I appreciate how you can honestly state that a certain piece of music isn't much to your liking, yet you're fully able to analyze its good qualities. Many music lovers can't make that distinction.
From a songwriting, performance, and production standpoint, "Black Hole Sun" is a masterpiece. It draws inspiration from a long history of psychedelic rock. I'm reminded of songs like "Tomorrow Never Knows" by The Beatles. Both the music and lyrics explore striking contrasts - order and chaos, harmony and dissonance, beauty and darkness. "Black Hole Sun" is slow, dreamlike, strange, enigmatic, surreal. (Definitely not your typical #1 pop song.) Every time I listen to it, I hear something new and different.
PF fan here, but grunge fan too... Grunge as one of its roots in psychedelic rock (/Pink Floyd), I'm quite sure of that. Syd Barrett is an icon for a lot of them (Chris Cornell included)... Sadly, I think it's the "grunge mood" that she doesn't relate to. It's "dark", "pessimistic", "sad" etc. It can "rocks" but it's on the "stone end of the music"... (Stone, stone, stone, stone, stone... You see what I did here :) ). I think it's sad because maybe she will have difficulties to appreciate those sound (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, etc.) Maybe it's not for 'everybody", we each have our range of emotions, and some don't really enjoy the "low mood" (/kind of depressive?).
Aic is such misery porn i cant stand that band and their fans are so cringe. Worst of the big grunge bands for me. Give me nirvana or soundgarden any day over that miserable boring crap.
I absolutely love how that song ends. It really is quite an experience, so many emotions all crystalized perfectly. It has sarcasm, optimism, disillusionment... Man its all over the map but its extremely coherent. Really an incredible song, and also Chris really wails like a banshee, I mean he's always great (Hunger Strike?) But that song just blows me away!
Norah Jones sang this a week after Chris passed away, in the same venue they played their last gig. The raw emotion and feeling she puts into it, in her inimitable way, is utterly spellbinding. It is the most beautiful cover I’ve ever heard.
Wow!! I truly love hearing her critique of music!! My favorite band since I was 8 was Queen, but, being a teenager of the 90s, grunge was everything and everywhere. I love Soundgarden and was in high-school when this song came out. I didn't like it as much as others, and think for almost the same reasons. It is so good at sounding incredibly sad and final. I love the songs Seasons and Rusty Cage by Soundgarden. Even when she doesn't like a song as much as she expected, she takes such time and care to explain why. ❤
I remember when I was going to music college, and I learnt this song and the arpeggio patterns on the high,E,B and G strings were very interesting as they had a lot of suspended and 7th chords.
I've always loved this song from when it was released, glad you gave it another listen and that you've delved into Chris more deeply. He was so talented and had a singular voice.
I can't separate this song from the video, which enhances it for me (not always the case, but i do find non mainstream music often inspires brilliant videos). There's some definite Twin Peaks vibes going on in this one.
Soundgarden was one of them bands that I connected with straight away. The first Album I bought was Louder Than Love in 89 when I was 18 after I heard Hands All Over, when Superunknown came out I was totally blown away, it changed what I expected from music and must admit I am always a little bemused when people don't love Soundgarden! For me Black Hole Sun is like a very dark adult nursery rhyme, but when I was a child fairy tales had the macabre endings not the sanitised versions of today, so maybe that makes sense!
If you find Chris Cornell’s voice interesting I think you might possibly enjoy the work of Scott Weiland in the band Stone Temple Pilots. They arose to fame around roughly the same years that the grunge bands did so they tend to be associated with those, even though Stone Temple Pilots were perhaps more experimental and shifted a lot between hard rock and soft rock. Scott Weiland was a total cameleon of a singer who sang in many styles but that pretty much fit into the band’s evlectic sound. I think that if you want to get a sense of where music was being and where it was going in many odd ways during the 90’s they are a band that are very ”helpful” (in spite of better word) and nice to experience. Scott Weiland unfortunately died in 2015 from an overdose. Their new singer is good but not quite as curious, playful and eccentric in his singing and overall style.
Apart from his powerful and unique voice Chris was known for being the most melodic singer of the style. Regrding Soundgrden music nd style it is known for being very dark and not for everyone.
Thank you for your appreciation. This is a great song with one of the best rock singer. The song evolves to a cathartic climax ending. And it has a great production.
A Sound Garden is an actual place, it is a sound sculpture Park done by a guy named Douglas Hollis, it is located on NOAA property at the old Sandpoint naval station overlooking lake Washington in Seattle. It's a wonderful place.
I can't hear this song w/o thinking about our 3 year-old daughter rocking back and forth in her car seat singing "Black Hole Sun." (FWIW she also liked to sing "T-N-T, I'm dy-no-mite" and on her "Star of the Week" poster in kindergarten had us list Nirvana and Foo Fighters as her favorite bands)
I think there song “Outshined” represents Soundgarden the best, but that’s just me. My favorite part of Blackhole Sun is the vocal melody in the verses, just fantastic! I’m enjoying these reactions.
The best thing about this song is the way Chris avoided establishing a tonal center with the chordal/melodic construction. There’s a lot of chord coloration in the guitar arpeggios that add moodiness, texture, and depth…but they also disguise the functionality of the chords. This is also made even more mysterious by Ben Shepherd’s bass playing, often not following the root of the chords, but creating inversions in his strange, slow descending walk through the verse. All of this creates a sense of unease and even feeling a bit lost, and not knowing where you’re headed. Really, the only time you feel like there’s resolution musically is the final chord of the guitar solo (which then becomes the last chord of the song). Other than that, you just feel lost in an alien tonal soup…definitely moving, but not going anywhere. It’s interesting that the thing I love about it is exactly what you don’t connect with. Different strokes, I suppose.
I'm a Soundgarden fan and this is far from my favourite songs of theirs. I usually skip it on my playlist but that is because radio overplayed it back in the day, as much as anything.
This was interesting having you re-evaluate a previously heard song to see if your now deeper rock listening experience and appreciation changes your opinion. Your greater experience and appreciation is evident here, but of course this doesn't mean you will like it any more. Perhaps with some songs you will like them better, but just having a greater appreciation is also important. You don't always need to do these re-listens on camera, maybe just doing those on camera you have listened to again and really have more that you want to say. For the others you can just mention your experience on a re-listen in passing during other reactions. Either way, it is useful in your own rock music appreciation growth.
I always thought and still think this song is brilliant. Remember first time I heard it when it came out when I was 13 years old, and I was taken by it's interesting, wonderful, and slightly "jazz"/grunge- chord progressions and odd time signatures. And of course Chris Cornell's powerful voice. It's a masterpiece.
It was really enjoyable doing the deeper dive on a great vocalist like Chris Cornell (R.I.P.) He truly was one of the greats. I would love to see some more of these "Weekend Excursions". I would love to see you do one on Devin Townsend. He is a unique artist breaking new ground with every release he makes. He can help you meditate, make you tap your foot and sing along, or bang your head! Oh, and he does an excellent version of "Bring Him Home" from "Les Mis" on the CBC. Trust me. You've never heard anyone like Devin Townsend.
This song has special memories for me. I remember being 12 to 13 years old and seeing this video at my aunt’s house in 1994. I wasn’t allowed listening to modern music and this song is what got me hooked on rock. It always struck me that this song is what changed everything for me when growing up in an ultra Christian home. I didn’t know anything outside of oldies and Christian music and this whole album was a game changer for me.
Awesome listen and review. May I recommend listening to the sound engineer interview with Michael Beinhorn who was the key member to the sound of the recording and some of the ideas in the sound. The singer went through a lot of microphones in order to find the best one for his voice.
One mindset that influenced the song (and the SuperUnknown album) is that modern society and particularly the music industry was leading us away from good authentic experiences and music. Black Hole Sun is in part lifting up this idea that modern music is lacking and fake... and it's reasonable to say that the unease and even nausea you feel when you hear the song is intentional. Very evident in the music video which goes to extremes to be disturbing using imagery that intentionally looks fake and distorted. publisher: "You Make Me Sick I Make Music" Thanks for the video!
You should watch the video for this one. It's deliciously creepy. It's OK to dislike songs. I happen to really like this one for exactly that bleak aesthetic that you say you don't like. I just love how it gets so chaotic at the end. Like the black hole is swallowing the earth.
Thanks for sharing Amy. Fell on black days is also a song worth looking in to from them. Chris also had another band by the name of Audioslave if you want to look in to his music further.
Nice reaction Amy, thanx. Instead of all this beautiful harshness, it would be nice to listen to some warmth from Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield or Prince. It really should be listened on your rocktrip.
Although it was possibly his biggest commercial success, his greatest achievements artistically were as a member of Audioslave, in particular, "Like a Stone," and "Be Yourself" which are well worth hearing. Always enjoy your reviews, and as a songwriter, I learn some technical aspects I had not thought about.
Have you watched the video for this song? It's,dare I say,iconic. I can still see it in my head,all these years later. Kind of like the Blind Melon 'Bee Video' ("No Rain").
Amy, i really wish you'd listen to the acoustic 'Seasons' from the 'Singles' soundtrack. I also wish you'd listen to his James Bond song 'You Know My Nsme'.
Would love to see you cover some Elvis Costello, keeping in mind his lyrical genius. “Watching the Detectives”, “Veronica”, “Green Shirt” are all good places to start and musically varied as well.
Why I wonder you left out his best vocals on his best song Chris and Soundgarden's best song is Fell On Black Days, I hope you listen and breakdown this my favorite Soundgarden song.
Very first video listening to you, interesting to see your process and analysis. Have you heard "Like a stone"? Might resonate more, maybe because it shows off his voice better.
Perhaps, you might try something with Chris solo.... outside of Soundgarden, you can find "You Know My Name" from the Casino Royale soundtrack. It is Superb!
After posting the below, I wanted to say that for me, Black Hole Sun made me fell like that dark depression was coming on, and for us who have it, you know what I mean. It creeps up on you like slow moving, dirty sap that begins to "block out the sun," like a fever nightmare that eventually smothers you in darkness, hopelessness, and fear -- no more sun, just a black hole -- and there is nothing you can do about it.
As a singer, I think the late 90s (first solo album) are peak Cornell, but he became known for being a very different style of singer. Their album before Superunknown, Badmotorfinger, has some very muscular performances and compositions (Rusty Cage, Outshined).
Chris is the greatest by far but for me stay with me baby from the hbo soundtrack is the most moving song that destroys me emotionally every time I hear him sing it. It always reminds me that I always saw him later in life sitting on a front stoop with a guitar in Louisiana singing all the blues greatest songs…. It’s sad they off’ed him like they did it’s not fair!! Rip to the G.O.A.T.!!
I think the biggest barrier to enjoying this song is the production, mainly the large amount of compression on this track. They would sacrifice dynamics for consistent volume and it’s generally mixed for the radio. Good song though
I would agree with you. I'm a huge Soundgarden fan, but I've never understood why this is the song most gravitate to. Personally, I love Slaves and Bulldozers. But I'm odd.
Amy, Vlad, thanks for introdusing Chris Cornell's music. I never heard him (and even about him and about bands, he participated with) before. Speaking about this particular song: it's a very decent piece of rock music. I don't, really, have any dislike for his voice or arrangement of this song, as Amy has. My only complaint is: he shouldn't have copied the style of the Beatles (their late albums) so blatantly. The harsher sound of the instruments does not help, the music still sounds very secondary to the Beatles.
Please do some other Soundgarden songs. While I love Black hole sun, it was their most "poppy" song and one of the least musically intricate in a lot of ways. So much more to explore within that band. You should do "Burden In My Hand" next.
Some of my favorite music took many listens to appreciate. I find it ironic that I first thought Black Hole Sun was too mainstream for my tastes, and then grew to appreciate its sad beauty. On a different track, it's worth understanding that harshness is relative. When Metallica came out, I had to convince my metal friends to listen to them, and now I hear Metallica in my local grocery store.
You could say there's a lot of "fatalism" in the generation X bands that were popular in the 90s. You have Nirvana, whose lead singer also committed suicide, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and several others whose music was on the darker side.
Maybe now you're ready to listen to other Soundgarden songs (not only because is my favourite band, but I really think is the best band of the 90's) and you could find another treasures in their discography.
i believe if you get the context of the song a bit more you might even appreciate this song even more see his good friend Kurt Cobain had recently passed away and he refrenced him in the lyrics when he sing Heaven send hell away , no one sings like you anymore ...so in a particular way this so ng is a little bit happy as far as the melody is concerned I feel it is like he has resolved to cope with the horrible trajedy that happened to his friend and he is asking for a black hole to suck up this world to get rid of the bad things that seem to be the cause of these said tragedies' I like the use of the Leslie on the high register guitar part . Normally a Leslie is used os say a Hammond Organ ...it is a fan blade kind of contraption mounted above a speaker that is used at various speeds to get that unique sound also I love Chris dubbing his voice , yelling Black Hole Sun along with the Chorus and it is way in the background with alot of reverb and it is not in key ....when Chris passed away , Nora Jones performed a version of this song with her on piano and singing and I think it is a beautiful Tribute
Amy I know your venue on youtube is about rock music, the spectrum of rock is a lot broader. It might be interesting to investigate the rock genre at the edges. Maybe eastern music's version of rock. Rock, rock 'n roll is an American invention and truly begins from the black experience. How about Bombino or Ali Farka Touré from West Africa. Or Jamaica's own Bob Marley and the Wailers. And Alabama Shakes from the USA.
Interesting that you would describe his voice as “metallic”. In 1992 Soundgarden released an short record with a palindrome for it’s title: satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas
@@hippydippy not a judgement, the effect of using unstable and dissonant intervals like the rhythm guitar during the verses is an unsettled, unresolved feeling, and in this song they purposely accentuate it to match the topic of the song, which is also a bit unsettling from jump with the idea expressed in the title. More of a Badmotorfinger guy but I blasted the crap out of this album for 2 years in the 90s.
Amy, I agree with much of your critique about the sound. I find I like the basic song, the melody, the lyrics, the structure. What I don't like in this recording is the production. If I were to produce this I would have deadened the drums out just a tad, turned them down, and I would have used a different tonal quality for the distortion on the quitar. Also, the keyboard sound could have been sweetened up a little. I'm wondering what you would have changed had you produced this. If you get a chance I would like to hear your ideas.
Hi Amy, You've managed to find some optimism in Chris Cornell's solo songs Sunshower and When I'm Down, but here, in Black Hole Sun, you feel his usual emotion: depression, fatalism, gloominess... I wished you had analysed the chords & melody of Black Hole Sun, since they're so interesting. Instead, you've talked about the tonal quality of his voice and the place his voice takes in the mix. It's as if you only scratched the surface of this "piece"...
I guess it’s fatalistic in the way that “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. But it’s really just dark imagery with nothing behind it. People try to claim it’s about this or that, but Chris has said he just wanted dark imagery to got with this really dark music. That’s why it’s all vague imagery and non sequiturs that leave you feeling uneasy even though there’s nothing really behind it. It’s just the final thoughts of a man experiencing the last few moments of his life before the earth is destroyed by a n impending black hole.
Yes, it's baroque and it's on purpose. But I think that the interest of the song is not where it is expected at first. Which can be very misleading. People unexperienced with Goya might be skeptical about his work if they were accustomed to Renaissance paintings before because they would look for some classical beauty when the point happens to be elsewhere. I think this applies here as well. The song is gritty. The arpeggio is off. Sonically dissonant. The drums and bass prevent you from moving forward. And it makes people feel uncomfortable at first. It describes a sort of limbo where nothing is ever resolved. And it musically should feel just as uncomfortable. It's ambiguous. You can't tell if it's about someone up being pulled down or someone down being pulled up. It's somewhere in between, just like those pictures where you just can't tell if it's picturing a sunset or a sunrise. You are stuck in a spot of uncertainty. But little by little, you get your marks. The same way one can grow to like melancholy and let themselves drown in it. It leads you to liminal places, between reality and delusion, hope and despair, where pain and beauty aren't differentiable anymore. Where the total discomfort becomes gradually complaisant. You want to let go and give yourself up completely but you know you probably shouldn't. It's not an easy song to get, IMHO. When you do, it's a masterpiece. It's the sonic anatomy of depression. I think this song was a hit because it relates to a very particular feeling that no song succeeded in encapsulating that way ever before and that many people felt at some point in their lives. If you never felt that way or don't have that specific musical background, the song can feel like nothing special and totally fly under the radar.
I appreciate how you can honestly state that a certain piece of music isn't much to your liking, yet you're fully able to analyze its good qualities. Many music lovers can't make that distinction.
From a songwriting, performance, and production standpoint, "Black Hole Sun" is a masterpiece. It draws inspiration from a long history of psychedelic rock. I'm reminded of songs like "Tomorrow Never Knows" by The Beatles. Both the music and lyrics explore striking contrasts - order and chaos, harmony and dissonance, beauty and darkness.
"Black Hole Sun" is slow, dreamlike, strange, enigmatic, surreal. (Definitely not your typical #1 pop song.) Every time I listen to it, I hear something new and different.
PF fan here, but grunge fan too... Grunge as one of its roots in psychedelic rock (/Pink Floyd), I'm quite sure of that. Syd Barrett is an icon for a lot of them (Chris Cornell included)... Sadly, I think it's the "grunge mood" that she doesn't relate to. It's "dark", "pessimistic", "sad" etc. It can "rocks" but it's on the "stone end of the music"... (Stone, stone, stone, stone, stone... You see what I did here :) ).
I think it's sad because maybe she will have difficulties to appreciate those sound (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, etc.)
Maybe it's not for 'everybody", we each have our range of emotions, and some don't really enjoy the "low mood" (/kind of depressive?).
layne staley should be next
And Scott Weiland.
Love Hate Love
Layne is my favourite grunge singer❤
Mad Season River of Deceit
Aic is such misery porn i cant stand that band and their fans are so cringe. Worst of the big grunge bands for me. Give me nirvana or soundgarden any day over that miserable boring crap.
"The Day I Tried to Live" off the same album is a must listen to get Chris' full vocal and emotional range.
Awesome song. I also love "Fell On Black Days"
4th of july
I absolutely love how that song ends. It really is quite an experience, so many emotions all crystalized perfectly. It has sarcasm, optimism, disillusionment... Man its all over the map but its extremely coherent. Really an incredible song, and also Chris really wails like a banshee, I mean he's always great (Hunger Strike?) But that song just blows me away!
"Like Suicide" is an absolute masterpiece (its not about suicide).
"The Day I Tried To Live" is my favorite Soundgarden song, and probably a top-5 rock song for me.
Norah Jones sang this a week after Chris passed away, in the same venue they played their last gig. The raw emotion and feeling she puts into it, in her inimitable way, is utterly spellbinding. It is the most beautiful cover I’ve ever heard.
Agreed
👏👍
I really like this weekends reactions, keep doing these great series. It' gives a better perspective and understanding of an artist.
Wow!! I truly love hearing her critique of music!! My favorite band since I was 8 was Queen, but, being a teenager of the 90s, grunge was everything and everywhere. I love Soundgarden and was in high-school when this song came out. I didn't like it as much as others, and think for almost the same reasons. It is so good at sounding incredibly sad and final. I love the songs Seasons and Rusty Cage by Soundgarden. Even when she doesn't like a song as much as she expected, she takes such time and care to explain why. ❤
I remember when I was going to music college, and I learnt this song and the arpeggio patterns on the high,E,B and G strings were very interesting as they had a lot of suspended and 7th chords.
I've always loved this song from when it was released, glad you gave it another listen and that you've delved into Chris more deeply. He was so talented and had a singular voice.
I can't separate this song from the video, which enhances it for me (not always the case, but i do find non mainstream music often inspires brilliant videos). There's some definite Twin Peaks vibes going on in this one.
"In my shoes, walking sleep
In my youth I pray to keep
Heaven send hell away
No one sings like you anymore"
Rest easy, Sweet Chris.🙏
Soundgarden was one of them bands that I connected with straight away. The first Album I bought was Louder Than Love in 89 when I was 18 after I heard Hands All Over, when Superunknown came out I was totally blown away, it changed what I expected from music and must admit I am always a little bemused when people don't love Soundgarden! For me Black Hole Sun is like a very dark adult nursery rhyme, but when I was a child fairy tales had the macabre endings not the sanitised versions of today, so maybe that makes sense!
If you find Chris Cornell’s voice interesting I think you might possibly enjoy the work of Scott Weiland in the band Stone Temple Pilots. They arose to fame around roughly the same years that the grunge bands did so they tend to be associated with those, even though Stone Temple Pilots were perhaps more experimental and shifted a lot between hard rock and soft rock. Scott Weiland was a total cameleon of a singer who sang in many styles but that pretty much fit into the band’s evlectic sound. I think that if you want to get a sense of where music was being and where it was going in many odd ways during the 90’s they are a band that are very ”helpful” (in spite of better word) and nice to experience. Scott Weiland unfortunately died in 2015 from an overdose. Their new singer is good but not quite as curious, playful and eccentric in his singing and overall style.
Some great melodic, deep masculine baritones from that era. Is Eddie Vedder the only one of that class still breathing?
Apart from his powerful and unique voice Chris was known for being the most melodic singer of the style. Regrding Soundgrden music nd style it is known for being very dark and not for everyone.
thanks for the insights on the songs you choose, makes me feel and see aspects I never thought of, very refreshing
Love this song so much. Makes me feel all tingly
Thank you for your appreciation. This is a great song with one of the best rock singer. The song evolves to a cathartic climax ending. And it has a great production.
A Sound Garden is an actual place, it is a sound sculpture Park done by a guy named Douglas Hollis, it is located on NOAA property at the old Sandpoint naval station overlooking lake Washington in Seattle. It's a wonderful place.
They were so good and smooth with odd time-signatures. It took me years before I realized that the solo section of this song was in 9/4.
I can't hear this song w/o thinking about our 3 year-old daughter rocking back and forth in her car seat singing "Black Hole Sun."
(FWIW she also liked to sing "T-N-T, I'm dy-no-mite" and on her "Star of the Week" poster in kindergarten had us list Nirvana and Foo Fighters as her favorite bands)
The music video contextualises it even more perfectly.
I think there song “Outshined” represents Soundgarden the best, but that’s just me. My favorite part of Blackhole Sun is the vocal melody in the verses, just fantastic! I’m enjoying these reactions.
The best thing about this song is the way Chris avoided establishing a tonal center with the chordal/melodic construction. There’s a lot of chord coloration in the guitar arpeggios that add moodiness, texture, and depth…but they also disguise the functionality of the chords. This is also made even more mysterious by Ben Shepherd’s bass playing, often not following the root of the chords, but creating inversions in his strange, slow descending walk through the verse.
All of this creates a sense of unease and even feeling a bit lost, and not knowing where you’re headed. Really, the only time you feel like there’s resolution musically is the final chord of the guitar solo (which then becomes the last chord of the song). Other than that, you just feel lost in an alien tonal soup…definitely moving, but not going anywhere.
It’s interesting that the thing I love about it is exactly what you don’t connect with. Different strokes, I suppose.
I'm a Soundgarden fan and this is far from my favourite songs of theirs. I usually skip it on my playlist but that is because radio overplayed it back in the day, as much as anything.
This was interesting having you re-evaluate a previously heard song to see if your now deeper rock listening experience and appreciation changes your opinion. Your greater experience and appreciation is evident here, but of course this doesn't mean you will like it any more. Perhaps with some songs you will like them better, but just having a greater appreciation is also important. You don't always need to do these re-listens on camera, maybe just doing those on camera you have listened to again and really have more that you want to say. For the others you can just mention your experience on a re-listen in passing during other reactions. Either way, it is useful in your own rock music appreciation growth.
I agree, Lee. Nice to see ya! 👋
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 Good to see you too Helene!😃
A re listen is indeed interesting.
Hear haer.
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 So YOU'RE Helen! Lee spilled the beans. Hi there.
I always thought and still think this song is brilliant. Remember first time I heard it when it came out when I was 13 years old, and I was taken by it's interesting, wonderful, and slightly "jazz"/grunge- chord progressions and odd time signatures. And of course Chris Cornell's powerful voice. It's a masterpiece.
It was really enjoyable doing the deeper dive on a great vocalist like Chris Cornell (R.I.P.) He truly was one of the greats. I would love to see some more of these "Weekend Excursions". I would love to see you do one on Devin Townsend. He is a unique artist breaking new ground with every release he makes. He can help you meditate, make you tap your foot and sing along, or bang your head! Oh, and he does an excellent version of "Bring Him Home" from "Les Mis" on the CBC. Trust me. You've never heard anyone like Devin Townsend.
This song has special memories for me. I remember being 12 to 13 years old and seeing this video at my aunt’s house in 1994. I wasn’t allowed listening to modern music and this song is what got me hooked on rock. It always struck me that this song is what changed everything for me when growing up in an ultra Christian home. I didn’t know anything outside of oldies and Christian music and this whole album was a game changer for me.
Awesome listen and review. May I recommend listening to the sound engineer interview with Michael Beinhorn who was the key member to the sound of the recording and some of the ideas in the sound. The singer went through a lot of microphones in order to find the best one for his voice.
One mindset that influenced the song (and the SuperUnknown album) is that modern society and particularly the music industry was leading us away from good authentic experiences and music. Black Hole Sun is in part lifting up this idea that modern music is lacking and fake... and it's reasonable to say that the unease and even nausea you feel when you hear the song is intentional. Very evident in the music video which goes to extremes to be disturbing using imagery that intentionally looks fake and distorted. publisher: "You Make Me Sick I Make Music" Thanks for the video!
I liked it more the second time... and the third.
But that's relatively "courant" as we say here, to appreciate more the future listenings...
During Peter Frampton's "Frampton Comes Alive 35" Tour, he did a killer version of this as an encore.
Yes I heard that also. It was fantastic! Was not the encore in Cincinnati.
I’ll continue to say that Slaves and Bulldozers is the best song to display his full range. Nice reaction
You should watch the video for this one. It's deliciously creepy.
It's OK to dislike songs. I happen to really like this one for exactly that bleak aesthetic that you say you don't like. I just love how it gets so chaotic at the end. Like the black hole is swallowing the earth.
Thanks for sharing Amy. Fell on black days is also a song worth looking in to from them. Chris also had another band by the name of Audioslave if you want to look in to his music further.
From this same album, Fell on Black Days is a song that I like better. Record sales numbers are not a very precise measure of the virtues of a song.
Nice reaction Amy, thanx. Instead of all this beautiful harshness, it would be nice to listen to some warmth from Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield or Prince. It really should be listened on your rocktrip.
You're quite incredible
Thank you
I love this song.Its got a hypnotic vibe.
Although it was possibly his biggest commercial success, his greatest achievements artistically were as a member of Audioslave, in particular, "Like a Stone," and "Be Yourself" which are well worth hearing. Always enjoy your reviews, and as a songwriter, I learn some technical aspects I had not thought about.
It’s a great idea to go and listen over a period of time. It’s makes a big difference. I commend you. Great job.
Scott Welland.what a voice.great talent
ALIVE IN THE SUPERUNKNOWN!!!! Go for OUTSHINED next!!!
It's good, because he is a staple of grunge rock. It will help on Alice in Chains listens.
Have you watched the video for this song? It's,dare I say,iconic. I can still see it in my head,all these years later. Kind of like the Blind Melon 'Bee Video' ("No Rain").
Amy, i really wish you'd listen to the acoustic 'Seasons' from the 'Singles' soundtrack.
I also wish you'd listen to his James Bond song 'You Know My Nsme'.
Like Suicide is a similar song on this album that doesn't have the odd effects (which I learned to love), a fantastic listen.
PLEASE Do "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel. You will love it!
My Favorite Channel! Peace
Would love to see you cover some Elvis Costello, keeping in mind his lyrical genius. “Watching the Detectives”, “Veronica”, “Green Shirt” are all good places to start and musically varied as well.
Watching the Detectives was amazing, as was Oliver's Army.
No one sings like you anymore x
RIP Chris x
Why I wonder you left out his best vocals on his best song Chris and Soundgarden's best song is Fell On Black Days, I hope you listen and breakdown this my favorite Soundgarden song.
I'm so pleased you got into Chris Cornell
Glad you revisited. Imho this is one of the more impressive songs from the grunge movement.
Does anyone know if Chris Cornell had a say in the direction of the scenes in the music video?
Epic vocal performance
one greatetest from Cornell
It's Grunge Baby!!
@VirginRock, have you watched the corresponding video for this song?
Very first video listening to you, interesting to see your process and analysis.
Have you heard "Like a stone"? Might resonate more, maybe because it shows off his voice better.
Steel rain,
Hopes and promise fade live 2009.
Chris cornells 2 underrated song.
Perhaps, you might try something with Chris solo.... outside of Soundgarden, you can find "You Know My Name" from the Casino Royale soundtrack. It is Superb!
After posting the below, I wanted to say that for me, Black Hole Sun made me fell like that dark depression was coming on, and for us who have it, you know what I mean. It creeps up on you like slow moving, dirty sap that begins to "block out the sun," like a fever nightmare that eventually smothers you in darkness, hopelessness, and fear -- no more sun, just a black hole -- and there is nothing you can do about it.
Oh my goodness please tell me that Pretty Noose and The Day I tried to Live are on the way
As a singer, I think the late 90s (first solo album) are peak Cornell, but he became known for being a very different style of singer. Their album before Superunknown, Badmotorfinger, has some very muscular performances and compositions (Rusty Cage, Outshined).
Chris is the greatest by far but for me stay with me baby from the hbo soundtrack is the most moving song that destroys me emotionally every time I hear him sing it. It always reminds me that I always saw him later in life sitting on a front stoop with a guitar in Louisiana singing all the blues greatest songs…. It’s sad they off’ed him like they did it’s not fair!! Rip to the G.O.A.T.!!
I think the biggest barrier to enjoying this song is the production, mainly the large amount of compression on this track. They would sacrifice dynamics for consistent volume and it’s generally mixed for the radio. Good song though
I would agree with you. I'm a huge Soundgarden fan, but I've never understood why this is the song most gravitate to. Personally, I love Slaves and Bulldozers. But I'm odd.
Amy, Vlad, thanks for introdusing Chris Cornell's music. I never heard him (and even about him and about bands, he participated with) before. Speaking about this particular song: it's a very decent piece of rock music. I don't, really, have any dislike for his voice or arrangement of this song, as Amy has. My only complaint is: he shouldn't have copied the style of the Beatles (their late albums) so blatantly. The harsher sound of the instruments does not help, the music still sounds very secondary to the Beatles.
Please do some other Soundgarden songs. While I love Black hole sun, it was their most "poppy" song and one of the least musically intricate in a lot of ways. So much more to explore within that band. You should do "Burden In My Hand" next.
The most melodic song of the nighties
Some of my favorite music took many listens to appreciate. I find it ironic that I first thought Black Hole Sun was too mainstream for my tastes, and then grew to appreciate its sad beauty. On a different track, it's worth understanding that harshness is relative. When Metallica came out, I had to convince my metal friends to listen to them, and now I hear Metallica in my local grocery store.
You could say there's a lot of "fatalism" in the generation X bands that were popular in the 90s. You have Nirvana, whose lead singer also committed suicide, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and several others whose music was on the darker side.
Aawww djeah Amy is getting it. See you in the Download mosh pit 2025 baby!
For more Chris Cornell, you should check out his side project band Temple of the Dog. The band consists of members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.
Maybe now you're ready to listen to other Soundgarden songs (not only because is my favourite band, but I really think is the best band of the 90's) and you could find another treasures in their discography.
i enjoy the way you said you would do the entire Wall album by Pink FLoyd but havent done that but decided to do this song twice.
The song "Seasons" is a must listen!
You had a great idea doing this again
one of her patrons should request love hate love lol. i feel it’s a must listen.
With SO MANY great Soundgarden tunes, why insist on this not-so-great one??
Probably because it's their most famous song and most people's introduction to the band.
@@darcyperkins7041Well, one time is ok
Have to disagree. It is a great one along with many others. I find it gripping
This bird just doesn't stop talking.
Well done Amy! I saw Soundgarden back in the mid 1990s. I loved them personally.
i believe if you get the context of the song a bit more you might even appreciate this song even more see his good friend Kurt Cobain had recently passed away and he refrenced him in the lyrics when he sing Heaven send hell away , no one sings like you anymore ...so in a particular way this so ng is a little bit happy as far as the melody is concerned I feel it is like he has resolved to cope with the horrible trajedy that happened to his friend and he is asking for a black hole to suck up this world to get rid of the bad things that seem to be the cause of these said tragedies' I like the use of the Leslie on the high register guitar part . Normally a Leslie is used os say a Hammond Organ ...it is a fan blade kind of contraption mounted above a speaker that is used at various speeds to get that unique sound also I love Chris dubbing his voice , yelling Black Hole Sun along with the Chorus and it is way in the background with alot of reverb and it is not in key ....when Chris passed away , Nora Jones performed a version of this song with her on piano and singing and I think it is a beautiful Tribute
Amy I know your venue on youtube is about rock music, the spectrum of rock is a lot broader. It might be interesting to investigate the rock genre at the edges. Maybe eastern music's version of rock. Rock, rock 'n roll is an American invention and truly begins from the black experience. How about Bombino or Ali Farka Touré from West Africa. Or Jamaica's own Bob Marley and the Wailers. And Alabama Shakes from the USA.
Interesting that you would describe his voice as “metallic”. In 1992 Soundgarden released an short record with a palindrome for it’s title: satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas
The odd thing about this being their signature song is that most of their stuff doesn't sound so intentionally unsettling
"unsettling" to one person is very "settling" to others. That's what makes music magical.
@@hippydippy not a judgement, the effect of using unstable and dissonant intervals like the rhythm guitar during the verses is an unsettled, unresolved feeling, and in this song they purposely accentuate it to match the topic of the song, which is also a bit unsettling from jump with the idea expressed in the title.
More of a Badmotorfinger guy but I blasted the crap out of this album for 2 years in the 90s.
Amy, you can't be more lovely....Marry me please !!! 🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍
I suggest to listen to Cranberries' "zombie"
Amy, I agree with much of your critique about the sound. I find I like the basic song, the melody, the lyrics, the structure. What I don't like in this recording is the production. If I were to produce this I would have deadened the drums out just a tad, turned them down, and I would have used a different tonal quality for the distortion on the quitar. Also, the keyboard sound could have been sweetened up a little. I'm wondering what you would have changed had you produced this. If you get a chance I would like to hear your ideas.
I want to see you do some rock songs t6hat feature humor. My suggestion is Big Balls by AC/DC 🤪
Try Nora Jones cover at his memorial concert
"Burden in My Hand."
Hi Amy,
You've managed to find some optimism in Chris Cornell's solo songs Sunshower and When I'm Down, but here, in Black Hole Sun, you feel his usual emotion: depression, fatalism, gloominess...
I wished you had analysed the chords & melody of Black Hole Sun, since they're so interesting. Instead, you've talked about the tonal quality of his voice and the place his voice takes in the mix. It's as if you only scratched the surface of this "piece"...
You might enjoy a dynamic song sung by Elvis Costello.
Check out Norah Jones' version of Black Hole Sun. Deeper.
I guess it’s fatalistic in the way that “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. But it’s really just dark imagery with nothing behind it. People try to claim it’s about this or that, but Chris has said he just wanted dark imagery to got with this really dark music. That’s why it’s all vague imagery and non sequiturs that leave you feeling uneasy even though there’s nothing really behind it. It’s just the final thoughts of a man experiencing the last few moments of his life before the earth is destroyed by a n impending black hole.
Hi Kyle
I heard this anew.
Yes, it's baroque and it's on purpose. But I think that the interest of the song is not where it is expected at first. Which can be very misleading.
People unexperienced with Goya might be skeptical about his work if they were accustomed to Renaissance paintings before because they would look for some classical beauty when the point happens to be elsewhere.
I think this applies here as well. The song is gritty. The arpeggio is off. Sonically dissonant. The drums and bass prevent you from moving forward. And it makes people feel uncomfortable at first. It describes a sort of limbo where nothing is ever resolved. And it musically should feel just as uncomfortable.
It's ambiguous. You can't tell if it's about someone up being pulled down or someone down being pulled up. It's somewhere in between, just like those pictures where you just can't tell if it's picturing a sunset or a sunrise. You are stuck in a spot of uncertainty.
But little by little, you get your marks. The same way one can grow to like melancholy and let themselves drown in it. It leads you to liminal places, between reality and delusion, hope and despair, where pain and beauty aren't differentiable anymore. Where the total discomfort becomes gradually complaisant. You want to let go and give yourself up completely but you know you probably shouldn't.
It's not an easy song to get, IMHO. When you do, it's a masterpiece. It's the sonic anatomy of depression.
I think this song was a hit because it relates to a very particular feeling that no song succeeded in encapsulating that way ever before and that many people felt at some point in their lives.
If you never felt that way or don't have that specific musical background, the song can feel like nothing special and totally fly under the radar.