Fave Song On Alice In Chains - Dirt?

For me, it's very difficult to listen to this record without thinking of what eventually happened to Layne Staley. In fact, I'd say it was completely impossible. I mean, yeah, it's hard to listen to In Utero without thinking of Kurt Cobain killing himself months later, but where In Utero is lyrically cryptic in some places, Staley's "drug hell" songs on Dirt are quite up-front and explicit. Lyrics like "used to be curious/now the shit's sustenance" make it quite clear that Staley knew he had a problem. That he didn't manage to drag himself out of that rut, I find a more than a little sad, and it makes Dirt a bit of a painful listen these days for me.

Having said that, 'Junkhead' is more than a little unsettling for a different reason. It's pretty much a portrait/snapshot of a guy who is so far gone in his addiction that he doesn't see it as a problem. It's a bit of a controversial lyric, too: reading the lyrics cold off paper it comes across as being a pro-drugs song, but there's undoubtedly much more to the lyric than that.

aic are kind of a horrorcore gnr aren't they

this ... holds up

i am shocked but i am listening to it for the first time in probably 20 years and it is great

def holds up. comes out swinging too.

Loved the hell out of this album/band back in the day. Sickman is their Dazed & Confused.

Amazing album. wtf voted for iron gland tho? that's taking Slayer worship too far

I would have gone with Down in A Hole, I think. I battle with Staley's voice over a whole album, but song by song AIC still rule.

Yeah, this definitely still holds up, but I think a lot of major American alternative rock records from the '90s still hold up.

Big shout for Sean Kinney - fabulous drummer.

AiC lost a lot when the bassist quit

Hang on... I thought Starr was fired?

Either way, Mike Inez's bass on the Unplugged album is lovely.

no he quit.
xp

Yeah, I've heard the official line was that he quit, but I'm sure Starr himself is on record as saying he was fired.

he didnt want to tour was what he said at the time

AiC had the best vocal harmonies... like the pre-chorus in “hate to feel”

Ah yeah, just looked it up... he later said he was fired due to drugs, which is quite something when you think about it.

I saw them live in this era and expected them to R.O.C.K. and they were really stiff, awkward and boring except for the bass player who did the hair whirl-whip thing a lot.

this is the best album

i love that someone voted for iron gland

probably me because I vote for anything tangentially related to Slayer

hard to vote against "Would?". that song walloped me upside the head the first time I heard it as a kid, that chorus, but that "IF! I! WOULD! COULD! YOU?" ......chills

"Rain When I Die"'s chorus is majestic, but Cantrell does some fine work on this one as well.

always loved the verse of "Dam That River" a ton, plus the fuckin solo and the riff underneath it....

ooof i love this alb

would’ve gone for “sickman” in this poll. bad trip

oh yeah, the AHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH part

always loved how they had cool vocal harmonies on like every track, it was like the Crosby Stills and Nash of stoner rock except Layne was Crosby and Stills and Jerry was Nash and actually no they weren't that makes no sense

I think "Down in a HOle" is the first song off of this I ever heard.

"Them Bones" was the second and I was fairly shocked as at the time I'd only heard DIAH and the Jar of Flies album and didn't realize they were so heavy

So fucking good. Has to be “would?” but... yeah great album.

Thanks to discovering this thread I ... may actually revisit this record for the first time in 15-20 years.

Rain When I Die has a fantastic vocal performance from poor old Layne.

this is the best album

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, February 4, 2021 3:55 AM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I get the chorus from "Rain When I Die" pop in my head whenever I'm driving and it starts to rain

I think it's Down in A Hole but could be convinced it's Rooster. Fantastic album.

Love it but Rooster is a total momentum killer (maybe i've just heard it way too many times)

Dam That River was always my least favourite track on this killer album,

used to love Rooster, Angry Chair and God Smack but they definitely weren't my faves on returning to it the other week

Which gland were they talking about? Can someone explain to me the joke?

idk, between that and "God Am", I think they liked really bad puns and absurdism

just like that bonus track on Sap which featured Sean Kinney screaming word salad into a megaphone

I sang "Junkhead" at karaoke once, the audience found it very depressing. such a heavy-assed song

"rooster" has been somewhat diminished by overplay but also i sometimes think... "rooster" was a hit???? lol

i think it's still harrowing in sequence though

always took Iron Gland as a vamp on Iron Man tbh

Rooster's verses were some of Layne's finest singing.

definitely a strange hit. 90s alt rock radio allowed for some quirkier hits to emerge, esp Soundgarden's Superunknown tracks and their weird time signatures/tunings.

if there's one song I don't *love* outright, it's probably "Hate to Feel". I still like it, but it feels very disjointed, like riding a wooden roller-coaster that stops working periodically

i'm with the person who said "dam that river" is the weakest here. still a jam, just kinda lacks the "this song has a dark underbelly that's even scarier than the surface" feeling of pretty much every other track for me

it is an excellent track two for that reason tho

I love the prechorus of “hate to feel”, seriously intense vocal harmony

you love to feel it