Say Hello To Heaven My Friend

On the 18th of May, my long time music idol passed away from a suspected suicide. I feel a great loss that the brilliant and incomparable Chris Cornell has left this earth and rejoined old friends Layne Staley and Andrew Wood. He was my inspiration in a difficult time and i found his music rather late (around 2010) as I was too young for the original grunge movement. I have since followed him closely and loyally, even writing my University dissertation largely on Cornell and his impact on the Grunge movement. I feel that it is time to list my top 3 Cornell tracks. I will keep this brief and respectful in honour of the legend that Chris Cornell will always be.

3) "Slaves and Bulldozers" Soundgarden :

This track from Badmotorfinger was a "fuck you" to the record labels and large music corporations who were exploiting a young Soundgarden to make them money and not respecting the time needed to create masterful and emotional music. The screams and wails of  Cornell are released in explicit and unavoidable fashion and there is definite anger in Cornell's heart. This track proved that Soundgarden would not be exploited and were far more aware of the music industry than most companies would give them credit for. It was written by Cornell and concurred by all members of the band and thus released and, despite not being the best commercial success, it remains a powerful song to this day with the god-like vocals of the great Cornell.

2) "Say Hello To Heaven" Temple of the Dog:

This emotional and heartfelt track from the only self-titled album Temple of the Dog was a tribute to Cornell's friend Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone who died of a drugs overdose shortly before the formation of the group. It details the pain felt by a man losing his friend and hope that he will once again reunite in Heaven. It is such a lyrically beautiful song that i have chosen it as the title for my tribute post to the great man. Once more, it contains all the range and power of the banshee-like Cornell but this time in a more subtle, sincere and softer way. Its a beautiful song and is very fitting in the aftermath of the loss of the icon that will always be Cornell.

1) "The day I Tried to Live" Soundgarden:

Taken from Superunknown, this track details the thoughts of a man who struggles with life and tries to forget his depression but fails. This is a violent track with much anger and disdain for modern life and the accompanying music video echoes this, with the dark cellar room and the blurry imagery. This is my favourite song today, though my list would shift orders everyday depending on my mood and what album I am listening to. Cornell steals the show here with his bellowing voice and hatred of modern life. Cornell will forever remain important to me.

The others which will likely place third, second, and first place on any given day consist of:
"Burden in my Hand" Soundgarden
"Fell on Black Days" Soundgarden
"Like a Stone" Audioslave
"Black Hole Sun" Soundgarden
"Call Me a Dog" Temple of the Dog
"I am the Highway" Audioslave

                                Say Hello To Heaven man, Come and wash away the rain.