And By Later Today I Meant...

I know I promised this all-Cornell related post on Wednesday, but when you're a college student balancing classes, rehearsals for a show, and the general real life that comes with being a 19-year old college student, in the words of one Lewis Rothschild, "assume that all plans are soft until you receive confirmation from me thirty minutes beforehand."

[For everyone who gets the movie reference, yes, I do say it with a great deal of charm. For the rest of you, see this movie...now.]

On to the Cornell post. Let me first say that I think Chris Cornell is one of the best lead singers of my lifetime. Not the greatest frontman in the world, but from Temple of the Dog to Soundgarden to Audioslave, I defy you to find a guy with a better and more disctinctive set of pipes than Chris Cornell. I'm even gonna go out on a limb and say that both of his solo albums are excellent. I like what little I've heard of Euphoria Morning, and I will till the day I die think that Carry On was indefensibly unappreciated last year. Both albums were given a raw deal by the Soundgarden/Audioslave fans that didn't want to hear Cornell reach out beyond the grunge sound they were familiar with. But the fact remains Cornell is too versatile to stay put, hence the multitude of directions you hear on Carry On.

Last entry I posted a video of American Idol David Cook doing his take on Cornell's version of "Billie Jean". As with what happened to Chris Daughtry after he did Live's version of "I Walk the Line", Cook took crap for allegedly trying to pass Cornell's coffeehouse version off as his own take on the track. Cornell surprisingly lept to Cook's defense, noting that Ryan Seacrest billed it as the Chris Cornell version, and wished Cook best of luck in the rest of the show. Regardless, Cornell's version of Billie Jean saw a spike on the iTunes charts in the last week.

Last week also saw the first news about Cornell's third solo album. Not a whole lot, primarily an announcement that it was being recorded, but the fascinating thing here is that Cornell noted that most of the album was being produced by none other than Timbaland. I know for a fact that all the Audioslave fans just spit blood. I love the idea. There's always been a bit of a dancey texture to Cornell's singing (Audioslavers, listen to "Original Fire" again), a feel that was present on Carry On, but never fully fleshed out. With Timbaland behind the knobs for the next album, it may just work out after all. Cornell also announced that he would be joining Linkin Park on the next iteration of Projekt Revolution this summer. Again, brilliant. That tour is coming to the Tweeter ...*sigh* Susquehanna Bank Center outside Philly on July 19th. Only problem is that my roommate and I agreed that the Foo Fighters would top our list of bands to see. But at the same time, LP and Chris Cornell on the same bill is almost too good to let pass. Someone make this choice easier for me...please.

Cornell and Audioslave mp3s below. Enjoy.

Audioslave - Original Fire [iTunes]
Chris Cornell - Ghosts [iTunes]

==TJ==

RIP Audioslave

It is a sad weekend in the world of rock music. Chris Cornell, lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave and an all-around stellar musician, has announced that he is leaving Audioslave, arguably the most talented act in hard rock right now. That announcement, coupled with the fact that Rage Against the Machine (one of the two bands that melded into Audioslave) is reuniting this summer for a one-time concert means that Audioslave is all but defunct. Rolling Stone posed a fascinating question; if Audioslave were to continue on with a new lead singer, who should that lead singer be?

Let me preface the rest of this by saying that I would rather not hear Audioslave without Cornell. With a Chris Cornell solo album due out in May, hearing that AND Audioslave with a new lead singer just wouldn't be right. It's like Queen with Paul Rodgers; yeah it's Queen and Paul Rodgers did OK, but no one can even come close to Freddie Mercury. No one can mimic Chris Cornell's mind-blowing vocal stylings. Try to imagine anyone else singing "Cochise". I dare you. It can't be done.

That said, the most interesting votes I read (and supported) were those for either Chris Daughtry or Bo Bice, both of American Idol cast-off fame. These are both damn near impossible, but I think this brings up very interesting points. As much as I like Daughtry's album, it did show a certain level of Nickelback worship, and I feel like he could do better. Bo Bice, on the other hand, released a half-assed album courtesy of his AI deal and if the highlights of that CD are any indication, he definitely could do better and was held back by the record execs. Unfortunately recent reports indicate that RCA has dropped Bice, suggesting that a second album, an album that could very well vindicate Bice, isn't happening anytime soon. Not saying this is a tragedy, but not cool on RCA's part. If there's going to be an reformed Audioslave (which there shouldn't be), let's see Daughtry and/or Bice at the audition.

One more thing; can you imagine Chris Cornell singing Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean"? If the answer to that question is either 'yes' or 'what the hell are you talking about?', mark your calendar for May 1st, the release date for Cornell's solo album.

==TJ==