Fear the Voices
"Fear the Voices" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Promotional single by Alice in Chains | ||||
from the album Music Bank | ||||
Released | 1999 | |||
Recorded | March–May 1992 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | Funk metal[1] | |||
Length | 4:58 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Alice in Chains singles chronology | ||||
|
"Fear the Voices" is the last single that Alice in Chains released with vocalist Layne Staley and the only single that was co-written by bassist Mike Starr. The song was included on the box set Music Bank (1999).
Origin and recording
"Fear the Voices" is an outtake from the Dirt album, recorded in 1992. The song would remain unreleased until 1999, when it was released on the Music Bank box set and also issued as a promotional single.
In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, guitarist Jerry Cantrell said of the song:
Another cool song from that demo for the Crowe movie. Thinking about it now, that was a fruitful tape! We got "Would?" for the movie, part of Sap and we got started on the Dirt, so the tune itself was a good song, but we were just turning to the height of our blackness.[2]
Meaning
The song seems to be anti-censorship, making reference to then Washington state governor Booth Gardner's March 20, 1992 signing of a bill that would impose a jail term to anyone caught selling an album a judge would deem "erotic" to a minor.[3] Prior to the signing, MTV had publicized Gardner's office phone number,[4] bringing in over 4,000 faxed signatures (mostly against the bill). This incident is directly referenced in the song's lyric, "So they put your number on the television, Mr. Gardner/A messed up generation put the pressure on you/You're a coward," and, "Fear the voices you hear today/If you steal our choices, we'll blow you away."
Release and reception
"Fear the Voices" was released as a single in 1999. "Fear the Voices" peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Fear the Voices" | 4:58 |
Personnel
- Layne Staley – lead vocals
- Jerry Cantrell – vocals, lead guitar
- Mike Starr – bass
- Sean Kinney – drums
Charts
Chart (1999) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[5] | 11 |
References
- ^ Weiss, Dan. "The 10 Best Alice in Chains songs". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ Liner notes, Music Bank box set. 1999.
- ^ "Parental Warning Labels Differ for Different Companies". Apnewsarchive.com. 1992-05-12. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
- ^ "Full text of "Music lyrics and commerce : hearings before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Competitiveness of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, February 11 and May 5, 1994"". Archive.org. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
- ^ "Alice in Chains Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- v
- t
- e
- Layne Staley
- Mike Starr
- Facelift
- Dirt
- Alice in Chains
- Black Gives Way to Blue
- The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
- Rainier Fog
- Unplugged
- Live
- Live Facelift
- Nothing Safe: Best of the Box
- Music Bank
- Greatest Hits
- The Essential Alice in Chains
- Live Facelift
- The Nona Tapes
- Music Bank: The Videos
- "We Die Young"
- "Man in the Box"
- "Would?"
- "Them Bones"
- "Angry Chair"
- "Rooster"
- "Down in a Hole"
- "No Excuses"
- "I Stay Away"
- "Don't Follow"
- "Grind"
- "Heaven Beside You"
- "Again"
- "Get Born Again"
- "A Looking in View"
- "Check My Brain"
- "Your Decision"
- "Lesson Learned"
- "Hollow"
- "Stone"
- "Voices"
- "Tears"
- "The One You Know"
- "So Far Under"
- "Never Fade"
- "Rainier Fog"
- "Bleed the Freak"
- "Sea of Sorrow"
- "What the Hell Have I"
- "Got Me Wrong"
- "Over Now"
- "Fear the Voices"
- "Sunshine"
- "Brother"
- "Hate to Feel"
- "Nutshell"
- "Died"
- "Black Gives Way to Blue"
- "Phantom Limb"
- Black Antenna
- AIC 23
Category