Many of Blind Melons members endured hardships throughout life and, this is reflected in their lyrics. One song is “Change”, off their self-titled album. Change is a song about enduring hardships and keeping faith in oneself. Hoon sings, “When you feel your life ain't worth living, You’ve got to stand up And take a look around, and you look way up to the sky Yeah, and when your deepest thoughts are broken Keep on dreaming boy, 'cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die”. These lyrics may sometimes be dark but the overall message is there. No matter what happens in life keep your head held high and, keep moving on. Blind Melon had one exceptionally emotional rendition of this song. On April 8th, 1994, Nirvana’s lead singer Kurt Cobain was found dead in his estate due to a suicide. That same night, Blind Melon was set to perform their hit single ‘No Rain’ on the David Letterman Show. In light of the recent tragedy that had taken place the band decided to play their song ‘Change’ instead, delivering an emotionally powerful performance, about keeping your head held high when all else seems lost. Blind Melon continued to publish dark yet inspirational lyrics throughout their brief history.
Blind Melon continued to release albums throughout the early 90’s and even went of multiple tours with global sensation at the time, Guns n’ Roses. The band also played at 1994’s Wookstock. Even with things for the band looking up, Shannon Hoon was still struggling with addiction. Shannon Hoon was found dead, due to a cocaine overdose on October 21st, 1995, on his tour bus in New Orleans. With the loss of their friend the remaining members decided to take a break from Blind Melon and, part ways. Sadly, the one who wrote the lyrics that inspired millions, could not save himself.
The thing that sets Blind Melon apart from other bands of the time is their originality. While other bands in the ‘grunge’ scene were all fairly similar, Blind Melon was experimenting with a multiple array of instruments. These instruments ranged from various flutes, mandolins and other obscure stringed instruments. This experimentation with other instruments besides the standard guitar, drums and bass trio, mixed with insightful lyrics and, an overall psychedelic, pleasant sound set Blind Melon worlds apart from their peers at the time, making their music timeless.
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