Spoonman by Soundgarden

The most (and possibly only) lighthearted song in Soundgarden’s repertoire, “Spoonman” is about a beloved Seattle street musician, Artis the Spoonman.

It wasn’t originally Soundgarden’s idea to write a song about him: The title “Spoonman” was on a list of names that Pearl Jam’s bassist Jeff Ament proposed for the fictional band in the movie Singles (Citizen Dick was the winner). Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell saw the list and decided that “Spoonman” should at least be a song title; an early acoustic version of the song wound up in the movie.

The fully electric Soundgarden version became the band’s breakthrough hit in 1994, setting the stage for “Black Hole Sun” as the followup. Not only did “Spoonman” feature Artis playing his spoons, the video showed more of him than the band.

Thanks to his association with rock heroes, Artis the Spoonman’s had quite a successful career. The late Frank Zappa invited him onstage in 1981; and he played with Phish in 1991.

The problem with this song is that it’s just not predictable, so there’s no way to beat it without knowing where it’s going.

The song’s meter jumps from 7/4 to 4/4, so the change in drum patterns can trip you up; especially the irregular kicks you have to make while playing the high-hat. There are also a few “ghost“ snare hits that aren’t prominent on the record.

Vocally, you have to contend with the fact that Chris Cornell liked to use his whole register in nearly every song; the “save me!” parts alone require more range than many songs in the game.

Broke up in 1997, never reunited despite much demand. Singer Chris Cornell is now solo after a long stint with Audioslave.