What the hell? This is such a huge loss! I loved almost every work that this man was part of! He was not even really old, or anything. Working on a new Soundgarden album, with other musical projects going on, possibly even something new with Temple of the Dog. He always seemed very healthy, at least to me. Such incredible musical talent. He was incredible with Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, his solo career, and some of the other stuff that he did, to boot! So how the hell did this happen, and with no warning whatsoever? Oh, my God! What a loss!
Okay, let me try and gather my thoughts a little. Sorry, but it's just that he was really one of my favorite musicians, and there was nothing - absolutely nothing! - to suggest that this guy was about to die.
This one was even more painful and shocking to me then some of the big musical losses last year, such as Prince and David Bowie. David Bowie was a lot older, and Prince was not much older, but he also was not quite as big in my life as Cornell was. I loved Prince's music, but mostly, admittedly, I knew his stuff from the 1980's, when he was at his biggest, and when he dominated the airwaves.
Cornell was part of that whole Seattle alternative music explosion of the early 1990's, which I was a very big fan of. I loved Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog. Later, I got into both Audioslave and Cornell's solo stuff. He also worked with other musicians on individual projects, such as the Zac Brown Band. Hell, he just had that song that he did for the movie, "The Promise," which I watched a couple of weeks ago with my girlfriend. It was a somber song, but fitting, and typically for Cornell's work, it was a great song!
Plus, Soundgarden was on tour, and if I am not mistaken, Cornell was going to go on a solo tour after that!
Then, all of a sudden, he dies, just like that!
Yes, this one hit me harder than the other big musicians and artists who died recently, because my son and I shared a mutual love of Cornell's music. This was especially true during our trips out west the last two summers, in 2015 and 2016. We especially listened a lot to Soundgarden's last (I was going to say most recent, until I caught myself) album, "King Animal." We loved that album tremendously, and it seemed to fit perfectly with the rugged western landscape.
Oh, man, this one really actually broke my heart quite a bit! I dread having to tell my son later today that Cornell died. I told him several times that the next time Cornell came around on one of his solo tours, that I would love to take him to a show. His solo shows were always great, and I was privileged enough to have gone to one, and reviewed it here on "The Charbor Chronicles" about three and a half years ago.
Frankly, I still viewed Cornell as young. He looked younger than perhaps he was, because he kept himself in good shape. I was looking forward to a lot of great music still to come, including a new Soundgarden album, as well as surely other great solo albums and other musical projects that surely were to come.
Now, all of that is cut short, tragically.
This is still new, so the details about his death have yet to be discovered probably, let alone released.
All I know is that I am very glad that I took my son to see Temple of the Dog at Madison Square Garden last November.
Cornell created and played music the way it's supposed to be played. He moved people, and I will forever remember his music helping to bring my son and I closer, helping to create and even greater bond between us. Now, for me, music involving Cornell actually reminds me of the times that my son and I enjoyed his music together.
Another great musical talent, another brilliant artist, is taken away from us much too early!
Rest in peace, Chris Cornell. You will be missed.
Like you, I didn't see this coming at all. I found out while watching News 12 New Jersey this morning. You and I both know what it's like to lose musicians who meant a lot to us, but as you pointed out many of them were more or less predictable – old age and/or severe depression, substance abuse issues, prolonged bouts with illness, etc. Whereas this didn't seem to be preceded by any glaring warning signs. Police are supposedly looking into the possibility of a suicide, based on a few headlines I saw on Yahoo Music.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was a shock, to say the least. When I first saw the story, it was early in the morning, and it seemed at first like it was someone's sick idea of a joke. Then I saw that it was from Omar, and not only does he not post things in extremely bad taste like that, but he himself is a big fan of Cornell's. Still, I hoped that there was some kind of a mistake, or something, so I went to Google and typed his name in. The stories were flooding in, and suddenly, the sadness became powerful, throwing off my entire day! Such a tragedy, and such a loss for us all. He was a brilliant artist, and I was at a loss for words. Now, perhaps even more so, given that this was death by suicide. He hung himself, much like Robin Williams did a couple of years ago. Unbelievable sad, and he will be missed!
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