Lost in the shuffle this weekend at Lollapalooza — in between Lady Gaga’s speech-making and Lady Gaga’s taped-over nipples — was the more or less triumphant return of onetime rock gods Soundgarden. By all reports, Chris Cornell and company did nothing to embarrass themselves while closing out the festival last night with straightforward renditions of their well-aged downer jams, fulfilling exactly what one would look for in a Soundgarden reunion show; Cornell growing his hair out for the occasion (see current photo above) was particularly appreciated. (According to some people, Arcade Fire, playing across the festival grounds at the same time, was maybe a little bit better, but that’s neither here nor there.) And that’s not all! Following the performance, Soundgarden also released a new song, “Black Rain,” that is less a tribute to 1989 Michael Douglas Japanese crime movies and more a fleet recapturing of that classic SG sound (probably because it’s an outtake from the Badmotorfinger sessions; it’ll be on the upcoming Telephantasm: A Retrospective). Hey, Chris Cornell — now this is how you make people forget about that album you did with Timbaland!
Here’s “Fell on Black Days” from Lollapalooza: