RIP Chris Cornell 1964 - 2017

[PHATJ]

Outside of the hits and a handful of others, I'm not a huge Soundgarden fan. Tried listening to their albums last night and it was a chore.

whatevs.

The listening I've done in the last few days reconfirmed that I only really enjoy Chris's contributions to Soundgarden and his work outside of that context just doesn't do it for me, with the exception of most of the ToTD songs.

Audioslave in particular, yeesh. From the first moment the band kick on Cochise, I'm out.

I'm with you, dude. I loved Soundgarden, and Rage Against the Machine. Both are formative on my psyche. When I heard that Chris would be fronting the RATM band sans De la Rocha, I had visions of guitar interplay with soundgarden-equse melodies and tones over top of morello's mad guitar laboratory. Instead, what came out felt like a hastily-composed version of rage with Cornell dumbly screaming in 4/4 over top of it; without any of the interesting melodic vocal or guitar stuff. I know over time they released somewhat more dynamic music than just that; but Audioslave was a giant disappointment, IMO. I think of it as 'lost years'. In retrospect, I am sure the intent was there. But the execution just felt like watching an ex-wife with a drinking problem having a sweaty a bar stool makeout session with a dry wall contractor.

My opinion of Audioslave (which is very mixed, but there are several songs that I love) was never colored through the eyes of a Rage fan. I like a few Rage songs but I don't know most of their material and I've never been that interested in hearing more. I kinda can't stand Zach De la Rocha, so I loved hearing that Rage sound with Cornell's vocals. Especially on the first album.

[Jorge]

The worst thing about Audioslave is how goddamn braindead-generic those Morello riffs are. I think Cornell did the best he could coming up with melodies for those clunkers.

(that is, if Morello wrote the music for all those songs, I don't really know)

[PHATJ]

Just to be clear, I absolutely think the best version of Cornell is in Soundgarden, and it's not really close.

[EJ]

The worst thing about Audioslave is how goddamn braindead-generic those Morello riffs are. I think Cornell did the best he could coming up with melodies for those clunkers.

(that is, if Morello wrote the music for all those songs, I don't really know)

* plus, he holds his guitar too high up on his chest

[LoathedVermin72]

I love those Morello riffs. I'm totally okay with big dumb rock riffs when they're that infectious.

[Kevin Davis]

No doubt Soundgarden was Chris's natural home base and overall greatest achievement, but I think his talents and vision clearly extended beyond where they (maybe Kim and Ben more than Matt, who recent PJ records suggest is content to play pretty much anything) were willing to let him go. I can understand where "Euphoria Morning" wouldn't have been a particularly enthralling record for the band to make -- it would have required them all taking somewhat diminished roles, the focus on that album being pretty squarely on the songs and Chris's singing. But I'm glad that Chris did that album his own way, rather than turning it into a project of compromise between his vision and Soundgarden's; it arguably is more special to me than any one Soundgarden record, if not the sum total of what they accomplished. It's only a shame that they didn't realize at the time how apparently doable it is for bands and solo careers to operate concurrently.

Audioslave is weird. Rage was one of my favorite bands growing up, but their music has aged worse for me than just about anyone else's from that era, and Tom Morello is probably one of the top five most overhyped guitarists in the history of the instrument. Songs of theirs that sound like Rage karaoke tracks with Cornell trying to wedge himself into their formula are generally pretty weak. But I think fewer of their songs fit that mold than the lasting impression would suggest. I think there is a clear difference between the songs that are Rage riffs with Cornell vocals, and songs Cornell either contributed more significantly to musically or brought to the band completely finished. These are songs like "I Am the Highway," "Like a Stone," "Dandelion," "Heaven's Dead," and my personal favorite, "Getaway Car" -- these are all (forgive the term) logical extensions of where he was going on "Euphoria Morning," if dumbed down a bit from Eleven's deep, eclectic textures to accommodate Audioslave's more limited palette. Ultimately, Cornell and the Rage guys were a mismatch, but he did continue to write good songs throughout their tenure.

After really not caring for "Carry On," I paid only sporadic attention to his solo releases from there till the end. The songs he played from "Higher Truth" when I saw him last summer piqued my interest, but I'm yet to follow up on the full album. In his last few years he did a handful of soundtrack songs, many of which ("The Keeper," "Til the Sun Comes Back Around," "The Promise") weirdly seem to all be "character" songs in the folk idiom told from the points-of-view of soldiers. The songs were pretty and Chris played and sang them well, but conceptually they were a stretch for him -- he sounds pretty unnatural on them and they rarely achieve the empathy they seem to strive for. I am happy that the general aimlessness of the last decade of his solo career was buttressed by the Soundgarden reunion, which I always thought was handled with a great deal of class, its focus divided fairly between legacy maintenance and working towards creating new art. They figured out a way to bring a good thing back without turning it into a nostalgia shitshow, which I can only imagine is an extremely delicate balance to strike; it really did just seem to be the right thing at the right time for band members and audience alike. I hope we hear more music from that era down the road.

[wease]

I love those Morello riffs. I'm totally okay with big dumb rock riffs when they're that infectious.

[Revelator]

[VinylGuy]

I love those Morello riffs. I'm totally okay with big dumb rock riffs when they're that infectious.

Yeah, i agree. And Morello learnt a few more tricks with chris there for sure...the solo in Getaway Car was a novelty for him. The same can be said of The Last Remaining Light.

God, those two are so good.

[Tuolumne]

I've grown to really get annoyed with Tom Morello. He had an amazing aresenal of sounds and a really original approach to the guitar. But, man, did he get old quick. I think Audioslave went as Chris went. He had some monster songs like Like A Stone, I am the Highway, and Be Yourself (which I love), but Morello's riffs were super tired and generic at worst and sufficient at best. That said, Audioslave got slagged off a little too heavily by indie-types. They had some great radio songs that they should be proud of.

[Superblood Wolfmoon]

This seems like the wrong thread to discuss the merits of Tom Morello's guitar playing. Just sayin'...

[VinylGuy]

This seems like the wrong thread to discuss the merits of Tom Morello's guitar playing. Just sayin'...

Why? We are talking about our guy and his career...Tom is a part. Its nice to actually talk about the music.

[Norah]

no you can only be sad in this thread

[Moshimistic]

https://thefirsttenwords.wordpress.com/ ... you-think/

[Norah]

The worst thing about this being a global announcement is the new post link is now fucked up.

[PHATJ]

Why? We are talking about our guy and his career...Tom is a part. Its nice to actually talk about the music.

[doone]

https://thefirsttenwords.wordpress.com/ ... you-think/

Thank you

[malice]

https://thefirsttenwords.wordpress.com/ ... you-think/

Thank you

[96583UP]

so many of these eulogies are self-serving dogshit

[verb_to_trust]

For me this has only gotten harder to accept but in a weird way it has also energized me. Chris left behind a pretty incredible body of work in the time he had. Makes me not want to waste a second.