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Black Hole Sun

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"Black Hole Sun"
Song
B-side"Like Suicide" (acoustic) / "Kickstand" (live)

"Black Hole Sun" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Black Hole Sun" was released in 1994 as the third single from the band's fourth studio album, Superunknown (1994). It is arguably the band's most recognizable and most popular song, and remains a well known song from the 1990s. The song topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it spent a total of seven weeks at number one. The song was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album, A-Sides.

Origin and recording

"Black Hole Sun" was written by frontman Chris Cornell. Cornell said that he wrote the song in about 15 minutes.[1] He used a Gretsch guitar to write the song, and commented, "I wrote the song thinking the band wouldn't like it—then it became the biggest hit of the summer."[2] Cornell came up with the song while using a Leslie speaker. Guitarist Kim Thayil said that the Leslie speaker was perfect for the song as "it's very Beatlesque and has a distinctive sound. It ended up changing the song completely."[3] The song was performed in drop D tuning. Drummer Matt Cameron called the song "a huge departure."[4]

Lyrics

Regarding "Black Hole Sun", Cornell stated, "It's just sort of a surreal dreamscape, a weird, play-with-the-title kind of song."[5] He also said that "lyrically it's probably the closest to me just playing with words for words' sake, of anything I've written. I guess it worked for a lot of people who heard it, but I have no idea how you'd begin to take that one literally."[6] In another interview he elaborated further, stating, "It's funny because hits are usually sort of congruent, sort of an identifiable lyric idea, and that song pretty much had none. The chorus lyric is kind of beautiful and easy to remember. Other than that, I sure didn't have an understanding of it after I wrote it. I was just sucked in by the music and I was painting a picture with the lyrics. There was no real idea to get across."[4] Commenting upon how the song was misinterpreted as being positive, Cornell said, "No one seems to get this, but "Black Hole Sun" is sad. But because the melody is really pretty, everyone thinks it's almost chipper, which is ridiculous."[7] When asked about the line, "Times are gone for honest men," Cornell said:

It's really difficult for a person to create their own life and their own freedom. It's going to become more and more difficult, and it's going to create more and more disillusioned people who become dishonest and angry and are willing to fuck the next guy to get what they want. There's so much stepping on the backs of other people in our profession. We've been so lucky that we've never had to do that. Part of it was because of our own tenacity, and part of it was because we were lucky.[8]

Release and reception

"Black Hole Sun" was released in the summer of 1994 and became the most successful song from Superunknown on the American rock charts and arguably the band's most recognizable and popular song. It appeared on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 Airplay chart, reaching the top 30. The following week it debuted on the Top 40 Mainstream, where it peaked at number nine in its eighth week and remained on the chart until its twentieth week. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song spent a total of seven weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock chart. At the 1995 Grammy Awards, "Black Hole Sun" received the award for Best Hard Rock Performance and received a nomination for Best Rock Song.[9]

Outside the United States, the single was released in Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top ten on the Canadian Singles Chart. It remained in the top ten for three weeks and became the band's highest charted song in Canada. "Black Hole Sun" reached the UK Top 20 and was the last single from the album which charted in the UK Top 20. The song remains the band's highest charting single in the United Kingdom to date. "Black Hole Sun" debuted at number ten in Australia but quickly descended the chart, however widespread airplay and a promotional visit to Australia stimulated a resurgence of interest in Superunknown. "Black Hole Sun" would peak at number six on the Australian Singles Chart. "Black Hole Sun" reached the top 30 in Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, and was a top ten success in Australia, France, and Ireland. It was a moderate top 20 success in Sweden. The single has sold over three million copies worldwide.[10]

Greg Prato of Allmusic called the song "one of the few bright spots" of the summer of 1994 when "the world was still reeling from Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain's suicide the previous April." He said, "The song had a psychedelic edge to it (especially evident in the verse's guitar part), as the composition shifted between sedate melodicism and gargantuan guitar riffs. The lyrics were classic Chris Cornell—lines didn't exactly make sense on paper but did within the song."[11] Jon Pareles of The New York Times said, "The Beatles' techniques—fuzz-toned low chords, legato lead-guitar hooks and lumpy Ringo Starr-style drumming...are linked to Lennon-style melody in 'Black Hole Sun'."[12] J.D. Considine of Rolling Stone stated, "With its yearning, Lennonesque melody and watery, Harrisonstyle guitar, "Black Hole Sun" is a wonderful exercise in Beatleisms; trouble is, it's not a very good song, offering more in the way of mood and atmosphere than melodic direction."[13] Ann Powers of Blender proclaimed that "Cornell's fixation with the Beatles pays off with the hit single 'Black Hole Sun'."[14] The solo for "Black Hole Sun", performed by Thayil, was ranked number 63 on Guitar World's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos",[15] and number 56 on Total Guitar's list of the "100 Hottest Guitar Solos".[16] The song was included on VH1's countdown of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s" at number 25.[17] It was also included on VH1's countdown of the "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" at number 77.[18]

"Black Hole Sun" is a playable song in the 2007 video game, Rock Band.[19] The song is also available in the 2008 video games, Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore,[20] and SingStar 90s, for the PlayStation 2.[21] Also, a section of the Nintendo DS 2008 role-playing game, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, is titled "Black Hole Sun", a very likely reference to the song. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will feature the song in its downloadable content library.

Music video

The surreal and apocalyptic music video for "Black Hole Sun" was directed by Howard Greenhalgh,[22] produced by Megan Hollister for Why Not Films (London, England), shot by Ivan Bartos, and features post-production work by 525 Post Production (Hollywood, California) and Soho 601 Effects (London). The video follows a suburban neighborhood and its inhabitants which are eventually swallowed up by a black hole, while the band performs the song somewhere in an open field. In the video, Cornell can be seen wearing a fork necklace given to him by Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon.[1] In an online chat, the band stated that the video "was entirely the director's idea," and added, "Our take on it was that at that point in making videos, we just wanted to pretend to play and not look that excited about it."[23] Thayil said that the video was one of the few Soundgarden videos the band was satisfied with.[24]

The video was released in June 1994.[25] After several weeks of airplay on MTV, a second version of the video was substituted containing more elaborate visual effects than the original, including the addition of a computer-generated black hole. The music video for "Black Hole Sun" became a hit on MTV and received the award for Best Metal/Hard Rock Video at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards.[26] In 1995, it received the Clio Award for Alternative Music Video.[27] The video is available on the CD-ROM Alive in the Superunknown.

Cover versions

"Black Hole Sun" has been covered by numerous artists. An instrumental version of the song by The Moog Cookbook appears on the band's 1995 debut album, The Moog Cookbook, performed entirely using vintage analog synthesizers. Cibo Matto covered the song on their self titled debut 1995 EP release. Another one of the first cover recordings was a jazz version by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé on the 1997 compilation album, Lounge-A-Palooza. Former Hugo Largo vocalist Mimi Goese covered the song on her 1998 solo album Soak. The singer-songwriter Paul Anka gave "Black Hole Sun" a swing treatment on his 2005 album, Rock Swings. A cover was also done by the band Copeland which was featured on the 2006 compilation album, Punk Goes '90s. Peter Frampton covered "Black Hole Sun" on his 2006 instrumental album, Fingerprints, joined on the track by Pearl Jam/Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready. In 2008, the Brad Mehldau Trio covered "Black Hole Sun" on the band's Live album (recorded in late 2006), working the song's verse and chorus melodies into a 23 minute long extemporaneous jazz piece. The strings group The Section Quartet covered the song on its 2007 album, Fuzzbox. In 2009, English alternative rock band Fightstar posted an acoustic cover of the song on its Facebook account.[28]

In addition to cover versions, "Black Hole Sun" has also inspired a few parodies. "Weird Al" Yankovic included the song in "The Alternative Polka", a polka medley entirely made up of alternative rock songs, from the 1996 album, Bad Hair Day.

Peter Frampton recently released an instrumental cover version of the song in which he uses his talk-box to play the melody.

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Cornell, except where noted:

Promotional CD (US)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  2. "Black Hole Sun" (edit) – 4:31
CD (Europe and Germany)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  2. "Like Suicide" (acoustic) – 6:11
  3. "Kickstand" (live) (Cornell, Kim Thayil) – 1:58
CD (Europe)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  2. "Jesus Christ Pose" (live) (Matt Cameron, Cornell, Ben Shepherd, Thayil) – 7:19
  3. "My Wave" (live) (Cornell, Thayil) – 4:34
    • Recorded live on August 20, 1993 at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Wantagh, New York.
  4. "Spoonman" (Steve Fisk remix) – 6:55
Box Set (UK)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  2. "Beyond the Wheel" (live) – 5:56
  3. "Fell on Black Days" (live) – 4:45
  4. "Birth Ritual" (demo) (Cornell, Cameron, Thayil) – 5:50
CD (Australia and Germany)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  2. "Jesus Christ Pose" (live) (Cameron, Cornell, Shepherd, Thayil) – 7:19
  3. "Beyond the Wheel" (live) – 5:54
  • Live tracks recorded on August 11, 1993 at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Promotional CD (US)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  2. "Beyond the Wheel" (live) – 5:53
    • Recorded live on August 18, 1993 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  3. "Spoonman" (Steve Fisk remix) – 6:55
7" Vinyl (UK) and Cassette (UK)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  2. "My Wave" (live) (Cornell, Thayil) – 4:34
    • Recorded live on August 20, 1993 at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Wantagh, New York.
  3. "Beyond the Wheel" (live) – 5:54
    • Recorded live on August 18, 1993 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Promotional 12" Vinyl (France)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
Jukebox 7" Vinyl (US)
  1. "Black Hole Sun" – 5:18
  2. "Spoonman" – 4:06

Chart positions

Chart (1994) Position
Canadian Top Singles Chart[29] 5
Australian Singles Chart[30] 6
Irish Singles Chart[31] 7
French Singles Chart[32] 10
UK Singles Chart[33] 12
Swedish Singles Chart[34] 1
New Zealand Singles Chart[35] 22
US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[36] 24
US Mainstream Rock Tracks[37] 1
US Modern Rock Tracks[37] 2
US Top 40 Mainstream[38] 9
Dutch Singles Chart[39] 25
German Singles Chart[40] 26

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to "Black Hole Sun" is adapted in part from AcclaimedMusic.net.[41]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Guitar World United States "100 Greatest Guitar Solos"[15] 2007 63
VH1 United States "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s"[17] 2007 25
VH1 United States "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs"[18] 2008 77
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Greatest Singles of All Time"[42] 2002 49
Q United Kingdom "The 1001 Best Songs Ever"[43] 2003 543
Total Guitar United Kingdom "100 Hottest Guitar Solos"[16] 2006 56
The Movement New Zealand "The 100 (+300) Greatest Songs of All Time"[44] 2004 80
The Movement New Zealand "The 77 Best Singles of the 90s"[45] 2004 32
Pure Pop Mexico "The 100 Best Singles of All Time"[46] 2003 100
Spex Germany "Singles of the Year"[47] 1994 15


Preceded by Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single
July 16 – September 2, 1994 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ a b "Gardener's Question Time". Kerrang!. March 1, 1997.
  2. ^ "Chris Cornell - Cornell Gets Prized Guitars Back From Ex-wife". Contactmusic.com. March 30, 2009.
  3. ^ Gilbert, Jeff. "Sleepless in Seattle". Guitar World. May 1994.
  4. ^ a b Clay, Jennifer. "Soundgarden: Painting Beautiful Pictures". RIP. June 1996.
  5. ^ "Soundgarden: The Badass Seed". RIP. April 1994.
  6. ^ Crisafulli, Chuck. "Rogues Gallery". Request. June 1996.
  7. ^ True, Everett. "Journey into the Superunknown". Melody Maker. March 19, 1994.
  8. ^ Foege, Alec. "The End of Innocence". Rolling Stone. January 12, 1995.
  9. ^ "37th Grammy Awards - 1995". Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  10. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Soundgarden > Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  11. ^ Prato, Greg. "Black Hole Sun > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved on May 19, 2008.
  12. ^ Pareles, Jon. "RECORDINGS VIEW; Lightening Up On the Gloom In Grunge". The New York Times. March 6, 1994. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
  13. ^ Consideine, J.D. "Soundgarden: Superunknown". Rolling Stone. July 31, 1997.
  14. ^ Powers, Ann. "Soundgarden: Superunknown". Blender.
  15. ^ a b "100 Greatest Guitar Solos". Guitar World. 2007.
  16. ^ a b "100 Hottest Guitar Solos". Total Guitar. May 2006.
  17. ^ a b "VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s". VH1. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  18. ^ a b "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs". VH1.
  19. ^ "Rock Band Official Website: Song List". Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  20. ^ Rosenberg, Adam. "American Idol Karaoke Revolution Encore Review". UGO Networks.
  21. ^ Miller, Greg. "SingStar '90s Track List Revealed". IGN. February 1, 2008.
  22. ^ "Howard Greenhalgh: Exclusive Interview". enigmacretu.com. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  23. ^ "Interview With Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden". Spin Online. November 15, 1995.
  24. ^ Maloof, Rich. "Kim Thayil of Soundgarden: Down on the Upbeat". Guitar Magazine. July 1996.
  25. ^ "Soundgarden music videos". Music Video Database. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  26. ^ "1994 MTV Video Music Awards". Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  27. ^ "Clio Awards Search Archive". clioawards.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  28. ^ Fightstar at Facebook.
  29. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 60, No. 6, August 29 1994". RPM. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  31. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  32. ^ "French Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  33. ^ "EveryHit.com". Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  34. ^ "Swedish Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  35. ^ "Soundgarden". New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  36. ^ "Billboard.com / Soundgarden / Longplay". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-02-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) [dead link‍]
  37. ^ a b "Soundgarden Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-12-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  38. ^ "Billboard.com / Soundgarden / Longplay". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-02-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) [dead link‍]
  39. ^ "Dutch Single/Album Chart / Soundgarden / Longplay". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  40. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Soundgarden / Single". musicline.de. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  41. ^ ""Black Hole Sun" accolades". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  42. ^ "100 Greatest Singles of All Time". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ "The 1001 Best Songs Ever". Q. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  44. ^ "The 100 (+300) Greatest Songs of All Time". The Movement. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  45. ^ "The 77 Best Singles of the 90s". The Movement. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  46. ^ "The 100 Best Singles of All Time". Juice. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  47. ^ "Best - Singles of the Year". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
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