Here We Are Now Entertain Us: Nevermind

If my eyes could show my soul,everyone would cry when they saw me smile ~ Kurt Cobain

The album that would  revolutionize the grunge movement was released on September 24, 1991. Not many of us rushed out to buy it ... until we say THAT video. 

While their first album Bleach was popular in the UK, in the US, the new grunge sound was just beginning to permeate the airwaves already thick with LA's hairbands. The previous week, Guns N Roses double albums Use Your Illusion I & II were released to phenomenal sales. Who was Nirvana? Flannel, heavy guitar sounds, and angst was ushered in by Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl: Nirvana. MTV and VH1 played music videos and Smells Like Teen Spirit propelled the band into the mainstream. Ironic when you set out to be against it. 

But why has the album been classified as the one to push grunge across the mainstream boundary? What about Pearl Jam's Ten or the Alice in Chain's Facelift? What about Soundgarden? To most, it sounded like noise. To a music lover, it was filled with layers of varying music styles, perfect pitch, and poetic lyrics. Nirvana's Nevermind was the gateway album to all of grunge and to those bands who inspired the grunge movement as well. (See Mother Love Bone, and Green River)

Aside from the music, this shift from LA glam to Seattle grunge was also how many of our generation felt. GENERATION. This album represents a generation and a shift in music trends.  We were in that middle and high school funk. We didn't want high bangs, we wanted docs and flannel and we were tired of everything having to be perfect. We wanted new music. Nevermind was like nothing we'd heard before. 
 

Smells Like Teen Spirit
Kurt Cobain's attempt at sounding like the Pixies and making fun of a 90's teen deodorant was the tipping point for grunge's birth into the mainstream. The video alone was novel, gone were the bikini clad models and welcomed were anarchist cheerleaders in black and dancing custodians at a dingy high school band assembly. The song is filled with chord progressions and nods to power chords of the 70's and 80's. Grohl's drumming and Novoselic's steady bass combine with Cobain's unique yet perfectly tuned voice.

 Our little group has always been
And always will until the end

Hello, hello, hello, how low?

 
In Bloom
If this song didn't convince you of the gifted mind of Kurt Cobain, nothing ever will.  The song is a message to the fans who have no clue what Nirvana were about. This song is driven by the progression of the harder chorus and softer vocals that would be a signature model for many of the band's songs.

The video is the first of many of the 90's to use the old is new again approach, making a parody of 60's music variety shows. 

 
Come As You Are
An eerie song and music video that drew inspiration from the Nevermind cover.It's lyrics are contradictory (take your time, hurry up, choice is yours, don't be late) and it is more subdued than the first two tracks.
 
Breed 
Grohl's machine gun drumming ten second into the song cement a hypnotizing beat along with Krist's bass and Kurt's repetitive lyrics. Repetitive to represent the mundane and ground hog day suburban life.

Lithium
Subdued and poetic, angry and desperate. The song is a telling look into Kurt's mind. 
 
I'm so happy 'cause today
I've found my friends ...
They're in my head
I'm so ugly, but that's okay, 'cause so are you ...
We've broken our mirrors [Alt: We broke our mirrors]
Sunday morning is everyday for all I care ...
And I'm not scared
Light my candles in a daze ...
'Cause I've found god

 The thoughts of a suicidal person and finding god to get you through it.

 
Polly 
A disturbing song that champions a woman who overcame her captor. Poetic again and not fitting fully into the grunge sound, however the soft and pop sound ironically detailed into the thoughts of the captor himself. 
 
Territorial Pissings
Talk about the perfect mosh pit song. While the lyrics seem nonsensical there is this...
Never met a wise man, if so it's a woman

Drain You
Again, gifted lyrics even though lyrics were usually second in the production for Nirvana. 

 
Lounge Act
This song builds: spoken, shouting, yelling. It's also inspired by the bass line, which Kurt felt sounded like something from a cheesy lounge act. The song is also about a messy break up.

Stay Away
The irony is painful: I'd rather be dead than cool. The stardom that this album propelled them into was the exact opposite of what Kurt wanted. 

On A Plain 
I can totally hear early Foo in the "ohh ohh" ... which is fine since Kurt was okay with Dave's side project. It's a band staple and has every one of their signature sounds. It also offers a great transition into the final song of the album.

Something In The Way
 This song is magic. It is simple. It mellows out the anger and angst. There is nothing but Kurts guitar and voice until the drums, bass, and cello are softly mixed in. 

We may never have a moment like this again in our lives. We witnessed a musical transition in our generation. A musical revolution that happened at the same time when we transitioned from cassettes to CDs. A time when we used to go buy physical copies of music and play it from start to finish. Personally, I can remember who I was with and where I was when we first played this album. It was bold, different, and emotional. Music up to this point had been pop, sap, and a pancake make-up false facade. 

Kurt, Krist, and Dave gave us a platform and a soundtrack for our generation. We could be ourselves, angry, frustrated, and confused. Nevermind gave us an outlet. Nirvana also opened a world of music to many that never would have heard of. Nirvana was put into our lexicon before the word grunge, so the two have become synonymous. 

Mingle With The Gods Mingle With Divinity: Blood Sugar Sex Magik

I remember thinking that nothing could be any better than the 1989 Chili Pepper's Album Mother's Milk. I could not have been more wrong. While George Clinton's funk was still prevalent, Blood Sugar Sex Magik brought us heavier sounds and some pretty heavy topics. The album also debuted at the height of MTV and actual videos. The silvery desert debut of Give It Away thrust us into a powerful era and gave us potentially the best album The Red Hot Chili Peppers will ever produce.

Recorded in Houdini's reportedly haunted Hollywood mansion, the non-studio produced album was full of originality and chances taken by the band. Hillel Slovak had passed not even five years earlier and John Frusciante would leave soon after this album hit full popularity. For those looking for songs like Higher Ground or Knock Me Down, there would be disappointment.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is full of sex and drugs. Make no mistake, this album is a purge valve of hedonism, lust, drugs, regret, loss, and more sex. In the era of PMRC stickers, I was not able to get this one in at National Record Mart ... but go it a a yard sale! Way to circumvent the system. 

I quickly understood why it got the Parental Advisory sticker as there were more references than Darling Nikki that made me blush and run to turn down the cd player. 
This became my album (along with the Metallica Black album). Well not just mine. Mine and my best friend's album. So much so that we bought the shirts and also taped RHCP's on Pirate Radio - and listened to it over and over and so on. Anthony and Flea were like gods to us ... and Anthony seemingly knew his looks and fame were powerful. So much of this is evident in the album and it was also another reason why Frusciante would leave the band.


The Power Of Equality
The first few seconds are deceiving. It sounds like Anthoy is singing into a pillow and then boom ... Swing. It's quick and gets you really moving and ready for the album. It was hit hard politically as the song is very motivated by the discussion of race, bigotry, sexism, and hatred. 

If You Have To Ask
Very poetic and sing songy and with some Clockwork Orange language worked in. New vibe in the one for the Chili's and it worked. 

Breaking The Girl
Slowing it done and showing us what they are  really made of  in terms on content. It's the quintessential "our relationship was really rocky. This video though -- full of color and Anthony's Princess Leah manbuns. Low in Flea's bass but high on percussion.

Funky Monks
They're in a band. There are no monks in their band. There are no saints in the land ... no woman is able to escape their lure...because every man has certain needs.  Moving right along.  

Suck My Kiss
Fleas bass is heavy in this one ... like a big hug wrapping those strings around you. Anthony and those ladies. 

I Could Have Lied
Rumored to be about Anthony's very brief fling with Sinead O'Connor. It's a gorgeous acoutic guitar driven question about love and loss. 
Mellowship Slinky In B Major
Lots of B Major chords mixed throughout ... and a favorite of funk and James Brown. Lots of references to famous people ... including Anthony himself (Yo Swan).

The Righteous & The Wicked
Still such a relevant song about war, peace, and the state of the world. Lots of complexity in this song and has the build of Higher Ground.
Marvin Gaye my love, where did we go wrong?

Give It Away
Seriously crank this song. It's magic and alive and inspired by materialism. 
This video is the 1990's. 

Greedy little people in a sea of distress
Keep your more to receive your less
Unimpressed by material excess
Love is free love me say hell yes

Blood Sugar Sex Magik
A personal favorite. This song is lust about every aspect of a woman. The lyrics are like spoken word. I always wanted Anthony to sing this to me.  

Under The Bridge
The song that everyone knows as soon as you hear the first few notes. Such a therapeutic song for Anthony as it tells about his trials with drug addiction. 

Naked In The Rain
A fun song about loving life. 

Apache Rose Peacock
New Orleans. Women. Drag queens. Funk. Stop.

The Greeting Song
Driving song - pun intended. More women. More sex. And fun. Driving bass but not overpowering. 

My Lovely Man
Written for their guitarist Hilel Slovak. It's a letter of loss, respect, and love. 

Well I'm cryin' 

Now my lovely man 

Yes I'm cryin' 

Now and no one can 

Ever fill the 

The hole you left my man 

I'll see you later 

My lovely man if I can

In my room 

I'm all alone 

Waiting for you 

To get home

Sir Psycho Sexy
You have to love that Anthony makes fun of himself so much. Don't listen to this outloud if you've never listened to it before. Prepared to be shocked if you have delicate ears.

They're Red Hot
Ending of a completely different note. 
Fast, jazzy, and hot. Take with caffeine. 

September 10th, 2001

Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Or driving down some cold interstate?

Did you feel guilty
'Cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother
And tell her you loved her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?

Did you open your eyes, hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Or speak to some stranger on the street?

Alan Jackson - Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning

Twenty-four years ago today, life was simple for us. Terrorism was in the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Colombia. Twenty-four years ago today, we could look at an azure sky and enjoy it for what it was – pure, deep and inviting. People rode the subways, planes and buses without cause for concern. Washington D.C., Shanksville PA and New York City would never be mentioned in the same sentence on September 10, 2001.

Twenty-four years ago today, we saw and spoke to friends and family members for the final time. We watched as firefighters parked their cars at the firehouse for the night tour, hoping to watch the Giants-Broncos game between runs. Police officers stood at roll call for a quiet September night patrolling the city. Husbands, wives and flight attendants packed for their flights the next morning.

Twenty-four years ago today, we said goodbye to our innocence as we woke to a new world. In 102 Minutes, our lives would be forever changed.

Now, blue skies remind us of that day when they were blackened by smoke, when we heard the skies become silent and saw many act courageously in their final moments. Statements like, Let’s Roll and We're Three Truck and We’re Still Heading Up exemplify moments of bravery and final acts of humanity in a day filled with so much fear. Stories of the fire safety director who wouldn’t leave the Trade Center until he accounted for all of his employees, the equities trader with the red bandanna who saved 12 people, the final fight for their lives on board a hurdling plane, the firefighter running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in full gear to do his job, the police officer last seen as she helped victims to safety -- each one of these heroes gave their lives for others...this is what September 11th should be remembered as...selfless acts of courage. Our September 10th heroes looked up to our September 11th heroes in the following days. 

Twenty-four years ago on September 11th, our world changed, and it will never go back to the way it was. Something always reminds you of that day – a song, a fire truck, a plane, dust on the sidewalk. Although we must move on – never forget the sacrifices, the unspoken hurt that still remains, the friend’s phone number still on the cell phone after ten years or the want of a memorial for those never recovered.

Future generations won't know what life was like before this day. They will hear about it in reminisced stories by survivors, witnesses, victims' families, songs and TV. It is our job to keep the memories alive of the almost 3,000 victims who perished that day, the first responders who are dying now as a result of their rescue and recovery work and our soldiers who fight to defend our country. Our future generations need to know more than we were attacked by terrorists. They need to know that we were attacked by terrorists and brave human beings from 90 countries - civilian and military and even a bomb sniffing dog, died and many survived through brave acts by fellow human beings. They also need to know that day was hell -- it was terrifying to not know what was next, to watch humans perish in front of our eyes on live satellite television.  Life was extinguished and disappeared in an instant and we all experienced or watched it first-hand.

Twenty-four years on -- we have grieved, we are remembering, we are moving along, but we will never forget.

This Next Song Is Only Dedicated To Beautiful People Here Tonight...It Means All of You

Inspired by the famine in Africa, it began with the Do They Know it's Christmas? a single that blossomed into a humanitarian effort reminiscent of George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh.  It was the who's who of 80's (mainly British) pop music scene. Bob Geldof was inspired to do something - to make a difference. And people caught on to the idea. Festivals were not huge yet and they were all mainly political - Greenpeace, world peace, and fighting against nuclear proliferation.

 

Billed as the Rock Concert of the Decade, Live Aid took place on two separate continents on July 13, 1985. That concert cemented my love of live music. The lineup alone is a time capsule of the 80's: Simple Minds, Madonna, Adam Ant, Sting, Dire Straits, Queen, Elton John, George Michael, Hall and Oates, Pretenders, U2, Spandau Ballet, Run DMC, Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, REO Speedwagon, The Powerstation, Eric Clapton, and many many many more performers and presenters. Now we are used to TV studio fundraisers - and they do raise a lot of money. But this was different. This was getting all of those people and all of those bands to play - to be heard.

Of course, there were the naysayers who said that the money raised would do no good or would be given to warlords who would just pilfer the money away on weapons.

 Tim Russert, in an interview on Meet the Press shortly after O'Reilly's comments, addressed these concerns to Bono. Bono responded that corruption, not disease or famine, was the greatest threat to Africa, agreeing with the belief that foreign relief organizations should decide how the money is spent. On the other hand, Bono said that it was better to spill some funds into nefarious quarters for the sake of those who needed it, than to stifle aid because of possible theft.

But for many, they paid their ticket or donated their money and just wanted to see some music. Not all of the big bands of the 80's were present (ahem, Boy George).

But there were so many performers that no one would have ever imagined they would see in one day on a stage. Sting sang with Dire Straits, Tina Turner sang with Mick Jagger, and these two lovelies sang a duet. This was also the performance that I broke up with Boy George and wanted to marry George Michael. I had very understanding parents.

Two performances that echo to this very moment in my music soul: U2 and Queen. These two bands captured not only the crowd, but the world. Freddie Mercury hands down had the best performance and commanded Wembley Stadium. Bono took all those people and gave them a big Irish hug.  

U2's performance was very telling of the future of the band. This was pre-Joshua Tree Bono. This was Bono the child pied piper, mulletted, and making women swoon already. I truly believe the Bono we know today was born at Live Aid with Bob Geldof and 70,000 fans as witness.

And who doesn't think of Freddie Mercury's commanding presence and performance at Wembley that summer of 1985. Not knowing we would only have him grace us with his exuberant presence for a short six more years, I would love to be able to go back to that moment. To see him perform Hammer to Fall, rouse the crowd with We Are the Champions, and lead the Radio GaGa chorus is a glorious moment of our rock and humanitarian history.

  

 

We are extremely lucky to have what we do of the ten hours of music. Bob Geldof never wanted something like this to be done again - and most tapes, ABC, MTV, and so on, were destroyed or erased. Some artists such as Led Zeppelin, who performed so poorly that day, were enthusiastically pleased, I am sure. However, there is one irony, that because so many people watched from home, many captured those moments on their new VCR's. You have to admit, hearing Do They Know It's Christmas performed in July in London is a priceless moment. The bad camera angles and missed moments are so glaringly 80's

 

Twenty three performers sang to us from Wembley, and thirty five from JFK Stadium in Philadelphia (Phil Collins is counted twice with his Concorde flight). The goal was to raise £1 million. The final tally was over £150 million or $280 million.

 

We will never have another Live Aid. Not that we do not need it. It was a special moment in time that will never be re-lived. The energy and over the top, care free attitude of the 80's is gone. The irony of Madonna singing Holiday at a fundraiser for Ethiopia famine relief would be lost on many. It was a time of need and fear: Famine and the Cold War. Music was and still is going to solve all the problems in the world. If only it were that easy.

 

 

Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you.

Do They Know It's Christmas? Band Aid

I Became a Visitor to Hell

Our boat touched sand and the ramp went down, I became a visitor to hell. I shut everything out and concentrated on following the men in front of me down the ramp and into the water.  -Pfc. Harry Parley, 116th Infantry Regiment, US 29th Division

June 6th marks the anniversary of Operation Overlord, the Allied Invasion of Normandy. D-Day, June 6, 1944, saw the beginning also of Operation Neptune, or the Allied Assault against German Forces. Thousands finally made their way towards France. The first assault began from the sky: 

I looked at my watch and it was 12:30. When I got into the doorway, I looked out into what looked like a solid wall of tracer bullets. I said to myself, 'Len, you're in as much trouble now as you're ever going to be in. If you get out of this, nobody can ever do anything to you that you ever have to worry about!

  --Pvt. Leonard Griffing, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, US 101st Airborne Division

It was a weird feeling, to hear those heavy shells go overhead. Some of the guys were seasick. Others, like myself, just stood there, thinking and shivering. There was a fine rain and a spray, and the boat was beginning to ship water. Still, there was no return fire from the beach, which gave us hope that the navy and the air force had done a good job. This hope died 400 yards from shore. The Germans began firing mortars and artillery. --Sgt. Harry Bare, 116th Infantry Regiment, US 29th Division

The invasion was postponed due to bad weather the day before. Mere boys were going into the unknown. Their lives would forever be changed once they found ground and began to fight.

There was this barbed wire area and a wounded officer who had stepped on an antipersonnel mine calling for help. I decided that I should go. I walked in toward him, putting each foot down carefully and picked him up and carried him back. That was my baptism. It was the sort of behavior I expected of myself.

--Lt. Elliot Richardson, medical detachment

... the craft gave a sudden lurch as it hit an obstacle and in an instant an explosion erupted.... Before I knew it I was in the water.... Only six out of 30 in my craft escaped unharmed. Looking around, all I could see was a scene of havoc and destruction. Abandoned vehicles and tanks, equipment strung all over the beach, medics attending the wounded, chaplains seeking the dead. --Pvt. Albert Mominee, 16th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 1st Division

Face downward, as far as eyes could see in either direction, were the huddled bodies of men living, wounded, and dead, as tightly packed together as a layer of cigars in a box.... Everywhere, the frantic cry, 'Medics, hey, Medics' could be heard above the horrible din. --Maj. Charles Tegtmeyer, Surgeon, 16th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 1st Division.

These men were faced with something training could never teach them. The sheer destruction, bodies being blown apart, men crying for their mother's - you cannot teach that, nor can you get over that horrid memory. But they moved on and conquered that beach. Once the beach was taken, the invasion moved inward to Western Normandy and cities like Caen.

News of the invasion was announced to the millions whose lives hung in the balance. The allies were coming to help. 

This is D-Day,' the BBC announced at 12 o'clock. 'This is the day.' The invasion has begun!... Is this really the beginning of the long-awaited liberation? The liberation we've all talked so much about, which still seems too good, too much of a fairy tale ever to come true?... the best part of the invasion is that I have the feeling that friends are on the way. Those terrible Germans have oppressed and threatened us for so long that the thought of friends and salvation means everything to us! -- Anne Frank, diary entry, June 6, 1944

It is reported that 2,499 Americans and 1,914 allied forces died that day alone. By the end of the operation itself, the United States lost 

29,000 soldiers, with another 106,000 wounded and missing; the United Kingdom lost 11,000 dead and 54,000 wounded and missing; Canada: 5,000 dead; 13,000 wounded and missing.

Tom Hanks famous line from Saving Private Ryan, "I'll See you on the beach", begins what for many, was the most factual and true movie vision of war that anyone had ever seen. War is hell.

I remember going to see Saving Private Ryan at the Richland Mall in Johnstown. The theatre was filled with veterans - and I couldn't have been prouder of my father. It took me into a world I could only see in his eyes. While he didn't leave for England on August 11th of 1944, he would land on Utah beach by August 24th, the sand clean of the remnants of D Day. He and his brothers would go on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge.

Friends, show your kids Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, Flags of Our Fathers, The Pacific, Masters of the Air, or Memphis Belle when they are old enough. Take them to the World War II Memorial, cemeteries, even a Veterans Day parade. Show them pictures. Please, I beg you, don't let the importance of these days, June 6th, December 7th, or December 16th become forgotten dates. It is my legacy, I know, easy for me to be so easily swept up in the importance because I have such a close relation to it. But it is our history-something we should be so very proud of. Our fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and even our grandmothers had an important part of the history of not only our country but of the world we live in.

My Uncle and Father - France, 1944

Quotes made possible by the national WWII Museum.

There Is The Moon Asking To Stay: Jeff Buckley

(c) MerriCyrr

 He had a way of playing the most beautiful song you've ever heard and still with the way that he sang, create a bit of an uncomfortable edge to it if he felt like it - mostly with his voice. ~ Chris Cornell

It was during summer classes of my sophomore year  at college. During my daily ritual of drinking a diet coke and watching MTV News for breakfast, I heard the news. Kurt Loder was talking about some guy named Jeff Buckley that had gone missing. Erroneously, I first thought he meant Jeff Beck. Who was Jeff Buckley, I kept asking myself while trying to study for an exam on Canterbury Tales ... who the hell is Jeff Buckley.

Fast forward three years later and I am in the gym  at Macquarie University in Sydney when I hear it. It was a voice I had never heard and he was singing Leonard Cohen. I had not made the connection in my memory yet when they mentioned his name: Jeff Buckley.

I rushed to the mall and right into the record store (God I miss those). I went right to the B's and found a few of his albums and went to the counter. As the lovely lady was scanning my purchases she mentioned how sad it was that he died so young. Heartbroken, I took my purchase back to our flat as I began to listen to Grace for the very first time, clearly marking a moment in my life as before and after I had listened to Grace. Then I finally remembered where I had heard his name before. 

May 29th marks the anniversary of when Jeff sang Whole Lotta Love while wading into the Wolf River for a swim. Three days previous, he had played his final show at Barristers in his new home city of Memphis. At 30 years of age, he left behind a gaping whole of need. With his first release Grace throttling him into celebrity and into a world where his heroes were praising him, there was now an emptiness of what could have been. 

(c) MerriCyrr

Twenty plus years on and Jeff is still somehow not as well known as many would assume. But those who are fans, were quickly caught up in the aura of Jeff and a bit of the mystique of who he was. While he fought those who tried to make the connection to his very absentee father, Tim Buckley, the physical and musical similarities were too obvious. Like many before him, he fought celebrity, playing under fake names just to play a show without being Jeff Buckley.

If you listen to Sketches, you quickly realize he was going to be like U2, changing his sound as he went along. Would it have been the one last nail in that red glitter coffin? I doubt it, but companies wanted Grace Part 2 and Jeff was not going to deliver that. 

Jeff Buckley was a complete package deal: looks, talent, and the equally talented musician father. His death rounded out and solidified what is now his mythic status. As of the music gods gave him back, he was found floating at the end of Beale Street on June 4th. 

The community of those who adore Jeff seems to grow slowly, but not at an Elvis level. In truth, it really is his life and not his tragic death that is celebrated. But to truly honor Jeff, we need to celebrate and remember his music. But not just Hallelujah. Listen to Mojo Pin, What Would You Say, or his glorious cover of The Way Young Lovers Do and appreciate Jeff for what he was: an artist. 

How do you want to be remembered?

Jeff: As a good friend. I don't really need to be remembered...I hope the music's remembered.

(c) MerriCyrr

Sap: Wonder How the Color Taste - Alice in Chains

Sap to this day remains one of the most underappreciated albums from the grunge era. Hidden between two indelible albums, Facelift and Dirt, the early 1992 release somehow snuck in almost unnoticed. Okay, it's technically an EP but it is so good it is album worth.

Layne Staley encouraged Jerry Cantrell to sing on this album that shares credit space with Ann Wilson, Chris Cornell, and Mudhoney's Mark Arm. Lyrically, it is a song about relationships. Musically, the harmonies that are complex yet still retains simplicity making this album a gift to the music senses.


Brother
Written by Cantrell about their parents divorce when his brother went to live with their dad. Gorgeous backing accompaniment by Ann Wilson. 

Roses in a vase of white
Bloodied by the thorns beside the leaves
That fall because my hand is
Pulling them hard as I can

Got Me Wrong

I can't let go
Threadbare tapestry unwinding slow
Feel a tortured brain
Show your belly like you want me to  

Strong lyrics that show more than tell about how we often mistake each other in relationships. 

Right Turn
Credited to Alice Mudgarden, this brilliant chorus of super talent makes you forget this song was performed by the band that brought you Man in a Box. Mark Arm is like the chanter on this song to Chris's full on bag pipe wail. A triad of perfection when Layne, Mark, and Chris round robin the final verses.

Well it's hard to believe that somebody tricked you
When you can see you were only high
It's all up to you so you gamble
Flat on your face and into the fire  

Am I Inside
Layne's solo start makes it feel like you're inside someone's head, hearing the loneliness. Ann Wilson's backing is again tempered slowly towards the end creating the cathartic need this song is begging for.  Lyrically, Yoda proud would be of this song. 

 Black is all I feel, so this is how it feels to be free
Surrounded by empty souls, artificial courage used
And because so, once was mine
I walk this maze alone

Love Song
The 90's were known for their hidden tracks. This gem does not disappoint. Filled with bodily sounds, bull horn lyrics, chanting, and la de da type melody, this song is a conundrum. Jerry Cantrell even said to Guitar World at the time that "this was the most bizarre song they ever recorded" ... and that is saying a lot!