A letter to Layne Staley

[SmileyGladhands]

First I want to start out by saying that I don't claim to be a writer. Sometimes I write stuff to get out and I never really share it. But I just found this forum and got the guts to share it.
Layne was one of the first singers to ever have an impact on me. I wrote this the day I heard he died. I took it very hard even though I knew it was coming. It's funny how someone you never met can have such an impact on your life. sorry if it sucks.... ok here goes nothin


For 11 years you were a part of my life
Your lyrics opened my emotions in ways I never thought possible
You took my deepest thoughts, my darkest and most hidden fears
And with your amazing voice expressed them in a way
I could not

For 11 years you gave me something to believe in
Somehow you knew what I was hiding, what I was afraid to say
I could hear it in your music, your voice filled with pain
I knew someone out there in there own way, felt the same

For 11 years I watched you wither away
You polluted your body for reasons you could only know
Who am I to judge you for how you deal?
We all have our own way to handle personal hell

11 years later now you are gone
What enhanced your ability to create what you did
Was the very thing that took your life
You gave up your body, for your imagination and creativity
For this music

I know in my heart you are in a better place
And that your pain is gone, you are free of this addiction
This addiction you fed so I could have this therapy
To put on your albums and drift into a my own place
Thank you

R.I.P Layne Staley
1967-2002

[Scratch]

I don't post much on this board, usually because I have nothing to say. However, when I saw your letter I thought I should respond. I should start by saying that your letter was very good. Layne was my first lyrical infulence as well, and alot of the people here may not like it, but I think he had a better voice than Maynard Keenan. It sounded like you were pretty devastated by his death. I was too. I never got the chance to meet him, or even see him live, but he was still such an infulence on me its unbelievable.

[SmileyGladhands]

Thank you :) I appreciate it.

Yeah Layne's death really upset me. I actually drove around for a few months with an "R.I.P. Layne Staley" sign on my back window. :( I will miss AIC alot, and I think the music world lost someone very special. Something that bothered me was that not many people seemed to care too much. When Cobain died he got on the cover of every magazine in the world. Layne dies and he gets a dinky article. "Revolver" had a really great article on him though which was nice. "Rolling Stone" did an ok job. Unless I missed something it didn't seem like such a big deal. Oh well.

Thanks for responding. :)

[mike tyson]

Nice leter man, I miss him too. The letter, with all those 11's, it reminded of jimmy. 11 is when we waved goobye, 11 is standing still...

Thought I'd share that. Also, I'd like to say I agree with what SmileyGladHands said. Has anyone noticed that if a rapper/ pop star or something dies, they get huge publicity. But when people in rock bands die they don't get as much. I don't mind that they are't obsessed over for months when they die, but some recognition would be super.

[Jebus]

Layne Staley... he's the singer from Alice in Chains, right.
If I'm wrong, please disregard all of what I say.

That poem/letter thing was pretty good, the band obviously meant a lot to you. I've heard few songs, which I liked but I don't really know where to start song wise. So excuse me for being ignorant, or writing this in the wrong place, but could any of you recommend any good songs by them.

It'd be much appreciated.

Cheers, and yeah, I'd like to say again, that letter was pretty good.

[SmileyGladhands]

Originally posted by Jebus
Layne Staley... he's the singer from Alice in Chains, right.
If I'm wrong, please disregard all of what I say.

That poem/letter thing was pretty good, the band obviously meant a lot to you. I've heard few songs, which I liked but I don't really know where to start song wise. So excuse me for being ignorant, or writing this in the wrong place, but could any of you recommend any good songs by them.

It'd be much appreciated.

Cheers, and yeah, I'd like to say again, that letter was pretty good.

Thanks for the compliment!! I really appreciate it.

Yes, Layne was the singer for AIC. My two favorite albums are "Facelift" and "Dirt". Any song off of either of those albums are awesome. But every album is great. Here are some specific songs for you to try out:

We Die Young
Man In the Box
Sea Of Sorrow
Bleed the Freak
Love, hate, Love
Brother
Them Bones
Rain When I die
Sickman
Rooster
Junkhead
Dirt
Angry Chair
Down In A Hole
Would?
Rotten Apple
Nutshell
I Stay Away
No Excuses
grind
Sludge Factory
Heaven Beside YOu
Head Creeps
Again
God Am
Frogs

Ok, so that's like half their songs. LOL Like Tool, I love just about every song. Suggestion for you, pick up the Unplugged CD. It's loaded with great tunes.

If you really get into it, or actually just in case anyone else didn't know, Layne sang for another band called "Mad Season". It's just incredible. Their most known song is "River Of Deceit". So search for the MP3, very much worth at least giving a listen. :)

[SmileyGladhands]

Originally posted by Clever name
Nice leter man, I miss him too. The letter, with all those 11's, it reminded of jimmy. 11 is when we waved goobye, 11 is standing still...

Thought I'd share that. Also, I'd like to say I agree with what SmileyGladHands said. Has anyone noticed that if a rapper/ pop star or something dies, they get huge publicity. But when people in rock bands die they don't get as much. I don't mind that they are't obsessed over for months when they die, but some recognition would be super.

Thank you for your compliment too! I never thought of that with all the 11's! LOL Good observation.

That chick Alliyah or whatever her name was died about a week or so after Layne did, and she got alot of exposure. You are right, anyone in rap, like TuPac, B.I.G, etc, all get massive coverage for their deaths, but Layne got a very minimal amount.

[Jebus]

Ha. I spose I shoulda realized someone as big a fan as you would have lotsa faves.

Guess I'll just have to download a few, see how I go.
hmmm....random pick....

down in a hole it is....

Cheers.

[Scratch]

It really does suck that he got so little recognition after his death. It's not like he was a pop star, which is what pretty much occupies the media. He sang good songs and actually made good music, something which the average joe doesn't seem to care much about. It's pretty sad, but it's just the way thing are.

And Jebus, most of their songs are good, so randomly picking one really isn't a bad idea. However I would personally recommend either Again or God Am. They are both off of Tripod, their best record in my oppinion.

[SmileyGladhands]

Originally posted by Jebus
Ha. I spose I shoulda realized someone as big a fan as you would have lotsa faves.

Guess I'll just have to download a few, see how I go.
hmmm....random pick....

down in a hole it is....

Cheers.

good pick! :) just to let you know, Jerry Cantrell sings most of "down in a hole". That was another thing that made AIC so good was two awesome vocalists.

yeah I went through all the songs trying to narrow it down, but there are so many of them I couldn't do it. I could have made the list longer. LOL let me know what you think!

[Jebus]

Yeah I got Down in a hole, god am and again. They're kinda hard to get used to, but I like em. I reckon if I listened to em a lot I could really get into them.

I did this with the smashing pumkins too, got into em just after they broke up.

Yeah thanks heaps to smileygladhands and diseased1 for helping me out. Just wondering, are the songs I downloaded a pretty good indication of the 'sound' of AIC? And if it's not too much trouble, could someone post some songs that cover they're musical 'range'. Like one of the heavier songs, one softer, that kinda stuff.

And is there a good fan website around?

That'd be neat.

Cheers

[soul_excursion]

alice in chains was the best of the seattle bands in my opinion. i saw them open up for extreme back in september of 1990 at sundance on long island right before they released facelift and was a big fan ever since. it's funny how my 80's hair metal days opened new doors for me. I first got into Tool because I got a free Volcano records cassette with 'Sweat' on it before a Danger Danger show in 1992 and Guns N Roses 'Spaghetti Incident' album opened the door to punk music to me. My all time favorite AIC song is 'Down in a Hole' I love and miss the harmonies Layne had with Jerry. Mad Season's album was really incredible too and I think it's Mike Mcready's (of pearl jam) best work. SAP is a little known EP by them but it has 4 great AIC songs on it with some cool guests on it like Chris Cornell & Ann Wilson from Heart. It's a shame Layne didn't get nearly the press coverage that Cobain got, hell Shannon Hoon from Blind Melon was missed more by the folks at MTV when he died and his band was a one hit wonder. The sad thing is, the same demons that eventually took Layne away from us are the same ones that he sang about and his words seem even more tortured and fortelling now. It's a shame when someone like him dies there isn't 3 more double albums worth of material for us to enjoy like in the case of Tupac and even Nirvana, who overated as they were showed the world what direction they were headed in with 'you know you're right' a song that was about 3-4 years ahead of it's time. It would have been nice to see Nirvana had they let Dave Grohl have more of an impact in their work, and hopefully we haven't heard the last of Jerry Cantrell.

[kill_me]

well.. by the looks of all these replys, layne will be missed greatly..

[Patton>You]

great letter, layne impacted my life greatly as well, with his emotional and deep lyrics, when i was told layne was dead, i thought someone was playing a sick joke on me, i thought that AIC was going to re-unite within a year and the music world would have another breathtaking AIC album on there hands, but unfortuantly that wasnt able to happen, and thank god cantrell continues to kick ass, and hopefully he will continue to do so in the coming years, but good letter man, keep the AIC spining........

[SmileyGladhands]

Originally posted by Jebus
Just wondering, are the songs I downloaded a pretty good indication of the 'sound' of AIC?

well you got an idea of a few of their sounds. i would suggest you download a song off the first album "Facelift". "Sea Of Sorrow" or "We Die Young" are both great. My personal fav off the album is "Love, Hate, Love". It's a strange song with twisted lyrics. :)

Originally posted by Jebus
And if it's not too much trouble, could someone post some songs that cover they're musical 'range'. Like one of the heavier songs, one softer, that kinda stuff.

heavier songs: Man In the Box, Grind, or Sludge Factory are probably about as heavy as they get

softer songs: Brother, Heaven Beside You, Nutshell

You could also listen to "Rooster" which is a ballad about Jerry's dad being in the Vietnam War.

Two songs I definately think you should download are "Angry Chair" and "Rotten Apple"

Originally posted by Jebus
And is there a good fan website around?

http://members.aol.com/amass97/aic/

I like that site. But most are not updated regularly since they "broke up". Youcould try http://www.aliceinchains.com/ for updated stuff.

Enjoy!!

[Jebus]

Yeah I downloaded Rooster and Nutshell before I read your post, and they pretty much sealed the deal for me. What would be the best album to buy first? Facelift?

You made a fan out of me...

Cheers

[SmileyGladhands]

Um.... my personal favorite is "Facelift", but I think most people really consider "Dirt" or "Alice In Chains" (AKA- Tripod) to be their best albums. I would recommend you buy "Dirt" first and then go to "Facelift" if you really like them.

Glad I made you a fan! Looks like this thread had a positive outcome! :)

[Jebus]

Yeah, thanks heaps man.

It's great when you start thinking that there's not much more music around you'll like and then something like this comes along.

[Cid]

all of their albums are great...but i think jar of flies gets overlooked way too much. it's definitely a different alice in chains than the rest of them, but in my opinion, probably their best. but every AIC album is awesome.

[mike tyson]

If the person who was wondering what kind of AIC stuff they should download/buy, if your going to buy any of their cd's they're all great, but my personal favorite is Jar of Flies. Favorite song of theirs- Nutshell.

r.i.p L.S

[paraflux]

No one has mentioned the two songs they did for the Last Action Hero soundtrack. "A Little Bitter" and there's one more I cant recall right now but they are both incredible. Also, the side project called Mad Season is a very nice record to have in any collection. He gets more personal with it on the album called "Above."

[SmileyGladhands]

Originally posted by paraflux
No one has mentioned the two songs they did for the Last Action Hero soundtrack. "A Little Bitter" and there's one more I cant recall right now but they are both incredible.

"What The Hell Have I"

Originally posted by paraflux
Also, the side project called Mad Season is a very nice record to have in any collection. He gets more personal with it on the album called "Above."

yes, I agree. Above is a definate must have for any AIC fan. the music is very different but the lyrics and vocals are every bit as amazing.

[Jebus]

I bought dirt after reading smileygladhands post, but my comupter shat itself before I could reply. It's great album, thank's for recommendin it.

[SmileyGladhands]

Originally posted by Jebus
I bought dirt after reading smileygladhands post, but my comupter shat itself before I could reply. It's great album, thank's for recommendin it.

cool :) Glad you like it. When you get tired of it go get Facelift. Also, if you have some extra cash, I highly recommend the MTV Unplugged video.

[Jebus]

Originally posted by SmileyGladhands
cool :) Glad you like it. When you get tired of it go get Facelift.

no time soon...

though i will get facelift eventually

[Jerk off]

i love your letter. I agree with the whole exposure issue too.
When i heard the news I was driving, and i had to pull over because i was crying so hard. I loved Layne his voice was my voice, his expressions were mine aswell. He showed me how to take my emotions and express them.
LAyne we will always love you, and I'm happy you'er in a better place.

[Lachrymologist]

The radio station that I listen to had like a two week or so tribute to him, playing a different Alice In Chains song every hour, it was great.

[twistfinger]

dude, this exposure to alice in chains is great. i've been a fan since 1994 when i bought dirt. from what i observed, they pretty much flew under the radar but they were probably one of the greatest bands to come out of the 90s. i'm glad they didn't do anything after 1996. i was glad to know that they wouldn't turn out like aerosmith or metallica.

they have a great body of work, hands down. and i'm not misusing the word "great" here. what they created was nothing shy of greatness and the albums gave me great comfort because they covered ground (musically and lyrcially) that nobody else did. i never had a drug problem but always related to the music and content in some way. either way, layne once said "whatever you think it's about.. that's what it's about" so take it for what you want it. jerry cantrell's guitar work is unmatched. sure there are greater guitarists, but it doesn't matter. jerry, to me, is quality, not quantity.

i don't recommend buying them all at once. i recommend slowly taking in each album. absorb dirt. god, that album is beautiful. i wouldn't recommend any order or expansion on dirt, however, chronological wouldn't be bad (with the exception of picking up facelift).

the thing about facelift that's so cool is that some people think that it sounds more 80s, but that's not the case. if you hear the demos of some of the songs from that album, it sounds a lot more 80s a la gnr.) the point is that facelift could have been an 80s album for mtv to play (it came out in like 1989) along with slaughter and trixter and whatever else, but it is 80s that is alice in chains which points out how unique they were.

i am a huge aic fan and i didn't get into the them until i was 16 and about 2 years before they broke up. all their albums except for "three legged dog/tripod" had been in stores. i'm just saying it's never too late to discover this band because they truley broke the mold. alice in chains is not over because of layne's death. it was over probably 5 years before that. that's all good though. it was a very sad day when i heard layne died and an even sadder period when nobody seemed to even recognize it. plus the lyrics took on a new meaning.

sorry about the rant. i've kinda been holding that in for a while. alice in chains is a standard that i hold bands to and not many of them add up.

-twistfinger