The Day I Tried To Live
6. Fresh Tendrils
7. My Wave
8. Limo Wreck
9. Spoonman
10. 4th of July
11. Black Hole Sun
12. Head Down
13. Mailman
14. Kickstand
15. Half

 

[LoftonPack80]

Yes those are the two I am referring too. The songs suck IMO and if taken off that album it makes it a much stronger redord, but thats my taste and opinion. I cannot see how that album and Down on the Upside could be put ahead of Badmotorfinger or Louder Than Love. No way no how.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Yes those are the two I am referring too. The songs suck IMO and if taken off that album it makes it a much stronger redord, but thats my taste and opinion. I cannot see how that album and Down on the Upside could be put ahead of Badmotorfinger or Louder Than Love. No way no how.

Fell On Black Days and My Wave suck????? To each his own I guess.

 

[David_son]

With Nirvana I get most nostalgic but Soundgarden was overall a better band. Better everything really. They make grudge worth listening to.

 

[Clayton]

Superunknown is part of the rare 'no-skip' club. All of the songs are at least good, imo

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Superunknown is part of the rare 'no-skip' club. All of the songs are at least good, imo

Agreed. I ranked the songs, but if I ranked the entire Soundgarden catalog, even Kickstand and Half would fall into the upper half, I'd imagine.

 

[KansasSooner]

Without thinking: Nirvana

Thinking: Push


I think we give Nirvana points because Cobain blew his head off after one too many tummy aches, but Soundgarden is arguably the most influential band out of that Seattle scene. With that said, Nirvana was instrumental in killing hair bands before rap and pop garbage took control of the air waves.

Too bad it didn't improve the music though...it was the death knell for rock'n'roll as it was known before MTV.

 

[LoftonPack80]

Not to get off topic, but what are everybodies thoughts on the latest Soundgarden album? I loved it. Had a little of old and new sound from the gardeners of sound. When I heard the first 30 seconds of "Crooked Steps" I instantly thought "this would have fit right in on Badmotorfinger"

 

[Clayton]

Too bad it didn't improve the music though...it was the death knell for rock'n'roll as it was known before MTV.

The deathknell for rock n roll is that it became easier for teenage boys to try and rap to impress girls than to try and learn to play guitar.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

Not to get off topic, but what are everybodies thoughts on the latest Soundgarden album? I loved it. Had a little of old and new sound from the gardeners of sound. When I heard the first 30 seconds of "Crooked Steps" I instantly thought "this would have fit right in on Badmotorfinger"

It's fantastic. It's clear these guys still have outstanding chemistry with one another. None of them were the same without the others. The album feels almost as if they simply hadn't recorded an album in 15 years, rather than actually breaking up and going their separate ways. It contains all the power of their sound, but more refined. It's got a little bit of everything but a feeling of progress as well. Worse Dreams and By Crooked Steps are right out of Badmotorfinger; Been Away Too Long, A Thousand Days Before, Eyelid's Mouth, Non-State Actor and Blood on the Valley Floor feel like Superunknown; and Attrition, Taree and Bones of Birds have flavors of Down on the Upside.

Then, Halfway There and Black Saturday sound like what Chris Cornell's solo career *SHOULD* have sounded like, and what the next step in Soundgarden would have been. With Rowing, you can also hear what Cornell was probably going for when he made the disastrous Scream album with Timbaland. Even Live To Rise was great for what it was.

Non-State Actor is one of the top 5 songs they've ever recorded in my opinion. The fact that that song isn't hugely popular is a sign that rock is truly dead.

 

[ImSmartherThanYou]

The deathknell for rock n roll is that it became easier for teenage boys to try and rap to impress girls than to try and learn to play guitar.

And those who did go the guitar route went the Jack Johnson route with simple acoustic songs. Not that I don't like Jack Johnson, but his music is all the same, is incredibly simple and it's fluff. But chicks can't get enough of it.

Oh, and country too. Country has become much more popular nationally. The girls who don't love rap/hip-hop/pop/dance music love country music. So more guys become country musicians now, too.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

The death of rock has nothing to do with quality and everything to do with money. Rock is just so much more expensive and time consuming to make than other forms of music. Studio time costs a fortune, you're dividing everything up amongst multiple people. It's just so much easier to sit at a computer and make beats and then have someone sing over it. Easy to split out the money, less money being spent to make it. That's why rock is dying.