
How Temple of the Dog Pioneered a New Genre of Music Videos in the ’90s - DiabloD3
https://longreads.com/2017/05/09/temple-dog-90s-music-videos/
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6stringmerc
> _Released in early 1991, the video not only became an instant hit, but also
> a quintessential video in the ’90s genre. It codified the checklist for what
> a video in the ’90s would look like._

Guess what video this is talking about, no, just name the first thing that
comes to mind. A little hard right?

That's because this fucking article is a puff piece trying to build a mountain
out of a mole hill. Temple of the Dog was a blip on the radar but it didn't
"PIONEER" anything music video wise, or even "supergroup" wise.

If you remove the three bottles of wine and $60 of cocaine that populates the
article, there's about two paragraphs of decent, interesting stuff about
Temple of the Dog. For somebody claiming to write about "pioneering" in
reference to Chris Cornell and music videos, and not mention "Black Hole Sun"
once means the writer is incompetent.

Just because somebody writes a lot of words doesn't mean they're worth your
time to read them. Fuck this article. Go re-watch the Nic Harcourt interview
of Soundgarden at ACL in 2014:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FCjlX9Qr3Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FCjlX9Qr3Y)

~~~
jdale27
> _Released in early 1991, the video not only became an instant hit, but also
> a quintessential video in the ’90s genre. It codified the checklist for what
> a video in the ’90s would look like._ > Guess what video this is talking
> about, no, just name the first thing that comes to mind. A little hard
> right?

When I read that description, the first two videos that came to mind were Give
It Away and Smells Like Teen Spirit. I didn't even remember if those were
released in 1991, but it turns out they both were. I suspect many others of my
age would also think of those before Hunger Strike. But that doesn't prove
those videos were _better_ or _more influential_ , just more popular and got
more play on MTV.

I don't know how "pioneering" Temple of the Dog really were, but it does say
something that a band that only made one album was worth reuniting 25 years
later.

~~~
fattire
It always seemed to me like that band (and that song in paritcular) was kind
of "leftover" material rammed down the public's throat when Pearl Jam &
Soundgarden broke as if it were some hidden gem that had somehow evaded our
attention ("It's about their dead friend, you know..."). Always felt to me
just like a cash grab-- like what Cornell (RIP) says in the article: "Oh,
there’s this one video that we have that has members of both bands in it;
let’s play it all day!"

I don't get how guys playing in a field was some kind of pioneering new
concept in music videos. That's basically every music video in the 1960s.

~~~
autokad
i thought temple of the dog was more or less a tribute to mother love bone,
well the lead singer that died andrew wood.

~~~
fattire
That was my reference to "It's about their dead friend, you know..."

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pfarnsworth
Soundgarden Badmotorfinger and Temple of the Dog were my 2 favorite albums of
that era, so I know of this intimately.

I was a huge fan, and I have to say that Hunger Strike was the cringiest video
I had seen up to that point. I couldn't stand it, it was so phony. Eddie
Vedder inexplicably singing in the middle of weeds or tall grass and you could
barely see him, it was hilarious. The rest of the band playing electric
guitars on the beach with no hookups, was just so full of phoniness, it was
probably the absolute worst video of that era. The idea that this video
somehow "pioneered" other music videos is laughable.

~~~
6stringmerc
Faith No More "Epic" was way more influential than "Hunger Strike" and,
wouldn't you know it, that video didn't even get a mention in the article.

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foob
_> Fronted by Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell, Temple of the Dog was the
original rock supergroup._

I love Temple of the Dog as much as the next guy but this is patently false.
The original rock supergroup was probably Crosby, Stills, & Nash, formed in
1968 by well-known stars from the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and the Hollies,
respectively (and later joined by Neil Young). One could also make a case for
Cream, but Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker became much better known for their
involvement with Cream than they ever were for anything else.

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TimJYoung
I've got to echo some of the other comments here: Temple of the Dog always
struck me as "meh", _especially_ the video for "Hunger Strike". Any number of
Soundgarden or Pearl Jam songs/videos were _way_ more artistic and
influential.

It's almost if the author is a) a super-fan that is looking at the past with
special rose-colored glasses, or b) they didn't actually experience that time
period and are watching the videos _now_ without the proper context.

BTW: shout-out to anyone that listened to 104.1 (Orlando) in the early-to-mid
90s. What a great radio station...

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permadefroster
I rememeber Temple of The Dog being a lackluster one hit wonder. Mediocre and
unremarkable insofar as it received no commentary from Beavis and Butthead.

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languagehacker
"Original rock supergroup"

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protomyth
I get the feeling the author wanted to write something given events and this
is the result. Personally, I would have gone with an article starting with
Mother Love Bone and how the member friendships resulted in Temple of the Dog
and other collaborations tying in Chris Cornell that way.

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johnchristopher
It's sad that I just learned right now that Chris Cornell actually passed away
three days ago.

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jmcdiesel
I know the comment trend here is bashing the author... but i gotta step out of
that to say... holy hell... i feel dumb. Never knew temple of the dog was
Vedder and Cornell ... and i've always loved that song.. not so much
lyrically, but the overall sound..

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hellbanTHIS
I don't know about the video but the song is pretty interesting in that it's
the same refrain over and over and doesn't rhyme - yet it still works

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rdiddly
Stopped reading at "Mission to Burma." Plenty of outsiders were around back
then too, trying to write about it but betraying their ignorance. I always
chalked it up to their being too old. But this guy is even younger, looking
back from "the future!" Generation X: misunderstood from both directions!

