This soundtrack was the business card of the Grunge scene at the time it rose up to fame worldwide.
You can say it was a business opportunity made by a greedy businessman or you can say it was a good way to spread the Grunge to the world. Either way, it is a significant part of the music history and especially the Grunge so let's find out some interesting facts about this soundtrack:
1. It is the original soundtrack album of the 1992 film “Singles”
2. American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe, starring Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, and Matt Dillon.
3. The movie centers on the precarious romantic lives of a group of young Gen X in Seattle, Washington at the height of the 1990s Grunge scene.
4. The film was released on September 18, 1992, to generally positive reviews from critics, grossing over $18 million.
5. It was around 1990 on the night of Andrew Wood‘s (Mother Love Bone) death that Crowe decided to rewrite the old script he had for "Singles". The community that came together after Andrew's death served as an inspiration for the film.
6. Crowe mentioned that he was amazed by the social and musical life in Seattle, to see Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, close friends working together at a coffee shop during the day, playing music, and going to shows at night. Chris Cornell was working at Ray’s Boat House, wearing an apron and working in the kitchen and doing "Soundgarden".
7. Most of Matt Dillon's wardrobe in the movie belonged to Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament.
8. Eddie Vedder was paid to give Matt Dillon guitar lessons.
9. Warner Bros. Television immediately tried to turn "Singles" into a television series. Crowe claims that "Singles" inspired the famous television series "Friends".
10. Cameron Crowe was later married to musician Nancy Wilson
11. Cameron Crowe went on to direct Pearl Jam’s 20th-anniversary documentary, "PJ20" in 2011
12. Paul Westerberg released his first solo material on this album apart from his band "The Replacements" with the song "Dyslexic Heart".
13. The fictional band in the movie was called “Citizen Dick” and was assembled by the actor Matt Dillion and Pearl Jam band members
14. During the making of the movie, Pearl Jam was still called "Mookie Blaylock"
15. Ament produced a list of song titles for “Citizen Dick”. Chris Cornell took it as a challenge to write songs for the film using those titles, and "Spoonman" was one of them.
16. The soundtrack came out 3 months before the movie to promote the movie through the music from the Grunge scene which was getting worldwide stardom very fast.
17. The soundtrack was reissued in a 2×CD and 2×LP edition on May 19, 2017, coincidentally one day after the death of Chris Cornell.
18. In April 2019, the album was ranked No. 19 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Grunge Albums" list.
19. If we are not mistaken this is also the first Chris Cornell solo recordings.
20. Two out of the big 5 “Grunge” bands are missing from the soundtrack, "Nirvana" and "Stone Temple Pilots". STP was not placed in Seattle but also was not "The Smashing Pumpkins" so we do not know why they were missed. "Nirvana" was missed by mistake, during the filming Crowe did not put them in the soundtrack but during the editing “Smell Like Teen Spirit" was a huge hit already that Crowe did not have money to pay for.
21. "The Lovemongers" are a band established by the godmothers of Grunge Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson
The Tracklist:
1. "Would?" - Alice in Chains
2. "Breath" - Pearl Jam
3. "Seasons" - Chris Cornell
4. "Dyslexic Heart" - Paul Westerberg
5. "The Battle of Evermore" - The Lovemongers
6. "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" - Mother Love Bone
7. "Birth Ritual" - Soundgarden
8. "State of Love and Trust" - Pearl Jam
9. "Overblown" - Mudhoney
10. "Waiting for Somebody" - Paul Westerberg
11. "May This Be Love" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
12. "Nearly Lost You" - Screaming Trees
13. "Drown" - The Smashing Pumpkins
Listen to the soundtrack on: Spotify, Apple Music
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