Category Archives: Chris Cornell

Mookie Meets His Nemesis

Posted on by
2

The Little One and I have begun frequenting a particular bar once a week to enjoy happy hour drinks and food specials. We have become fast friends with the bartender there, he pours heavy and provides some great conversations.

One of the down sides of this particular bar is that there is no jukebox. Like most bars, they are moving away from the jukebox to Satellite Radio. Mostly because allowing your drunk customers to have control over what the bar is forced to listen to is problematic. Imagine the drunk guy or girl who just broke up with their significant other? The entire bar will want to slit their collective wrists from having to listen to $5 worth of sad breakup songs. I have been known to throw $5 in and play all my favorite post-hardcore bands. Usually after only the second song the “regulars” tend to grumble. After 4 songs they usually turn the volume down!

Even with satellite radio, patrons will grumble. When the bartender overheard me complaining about Chris Cornell though, it nearly started a war!

If you have been reading my posts on this blog, you know I can’t stand ANY incarnation of a band that includes Chris Cornell. I’ve tried. I was even hopeful about that abortion of an album, “Scream”, Chris did with Timbaland. The single was good…but the rest of the album was just a disjointed mess. I try to avoid sharing my opinions on Cornell in public. The fans of Soundgarden or Audioslave are many, and I am but one. Unfortunately, the alcohol had loosened my lips, and I blurted out to the bartender “Chris Cornell is a talentless twat!”

The bartender erupts in disbelief. “Soundgarden! Audioslave!” he exclaims. “All garbage,” I respond. He walks around the bar to tell his patrons of what has just been uttered from the other corner of the bar.

Or something like that. I was drunk.

I watch as he walks around the bar. I watch the people squint their faces to listen to what the bar-keep is ranting on about. Then I see their faces change. Surprise at first. Then to contempt as they scan the bar to see who uttered such blasphemy.Then they lock eyes with me. Then I see hate.

I held my head high, affirmed in my belief.

Then the crowd seems to surround me. They begin to test me..to figure out who they are dealing with. They ask me about Mother Love Bone. Temple Of the Dog. Singles. Seattle.
“Do you like Pearl Jam?” they ask.
“Yes!” I reply.
“Do you like Pantera?” they ask.
“Meh,” I respond.
“Alice In Chains?” they ask, with their breath held.
“No,” I mutter. Drunk or not, I should have never allowed them to lead me into this trap.

They all turn on me, with blood in their eyes. I think secretly they all know Cornell is a hack…but their beloved Layne Staley? The juggernaut that is Alice In Chains? This will NOT pass! They begin to joke and laugh me off. They taunt me and throw insults. Until, that is, the drunk burn out Granger speaks up.

Granger is considered by the regulars of the bar as THE music guru. He is usually heavily sedated by grain alcohol, and tonight is no exception. Granger clears his throat. “I agree,” he says to me. Granger continues, “There are better bands. Tool for example.” I’m not even sure exactly what he means, but the bar is hushed.

“Tool is amazing. League of their own,” I spit out.

The bar retreats, grumbling and disappointed, back to their stools. Unsure where to go from here. Their wise Granger has spoken, and HE approves of the visitor from another land.

I have only one friend left in the building, and if I don’t befriend him and strengthen this new found friendship, then I’ll probably get shanked on the way out to my car.

The Black Angels

Granger and I parry. Nothing too aggressive. We throw out names of bands and artists. The other agrees when a good choice is named, and sends back a few more names the other way. We finally get to the final draw. “Thrice. Amazing Post-Hardcore band. Do you know them?” I ask the wise but wobbly Granger.
“Thrice? No. I’ll check into them. Have you heard of The Black Angels? Neo-psychedelia. Post-Punk,” he says. He knows now that we are finished. You see it in his face. It’s a draw. We’ll continue another day perhaps. But not today. He is my nemesis…and I am his.

He retreats into the night and I pay my bill and do the same. Immediately when I get home I research The Black Angels. I buy the albums, create a playlist, and meet my pillow in an embrace.

Click image to see full size

The next day I put The Black Angels on the iPhone and head out into to my day. The first album I really get into is the self-titled one released in 2005. It’s getting me really exicted! It’s like Jim Morrison meet the Beatles in a dark LCD fueled dream. The band has toured with Wolfmother, The Black Keys, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to name a few. Those three bands in particular though, do share acoustic similarities with The Black Angels. Dark, Bluesy, effect heavy guitars. Let’s listen to track one off this album. A cut called Black Grease.


Download The Black Angels – Black Grease

Ah yes. Granger was right! That’s good stuff!

There is two other albums by the Black Angels you can and should pick up right now. “Directions To See A Ghost” and the indie-acclaimed, internationally praised “Passover”.

I checked out The Black Angels official site and discover they have a new album coming out September 14th on Blue Horizon Records. I suggest the pre-order. I’ve already paid for mine. Has Granger? I doubt it.

I bet he hasn’t even heard the new song Bad Vibrations. Guess who did? That’s right…Us.


Download The Black Angels – Bad Vibrations

Black Hole Sun, won’t you come?

Posted on by
1

I thought Trent Reznor was just being mean and overly critical. He sent the following tweet after listening to Scream:

The album starts out with some sort of horrific trumpet fanfare and I am already cringing. wtfwtfwtfwtf is all I can think. Mookie is overjoyed because he has hated Chris Cornell ever since he took up with Rage Against the Machine members to form Audioslave. I, on the other hand, have remained faithfully devoted since Badmotorfinger in 1991. I was down with the whole Seattle thing and all the roles Cornell played in it. Screaming Trees. Temple of the Dog. Alice in Chains. SINGLES!


[Chris Cornell – Seasons]

If I should be short on words, and long on things to say…

The thing I have most loved about Cornell, other than his general hotness (swoon), is his impeccable gift of lyricism, as showcased above in one of his first solo efforts, from 1992’s movie soundtrack to “Singles”. So as I attempted to give track 1, “Part of Me”, a fair listen through my cringes and distorted facial expressions, I had hope that this song would start to make sense.

Alas, it is a hip hop song, and it’s not supposed to make any damn sense at all. So, it doesn’t.

I love the man. I support him in wanting to do something fun. Wouldn’t you make a record with Timbaland if you were given the chance? I just can’t fathom how he can call a track finished, and sign his name to it, when the lyrics read like the ecstasy-induced scattered thoughts of a clubgoer.

He considers the album “an interesting sociological experiment,” since people seem to be more concerned about who is making the music rather than the music itself.

Well… OK, I am trying to follow you here, but… I don’t. “Of those who are given much, much is expected.” That’s my rule, baby.

“That part’s kinda fun,” Cornell, 44, told Reuters in a recent interview. “If someone is up in arms about the idea of an artist that they really care about doing something that they just can’t believe, it begs that question, ‘Well, what is it that you would want? Would you then want predictable, comfortable salad that gets reproduced year after year?'”

“The Answer is: listen to Bad Religion and yes,” says Mookie.

The title track is a disaster. Since when does Chris Cornell have to be obvious with his lyrics? It makes me want to cry.


Take a minute to tell you now
Don’t have to raise my tone
Take the level and bring it down
I just want you to know
I got no trouble with what you said
I don’t even think you’re wrong
It’s how you say it
You lose your head
Girl I’m standing right in front of you

It’s a travesty. You may find it funny, Chris, but I adore you, and it’s not funny. There is one somewhat redeeming track on the album. I was able to enjoy “Enemy.” And look, the music on the album is really good, and I should add the disclaimer that I really don’t like present-day hip hop. This is probably a really enjoyable album for Timbaland faithfuls and others who don’t know what flannel is.

Check out “Enemy”:


[Chris Cornell – Enemy]

There are 15 tracks on this album. 15 tracks! I don’t think I can listen a second time. I’m sorry. I’m proud of you, Chris…I’m glad you are enjoying this. I’m just not there with you.

For $10, though, you might as well try the 15 track “Scream”. Listen to it and tell me what you think. And if you’re feeling nostalgic, or interested in what I loved back in the 90’s, you can check out some of the other grunge projects CC has participated in. And for God’s sake, get Singles.


The smoke that rises separate from the fire

Posted on by
Reply

Is this all you ever wanted
is this all you’ll ever need
Don’t you know I’m not a martyr
but you’re making me bleed

This song belongs on the radio. But I’m not going to start another diatribe on that. Besides, it’s only a matter of moments before the day arrives that saying something belongs on the radio is taken as an insult. Just look at what passes for popular music. I wouldn’t want my paid advertising butting up against a lame BuckCherry or Hoobastank track either. No wonder Clear Channel laid off over 1000 employees this week.

The boys at Winston Audio seem to agree with me. So I will take back what I said about getting this song on the radio. Just now, Dan D made a comment to me about how he’d rather have people hear about music from somewhere other than a “homogenous radio station that overplays everything.” I didn’t even expect to get a quote like that in my blog post today. What a roll I’ve been on lately with the way my posts have been fluently spilling out and fluidly syncing with life’s happenstances. (Unfortunately the painkillers that life’s happenstances have forced me to be on today may have ended my fluency streak. Sorry, lovelies.)

Not that it’s all about me; although their upcoming album, The Red Rhythm, does have a track called Hey Ann… But, I’ve spent some time wondering who could ever produce the strong sound Sparta delivered and I’ve been a little lost since their disbanding. Listening to The Red Rhythm reminds me not only of how I would feel listening to Porcelain or Threes, but it also has the strength in sound and build that Soundgarden had. I really tried hard to refrain from making the comparison that I assume-and I’m not even going to run a google search to verify-everyone else has made between Soundgarden and Winston Audio. But since I did, I will say that lead singer Dan DeWitt’s voice is just as strong if not stronger than Cornell’s. It’s a sound like this that makes me all warm inside. Take a listen to “Martyr.”

[Winston Audio – Martyr]

Despite Dan’s claim that he reserves his rage for the road, there is definitely a strong emotional charge coming through in these tracks. Track three, Keeping it Down, has a sound that reminds me of Eddie Vedder’s passion. Vedder, by the way, is one of the artists the band says they’d love to collaborate with. Good choice my friends. Speaking of collaboration, Favorite Gentlemen label head Andy Hull lends his voice to the track. Check out a live video of the song:

So what’s with the name? You’re going to love this: think of the way that smoke curls from the end of a cigarette (such as a Winston.) Just as the smoke constantly changes, twisting, turning, and then becoming part of the air… Winston Audio sees music in the same way. The music on this upcoming release, which is the band’s first LP, gets progressively stronger as each track plays. This is a fabulous album to set the tone for 2009. It’s so real, and soulful, and it flows well.

Winston Audio The Red Rhythm comes out February 10. This is one worth a visit to the record store, so mark it on your calendar. In the meantime, watch the label’s site for tour dates and more info on the band.

Take this sinking boat and point it home

Posted on by
Reply

We’ve still got time

I am feeling very uninspired at the moment. Sorry. I hate to disappoint, but sometimes it’s tough to come up with something interesting to write, so instead, I will just highlight a few tracks that I think are interesting.

Deal?

Funny thing JUST happened! I put iTunes on shuffle to have something to listen to while I sit down to write this, and I totally fell in love with a new song from an album I had not gotten around to listening to yet. The group is The Frames. The song is Falling Slowly. I know nothing about the artist, song, album. Nothing.

But the song stopped me in my tracks just now. So good it earned a spot in the title for this post.

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can’t go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I’ll paint it black


[Download The Frames- Falling Slowly]

I went to see Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters recently. Good show as always. Although I have seen better Foo shows, it’s still good to see them live. 

A friend of mine thinks that Grohl and Taylor Hawkins have had gay relations. I mean they do seem to be inseparable. I think I might disagree. Well. Maybe they did experiment together? Taylor could have been a power bottom.

TANGENT.

They played Gimme Stitches in the encore. They haven’t played it in MANY years. That was kick ass.


[Download The Foo Fighters – Gimmie Stitches]

My last thought is that I may have to eat my words, because I have always talked shit about Chris Cornell. Two important people in my life love Cornell. I would spout off how untalented I thought he was as soon as his name was mentioned.

Then things start unraveling.

My friend requested some specific tracks. One of them was Chris Cornell covering Micheal Jackson. I was appalled, and quickly said: “Don’t hold your breath.” But I was intrigued. I was confident that hearing Cornell do a cover of Billy Jean would crystallize his awfulness. Fuck. I was wrong. I was sorta awestruck after hearing it. Then I made the mistake of listening to more of his acoustic covers. Led Zeppelin cover. Amazing. Bob Marley cover. Even more amazing.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Then I discover that Cornell is doing an album with Timbaland. Oh…I cracked jokes for a week. Then I heard the single Scream off the upcoming album. Damn it all to hell. It was great!

My stomach hurts just at the thought of publishing this post. You just don’t understand the shit I am about to get.

I deserve it.

Listen for yourself:

[Download Chris Cornell – Scream]

…and bonus downloads:

[Download Chris Cornell – Bob Marley Cover]

[Download Chris Cornell – Michael Jackson Cover]