>Released in early 1991, the video not only became an instant hit, but also a quintessential video in the ’90s genre. It codified the checklist for what a video in the ’90s would look like. > Guess what video this is talking about, no, just name the first thing that comes to mind. A little hard right?

When I read that description, the first two videos that came to mind were Give It Away and Smells Like Teen Spirit. I didn't even remember if those were released in 1991, but it turns out they both were. I suspect many others of my age would also think of those before Hunger Strike. But that doesn't prove those videos were better or more influential, just more popular and got more play on MTV.

I don't know how "pioneering" Temple of the Dog really were, but it does say something that a band that only made one album was worth reuniting 25 years later.

It always seemed to me like that band (and that song in paritcular) was kind of "leftover" material rammed down the public's throat when Pearl Jam & Soundgarden broke as if it were some hidden gem that had somehow evaded our attention ("It's about their dead friend, you know..."). Always felt to me just like a cash grab-- like what Cornell (RIP) says in the article: "Oh, there’s this one video that we have that has members of both bands in it; let’s play it all day!"

I don't get how guys playing in a field was some kind of pioneering new concept in music videos. That's basically every music video in the 1960s.

With all the current collabs in hip-hop, house, and pop, to be honest it almost seems totally played-out these days...if such a good idea about cross-pollinating music genres could be bad thing that is.

i thought temple of the dog was more or less a tribute to mother love bone, well the lead singer that died andrew wood.

That was my reference to "It's about their dead friend, you know..."

>But that doesn't prove those videos were better or more influential, just more popular and got more play on MTV.

Things become influential by exposure...

Personally I thought Black Hole Sun was a terrible video, and I didn't like the production on that song either. Making the eyes bigger in the video felt like a stupid trick that a child would add because it looked new and cool. And the alternating "Black Hole Sun, Black Hole Sun" on the left and right channels were the same way to me.

That said, I was a huge Soundgarden fan, and that album was a disappointment for me. The only songs I still listen to from that album are 'Like Suicide' which is brilliant, and "The Day I Tried to Live".

But you remember it, right? It was such a twisted take on what a music video should be - it didn't make you feel good, it made you feel SOMETHING. That's the Soundgarden modus operandi. As Kim said, if they wanted to be popular they'd have written more songs in 4/4.

The whole premise of Temple of The Dog as some kind of unique gem is fucking low-class keyfab. The only way the article makes sense is if you pour a bottle of cough syrup into a 12 oz glass of Listerine and smoke some PCP as a chaser. Basically I'm saying nothing about this article rings true except for tying in "How I Met Your Mother" as a desperate flailing for relevance.

>That's because this fucking article is a puff piece trying to build a mountain out of a mole hill. Temple of the Dog was a blip on the radar but it didn't "PIONEER" anything music video wise, or even "supergroup" wise.

That. It's a mediocre video -- a bunch of guys performing on an outside location --, and we have seen such videos tons of times much before 1991.

On top of this, the video made absolutely no great impression. It isn't even that typical of the quintessential 90s video (if there such a thing even exists).

Have a lotta respect for Nic Harcourt. He gave our band and many other "unknown" bands a chance in KCRW. The guy is really open to new sounds and thats very rare these days

Agreed, I've watched him interview countless "superstars" and always manage to be a really genuine, interested, integrity-driven guy. He's reciprocated some of the compliments via Twitter, but overall, I think he's what Zane Lowe wishes he could be. Quote me on that if you'd like.

I'm not very Radio 1 so I've not paid much attention to Zane Lowe on there. He founded a group called Breaks Co-op in NZ back in the day which is the only reason I really know of him [1].

For years I've been listening to Tom Ravenscroft to find out about new music. When I found out he was John Peels son the penny dropped.

[1] https://youtu.be/QW8lD19bQG0

Out of interest, what band were you in?

I can't defend this from being called a puff piece. However, I am bemused by the fact that that description was not for a Temple of Dog video.

That is, for all the vitriol in your post, you didn't really pick an excerpt that backs your point. That part of the article doesn't claim that this video pioneered the look. Rather, it asserts it as a solid example of the look pioneered by Alice in Chains that came to define much of that era.