Chris Cornell dead at age 52...

[Kotowboy]

He always reminded me of one of my Music Degree teachers - Michael Caswell - who also sadly died last year

[kaos2900]

Too bad. Something must be really wrong in someone's mind to abandon their kids. I know every situation is different but I could never contemplate hurting my kids like that.

[Skeever]

 

[Mebert78]

I know that it's been ruled suicide by hanging, but I feel like a high majority of people would leave a note or letter of some sort to their family.  I haven't heard anything about a note being found yet, so it all sounds weird to me.  Especially considering he has children and his wife told TMZ he wasn't depressed or suicidal.  Also, TMZ said during last night's concert that he also talked about the band's NEXT show.  Regardless, this is very heartbreaking.  

[Cable]

I know that it's been ruled suicide by hanging, but I feel like a high majority of people would leave a note or letter of some sort to their family.  I haven't heard anything about a note being found yet, so it all sounds weird to me.  Especially considering he has children and his wife told TMZ he wasn't depressed or suicidal.  Also, TMZ said during last night's concert that he also talked about the band's NEXT show.  Regardless, this is very heartbreaking.

The numbers are not consistent, but as many as 50% or more may not leave a note. Suicide itself is often an impulsive act, in that from decision to execution can occur quickly.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Chris Cornell and daughter Toni - Redemption Song

 

[Kwyjibo]

Wow, I'm shocked. Just heard of this and this is so unexpected and sad.

Big Soundgarden and Audioslave fan and I'm glad that I got to see Soundgarden twice. Such a great rock voice and such a loss to the music world.

And I know this doesn't prove or mean anything, but his music and his lyrics (especially in Soundgarden) had a very dark side to it. I wonder if it was his way to cope with some kind of depression?

[gazinwales]

I speak from my own experience here, depression is not hard to hide from family and friends.
In fact it becomes very easy, and in some cases the more depressed you are, the easier it is to hide.

[Kotowboy]

I speak from my own experience here, depression is not hard to hide from family and friends.
In fact it becomes very easy, and in some cases the more depressed you are, the easier it is to hide.

Yep.

[?]

Terrible news I just started getting into Soundgarden last year, and he played an acoustic solo show in Helsinki, but I didn't go because I was busy around that time - now I wish I'd been there. He undoubtedly had one of the best voices in rock.

[Podaar]

I've been on a Soundgarden journey today, and oh man, in light of today's sad news, Chris's lyrics are very abrasive on my psyche. I keep catching my self just on the brink of tears.

Burden In My Hand just finished playing... Fell On Black Days is next in the queue and I don't know if I'll be able to make it.

Fuck.

[Samsara]

I unfortunately never got the opportunity to see Soundgarden live. I did, however, get a chance to see a fully plugged-in Chris Cornell solo show in 2007 (which was amazing and plenty of SG was performed) and Temple of the Dog last year. Chris was one of the most talented songwriters and musicians I've ever heard.

Awful news today. As someone who long ago adopted Seattle and the Pacific Northwest as my "home away from home," and a huge Northwest hard rock/metal music history nut, no one I've ever encountered from the Seattle music scene (where everyone knows everyone) has ever had a bad word to say about Chris Cornell. He was as nice and genuine as he was talented.

Andy, Kurt, Layne, and now Chris. The world has lost a truly gifted artist. I'm gutted. I'm not sure what he was going through, but obviously, to take his own life, something must have been eating away at him. To any of you ever suffering from depression, please, you're not alone. Just reach out. Tell someone what you're going through. To think Chris leaves behind his wife and children...they now grow up without a dad.

So sad. And for those of you that just new Chris from Soundgarden and Audioslave, pick up Euphoria Mourning. It's not heavy rock, but it IS heavy, and sadly, pretty much encapsulates Chris. My he rest in peace. Here's hoping Andy was there to see you.

[wolfking]

Listening to Tighter and Tigher right now;

"Sleep tight for me
I'm gone"

Unreal that it's looking like suicide.  So many questions, and I feel so bad for his wife and kids.  It's hard to see how someone would do that to the people that love them.

[rumborak]

"Blowing up the outside world" opening line certainly has an eerie relevance today.

[Imaginos]

Yeah, I've been going through Soundgarden's discography and a lot of his lyrics have taken on kind of an eerie feel now. Like Suicide has long been my favorite song of his, and I know the song isn't actually about suicide, but it will still never be quite the same now.

And for those of you that just new Chris from Soundgarden and Audioslave, pick up Euphoria Mourning. It's not heavy rock, but it IS heavy, and sadly, pretty much encapsulates Chris. My he rest in peace. Here's hoping Andy was there to see you.

Thanks for recommending this, I was actually going to ask which of his solo albums are worth checking out. I'll definitely give it a listen. And yeah, one of my first thoughts when I heard the news was, "at least he's with Andy again"

[PixelDream]

Well, what can I add to this conversation. Huge fan of his main bands and solo work and an even bigger fan of his voice. What a sad day.

[wolfking]

I speak from my own experience here, depression is not hard to hide from family and friends.
In fact it becomes very easy, and in some cases the more depressed you are, the easier it is to hide.

Damn brother, I find this whole statement especailly the bolded line really really intriguing to be honest.  Hope you're all good mate.

[Anguyen92]

I really liked his Higher Truth album, but I don't think I can ever listen to the album the same way ever again.

The way I perceived that album was that it was made by a man who has had his ups and downs in life and was finally at a point in life where he's comfortable and happy with his life right now and everything was going well and was able to be more intimate and crafted a strong album. Now in light of his passing, it's hard to perceive it in that sense.

This whole thing just feels like a bad nightmare that I just wish we can wake up to.  It's just all wrong.

Been playing a lot of the stuff he's been a part of in my head, especially I Am the Highway.  Listened to his Songbook acoustic version of it on my work break, that's a powerful performance there.

[TAC]

So in my entire collection, I only have one track that has Chris Cornell on it. I offer it here for anyone that has never heard it.

I believe Chris wrote the lyrics and then Alice "Alice-ized" them.

From 1994's The Last Temptation...Stolen Prayer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ANtQualemE

Chris isn't really featured on it except for some call backs during the chorus, but he lets it rip towards the end.

Geez, given what just happened, the lyrics are kind of poignant.


...oh, and Derek Sherinian on keyboards.

Also, from the same album, he also wrote Unholy War, but only shows up in some background vocals. Nothing out front.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyVs5uVgPrc

[sneakyblueberry]

Man, this is hitting me harder than I thought it would. 

I was sitting in the seats at my university graduation ceremony, just about to go up and receive my master's degree, when I came upon the news in my facebook feed (grads are boring).  It was such a weird feeling, having this awesome moment of celebration and achievement, and then getting this horrible news that one of my musical heroes had suddenly passed.  Not to sound cringey but it was actually 'Euphoria Mourning'.

I'll stand by the statement that Superunknown is untouched, still, in terms of mainstream rock classics - I haven't come across anything that can hold a candle to it since.

Listening to it on the way to work this morning was incredibly sobering.  I will miss his beautiful, cryptic, existentialist poems, his angular guitar riffs and of course that untouchable voice.  What a loss.

[pogoowner]

I had a text from a friend about it when I woke up this morning. I cried. Then I went to work, and after a meeting, we turned the radio back on, and Fell on Black Days was playing, followed by two more Chris Cornell songs. I could barely hold it together. Cried again when I got home from work.

Chris is my favorite singer of all-time. I own every studio recording he's released, and I enjoy all of it (even Scream). His more recent shift to a singer/songwriter sort of style has been tremendous. He could sing anything. You listen to someone's music, and you watch all these interviews that they do, and you feel like you know them. They become a part of your life. I really thought he was in a good place based on his recent musical output and his family life. The thought of him feeling like he had to end it this way really tears me up inside. I feel for his wife and his children. And I'll always regret that I never saw him live.

[ReaperKK]

I know that it's been ruled suicide by hanging, but I feel like a high majority of people would leave a note or letter of some sort to their family.  I haven't heard anything about a note being found yet, so it all sounds weird to me.  Especially considering he has children and his wife told TMZ he wasn't depressed or suicidal.  Also, TMZ said during last night's concert that he also talked about the band's NEXT show.  Regardless, this is very heartbreaking.  

From what I've read Chris has always struggled with depression and you can never really tell what's going on inside someone's head.

[jammindude]

Being 47 and from Seattle, I was a very early Soundgarden fan.  I bought Ultramega OK when it came out on cassette, and a friend gave me a copy of Screaming Life and Fopp not long after.  I was already a fan when they got signed and released Louder Than Love.   I remember them playing clubs, but I didn't get a chance to actually see them until my honeymoon with my first wife on the Louder than Love tour in Feb 1990.  (Prong and Voivod opened). 

Badmotorfinger just didnt have the same edge to me.   I loved a few tracks, but it wasn't "all killer no filler" like the earlier stuff was (to my ears).  So I lost interest for a long time.   Still....there were tracks along the way that I loved.  The Day I Tried to Live is probably my absolute favorite from the later era stuff.   

But I still just feel gutted. 

What's weird though.....   I was just generally morose all day long.   But then about 20 min before the end of my work day, I thought, "This would normally be a day when I would go to Mike's house [an old family friend, and my personal musical Yoda who died a few years ago of a heart attack.  He ran a record store out of his garage] and we would kick back a couple of brews and just talk about music until it got dark."    I wish I could go to his house just one more time.    And then...I just lost it.  I started bawling right in the middle of my job.   Because there's no one left in my life that I can do that with.   I have *no one* who is *INTO MUSIC* like I am.   No one that I can have a 4 hour conversation about music with without boring them to tears.   Mike was the only one.   And he's gone.  And I wish he were here.   Because when I lose somebody like Chris...I need someone like Mike.   

[erwinrafael]

I just finished listening to Superunknown...and it ended with the song "Just Like Suicide."

Fvck!

[DragonAttack]

I read jammindude's post, I know where he's coming from and totally understand, ..... appreciate the willingness to share that here.

[PetFish]

I read jammindude's post, I know where he's coming from and totally understand, ..... appreciate the willingness to share that here.

Totally, I love jammindude, great guy and a heavy, even though sad, story to share.

As for CC, man, what a shock.  My favourite songs were actually Sunshower and You Know My Name (Casino Royale).


Now for a rant about how the media tends to handle these situations:  I don't care if some selfish junkie who we know is going to O/D any day ends up finally doing it but what bothers me is that these people usually get loads of news coverage and outpourings of love and support and end up with Legendary Status... for something they did to themselves no matter how much it hurts the ones they supposedly love.

But then a guy like Cornell, who seems great and what looks to be a suicide from years of battling depression, will probably not get much notice at all cuz it wasn't a "glamorous rock star" death and I think it's totally backwards and messed up.  Mental health can happen to anybody without even doing anything.  Generally people *choose* to be junkies and destroy their families along with themselves.

[Cyclopssss]

People who are picking apart his lyrics to find clues: don't. There have been tons of references and connotations about death in his lyrics over the years. Does it mean anything? I don't Know.

As someone who has lost a brother to suicide and regretting not talking to him for over 25 years, all I can say is who know what goes through someone's head in those final hours?
In my brother's case it was Guilt. Guilt about being an alcoholist, prommising not to drink on his grandchild's birthday and still did and feeling guilty about being too drunk to go to her birthday.
That did it. I'm not saying that did it for Chris though, but suicide has been a taboo for far too long. It is out there, and people are suffering through a living hell all the time.

Talk about it. As for Jammingdude, I feel ya man. I feel lately all of my heroes are being taken away from me and it sucks. Hard.

[Cyclopssss]

Btw, how much does it suck that I'm away from my home the whole damn week and cant get to my Soundgarden cd's to listen to his music? 

[Art]

Man, it's been hard. This one really affected me 

Trying to cheer up, check out this kick ass performance of Black Rain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka5IzbKC3TY

To sing this live....holy shit. When i saw them in 2014 they played Beyond The Wheel and it was fucking great.

[wolfking]

Had Badmotorfinger today in the car, fuck I forgot how awesome it is.

[mikeyd23]

Had Badmotorfinger today in the car, fuck I forgot how awesome it is.

Yeah man, I've been spinning that and Down On the Upside today, such great writing.

[Stadler]

Jealous of Jammindude in the sense of his history (and brother, we're here for you; at least I am), but for me "Badmotorfinger" was the record.  I had heard early Soundgarden ("Nothing To Say") and was just blown the fuck away by his voice.   He was like Robert Plant, but without the baggage that Plant would fuck your girlfriend and mom while you watched, then ask you for a scotch when he was done (i.e., quintessential rock star).   I had a hard time, though with Kim Thayil; sometimes I thought he was weird just for the sake of being weird.   Kind of played the "alternative" cred card too often.  But BMF was the record where they found their sweetspot for me, and that only continued with Superunknown.   

I had (and still have) the early two-disk version of BMF, with the "Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas" EP (second best title ever).  Quality and artistry from top to bottom.

And I'm going to say something very controversial, but it's my opinion, so there:  without falsely overstating Chris' place on this planet, I find it hard to imagine being a Soundgarden fan and then taking Kurt Cobain seriously.   Being on the East Coast - and thus not being there at the "creation" - I always felt that Nirvana was "Grunge for the masses" - the over the counter, pink sweet tasting antibiotic you get when you're a kid - and Soundgarden (and The Mother Love Bone) was the potent, mainline, need-an-IV-drip, and it burns when it goes in antibiotic they give you in the hospital when you don't have time for niceties.   

[El Barto]

Seems the dude was taking benzodiazapines, as a ton of us do. I was unaware but there are a variety of circumstances where benzos have been known to cause suicidal ideation. Overdose, withdrawal and combining with alcohol all qualify. His wife's statement is that they're mystified as to why he might have killed himself, but noted that when she spoke with him he was fucked up on Ativan. It would be a pretty tragic thing if a side effect of his meds caused him to do this.

And I want to point out that I'm not suggesting that drugs killed him. Quite the contrary. A whole lot of people take professionally prescribed anti-anxiety meds. As a rule they're very well tolerated and generally safe.

And an added observation, if he really wanted to kill himself, an overdose of benzos is about the best way to do it. If I'm not mistaken some states are executing people via a massive dose of midazolam. If he had a bottle full of lorazapam there's no reason whatsoever the he would have hanged himself.

[Samsara]

Being 47 and from Seattle, I was a very early Soundgarden fan.  I bought Ultramega OK when it came out on cassette, and a friend gave me a copy of Screaming Life and Fopp not long after.  I was already a fan when they got signed and released Louder Than Love.   I remember them playing clubs, but I didn't get a chance to actually see them until my honeymoon with my first wife on the Louder than Love tour in Feb 1990.  (Prong and Voivod opened). 

Badmotorfinger just didnt have the same edge to me.   I loved a few tracks, but it wasn't "all killer no filler" like the earlier stuff was (to my ears).  So I lost interest for a long time.   Still....there were tracks along the way that I loved.  The Day I Tried to Live is probably my absolute favorite from the later era stuff.   

But I still just feel gutted. 

What's weird though.....   I was just generally morose all day long.   But then about 20 min before the end of my work day, I thought, "This would normally be a day when I would go to Mike's house [an old family friend, and my personal musical Yoda who died a few years ago of a heart attack.  He ran a record store out of his garage] and we would kick back a couple of brews and just talk about music until it got dark."    I wish I could go to his house just one more time.    And then...I just lost it.  I started bawling right in the middle of my job.   Because there's no one left in my life that I can do that with.   I have *no one* who is *INTO MUSIC* like I am.   No one that I can have a 4 hour conversation about music with without boring them to tears.   Mike was the only one.   And he's gone.  And I wish he were here.   Because when I lose somebody like Chris...I need someone like Mike.

Thanks for sharing that. I'm sorry you feel the way you do. I'm not sure what to say, but I thought it was pretty "real" that you'd open up like that. Hope you find some solace this weekend.

[Another_Won]

I lived in Seattle from 1990-94 when I was in my early 20's.  I was totally into the whole grunge thing and Chris was my favorite singer with Layne being a close second.  All that music from that genre just epitomized that period in my life.

Last night I just listened to everything that came up from him on YouTube.  Could NOT hold myself together.  One of my favorite songs was "Say Hello to Heaven" but I wasn't even going to attempt to listen to it.  In fact, I don't know if I will be able to ever again.

Such a great talent cut short.  RIP Chris