Screaming Life
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| Screaming life | ||
 |
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| EP by Soundgarden | ||
| Released | October 1987 | |
| Recorded | ? | |
| Genre | Grunge | |
| Length | 22:16 | |
| Label | Sub Pop | |
| Producer(s) | Jack Endino, Soundgarden | |
| Soundgarden chronology | ||
|---|---|---|
| Screaming Life (1987) |
Fopp (1988) |
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Screaming Life is the debut EP by the grunge band Soundgarden, released in October 1987 on Sub Pop. It was recorded in Seattle's Reciprocal Studios by Jack Endino, who also produced Nirvana and Mudhoney. The first 500 copies of the EP were pressed on orange vinyl; after that, they were released on standard black. The EP is somewhat unrepresentative of Soundgarden's later sound, being more akin to "standard" rock n' roll music, much like "Kingdom Of Come" on the band's next EP, Fopp (later to be combined with the Screaming Life EP and released Screaming Life/Fopp).
The song "Hunted Down" was the first song on Sub Pop's "hold music" tape: according to guitarist Kim Thayil, "you would call them up, and when they put you on hold you heard "Hunted Down".
"Nothing To Say" is Soundgarden's first B-side, the A-side of the single being "Hunted Down". The song also appeared on the KCMU compilation tape "Bands That Will Make Money".
"Hand Of God" has an interesting backstory. Jack Endino found old rolls of quarter-inch tape at a garage sale, and some contained recordings of a preacher giving sermons in the early 1950s, but according to Endino the labels were near-illegible so the name of the preacher was lost. Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell had the idea to have a preacher on "Hand Of God", which led to Jack bringing the quarter-inch tape into the studio. The recording was synched up to the eight-track machine, copied to an empty track and by coincidence or because, as Endino says, "God smiled upon us", the tape rolls matched perfectly with the track. Cornell added his own preacher-style words in the bridge, those being "Let it be known today that if you've got two hands you're supposed to pray". Endino still has no idea who the preacher is or where it was recorded.
Screaming Life is also the title of a book of photography by Charles Peterson. The full title is Screaming Life: A Chronicle of the Seattle Music Scene. Printed by Harper Collins West in 1995 it is made up of mostly live photos that Peterson took from the mid 1980s though the mid 1990s. Many of Peterson's photographs were used as album artwork for "Grunge" era bands, including the cover of Soundgarden's major label debut Louder than Love. There is a forward by Bruce Pavitt of SubPop records and an essay by Michael Azerrad author of Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana. The book includes a CD with 9 songs selected by Peterson from bands of the era.
[edit] Track listing
| # | Song | Length | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Hunted Down" |
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Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil |
| 02 | "Entering" |
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| 03 | "Tears To Forget" |
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Hiro Yamamoto, Kim Thayil |
| 04 | "Nothing To Say" |
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Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil |
| 05 | "Little Joe" |
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Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil |
| 06 | "Hand Of God" |
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Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil |
[edit] External links
| Soundgarden |
| Chris Cornell | Kim Thayil | Matt Cameron | Ben Shepherd |
| Scott Sundquist | Hiro Yamamoto | Jason Everman |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and extended plays: Screaming Life | Fopp | Ultramega OK | Flower | Louder than Love | Screaming Life/Fopp | Badmotorfinger | Superunknown | Songs from the Superunknown | Down on the Upside | A-Sides |
| Singles: "Hunted Down" | "Flower" | "Loud Love" | "Hands All Over" | "Room a Thousand Years Wide" | "Jesus Christ Pose" | "Outshined" | "Rusty Cage" | "Spoonman" | "Black Hole Sun" | "Fell on Black Days" | "My Wave" | "The Day I Tried to Live" | "Superunknown" | "Pretty Noose" | "Burden in My Hand" | "Blow Up the Outside World" | "Ty Cobb" | "Bleed Together" |
| Related Articles |
| Temple of the Dog | Singles | Grunge music | Audioslave | Pearl Jam | Alice Mudgarden | Hater | Wellwater Conspiracy |
