Oh, how time flies. In two years, this will be the tenth
anniversary soundtrack for a landmark time in rock. Indeed,
Singles was just as powerful a statement in music as the
Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The Seattle music scene
literally changed the way some music executives thought of the
music industry for a couple of years. Now, as Kim Deal of the
Breeders says, “It’s all about ass again.”
True, and many of the fans who flocked to the flannel bandwagon
immediately dove off when Hootie and the Blowfish offered its own
“back to rock” movement. While the ’60s counterculture had their
‘Summer of Love,” the hyper-rate of information of the ’90s barely
gave the Seattle music scene a chance to prosper. It was less than
a year-and-a-half between the time
Badmotorfinger hit the stores and a crowd-surfing commercial
from Budweiser hit the air.
But enough about the “movement,” lets focus on the music.
Surprisingly,
Singles ages pretty well. For all of the movie’s faux-coffee
house pompus bluster, the soundtrack did provide an excellent
snapshot at what was going on musically at that time.
Chart-toppers Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden all
provide strong songs and show bands who were still in their hungry
years. Alice in Chains’ “Would” hooks you with a nimble bass line
and powerful lyrics to boot. “State of Love and Trust” shows Pearl
Jam at their most ideologic, still thinking they could take over
the music world and hold on to their integrety.
Cult-favorites Mudhoney and the Screaming Trees also contribute
to the soundtrack. Screaming Trees had a minor hit with “Nearly
Lost You” and Mudhoney gave their opinion on the overexposure with
the snotty, “Overblown.” I remember sitting in the coffee house,
playing chess and trying to talk philosophy as best as I could for
an 18-year-old when I could literally see the unsettling looks of
most of the patrons when this song came on. Typical line, “All of
the bands from Seattle rock, except for Mudhoney.” Oh well, that’s
what true punks do: agitate.
Perhaps the most heartfelt moment of the album comes from the
epic ballad from Mother Love Bone. “Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns”
may have been a tad over-dramatic, but it was a dream of a song to
listen to in your car when you broke up with that special someone
who you knew you would never get over after high school. Hearing
Andy Wood’s voice along with the other voices of
Singles shows what might have happened if Wood would have
survived his overdose. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden may not have even
made it to the soundtrack.
To balance things out, Paul Westerberg, about 3/4 sober at the
time in 1992, contributes some poppy tunes with “Dyslexic Heart”
and “Waiting For Somebody.” Though these are a far cry from his
solo debut and his work with the Replacements, Westerberg’s voice
is inspiring to hear on this collection, especially since he had a
profound impact on many of the bands in college rock.
And for real classic rock fans, Jimi Hendrix’s “May This Be
Love” and The Lovemongers’s (read: Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart)
almost too-perfect cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Battle Of Evermore” are
featured. Finally, the album closes with “Drown,” by the Smashing
Pumpkins. No, the band did not come from Seattle, but its inclusion
showed that it didn’t have to take a band from Seattle to make a
splash in “alternative” music in the early 1990s.
So, fast forward to the 2000s. Soundgarden is no more, Smashing
Pumpkins barely made a dent with their last album and lord only
knows where Alice in Chains are. You would think that this would
make the soundtrack horribly dated, but it remains surprisingly
fresh, which is more than I can say about the movie. The exclusion
of Nirvana doesn’t need to be dwelled on terribly.
Singles did well on the charts because the audience was
there to hear something new.
And though some albums of the “grunge” movement haven’t aged
well at all,
Singles still has that intangiable element that make it a
great soundtrack: most of the bands on it had a youthful optimism
and a hunger that they could in fact, make a difference. And for
nearly two years, most of the bands on the soundtrack made a great
deal of difference.
