What Happened To Music? Part 2 – “Dirt” (Alice In Chains)

As the Golden Age of Music was approaching, I was busy jamming to the likes of Motley Crue, Beastie Boys, Run DMC and Faith No More (which would later become a significant player in the Golden Age).  The bands were fantastic, and to this day, I still enjoy them.  Something was missing from them, though…

I’m not a music historian, so I can’t tell you why, but in the early 1990s something new happened to music: Grunge.  This was the gritty genre that came about during the beginning of what I call my Golden Age of Music. 

Again, I am not a music historian, so I could be very wrong, but the four bands – The Big Four – that seem to have been responsible for solidifying Grunge music in the annals of musical awesomeness were Seattle-based Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains.  It is the latter, Alice in Chains, that was most important to me.  I loved this band, and I still do.

Impressionable as I was at this age, I do admit that I got myself a few flannel shirts.  Later such attire would be donned exclusively by lumberjacks and lesbians, but I did look mighty cool at the time, if I do say so myself (and I do).

But I digress…

I had spent about a year listening to Alice In Chains’ first major studio album, Facelift.  One year later, the cassette was definitely worn down and “Man in the Box” was about 30 seconds longer.  By this time, I had moved to Venezuela, and I had graduated to CDs.  At some point, I went to a music store (likely wearing my Pearl Jam tee under my flannel shirt) and bought the follow-up studio album, Dirt.  This was THE album.  My God, this album was good.  The first track, “Them Bones” was hard and heavy and dark.  Unlike rock songs of yore, the guitars wailed – but they didn’t wail so hard that I had epileptic fits during a solo.  Add to this, the bass was heavy and brooding and did an excellent job of complimenting the introspective and morose lyrics.

Did I mention that Dirt was morose?  Because it was.  If Alice in Chains was an author, they would have been Fyodor Dostoyevsky (except, unlike Dostoyevsky, Alice In Chains didn’t make me want to hang myself with a belt).

Each song was a carefully-constructed song examining the darker side of the human condition.  That’s what I heard anyways.  Song’s like “Junkhead,” “Hate to Feel” and “Angry Chair” delved into the not-so-pretty side of lead singer Layne Staley’s heroin addiction, inviting the listener to understand that drugs really are not that glamorous.  “Rooster” was a fantastic but eerie tribute to the Vietnam vet father of singer and guitarist Jerry Cantrell.  Then there was “Would?”  “Would?” was the closing chapter of Dirt.  A tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, who had died of a heroin overdose, “Would?” was such a good song.  I still get goose bumps when I listen to the song.

The music was amazing, and the lyrics were often too honest for comfort, but the real magic came from Layne Staley.  That man could sing.  When fans think of Alice In Chains, they likely think of that wonderful voice.  Unfortunately, Alice In Chains began to fall apart after Dirt’s follow-up album, Jar of Flies, because of Staley’s ever-increasing drug problems.  By the time their self-titled album, Alice in Chains, came out, everyone figured the band’s time had come.

It was so sad.  And in April 2002, Layne Staley was found dead from a drug overdose.  He had apparently injected a pretty large “speedball” (heroin and cocaine) and died.  He wasn’t found until two weeks later.

In an interview done with the singer three months before his death, he spoke of his addiction:

“I know I’m dying,” he rasped through missing teeth. “I’m not doing well. Don’t try to talk about this to my sister Liz. She will know it sooner or later.”

Staley, suffering from fever and nausea, told Rubio that his need for heroin was all-consuming, even though the effects of the drug were no longer enjoyable. He added that smack had completely ravaged his system and left him empty and filled with regrets.

“This f—ing drug use is like the insulin a diabetic needs to survive,” he said. “I’m not using drugs to get high like many people think. I know I made a big mistake when I started using this sh–. It’s a very difficult thing to explain. My liver is not functioning and I’m throwing up all the time and sh—ing my pants. The pain is more than you can handle. It’s the worst pain in the world. Dope sick hurts the entire body.”

The most chilling passage of the interview reads like a suicide note.

“I know I’m near death,” he said. “I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way. I know I have no chance. It’s too late. I never wanted [the public's] thumbs’ up about this f—ing drug use. Don’t try to contact any AIC (Alice in Chains) members. They are not my friends.”

That one line, “I know I made a big mistake.”  That was one of the lyrics in “Would?” Life imitating art imitating life, huh?  Very sad.

In the end, every Alice In Chains album was a gem.  The albums were absolutely fantastic – all of them.  It’s a pity it all went away.  In the end, though, Dirt, remains one of the most important albums in my music collection.

- David C. Garcia