Though they started grinding out the Seattle sound years before flannel became a fashion statement, Soundgarden has ventured beyond Grungeville's city limits into the Superunknown.
The music is still loud, the lyrics are still heavy, and lead singer Chris Cornell still works his way into a primal frenzy. Soundgarden, whose other members include Kim Thayil (guitar), Ben Shepherd (bass) and Matt Cameron (drums), remains a band that you feel as much as you hear. They get your blood pumping in the same way a few-right hooks to a punching bag would.
But this time, for every full-throttle face-melter like "Spoonman," there's a slow, moody change of pace such as the elegant "Black Hole Sun." "Head Down" has a warm, dreamy feel along the lines of Meddle-era Pink Floyd. "My Wave" and "Let Me Drown" have enough smooth edges to be hit singles. This diverse disc is the best from a band that was already at the top of its form. (A&M)
Zhané
One of the coolest ideas in pop music is the song that celebrates the act of being in love with music. And one of the coolest jams of the summer of '93 was the gold single "Hey Mr. D.J." by Zhané, Brooklyn's contribution to the girl-group pileup. With a funky, old-school groove and light-as-air harmonizing, "Hey Mr. D.J." jumps to the joys of getting down and having fun. Slaying in that motif is the duo's new hit, "Groove Thang," whose title sums up the song's Zeitgeist.
When they opt to sashay from the club to the lounge, however, Zhané stumbles. Sure, they have lovely voices, but there's a little more to being a jazz vocalist than having a stand-up bass on the track. Their brand of jazz is strictly ersatz. What's real is their effortless brand of R&B. When Zhané keeps in that retro-soul mood, they can sing no Wrong. (Motown)
Various artists
In a memorable scene from Reality Bites, the new Beverly Hills, 90210-meets-Singles comedy about post-college ambivalence, Winona Ryder tells a friend, "Melrose Place is a really good show." She sounds as if she has just realized some spiritual link between her slacker peers and the TV series' yuppie aspirants. Perhaps there is, but it's hard to imagine the sleekly coiffed, mainstream Melrose Place crowd grooving to the film's alterna-rock soundtrack.
Well, they might bob their heads to the Knack's remixed "My Sharona" or Squeeze's 1994 take on its signature tune, "Tempted," but Heather Locklear certainly wouldn't be caught dead cranking the sluggish grunge of Dinosaur Jr.'s "Turnip Farm" or Reality costar Ethan Hawke's nihilistic-rocker turn "I'm Nuthin" in her BMW tape deck.
Here in the real world, though, the sock-hat and nose-ring cull will kick up their Doc Martens to serviceable new tunes from incurable retro rockers Lenny Kravitz and World Party (sounding very much like David Bowie's "Young Americans") and highlights from the latest Juliana Hatfield 3 and Crowded House albums. (RCA)
- Contributors:
- Craig Tomashoff,
- Amy Linden,
- Jeremy Helligar.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
