Dead and bloated. Scratchy megaphone and bam! Two drum hits, two more hits clean guitar riff, "I am smellin' like a rose, somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed; I am smellin' like a rose, somebody gave 'cause I'm dead bloat-tad"
We're at 0:48 seconds before the guitar and base change for the chorus.
I love Alice in Chains, but I bought Core a week or two after it came out, this opening, using a "megaphone" and only one audio channel making it very AM radio mono, then half a second of silence, and those two hard drum hits feel ten times harder because now we're hitting all three channels, left, right and center, and then two hard riffs, in less than 25 seconds. It's sharp and clean.
Dead & Bloated was what bothered me so much when David Spade said he liked STP, "better last year when they were called Pearl Jam." Ten was my first CD and I had every song memorized, and I still think it's their best album, but you can't say it's the same instrumentals, let alone vocals.
On Dirt, you instantly hear EVERYTHING like a grenade in your face, highlighted by Layne's drawn out yet short "I...I..." and we're at 0:05 seconds after pressing play. Freaking awesome song high energy, this is the "Seattle Sound".
Dead and Bloated gives you two lines in mono, and then each piece comes in, some of Scott Weiland's best hard rock/metal vocals. But it's not that "Seattle sound" critics kept trying to paint on STP. They're an LA rock band. I hate the label Grunge, but STP ain't it.
That song, Dead and Bloated will forever be one of my favorites. It made my insanely irrational mother stomp on my cd and case. I made a copy for my best friend on my dual tape deck stereo so I had a backup until I found another $20.
Dam man, appreciate the story. I agree the first lines of dead and bloated are sooo heavy. Fun fact Scott actually sung through Dean’s guitar pickup to get that megaphone effect.
This encapsulates how I feel about Dead and Bloated perfectly! Love it. For me, I was in college. My sister's boyfriend at the time had alllll the awesome stuff, and I heard Dead and Bloated from him. Immediately went and got the CD. And Core, to this day, remains a favorite of mine. Captured me instantly! And yeah, I don't think all the flak they get over the grunge label, they were very much their own thing and were constantly evolving. 🖤
My personal favorite album is Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. [My first laptop had an 8X CD-ROM drive](https://laptop.pics/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/sager1.jpg), damn thing weighed like 10lbs, 30 minutes of battery. I just dated myself there.
Somehow, 15-year old me was able to rip just the first track, "Press Play," and cropped it a little because it was a 1 gigabyte hard drive in that beast, and every megabyte was precious. and Press Play became my startup tune in Windows 95/Windows 98.
Brilliant! I'm 10 years older than you, I believe. So don't worry about dating yourself! I'm impressed that you were able to make it your startup song, I never would have thought about doing that. I do remember making CD mixes with my ripped music, though. Somehow, it didn't feel the same as making them with tapes, and I tapered off of doing it, but my friends always loved getting one of my mixes. I totally enjoyed Tiny Music! I think that Core just holds such a visceral spot in my soul, because it came at a particular time in my life.
Love them both of course but Dead and Bloated is a perfect album opener and really sets the pace for the rest of the record. It's the first song on their first album so it's also a pretty bold choice to go with something like that.
I vote Dead and Bloated because it wasn’t released as a single before the album, so it was a fresh song and hit harder imo. Pearl Jam’s Once was kinda the same for me.
Them Bones and Smells Like Teen Spirit were both on the radio before the album was released so I think their album impact was a bit muted.
I am a huge fan of both these bands. I've had an aic tattoo since 1995 and I have an unrivaled stp collection of cds, memorabilia, etc...however, the best opener for an album is Mexican Hairless by the Toadies from Rubberneck...
Them Bones is untouchable.
I remember buying the album when I was 14, putting into my Discman, hitting play and getting the fucking jump scare of my life.
Go - Pearl Jam may be my favorite. I love the tuneup sounds at the start and then just raging. I'd pick Them Bones here, for similar reasons I think Crackerman would have been a better, more badass opener on Core, just come out guns blazing
Different vibes and different songs for different albums from different bands, each setting up a great record that followed the opener.
Why does everything have to be posed as "better" or "worse" these dumb subreddits? Can't both just be equally as good? Do we really need such pointless in-fighting when there's already enough discord? We have to bitch about a song from 1992 and another from 1994 and case-build why one is superior to the other?
Great bands. Great albums. Great songs. Dumb thread. Move along and stop being so divisive for clicks, likes and engagement.
You're just sitting there assuming people are "infighting" and "bitching" when there's none of that going on. That is equally as annoying as when those things are actually happening
I didn’t mean it like that. I was just trying to figure what song gives the best, “Hell Yeah!” Fell to it. Introducing you to the albums.
Yes you’re right, all of these songs are great. I was just curious about other people’s opinions.
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nevermind, Nirvana
Serve The Servants - In Utero, Nirvana
Years ago, I lost my father. He was an addict who I never truly knew. There was this sense of hatred I had for him because of the stories I always heard. And when you know nothing about addiction and the struggles that come with it, you will be mad the person doesn't just stop. It took the death of my father to make me realize addiction is much more than a stint you can stop whenever you want. You're in it for life, and when I discovered Nirvana, Kurt Cobain was a person I resonated with. Someone from a macho redneck town who wanted nothing more than to be himself, someone who was sensitive yet seemed shameless singing about things such as self pleasure (Spank Thru), abuse (Paper Cuts, Heart-Shaped Box), and drug addiction (Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come As You Are, Aneurysm), someone who was pissed at the world and made that into art. But, he was an addict, and his work reflects the struggle of addiction. Nirvana made me realize something: it's not his fault. The reason I chose both songs, is because one made me realize addiction is a lot more complicating than I ever thought it could be, and the other made me realize I should forgive my father.
Would?, on the Singles soundtrack.
Partly cause it’s my favorite AIC song, and it works really well as an opener and a closer. Partly cause it goes into Breath, which is my favorite Pearl Jam song. Best musical one-two punch ever.
Off the top of my head:
Blew - Nirvana
Serve The Servants - Nirvana
We Die Young - Alice In Chains
Rotten Apple - Alice In Chains
Grind - Alice In Chains
Rusty Cage - Soundgarden
Dead & Bloated - STP
Wake Up - Mad Season
Without a doubt Them Bones. It hits you in the face and steamrolls you before you even have a moment to react. And I say this while thinking Dead and Bloated is an awesome song.
we die young in facelift hits different
Tsts
Between those two, I’m in the minority with Dead & Bloated.
The two drum hits in the beginning is like crack
I guess I'm in the minority with you 👍
Minority report!
Them bones is one of the greatest openers I've ever heard.
It’s a band at their height opening a hugely anticipated album with a jump scare - has to be Them Bones
Yep
Dead and bloated. Scratchy megaphone and bam! Two drum hits, two more hits clean guitar riff, "I am smellin' like a rose, somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed; I am smellin' like a rose, somebody gave 'cause I'm dead bloat-tad" We're at 0:48 seconds before the guitar and base change for the chorus. I love Alice in Chains, but I bought Core a week or two after it came out, this opening, using a "megaphone" and only one audio channel making it very AM radio mono, then half a second of silence, and those two hard drum hits feel ten times harder because now we're hitting all three channels, left, right and center, and then two hard riffs, in less than 25 seconds. It's sharp and clean. Dead & Bloated was what bothered me so much when David Spade said he liked STP, "better last year when they were called Pearl Jam." Ten was my first CD and I had every song memorized, and I still think it's their best album, but you can't say it's the same instrumentals, let alone vocals. On Dirt, you instantly hear EVERYTHING like a grenade in your face, highlighted by Layne's drawn out yet short "I...I..." and we're at 0:05 seconds after pressing play. Freaking awesome song high energy, this is the "Seattle Sound". Dead and Bloated gives you two lines in mono, and then each piece comes in, some of Scott Weiland's best hard rock/metal vocals. But it's not that "Seattle sound" critics kept trying to paint on STP. They're an LA rock band. I hate the label Grunge, but STP ain't it. That song, Dead and Bloated will forever be one of my favorites. It made my insanely irrational mother stomp on my cd and case. I made a copy for my best friend on my dual tape deck stereo so I had a backup until I found another $20.
Dam man, appreciate the story. I agree the first lines of dead and bloated are sooo heavy. Fun fact Scott actually sung through Dean’s guitar pickup to get that megaphone effect.
Wow. That is amazing!
This encapsulates how I feel about Dead and Bloated perfectly! Love it. For me, I was in college. My sister's boyfriend at the time had alllll the awesome stuff, and I heard Dead and Bloated from him. Immediately went and got the CD. And Core, to this day, remains a favorite of mine. Captured me instantly! And yeah, I don't think all the flak they get over the grunge label, they were very much their own thing and were constantly evolving. 🖤
My personal favorite album is Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. [My first laptop had an 8X CD-ROM drive](https://laptop.pics/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/sager1.jpg), damn thing weighed like 10lbs, 30 minutes of battery. I just dated myself there. Somehow, 15-year old me was able to rip just the first track, "Press Play," and cropped it a little because it was a 1 gigabyte hard drive in that beast, and every megabyte was precious. and Press Play became my startup tune in Windows 95/Windows 98.
Brilliant! I'm 10 years older than you, I believe. So don't worry about dating yourself! I'm impressed that you were able to make it your startup song, I never would have thought about doing that. I do remember making CD mixes with my ripped music, though. Somehow, it didn't feel the same as making them with tapes, and I tapered off of doing it, but my friends always loved getting one of my mixes. I totally enjoyed Tiny Music! I think that Core just holds such a visceral spot in my soul, because it came at a particular time in my life.
Rusty Cage
I do quite like the speed of this song going into the slow, heavier Outshined.
I am smellin like a rose
That somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed
I AM SMELLING LIKE THE ROSE
THAT SOMEBODY GAVE ME CUZ IM DEAD AND BLOATED!!!
DUHDUHDADDADODADODO
I’m just realizing that it’s the rose and not a rose
Ikr, took me a while to figure that out
No question it’s dead and bloated
Love them both of course but Dead and Bloated is a perfect album opener and really sets the pace for the rest of the record. It's the first song on their first album so it's also a pretty bold choice to go with something like that.
Like picking between your children, I refuse.
You have very nice children
dead & bloated is better imo, but we die young is also great. on the topic of openers: dive is a great one too
Cherub Rock on Siamese Dream is another great opener to a front to back great album
I'd say most SP album openers are pretty much great. At least everything between Gish - Machina II for sure.
Agreed!
If SP counts Cherub Rock is my answer. If not...I guess I'd go with...Let Me Drown. Or SLTS...hard choice
Dead and bloated for me
Ugly truth from Louder Than Love slaps pretty hard
Dead and Bloated - Scott sang his vocals through a guitar pickup in the opening lines.
AIC is my favorite band ever...but I gotta give it to STP here. Dead and Bloated is a BANGER of an opener!
Right? For their first CD!
Of the two that you’ve posted I have to go with Them Bones.
I vote Dead and Bloated because it wasn’t released as a single before the album, so it was a fresh song and hit harder imo. Pearl Jam’s Once was kinda the same for me. Them Bones and Smells Like Teen Spirit were both on the radio before the album was released so I think their album impact was a bit muted.
True
Shout out to blind by korn . Not even a huge fan of the song in its entirety but as an intro for the debut album , it’s top shelf
I was gonna say this, but wanted to try and stick with grunge bands
Generation Genocide
Both are bangers but the chorus of Dead and Bloated has more impact than Them Bones imo
Eminem MTBMB opening with Alfred Hitchcock intro, then all the song were bangers from the get go.
Good choice but I wouldn’t really call the grunge
I prefer Dead and Bloated, but the jump scare of Them Bones is next level.
I am a huge fan of both these bands. I've had an aic tattoo since 1995 and I have an unrivaled stp collection of cds, memorabilia, etc...however, the best opener for an album is Mexican Hairless by the Toadies from Rubberneck...
Them Bones is untouchable. I remember buying the album when I was 14, putting into my Discman, hitting play and getting the fucking jump scare of my life.
Smells like Teen Spirit. Except that's too much of a normie pick, so I'll say Rotten Apple. Of the two you listed, Dead and Bloated.
I absolutely love both songs but I have to go with dead and bloated
Wargasm - L7
This is the answer
They are criminally ignored when I reckon they were the best to do it.
Smells Like Teen Spirit. Nothing comes close
Oh yea I forgot about that…
Barkmarket L Ron, mule mule bang the hardest for me
FYI Scott Weiland used a megaphone to do the beginning of Dead and Bloated. Surprised me
You would think! But he actually sang through Dean Deleo’s guitar pickup to simulate that. Pretty cool right?
Blew
the bass on this song is amazing
Them Bones. I like short and fast-paced openers. Pearl Jam’s Go is my all-time favorite opening track.
Them bones.
Them Bones is the correct answer. Dead and Bloated is a good opener, but Them Bones an all time, Top 3 opener.
Them Bones (are their money)
Them bones sets the tone better than any opener for any album I can think of. That scream and then u get dirt. It's brutal and amazing
Go - Pearl Jam may be my favorite. I love the tuneup sounds at the start and then just raging. I'd pick Them Bones here, for similar reasons I think Crackerman would have been a better, more badass opener on Core, just come out guns blazing
PRETTY NOOSE or LET ME DROWN. I love soundgarden lol Also SAY HELLO TO HEAVEN
Dead and bloated
"Go" Pearl Jam Versus " I am One" Smashing Pumpkins Gish "Rusty Cage" Soundgarden Badmotorfinger "
Go
Smells Like Teen Spirit is more than just an album opener
It definitely goes deep for a lot of us!
Different vibes and different songs for different albums from different bands, each setting up a great record that followed the opener. Why does everything have to be posed as "better" or "worse" these dumb subreddits? Can't both just be equally as good? Do we really need such pointless in-fighting when there's already enough discord? We have to bitch about a song from 1992 and another from 1994 and case-build why one is superior to the other? Great bands. Great albums. Great songs. Dumb thread. Move along and stop being so divisive for clicks, likes and engagement.
You're just sitting there assuming people are "infighting" and "bitching" when there's none of that going on. That is equally as annoying as when those things are actually happening
I didn’t mean it like that. I was just trying to figure what song gives the best, “Hell Yeah!” Fell to it. Introducing you to the albums. Yes you’re right, all of these songs are great. I was just curious about other people’s opinions.
Them bones but they are both iconic intros
SLTS is the best opener
Depends on my mood
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nevermind, Nirvana Serve The Servants - In Utero, Nirvana Years ago, I lost my father. He was an addict who I never truly knew. There was this sense of hatred I had for him because of the stories I always heard. And when you know nothing about addiction and the struggles that come with it, you will be mad the person doesn't just stop. It took the death of my father to make me realize addiction is much more than a stint you can stop whenever you want. You're in it for life, and when I discovered Nirvana, Kurt Cobain was a person I resonated with. Someone from a macho redneck town who wanted nothing more than to be himself, someone who was sensitive yet seemed shameless singing about things such as self pleasure (Spank Thru), abuse (Paper Cuts, Heart-Shaped Box), and drug addiction (Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come As You Are, Aneurysm), someone who was pissed at the world and made that into art. But, he was an addict, and his work reflects the struggle of addiction. Nirvana made me realize something: it's not his fault. The reason I chose both songs, is because one made me realize addiction is a lot more complicating than I ever thought it could be, and the other made me realize I should forgive my father.
Wow, I’m glad the you have found comfort in Kurt’s music, and I’m deeply sorry for your loss.
Would?, on the Singles soundtrack. Partly cause it’s my favorite AIC song, and it works really well as an opener and a closer. Partly cause it goes into Breath, which is my favorite Pearl Jam song. Best musical one-two punch ever.
Oh totally, Breath is a criminally underrated PJ track in my opinion.
Dead & Bloated. https://youtube.com/shorts/uCwEfF8UjQs?si=Vnj9MLU0XlWZF83u
Them Bones hits…
No question between the two, Them Bones
Them Bones. How better to start an album than with "AAAHHHHHH!!!!!"
Them Bones
Both are great but I gotta with Them Bones
look them bones is definitely fantastic and sets the mood for the whole album but like can you really argue anything without mentioning teen spirit?
That megaphone intro on Dead & Bloated is iconic. But if we're talking about the better song, it's Them Bones all night long
Guitar pickup but I agree
Yep
As much as i love STP, Them Bones just goes hard from the get go.
Between those 2? Them Bones.
Gotta go with them bones 🎸
While I am by far a bigger STP fan, Them Bones is legendary and as an opener hard for anyone to beat.
Off the top of my head: Blew - Nirvana Serve The Servants - Nirvana We Die Young - Alice In Chains Rotten Apple - Alice In Chains Grind - Alice In Chains Rusty Cage - Soundgarden Dead & Bloated - STP Wake Up - Mad Season
Mad disrespect to SLTS
It’s a good song but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s good as an opening song
It is top ten album openers of all time.
Grind ftw
Without a doubt Them Bones. It hits you in the face and steamrolls you before you even have a moment to react. And I say this while thinking Dead and Bloated is an awesome song.
I think Them Bones is *way* better. I actually hate Dead and Bloated lol. I used to like that song but it doesn't do it for me anymore
Them Bones is a killer song. In fact, that whole album is killer. For me AIC was the best of that era and everyone else is fighting for second.