One of my favorite bands when I was growing up was Alice In Chains. Though the primary songwriter was always guitarist Jerry Cantrell, the lead singer, Layne Staley, was the true force behind the band, especially in its later years.
Layne sang a lot about drug addiction, which was natural for a lifelong heroine addict. What was different about Layne was that he never fooled himself. He knew he was dying and there was nothing he could do about it.
This was a man who knew suffering like no one else, and he channeled it into his music. You could listen to him and think, “You know, no matter how bad I have it, that guy has it worse.”
Near the end of his life, he reconnected with his high school sweetheart and he got her addicted to smack. They used to do everything together, and I mean everything. One day she caught an infection from a dirty needle. The infection traveled to her heart, and she died.
After that, Layne basically surrendered to his addiction. He retreated to his apartment and saw no one but his dealer. By the time he sang this song, he was wearing long gloves (which I believe you can spot in the video) to hide the fact that his arms were rotting from the needles. He died April 19, 2002–eight years to the day after Kurt Cobain.
If you’re looking for more information about the life of Layne’s Staley, and I recommend it, you can find it on the radio show (streaming) the Ongoing History of New Rock hosted by Alan Rock. The episode is called “The Rise and Fall of Alice in Chains” on page 17.
The video below is Layne channeling his life. Pure and simple.
