Spoonman

For other uses, see Spoonman (disambiguation).

"Spoonman"
Single by Soundgarden
from the album Superunknown
B-side"Cold Bitch"
ReleasedFebruary 14, 1994 (1994-02-14)[1]
StudioBad Animals, Seattle, Washington
Genre
Length4:06
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Chris Cornell
Producer(s)
Soundgarden singles chronology
"Rusty Cage"
(1992) 		"Spoonman"
(1994) 		"The Day I Tried to Live"
(1994)
Music video
"Spoonman" on YouTube

"Spoonman" is a song by the American band Soundgarden. Written by the band's frontman, Chris Cornell, "Spoonman" was released on February 14, 1994, as the first single from the band's fourth studio album Superunknown (1994). "Spoonman" is credited as one of the songs that launched Soundgarden's career into the mainstream. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number nine on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. A remixed version of the song by Steve Fisk appears on the "Black Hole Sun" and "My Wave" singles. The song was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album A-Sides and the 2010 compilation album Telephantasm.

Origin and recording

"Spoonman" was originally written for the soundtrack to the 1992 film Singles. At that time, Soundgarden, along with Pearl Jam, were working on the soundtrack for the film. Pearl Jam's bass guitarist, Jeff Ament, had been put in charge of creating the name for a fictional band that would appear in the film. Before finally choosing Citizen Dick for its name, Ament had compiled a list of potential names, which included the name "Spoonman". The name was inspired by Artis the Spoonman, a street performer from Santa Cruz, California, and later Seattle, Washington, who plays music with a set of spoons. Soundgarden's vocalist and songwriter, Chris Cornell, eventually used the names on the list to create songs for the film. "Spoonman" was among these, and an acoustic version was created from it. This early version of the song is played during a scene in the film in which a poster advertising a Citizen Dick show is stapled to a lightpost.[5]

Rather than just leave the song on the film's soundtrack, Soundgarden began working on an electric version of "Spoonman". The song's inspiration, Artis the Spoonman, played a prominent role in the song. The final version of the song featured Artis the Spoonman playing his spoons as part of the song's bridge. Drummer Matt Cameron also plays pots and pans on the song[6] and bass guitarist, Ben Shepherd, performs backing vocals.

Composition

"Spoonman" was performed in drop D tuning.The main riff was written in septuple meter, in 7
4 time.[7][8][9] The chorus is 4
4 and part of the spoon solo is in 3
4. The guitarist, Kim Thayil, has said that Soundgarden usually did not consider the time signature of a song until after the band had written it and said that the use of odd meters was "a total accident".[10]

Lyrics

Cornell on "Spoonman":

It's more about the paradox of who [Artis] is and what people perceive him as. He's a street musician, but when he's playing on the street, he is given a value and judged completely wrong by someone else. They think he's a street person, or he's doing this because he can't hold down a regular job. They put him a few pegs down on the social ladder because of how they perceive someone who dresses differently. The lyrics express the sentiment that I much more easily identify with someone like Artis than I would watch him play.[11]

Release and reception

The band played "Spoonman" while on its 1993 tour with Neil Young.[12] With hype building around the band's upcoming album Superunknown, Soundgarden released the single in 1994, a month before the album's release, with a previously unreleased B-side titled "Exit Stonehenge". On the choice of "Spoonman" as the album's first single, Shepherd called it a "great first choice", adding that "it just jumps out at you instantly". Shepherd said, "You know how you listen to a record and there is one song that literally seems to leap out of the speakers—well, 'Spoonman' did that to me."[13] Shortly after the single's release, the song became widely popular, reaching high positions on rock charts. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number nine on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. At the 1995 Grammy Awards, "Spoonman" received the award for Best Metal Performance.[14]

Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached number 12 on the Canadian singles chart, reached the UK Top 20, peaked at number 23 on the Australian Singles Chart, reached the top 30 in Ireland and the top ten in New Zealand.

In 2017, Billboard ranked the song number 12 on its list of the 15 greatest Soundgarden songs,[15] and, in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number five on its list of the 20 greatest Soundgarden songs.[16]

"Spoonman" appears in the 2001 video game ATV Offroad Fury for the PlayStation 2.[17] The song is also used in the 2008 video games Battle of the Bands,[18] Rock Band 2,[19] and as a cover in Rock Revolution.[20] The following year, the song appeared on the soundtrack of the PSP game Rock Band Unplugged, which included a number of tracks from Rock Band 2. Despite the inclusion on the Unplugged track list, Spoonman did not export from Rock Band 2 to Rock Band 3 because of licensing conflicts. It appeared again on the track list of the 2012 downloadable game Rock Band Blitz and became playable in Rock Band 3 as part of the Blitz song pack. The song is also available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock as part of the Telephantasm album pack and for Fantasia: Music Evolved.

Music video

The music video for "Spoonman" was directed by Jeffrey Plansker (under the alias "John Smithey").[21] The video features Artis prominently, making him the focus of the video instead of the band, who are shown only in black-and-white still photographs. The video was released in February 1994.[22]

In an interview with Hit Parader magazine in 1994, Chris Cornell said about the music video:

I think we were fairly smart with "Spoonman" in that you really don't see us that much in the video. You see various pictures of us, but it's not quite the same as having us in your living room all the time. We're trying to maintain some degree of mystique about Soundgarden, I guess. I remember back when I was a kid, long before MTV, and the only way to see my favorite bands was to go to their concerts. It was an incredible experience. MTV has helped a lot of bands, but they've also helped rob a lot of groups of that special mystique. It's tough when you can see a great rock band on TV one second, then hit the clicker and be watching a soap opera or a sitcom the next. That's what rock and roll has become for some people.[23]

Track listings

All songs were written by Chris Cornell, except where noted.

CD (Europe) and 12-inch vinyl (Europe)

  1. "Spoonman" – 4:06
  2. "Fresh Tendrils" (Matt Cameron, Cornell) – 4:16
  3. "Cold Bitch" – 5:01
  4. "Exit Stonehenge" (Cameron, Cornell, Ben Shepherd, Kim Thayil) – 1:19

Cassette (UK) and 7-inch vinyl (UK)

  1. "Spoonman" – 4:06
  2. "Fresh Tendrils" (Cameron, Cornell) – 4:16

CD (Germany)

  1. "Spoonman" (edit) – 3:51
  2. "Cold Bitch" – 5:11
  3. "Exit Stonehenge" (Cameron, Cornell, Shepherd, Thayil) – 1:19

CD (Australia and Canada)

  1. "Spoonman" – 4:06
  2. "Cold Bitch" – 5:01

Personnel

Personnel adapted from Superunknown liner notes

Soundgarden

Additional musicians

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[24] 23
Australia Alternative (ARIA)[25] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[26] 12
European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)[27] 47
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] 8
Ireland (IRMA)[29] 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 37
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 37
UK Singles (OCC)[33] 20
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[34] 9
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[35] 3
Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[36] 18
US Rock Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[37] 11

References

  1. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. February 12, 1994. p. 21.
  2. ^ David Accomazzo (January 30, 2014). "An entertaining 20 years: Looking back at Boulder's music history". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  3. ^ "Soundgarden's Chris Cornell Announces Reunion". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 20, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  4. ^ "May 18 The Spoons Are Shifting: Changing Meter in Soundgarden's "Spoonman"". May 18, 2017.
  5. ^ Prato, Greg. "Spoonman > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved on August 1, 2008.
  6. ^ "Soundgarden". Making Music. May 1994.
  7. ^ Pattillo, Alice (October 1, 2020). "10 awesome metal riffs with odd time signatures". Metal Hammer. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  8. ^ "Chris Cornell: 15 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone. May 8, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  9. ^ "Top 5 Amazing 'Mainstream' Rock Songs With Weird Time Signatures". Ultimate Guitar. June 27, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  10. ^ Rotondi, James. "Alone in the Superunknown". Guitar Player, June 1994.
  11. ^ "Interview with Chris Cornell". Request, October 1994.
  12. ^ Genovese, Robin. "Soundgarden". Chart, June 1996.
  13. ^ Masters, Drew. "Soundgarden". M.E.A.T. Magazine, March 1994.
  14. ^ "37th Grammy Awards - 1995". Rock on The Net. Retrieved December 8, 2007.
  15. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (May 18, 2017). "The 15 Greatest Soundgarden Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  16. ^ Law, Sam (May 10, 2021). "The 20 greatest Soundgarden songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Iron Thumbs. "News: Official band lineup for ATV Offroad Fury". GamePro. January 3, 2001.
  18. ^ Harris, Craig (February 6, 2008). "Battle of the Band Preview". IGN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  19. ^ Goldstein, Maarten (July 14, 2008). "New Rock Band 2 Bands, Details Announced". Shacknews. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  20. ^ "Rock Revolution PlayStation 3 Gameplay - Spoonman", ING
  21. ^ "Salvatore Totino". Twist Films. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  22. ^ "Soundgarden music videos". Music Video Database. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  23. ^ Hughes, Keith. "Soundgarden: Their Shining Hour". Hit Parader, October 1994.
  24. ^ "Soundgarden – Spoonman". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  25. ^ "Alternative Charts Top 20". ARIA Report. No. 212. March 6, 1994. p. 11. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  26. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2484." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  27. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. March 12, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  28. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  29. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Soundgarden". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  30. ^ "Soundgarden – Spoonman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  31. ^ "Soundgarden – Spoonman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  32. ^ "Soundgarden – Spoonman". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  33. ^ "Soundgarden: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  34. ^ "Soundgarden Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  35. ^ "Soundgarden Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  36. ^ "Soundgarden Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  37. ^ "Soundgarden – Chart history – Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2017.

Read other articles:

Tri Rismaharini

Tri RismahariniTri Rismaharini, 2023 Menteri Sosial Indonesia ke-31PetahanaMulai menjabat 23 Desember 2020PresidenJoko Widodo PendahuluJuliari BatubaraMuhadjir Effendy (ad-interim)PenggantiPetahanaWali Kota Surabaya ke-15Masa jabatan17 Februari 2016 – 23 Desember 2020PresidenJoko WidodoGubernurSoekarwoKhofifah Indar ParawansaWakilWhisnu Sakti Buana PendahuluNurwiyatno (Penjabat)PenggantiWhisnu Sakti BuanaMasa jabatan28 September 2010 – 28 September 2015Presid...

 

羅生門 (電影)

本條目存在以下問題，請協助改善本條目或在討論頁針對議題發表看法。 此條目需要补充更多来源。 (2018年3月17日)请协助補充多方面可靠来源以改善这篇条目，无法查证的内容可能會因為异议提出而被移除。致使用者：请搜索一下条目的标题（来源搜索：羅生門 (電影) — 网页、新闻、书籍、学术、图像），以检查网络上是否存在该主题的更多可靠来源（判定指引）。 �...

 

Vantelin Dome Nagoya

Baseball stadium located in the city of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan Vantelin Dome NagoyaLocationNagoya, Aichi Prefecture, JapanPublic transitNagoya Municipal Subway: Meijō Line at Nagoya Dome-mae YadaOwnerNagoya Dome Co.(The Chunichi Shimbun Co.)Capacity36,418[1]Field sizeLeft Field – 100 m (328.1 ft)Center Field – 122 m (400.3 ft)Right Field – 100 m (328.1 ft)Height of Outfield Fence – 4.8 m (15.7 ft)SurfaceArtificial turfOpenedMarch 15, 1997TenantsChunichi Dragons (Cent...

El Salvador at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships

Flag of El Salvador El Salvador competed at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China between July 16 and 31, 2011. Swimming Main article: Swimming at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships El Salvador qualified 3 swimmers.[1] Men Athlete Event Heats Semifinals Final Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Juan Guerra Men's 100m Breaststroke 1:05.88 66 did not advance Men's 200m Breaststroke 2:22.82 45 did not advance Rafael Ferracuti Men's 200m IM 2:09.16 39 did not advance Men's...

 

Spanish Town

Katedral St. Jago de la Vega Spanish Town merupakan sebuah kota di Jamaika. Kota ini letaknya di bagian selatan. Tepatnya di Parish Saint Catherine. Pada tahun 2010, kota ini memiliki jumlah penduduk sebesar 162.359 jiwa. Kota ini merupakan kota terbesar ketiga di Jamaika. Sumber lain James Robertson, Gone is the Ancient Glory, Spanish Town Jamaica 1534-2000, Kingston, Jamaica: 2005. Parish Information Diarsipkan 2008-12-04 di Wayback Machine. Artikel bertopik geografi ini adalah sebuah rinti...

 

Burlington Arcade

Covered shopping arcade in London Burlington ArcadeNorth entrance to the Burlington Arcade, with beadle in attendanceLocationLondon, England, United KingdomCoordinates51°30′32″N 0°08′25″W / 51.5090°N 0.1403°W / 51.5090; -0.1403Opening date20 March 1819; 205 years ago (1819-03-20)DeveloperGeorge Cavendish, 1st Earl of BurlingtonOwnerDavid and Simon ReubenNo. of stores and services40Websitewww.burlingtonarcade.com Shop fronts inside the arca...

Thracian Bulgarians

Bulgarians from the geographic region of Thrace This article is about the modern Bulgarian people from Thrace; for the ancient people, see Thracians; for all other uses, see Thracian (disambiguation).This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Thracian Bulgarians – news · newspapers · books · scholar · J...

 

2020年夏季奧林匹克運動會波蘭代表團

2020年夏季奥林匹克运动会波兰代表團波兰国旗IOC編碼POLNOC波蘭奧林匹克委員會網站olimpijski.pl（英文）（波兰文）2020年夏季奥林匹克运动会（東京）2021年7月23日至8月8日（受2019冠状病毒病疫情影响推迟，但仍保留原定名称）運動員206參賽項目24个大项旗手开幕式：帕维尔·科热尼奥夫斯基（游泳）和马娅·沃什乔夫斯卡（自行车）[1]闭幕式：卡罗利娜·纳亚（皮划艇）&#...

 

Soviet League Top

Artikel ini sebatang kara, artinya tidak ada artikel lain yang memiliki pranala balik ke halaman ini.Bantulah menambah pranala ke artikel ini dari artikel yang berhubungan atau coba peralatan pencari pranala.Tag ini diberikan pada Oktober 2016. Soviet Top LeagueВысшая лигаNegara Uni SovietKonfederasiUEFADibentuk22 Mei 1936Dibubarkan1991 Bubarnya Uni SovietSetelah 54 MusimDivisi1Jumlah timBermacam-MacamTingkat pada piramidaLevel 1Degradasi keSoviet First LeaguePiala domestikSovi...

Bitters

Alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter For other uses, see Bitter (disambiguation). An old bottle of Kuyavian Stomach Essence, bitters from Posen, Germany (now Poznań, in Poland) A bitters (plural also bitters) is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now are sold as digestifs, sometimes with herbal properties, and as co...

 

قرار الجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة

هذه المقالة بحاجة لصندوق معلومات. فضلًا ساعد في تحسين هذه المقالة بإضافة صندوق معلومات مخصص إليها. يفتقر محتوى هذه المقالة إلى الاستشهاد بمصادر. فضلاً، ساهم في تطوير هذه المقالة من خلال إضافة مصادر موثوق بها. أي معلومات غير موثقة يمكن التشكيك بها وإزالتها. (ديسمبر 2018) خريطة ...

 

Amos Cassioli

Autoritratto di Amos Cassioli Amos Cassioli (Asciano, 10 agosto 1832 – Firenze, 17 dicembre 1891) è stato un pittore italiano. Indice 1 Biografia 2 Galleria d'immagini 3 Note 4 Bibliografia 5 Voci correlate 6 Altri progetti 7 Collegamenti esterni Biografia Amos Cassioli nacque da Domenico, proprietario di una piccola caffetteria, e Assunta Mazzoni. Lo zio Ottavio Cassioli, organista ad Arezzo, avrebbe voluto che facesse il prete. La morte del padre impose che abbandonasse gli studi per tro...

2012 United States presidential election in New Jersey

Main article: 2012 United States presidential election 2012 United States presidential election in New Jersey ← 2008 November 6, 2012 2016 →   Nominee Barack Obama Mitt Romney Party Democratic Republican Home state Illinois Massachusetts Running mate Joe Biden Paul Ryan Electoral vote 14 0 Popular vote 2,126,610 1,478,749 Percentage 58.25% 40.50% County Results Municipality Results Obama   40–50%   50–60%   60�...

 

Eliza Doolittle

Untuk kegunaan lain, lihat Eliza Doolittle (disambiguasi). Julie Andrews berperan sebagai Eliza Doolittle[1] Eliza Doolittle adalah sebuah karakter fiksi dari London. Ia tampil dalam drama Pygmalion (George Bernard Shaw, 1912) dan versi musikal dari drama tersebut, My Fair Lady. Referensi ^ Audrey Hepburn Obituary Diarsipkan 2017-08-24 di Wayback Machine.. Telegraph

 

Tewkesbury Abbey

Church in EnglandParish Church of St Mary the VirginTewkesbury Abbey51°59′25″N 2°9′38″W / 51.99028°N 2.16056°W / 51.99028; -2.16056CountryEnglandDenominationChurch of EnglandChurchmanshipHigh church / Modern CatholicWebsitewww.tewkesburyabbey.org.ukHistoryDedicationSt Mary the VirginAdministrationProvinceCanterburyDioceseGloucesterParishTewkesburyClergyVicar(s)Revd Canon Nick DaviesLaityOrganist/Director of musicCarleton EtheringtonOrganist(s)Simon BellChu...

John Butler

Disambiguazione – Se stai cercando il politico e aristocratico irlandese, vedi John Butler, II marchese di Ormonde. Disambiguazione – Se stai cercando l'omonimo cestista, vedi John Butler (cestista). John Butler Nazionalità Australia GenereBluegrassRock alternativo Periodo di attività musicale1996 – in attività Strumentovoce, chitarra, didgeridoo, banjo, armonica EtichettaJarrah Gruppi attualiThe John Butler Trio Album pubblicati2 Studio1 Live1 Sito ufficiale...

 

山内一弘

「山内和宏」とは別人です。 山内 一弘 毎日オリオンズ時代（1956年）基本情報国籍 日本出身地 愛知県一宮市生年月日 (1932-05-01) 1932年5月1日[1][2]没年月日 (2009-02-02) 2009年2月2日（76歳没）[3]身長体重 175[注 1][1] cm77[注 1][1] kg選手情報投球・打席 右投右打ポジション 外野手[5]プロ入り 1952年初出場 1952年6月28日[6]最終出�...

 

Kompak Kampung Pisang FC

Kompak Kampung PisangNama lengkapKompak Kampung Pisang Football ClubJulukanHarimau Batipuah[1]Nama singkatKKPBerdiri2018; 6 tahun lalu (2018)StadionLapangan Kompak Anak AirPemilikPSSI Kota PadangManajerRustam Efendi[2]PelatihBayu Ikhwan Nugroho[3]LigaLiga 32023TBD Kostum kandang Kostum tandang Kompak Kampung Pisang Football Club adalah tim sepak bola Indonesia yang bermarkas di Batipuh Panjang, Koto Tangah, Kota Padang, Sumatera Barat. Tim ini berlaga di Liga 3 Zo...

Bunny (1998 film)

1998 film by Chris Wedge For other uses, see Bunny (disambiguation). Bunnypromotional PosterDirected byChris WedgeWritten byChris WedgeProduced byNina RappaportEdited byTim NordquistMusic byTom WaitsKathleen BrennanProductioncompanyBlue Sky StudiosRelease date November 2, 1998 (November 2, 1998) Running time7 minutesCountryUnited States Bunny is a 1998 American animated short film by Chris Wedge and produced by Blue Sky Studios.[1] It was featured on the original 2-disc special e...

 

Salman Khurshid

Salman Khurshid Ministro degli esteri dell'IndiaDurata mandato28 ottobre 2012 –26 maggio 2014 PredecessoreS. M. Krishna SuccessoreSushma Swaraj Dati generaliPartito politicoCongresso Nazionale Indiano Salman Khurshid (hindi:सलमान खुर्शीद;) (Aligarh, 1º gennaio 1953) è un politico e avvocato indiano. Indice 1 Biografia 2 Note 3 Altri progetti 4 Collegamenti esterni Biografia Ha ricoperto l'incarico di ministro degli esteri dell'India, nel governo ...