The focus on the Seattle grunge scene helped bring attention to Badmotorfinger, and the singles "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" found a major audience in rock radio and MTV. Badmotorfinger became the band's highest charting album at the time on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number 39. The album received critical acclaim, citing the significant improvements over earlier releases and evolution in the band's sound.
The band kept in touch with producer Terry Date—who had worked on their previous record—due to their positive working relationship and a desire to avoid the pressure of finding a new producer. Additionally, Ben Shepherd's arrival breathed new life into the band, complementing the group's existing musical expertise.
The album showcases a melting pot of sounds—ranging from grunge and alternative metal to heavy metal and hard rock—making it both interesting and cohesive. Furthermore, the songs adopted a more commercial approach, making them viable for radio promotion; in the words of Kim Thayill, the album was "fast and weird," thanks to the contributions Shepherd brought to the mix.
One of the most emblematic tracks was "Rusty Cage," particularly due to the sound of a wah-wah pedal and an audio filter used by Thayil; the riff is both beautiful and strange, utilizing alternative tunings—a formula repeated on "Holy Water" and "Searching With My Good Eye Closed" (tuned to E), as well as "Mind Riot"—which brought a fresh dimension to their sound.
The lyrics also lent themselves to this approach, with Cornell addressing subjects ranging from the personal to society, government, the economy, and similar themes. The over-exploitation of the figure of Jesus is exposed in "Jesus Christ Pose"; "Outshined" discussed periods of extreme self-confidence and how that can backfire; and "New Damage" offered a critique of the American Right. Regarding the title, Kim Thayil says it was a play on a Montrose song called "Bad Motor Scooter"—that was the inspiration. They included it because it sounded aggressive, and it served the band well.
Although the album was overshadowed by the unexpected fame of "Nevermind", it succeeded in garnering support for the band and selling millions of copies at the time; furthermore, it helped popularize alternative rock and brought the grunge style and sound into the mainstream.
Badmotorofinger Track List:
A family spokesman said on Tuesday that Saint had died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles.
Another defining role arrived in 1959 when Alfred Hitchcock cast her opposite Cary Grant in "North by Northwest." As the elegant and enigmatic Eve Kendall, Saint showed a dramatically different side of her screen persona and became part of one of Hitchcock’s most enduring thrillers. Her career continued with appearances in films including "Exodus," "Grand Prix," "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" and "The Stalking Moon."
Saint never allowed the demands of Hollywood to completely dictate her life. At a time when successful performers were often expected to capitalize relentlessly on their fame, she was willing to turn down opportunities and make room for her family.
Besides Movies; Television became another important part of her career. She appeared in numerous productions over the decades, including a recurring role on "Moonlighting," and won an Emmy for her performance in the 1990 miniseries "People Like Us."
Later generations of moviegoers also had opportunities to discover her. Saint appeared in "Because of Winn-Dixie" and played Martha Kent, Superman's adoptive mother, in the 2006 film "Superman Returns." She returned to the big screen again in 2014's "Winter's Tale."
Born in 1924 in New Jersey to a Quaker family, Saint had an early career as a jobbing radio and TV performer that was chronicled in a 1949 feature in Life magazine which started with the prophetic words: "The name of Eva Marie Saint may someday be a household word" – it followed her struggles to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry. By the early 50s she was making some headway, appearing in 1953 in both the original telecast and the premiere Broadway production of the Horton Foote play The Trip to Bountiful.
Saint was also part of a generation that witnessed Hollywood transform around her. She moved from the era of live television and black-and-white classics into modern studio filmmaking without losing the understated quality that had made her performances distinctive in the first place.
Her marriage to television director Jeffrey Hayden lasted more than six decades, until his death in 2016. With Saint's death, Hollywood loses one of its remaining direct connections to a landmark period in American cinema.
For an actress who never appeared particularly interested in chasing the machinery of superstardom, Eva Marie Saint achieved something considerably more durable: a place in movie history.
The album marked the debut of bassist Justin Chancellor. Another interesting detail is the title "Ænima" itself; it was a combination of the Latin word "anima" (soul/spirit) and "enema"—a medical procedure involving the injection of fluids into the body via the rectum. That alone signals that the listener is in for something interesting—and indeed, they were.
Another notable feature of the album is that several tracks are merely short pieces or interludes connecting longer songs; this pushed the total runtime to 80 minutes, stretching the limits of CD capacity. These short tracks and interludes were: "Useful Idiot," "Message to Harry Manback," "Intermission," "Die Eier von Satan," "Cesaro Summability," and finally, "(-) Ions."
The album's themes ranged widely—covering topics such as magic rituals, religious fundamentalism, Egyptian mythology, the seven-pointed star, and "deterrent anesthesia," among others—and included a dedication to comedian Bill Hicks. To touch briefly on specific tracks: the opener, "Stinkfist," immediately sparked censorship issues—MTV, for instance, renamed it "Track #1." This was likely due to the sexual connotations of "fisting" (inserting a fist into a bodily orifice), though the band intended it as a metaphor attacking the over-stimulation to which society was subjected at the time—let alone today.
Then there was "Eulogy," a diatribe directed at Jesus; "H," which held dual meanings—referencing an overdose Keenan experienced, though it is also said he wrote it for his son; and "Forty Six & 2," which alluded to the number of chromosomes humans are expected to possess in their next evolutionary stage. Humans currently have 46 (44+2), having evolved from a baseline of 44 (42+2); the next step in evolution would result in the total referenced in the song's title. "Message To Harry Manback" stems from a voicemail Maynard received from a roommate; it was based on a bizarre story about an Italian guy staying in their shared room—you know, the typical deadbeat who ate all the food and ran up the phone bill. They eventually realized no one actually knew him, so they kicked him out, tossing his belongings—and him—onto the street. The next day, he called back in a rage, leaving the insulting message that serves as the track's audio.
"Hooker With A Penis" addressed an angry fan who accused the band of selling out; Maynard—who apparently used to do cocaine with this guy—explained the realities of the music market and why they made those choices. "Jimmy" dealed with Maynard's childhood in Ohio. "Die Eier Von Satan" was another oddity; it was actually a recipe for Turkish hashish cookies—made without eggs, contrary to what many people think. "Pushit" explored the concepts of temptation and the compulsion to do something one shouldn't; it revolves around the pull of temptation and the act of falling into the abyss. As the fall occurs, the song becomes heavier and more abrasive, until—once the descent is complete—Maynard whispers, "I'm somewhere I don't want to be.
" Finally, "Cesaro Summability" referred to an equation that yields an answer of infinity. And the final final three tracks: "Ænima," the album's title track, dealed with the purification of the soul; "(-) Ions," was a piece about devices that generate ions—atoms with an electric charge—where listening with headphones allowed one to feel the ions moving from one side of the brain to the other; and finally, "Third Eye," which featureed excerpts of Bill Hicks from his drug-experimentation phase. Hicks explored his darker side, and his discourse complements to Timothy Leary—the prophet of LSD—suggesting that these drugs facilitate a deeper exploration of the human being. There was also the concept of the "third eye," representing maximum stimulation of the pineal gland located in the brain; it consists of two divisions made up of 48 petals each, totaling 96—it is said that this cent.
Ænima Track List:
The album was compiled by Krist Novoselic, who also wrote the liner notes. Originally, Novoselic and Grohl had planned to release a live album in 1994 alongside the "MTV Unplugged in New York" as a double set titled "Verse Chorus Verse"; however, they faced certain issues while the material was compiled, therefore it was never mixed.
The album featured various tracks in different versions. The title refers to the Wishkah River in Aberdeen, Washington. It was said that Cobain used to spend nights sleeping there—a claim he alluded to in the song "Something in the Way"—but Novoselic later debunked this, stating that sleeping there was impossible; he might have wandered the area, but nothing more.
Curiosly, the album omits all the songs that appeared on the band's "MTV Unplugged" special—with the exception of "Polly," which appeared here in a rare 1989 version featuring electric guitars. It also avoids versions of songs previously released as B-sides or on the "Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!" video (a compilation assembled by Kurt Cobain himself and released in unfinished form in November 1994).
Among the rarities and curiosities offered by this live compilation, three tracks stand out from the band's highly acclaimed December 3, 1989, show at the London Astoria—a performance widely praised by the British press at the time. One of these was "Imodium" (an early version of "Breed" featuring different lyrics and Chad Channing on drums). The track "Negative Creep" comes from the band's October 1991 show at Seattle's Paramount Theatre—a performance later released on DVD in 2011 as "Live at the Paramount".
Four other tracks were taken from the legendary November 24, 1991, show at the Paradiso in the Netherlands; three come from the now-legendary mini-tour the band undertook with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam in late December 1991; and "Tourette's" appears, taken from the band's 1992 Reading Festival performance. The track "Scentless Apprentice" was from the December 13, 1993, MTV show at Seattle's Pier 48.
Capitalizing on the band's immense popularity at the time, several promotional (non-commercial) singles were released, such as "Aneurysm" (for the US and UK), "Drain You" (US), and "Lithium" (Portugal and the Netherlands). While "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the single for France, Portugal, and Spain, Australia saw the promotion of a small box set containing promotional singles such as "Aneurysm," "Heart-Shaped Box," and "Polly."
