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My Wave

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"My Wave"
SinglebySoundgarden
from the albumSuperunknown
B-side"Spoonman"(remix)
"Birth Ritual" (demo)
"My Wave" (live)
ReleasedOctober 31, 1994 (Australia)
Recorded1993
StudioBad Animals,Seattle, Washington
Genre
Length5:12
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Soundgardensingles chronology
"Black Hole Sun"
(1994) 		"My Wave"
(1994) 		"Fell on Black Days"
(1994)
Music video
"My Wave"onYouTube

"My Wave"is a song by the AmericanrockbandSoundgarden.Featuring lyrics written by frontmanChris Cornelland music co-written by Cornell and guitaristKim 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 theBillboardMainstream Rock Trackschart.

Composition

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"My Wave" features lyrics written by frontmanChris Cornelland music co-written by Cornell and guitaristKim Thayil.The tuning, as with many Soundgarden songs, is unorthodox—E-E-B-B-B-B.[1]The song is in the keys ofE minorandB mixolydian.[1]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 in5
4,[2]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. GuitaristKim Thayilhas 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."[1]

Release and reception

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"My Wave" peaked at number 11 on theBillboardMainstream Rock Trackschart and number 18 on theBillboardModern Rock Trackschart. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially inAustralia.InCanada,the song reached the top 70 on the CanadianSingles Chart.

Jon ParelesofThe New York Timessaid, "Amid its warring left- and right-channel guitars," My Wave "includes a drum break harking back toAbbey Road."[3]InThe Village Voice,Robert Christgausaid while Soundgarden had emulatedLed Zeppelinin 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."[4]

"My Wave" appeared in the trailer for the 1994 film,The Endless Summer II.The song is featured on thesoundtrackfor the 2004 film,Riding Giants.It later appeared in a 2007 advertisement for thesixth seasonof the popular television series,24.

Music video

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Themusic videofor "My Wave" was co-directed by Henry Shepherd (bassistBen Shepherd's brother), who would later direct the international version of the music video for "Pretty Noose",andDoug Pray.[5][6]The video largely consists of performance footage of the band filmed inCalgary,Albertaon August 11, 1994, atMax 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.[7]The video was released in October 1994.[6]MTVdecided not to put the video into its rotation.[5]It is available on theCD-ROMAlive in the Superunknown.

Live performances

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Live performances of "My Wave" can be found on the "Black Hole Sun","My Wave ", and"Fell on Black Days"singles.

Track listing

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All songs written byChris CornellandKim Thayil,except where noted:

Promotional CD (US)

  1. "My Wave" – 5:12

CD (Australia)

  1. "My Wave" – 5:12
  2. "Spoonman"(Steve Fiskremix) (Cornell) – 6:55
  3. "Birth Ritual"(demo) (Cornell,Matt Cameron,Thayil) – 5:50
  4. "My Wave" (live) – 4:34

Charts

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Chart performance for "My Wave"
Chart (1994–1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 50
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 66
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 46
USMainstream Rock(Billboard)[11] 11
USAlternative Airplay(Billboard)[12] 18

References

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  1. ^abcRotondi, James. "Alone in the Superunknown."Guitar Player.June 1994.
  2. ^Brown, August (July 24, 2011)."Live review: Soundgarden at the forum".LA Times.RetrievedJanuary 19,2023.
  3. ^Pareles, Jon."RECORDINGS VIEW; Lightening Up On the Gloom In Grunge".The New York Times.March 6, 1994. Retrieved on March 23, 2008.
  4. ^Christgau, Robert (April 5, 1994)."Consumer Guide".The Village Voice.New York.RetrievedSeptember 27,2015.
  5. ^abCross, Charles R."Soundgarden: The Home Team Wins the World Series".The Rocket.December 21, 1994.
  6. ^ab"Soundgarden music videos".Music Video Database. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-06-02.Retrieved2008-02-22.
  7. ^""My Wave" was released as the fourth single from Soundgarden's fifth studio album, Superunknown, 27 years ago during October 1994... "RetrievedOctober 17,2022– via Facebook.
  8. ^"Soundgarden – My Wave ".ARIA Top 50 Singles.Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  9. ^"Top RPM Singles: Issue 2676."RPM.Library and Archives Canada.Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  10. ^"Soundgarden – My Wave ".Top 40 Singles.Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  11. ^"Soundgarden Chart History (Mainstream Rock)".Billboard.Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  12. ^"Soundgarden Chart History (Alternative Airplay)".Billboard.Retrieved November 7, 2016.
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