Some Really Awesome Songs (w/cool videos)

If you ask a music fan about Faith No More, chances are you'll hear about either their 1989 monster hit "Epic" or the 1992 cult favorite Angel Dust, if you get a response at all. Both are good ways to check out the band, but I can't get enough of 'Falling to Pieces' off The Real Thing. Quirky, infectious, and one of the earliest indications of Mike Patton's otherworldly vocal capacities, 'Falling to Pieces' was too weird to repeat the tremendous success of "Epic," but it's an even better song.



Kevin Smith once said that he identified with trash metal headbangers Anthrax. "In our respective work, we both name-check somewhat geeky stuff that appeals to us, neither of us have ever been embraced by the mainstream, and we’ve both got small but insanely loyal audiences," stated Smith, continuing, "But I’ll never do anything nearly as cool..." If Anthrax is rock's Kevin Smith, then their collaboration with Public Enemy on 'Bring the Noise' would be like Smith teaming up with Spike Lee; if Jay and Silent Bob Do the Right Thing was one of the greatest creations from either party. Often overshadowed by both the Aerosmith-Run-DMC collaboration and all the rap-rock that turned up in the mid to late '90s, 'Bring the Noise' may be the only real rap-metal song, featuring actual rapping and an actual metal band. How a bunch of comic book-loving Jews from New York teamed up with the most influential (and at the time, most militant) rap group in history is anyone's guess, but 'Bring the Noise' has been getting metalheads to check out hip-hop ever since.



Alice in Chains were more aggressive and metallic than most of their grunge peers, which is probably part of why Dirt didn't sell as many records as Ten or Nevermind. But their acoustic material, as heard on the harrrowing Jar of Flies EP and the most moving episode of 'MTV Unplugged' that didn't star Kurt Cobain, is some of their very best. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell is a master of both complex and simples hooks, although he's bizarrely underrated for being a pivotal figure in the rise of both grunge and thrash metal (who else could collaborate with Mark Arm and Tom Araya?). His band obliterated the restrictions of both genres on 'I Stay Away,' employing a fluid, acoustic intro and a string section which would be inconceivable coming from Mudhoney or Slayer. The late Layne Staley's gruff, pained vocals, which have been so widely imitated that it's hard to hear how arresting they were when AIC hit big, effortlessly go from soothing to snarling in concurrence with Cantrell's guitar.

'I Stay Away' has a terrific animated video that Sony BMG won't let me post, but you can always follow this link.