re: Your top albums of 2012

Not really. I don’t begrudge them it, but Soundgarden’s just trading in on their name, releasing a solid album that reminds us they used to be frickin’ awesome. They aren’t pushing any boundaries anymore. I don’t really expect bands to put out their best work in their comeback tour, so it’s not a demerit, but its nota must buy or anything.

Put it like this, imagine there’s a guy who has never heard a Soundgarden song. Would you point him to the most recent work as a place to start, to get him into them?

There’s very few bands where you’d answer that question “yes”. If Neil Young had never gone away, he’d be the best example. But Neil never had to come back.