The Screaming Life cover. Charles Peterson/charlespeterson.net
Anyone who has seen the photos knows them immediately: Black and white, blurred with motion, the light trailing past the bodies, all of which are sweaty, and in Chris Cornell’s case, naked from the torso up. They were taken by Seattle photographer Charles Peterson at various local clubs—many of which no longer exist—in the late ’80s and early ’90s; places like the Vogue, which I went to when I first arrived here. The irony is that by then, Soundgarden had long ago catapulted to national fame and stardom after releasing Ultramega OK. and Badmotorfinger.