- | In another interview, Staley also added that he was stoned when he wrote it, so he meant something else at the time. He also ensured that the song wasn't about veal. <ref name="genius1">{{cite Genius.com|url="https://genius.com/Alice-in-chains-man-in-the-box-lyrics"|title="'Man in the Box' by Alice in Chains"}}</ref>
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- | Guitarist [[Jerry Cantrell]] explained his vision: "It's about how government and media control the public's perception of events in the world or whatever, and they build you into a box by feeding it to you in your home. And it's about breaking out of that box and looking outside of that box that has been built for you."
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- | Jerry Cantrell admitted the importance of the song for the band in the liner notes of a box set compilation album "Music Bank," released in 1999.
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- | > That whole beat and grind of that is when we started to find ourselves; it helped Alice become what it was.
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- | The song got Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1992 but lost to "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" by [[Van Halen]]. <ref>{{cite rockonthenet.com|url="http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1992/grammys.htm"|title="34th Grammy Awards - 1992"}}</ref>
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+ | The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1992 but lost to "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" by Van Halen. <ref>{{cite rockonthenet.com|url="http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1992/grammys.htm"|title="34th Grammy Awards - 1992"}}</ref>
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- | The music video was shot on 16mm film and transferred to tape using an FDL 60 telecine, which was the only device that could synchronize sound to picture at six frames per second. This solution provided the surreal visual style for the video. The sepia look was done by Claudius Neal using a DaVinci color corrector.
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- | This style became a standard for the genre, visualizing the music as rough, dark and organic. It was the first grunge video that got significant airplay on MTV. <ref name="songfacts1"/>
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- | The music video was nominated for the Best Metal/Hard Rock Video at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards but lost to "The Other Side" by Aerosmith. <ref name="genius1"/>
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+ | The music video was nominated for the Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, but lost to Aerosmith's "The Other Side." <ref name="genius1">{{cite Genius.com|url="https://genius.com/Alice-in-chains-man-in-the-box-lyrics"|title="'Man in the Box' by Alice in Chains"}}</ref>
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- | [[Jerry Cantrell]] used his **1984 G&L Rampage "Blue Dress"** for the recording. This guitar was also used in the official video of the song.
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- | He explained his choice, "From the very first time I picked it up and played it, it just felt right to me. It was designed to blend the playability and high-end sound of a Strat with the darkness and full-bodied sound of a Les Paul." Its shape is similar to the Fender Stratocaster but features a more narrow waist and more indent contours on the back of the body. This guitar had a maple [[neck]] and body, Kahler tremolo system, one Seymour Duncan JB [[humbucker]] with one volume knob. Cantrell admitted that he had never needed a lot of knobs or switches, so this design had suited his needs perfectly. <ref name="gw1">{{cite GuitarWorld.com|url="https://www.guitarworld.com/features/jerry-cantrell-facelift"|title="'Jerry Cantrell: Facelift' by Andy Aledort"}}</ref>
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- | <ref name="gg1">{{cite GroundGuitar.com|url="https://www.groundguitar.com/jerry-cantrell-gear/"|title="Jerry Cantrell's Guitars and Gear"}}</ref>
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- | ![Jerry Cantrell's G&L Rampage](https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/static/storage/wiki/media/9/f/9f693b6ad280bd726d4b4eea7ab54caf.jpg)
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- | *Jerry Cantrell's G&L Rampage.*
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- | Also, note that the song has a lot of guitar overdubs.
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+ | The opening riffs and melody are pretty easy to play, in fact, most of the song doesn't require much more than an upper beginner level of playing ability. <ref name="gl365"/>
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+ |
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+ | However, the real star of the show here is Jerry Cantrell's killer guitar solo. I think this solo is perhaps one of the best rock guitar solos recorded during the 90's. It definitely is one of the most fun to play. <ref name="gl365"/>
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+ |
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+ | The solo has a lot of tricky licks throughout, so you will find it much more difficult to play than the rest of the song. <ref name="gl365"/>
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+ | It starts with a very long trill then jumps up the fretboard into a long bend tortured bend. There is also a lot of fast little blues licks thrown in there. <ref name="gl365"/>
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+ | One big key to playing the solo in "Man In The Box", is getting the wah to complement the guitar lines. There are a couple of licks where this is very crucial and I will show you what to do with the wah pedal at those points. <ref name="gl365"/>
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- | The opening riff presents a nice mix of [[palm-muted]] [[double stops]] and single notes with [[dead notes]]. Also, this riff has a [[hammer-on]] at the end. This riff is played in the [[intro]], [[interlude|interludes]], and [[verse|verses]].
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- | The intro is continued with a wordless melody, where Layne Staley's peculiar, tensed-throat vocals are matched in unison with an effects-laden guitar, where each note is played with [[vibrato]]. This melody repeats in the interludes and the [[outro]].
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- | The [[pre-chorus|pre-choruses]] start with a double stops riff, which requires good hand stretching. Then it goes back to the main riff and ends with a short single-note run (the first pre-chorus) or double stops with [[bends]] and [[releases]] (the second one).
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- | The choruses are mainly based on [[chord]] playing, though there are several single notes with bends.
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- | The [[solo]] has a lot of intricate licks, so it much more challenging to play than the rest of the song. It starts with a long [[trill]] then jumps up the fretboard into several fast blues licks with a lot of bending and legato techniques. <ref name="gl365"/> Also, note a gradual release in the middle of the solo.
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- | The solo also has several rhythm guitar lines. One of them reproduces the main riff, while the other one consists of repeating double stops, introduced in the pre-choruses.
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- | One of the crucial points in playing the solo is the usage of the wah pedal to support the guitar lines. <ref name="gl365"/>
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+ | wordless opening melody, where Layne Staley's peculiar, tensed-throat vocals are matched in unison with an effects-laden guitar
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