Chris Cornel dies... to me anyway

[Cleric]

This morning, I heard of of the gods of rock, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave, suck the **** of the man. I can't believe that he'd make an r&b-esque song with Timberland. It's not a terrible song, but it stinks of sell-out.

Made me :(

[Ajust]

This morning, I heard of of the gods of rock, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave, suck the **** of the man. I can't believe that he'd make an r&b-esque song with Timberland. It's not a terrible song, but it stinks of sell-out.

Made me :(

May I suggest a re-phrase? :P

[Cleric]

Just the facts:
*Chris Cornell has one of the most incredible rock voices of all time
*Was the frontman of Soundgarden, an incredibly important and influencial band
*He has just released an R+B pop hit produced by Timberland.

[phreak]

Dude, you almost scared me there for a while :(
But yeah, this sucks.

Is it as bad as that time linkin park made songs with j-z?
Because that was horrible.

[Phoenix]

Ok so artist tries something new and totally different to what he usually does and now he is a sell out?

Like you said Cleric, Chris Cornell probably has one of the best rock voices ever.(He has the best voice IMO), but calling him or the song a sell out is a bit silly dont you think.

[Cleric]

To me it's a shameless cash in on what's popular. Wanna make a gazillion dollars? Colaborate with Timberland.

I'm all for diversifying your sound, exploring new soundscapes and pushing the envelope on the genre (read: Tool, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine), but rockers should not make R+B.


Is it as bad as that time linkin park made songs with j-z?
Because that was horrible.
Yeah, almost as horrible as Linkin Park alone :p

[phreak]

@cleric: AAww come on.. linkin park's first 2 cds was pretty good.

[Kharrak]

So, now, what's stopping you from just not listening to this product? :P

[onona]

Yeah his new stuff blows.

[GeometriX]

So what? A guy wants to do a once-off side-project to please the teeny-boppers and make a fat wad of cash in the process - good for him! Is his other music suddenly crap? No, of course it isn't.

I agree with Kharrak's point, if it's ****, don't listen to it.

[Cleric]

You're all right. I guess I just believe in respectable musicians who only make music that they themselves enjoy, and somehow I doubt that Cornell has the new JZ on his iPod. This is the definition of selling out.

I guess I just thought of him as a legend that held a certain amount of respect in the rock community, and wouldn't jeopardise that position for a quick buck. Grace knows he's rich enough.

Heck, he brought Pearl Jams drummer (Mat Cameron) into the industry (yes, Cornell was innitially a drummer, who sang for Soundgarden as a stand in until they found the right guy), so without him, we would never have the awesomeness of Given to Fly!

[onona]

somehow I doubt that Cornell has the new JZ on his iPod.

How can you know that for sure? You're judging the guy based on an assumption you're making about him, and yet you don't even know him personally, let alone know the contents of his iPod.

Frankly, most of the best artists in the world are diverse. As an artist, you simply have to evolve - and sometimes that means changing your style. Surely as a musician yourself, you can understand this? Imagine playing the same style of music for years and years and years; you're bound to feel the need to change sooner or later.

I personally have everything from Swedish death metal to trip hop to opera on my iPod. Because the beauty of music is that there is so much of it to enjoy.

I don't personally like his new stuff, but I'm not judging him for changing his style.

[.dB]

I tend not to hang off of musician's ****s (can I be cool yet?) too much, so I judge the music as is. Just because I don't like a new direction an artist/group/band is taking, doesn't mean I'll simply discredit earlier works I did enjoy. Likewise, if musicians switch up their style and the new one appeals to me, so be it. Judge the product, not the producer and all that jazz.

Then again, maybe he created the song cause he, oh I don't know, wanted to? Like onona said, you're judging the dude on assumption. So he's a rock legend, doesn't mean that's all he listens to or enjoys. Why exactly can't someone who was 'previously' a rock god create a R&B song? Did I miss some sort of vote or what?

Musicians and the music they create evolves. Often it evolves yet still stays rooted firmly in it's genre, other times it gets switched up entirely. It's a creative form of expression, so it's to be expected. What's more, like onona touched on, diversity = good. I remember the vocalist from the sludge band Crowbar saying that he enjoys listening to Seal and Sade. (http://www.tartareandesire.com/interviews/crowbar.html)

And, worse case scenario: 'He sold out.' So what?

ninja edit: I see your Swedish death metal, trip hop and opera and I raise you disco funk, grindcore and classical.

[Cleric]

Fair enough. But as a misician, all the other music I expose myself that doesn't fall into some form of rock is almost always at the extreme of the genre. I enjoy the harder edge of rap and trip-hop, tunnel trance, classical (in a bit of a Bach phase at the mo), extreme indy (everything from Editors to The Mouldy Peaches and Vampire Weekend), and anything that's the most extreme version of it's style. This "wishy-washy" middle-ground pop has no influence on me, as it's safe, easy, and plain.

EDIT: I just popped in the sensationalist thread title to get opinnions in. Does this new song make Spoonman any less awesome? No. But I was so completely blind-sided this morning, and first reaction was to hate. Yes, it was obviously an over-reaction, but seeing one of your idols do something that seems so against what you expected will bring that reaction. Let him do as he will, but you guys can't honestly say that you don't view this song as a sell out move.

(if I were a famous musician, I'd never step into the commercial zone for the sake of a few million bucks. People are either into what I want to give them, or they aren't :P )

[onona]

ninja edit: I see your Swedish death metal, trip hop and opera and I raise you disco funk, grindcore and classical.

And I'll raise you 80's pop music, musicals, and 1940's jazz.


Let him do as he will, but you guys can't honestly say that you don't view this song as a sell out move.

I'll never refer to any artist as a sell out. I think sell out is a term that most people use to make themselves feel important. Frankly, people shouldn't claim artists as their own - that's what leads to them later label those artists as sell outs when that artist decides to do something different. Suddenly, their fans feel betrayed, when in fact, the artist never had any allegiance to them in the first place. I've always been irritated by people who are too precious about their favourite genres of music.

Love music for what it is; don't corner yourself in by a self-imposed devotion to specific genre labels.

If Cornell wants to move in a new direction, then all the power to him. He's doing what he wants to do, because he can.

[Cleric]

If Cornell wants to move in a new direction, then all the power to him. He's doing what he wants to do, because he can.

Words of wisdom. I guess I liked him in my rock legend box along with Eddie Van Halen, Robert Plant, Jimi Paige, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Dickinson, Ozzy Ozzborne, etc etc.

For interest sake, when it comes to artists branching out, I prefer what Maynard Keenan did with Pucifer. He went from hard rock / prog with Tool/APC to a drum and bass style that incorporated chanting and a western/country influence to create a completely unique sound. That what I like to see artists do, instead of go with a mainstream producer and make radio-pop. I could write a pop-stlye song start to finish in 30 minutes. But to me, each song I write is a labour of love, that runs through many itterations until it conveys exactly what I intend, whether it's accessible or not.

[Azimuth]

Maybe Chris Cornell likes pop music.

[Cleric]

Mehbie