Chris Cornell

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Mendalla

Mendalla

Happy headbanging ape!!
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I was not a fan of the grunge movement when it began in the early nineties. Wasn't a critic, either, just not a big fan. However, over time a number of the best musicians and bands out of that scene grew on me. And one of the best was Chris Cornell, the powerful vocalist who led Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave. He also did a fair bit of solo work, even writing and singing one of my favorite Bond themes of the last couple decades, "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale.

Last night, out of the blue at the young age of 52, Chris passed away. Cause is not yet known. Along with Pearl Jam and Nirvana (which also lost its legendary lead writer/singer), Soundgarden was at the forefront of grunge and his loss will resonate widely in the music industry. For those who followed and were part of that scene, this is probably as big as the loss of Bowie or Prince last year.

RIP, Chris.



 
And this cuts pretty close for me because I just turned 52 myself two weeks ago. Not only because it is a reminder of my own mortality but also because of the realization that, while grunge seems like yesterday to this aging ape, it is actually 20+ years old and most of the great musicians in the scene are now in or nearing their fifties (Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters is 48, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is 52, and so on).
 
Cause released and it makes the whole thing sadder still. Suicide.
 
I thought his name was familiar. His voice and his bands are. I listened to Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog back in the day. I was more into Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumkins...but Chris Cornell's bands' music I heard almost as much on the radio in those days. Very sad. Too young - and I wonder why?

I read tributes on Twitter (which seems, in a way, sad in itself that that's what it comes down to now) from Perry Ferrell of Jane's Addiction, Elton John (who knew he was a fan?), and rock n' roll legend of another era, Robert Plant.
 
Sorry it was Jimmy Paige who tweeted condolences. Apparently Cornell's last song on Wed night was a Led Zeppelin song about death - which they've covered before, I read.
 
It is probably an age thing but Nirvana never clicked with me until their brilliant cover of "Man Who Sold the World" made me give them another look. And I am actually a bigger fan of Dave Grohl's subsequent bands, Foo Fighters and Them Heavy Vultures, and of Grohl himself than I am of Kurt and Nirvana.

The first song from the 90s Seattle scene that really got my attention was "Hunger Strike" which naturally led me to Soundgarden and Pearl Jam and those remain my favorites from the grunge era. And of that group of musicians, Cornell is far and away my favorite.
 
Nirvana got me hooked on grunge. The first time I heard it I thought, "Huh? It's not punk or heavy metal. What is it? Do I like this? Yeah. I think I like this!" Then I saw Kurt Cobain in an interview. He was smart, laid back, humble...in an FU establishment kind of way - but more shy - and I really thought he needed to wash his hair, lol, but was otherwise dreamy...and that was it. I was a fan. Then I heard Pearl Jam and saw Eddie Vedder - and he had amazing, cleaner hair, cool voice, and was dreamy...and the lyrics were also dark, but smart...and I was hooked on grunge. That was my thought process at about 20. We had our own west coast generation of rock gods and I was very excited by it.

Vedder continued to impress as he matured and did other projects. He is still impressive and - just read and realized he's the last of the grunge front-men alive. I hope he sticks around for a long time.
 
Isn't grunge the Cloes that the wife complains about me wearing in the yard? Often with that vertigous shade to eM that associates with the Miree M'N group ... a dirty bunch being so Cloes to ground zero ...
 
Kimmio said:
Vedder continued to impress as he matured and did other projects. He is still impressive and - just read and realized he's the last of the grunge front-men alive. I hope he sticks around for a long time.
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For some reason I thought Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots and hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver) was still around but, no, I see he died of an OD in 2015 so, yeah, you're right. Eddie's the last one. There's been a sad history of front men going down in that scene. Temple of the Dog was actually formed to honour the memory of Cornell's former roommate Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, one of the first bands in that Seattle movement.
 
Mendalla said:
For some reason I thought Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots and hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver) was still around but, no, I see he died of an OD in 2015 so, yeah, you're right. Eddie's the last one. There's been a sad history of front men going down in that scene. Temple of the Dog was actually formed to honour the memory of Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, one of the first bands in that Seattle movement.
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I remember reading about that. I remember back in the day, STP getting flack, at least where I was, for being "posers" not the real thing. But they still had talent. Were they from Seattle? Maybe that was the bias.
 
I've always thought of STP as being part of the grunge movement but you're right, they're not from Seattle. They started in San Diego. I guess the association is more the similar sound than being actually part of the scene.
 
California had its own "alternative" scene with funk-punk bands like RHCP, and skate-punk like the Dead Milkmen and Greenday, which was just getting started (they're older than they look!)..we listened to all of it but I guess some people were possessive about what sounds belong from where.
 
Haha! The Dead Milkmen aren't even from California. I thought they were! They sounded like it. They're from Philidelphia. Maybe Californians thought they were posers!
 
Turf wars. People like Vedder complained about the copycat bands after them, back then. I guess they weren't into flattery. To think we followed that "news" like it mattered, too.
 
Kimmio said:
Greenday
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One of my top 10, probably top 5, 90s-00s bands. Billie Jo Armstrong is an incredibly talented songwriter when he puts his mind to it. Just listen to American Idiot (the original album, not the musical though that is pretty good, too). Definitely a different sound from the Seattle crowd, though.
 
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Mendalla said:
One of my top 10, probably top 5, 90s-00s bands. Billie Jo Armstrong is an incredibly talented songwriter when he puts his mind to it. Just listen to American Idiot (the original album, not the musical though that is pretty good, too). Definitely a different sound from the Seattle crowd, though.
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First time I saw Green Day live, it was in the early 90s, where I worked in coat check. Billy Jo was just a skater kid - but he really hasn't changed much since then. He's aged well. Yeah, they were and are a California band with a California sound (in my mind - they represent California punk rock). But whether it was grunge sound or ska or skate-punk ... The customers at the club I worked at were generally the same people.
 
In this link is a clip of Ann Wilson from Heart, covering "Black Hole Sun" on Jimmy Kimmel. I was thinking she has the perfect voice for it - especially now that she's older, it's deepened from the years of strain, but it works... However she looks awkward up there standing behind a music stand with the house band in the background...so not rock n' roll. But it was a good gesture.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...ris-cornell-with-black-hole-sun-cover-w483214
 
Entertainment Weekly put out their list of the 10 essential Cornell songs. Besides some obvious ones (e.g. Black Hole Sun and Spoonman, both big hits for Soundgarden from the album Superunknown) it includes a few lesser known, but very good, tracks featuring his voice. I'm trying to use live versions as much as possible because he was a great live singer who needed no technological tricks to sound his best.

This song was originally done by Chris for the soundtrack of the film Singles (which featured a lot of the Seattle music scene):


Another Temple of the Dog song (an aptly titled one, alas), live from their reunion tour last year:


Cornell's voice is at its finest in that performance. While he can rock with the best of them, that scream of his works beautifully in bluesier material and power ballads. I'm thinking he would have a made a great Jesus in a production of Superstar. That voice howling out "Gethsemane" would have sent shivers up my spine for sure.

One aspect of Chris Cornell's solo work that you don't hear much about are his brilliant covers. He was an artist who was very adept at putting his own spin on familiar songs, not to the extent that you'd forget the originals but to put a different shine or feel on them. The first one I came across was "Billie Jean", the old Michael Jackson tune.

This live version was recorded (unofficially on someone's cam it appears) in Victoria, BC. And, for all that he's best known as a singer, Cornell was a hell of a guitar player, too, as he proves here.


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