Why can’t I find e-book versions of your books?I am not opposed to the existence of e-books; I know lots of people are wildly enthusiastic about them. But I have spent my life working with books as an art form and I am devoted to physical books. E-books in their current incarnations are still imperfect and they threaten the arts of book design and typography. As a book conservator I am also nervous about the digitization of books: will they be readable one hundred years from now? Or will thousands of books simply vanish as platforms and programs change?
E-books have certain advantages (they are searchable) and disadvantages (they are not beautiful objects in themselves and don’t display images very well). I’m sure they will improve over time, though. I don’t know when or if my books will become e-books. Writing me hostile e-mail about this will not hasten my desire.
(author of The Time Traveler’s Wife)
These are the same questions I have been asking on the notion of e-books. They scare me.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
1 new friend request: An old fling
A guy that I had a sort of fling with when I was in high school found me on facebook yesterday. It got me to thinking. There was a time in our society that once you lost contact with these people, that was pretty much it. The only way you could get back in touch with them would be through snail mail, if they or you happened to have an address or could find them in the phone book, or perhaps somehow got your phone number through someone. That takes quite a bit of effort so it seems that even though you may think of someone from your past, would you really want to go through all that just to get in touch with them? Most likely not. Now a days all you have to do is create a facebook or myspace profile and do a name search. Pretty much everyone is online.
The point I am trying to get to here (there is one, I promise) is how does one or more of these people from your past friend requesting you on one of these sites effect a current relationship? My boyfriend and I have declared our doors completely wide open as far as communication is concerned. Now more than ever open communication between partners is one of the MOST important aspects to keep a relationship strong and healthy. I don't keep anything from him and vice versa. I had a split second thought yesterday when I saw a comment from the guy I mentioned at the beginning of this blog to just delete it. Whoosh. Gone. Didn't happen. That's what the old Jesslyn would have done. Hidden it. I was scandelous back then. Times have changed and they have changed greatly! And granted all the guy said was: jesslyn I would love to see or talk to you. I knew I would have to explain this to my boyfriend. If some girl had left a comment on his page, I know I'd be asking questions. I decided the right course of action was to comment on the comment and let him know I am involved and happy. Then at dinner last night, I told the bf about the comment and who the guy is. Now, if this was like 1989 and not 2009, that guy would have been history. No need to even tell the current boyfriend about this guy because I hadn't spoken to him since I was like 17. I currenly have a few exes on my friends list because, yeah, there's no hard feelings and I'd still like to be friends (and only friends. there's a reason they're exes). My boyfriend understands that and trusts me. He even thanked me last night for being open and honest and letting him know. It's just really strange to me when I think about the fact that these people would otherwise be completely out of your life. And here they are, poppin up on a friend request, leaving comments that you need to explain to your current partner. I know I have to contain my jealousy knowing that my boyfriend is in contact with some of his exes/flings. In these instances, I come to realize that we are both happily, crazily in love with each other and none of these people from our pasts can or will take that away from us. However, how strange is it to have to explain who these people are to your otter (yes I meant to say otter) half once they have left a comment like that? Technology is neat and makes things easier, but it can also make things more complicated. It's a catch 22 for sure.
The point I am trying to get to here (there is one, I promise) is how does one or more of these people from your past friend requesting you on one of these sites effect a current relationship? My boyfriend and I have declared our doors completely wide open as far as communication is concerned. Now more than ever open communication between partners is one of the MOST important aspects to keep a relationship strong and healthy. I don't keep anything from him and vice versa. I had a split second thought yesterday when I saw a comment from the guy I mentioned at the beginning of this blog to just delete it. Whoosh. Gone. Didn't happen. That's what the old Jesslyn would have done. Hidden it. I was scandelous back then. Times have changed and they have changed greatly! And granted all the guy said was: jesslyn I would love to see or talk to you. I knew I would have to explain this to my boyfriend. If some girl had left a comment on his page, I know I'd be asking questions. I decided the right course of action was to comment on the comment and let him know I am involved and happy. Then at dinner last night, I told the bf about the comment and who the guy is. Now, if this was like 1989 and not 2009, that guy would have been history. No need to even tell the current boyfriend about this guy because I hadn't spoken to him since I was like 17. I currenly have a few exes on my friends list because, yeah, there's no hard feelings and I'd still like to be friends (and only friends. there's a reason they're exes). My boyfriend understands that and trusts me. He even thanked me last night for being open and honest and letting him know. It's just really strange to me when I think about the fact that these people would otherwise be completely out of your life. And here they are, poppin up on a friend request, leaving comments that you need to explain to your current partner. I know I have to contain my jealousy knowing that my boyfriend is in contact with some of his exes/flings. In these instances, I come to realize that we are both happily, crazily in love with each other and none of these people from our pasts can or will take that away from us. However, how strange is it to have to explain who these people are to your otter (yes I meant to say otter) half once they have left a comment like that? Technology is neat and makes things easier, but it can also make things more complicated. It's a catch 22 for sure.
Monday, August 17, 2009
An open letter to myself (Shout out to Melissa)
Dearest J Squared,
Ever since going off your antidepressants you have been freaking out in numerous ways. You had extreme anxiety with simple tasks such as calling to make doctor appointments or to get your tires rotated. Luckily, it turned out similarily like your fear of talking into the box at drive thrus when you were in high school. You told yourself how ridiculous it was and eventually just did it. Now you seem to be freaking out about not being cool enough, not being as far in life as some 27 year olds are, not being pretty enough, etc etc etc. Lets bring in ole Stuart Smally cos you're good enough, you're smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like you! Scratch that, people effing love you! So please stop comparing yourself to other women. You are not like other women. Frankly, you are more badass than most women. You are compassionate, thoughtful, beautiful, you are intelligent, you have accomplished great things thus far, you are witty, silly, you enjoy life and know how to have fun. Yes, your anxiety holds you back, but you know you can fight through these ridiculous things and be a better person. You don't need your boyfriend's friends to tell him you are beautiful because he thinks you are beautiful and you should know that it's true. You don't need anyone's approval but your own. You don't have to be so scared of living. This doesn't happen all the time, but on the rare occasion you are in fact scared to death of being an adult and you know what, that's okay. You need to find confidence in yourself and know you can do anything that you put your mind to. Just like Melissa said, there is always room for improvement, but know that the base you have to work with is incredible!
Looooooooooooove,
Yourself
**Thanks Melissa for writing a letter to yourself because I needed this***
Ever since going off your antidepressants you have been freaking out in numerous ways. You had extreme anxiety with simple tasks such as calling to make doctor appointments or to get your tires rotated. Luckily, it turned out similarily like your fear of talking into the box at drive thrus when you were in high school. You told yourself how ridiculous it was and eventually just did it. Now you seem to be freaking out about not being cool enough, not being as far in life as some 27 year olds are, not being pretty enough, etc etc etc. Lets bring in ole Stuart Smally cos you're good enough, you're smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like you! Scratch that, people effing love you! So please stop comparing yourself to other women. You are not like other women. Frankly, you are more badass than most women. You are compassionate, thoughtful, beautiful, you are intelligent, you have accomplished great things thus far, you are witty, silly, you enjoy life and know how to have fun. Yes, your anxiety holds you back, but you know you can fight through these ridiculous things and be a better person. You don't need your boyfriend's friends to tell him you are beautiful because he thinks you are beautiful and you should know that it's true. You don't need anyone's approval but your own. You don't have to be so scared of living. This doesn't happen all the time, but on the rare occasion you are in fact scared to death of being an adult and you know what, that's okay. You need to find confidence in yourself and know you can do anything that you put your mind to. Just like Melissa said, there is always room for improvement, but know that the base you have to work with is incredible!
Looooooooooooove,
Yourself
**Thanks Melissa for writing a letter to yourself because I needed this***
Friday, August 14, 2009
Lucid Dreaming
Dreams. What are they? An escape from reality or reality itself? Waking Life follows the dream(s) of one man and his attempt to find and discern the absolute difference between waking life and the dreamworld. While trying to figure out a way to wake up, he runs into many people on his way; some of which offer one sentence asides on life, others delving deeply into existential questions and life's mysteries. We become the main character. It becomes our dream and our questions being asked and answered. Can we control our dreams? What are they telling us about life? About death? About ourselves and where we come from and where we are going? The film does not answer all these for us. Instead, it inspires us to ask the questions and find the answers ourselves. Written by http://www.imdb.com/SearchPlotWriters?Jeff%20Mellinger%20%7Bjmell@uclink4.berkeley.edu%7D
I rewatched this the other day with Jamie. He had never seen it. I had forgotten about my curiosity concerning lucid dreaming. The only fear I have about trying lucid dreaming is getting confused on whether you are awake or dreaming. BUT there is a way to test this. A friend of mine on facebook (he taught school with my mom so we haven't actually met) posted a note recently on the steps to lucid dreaming. I really want to try this.
First, lucid dreaming is an unusual dream-state where you know that you are dreaming, and can then try to exert some measure of control or influence over what you dream.
Step one, if you want to lucid dream, is simply to do something to increase the number of dreams you remember. This is simple: keep a dream journal, right next to your bed -- a simple notebook, with pen or pencil ready. The moment you wake up, write down every detail you can remember about what you were dreaming (lucidly or not) right before waking -- before the dream fades from your memory, as they often do quickly. Just this step alone will make you more aware of your dreams, and therefore make it more likely that you will lucid-dream.
Step two is to take a permanent marker, and write a small "c" on one hand. This "c" stands for a Check of Consciousness. Every time, during the day (which will probably be a dozen times or so) that you notice this "c," stop whatever you're doing, and check -- really, seriously check -- to see if you can figure out whether you are awake or asleep. You can check this by thinking about the events of the last 15 minutes ago, and seeing if they flowed naturally from one event to the next, or were disjointed and random, as dreams often are. An even simpler way to check is to see if the laws of physics work normally, for they often do not in dreams. I do this by simply jumping up into the air. If I fall straight back down, well, I know gravity is working normally, and assume I am awake. I know from experience that gravity often does NOT typically work normally in my dreams, so, if I flutter downward like a leaf or a sheet of paper when I try this, then I know I'm dreaming.
Now, if you do this check a dozen times or so, for 5-7 days (sometimes less), you'll get in such a habit of doing it that you'll continue the habit right into your dream-time -- in other words, you'll perform the check while dreaming, just because you've been doing it so much. If your checks are thorough enough, you're then more likely than not at that point to figure out that you are, in fact, asleep and dreaming. At that point, have fun -- what you choose to dream about is completely up to you!
To be in control of your dreams! How awesome is that?! I highly recommend Waking Life if only to get your mind churning about the possibilites of the mind itself.
I rewatched this the other day with Jamie. He had never seen it. I had forgotten about my curiosity concerning lucid dreaming. The only fear I have about trying lucid dreaming is getting confused on whether you are awake or dreaming. BUT there is a way to test this. A friend of mine on facebook (he taught school with my mom so we haven't actually met) posted a note recently on the steps to lucid dreaming. I really want to try this.
First, lucid dreaming is an unusual dream-state where you know that you are dreaming, and can then try to exert some measure of control or influence over what you dream.
Step one, if you want to lucid dream, is simply to do something to increase the number of dreams you remember. This is simple: keep a dream journal, right next to your bed -- a simple notebook, with pen or pencil ready. The moment you wake up, write down every detail you can remember about what you were dreaming (lucidly or not) right before waking -- before the dream fades from your memory, as they often do quickly. Just this step alone will make you more aware of your dreams, and therefore make it more likely that you will lucid-dream.
Step two is to take a permanent marker, and write a small "c" on one hand. This "c" stands for a Check of Consciousness. Every time, during the day (which will probably be a dozen times or so) that you notice this "c," stop whatever you're doing, and check -- really, seriously check -- to see if you can figure out whether you are awake or asleep. You can check this by thinking about the events of the last 15 minutes ago, and seeing if they flowed naturally from one event to the next, or were disjointed and random, as dreams often are. An even simpler way to check is to see if the laws of physics work normally, for they often do not in dreams. I do this by simply jumping up into the air. If I fall straight back down, well, I know gravity is working normally, and assume I am awake. I know from experience that gravity often does NOT typically work normally in my dreams, so, if I flutter downward like a leaf or a sheet of paper when I try this, then I know I'm dreaming.
Now, if you do this check a dozen times or so, for 5-7 days (sometimes less), you'll get in such a habit of doing it that you'll continue the habit right into your dream-time -- in other words, you'll perform the check while dreaming, just because you've been doing it so much. If your checks are thorough enough, you're then more likely than not at that point to figure out that you are, in fact, asleep and dreaming. At that point, have fun -- what you choose to dream about is completely up to you!
To be in control of your dreams! How awesome is that?! I highly recommend Waking Life if only to get your mind churning about the possibilites of the mind itself.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Fishbones and Toilet Paper
So the other night I stayed with the guy I’m dating. It was roughly 3:25 a.m. when I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. I tossed and turned for a while and then realized I had to pee….bad. I go into the bathroom and find a note on the toilet from his roommate. Being the nosey bitch that I am, I read said note. Basically, his roommate was upset with him for calling him a bitch and decided to take all of the toilet paper out of the bathroom. So here I am at like 430 in the morning scrounging around for something to wipe with and cussing under my breath. Luckily, I found some paper towels. Yesterday I text guy and asked him if they had worked things out. He said yes, that roomie was upset about other things too and kinda took it out on him, blah blah blah. Also, roomie is a chef and guy made us salmon cakes making sure to save one for roomie. Apparently guy left vertebrate in the salmon cakes. I didn’t notice any fish bones nor did guy. We decided this was karma, premeditated. He got fish bones in his salmon cake because he was planning to steal all the toilet paper. Guy asked me what I thought Palahniuk or Vonnegut would say about the situation.
I replied: Palahniuk would say he took away our ability to wipe our asses and therefore got fish bones in his food.
Vonnegut would be a bit more eloquent. Something about the bones being from the future and the tp being a sort of vessel.
I cracked myself up as well as guy. If you do not find humor in this, you can kindly f off. In the words of Bon Jovi, have a nice day.
I replied: Palahniuk would say he took away our ability to wipe our asses and therefore got fish bones in his food.
Vonnegut would be a bit more eloquent. Something about the bones being from the future and the tp being a sort of vessel.
I cracked myself up as well as guy. If you do not find humor in this, you can kindly f off. In the words of Bon Jovi, have a nice day.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
He is the one with the problem
I was just in a relationship for all of...........wait for it............wait........3 fucking days! And how did this end, you ask? With him dumping me via facebook message! He told me that I am amazing, that I am one of the best things to ever happen to him, that he can't believe someone as beautiful as me would be interested in him, but apparently I have a drinking problem. And he cannot turn a blind eye to my problem. WHAT THE MOTHER FUCK?! I am not only angered at his obvious judgement, but also the fact that the pussy chose to end it via facebook message. Don't I at least deserve a fucking phone call?! Looking back on it, however, I don't wish to have spoken to him. I never want to talk to him ever AGAIN. After filling my head with all this bullshit and realizing that I need to stop giving guys a chance after my initial gut reaction is "Eh, he really isnt my type. A friend, perhaps, but not someone I should date." I am just so annoyed and angry not to mention hurt. I have to start listening to my instincts! I have to quit giving every joe shmo a fucking chance.
I think one issue he has with my drinking is that he is afraid I am going to get messed up and cheat on him since this is what has happened to him in the past.
An example (from his dump message): You would just be doing it behind my back and I would just be wondering where you were and what you were doing. It isn't really fair to either one of us and I'm sure it would only cause more problems down the road as we started caring for one another more.
Trust issues? I believe so.
I also think a great deal of it is because he himself had a drinking problem in the past. And that I could have been very sensitive to. I am a sensitive, understanding, caring individual and if he couldn't be around it that much, then I wouldn't have brought it around him unless he wanted to have a few.
An example (from ultimatum facebook message): I'm not going to get pulled down that path again.
Basically, I received an ultimatum after dating for 3 weeks and being in a relationship for 3 days. Controlling much? What would have been next? Would he have started ordering for me at restaurants, cutting me off mid order saying, "No, she won't be having the mashed potatoes. Bring her the vegetables, no butter, no salt." WTF?! If I said, "Hey, it's girls night and we are going out for dinner and drinks" would that have turned into a night of constant texts and phone calls asking where I was, who was there, how much I had to drink, when I was coming back?!
I do not, I repeat, DO NOT have a freaking drinking problem nor am I going down any sort of destructive path. Yes, my past is dirty. I went down some bad ones, but you know what, I pulled myself up outta the dirt, dusted myself off, and moved on. Yeah I drink a few a few nights a week. I drink to get drunk once maybe twice a week. I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. I enjoy an impromptu mimosa with friends during breakfast. I do not get drunk every day. I do not even drink every day even tho he seems to beg to differ. I do not think about drinking all day every day. My best friend said, "dude if you have a drinking problem, then I should be in rehab." My lifestyle is different from his. I am sorry you had a problem in your past. I am sorry others around you had problems and fell into alcoholism. I've seen it too! It's not going to happen to me. I'm sorry your ex-girlfriends got messed up and cheated on you. Not fair to pass that judgement on me. We are not all the same.
I am, however, very glad this came out now and not a few months down the road.
I am a responsible, intelligent, grown ass woman!!!! You, sir, can go fuck yourself and the high horse you rode in on!
I think one issue he has with my drinking is that he is afraid I am going to get messed up and cheat on him since this is what has happened to him in the past.
An example (from his dump message): You would just be doing it behind my back and I would just be wondering where you were and what you were doing. It isn't really fair to either one of us and I'm sure it would only cause more problems down the road as we started caring for one another more.
Trust issues? I believe so.
I also think a great deal of it is because he himself had a drinking problem in the past. And that I could have been very sensitive to. I am a sensitive, understanding, caring individual and if he couldn't be around it that much, then I wouldn't have brought it around him unless he wanted to have a few.
An example (from ultimatum facebook message): I'm not going to get pulled down that path again.
Basically, I received an ultimatum after dating for 3 weeks and being in a relationship for 3 days. Controlling much? What would have been next? Would he have started ordering for me at restaurants, cutting me off mid order saying, "No, she won't be having the mashed potatoes. Bring her the vegetables, no butter, no salt." WTF?! If I said, "Hey, it's girls night and we are going out for dinner and drinks" would that have turned into a night of constant texts and phone calls asking where I was, who was there, how much I had to drink, when I was coming back?!
I do not, I repeat, DO NOT have a freaking drinking problem nor am I going down any sort of destructive path. Yes, my past is dirty. I went down some bad ones, but you know what, I pulled myself up outta the dirt, dusted myself off, and moved on. Yeah I drink a few a few nights a week. I drink to get drunk once maybe twice a week. I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. I enjoy an impromptu mimosa with friends during breakfast. I do not get drunk every day. I do not even drink every day even tho he seems to beg to differ. I do not think about drinking all day every day. My best friend said, "dude if you have a drinking problem, then I should be in rehab." My lifestyle is different from his. I am sorry you had a problem in your past. I am sorry others around you had problems and fell into alcoholism. I've seen it too! It's not going to happen to me. I'm sorry your ex-girlfriends got messed up and cheated on you. Not fair to pass that judgement on me. We are not all the same.
I am, however, very glad this came out now and not a few months down the road.
I am a responsible, intelligent, grown ass woman!!!! You, sir, can go fuck yourself and the high horse you rode in on!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I Love Grunge!!!
Grunge Bands: Where Are They Now?
Patrick Enright
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/03/23/grunge-bands-where-are-they-now.aspx
Torn jeans. Long underwear worn under cargo shorts with combat boots. Remember the early '90s? OK, so maybe it wasn't the best time of our lives fashionwise, but musically, it rocked. Yes, we're talking about the heyday of grunge, when a rainy city in the Pacific Northwest became the center of the musical universe, unkempt hair and clothing were the uniform of choice and angst reigned. With Pearl Jam re-releasing "Ten," one of the albums that helped to define the movement, here's a look back at the six biggest Seattle grunge bands and what they've been up to since flannel faded.(To see our full package on grunge, including an interview with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, a look at growing up a Pearl Jam fan and a gallery of famous grunge bands, click here.)
Alice in Chains
Representative lyric: "I'm the man in the box, buried in my s--t"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Dead hippie in the desert
Most likely to: Cancel a show at the last minute because of "illness"
Where are they now? In the mid-'90s, Alice in Chains more or less dropped off the radar, with troubled lead singer Layne Staley appearing occasionally with Seattle supergroup Mad Season and guitarist Jerry Cantrell releasing a solo album. On April 19, 2002, Staley was found dead in his Seattle condominium, apparently of an overdose of heroin and cocaine. In 2005, the three surviving members added William DuVall as vocalist and guitarist; the revamped Alice in Chains is currently working on a new album, set for a summer 2009 release.
Ah, that takes me back.
Mudhoney
Representative lyric: "Touch me, I'm sick"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Retro '60s lounge (even though Mudhoney never really broke through to the mainstream, "Piece of Cake" was their major-label debut)
Most likely to: Remain much less widely known than their fellow Seattle grunge stars
Where are they now? Still going. Even though they got a major-label deal during the height of the grunge craze, Mudhoney didn't make it as big as their well-known peers, possibly because their sound had become less radio-friendly and more abrasive, including elements of garage rock. After Reprise dropped them from their roster in 1999, bassist Matt Lukin left, citing his dislike of touring. Mudhoney wasn't dead, though; Guy Maddison signed on as new bassist a few years later, and the band has been steadily releasing albums and touring ever since, with "The Lucky Ones" hitting record stores in 2008.
Nirvana
Representative lyric: "Oh, well, whatever, never mind"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Naked baby
Most likely to: Cause self-injury onstage, such as by, say, smacking themselves in the face with their instruments
Where are they now? Nirvana disbanded after singer Kurt Cobain shot and killed himself on April 5, 1994. Drummer Dave Grohl subsequently formed the Foo Fighters, a band with which he has seen substantial critical and commercial success (they released their sixth album, "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace," in 2007). Bass player Krist Novoselic turned to more political endeavors, organizing a musicians' lobbying group, the Joint Artists and Music Promotions Action Committee, and, more recently, joining his local chapter of agricultural association the Grange. He also writes a column for the Seattle Weekly.
Pearl Jam
Representative lyric: "Daddy didn't give attention to the fact that mommy didn't care"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Cheer squad high five
Most likely to: Not only pause between songs to make a public criticism of an allegedly waste-dumping oil company, but actually to perform a 30-second song exhorting listeners not to patronize said company
Where are they now? Perhaps the most down-to-earth-seeming of the grunge bands, Pearl Jam combined political activism with their music not long after they became superstars. Band members testified on Capitol Hill as part of a Justice Department investigation into alleged monopolistic practices by concert ticket distributor Ticketmaster in 1995, and they've continued to back liberal causes. In 2008, the band (sans Eddie Vedder) even recorded an only mildly cringe-worthy cover of Billy Haley classic "Rock Around the Clock," titled "Rock Around Barack," to show their support for the Democratic nominee. They've just re-released their debut, "Ten," and they're reportedly working on their ninth studio album.
Screaming Trees
Representative lyric: "Did you hear the distant lie, calling me back to my sin?"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Band in the machine
Most likely to: Brawl backstage, kick each other out of the band and then rejoin
Where are they now? After a tempestuous 15-year run, the band announced their official breakup in 2000, but they'd been on and off ever since "Sweet Oblivion" in 1992, the album that featured the MTV hit "Nearly Lost You." Brothers Van and Gary Lee Conner often fought, and on one occasion drummer Barrett Martin was nearly crushed beneath a refrigerator in the crossfire. Van currently plays guitar for the band Valis, and singer Mark Lanegan has been something of a gadfly, collaborating with musicians as diverse as Queens of the Stone Age, Belle & Sebastian's Isobel Campbell and former Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli. Lanegan and Dulli currently perform as the Gutter Twins.
Soundgarden
Representative lyric: "I'm lookin' California and feelin' Minnesota"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Spiky, angry, vehicular
Most likely to: Make a pretentious video with creepy CGI effects distorting people's faces much like those strangely terrifying commercials with talking pets
Where are they now? After "Badmotorfinger," their breakthrough, Soundgarden only got bigger, releasing "Superunknown" in '94, which sold millions of copies and won Grammys. Unfortunately, by 1996, when the band released "Down on the Upside," grunge was fading, and the members agreed to call it quits the next year. Since then, singer Chris Cornell has been the most visible, performing with three-quarters of Rage Against the Machine as Audioslave and launching a successful solo career that has included the theme song to Bond movie "Casino Royale." Drummer Matt Cameron joined Pearl Jam shortly after Soundgarden's breakup and has played with the band ever since.
Patrick Enright
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/03/23/grunge-bands-where-are-they-now.aspx
Torn jeans. Long underwear worn under cargo shorts with combat boots. Remember the early '90s? OK, so maybe it wasn't the best time of our lives fashionwise, but musically, it rocked. Yes, we're talking about the heyday of grunge, when a rainy city in the Pacific Northwest became the center of the musical universe, unkempt hair and clothing were the uniform of choice and angst reigned. With Pearl Jam re-releasing "Ten," one of the albums that helped to define the movement, here's a look back at the six biggest Seattle grunge bands and what they've been up to since flannel faded.(To see our full package on grunge, including an interview with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, a look at growing up a Pearl Jam fan and a gallery of famous grunge bands, click here.)
Alice in Chains
Representative lyric: "I'm the man in the box, buried in my s--t"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Dead hippie in the desert
Most likely to: Cancel a show at the last minute because of "illness"
Where are they now? In the mid-'90s, Alice in Chains more or less dropped off the radar, with troubled lead singer Layne Staley appearing occasionally with Seattle supergroup Mad Season and guitarist Jerry Cantrell releasing a solo album. On April 19, 2002, Staley was found dead in his Seattle condominium, apparently of an overdose of heroin and cocaine. In 2005, the three surviving members added William DuVall as vocalist and guitarist; the revamped Alice in Chains is currently working on a new album, set for a summer 2009 release.
Ah, that takes me back.
Mudhoney
Representative lyric: "Touch me, I'm sick"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Retro '60s lounge (even though Mudhoney never really broke through to the mainstream, "Piece of Cake" was their major-label debut)
Most likely to: Remain much less widely known than their fellow Seattle grunge stars
Where are they now? Still going. Even though they got a major-label deal during the height of the grunge craze, Mudhoney didn't make it as big as their well-known peers, possibly because their sound had become less radio-friendly and more abrasive, including elements of garage rock. After Reprise dropped them from their roster in 1999, bassist Matt Lukin left, citing his dislike of touring. Mudhoney wasn't dead, though; Guy Maddison signed on as new bassist a few years later, and the band has been steadily releasing albums and touring ever since, with "The Lucky Ones" hitting record stores in 2008.
Nirvana
Representative lyric: "Oh, well, whatever, never mind"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Naked baby
Most likely to: Cause self-injury onstage, such as by, say, smacking themselves in the face with their instruments
Where are they now? Nirvana disbanded after singer Kurt Cobain shot and killed himself on April 5, 1994. Drummer Dave Grohl subsequently formed the Foo Fighters, a band with which he has seen substantial critical and commercial success (they released their sixth album, "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace," in 2007). Bass player Krist Novoselic turned to more political endeavors, organizing a musicians' lobbying group, the Joint Artists and Music Promotions Action Committee, and, more recently, joining his local chapter of agricultural association the Grange. He also writes a column for the Seattle Weekly.
Pearl Jam
Representative lyric: "Daddy didn't give attention to the fact that mommy didn't care"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Cheer squad high five
Most likely to: Not only pause between songs to make a public criticism of an allegedly waste-dumping oil company, but actually to perform a 30-second song exhorting listeners not to patronize said company
Where are they now? Perhaps the most down-to-earth-seeming of the grunge bands, Pearl Jam combined political activism with their music not long after they became superstars. Band members testified on Capitol Hill as part of a Justice Department investigation into alleged monopolistic practices by concert ticket distributor Ticketmaster in 1995, and they've continued to back liberal causes. In 2008, the band (sans Eddie Vedder) even recorded an only mildly cringe-worthy cover of Billy Haley classic "Rock Around the Clock," titled "Rock Around Barack," to show their support for the Democratic nominee. They've just re-released their debut, "Ten," and they're reportedly working on their ninth studio album.
Screaming Trees
Representative lyric: "Did you hear the distant lie, calling me back to my sin?"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Band in the machine
Most likely to: Brawl backstage, kick each other out of the band and then rejoin
Where are they now? After a tempestuous 15-year run, the band announced their official breakup in 2000, but they'd been on and off ever since "Sweet Oblivion" in 1992, the album that featured the MTV hit "Nearly Lost You." Brothers Van and Gary Lee Conner often fought, and on one occasion drummer Barrett Martin was nearly crushed beneath a refrigerator in the crossfire. Van currently plays guitar for the band Valis, and singer Mark Lanegan has been something of a gadfly, collaborating with musicians as diverse as Queens of the Stone Age, Belle & Sebastian's Isobel Campbell and former Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli. Lanegan and Dulli currently perform as the Gutter Twins.
Soundgarden
Representative lyric: "I'm lookin' California and feelin' Minnesota"
Breakthrough-album cover art: Spiky, angry, vehicular
Most likely to: Make a pretentious video with creepy CGI effects distorting people's faces much like those strangely terrifying commercials with talking pets
Where are they now? After "Badmotorfinger," their breakthrough, Soundgarden only got bigger, releasing "Superunknown" in '94, which sold millions of copies and won Grammys. Unfortunately, by 1996, when the band released "Down on the Upside," grunge was fading, and the members agreed to call it quits the next year. Since then, singer Chris Cornell has been the most visible, performing with three-quarters of Rage Against the Machine as Audioslave and launching a successful solo career that has included the theme song to Bond movie "Casino Royale." Drummer Matt Cameron joined Pearl Jam shortly after Soundgarden's breakup and has played with the band ever since.
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