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"It is not only one of the most beautiful songs ever written..."
AIC = Love.
For my husband and I, there was no question, no second thought, when it came to choosing the first song we would dance to as a married couple: "Nutshell."
It is not only one of the most beautiful songs ever written, but easily the most beautiful song written, recorded, performed, etc. by the most tragically beautiful band in history.
The entire Jar of Flies album, in its perfection, I consider a soundtrack to the story of our love. Melodies that will never again be matched, art that can never be rivalled.
Thank you, AIC, for your most recent resolve.
Emily (Seattle, WA)
My Friday Song
Fridays…are my absolute favorite day of the week. Every Friday I awake with a smile on my face, and actually look forward to the activities that lay ahead of me. Two college classes in the morning, then work until 5 pm, and finally…a free evening to go out and enjoy myself; to appreciate living!
My Friday song (which is the pivotal song that I always listen to while getting ready to go out) is "It Ain’t Like That" by Alice in Chains, off of Facelift. This song always puts me in a great mood and gets me eager to start my night. The opening screech of the guitars are attention-demanding, and Layne’s energetic “YEA!” makes me break into a smile and laugh. It is one of the few songs that I will unapologetically sing along to with complete disregard as to how horrible I must sound, which is liberating. If I am at home, getting ready alone, I am likely to be singing along to this while applying eyeliner and mascara at the mirror in nothing but my underwear, and drinking a ‘pre-going out’ beer. If I am in my car with some friends heading to my Friday night destination and listening to this song, I am shouting along to the words with my head halfway out the window, looking like an idiot and not caring one bit. This song opens me up and helps me out of the calm and composed shell that I live in Monday through Thursday. "It Ain’t Like That" is my Friday Song.
Wait a minute…TODAY is Friday. And lookie there at the clock! It’s ten 'til 5. Time for this girl to close down shop, head home, and get ready for Friday night. It’s that time of the week again! Better cover your ears everyone, if you know what is good for you.
Thanks,
Shannon
"Their songs could be your shoulder to cry on or the kick in the nuts..."
There are no words really to describe what Alice in Chains have meant to me in my life. Alice had a special way of writing music that each individual who listened could identify and apply to one’s own problems in life. Their songs could be your shoulder to cry on or the kick in the nuts to show you what rock 'n' roll is all about. Some out there might say that some of AiC's music was depressing, but in my mind it is exactly the opposite. These "depressing" songs to me served as the extended hand I needed to pull myself back up when at the darkest times. Just knowing that whatever I had going on in my life I could always turn to Alice and feel that I was not alone and that someone had been there before. I'm sure when the songs were written it was a personal experience that the particular member was feeling at the time but they wrote it such as that it could be for the guy who just lost his girl or for the person struggling with inner demons. AiC's music was not full of empty words, instead it was a personal journey that they invited us all on, which conveyed even the most darkest experiences into something beautiful.
Forever Alice,
Scott (Panama City, FL)
"I was absolutely mesmerized by the deep, dark chunky sound coming from the stage."
As a teenager growing up in the 80's, I loved all of the classics - Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, etc. However, the music that was most continually played on my record player and in my cassette deck was Queen. All Queen all the time. It got so that I could barely listen to anything else! I nearly missed the arrival of Guns and Roses because of this obsession with great guitar playing and such a unique sound. When I went to college, my dorm room was covered with posters of Freddie Mercury. Everyone else had Jerry Garcia and Def Leppard. I was called Queenie for good reason, I suppose.
The obsession came to a grinding halt in October, 1991. I was in Portland Maine with my boyfriend to see Van Halen. They had some band open for them he told me, that had a song on the radio that I would recognize... It didn't matter that the hick audience stood like zombies (until Van Halen came out, then I was nearly crushed to death); I was absolutely mesmerized by the deep, dark chunky sound coming from the stage. I had never seen a guitarist draw on his guitar before, or a bass player spit on the audience. The lead singer had these bizarre crouches and would roll his head back and tell the audience we were a bunch of "*&%$in' hicks." I was hooked.
From the first song to the last, I thought that they were the best band that I had ever heard, and bought the CD the next day. A few nights later when we went to see Van Halen again in Massachusetts I couldn't wait for Alice in Chains - they didn't disappoint. Nor did they at Lollapollooza. I became such a fan that I even joined the fanclub AND sent in a "sexy" picture of myself - I often wonder if anyone ever saw it - I wanted to be in a video so badly...!
Throughout the 90's my CD player was now constantly playing Alice in Chains. The good thing about AiC was that all my friends liked them as well - when I threw a party, people now liked my music selection! When Jerry toured for his Boggy Depot album I went to go see him play. That album and the boxed set came out at the end of the 90's, also the end of my 20's. Alice In Chains followed me and was the soundtrack for a fabulous time in my life.
I'm in my 30's now, and live in Michigan - Kid Rock's turf. A friend of mine is his pal, and called me one day to say that he was at the studio and wrote a song with Jerry... HE DIDN'T HAVE THE DECENCY TO INVITE ME OVER?! I'm still single and good-looking enough to be in a video! :)
Queen came to town recently, and I went to see them - it was nice to see my old friends, but it wasn't the same without Freddie. It didn't need to be - it was still a good rock-n-roll show with a guitar and drum solo, just like they used to do in the 80's. Funny how things come full circle.
"The deep low notes from "Nutshell" literally sent chills through my entire body..."
One night a few years ago, I was flipping channels and I stumbled upon an episode of "MTV Unplugged." The deep low notes from "Nutshell" literally sent chills through my entire body and froze me in my seat. I was mesmerized and felt something I never had before, comfort and warmth in music. The show passed so quickly and at the end, it was as if I had waken from a dream. The music truly spoke to me in a way that no music ever has. The Alice in Chains unplugged performance changed my whole perception of music in some divine way that I cannot describe.
Today, the soothing music and beautiful collective voice of Alice in Chains that was captured on the Unplugged record puts me to sleep every single night. Thank you so much for giving such a masterful performance and contributing, in my mind, a revolutionary record.
Holden (Houston, TX)
"I look forward to everything Alice in Chains can dish out for the future..."
I was first introduced to Alice in Chains by my father, who at the time owned only Facelift. He and I were most taken aback by the steely vocals of Layne and the serene yet darker accompaniment with Jerry that propelled the sound to something higher than just grunge. The bluesy grunge combo proved to be both unique and refreshing (for the time), and made AiC my favorite band right up to today. It seems there's no other band that I know of whose music stood the test of time like AiC. I remember longing for Layne to get back in action so that my hopes for seeing them live would come to fruition.
When AiC released Nothing Safe, I was excited that Layne got together with the boys to make something new and my mind was set in motion by the slim possibility of a new album to surpass the self-titled one. It seemed as months and years went by without hearing about Layne's condition, and as Jerry toured with his solo band, we the fans all feared the worst, or our expectations were diminished.
When Layne died I remember feeling both sad but not surprised. I felt that we all knew it would happen, it was just a matter of when. I also remember feeling happy that despite the loss, AiC still held it's presence on the radio, and Jerry devoted a good portion of his second tour to playing AiC songs. Now that AiC is reforming and continuing the legacy, I feel proud to have held on for this long and to know that the members see that something so great as Alice in Chains simply cannot be put to rest because of a lost appendage (awesome as that appendage may be). I look forward to everything Alice in Chains can dish out for the future and will be right there in the crowd when they arrive in my neighborhood. I'm sure all the fans can agree that nothing but excellence can be derived from the return of AiC.
Wayne (Westchester, IL)
"... remembered thinking that there was something different about this band..."
I first heard the band prior to seeing them in concert on the Lollapalooza tour and I wasn't really a big fan to begin with. I remembered seeing a lot of Seattle bands and lumping them all together as "musicians" that couldn't actually play their instruments. I had written off Soundgarden as another band trying to be Black Sabbath, and Pearl Jam as being overplayed and self-important. I went to Lollapalooza really not liking many of the bands there because I was more into metal at the time. But then I saw Alice in Chains perform and I remembered thinking that there was something different about this band; that they had a musicianship that was somehow above the rest. As a struggling guitar player who just wanted to learn Van Halen songs, I remember being pulled in by the bluesy yet hard edged playing of Jerry Cantrell and thought that the d