Editing Superunknown (section)

==Composition==
The songs on ''Superunknown'' capture the [[Alternative metal|alt-metal]] influence of the band's previous works,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Millspublished |first=Matt |date=2023-12-27 |title=20 metal bands with no bad albums |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/20-metal-bands-with-no-bad-albums/2 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=[[Metal Hammer]] |language=en}}</ref> while blending [[grunge]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Jon |date=March 8, 2024 |title=8 Reasons Soundgarden's 'Superunknown' Is One Of The Most Influential Grunge Albums |url=https://www.grammy.com/news/soundgarden-superunknown-album-anniversary-chris-cornell-grunge |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=[[Grammy Awards]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |date=2023-03-01 |title=14 Best Classic Rock Albums Released in March |url=https://bobfmutah.com/life/14-best-classic-rock-albums-released-in-march/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=[[Bob FM]] |language=}}</ref> [[hard rock]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coffman |first=Tim |date=2020-02-07 |title=10 Best Hard Rock Albums Of The 90s |url=https://whatculture.com/music/10-best-hard-rock-albums-of-the-90s?page=2 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=WhatCulture |language=en}}</ref> [[alternative rock]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gallucci |first=Michael |date=2017-05-18 |title=Soundgarden Albums Ranked Worst to Best |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/soundgarden-albums-ranked/ |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}}</ref> [[psychedelic rock]]<ref name=":0" /> and [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]].<ref name=":0" /> Steve Huey of [[AllMusic]] said the band's "earlier [[Punk rock|punk]] influences are rarely detectable, replaced by surprisingly effective appropriations of [[Pop music|pop]] and [[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]]."<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/superunknown-mw0000107152|title=Superunknown – Soundgarden|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=March 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603190011/http://www.allmusic.com/album/superunknown-mw0000107152|archive-date=June 3, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Cornell labeled the album as more "challenging" and "versatile" than the band's previous releases.<ref name="gardenoftheunknown"/><ref name="mesaboogie">"Interview With Soundgarden". ''[[Mesa Boogie]]''. 1996.</ref> The songs on the album are more experimental and diverse than the band's previous recordings, with some songs having a Middle-Eastern or Indian flavor (for example "Half", sung by Shepherd). Some songs also show a [[The Beatles|Beatles]] influence, such as "Head Down" and "[[Black Hole Sun]]". In a 1994 interview with ''[[Guitar World]]'', Thayil explained, "We looked deep down inside the very core of our souls and there was a little [[Ringo Starr|Ringo]] sitting there. Oh sure, we like telling people it's [[John Lennon]] or [[George Harrison]]; but when you really look deep inside of Soundgarden, there's a little Ringo wanting to get out."<ref name="sleepless">Gilbert, Jeff. "Sleepless in Seattle". ''[[Guitar World]]''. May 1994.</ref> Drummer [[Matt Cameron]] said that the experimentation on the album was "just a matter of refinement."<ref name="neely">Neely, Kim. "[https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soundgarden/articles/story/5924586/cover_story_into_the_unknown Into the Superunknown"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514065154/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soundgarden/articles/story/5924586/cover_story_into_the_unknown |date=2009-05-14 }}. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. June 16, 1994. Retrieved on May 3, 2008.</ref> According to ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', the album "both redefined and transcended grunge".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/article/soundgarden-both-redefined-and-transcended-grunge--205632 |title=Soundgarden both redefined and transcended grunge on 1994's Superunknown |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=June 30, 2014 |access-date=May 5, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610171744/http://www.avclub.com/article/soundgarden-both-redefined-and-transcended-grunge--205632 |archive-date=June 10, 2015 }}</ref> Michael Beinhorn stated that to achieve the intensity of ''Superunknown'', he sought influence from European [[electronic music]], such as the British [[Aphex Twin]] and the Dutch genre of [[Gabber]], described by him as "some of the rawest music made".<ref name=bill>Bamgarder, Bradley. [https://books.google.com/books?id=aQgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA110 "For Soundgarden, Soul Asylum producer Michael Beinhorn, personality is paramount."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520200123/https://books.google.com/books?id=aQgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA110 |date=May 20, 2016 }} ''Billboard'', July 30, 1994</ref>

Soundgarden used [[alternate tuning]]s and odd [[time signature]]s on several of the album's songs. "Spoonman", "Black Hole Sun", "Let Me Drown" and "Kickstand" were performed in [[drop D tuning]] while "Fell on Black Days" was performed in standard tuning. Some songs used more unorthodox tunings: "Superunknown" and "Fresh Tendrils" are in DGDGBe tuning; "Like Suicide" is performed in a similar DGDGBC tuning; "My Wave" and "The Day I Tried to Live" are both in an EEBBBe tuning; "Mailman" and "Limo Wreck" employed CGDGBe tuning; "Head Down" and "Half" both utilised CGCGGe tuning; and "4th of July" uses CFCGBe tuning. Soundgarden's use of odd time signatures was varied as well; "Fell On Black Days" is in 6/4, "Limo Wreck" is played in 15/8, "My Wave" alternates between 5/4 and 4/4, and "The Day I Tried to Live" alternates between 7/8 and 4/4 sections. 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".<ref name ="Super-timesigs">Rotondi, James. "Alone in the Superunknown: Soundgarden redefine riffage and master melody on the eclectic fifth album". ''[[Guitar Player]]''. June 1994.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Joe Bosso |date=2024-02-26 |title="The Black Hole Sun arpeggios were unusual for me – like the right side of a piano, or fairies dancing on a pin... I thought, 'This is not me'": Kim Thayil on how Soundgarden persevered through personal and musical frustrations to create Superunknown |url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/soundgarden-kim-thayil-superunknown |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=Guitar Player |language=en}}</ref>

Lyrically, the album is quite dark and mysterious, as much of it is often interpreted to be dealing with issues such as [[substance abuse]], [[suicide]], and [[depression (mood)|depression]], with running themes of [[revenge]], [[annihilation]], [[seclusion]], [[fear]], [[Grief|loss]], [[death]], and [[Discovery (observation)|discovery]]. Cornell was inspired by the writings of [[Sylvia Plath]] at the time.<ref name="lanham">Lanham, Tom. "In Search of the Monster Riff". ''Pulse!''. March 1994.</ref> Commenting on the album's lyrics, Thayil said that "a lot of ''Superunknown'' seems to me to be about life, not death. Maybe not affirming it, but rejoicing—like the [[Druid]]s [put it]: 'Life is good, but death's gonna be even better!"<ref name="lanham"/> Cameron said that the lyrics on the album are "a big fuck-you to the world, a plea to 'leave us alone{{'"}}.<ref name="journey">True, Everett. "Journey into the Superunknown". ''[[Melody Maker]]''. March 19, 1994.</ref> Cornell stated that "Let Me Drown" is about "crawling back to the womb to die",<ref name="badass">"Soundgarden: The Badass Seed". ''[[RIP (magazine)|RIP]]''. April 1994.</ref> "Fell on Black Days" is about realizing "you're unhappy in the extreme",<ref name="journey"/> "Black Hole Sun" is about a "surreal dreamscape",<ref name="badass"/> "Limo Wreck" is a {{" '}}shame-on-decadence' song",<ref name="gardenoftheunknown"/> "The Day I Tried to Live" is about "trying to step out of being patterned and closed off and reclusive",<ref>Foege, Alec. "The End of Innocence". ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. January 12, 1995.</ref> and "4th of July" is about using [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]]. Cornell talked about "Mailman" at a concert saying, "This next one is about killing your boss. It's about coming to work early one morning cause you have a special agenda and you're going to shoot him in the fucking head."<ref name="badass"/> Conversely, "Like Suicide" was literal, written by Cornell after a bird flew into a window of his house. He found the severely injured animal and killed it, hitting it with a brick to end its suffering.<ref name="journey"/>

The video clip of the song "Spoonman" is notable for featuring a performance by [[Artis the Spoonman]], a [[busking|street entertainer]] in [[Seattle]].<ref name="prato">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/spoonman-mt0004985381 |title=Spoonman – Soundgarden |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=August 1, 2008 |last=Prato |first=Greg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828035911/http://www.allmusic.com/song/spoonman-mt0004985381 |archive-date=August 28, 2012 }}</ref> The title of the song is credited to bassist [[Jeff Ament]] of [[Pearl Jam]].<ref>(1994) Album notes for ''Superunknown'' by Soundgarden, [CD booklet]. New York: A&M Records.</ref> While on the set of the movie ''[[Singles (1992 film)|Singles]]'', Ament produced a list of song titles for the fictional band featured in the movie.<ref name="prato"/> Cornell took it as a challenge to write songs for the film using those titles, and "Spoonman" was one of them.<ref name="prato"/> An [[Acoustic music|acoustic]] demo version of the song appears in the movie.<ref name="prato"/> Cornell said that the song is about "the paradox of who [Artis] is and what people perceive him as".<ref>[http://web.stargate.net/soundgarden/articles/request_10-94.shtml "Interview with Chris Cornell"]. ''Request''. October 1994.</ref>