Influential Album Challenge Day 8 – Chris Cornell I Am The Highway

Alright, so this is a compilation CD and maybe it’s cheating. But you know what? It’s my list, so there!. At this point, it’s no mystery that the music of Chris Cornell in whatever project he was working on has had a major influence throughout my life. Understandingly, it would just bee to hard for me to pick one or two of his projects and call it good. I figure with this selection of I Am The Highway I can cover everything from Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and all the great solo works he did.

I became aware of Soundgarden way back in high school. Thanks to the necessary evil MTV and Headbanger’s Ball, this girl from rural Minnesota got to see the videos for Hands All Over and Loud Love. One of the things that impressed me was the voice. How Chris’ voice and Kim’s guitar melded into one other in the opening of Loud Love still impresses me these 30 years later. I purchased Louder Than Love on cassette. When I went away to college and seemed to spend an eternity in the painting studio, this cassette along with Ultramega OK, Flower, Screaming Life/Fopp (which I purchased at a record store/head shop) became my playlist to paint too. (Sidenote: Danzig and German Death Metal that I couldn’t understand a word also were heavily mixed in with Soundgarden). Badmotorfinger was out by this time, but for some reason unknown it didn’t make the cut. Many of my early paintings were created to this odd ball soundtrack I created.

Soundgarden kept me company through the rest of my college career. Badmotorfinger was the soundtrack to my last years at Winona and was the era where I did see Soundgarden live. Superunknown came out during my second stint at college and during one of the best times of my life. My favorite tracks off that CD would have to be My Wave, Fell on Black Days and Just like Suicide. It’s one of those rare CDs that I can listen to from start to end without having the urge to skip songs. I think Chris Cornell was at his best lyrically (for Soundgarden, at least) on this album, though Badmotorfinger is damn close. Down the Upside was also a great album, one I listened to on many roadtrips. I don’t know King Animal very well as I had a young child at the time and time was lacking.

Temple of the Dog was released not too long after Badmotorfinger and that was one cassette I wore out. It was a very different from what I was used to hearing from Soundgarden, but no less impressive. Famously the album was written by Chris Cornell for his friend and roommate, Andy Wood, who had tragically passed away from an overdose. He and members of Pearl Jam recored the album. The lyrics are really personal and in all honesty, as a 21 year old who had never felt loss that deeply, I really didn’t connect with the lyrics until later when I lost some who where close to me. Sadly, I Am The Highway only has 3 songs from Temple of the Dog. There isn’t a song I dislike from this album.

I Am The Highway also has the great Audioslave songs. For me Audioslave was what I listened to when I roadtripped to various shows. It seems fitting to me for some reason.

I think the highlight to I Am The Highway is Chris’ solo career. He could write and play how he wanted without trying to make a Soundgarden or Audioslave sounding song. Chris’ solo career was varied. He dabbled in Pop music (with Timberland), did some sublime covers (Billy Jean, anyone?), soundtrack work for movies like James Bond along with four solid solo albums. Included in this compilation are many songs recorded live as well as 11 previously unreleased songs, the highlight for me being When Bad Does Good. This was released posthumously, and the accompanying video is haunting and so sad. It features Chris’ own son, playing his father as a child. In the video he is delivering newspapers to sights around Seattle that Chris had frequented in his life there. Meanwhile, Chris’ most memorable lyrics are superimposed across the landscape. Heartbreaking.

Other musicians and idols that I have looked up to have passed away, yet not one has affected me quite as much as his passing has. I didn’t know him and yet I miss him.

A Funny Thing Happened in February 1992

Have you ever had a weird run in with someone you admire? Someone famous? Since I shared my Chris Cornell painting yesterday I thought it might be fun to share with you the time I could have met Chris Cornell.

I was just a senior in high school when Louder than Love came out. The first time I saw Hands all Over on Headbanger’s Ball I thought the message in the lyrics was daring for that time and “genre” and just how different their sound was from anything else I had heard. I bought the cassette (I am that old) and listened to it frequently. I got chills everytime that moment came in Loud Love when Chris Cornell’s voice melted perfectly into Kim Thayll’s guitar, when you couldn’t quite tell where one started and the other ended. Badmotorfinger came out when I was in college and I thought it was just brilliant. I wore that stupid cassette out.

I was only lucky enough to see Soundgarden play once. I was It seems so long time ago so I can’t remember the specifics anymore of how and why I decided to go decided to go. I was a Junior in college in a Minnesota college town, too small to host concerts. If you wanted to see anything good it generally involved a road trip to the Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul). I guess I had been talking with some of my old high school friends and they told me about a Skid Row concert that had Soundgarden opening. I thought Skid Row was alright for the kind of band they were but I was really hyped to see Soundgarden. (Louder than Love was highest on my “What I listen to when I paint” playlist. Yeah, I had one before they were even a thing). I convinced two college friends to go. Shelly was my best college bud and Audrey, well, she had the car.

I remember it being an obnoxiously cold and gray day in February, even for Minnesota. I left my leather coat in the car because I didn’t want to take it in the arena and have it smell like “concert”. Admittingly not a very smart move on my part but I was young and had questionable judgment sometimes. Crystal and Linda, my friends from High School, had arranged to meet us near a parking garage that just happened to be at the rear of the arena. The girls had a tall, blond “rock star” looking guy tagging along with them. I guess he was from a local band that they knew and they had run into each other on the way to meet us. He was a talker, quite animated and very pleasant to look at. The girls gathered around him, like bees to honey. I having foolishly left my coat behind and was rapidly turning into an icicle, could have cared less. I was daydreaming of fire and hot chocolate and anything else to keep my mind off the fact I might be dying of frostbite that very moment.

Lost in my thoughts I don’t remember if the bus pulled up or if it was already there. The door opens and I recognized Kim Thayll, lead guitarist of Soundgarden. He briefly looked over at our group and continued walking. Mr. Rock Star and my friends kept chattering away, ignoring each one of the Soundgarden band members as they got off the bus. Chris Cornell, the lead singer, was the last off.

Chris stepped down off the bus and he gave my friends, who were salivating all over the big blond guy, a glance. I was standing off to the side slightly, obviously part of the group, but not involved. (I may or may not have been turning blue at this point) Chris then made eye contact with me. We maintained eye contact long past what was considered normal for a person walking away, as he was. Even as he and the rest of the band walked towards the arena we continued staring at each other like we were gunslingers on opposite sides of the OK Corral shootout. It was oddly tense. Finally he turned and and entered the building. My friend Shelly shoved my shoulder afterwards and whispered “What was the fuck was that?”

To this day I can’t explain exactly what that was. In retrospect I wish I had said something to them, or to Chris. I have heard that Chris Cornell was always very gracious and kind to his fans, perhaps reserved, but never a dick.

Audrey, Shelly and I had seats in the very back of the arena, like the very last row. Roy Wilkins Auditorium is a pretty small arena compared to the newer Xcel Energy Center that is just down the street now. Soundgarden’s set was incredible, but way too short. The set list was a good mixture of older stuff with the majority of the songs from Badmotorfinger. The crowd was very receptive and to be expected, the roar was deafening when Chris sang one of his greatest lyrics, you know the one “I’m looking California but feeling Minnesota”. It really was one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. I was hoarse before the end of their set. Afterwards, we loaded ourselves up back into the car and drove home. We got back to Winona at some ungodly hour.

I wish I could have seen them again but I never really kept track of tour dates very well, so unless a band had a show within a short drive from where I was living, I didn’t know about it. Plus, arena shows started getting too expensive and I hated spending that kind of money. I enjoyed clubs where it was smaller and I could enjoy the show more. Unfortunately I never heard of of Soundgarden, Audioslave or any of Chris’ solo shows coming around where I lived until last year. Soundgarden was playing in Somerset, WI. I really wanted to go, but things just weren’t going to work out. Being a grown up sometimes stinks. So I didn’t go. They played there 3 days before Chris died. I can’t even tell you how much I regret not figuring something out and just going.

No One Sings Like You Anymore

[Note: Originally posted on December 2, 2018 on Facebook]

I’ve been sitting on this for a few weeks now and I think it’s finished. It is a deeply personal painting for me, at least the journey in creating it was. This is my little tribute to Chris Cornell. It’s hard for me to explain how important a musician I’d never met was to me (staring contests don’t count, right?) From the first time I saw the video Hands All Over on Headbanger’s Ball in Cathy’s parent’s basement Chris Cornell and his various projects (Audioslave, Soundgarden, soundtracks and his solo career) have made an enormous impact on my life. He was an absolutely brilliant lyricist and made music that was profound that spoke to me and many others. (Do yourself a favor and listen to Just Like Suicide and dig up the story behind it). Yes, he was The Voice of a Generation, a leader of the Grunge Movement out of Seattle, but for those of us who’ve followed his career know just what a versatile artist he was.

And oh, the memories. I can hear a certain song and it brings back friends long gone, or just a moment of my life. His music has even helped me through some tough times in my life. Chris was a captivating frontman as well. I only got to see Soundgarden once, but that show still beats out almost all other bands I’ve seen.

I woke up early on May 18th to my friend Shelly’s text about his passing. It was a gut punch that I just couldn’t deal with at the time. (Some of you know that we’ve been going through some very difficult times, and continue to cope with. I will tell you I was in a pretty dark place last Spring). I was crying and breaking down over, well, everything. I’m sure if I even heard Big Dumb Sex I’d be sobbing.

It’s taken me awhile, but earlier this fall at a workday at school I decided that I actually wanted to listen to some Soundgarden. I put on this mix on YouTube and proceeded to clean out all those old books and magazines left in my art room from the previous teacher. I was actually bopping around, singing and overall enjoying myself, until one of Chris’ solo songs came on. It was When I’m Down, recorded live at the Troubadour, and just Chris and a piano. I just sat there and listened and lost it. It must have been quite the sight, me sitting on the floor surrounded by garbage, sobbing. I cried for Chris, for his kids, all the people who must have loved him. I cried for my family and most of all I cried for me. It was after that that this idea came to me, that I would do something.

Since starting this painting I’ve begun sketching again, for myself. (Sadly most of the art I have been doing the past few years has all been school related). It’s like the floodgates have been opened. I’ve got ideas for half a dozen paintings now. I’ve also been listening to music I enjoy, not just the the Pop music my daughter wants. I’ve even gone looking for new music. Needless to say this painting has brought on a healing process for me. Thank you Chris.