It's An All Night Thing

For two solid summers, I, like millions of folks, have worried about where my next paycheck is coming. Is it from my job, or the unemployment line? Luckily this year has been far more rooted in security than last summer. Still, I can remember where summer was spent working part-time jobs, enjoying a few months off from school and going to sleep when you felt like it (unless you had to work the morning shift).

There is a lot to be said for having security in numbers. And in the case of college, that security was roommates. You could work part-time because you had maybe two or three other people to split the utilities. Summer was like a three-month security blanket. Like a summer movie to entertain you for at least two hours.

And speaking of security blankets, enter Temple of the Dog's "All Night Thing." The opening chords and Chris Cornell's soothing voice "She motioned to me" hits your ears seem to automatically put you at ease. For those too young to remember, Temple of the Dog was a band that was formed to pay tribute to Andy Wood, who died of a heroin overdose. The members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam made an album that totally complemented each other's styles. It gave Soundgarden a lyrical and poetic depth and it provided some metal to Pearl Jam's sound.

The song is self-explanatory. Something will happen between two people that will result in "an all night thing." With the piano backdrop, the song feels like it could be played on your local NPR's "last call" jazz program before switching on to BBC news. The circumstances surrounding the making of the album are anything but serene, but Cornell's warm vocals wrap around you like a blanket on a brisk autumn night.