Kim Thayil

Acting

Kim Thayil

Born 1960-09-04 · Seattle, Washington, USA

Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil remained as the original members of the band until Cornell's death in 2017, and the band's subsequent split in 2018. Thayil was named the 100th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2010, and the 67th greatest guitarist of all time by SPIN in 2012. Thayil has won two Grammy Awards as a member of Soundgarden.

Acting credits

Singles poster
6.4

A group of young adults in their twenties, who share an apartment in the city of Seattle, ponder on love and face all the challenges of adulthood.

Singles

1992

2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony poster
4.8

On Saturday, November 8, 2025, rock royalty once again gathered to celebrate the induction of another class of performers, influencers and excellent musicians into the Hallowed Hall of Rock. The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees were Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden and The White Stripes in the Performer category.

2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

2025

Hype! poster
7.4

This documentary examines the Seattle scene as it became the focus of a merging of punk rock, heavy metal, and innovation. Building from the grass roots, self-promoted and self-recorded until break-out success of bands like Nirvana brought the record industry to the Pacific Northwest, a phenomenon was born.

Hype!

1996

The Postal Service Zoom Auditions poster
NR

Watch The Postal Service hold Zoom ‘auditions’ for new bandmembers including Slash, Anne Hathaway and “Weird Al” Yankovic.

The Postal Service Zoom Auditions

2020

VH1 News Special: Grunge poster
NR

VH1 and SPIN magazine teamed up to present 'VH1 News Special: Grunge', an in-depth look at the Seattle-born movement that transformed popular music and the major players who made it happen.

VH1 News Special: Grunge

2001

Soundgarden - Live From The Artists Den poster
8.0

On a warm February night in Los Angeles, the legendary Seattle rock band Soundgarden concluded a sold-out winter tour in support of King Animal, their first studio album in over sixteen years. In front of a rapturous crowd, Live From The Artists Den captured this unforgettable night within the historic art deco setting of The Wiltern. Soundgarden interwove brand new songs with classic radio hits, along with rarities performed for the first time in front of a live audience. Over the extended set, the band showcased their legendary catalogue and unparalleled musicianship, solidifying their impact on the history of rock and roll.

Soundgarden - Live From The Artists Den

2019

MoPOP Founders Award 2020 Honoring Alice in Chains poster
9.0

For the first time ever, the Museum of Pop Culture's highly-anticipated Founders Award annual fundraiser event will be free to the public, streaming online Tuesday, December 1 as MoPOP honors Seattle's own Alice in Chains. The one-night-only benefit will be broadcast virtually beginning at 6 p.m. PT featuring unforgettable performances by Alice in Chains, as well as an acclaimed lineup of musicians who will put their own twist on some of the band's most iconic songs.

MoPOP Founders Award 2020 Honoring Alice in Chains

2020

Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind poster
NR

Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind visually documents the explosion of Grunge, the Seattle Sound, within the context of the underground punk subculture that was developing throughout the U.S. in the late 1970s and 1980s. This decade-and-a-half musical journey will be represented entirely through the lens of EMP’s oral history and permanent object collection, an invaluable and rich cultural archive of over 800 interviews and 140,000 objects - instruments, costumes, posters, records and other ephemera dedicated to the pursuit of rock n roll.

Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind

2011

Alice in Chains: AIC 23 poster
6.8

Alan Poole McLard, a Film Studies professor, attempts to film a documentary about Alice in Chains to coincide with the release of their new album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, without any assistance from the actual band.

Alice in Chains: AIC 23

2013

I'm Now: The Story of Mudhoney poster
7.0

This documentary tells the story of Mudhoney from their very beginnings, to following them on their recent world tour and everything in between. Complete with testimonials from friends, music industry veterans and musicians such as Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, Soundgarden's Kim Thayil and Mudhoney themselves. This is the true story of the founding fathers of Grunge.

I'm Now: The Story of Mudhoney

2013

Soundgarden: Live in Germany 1990 poster
NR

The amazing Soungarden captured live in their early years, in this 1990 concert given in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Soundgarden: Live in Germany 1990

1990

The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale poster
5.6

"How comes no one has ever made a film about The Melvins?" Well, no one has ever tried or thought it even possible.....until now that is. The Colossus Of Destiny - A Melvins Tale is a film about a band who have defied all the rules, for over 32 years and counting, and still managed to succeed and do it their own way. The journey of band members King Buzzo and Dale Crover leads us from the backwards-waters of the Chehalis River in Washington State, down through the Golden Gate of Northern California, and finally settling into the Los Angeles River Basin of Southern California. With the rest of the world thrown in along the way. You will witness first hand the beliefs and attitudes, values and obscenities, slows and fasts, triumphs and toils, loves and hates, wits and giggles of a hugely talented and influential band. And you will also come away with a lesson in how to survive in the wicked world of the music biz without taking yourself too damn seriously.

The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale

2016

Soundgarden: Louder Than Live poster
8.0

Louder Than Live is a home video by the American rock band Soundgarden featuring songs performed live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, California on December 7, 1989 and December 10, 1989. It was released on May 22, 1990.

Soundgarden: Louder Than Live

1990

Unfinished Plan: The Path of Alain Johannes poster
6.8

Musician Alain Johannes travels to Chile to take refuge from pain after his partner Natasha dies. Influential rockers tell this story of love and musical inspiration.

Unfinished Plan: The Path of Alain Johannes

2017

Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story poster
10.0

Documentary on the life of late Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood.

Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story

2005

Soundgarden: Motorvision poster
10.0

Motorvision is a home video by the American grunge band Soundgarden. It was released on November 17, 1992. It features eight songs performed live at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington on March 5, 1992 and March 6, 1992 during the Badmotorfinger tour.

Soundgarden: Motorvision

1992

Soundgarden - Live At Lollapalooza poster
NR

Live at Lollapalooza Festival, Chicago, Aug 8, 2010

Soundgarden - Live At Lollapalooza

2010

No artwork available
NR

Soundgarden at Megaland, Landgraaf, Netherlands Somewhere Slaves & Bulldozers Gun Mind Riot Jesus Christ Pose Searching With My Good Eye Closed Hands All Over Flower Big Dumb Sex Incessant Mace Rusty Cage Face Pollution Room a Thousand Years Wide Drawing Flies

Soundgarden: [1992] Pinkpop Festival

1992

Hard Rock Calling: Soundgarden Live at Hyde Park poster
NR

Soundgarden's set at the Hard Rock Calling Festival, July 13th, 2012.

Hard Rock Calling: Soundgarden Live at Hyde Park

Soundgarden: [2014] Lollapalooza Brazil poster
NR

Soundgarden at Autódromo de Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil The Telephantasm Searching With My Good Eye Closed Spoonman Flower Outshined Black Hole Sun Jesus Christ Pose Like Suicide Been Away Too Long The Day I Tried to Live My Wave Superunknown Blow Up the Outside World Fell on Black Days Burden in My Hand Rusty Cage Beyond the Wheel

Soundgarden: [2014] Lollapalooza Brazil

2014

TAD: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears poster
8.0

TAD: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears” chronicles the rise and fall of the pioneering Seattle grunge band TAD. It follows the band from their height - when they were one of the most influential bands of the Seattle scene -- to their low, when they were riddled with lawsuits and dumped by their label. Featuring rare footage of the band, from its club days to the arenas, as well as perspectives from other grunge-era musicians such as Mudhoney’s Mark Arm and Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, “TAD: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears” is a story of the band that could have been.

TAD: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears

2008

Soundgarden - Live at The Paramount Theatre 1991 poster
7.5

Soundgarden recorded live at The Paramount Theater in Seattle, WA, in 1991. Released as part of the 25th Anniversary of their seminal Badmotorfinger LP.

Soundgarden - Live at The Paramount Theatre 1991

2016

No artwork available
NR

In 2017, 20 years after Hype! (1996), filmmaker Doug Pray made a new short documentary featuring updated conversations with some of the personalities and bands who participated in the original documentary about the Seattle music scene and the Grunge movement.

Hype! 20 Years After

2017