"My Wave" is a song by the American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...
. Featuring lyrics written by frontman
Chris Cornell
Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave ...
and music co-written by Cornell and guitarist
Kim Thayil
Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil ...
, "My Wave" was released in 1994 as the fourth single from the band's fourth studio album, ''
Superunknown'' (1994). The song peaked at number 11 on the ''
Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Composition
"My Wave" features lyrics written by frontman
Chris Cornell
Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave ...
and music co-written by Cornell and guitarist
Kim Thayil
Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil ...
. The tuning, as with many Soundgarden songs, is unorthodox—E-E-B-B-B-B.
[Rotondi, James. "Alone in the Superunknown." '']Guitar Player
''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...
''. June 1994. The song is in the keys of
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major.
The E natural minor scale is:
:
Changes needed ...
and
B mixolydian.
The song also features the use of a bass wah pedal by Ben Shepherd. "My Wave" as a musical piece is very typical of Soundgarden's style. Predominantly in
, a particularly irregular time signature for rock music, the song changes, intersperses and juxtaposes time signatures freely. The effect created is both authoritatively erratic and characteristic of the band, even classically so. Guitarist
Kim Thayil
Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil ...
has said that Soundgarden usually did not consider the time signature of a song until after the band had written it, and said that the use of odd meters was "a total accident."
Release and reception
"My Wave" peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 18 on the ''Billboard''
Modern Rock Tracks chart. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in
Australia. In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the song reached the top 70 on the Canadian
Singles Chart.
Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said, "Amid its warring left- and right-channel guitars, "My Wave" includes a drum break harking back to ''
Abbey Road
''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although '' Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly ...
''." In ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'',
Robert Christgau said while Soundgarden had emulated
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
in their music, "Zep never reached out like Cornell in 'My Wave'", citing the lyric, "Cry, if you want to cry/If it helps you see/If it clears your eyes/Hate, if you want to hate/If it keeps you safe/If it makes you brave."
"My Wave" appeared in the trailer for the 1994 film, ''
The Endless Summer II
''The Endless Summer II'' is a 1994 film directed by Bruce Brown and is a sequel to his 1966 film ''The Endless Summer''. In ''The Endless Summer II'', surfers Pat O'Connell and Robert "Wingnut" Weaver retrace the steps of Mike Hynson and Ro ...
''. The song is featured on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
for the 2004 film, ''
Riding Giants''. It later appeared in a 2007 advertisement for the
sixth season of the popular television series, ''
24''.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for "My Wave" was co-directed by Henry Shepherd (bassist
Ben Shepherd
Hunter Benedict Shepherd (born September 20, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of the rock band Soundgarden from 1990 to 2019. Shepherd has won two Grammy Awards as a member of Soundgarden.
Early life
Shepherd was bo ...
's brother), who would later direct the international version of the music video for "
Pretty Noose", and
Doug Pray
Doug Pray is an American documentary film director, cinematographer, and editor who often explores unique subcultures in his films. His work includes ''Surfwise'' (2008), a portrait of the nomadic, 11-member Doc Paskowitz family (often referred to ...
.
[Cross, Charles R]
"Soundgarden: The Home Team Wins the World Series"
'' The Rocket''. December 21, 1994. The video largely consists of performance footage of the band filmed in
Calgary,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
on August 11, 1994, at
Max Bell Arena. It also features scenes of a child riding his bicycle around a city. The blue guy is a friend of the band called Matt “the Tube” Crowley from the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow.
The video was released in October 1994.
MTV decided not to put the video into its rotation.
It is available on the
CD-ROM ''
Alive in the Superunknown''.
Live performances
Live performances of "My Wave" can be found on the "
Black Hole Sun
"Black Hole Sun" is a song by American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, the song was released in 1994 as the third single from the band's fourth studio album, '' Superunknown'' (1994). Considered to be the band's signatu ...
", "My Wave", and "
Fell on Black Days
"Fell on Black Days" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Fell on Black Days" was released as the fifth single from the band's fourth studio album, '' Superunknown'' (1994). The song peaked at numbe ...
" singles.
Track listing
All songs written by
Chris Cornell
Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave ...
and
Kim Thayil
Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil ...
, except where noted:
Promotional CD (US)
#"My Wave" – 5:12
CD (Australia)
#"My Wave" – 5:12
#"
Spoonman
"Spoonman" is a song by the American band Soundgarden. Written by the band's frontman, Chris Cornell, "Spoonman" was released on February 14, 1994, as the first single from the band's fourth studio album ''Superunknown'' (1994). "Spoonman" is c ...
" (
Steve Fisk
Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been as ...
remix) (Cornell) – 6:55
#"
Birth Ritual
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...
" (demo) (Cornell,
Matt Cameron
Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...
, Thayil) – 5:50
#"My Wave" (live) – 4:34
#*Recorded live on August 20, 1993 at
Jones Beach Amphitheater in
Wantagh, New York
Wantagh ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 18,871 at the time of the 2010 census.
Wantagh is known as "The Gateway to Jones ...
.
Charts
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
1994 singles
Soundgarden songs
Song recordings produced by Chris Cornell
Song recordings produced by Matt Cameron
Songs written by Chris Cornell
Song recordings produced by Michael Beinhorn
Songs written by Kim Thayil
1994 songs