Soundgarden Guitarist Kim Thayil Talks Pearl Jam Rock Hall Pick

2016-12-27

Story by Charles Ken

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden sings the praises of Pearl Jam

First it was Nirvana, and now Pearl Jam is the second ‘90s grunge band to get the thumbs-up for induction in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. So, what about another grunge great, Soundgarden? Guitarist Kim Thayil is so cool with Pearl Jam making it into the Rock Hall before Soundgarden that he thinks Eddie Vedder and the guys could actually have gotten in before Nirvana.

“I would imagine if you had to think of all the bands that came out of Seattle, out of our scene, the first band I would think of would be Pearl Jam, and the next one I would’ve said should be Nirvana,” Thayil told Billboard.

“Now, of course, rock ‘n’ roll journalists have a different perspective; they put Nirvana in first because of the cultural impact,” he added. “But I’d put Pearl Jam on top of that list. They’re certainly one of the hugest bands in the world, most successful bands, very influential. And obviously Pearl Jam has the greater body of work and greater longevity.”

Switching gears to whether Soundgarden will ever get inducted, Thayil doesn’t seem to be sweating the possibility.

“I almost never think about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” he said. “It wasn’t part of my experience growing up. There wasn’t one, so I didn’t think of the bands that I loved in terms of a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And it’s an odd thing, because it doesn’t measure some quantifiable attribute of, say, a baseball hall of fame or a basketball hall of fame.”

He added, “I don’t think of creative pursuits as something that’s quantifiable. Record companies do, of course, but I don’t think fans and certainly musicians think that way. So that makes it an odd kind of thing to wrap your head around, which is why it’s probably best left alone, you know?”

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Charles Ken
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Posted by Charles Ken | Alternative, Grunge, Music, Rock, Rock News

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