Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell wants you to ‘make [your] own relationship’ with his songs

Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell has released a spoken word version of his solo single “Vilified,” which puts a greater spotlight on the song’s lyrics. If that’s made you more curious about what “Vilified” is actually about, Cantrell tells ABC Audio that he hopes you come up with your own interpretation.

“I really think that it’s important for the listener to make their own relationship with a tune,” Cantrell says.

Speaking generally about the message behind “Vilified,” which includes lyrics about AI and turns of phrase like “schadenfreude crescendo,” Cantrell says it reflects the negative way he feels people treat each other nowadays.

“Just have some empathy that nobody’s f****** perfect,” Cantrell says. “Maybe just be a little f****** cooler to each other.”

“There’s a lot of factors that fuel that,” he continues. “One of them is algorithms and AI and s*** like that.”

Cantrell adds that “Vilified,” like a lot of his songs, isn’t necessarily about one specific thing.

“I try to write with a couple of threads going on at the same time, so I’m not writing about a single subject,” Cantrell says. “A lot of times, it’ll be like a f****** [Quentin] Tarantino movie.”

“I will jump all over the f****** place with different subjects and different timelines,” he laughs. 

“Vilified” appears on Cantrell’s new solo album, I Want Blood, out now. Cantrell is putting out a spoken word version of a different I Want Blood track every Thursday.