Soundgarden: New Metal Crown
The thing I like best about the band Soundgarden is actually the connnotation of its name. It's borrowed from an extraordinary sculptural installation along Seattle's Lake Washington that emits exquisite tones akin to a choir of Tibetan monks. It's a common rite of initiation around here to spend an hour or more lying beneath the Soundgarden (which sounds nothing like Soundgarden), without saying a word, and staring at the emptiness of the sky.In this regard, Nickson's book is like lying in the aboriginal sculptural Soundgarden. In the '80s, long before Pearl Jam, before Nirvana, even "BSP" (before Sub Pop), the local music scene was in many ways as empty as a clear summer sky--but as pregnant with potential as our slate-gray autumn cloud cover. And Soundgarden was the first post-'60s Seattle band to really "make it big," and pass the industry rites of initiation on to their friends. This book is especially strong in capturing the sense of the scene before the media turned its ever-blinking, gorgon-like eye towards Jet City. And best of all, there's even some text about one of my all-time favorite bands (Amy Denio's "The Tone Dogs," with whom Matt Cameron drummed for awhile) and my all-time favorite club, the OK Hotel (featured in the movieSingles, a recent Soundgarden video, and home to monthly shows our friends put together).And, of course, if you're a Soundgarden fan, this is a must-have book.