Ty Cobb (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Ty Cobb


Artist = Soundgarden
from Album = Down on the Upside
B-side = "Rhinosaur" / "Big Dumb Sex" / "Rhinosaur" (The Straw That Broke the Rhino's Back remix)
Released = April 1997
Format = CD single
Recorded = November 1995 – February 1996
Genre = Grunge
Length = 3:05
Label = A&M
Writer = Chris Cornell, Ben Shepherd
Producer = Soundgarden
Last single = "Blow Up the Outside World" (1996)
This single = "Ty Cobb" (1997)
Next single = "Bleed Together" (1997)
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = Down on the Upside
Type = studio
prev_track = "Dusty"
prev_no = Track 4
this_track = "Ty Cobb"
track_no = Track 5
next_track = "Blow Up the Outside World"
next_no = Track 6"Ty Cobb" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden, released in April 1997 as the fourth single from the band's fifth studio album, "Down on the Upside" (1996). It would later appear on the band's greatest hits album "A-Sides".

Origin and recording

The song features lyrics written by frontman Chris Cornell and music written by bassist Ben Shepherd. Cornell and Shepherd play mandolin and mandola on the track. [http://web.stargate.net/soundgarden/articles/mm_3-23-96.shtml "Soundgarden Sound Off"] . "Melody Maker". March 23, 1996.] Cornell on the song:

Well, Ben actually had the idea that he wanted to hear mandolin on that song, and so we called some people and they brought like, these older mandolins down for us to try, 'cause they thought they were really great, and then we picked them up and just played 'em, and that was about it, the first time we ever played them. [Cornell, Chris. "Soundgarden Radio Interview". ABC Radio. May 14, 1996.]

Composition

The song begins with a quiet, 20-second intro before acquiring a frenetic pace throughout the rest of the song. Guitarist Kim Thayil said, "'Ty Cobb' sounds like it may fall apart at any second but it remains intact. That is an element that a lot of rock bands neglected. But punk rock has always had that element of barely being able to hold on to the steering wheel." [Cecolini, Vinny. "Soundgarden: To the Limit". "Hit Parader". March 1997.]

Lyrics

The track was originally titled "Hot Rod Death Toll", but the lyrics reminded Shepherd of the infamous baseball player Ty Cobb. [Cross, Charles R. [http://web.stargate.net/soundgarden/articles/rs_2-8-96.shtml "The Joys of Noise: Soundgarden Throw a High-Frequency Sludgefest"] . "Rolling Stone". February 8, 1996.] He holds the all-time career batting record (.367), but he is also well-known for his womanizing, alcoholism and racism. The song is infamous for its 21 utterances of the word "fuck," second only to "Big Dumb Sex" (36 utterances) among Soundgarden songs. Cornell on the song:

It was basically coming from the frame of mind of some sort of hardcore pissed-off idiot, and that's why we titled it that. We weren't writing the song about Ty Cobb at all - I didn't even know anything about him. I was just thinking of a character who was a combination of a lot of people I've met and didn't like. ["Gardener's Question Time". "Kerrang!". March 1, 1997.]

Release and reception

Although "Ty Cobb" did not chart on the "Billboard" Hot 100, the US Mainstream Rock Tracks, or the US Modern Rock Tracks charts as the first three singles from "Down on the Upside" did, its B-side, "Rhinosaur", did chart on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart at number 19. Outside of the United States, the single was released in Australia. David Browne of "Entertainment Weekly" said, "With its frenetic mandolin, "Ty Cobb"...is something like metal bluegrass." [Browne, David. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292725,00.html "Down on the Upside"] . "Entertainment Weekly". May 24, 1996.]

Track listing

;European Club Promo CD and Australian CD
#"Ty Cobb" (Chris Cornell, Ben Shepherd) – 3:05
#"Rhinosaur" (Matt Cameron, Cornell) – 3:14
#"Big Dumb Sex" (Cornell) – 4:11
#"Rhinosaur" (The Straw That Broke the Rhino's Back remix) (Cameron, Cornell)

References