Kim Thayil’s favourite Soundgarden songs
Soundgarden famously played a pivotal role in shaping the distinctive sound of the era-defining grunge genre, amalgamating elements of punk, metal, and classic rock to craft music that was simultaneously politically charged and introspective. As the band’s lead guitarist, Kim Thayil knows which songs deserve the most recognition.
Thayil has been Soundgarden’s guitarist since he co-founded the band alongside Chris Cornell and Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. The original lineup remained intact until the unfortunate passing of Cornell in 2017, which ultimately led to the band’s permanent dissolution in 2018. Thayil’s accomplishments with Soundgarden earned him recognition as the 67th greatest guitarist in Rolling Stone‘s ranking of all time.
Last year, Thayil shared insights into his favourite lesser-known tracks from their catalogue. He delved into the songs, offering readers a glimpse into his musical journey and preferences. While the band’s repertoire includes numerous chart-toppers that left a significant mark on the history of rock and roll, like ‘Jesus Christ Pose’, ‘Outshined’, and ‘Rusty Cage’, the band also possesses more obscure tracks that showcase the remarkable musical talent and songwriting prowess of its members.
Thayil has a specific listening preference, enjoying some songs solely through headphones. He further categorises their songs into two distinct groups: those he’d choose to listen to while driving and the tunes he derives pleasure from playing. Thayil specified that ‘Slaves and Bulldozers’, ‘Beyond the Wheel’, and ‘Incessant Mace’ fall into the latter category of songs he loves playing. In contrast, he has a deep appreciation for listening to other tracks like ‘Nothing to Say’, ‘4th of July’, ‘Limo Wreck’, and ‘Tears to Forget’.
He explained: “As far as listening, I always loved the song ‘Nothing to Say’ off of Screaming Life. And there are a few things on Superunknown, like ‘4th of July’ and ‘Limo Wreck’. I also really like the song ‘Tears to Forget’, which is also on Screaming Life, just for the way it’s constructed. It’s fun to play acoustic guitar, of all things. Although it’s a hardcore song, I wrote it on acoustic. And I like playing it by myself on acoustic.“
Adding: “Then as far as playing with the band, it was a lot of fun when we were doing that sort of loose and careening thing that I described seeing in Guns N’ Roses. So again, songs like ‘Slaves and Bulldozers’ and ‘Beyond the Wheel’ really allowed for the band to kind of explore that – the spontaneous elements and the wild elements.”
Alongside his guitar prowess, Thayil also contributed to the details of every song, as did all other band members. He elucidated that “Collaboration was paramount in our early music, especially right at the beginning when it was me on guitar, Hiro on bass and Chris on drums,“ Over time, all four members evolved into independent songwriters, each crafting their own guitar parts that he had to learn. This evolution prompted him to create ‘Never the Machine Forever’ entirely on his own, driven by the realisation that, “Well, if I’m going to have a song on this fucking record, I’m going to have to write lyric”.
Kim Thayil’s favourite Soundgarden songs:
- ‘Slaves and Bulldozers’
- ‘Beyond the Wheel’
- ‘Incessant Mace’
- ‘Nothing to Say’
- ‘4th of July’
- ‘Limo Wreck’
- ‘Tears to Forget’
