Singles [Soundtrack]

In the course of the two decades I have listened to music, my favorite decade for music was the early '90s when alternative (I hate using this world immensely) music was big thanks to the explosion of Nirvana and grunge (another term I hate using) music. One of the most defining moments in alternative music that particular decade was the Seattle-based film "Singles" (one of the few films I can stomach from Cameron Crowe). Not only did I love the film but the soundtrack was equally good. It had some of the hottest modern rock bands of the decade on one cd. Not only was it the soundtrack to an excellent film but also the soundtrack to generation x (ugh! another term I loathe). One of my personal favorite songs on the cd is by Minneapolis hero Paul Westerberg "Dyslexic Heart", an incredibly infectious song that I could not get out of my head when I first heard the song. The cd kicks off with one of the most premier grunge bands from the '90s, "Would" by Alice in Chains. It is one of my favorite songs by Alice in Chains with its trademark sludge guitars provided by Jerry Cantrell and nihilistic lyrics by Layne Stayley (R.I.P). Ironically enough, Cameron's wife Nancy Wilson (Heart/The Lovemongers) appears on the cd with her side project The Lovemongers. They do a fairly interesting cover of Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore". All the songs are great. I love the Screaming Trees' "Nearly Lost You" and "Seasons" by Chris Cornell. "Singles" is evidence to what great music that came out of the '90s. Too bad the new millenium has proven jacksquat.

The Grundge era of the early 90s was a wonderful time for me, growing up as a teen. The music, album and movie were great. I still love the grunge music from that time period. It's better than what happened musically the rest of the decade and into the new millenium.

This was one of the first albums (I got it on cassette) which I ever bought, back when I was about 15 or so in 1992. I had been listening to the radio for a year or so, hearing all those "grunge" sounds coming out of Seattle at the time. This became my favorite for 1992, and whenever I hear any of these songs these days it instantly takes me back to my teenage years, as awkward as they may have been, just because of the newness of the whole thing. So far as I can tell this was the last big "scene" in rock, to break at a national level. At the time, everyone was wearing flannels and faded jeans (I was no exception). Not all of the music has held up (I'd cite Alice in Chains as sounding more dated than the rest but maybe I just personally don't like the sound), but much of it sounds even better to me now than it did back then. The Chris Cornell solo track is very passionate and soulful (why didn't he just go solo back then??) and the Pearl Jam songs are better than anything I have heard on their albums. Basically, this is the only early-90s rock compilation you'll ever need, it has everything and as some reviewers pointed out, no filler. Even a throw-back to the best stuff from the 80s, with Paul Westerberg of the Replacements contributing a few great tracks. By the way, as this soundtrack gets so much press on its own, see the movie too! It's great, and now that I'm a few years short of 30 I appreciate it more.