Chris Cornell is scaring the shit out of his fans. And by ‘fans’ I don’t mean the middle-aged American Idol moms who never quite got on board the rock train in high school but squeal with delight that a legitimate “rocker” has shifted his sonic compass to more mainstream, generic balladry. I mean fans like me, who have stuck around through the highs and lows of Soundgarden and even Audioslave, faithfully confident in the darker hours that Cornell would find his way out of the mess and rise up with better material the next time. For the most part, we weren’t disappointed. Sure, Euphoria Morning kicks the shit out of Carry On any day of the week, but in the end he was true to himself, and that matters on a level that can’t be charted.
So far, I’ve heard five or so of the new songs from Cornell’s third solo record, the upcoming Timbaland-produced Scream. For all the hype and nonsense circulating, everybody seems to pretty much agree on one thing: the new material is absolutely unlistenable. It leaves a pit of sorrow in my gut that makes it hard to even think about listening to that inevitably wretched lump of shit. They’re unfathomably bad- pop-pandering without so much as a distant echo of his Soundgarden / Audioslave roots.
Here’s the latest leak, a “hidden track” off Scream called Two Drink Minimum. It’s far and away the best of what’s leaked so far, but that really isn’t saying much.
The songs are a true testament to Cornell’s desperation for a mid-forties revival. To hell with artistic legitimacy, we’re talking about a midlife crisis here. Some middle-aged guys will buy a red sports car or start banging their 20 year old daughter’s best friend. Others break up their wildly popular bands to make really terrible solo albums that are widely perceived as artistic death.
To distract you from that notion, Cornell and his handlers have gone to great lengths to stomp out the flames of discontent. The message board on his site was temporarily shut down amid the blizzard of unfavorable reception to the new material, and a banning frenzy has left a suspicious lack of criticism of any kind on the boards. There have also been several stories of Gestapo-style street team crackdowns on what are considered to be some of the less loyal teamers.
To distract you from all that action, Cornell took the time yesterday to romanticize the recording of Two Drink Minimum on his blog:
I wrote that song at about 6:00 AM to an organ melody played by Jerome Harmon. He’s the guy playing the super sick Hammond B3 on it. I sang it when the sun was coming up about 10 feet from the mic. Just screaming it in the room. If you listen closely, you will hear papers rattling. May you all find your bliss “As hope and promise fade.” C
As hope and promise fade, indeed…
I’ll download it when it leaks, and I will give it a fair chance in my review. But it will very likely end up as a journalistic crucifixion / obituary of one of the greatest singers in rock history.
I think there’s a point when all of the great artists that blew up in the early-to-mid 90s stop making good music, or at the very least, put out a string of stinkers. Most of them just had the good sense enough to either die (Cobain, Staley) or break up (Soundgarden, lol) when they peaked. Then you have bands like Pearl Jam (they lost me after Yield) and Marilyn Manson (last album was decent, but the two that came before were stinkers) that don’t have any good sense.
As for Chris Cornell himself, he’s an acquired taste. Let’s not forget the Alice Cooper album he guested on years ago that was crap, the solo albums that he put out that were *mostly* crap, and the various other soundtrack appearances he’s made in one form or another that have been *mostly* crap (mission impossible or the bond theme anyone?). Hell, the last Audioslave album and most of Out of Exile was crap.
However, the final Soundgarden album was their masterpiece swan song whatever, and the first Audioslave album was THE SHIT. Add to that some more Soundgarden and all of the “good” stuff Cornell did after Soundgarden, and I think his good creative output throughout the years far outweighs a lot of the bad shit he’s done.
Give the guy a break, I think he’s allowed to take a shit once in a while. At least he’s trying new things.
I disagree with you there. I actually liked the last Audioslave CDs. Out of Exile is a strong collection of funky tracks. There are a few shining examples on Carry On. All in all it’s a masterpiece compared to (the latest) offerings. I can’t believe HE recorded this set of songs void of passion and it seems to me, seeking stardom forgetting his artistic credibility. R&B, in my view, is a sellout and for this he is throwing away what he has strived for twenty years.
Scream is a total departure into the abyss of mediocracy joining the ranks of Britney, Kylie and other artists that have nothing to sing and are puppets of a writing team.
The return of Tin Pan Alley!
Meanwhile Two Drinks is a beautiful work of blues. Why isn’t the whole album like this. He would get more fans if he continued with the blues.
I think you really need to give it a chance. I’m just happy that he’s still around after 20 + years! He doesn’t need the money, and I don’t think its a mid-life crisis. Chris is a musical genius and since I’ve given the new songs a chance to sink in, I love the new direction.
He is the best live, and luckily he has 20 years of awesome songs to pick from.
I don’t think a fan is one who imposes his will on the artist. It seems to me that the people who want him in bondage, shackled to THEIR wants and needs is the true Gestapo.
Calling the entire genre of R&B a sellout is about as retarded as it gets. Also, the fact that this album probably sucks, does not put him anywhere near Britney or Kylie.
@Mrs Miller
you know you only liked Carry On because of the Michael Jackson cover (beautifully done, I might add) – tell the truth :)
AZB you’re right, I do like that track. Billie Jean was one of the highlights of Carry On, although I do like all of the tracks including James Bond Theme.
Joseph, sorry to burst your bubble and I agree some R&B is fine, but a well established American violinist told me it’s an easy way to make money which only requires a computer program and a few beats to make a track. To me that is selling out. That poor man had spent year practicing his craft on his violin while someone like Timbaland can produce the same tracks over and over again on a computer. Where’s the skill in that?
Chris Cornell doesn’t NEED to distract us from SHIT. The new material is AWESOME and, again, he is remaining true to himself . . . but you didn’t seem to respect that aspect of his artistic integrity in this article, either.
I am very disappointed in how these “loyal” Chris Cornell fans who have, as you put it, “stuck around through the highs and lows of Soundgarden and even Audioslave” could even spew forth such words about the man. It is CRAZY! You are one of those people . . . one of the so-called “loyalists” who are making Cornell look bad. But keep Cornell in your little “box” – I’m sure that you can cope that way. It is human nature to deny what one’s mind cannot handle . . . and I’m sorry that your perspective of music is so close-minded that you must deny this truth, as well.
Sincerely,
“E-Dogg”
myspace.com/deadaire
myspace.com/upontheshelf
well if some random violinist doesn’t respect r&b, then that settles it. truth is, no genres can be written off completely. when i was a kid, if it wasn’t metal or public enemy, it was for pussies. but as my musical tastes matured, as i dropped the bullshit and gave more shit a chance, the more i found great stuff to appreciate. in every genre. even pop and r&b. you can’t dismiss something just because the tools appear easy to operate. i wish i was as good with pro tools as timbaland, as good with a guitar as steve vai, and hell, as good with a violin as mrs. miller’s friend. timbaland is a genuinely talented producer. you might not like his ‘mainstream’ style, but he’s good at what he does and he’s been behind many of the hottest singles to hit radio in the past few years. popularity doesn’t make something good (katy perry still sucks) but timbaland is not palow da don yanking beats out of garageband sample banks, he’s putting together great tracks, his album is pretty solid, and with all due respect, it’s unfair to ignore his skill.
as for chris cornell… i have to admit, i like long gone. it’s unlike anything chris has ever done, but if i had never heard of chris cornell before and that song came on the radio, it would be the great new timbaland track, without the controversy.
there’s no doubt that this album will piss off cornell’s hardcore longtime fans. but it will also expose him to a whole new crowd, i’m sure some of which will be inspired to go digging back through his back catalog.
you can’t expect people not to cry sellout, especially with the magazine ads he’s been doing. ha, christ. i’ve heard scary things about some of the new tracks, but i’ll give it an objective listen, and hope for the best. worst case scenario, the world of mainstream r&b and pop just acquired a truly talented vocalist. and if chris cornell goes multi-platinum and wins 3 moon men next year, fuck it, more power to the guy.
at least it’ll be better than the new oasis album.
. . . and “Mrs Miller” — you try to sing like Chris Cornell; tell your violinist friend to try, too.
That is where the “skill” lies.
By the way, I too am a violinist.
Again,
“E-Dogg”
myspace.com/upontheshelf
I must admit no one can sing like Chris Cornell – he has a beautiful voice and a good range, but I feel sad that it is utilized in that way. No matter what anyone says, I do not like R&B. But each to his own. I had the same arguments about Justin Timberlake – he has his fans.
I have no problem with music heard on the radio and I think the new Oasis is awesome. R&B, to me is slow and droning, a mixture of voices which doesn’t seem to have a purpose to the song. The voices, especially in the Justin Timbelake’s Love/Sexy Back or whatever you call it, annoys me. I heard Ground Zero and the yelps make me retch. Beneath it is a lovely Blues song, why spoil it with the production and the awful generic sounds.
I’m still a punk, I listen to my kids music – My Chemical Romance et el. Perhaps I can never understand R&B.
Pardon me for disagreeing with a real fan like you who has stuck with Cornell through highs and lows of SG, AS, etc., but just because you don’t like this particular album does not mean CC is selling out. You said “Sure, Euphoria Morning kicks the shit out of Carry On any day of the week, but in the end he was true to himself, and that matters on a level that can’t be charted.” What sort of privileged information do you have that makes you so sure he’s not being true to himself now? Are you a mind reader? Just because YOU do not like this music does not mean that HE is not being true to himself. I don’t understand how someone who claims to be a long time fan can come to that conclusion just because they themselves do not agree with this album or pop or R&B or Timbaland or whatever. He’s just not staying in the little box you’ve created for him in your own mind. You’re pissed because he’s not doing what you want him to do.
He’s done what he wants, whether its popular or not. That’s called staying true to yourself, not selling out.
One more thing: “everybody” does not agree that the new tracks are unlistenable.
i agree with liz more or less.
johnny told me about some of the guest appearances on this new album. a jam with akon. one with nelly furtado. i admit it scared the shit out of me. haha. that song furtado did with jt and timbaland was great, but i guess it’s kinda like seeing your home ec teacher at mcdonald’s (to steal an analogy from lefsetz). i can like soundgarden and like pop music and treat them as two totally different kinds of things, and while even that’s something most music fans find it hard to do, it’s even harder for folks to let go of their attachment to the idea of people like chris cornell being part of an army against timbaland / timberlake world.
but he’s not, never was, never claimed to be. and we can poke fun at the scene this is causing, but i’m gonna try and be fair to chris and listen to scream objectively, as simply a new album.
I just listened to Two Drink Minimum and I think it’s fantastic! The thing I like about Chris Cornell is that he is a multi-genre artist. How many musicians do you know that are able to accomplish this feat successfully? I give kudos to Chris for reaching out to a new generation of listeners. Music fans can be overly critical and I think in this case the negative reaction is unwarranted. Lighten up people! If this album isn’t what you are into maybe the next project will be. I look forward to hearing the album in it’s entirety when it is released and seeing Chris live again on the upcoming tour.
I love Chris and all the various styles he’s taken on so far. Having said that, I am scared. He can be as diverse as he wants to be, but at the end of the day he is the guy that sang fucking BIRTH RITUAL, and he better remember that god dammit!!
to quote Hooker With A Penis by Tool: “all you know about me is what I sold ya, dumbfuck – I sold out long before you’d ever even heard my name. I sold my soul to make a record, dipshit, and then you bought one.” think about that the next time you (not directed at anyone specific) call someone a sellout.
as for the topic of loops, protools, effects, overproducing etc. I think the whole argument that it doesn’t take talent because it is not “man-made” or “performed” is silly. that being the case, you would have to remove amplifiers and electric guitars, microphones & reverb for vocals, keyboards, monitors, etc etc, because those are all effects in one way or another. while you’re at it, take away trent reznor’s sequencers, any dj’s turntables, drum machines and any computer that is capable of editing and/or arranging sound clips or pieces of music. take away jimi hendrix’s wah pedal – you get the picture.
sure, it doesn’t take much to fit 4 tracks into a multitrack editor and call it a song. it also doesn’t take much to learn 3 chords on a guitar and make a song. it’s the song, how it sounds, and how it makes you feel that is good. fuck it. its whether you like it or not. simple. and it does take someone with talent to make that song, whether it’s talent with arrangement or talent playing an instrument.
an example. imagine you hear the tightest song ever (pick your genre) without knowing anything about the artist(s). i mean you put this track on your ipod and you cannot stop listening – its that good. now imagine you’re under the impression that this song was performed by humans and captured/recorded (pick your media) solely for you to listen to. then you look it up on the internet, and find out that one person carefully arranged every instrument with sound clips on a computer, performed by them or not. does it make that song any less good?
another point: ALL music is really nothing more than mathematical manipulation of sound. does it matter how that sound was manipulated?
I think it is hard for many of us who have follow him since the Soundgarden days to here him doing R & B music. I think this is a little over the top from what i have heard so far. I love his first solo album, not a fan of Carry on l. Maybe he wants to change it up and do something different which is great but in the process I think he is going to lose alot of his core audience who has followed him through the ups & downs of his career.
I want nothing more than to love this new cd but I am doubtful and does make me sick that he is a household name..
I think chris became an icon to outsiders. He wrote incredible songs for years based on what HE thought sounded good. But now, he maybe wants to play within the confines of what is popular so that he can in a sense “pay his dues” to the masses who ARENT outsiders. This way, he can set himself up to truly expand in ANY direction and have EVERYBODY pay attention. In life, we all have to pay our dues to the man in order to be heard by certain people. CC has a good life message and he wants kids to pay attention to him. Urban kids, suburban kids, soccer moms, everybody. Not just his typical alcoholic downtrodden slacker fans. Its part of growing up and learning that “the only way out is through”. Its NEO marching into the machine city. Not to get too religulous or anything! HAHA Those who bash the man never got it in the first place. Those who bash the music, thats their opinion, but the cd hasnt even come out yet, and if you dont like it, its prolly not for you. So just spin superunknown and go about your day. See where you are when your 45 or whatever. CC is gonna be true legend, like only a handful of rock stars. David Bowie, John Lennon, Bob Dylan comes to mind… but also Otis Redding, Al Green. Shit, wish I could say Jeff Buckley.
I’m now agreeing with AZB. There is a thin divide with music done live or with loops etc, It depends on the tune, attitude etc which is seriously lacking in Chris’s new direction. The reason why I had liked him is him putting a finger up to life and saying F U. Now he’s part of the establishment, Sorry Chris, I’ll be looking forward to your BLUES album -2 drink minimum is a perfect example.
From what I’ve heard off the new album, the only good songs are Scream, Two drink minimum and maybe Long gone. Scream and Two drink minimum are great, Long gone is good. The good thing is Chris’s voice is stronger here than in Carry on and imagine, if this keeps happening, how it will be in the next album. With this collaboration, let’s just be thankful we at least have 3 good songs and hope for a great (and especially ROCK) next album!
Whoa this article is stupid. Overstatement follows overstatement 100% biased pseudojournalism. Cornell is just releasing an album with good songs, as simple as that and no, it’s not in the rock genre, get over it already. It’s music and it’s good.
no, actually, it’s not. that’s the problem.
I need the bluuuuuuuuzzzzzz
Wake up to your own bullshit Johhnie Firecloud.
I checked my CD cabinet:
8 Soundgarden CD’s,
1 Temple of The Dog,
3 Audioslave CD’s,
& 2 Solo CD’s plus numerous compilations featuring the work of Chris Cornell.
In reviewing this catalogue it is clear that the music evolves & explores, but the integrity & the voice remain.
No artist can hold interest without evolving, especially in today’s world of immediacy brought about by the internet. Your music is posted for all to listen & crucify, without the context within which it was conceived and delivered. Is it too much to expect a fair trial?
I would have thought that a reviewer with any professional integrity would bring an open mind, free of pre-conceptions and offer a balanced judgement. It seems to me in reading your rubbish, that the biggest let down for you was your own pre-conceived expectations. Chris Cornell has never said ‘Hey check out my new album, it sounds just like Soundgarden’.
As a fan of Chris Cornell, I am just happy that he continues to distribute new music and tour. Sure, I love it when he plays the old songs live but I also enjoy hearing his voice in new ways. I’ve never liked R&B and probably never will. But with the release of Scream, I will be the owner of 1 R&B album. And my music collection will undoubtedly be the better for it. Sometimes we need to give something new a try in order to potentially expand our tastes and sometimes we need an artist to take a risk in order to coerce us into doing so.
If I don’t like Scream, which is a possibility. I am comfortable in knowing that I have 8 Soundgarden CD’s, 1 Temple of The Dog, 3 Audioslave CD’s, & 2 Solo CD’s to play instead. I’ve lost nothing except the cost of the album & I’ve gained the opportunity to hear Chris express his voice in a new medium. After all, there is nothing more stale than trying to reproduce the magic from the past over and over again. Once you’ve done it, & nailed it, it is forever there on disc to be enjoyed for what it is.
So for my mind, kudos to Chris for having the balls to continually try new things. Nothing new that he try’s can ever tarnish the magic that he has created in the past except in the perception of those who continue to dwell there.
Ever since the nineties, wankers have been crying foul over artists selling out. What a load of Bullshit! We all know the magic of discovering a relatively unknown band, and the changes that they go through as they develop a broader market. Those of us with half a brain are intelligent enough to work out that without a market, the band will fail and disappear, and so we get on the journey with them.
You will always have that first CD, enjoy it for what it is independent of what may follow. You make the choice to follow the journey with the artist or otherwise, just have the common sense to accept it & move on and the integrity to not slag off the artist for evolving as that says more about you than it does about the artist or their latest work.
Thanks for posting the song though, it’s all that stopped your page from being a total waste of time. If you don’t like it, go play Superunknown and leave the rest of us alone to form our own opinions.
Thanks for posting the leaked song “Two Drink Minimum”. It sounds awesome.
I highly disagree with you that his new music is unlistenable. BTW – who is “everybody” that seems to agree the new songs are unlistenable. Most of the comments I’ve read here and elsewhere Chris’ fans (new and old) seem to truly like his new songs.
The fans at the Projekt Revolution Tour in Wisconsin (a couple months back) seemed to like his two new songs “Watch Out” and “Scream”. And so do I. That was a kick ass show!
There is nothing original about this album it all. It was collaborated with Timbaland, therefore, it’s a bunch of recycled tracks from Nelly Furtado’s “Loose” album. Just listen to “Scream” and “Say it Right.” As a Soundgarden fan, I prefer “Say it Right” to the former. Any one who has the tolerance to get on stage at some Fashion Rocks bullshit event and perform before the Pussy Cat Dolls has to be missing some sort of element to healthy consciousness. C’mone folks, he sang with Linkin Park to a Linkin Park song.
Why even try to stand up for this BS? Just listen to Soundgarden and only Soundgarden.
Chris Cornell had an amazing show in Denver with Timbaland, he has been playing small intimate venues. He had the courage and balls to play a whole show of new material. Since the album is a continual sound he played 60 minutes from beginning to end of his album with no old material. During the show the kids started to mosh, which goes against what all the critics are saying, the critics are trying to corner this album as only R&B, when it actually has elements of all music and obviously his fans have responded. When the house lights went up and the show was over, there were about a 100 fans who would not leave and kept chanting for more, Chris came back out and played his classic “reach down”
You are absolutely ridiculous. Chris Cornell is an amazing musician and with all of his changes he still puts out incredible music. Maybe you should learn to be less narrow minded and open your eyes for once.
Have you guys seen this on youtube
Life on Mars – Chris Cornell Ground Zero Music Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaP3ICS3pS8
I’ll keep it as brief as I can.
Chris goes where ever his creativity takes him. If he wants to experiment with his sound – I don’t get what the big deal is. I think everybody is expecting him to do a follow up to the Temple of the Dog project or something.
I saw him perform 5 tracks off his new release on the Carson Daily and I was in awe. True and Absolute brilliance. There were people attending – who never heard of him before – saying – and I quote …… that is one bad muthafuker ….. whats his name again?
His live renditions of the scream material is no bullshit. Its time for you knukleheads to remember he is an artist and his expression is genuine. Just because he doesn’t fit into your pocket anymore doesn’t mean he is having a mid-life crisis.
He has seen and done it all. Probably had a 3 way with your sister and your mom. Lighten up and go check him out live before you go posting your opinions.
I agree with Zilla..Knuckleheads indeed! I am sure all the naysayers on this board wouldn’t be able to write a song or carry a tune that would keep anyone coming back for more, some 20 years later. So maybe it is simple jealousy that sprouts such critics.Or the type of narrow minded foolishness that years ago also stated ” heavy metal rockers shouldn’t be doing ballads.” But time has shown we have our very best ballads from them now don’t we? The fact is Cornell has one of the top 15 voices of ALL TIME and true fans can’t stop listening and loving his.. in all it’s variety!
http://phodasetudo.blogspot.com/2010/08/volta-do-soundgarden.html... I think this post might be usefull. Don’t worry for the portuguese, there’s a translator in the blog.