Show your AIC love!

VEDHEAD27 · August 2005

One of the greatest bands ever imo and today (on what would have been Layne's 38th birthday) Meddledeal and I thought it was long overdue to resurrect this thread of praise.

Alice In Chains- this is a sound truely all it's own. Heavy, dark, crunchy, infectious and incredibly soulful. Like the band, Layne's voice remains to this day untouchable and in a league all it's own. The pain and emotion behind this haunted voice could send shivers down anyone's spine. This is a voice that demanded to be heard, demanded to be felt. Layne had the power to move you. The power to connect every single word straight to your heart and soul. I remember the first time I heard Facelift, I was completely floored. It was one of the most ass kickin, original pieces of art I had ever heard. Then DIRT....come on?!?! How could ANYONE possibly deny this classic?!!? Jar Of Flies....the band proving they are all about quality as opposed to quantity. Only 7 songs long but the chilling, intoxicating album had enough power, emotion and intensity many full length albums could only dream of possessing. Absolutely gorgeous!!!

Like pretty much all of my fav bands, AIC chose to deliver their gift to us all wrapped in many different packages. Every single album offering a sound, style and feel all it's own.

The Unplugged performance is still one of the most emotional AIC experieces out there imo. While the band sounds absolutely beautiful, the pain in Layne's voice is undeniable. To actually WATCH that and see the man wasting away right before your very eyes?!?! Wow. Really, really painfull. Never fails to move me to tears. Perhaps that's why to this day these Unplugged versions are some of the most heartfelt versions of many greats. Completely stripped down (even more than before), haunted and dark (even more than before)....everything about AIC, the good the bad (both of which made them so great) were definitely exaggerated on Unplugged and it makes for one hell of an heartbreakingly beautiful, insanely powerful show.

I think Jerry and Layne were one of the greatest duos out there. These 2 harmonizing is straight up heaven on earth. They complimented each other in such an amazing, perfect way.

Fact is Mike Starr/MIKE INEZ, Sean Kinney, Jerry Cantrell and the legendary Layne all did their part in creating what I feel to be one the GREATEST bands EVER.

It's about time we all SHOW OUR AIC LOVE!!!

{{RIP LAYNE}} Happy Birthday~ a day we are all grateful for.
A spirit, voice, passion and presence that is very much missed. Thank you for all that you gave. All of your greatness lives on through the ass kickin, soulful music you left behind. This will live on forever. I hope you are in a better, peaceful, pain-free place now.

Kick off the thread with one of my absolute fav songs from the mighty band (and one that makes me miss the man even more.)

Also kick it off with an incredible site made by a friend of mine and Meddle's. Please go check it out....

http://www.laynethelegend.com/

Which reminds me, hey VIGGS20....didn't you post a Layne tribute on the old "Show your AIC love" thread?? Set to Nutshell?? I swear you did. Please feel free to post that again buddy!

(( DON'T FOLLOW ))

Hey, I ain’t never coming
Home
Hey, I’ll just wander my
Own road
Hey, I can’t meet you here tomorrow
Say goodbye don’t follow
Misery so hollow

Hey you, you’re livin’
Life full throttle
Hey you, pass me down that
Bottle, yeah
Hey you, you can’t shake
Me round now
I get so lost and don’t
Know how
And it hurts to care, i’m
Going down

Forgot my woman, lost my
Friends
Thinks I’d done and where
I’ve been
Sleep in sweat the mirrors
Cold
See my face it’s growin’
Old
Scared to death no reason
Why
Do whatever to get me by
Think about the things i
Said
Read the page it’s cold
And dead

Take me home

reachdown12 · August 2005

I love them so...I said this once and I will say it again...

What a band. So much talent just seeping through through each members veins that it was nearly suffocating to the listener. They were a deeply impacting band, that had such a sense of harsh reality, it was almost heartbreaking.

What with Layne's drug addiction that he wanted to kill so badly, yet lost...the music created was a force like none other. Layne's raw, emotion ridden vocals, Jerry's wailing guitar, almost as if the tears were pouring from the heart itself, Mike's haunting bass lines, and Sean's unique, powerful drumming.

It is pure amazement how the chemistry between this band and the music created by them, is still just as beautifully tragic as it was those many years back. With them making masterpieces such as Facelift, Dirt, and Jar of Flies, and then hearing them Unplugged, which is utterly undescribable. They are still immortalized to this day, idolized by many. Their songs spoke of self battles, over come, or never won, all extremely beautiful, yet speak of such an ugly reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were so pure..honest..innocent. The passing of Layne had its impacts, truly saddening as much as others..one of the best bands to ever grace this planet. The song I heard..that impacted me so and made me fall so hard for this band was Down In A Hole. So beautiful it is..They will be in my thoughts.

Down In A Hole

Bury me softly in this womb
I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In a tomb...in bloom

Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart I decorate it like a grave
You don't understand who they
Thought I was supposed to be
Look at me now a man
Who won't let himself be

Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly,
But my wings have been so denied

Down in a hole and they've put all
The stones in their place
I've eaten the sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste

I have been guilty
Of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more
of my feelings beneath

Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly but my
Wings have been so denied

Bury me softly in this womb
Oh I want to be inside of you
I give this part of me for you
Oh I want to be inside of you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
Oh I want to be inside of you
In a tomb...in bloom
Oh I want to be inside...

Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, outta control
I'd like to fly but my
Wings have been so denied

Nothingbetter · August 2005

AiC remains my second favorite band (behind PJ) of all time. Really, there's a huge drop off behind PJ and AiC in my love for any other bands. AiC isn't all that far from PJ on the list....and all the things you mentioned above are perfectly stated. He has that ability to reach in and grab your soul and pull it down to the depths of nothingness like no other singer.

Also as you mentioned, I can't watch the Unplugged tape without tearing up...especially during Nutshell. To listen to him sing words that are SO true for him...is just surreal. It's just like listening to "Wake Up" (Mad Season). We all had so much hope for a soul that felt no hope...and never truly understood what hope really was. In the Rolling Stone he interviewed in, he said he realized he didn't want to die young and wouldn't...if only he was able to fulfill that dream.

I miss this band and Layne more and more as the years go on. They'll never be forgotten.

RIP Layne...and happy birthday.

bubbamackdaddy69 · August 2005

Yep...
for sure one of my fav bands...
Unplugged is a classic.
R.I.P Layne......

VEDHEAD27 · August 2005

*applauds*

Ooooooh AMEN!!! Very nicely said reachdown12. I could not agree more. The band was indeed tragic. This is one obvious, out of this world case where music making was truely an art form, a healing form, a incredibly needed release. It did make for hauntingly real, super honest music. Jerry's guitar....tears pouring!

Love it. It's so true. Jerry really did compliment every single emotion behind Layne's voice and powerful words with that guitar of his. The chemistry in AIC was definitely one of a kind. It's this chemistry that added to such powerful music. These guys brought it all out in the open, the tragedy, the pain.....they had the power to take all of these dark, horrorific things and create something beautiful out of them.

Long live AIC!!

Awww man, do I feel ya on DOWN IN A HOLE. That's the Unplugged performance that really gets me. :( This song just tears me apart. You gotta be heartless not to feel that! Sooooo much damn emotion. Hurts. :(
Good/fitting pick reachdown12.

tybird · August 2005

If I knew the words to Eddie's tribute to Layne, I would post them. A unique sound that we will miss more and more.

VEDHEAD27 · August 2005

Nothingbetter wrote:

Also as you mentioned, I can't watch the Unplugged tape without tearing up...especially during Nutshell. To listen to him sing words that are SO true for him...is just surreal.

I just got chills reading that. Yeah I know Nothingbetter. it really is insane!! Him singing these words that are dead on true to him, witnessing him falling apart RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE and pratically confirming it with each song. It is surreal. It's a lot to take in. :( It's beyond sad that he didn't get to fullfill that dream.

Nothingbetter wrote:

We all had so much hope for a soul that felt no hope...and never truly understood what hope really was.

:(

VEDHEAD27 · August 2005

tybird wrote:

If I knew the words to Eddie's tribute to Layne, I would post them. A unique sound that we will miss more and more.

Great ideo tybird! Ed wants in on the AIC/Layne praise too.

What a song!! I definitely feel it.......

> 4/20/02 <

so all you fools
who sing just like him
feel free to do so now
cuz he's dead
using, using, using
the using takes toll
isolation
just so happy to be one
sad to, sad to think
sad to think of him more
lonesome friend, we all knew
always hoped you'd pull through
no blame, no blame
no blame, it could be you
using, you can't grow old using
so sing just like him, fuckers
it won't offend him
just me
because he's dead

DaytimeDilemma · August 2005

Great post, but where is the love for Tripod? It is my favorite Alice album, and it is so fucking underrated. They sound so mature here and maybe some hauntingly beautiful melodies.

pychosinlove · August 2005

what storers sell the alice in chains dvd???? ,i might have to pick it up sometime.

VEDHEAD27 · August 2005

I LOVE Tripod too!! I agree, it is underrated/appreciated...but imo so is this band as a whole.

Oooo, also loooooove SAP...RIGHT TURN with Chris Cornell!?!?

I was just getting the praise and love-fest started though. I couldn't pick apart every album or my response would have been even longer.

We have the whole thread to spread that love. The point is to post about AIC ...any and everything that you love about them....so post away about Tri-pod DaytimeDilemma.

I'll kick it off with one of my favs all around from the band (looks around for Kaddikat). I fuckin LOVE this video too.....

{| GRIND |}

In the darkest hole, you’d be well advised
Not to plan my funeral before the body dies, yeah
Come the morning light, it’s a see through show
What you may have heard and what you think you know, yeah

Let the sun never blind your eyes
Let me sleep so my teeth don’t grind
Hear a sound from a voice inside

Sure to play a part, so you love the game
And in truth your lies become one and same, yeah
I could set you free, rather hear the sound
Of your body breaking as I take you down, yeah

Let the sun never blind your eyes
Let me sleep so my teeth don’t grind
Hear a sound from a voice inside

In the darkest hole, you’d be well advised
Not to plan my funeral before the body dies, yeah

Let the sun never blind your eyes
Let me sleep so my teeth don’t grind (2x)
Hear a sound from a voice inside

reachdown12 · August 2005

VEDHEAD27 wrote:

*applauds*

Ooooooh AMEN!!! Very nicely said reachdown12. I could not agree more. The band was indeed tragic. This is one obvious, out of this world case where music making was truely an art form, a healing form, a incredibly needed release. It did make for hauntingly real, super honest music. Jerry's guitar....tears pouring! Love it. It's so true. Jerry really did compliment every single emotion behind Layne's voice and powerful words with that guitar of his. The chemistry in AIC was definitely one of a kind. It's this chemistry that added to such powerful music. These guys brought it all out in the open, the tragedy, the pain.....they had the power to take all of these dark, horrorific things and create something beautiful out of them.

Long live AIC!!

Awww man, do I feel ya on DOWN IN A HOLE. That's the Unplugged performance that really gets me. :( This song just tears me apart. You gotta be heartless not to feel that! Sooooo much damn emotion. Hurts. :(
Good/fitting pick reachdown12.

Jeez i know, unplugged version..along with other memorables from that night..purely..saddening. I agree, you have got to be heartless not to feel that performance. No one can compare to Layne, all of those who go on imitating his vocals..never will be the same. There was only one Layne.

And your starting post by the way, gorgeous. You are dead on as well. Everything said, beautiful. All so true, emotions and all...

anarchist_grunger · August 2005

i love this band...what more can u say?...they were simply great...in Layney's honour i'll post the lyrics from my favourite AIC song:
I stay away

Yeah, I want to travel south
This year
Aaah, Woah, Woah
Won't prevent safe passage here

Why you act crazy
Not an act maybe
So close a lady
Shifty eyes shade

Yeah, hey Yeah, tears that soak
A callous heart

Why you act frightened
I am enlightened
Your weakness builds me
So someday you'll see

I stay away

reachdown12 · August 2005

I cannot even begin to state my appreciation for SAP. The song I heard first, Right Turn, still leaves me searching for the rest of that album. Those songs, purely memorable, but the duet with Chris..amazing combination.

Right Turn

Inside always trying to get back inside
But it's so hard to penetrate pig-thick skin
I'm 'bout as low as I can get
I'd leave but I can't forget
Still I wonder why it ain't right, mmm it ain't right, oooh

Ain't right, mmm it ain't right, yeah
'Bout as low as she can get
She'll leave me but she won't forget
And she wonders why she ain't right, she ain't right
Ain't right, she ain't right

Now we're as low as we can get
Can't leave and can't forget
We ain't right, we ain't right
Not right, we ain't right

Well it's hard to believe that somebody tricked you
when you can see you were only high
It's all up to you so you gamble
flat on your face and into the fire

DaytimeDilemma · August 2005

Shame In You

When I waken, and I'm achin', time for sleepin', yeah
When I'm sayin' time to go and, I've been hurtin', yeah
When I'm layin, I'm still tryin', concentrating on dyin', yeah

You're right as rain, but you're all to blame
Agreed my crime's the same
My sins I'll claim, give you back shed pain
Go find a place for own shame
So you can deal with this thing unreal
No one made you feel any hurt, yeah

Body's movin, only provin, no one needs to move
Still believin, yet mistaken, all God's children, yeah
And I must say, I was stupid, selfishly she consumed, yeah

And you must change patterns all we trained
Or n'er regain peace you seek
Now you hear me, for the things I see
Yeah, I believe in inner peace, yeah

Throw out, blow up, hold in
Show fine, no signs, grow blind

AxlUlrich · August 2005

truly one of the greatest..can't praise them enough..

Junkhead

A Good Night, The Best In A Long Time
A New Friend Turned Me On To An Old Favorite
Nothing BetterThan A Dealer Who's High
Be High, Concince Them To Buy

What's My Drug Of Choice?
Well, What Have You Got?
I Don't Go Broke
And I Do It Alot

Seems So Sick To The Hypocrite Norm
Running Their Boring Drills
But We Are An Elite Race Of Our Own
The Stoners, Junkies, And Freaks

Are You Happy? I Am, Man
Content And Fully Aware
Money, Status, Nothing To Me
'Cause Your Life Is Empty And Bare

You Can't Understand A User's Mind
But Try, With Your Books And Degrees
If You Let Yourself Go And Open Your Mind
I'll Bet You'd Be Doing Like Me
And It Ain't So Bad

Six7Six7 · August 2005

Junkhead is my favorite AIC song

VEDHEAD27 · August 2005

Awww thanks for your kind words reachdown12. It's beautiful what this passionate band can bring out in us all. Yeah really, Unplugged is just utter sadness....part of what makes it so untouchable and beautiful though for sure.

RIGHT TURN?!!? :eek:

So glad you feel me on that. Double WOW! CHRIS along with these mighty voices?! *chills* Shit! Almost too much to handle right there! It does not get any better.

Junkhead is an amazing song! Dirt is so......dirty. So many chunky, fierce ass kickin songs with such fitting raw emotion. Looove it!

BUMP it up with another fav from that motherload album. Very haunting/eery/fitting too that the day of his vigil it WAS infact raining. The sky was crying. :(

:: -RAIN WHEN I DIE- ::

Is she ready to know my frustration?
What she slippin’ inside, slow castration
I’m a riddle so strong, you can’t break me
Did she come here to try, try to take me

Did she call my name?
I think it’s gonna rain
When I die

Was it something I said, held against me?
Ain’t no life on the run, slowly climbing
Caught in ice so she stares, stares at nothing
I can help her but won’t, now she hates me

She won’t let me hide
She don’t want me to cry

Will she keep on the ground, trying to ground me
Slowly forgive my lie, lying to save me
Could she love me again, or will she hate me
Prob’ly not, I know why, can’t explain me

reachdown12 · August 2005

I would like to venture back into the facelift days..that album..so raw, and amazing. My favorite song off that album is hard to say, as that album is amazingly rocking from the first riff to the last, but the one song that sticks out, is Love, Hate, Love. What a phenomenal song! Jeez, the vocals, the lyrics, the guitar, the slow, haunting, ryhthm that creeps up on you and explodes..love it. Great album, great song.

Love, Hate, Love

I tried to love you I thought I could
I tried to own you I thought I would
I want to peel the skin from your face
Before the real you lays to waste

You told me I'm the only one
Sweet little angel you should have run
Lying, crying, dying to leave
Innocence creates my hell

Cheating myself still you know more
It would be so easy with a whore
Try to understand me little girl
My twisted passion to be your world

Lost inside my sick head
I live for you but I'm not alive
Take my hand before I kill
I still love you, but, I still burn

Yeah, Love, hate, love
Oooh, Love, hate, love
Yeah, Love, hate, love

VEDHEAD27 · August 2005

\m/

AWESOME pick reachdown12. You're the best!

I LOVE Facelift with a passion. It really is so hard to pick a favorite album when it comes to this band but I will say this one has a very, very special place in my rockin heart.

I defintiely find myself overly obsessed with CONFUSION , IT AIN'T LIKE THAT & I KNOW SOMETHING (BOUT YOU) to name a few. The album is indeed sooooo raw. It's a punch to the face for sure...lifts that shit WAY up. haha. Wtf? I don't know, it's an ass kick I sure enjoy though.

GREAT to see all this love guys! Let's keep it coming strong.

reachdown12 · August 2005

Yes Vedhead! That album holds a place in my heart as well, they all do..ah the beauty of music, can't possibly choose just one. lol. Oh, Confusion, I Know Something(bout you), amazing, as well as another few personal favorites, Bleed the Freak and Sunshine. Love that album. Yet another rare band that never failed to create every album being a masterpiece. Oh I could go on..lol!

Show your AIC love!

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