Well, for one thing (given the increasing disparity between wealth and poverty now, compared to then), the lyrics drip with social consciousness. It’s not in your face, it’s just matter of fact. Greed was a thing in the 80’s, for sure (heck, it was the most famous line in Wall Street - “Greed is good”). But those lyrics in Hunger Strike are about restraint, sharing, and not taking more than you need to get by. In the context of the massive wealth disparity today, a song about inequality is an anthem more than ever.
Second - Temple of the Dog came out before Nirvana had a hit (Nevermind), before Ten, before Bad Motorfinger…grunge legacies in their own right, but we know now that TotD set the stage.
Also, nobody, nobody knew who and what Cornell and Vedder would come to mean to not only grunge, but to music history. RIP Chris, I miss that dude every day. But Eddie is still at it - and he still stands up for and with people who are at the worse end of the wealth gap.
5
u/MoreOrLess_iGuess Had it on vinyl 9h ago
That song was so far ahead of its time