A Brief Tribute to Chris Cornell

      I was in middle school when Down on the Upside came out. Muchmusic played Pretty Noose on heavy rotation, and Burden in My Hand as well, but it was when I looked up the alternative video MTV would play for Pretty Noose that I found my favourite band and singer. I loved how heavy the song was, I loved the lyrics and imagery, and I loved the guy with the guitar, spiked back hair, collar shirt (I thought it was that leather jacket he wore for interviews at the time), charismatic good looks, beating his guitar and moving to the rhythm of the music while he belted into the microphone; and I said to myself that this is what I always imagined a rock star looked liked. 

       I ran out and bought Down on the Upside, then Superunknown, and worked my way backwards chronologically up the Soundgarden Discography (BadMotorFinger being my all time favourite). When I entered high school, I was surrounded by guys wearing Kurt Cobain shirts. Though I hated that Cobain’s death became so commercialized (or so I felt) I appreciated how much they loved Cobain enough to identify with him. I was even told to “be a Cobain wannabe” in order to fit in, but I was never one who cared to fit in and besides, though I liked Cobain, it was Cornell’s lyrics and music that spoke to me, not Nirvana’s. So in my usual good-humoured fashion, I ironed a picture of Chris Cornell on one of my father’s old shirts and wore that instead. It felt more me. It got a bit of positive attention and it became a good ice breaker. The attention I got from it still amuses me.

     As I got into playing music, I listened to Chris Cornell more and more, and (unfortunately for my family) tried to teach myself how to sing like him.

      His talent was uplifting. Not only was he a gifted musician and a great rock singer, he was the best lyricist I’ve ever listened to.  Everyone speaks of Black Hole Sun, but to me it was songs like Let Me Drown, 4^th of July, and Fell on Black Days that showed how well rounded he and the rest of Soundgarden were. Fell on Black Days especially, with its grungy/bluesy guitars, its dark yet optimistic poetic lyrics, and the vocal arrangement. 

 “I’m a searchlight soul they say, but I can’t see it in the night
I’m only faking when I get it right”

Fell on Black Days, I found, was quite uplifting for the period in life I was going through.

“What you wanted to see good has made you blind
And what you wanted to be yours has made it mine
So don’t lock up something you wanted to see fly-
Hands are for shaking, not tying."
 

     Chris Cornell was my biggest influence growing up, and even up to now. Sexy, intelligent, charming, and talented- he was everything I wanted to be.  I'll always remember him as a poet, a philanthropist, a well-rounded musician, and a rock star. From his work on Singles and with the Screaming Trees, to Audioslave and his reunion with Soundgarden, he inspired me to take an active role in the creative forces around me. His tribute to his friend, Andrew Wood, after his death touched me deeply, as did the words he spoke about his friends who died of drugs and battled mental illness in the music industry, such as Cobain and Stayley.

And now he’s gone, but not forgotten. His influence will live on. He was my voice when I couldn’t speak and the force that inspired me to create.

Rest in peace, Chris Cornell.

And I will continue to echo what the rest of the world says-

 No One Sings Like You Anymore.

*I am not the photographer or owner of any of these pictures. Used in tribute only.