Pretty Noose
Encyclopedia
"Pretty Noose" is a song by the American rock
band Soundgarden
. Written by frontman Chris Cornell
, "Pretty Noose" was released in March 1996 as the first single from the band's fifth studio album, Down on the Upside
(1996). The song reached number two on the Billboard
Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album, A-Sides
.
. Drummer Matt Cameron
on the song:
tuning, which bassist Ben Shepherd
first introduced to the band with the song "Head Down" from Superunknown
.
, the director of the song's music video, interpreted the song as "your average bad-girlfriend experience," an interpretation which Cornell agreed with.
, "Pretty Noose" received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance
. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic called the song "updated, muscular prog rock
."
Outside the United States, the single was released in the United Kingdom
. In Canada
, the song reached the top 50 on the Canadian Singles Chart
, and later it charted on the Alternative Top 30 chart where it reached number one and became Soundgarden's first single to top that chart. "Pretty Noose" also reached number four on the Canadian Year End Alternative Top 50. "Pretty Noose" reached the UK Top 20 and was the last single from the album which charted in the UK Top 20. "Pretty Noose" peaked at number 14 in Australia
. It reached the top 20 in New Zealand
and was a top ten success in Finland
.
"Pretty Noose" is available as downloadable content for the Rock Band
series as a master track.
for "Pretty Noose" was directed by Frank Kozik
. Kozik had previously been known for his work on posters and album art. The video blends animation
with various scenes of the band members in a bar, an exotic dancer, Cameron riding a motorcycle, an arrest, a tattoo parlor, and Cornell in a bedroom. In the original version of the video, Cornell is shown killing a woman. The video was released in May 1996.
Cornell on the music video:
MTV
refused to air the full video, as it ends with an apparent murder. MuchMusic
was given a revised version to air on its channel. Kozik said that the video was censored because it was "too heavy" for the "dipshits at MTV." He added, "They got a dead girl in that lame Stabbing Westward
video so I don't understand their problem."
An alternate international version of the music video for "Pretty Noose" was released. This version was directed by Henry Shepherd (bassist Ben Shepherd
's brother), who had previously co-directed the "My Wave
" music video for the band. The video simply features the band performing the song live in a studio. The footage is taken from a pre-release European promotional kit for Down on the Upside. The video was released to areas outside of the United States
, but began to be shown in the United States after Kozik's version debuted.
in May 1996 in support of Down on the Upside. This recording can be found on the band's 2010 compilation album
Telephantasm
.
, except where noted:
Promotional CD (US)
CD (Europe) and 7" Vinyl (Europe)
CD (Europe)
Promotional CD (UK)
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
. Written by frontman Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
, "Pretty Noose" was released in March 1996 as the first single from the band's fifth studio album, Down on the Upside
Down on the Upside
Down on the Upside is the fifth studio album by the American grunge band Soundgarden, released on May 21, 1996 through A&M Records. Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Superunknown , Soundgarden commenced work on a new album...
(1996). The song reached number two on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album, A-Sides
A-Sides
A-Sides is a compilation album by the American rock band Soundgarden with songs spanning the band's thirteen year career. It was released on November 4, 1997 through A&M Records.-Overview:...
.
Origin and recording
"Pretty Noose" was written by frontman Chris CornellChris Cornell
Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
. Drummer Matt Cameron
Matt Cameron
Matthew David "Matt" Cameron is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the American rock bands Pearl Jam and Soundgarden...
on the song:
That song for me was kind of interesting, because we were at the phase where we were just going to demo tunes. So I learned the tune and recorded it, and we ended up using that take. When we recorded that, I had walked to the studio (in Seattle) and my legs were really tired. But to make a long story short, I was trying to get a walking feel on the drum part. So it probably has a little weird shuffle to it probably from that walk that I took to the studio that day.
Composition
"Pretty Noose" has a distinctive opening wah-wah guitar riff. The song was written in C-G-C-G-G-EOpen C tuning
Open C Tuning is an open tuning for guitar. The open string notes in this tuning are CGCGCE. It uses the three notes that form the triad of a C major chord: C, the root note; G, the perfect fifth; and E the major third....
tuning, which bassist Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd is an American musician, two-time Grammy Award Winner best known for playing bass in the grunge band Soundgarden from 1990 until the band's 1997 break-up...
first introduced to the band with the song "Head Down" from Superunknown
Superunknown
Superunknown is the fourth album by American grunge band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994 through A&M Records. Soundgarden began work on the album after touring in support of its previous album, Badmotorfinger...
.
Lyrics
According to Cornell, "Pretty Noose" is about "an attractively packaged bad idea...something that seems great at first and then comes back to bite you." Frank KozikFrank Kozik
Frank Kozik is an American graphic artist who has worked with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Melvins, The Offspring and Butthole Surfers. Kozik runs Man's Ruin Records, a media outlet and record label, and has published several books including Man's Ruin:...
, the director of the song's music video, interpreted the song as "your average bad-girlfriend experience," an interpretation which Cornell agreed with.
Release and reception
"Pretty Noose" appeared on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 Airplay chart, reaching the top 40. The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. At the 1997 Grammy AwardsGrammy Awards of 1997
The 39th Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Babyface & Eric Clapton for "Change the World"*Album of the Year...
, "Pretty Noose" received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic called the song "updated, muscular prog rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
."
Outside the United States, the single was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the song reached the top 50 on the Canadian Singles Chart
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
, and later it charted on the Alternative Top 30 chart where it reached number one and became Soundgarden's first single to top that chart. "Pretty Noose" also reached number four on the Canadian Year End Alternative Top 50. "Pretty Noose" reached the UK Top 20 and was the last single from the album which charted in the UK Top 20. "Pretty Noose" peaked at number 14 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It reached the top 20 in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and was a top ten success in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
"Pretty Noose" is available as downloadable content for the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
series as a master track.
Official video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Pretty Noose" was directed by Frank Kozik
Frank Kozik
Frank Kozik is an American graphic artist who has worked with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Melvins, The Offspring and Butthole Surfers. Kozik runs Man's Ruin Records, a media outlet and record label, and has published several books including Man's Ruin:...
. Kozik had previously been known for his work on posters and album art. The video blends animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
with various scenes of the band members in a bar, an exotic dancer, Cameron riding a motorcycle, an arrest, a tattoo parlor, and Cornell in a bedroom. In the original version of the video, Cornell is shown killing a woman. The video was released in May 1996.
Cornell on the music video:
It's unlike anything else we've ever done...In fact, I think it's unlike anything else anyone has ever done. Working with someone like Frank was really interesting because his approach was so fresh—he didn't know the rules that he's supposed to play under. He made the video what it is. It's really interesting and colorful. It's the kind of video that's still fun to look at after you've seen it a few times. That was very important to us. At this point in our lives, part of the challenge is to try new things, not to fall into the pattern of playing it safe. We did that on the video, and we did that on the album too.
MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
refused to air the full video, as it ends with an apparent murder. MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
was given a revised version to air on its channel. Kozik said that the video was censored because it was "too heavy" for the "dipshits at MTV." He added, "They got a dead girl in that lame Stabbing Westward
Stabbing Westward
Stabbing Westward was an American industrial rock and alternative rock band. They formed in 1985 in Chicago, Illinois and began recording in the 1990s. The band announced a dissolution in 2002.- Early years :...
video so I don't understand their problem."
An alternate international version of the music video for "Pretty Noose" was released. This version was directed by Henry Shepherd (bassist Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd is an American musician, two-time Grammy Award Winner best known for playing bass in the grunge band Soundgarden from 1990 until the band's 1997 break-up...
's brother), who had previously co-directed the "My Wave
My Wave
"My Wave" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Featuring lyrics written by frontman Chris Cornell and music co-written by Cornell and guitarist Kim Thayil, "My Wave" was released in 1994 as the fourth single from the band's fourth studio album, Superunknown...
" music video for the band. The video simply features the band performing the song live in a studio. The footage is taken from a pre-release European promotional kit for Down on the Upside. The video was released to areas outside of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but began to be shown in the United States after Kozik's version debuted.
Live performances
"Pretty Noose" was performed on Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in May 1996 in support of Down on the Upside. This recording can be found on the band's 2010 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Telephantasm
Telephantasm
Telephantasm is a compilation album by the American grunge band Soundgarden. Featuring songs spanning the band's 13-year career, it was released on September 28, 2010 through A&M Records...
.
Track listing
All songs written by Chris CornellChris Cornell
Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
, except where noted:
Promotional CD (US)
- "Pretty Noose" – 4:12
CD (Europe) and 7" Vinyl (Europe)
- "Pretty Noose" – 4:12
- "Jerry Garcia's Finger" (Matt CameronMatt CameronMatthew David "Matt" Cameron is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the American rock bands Pearl Jam and Soundgarden...
, Cornell, Ben ShepherdBen ShepherdBen Shepherd is an American musician, two-time Grammy Award Winner best known for playing bass in the grunge band Soundgarden from 1990 until the band's 1997 break-up...
, Kim ThayilKim ThayilKim Thayil is an American guitarist best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based grunge band Soundgarden, which he cofounded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984...
) – 4:00
CD (Europe)
- "Pretty Noose" – 4:12
- "Applebite" (Cameron, Cornell) – 5:10
- "An Unkind" (Shepherd) – 2:08
- Interview with Eleven's Alain and Natasha – 8:57
Promotional CD (UK)
- "Pretty Noose" – 4:12
- The club promo CD is a limited edition of 300 (making it the rarest of any Soundgarden release), and comes packaged in a clear, soft plastic sleeve sealed with a large red sticker that doubles as the "liner notes."
Chart positions
| Chart (1996) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
22 |
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Singles Chart |
43 |
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30 Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie... |
1 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 10 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
18 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
42 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
47 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
14 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 37 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 4 |
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |