Soundgarden Nearly Reunite At Tom Morello Justice Tour Stop in Seattle

Rock Daily spotted some reports about a near Soundgarden reunion last night in Seattle at one of Tom Morello's Justice Tour stops. RS reader Chris Senn writes in with an eyewitness account of what went down at the Crocodile Cafe after the MC5's Wayne Kramer, Morello's Nightwatchman, Steve Earle and Morello's new Street Sweeper had taken their turns onstage (YouTube below):

"Of course, with Tom Morello and Wayne Kramer in the building it's a given the audience is in for some kind of incarnation of 'Kick Out the Jams.' For lead vocals they brought out Mark Arm, lead singer of Mudhoney, while Morello and Kramer faced off in a guitar duel front and center stage. Shortly after this an additional guitarist showed up quietly, playing at the side of the stage. Although it's been over a decade since Soundgarden broke up and his signature beard is now gray, there's no mistaking Kim Thayil!

When Thayil was playing I could see Matt Cameron peeking around the backstage curtain. That's when it was obvious something was up because Cameron wasn't announced on the bill. After the song they were playing at the time ended, whatever it was, Tom Morello had the announcement those at the Croc had been waiting for.

'I haven't been this fucking excited about something in a long time,' Morello exclaimed, almost bubbling over with joy. 'It's like I won some type of contest or something.' Then came the introduction: Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd, Matt Cameron and Tad Doyle as Tadgarden!!

The Soundgarden bandmates, playing for the first time together since the band broke up in 1997, didn't take long to hit a groove. Tad Doyle, a veteran of the Seattle scene with a voice as rough as he looks and the size of about two Matt Camerons, screamed at the top of his lungs while bounding around the stage with reckless abandon. Their way-too-short three-song set rocked nonetheless. They tore through 'Nothing to Say,' and Morello joined them on 'Spoonman.' Kim Thayil displayed his signature guitar licks as if no time had passed. They finished with an energetic version of 'Hunted Down.' Then they were gone."

There you go, folks. Chris Cornell, are you reading this?

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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