Jar of Flies

You know, much 1990s pop makes me want to vomit.  I was listening to Pandora's channel of that genre at my workplace recently and by the end of the day I was ready to walk into traffic.  OK, not really, but I felt so sour and sad by the time Duncan Sheik was barely breathing.  Alanis' tunes didn't help.  Even songs I still like, such as The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" and Spacehog's "In the Meantime" just sound so defeated.  No joy.  I can appreciate that.  Honest lyrics that reflect the songwriter's experiences and states of mind.  Sunny radio friendly nonsense gets old, but there is something about '90s music, minor key or otherwise, that feels hopeless and tired.

That could describe how I felt during that decade.  They were not the best of times.  I did have fun, but was mostly incredibly depressed and lonely.  Maybe it's the association with those memories.  When I hear Oasis or Jewel I just wanna fall into the fetal position and die.  Being a bit dramatic again.

So where does that leave Alice in Chains?  I do happen to still really like much of '90s alternative, which could hardly be called optimistic in many cases.  But there was an undeniable energy and yes, verve.  Grief expressed in strong and imaginative fashion.  Layne Staley was a very sad individual whose life ended on a couch, in decomposition for weeks before he was discovered.  Awful.  But fitting.  Perhaps a natural outcome for such pained lyrics.

Alice in Chains rocked, but in 1994 Jar of Flies displayed more acoustic leanings.  Even strings could be heard in the haunting instrumental "Whale and Wasp".  "Haunting" is a sufficient way to describe all of this EP's seven tracks.  It is a suite of beautiful misery, with only the occasional glimmer of hope.  This was not music written in the posh confines of a penthouse.  The band came off a long tour, finding they had been evicted from their home.  They moved into the studio with some vague ideas for songs.  What developed are some of my favorite Alice in Chains tunes.

"Nutshell" is the album's best, with Layne's vocals so perfectly controlled.  The lyrics are almost as heartbreaking here as they are for "Don't Follow", which is nearly unbearable in its doomed narrator's warnings to those who love him.   The famous brooding twin vocal (with Jerry Cantrell) harmonies are very much in evidence on "Rotten Apple" and "I Stay Away", the latter of which was a radio hit along with "No Excuses".

It's difficult to summarize my feelings for Jar of Flies.  I loved it in my own dark days (admittedly, mine were far brighter than Staley's) back in the '90s, and I love it now.  It's gritty and depressing as hell, but posesses a musical power that inspires.  It's not something cheesy like "feeling bad never felt so good", but rather a unblinking gape into the maw of darkness that feels poetic and conversely full of life.