Grind (song)

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"Grind"
Alice In Chains Grind.jpg
Single by Alice in Chains
from the album Alice in Chains
ReleasedOctober 6, 1995 (1995-10-06)
Studio Bad Animals, Seattle, Washington
Genre
Length4:45
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Jerry Cantrell
Producer(s)
Alice in Chains singles chronology
"Got Me Wrong"
(1994)		"Grind"
(1995)		"Heaven Beside You"
(1996)

"Grind" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains. It is the opening track and the lead single from their third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995). The song was written by Jerry Cantrell, who also sings lead vocals with Layne Staley harmonizing with him. "Grind" spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number seven. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996.

Contents

Lyrics

Written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell, "Grind" addresses the various rumors that surrounded the band at the time. The opening lines, "In the darkest hole, you'd be well advised/Not to plan my funeral before the body dies", address the rumors that the band had broken up and the many rumors of vocalist Layne Staley's death that had occurred frequently around this time. In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Jerry Cantrell said of the song:

That was pretty much at the height of publicity about canceled tours, heroin, amputations, everything, thus it was another "FUCK YOU for saying something about my life" song. Any single rumor you can imagine, I've heard. I've been dead a few times, Layne's been dead countless times and lost limbs. I get on the phone every time I hear a new one, "Hey Layne, radio in New York says you lost two more fingers." "Oh really? Cool." I'd spoof The Six Million Dollar Man ; "Since technology's moved on it only cost us 2 million to put Layne back together and we got better parts." [3]

Release and reception

"Grind" was written by guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. Jerry Cantrell06.jpg
"Grind" was written by guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell.

An early cut of the song was leaked to radio prematurely, so the band released it via satellite uplink a few days later, on October 6, 1995, to combat illegal versions being played in rotation. [4] On October 30, 1995, the song was released physically in the United Kingdom. [5] The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, [6] number 18 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, [7] and number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. [8]

"Grind" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996, losing to Pearl Jam's "Spin the Black Circle". [9] Editorial reviews frequently singled out the dark, compelling lyrics of the song. Jon Wiederhorn of Rolling Stone noted, "'Grind' shimmers and shudders beneath a web of trippy wah-wah guitar and half-distorted vocal harmonies, and features one of the album's many hook-filled choruses." [10]

AllMusic's Steve Huey regarded the song "among the band's best work" but also noted that the less refined tracks on the album make the defiance of "Grind" sound "more like denial." [11] Regarding band rumors, Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that the song advises against believing "what you may have heard and what you think you know." [12] "Grind" was ranked at number 60 on Spin 's "The 95 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1995" list. [2]

Music video

The music video for "Grind" was released in November 1995. [13] It was directed by Rocky Schenck, who had previously directed the "We Die Young", "Them Bones", and "What the Hell Have I" music videos for the band. [14] The video was shot at Hollywood National Studios from October 8 to 21, 1995. [14] It is a live-action video with animated sequences featuring the band underground of an old building where a three-legged dog is. The dog in the video is not the same dog on the cover of Alice in Chains' self-titled album, and contrary to false information spread on the internet, it did not belong to Jerry Cantrell either. It was a different dog named Sunshine that was hired just for the video, according to Cantrell. [15] The old man in the video was played by actor Richard Stretchberry. [16]

The video received heavy rotation on MTV in late 1995 and early 1996, and it is available on the home video releases The Nona Tapes (1995) [17] and Music Bank: The Videos (1999). [18]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Grind"4:45
2."So Close"2:45
3."Nutshell"4:19
4."Love, Hate, Love"6:26

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1995–1996)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [19] 77
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [20] 53
Canada Rock/Alternative ( RPM ) [21] 3
European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media) [22] 70
UK Singles (OCC) [8] 23
UK Rock & Metal (OCC) [23] 1
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [7] 18
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [6] 7

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United StatesOctober 6, 1995Radio Columbia [4]
United KingdomOctober 30, 1995
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [5]

Cover versions

"Grind" was later covered by alternative metal band Hurt at the Layne Staley Tribute 2008.

Appearances in other media

The song was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series on January 12, 2010. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice in Chains</span> American rock band

Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney. Vocalist Layne Staley and bassist Mike Starr are former members of the band. The band took its name from Staley's previous band, Alice N' Chains. Often associated with grunge music, Alice in Chains' sound and style is deeply rooted in heavy metal music. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell, making Alice in Chains a two-vocal band.

<i>Dirt</i> (Alice in Chains album) 1992 studio album by Alice in Chains

Dirt is the second studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 1992 by Columbia Records. Peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, the album received critical acclaim. It has since been certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Dirt the band's highest selling album to date. It was the band's last album recorded with all four original members, as bassist Mike Starr was fired in January 1993 during the tour to support the album. The album spawned five singles: "Would?", "Them Bones", "Angry Chair", "Rooster", and "Down in a Hole", all with accompanying music videos. Dirt was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The music video for "Would?" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film, as the song was featured on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's 1992 film Singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Layne Staley</span> American rock musician (1967–2002)

Layne Thomas Staley was an American singer and songwriter who was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle's grunge movement. He was known for his distinctive vocal style as well as his harmonizing with bandmate Jerry Cantrell. Prior to his success with Alice in Chains, Staley was also a member of the glam metal bands Sleze and Alice N' Chains. He was also a part of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99.

<i>Facelift</i> (album) 1990 studio album by Alice in Chains

Facelift is the debut studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released by Columbia Records on August 28, 1990. The tracks "We Die Young", and "Man in the Box" were released as singles. "Man in the Box" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal in 1992. Facelift became the first grunge album to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), achieving this feat on September 11, 1991. The album peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart, and has been certified triple-platinum by the RIAA for shipments of three million copies in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Cantrell</span> American guitarist, singer and songwriter

Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s during Seattle's grunge movement and is known for its distinctive vocal style and the harmonized vocals between Cantrell and Layne Staley. Cantrell started to sing lead vocals on Alice in Chains' 1992 EP Sap. After Staley's death in 2002, Cantrell took the role of Alice in Chains' lead singer on most of the songs from the band's post-Staley albums, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013), and Rainier Fog (2018), with DuVall harmonizing with him in the new songs and singing Staley's vocals in the old songs in live concerts.

<i>Jar of Flies</i> 1994 EP by Alice in Chains

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<i>Alice in Chains</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains is the third studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on November 7, 1995, by Columbia Records, and was the follow-up to the highly successful Dirt (1992). This is the band's first full-length studio album to feature bassist Mike Inez, their last studio album to feature original lead vocalist Layne Staley, and their final studio album to be released through Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Man in the Box</span> 1991 single by Alice in Chains

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Sean Howard Kinney is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Alice in Chains. Kinney also founded the short-lived supergroup Spys4Darwin, and has collaborated with other artists such as Johnny Cash and Metallica. He played drums for his Alice in Chains bandmate, Jerry Cantrell's first solo album, Boggy Depot (1998). Since 2009, Kinney has been co-owner of The Crocodile club in Seattle. He was a guest drummer on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers in September 2018. Kinney has earned nine Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Excuses (Alice in Chains song)</span> 1994 single by Alice in Chains

"No Excuses" is the lead single from American rock band Alice in Chains' third EP, Jar of Flies (1994). Written by guitarist and co-lead vocalist Jerry Cantrell, the song was well received by music critics and was a charting success, becoming the first Alice in Chains song to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, spending a total of 26 weeks on the chart. It has gone on to become one of the band's most popular songs. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). Alice In Chains performed an acoustic version of "No Excuses" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996, which marked the last time they performed the song with Layne Staley, and that version was included on the band's Unplugged live album and home video release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angry Chair</span> 1992 single by Alice in Chains

"Angry Chair" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was the third single from their album Dirt (1992). It is the eleventh song on most copies of the album and twelfth or tenth song on others. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Stay Away</span> 1994 single by Alice in Chains

"I Stay Away" is a song from Alice in Chains' 1994 EP Jar of Flies, and the second single from the album. This song marked the first time the band wrote with bassist Mike Inez. The single reached No. 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks, and stayed in the chart for 26 weeks. "I Stay Away" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1995. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaven Beside You</span> 1996 single by Alice in Chains

"Heaven Beside You" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains and the second single from their third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995). It was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell about his relationship with his then-girlfriend, Courtney Clarke. Cantrell sings lead vocals, with Layne Staley doing harmonies during the chorus. The song spent 26 weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at No. 3. An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD. "Heaven Beside You" was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What the Hell Have I</span> 1993 single by Alice in Chains

"What the Hell Have I" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was originally featured on the soundtrack to the 1993 John McTiernan film Last Action Hero starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The song was released as a single and peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was included on the compilation album Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999). A remixed version of the song was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Got Me Wrong</span> 1994 single by Alice in Chains

"Got Me Wrong" is a largely acoustic song by the American rock band Alice in Chains, originally featured on the band's 1992 EP, Sap. It was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who also shared vocals with Layne Staley. A slightly different version of the song also appeared on the soundtrack to the 1994 comedy film Clerks, and is played when the character Randal first appears in the movie. "Got Me Wrong" was released as a single in 1994 after being featured on Clerks. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999) and Music Bank (1999). An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged concert in 1996 was released on a live album and DVD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get Born Again</span> 1999 single by Alice in Chains

"Get Born Again" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and, along with "Died", one of the last two songs recorded with vocalist Layne Staley before his death in 2002. The song was released as the lead single from the compilation Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999) on June 1, 1999. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 12 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Get Born Again" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2000. The song was also included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Over Now (Alice in Chains song)</span> 1996 single by Alice in Chains

"Over Now" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. Written by Jerry Cantrell, who also sings lead vocals, the song is the last track on the band's third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995), and it is about the 1995 breakup of the band. The song closed the televised broadcast of Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged performance, and that version was released as a single in 1996. The B-side is the original studio version. The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 24 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1996. The song was included on the live album Unplugged (1996), on the box set Music Bank (1999), and the compilation album The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). The MTV Unplugged concert was the first and only time that Alice in Chains performed the song. It was performed again 23 years later at Jerry Cantrell's solo concert at the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles on December 6, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice in Chains discography</span>

The discography of Alice in Chains, a Seattle-based rock band, consists of six studio albums, three extended plays (EP), three live albums, five compilations, two DVDs, 44 music videos, and 34 singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Again (Alice in Chains song)</span> 1996 single by Alice in Chains

"Again" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released as the third single from their self-titled 1995 album. It peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1997. The song was included on the band's compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Greatest Hits (2001) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). A remixed version of the song was included on the box set Music Bank (1999).

<i>Black Gives Way to Blue</i> 2009 studio album by Alice in Chains

Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 2009, on the 17th anniversary of the release of their second album, Dirt. It is their first record without original lead singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002, and their first album with new vocalist and rhythm guitarist William DuVall sharing vocal duties with lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who sings lead vocals on most of the songs. The title track is a tribute to Staley featuring Elton John on piano. This is the first Alice in Chains album released on Virgin Records and their first venture away from Columbia, who handled all of their previous releases. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA on May 26, 2010, with shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in the U.S. and over 1 million copies sold worldwide. "Check My Brain" and "A Looking in View" were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Black Gives Way to Blue won Revolver magazine's Golden Gods Award for Album of the Year in 2010.

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  13. ↑ "The 120 Minutes Archive" . Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  14. 1 2 de Sola, David (2015). Alice in Chains: The Untold Story. St. Martin's Press. p. 236. ISBN   978-1466848399.
  15. ↑ "Jerry Cantrell on the three-legged dog on the cover of Alice in Chains' 1995 album and 'Grind' video". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Alice In Chains - Grind (1995)". IMVDb. November 30, 2001. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Alice In Chains - The Nona Tapes". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Alice In Chains – Music Bank - The Videos". Discogs. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
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