CornellWatch: Day 12; LEAVE CHRIS ALONE!!!

(Note: I tried to find video of the PandaWatch clip from Anchorman, but no such luck.)

Nearly two weeks after the irritating Ryan Seacrest rip of Chris Cornell's new song debuted, we now have firm proof that Chris Cornell and Timbaland have not gone into hiding. "Long Gone" still hasn't been officially released as a single and can't be purchased via iTunes or AmazonMP3, but earlier today Planet Radio 107.3 out of Jacksonville posted some new material. I've listened to all five tracks that are released and am going through the interview material now, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, I need to get something off my chest to all the people who are taking a massive flaming crap on the new stuff.

Look, grunge music as children of the '90s knew it is dead. Soundgarden is NOT getting back together. Not now, and probably not ever. Likewise with Rage Against the Machine reunited and the way in which Audioslave disbanded, that reunion is dead in the water. Chris Cornell is going to be a solo artist for the remainder of his career. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Euphoria Morning has great material on it, provided you're not expecting Soundgarden throwaways. Carry On had some great stuff on it, but there wasn't much of a tying thread to it. It felt like a lot of ideas jumbled together. By introducing Timbaland as a producer, Cornell showed he was picking a direction now, and not the worst direction either. Maybe Scream won't be the rave success fans are hoping for, and it may not even be as successful commercially as Cornell hopes either, but he deserves props for taking a risk and giving it a try.

This is why I hate mainstream music haters out there; if an artist takes a risk and it flops, said artist gets ripped to shreds and the snobs declare the artist irrelevant or out of touch. But if that same artist takes a safer, tried-and-true route, now the artist is accused of lack of originality or being a one-trick pony, or worse, playing to try to sell records or get a song on the radio. It's a no-win situation (unless of course you choose to buck the system and go it alone, and now if you do that you're just copying off of Radiohead). So yes, Scream may not be a return to what we hope Chris Cornell will be, but at least he's doing it on his terms.

Which brings up another thing; based on the interview portions I heard, Cornell truly doesn't seem to give a shit about what initial reactions to the Timbaland announcement were. He thought it was a cool idea to take his music in that direction, so he did, and fuck anyone who thought it was a bad idea. By the same token, he seems a bit unaware of how much fans are hating "Long Gone", but give him props for sticking by it and not scrapping the project and recording something new.

Phew. OK I'm done ranting. Now onto the music.

Four new tracks debuted today (in addition to "Long Gone"). "Watch Out" shows some of the most evidence of Cornell's songwriting contribution. Cornell just seems more comfortable singing this song than he did "Long Gone" (which was co-written by Ryan Tedder). This song has some real potential to be a single that could please both rock and rap fans. The chorus sounds like something you might hear on typical mainstream rap, while Cornell's raspy, meaty voice reminds us that this is in fact still the guy from Soundgarden. Timbaland's beats and production on "Watch Out" are a bit more tasteful (think Linkin Park's "Bleed It Out"), which means this track is probably the second best of the five songs we've heard thus far.

Next came the title track "Scream". At first listen, it's got the instrumentals of "Apologize", so strike one against Tim. Lyrically it drifts back into the adult contemporary region of Carry On, but isn't a totally spineless venture. The venture is more or less on par with the rest of the material. Not completely forgettable, but also far from extraordinary.

Third is "Long Gone". Having now heard it a dozen or so times, I think it's better than it was the first time I heard it. That said, it's the worst track in this set. Balladry never quite works for solo Cornell. That and the fact that it sounds like a mix between a scrapped OneRepublic track and a leftover from Justin Timberlake's last album, and this song crosses out of meh territory and into flat-out ugh. Upon further review, Timbaland can have this track for his next solo album.

After that it's "Never Far Away". The verses remind me of early Audioslave, which no matter your thoughts on Audioslave as a whole, is a plus here. Another track that could work well as an R&B hit with appeal for people who like Cornell. If anyone will give Scream the time of day, "Never Far Away" could be a club hit. I think this track also shows off Timbaland's best work out of everything on this set. I know they're entirely electronic, but I think the drums on this one are fantastic.

"Ground Zero" is the last track introduced, the shortest one, and most certainly the most enjoyable. The beatboxing is terrific, Chris seems really at ease singing this song, and it meshes together the best. It reminds me a lot of "Original Fire", just without Tom Morello's guitar solo. Instead you get a ridiculous, inspired turntable solo to close out the song. If Cornell had debuted this song before "Long Gone" I think we'd be singing a much different tune about Scream.

MP3s are below, as is a link to Planet Radio's site. Be advised that a) these are webrips, and thus a bit glitchy, but not as bad as the Seacrest rip from last week, and b) since this is meant to be a gapless album, and these tracks are essentially radio edits, we're still missing material from this album. With those facts in mind, here you go:

Chris Cornell - Watch Out
Chris Cornell - Scream
Chris Cornell - Long Gone
Chris Cornell - Never Far Away
Chris Cornell - Ground Zero
Planet Zero's interview with Chris Cornell

==TJ==

Weekend WTF: Wow, A Site that actually posts GOOD Mashups?

This edition of Weekend WTF is just as much a legitimate entry as it is a WTF post. Astute readers will find a new Link on the Left for a site called flipboitamidles. Flipboitamidles creates and posts videos for the mashups he creates. The video's aren't usually much to write home about, but the songs themselves are incredible. Most mashups seem to involve the same groups of songs and artists over and over again. On flipboitamidles, everyone is fair game, the best mashups I've found to date are "What I've Apologized" (Linkin Park/OneRepublic) and the (Hey Oh) remix to "Give It To Me" (Timbaland/RHCP). I've posted an MP3 of "What I've Apologized" below, but please support a fellow music blogger and check his site out.

Linkin Park/OneRepublic - What I've Apologized (Mashedup by Flipboitamidles)

Another legit entry coming later this weekend.

==TJ==

Maybe the Angel Isn't Crying As Much Now

I linked my friend Alex to that "Low" remix I posted earlier today. He countered with this:

Timbaland - The Way I Are (OneRepublic remix)

It would appear that's how a band says "thank you" for stealing a song and making it a #1 single. As remixes and collaborations go, I've heard far worse. Hell, I've heard worse on Timbaland's CD. 1000 points to Alex for pointing me in this direction, and props to Mixtape Maestro for giving me the link.

==TJ==

Top 40 Breakdown: FINALLY Someone Knocks Off "Apologize"

Every Friday from now until whenever I decide to stop, I'm going to provide a breakdown/commentary on the week's Top 40 radio charts (If someone from Pretty Much Amazing wants to throw things at me for snagging an idea they had for awhile, now would be the time). So let's look at this weeks hits:

After 8 seemingly endless weeks atop the list, Timbaland/OneRepublic's "Apologize" saw its reign come to an end this week, slipping to #2. Before you feel bad for either band though, OneRepublic has "Stop and Stare" at #25 and climbing, and Timbaland's name appears a staggering 3 times with "Apologize" (#2), "The Way I Are" (#14), and 50 Cent's "Ayo Technology" (#29) all charting this week.

Replacing "Apologize" is the new Alicia Keys track "No One". Quite frankly I would have rathered another week of "Apologizing" boning the radio, but clearly I'm in the minority here. The rest of the top 10 is pretty lackluster, as Fergie's "Clumsy", Rihanna and Ne-Yo's "Hate That I Love You" and Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" are still holding strong, as is the intolerable "Low" by Flo Rida. The only bright spots in the top 10 are Finger Eleven at #9 (down from #7 last week) and Jordin Sparks' "Tattoo" rising to #6.

Once out of the top 10, things get good. "Misery Business" by Paramore rose to #13 this week, but with a gain of only 5 plays nationwide, I don't think that'll get much higher. Daughtry's newest pop/rock crossover "Over You" is holding at #12, and rounding out the top half is Linkin Park's "Shadow of the Day", up one spot from last week. Also in there are a bunch of songs left over from the summer, with the aforementioned "The Way I Are" and Kanye West's "Stronger" (#17) just refusing to lay down and die. At 29 weeks, "The Way I Are" is the longest charting song on the Top 40 right now.

Once out of the top 20, the rest of the list is made up of songs either on their way in or on their way out. After "Everything" failed to make a dent on the radio, Buckcherry's "Sorry" is making a run for the top, currently sitting at #22. The positively generic "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace follows close behind, while Boys Like Girls and Chris Brown's "With You" also saw chart increases this week. On the way out is the indefensibly bad Soulja Boy, who starting next week will most likely enter the recurrent chart, along with Maroon 5 and 50 Cent. At the tail end of the list is "Calling You" by Blue October, released on the re-issue of 2006's Foiled (the original version was released in 2003). The song has bottomed out the chart for the last two weeks, but I'm personally hoping for a boost in the coming weeks.

My expectations for next week: With no song immediately poised to take down "No One", expect it to remain for another week or two, unless "Tattoo" can make a huge jump quickly. A bunch of songs will probably fall off the charts next week into the recurrent section, which might pave the way for "Calling You" to rise, and Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" to crack into the crossover list. That's the best I can offer this week, perhaps as I keep looking we'll see something more.

The Highlight Reel
Timbaland feat. OneRepublic - Apologize
Finger Eleven - Paralyzer
Paramore - Misery Business
Linkin Park - Shadow of the Day
Buckcherry - Sorry
Boys Like Girls - Hero/Heroine
Blue October - Calling You

Source: http://www.radioandrecords.com/Formats/Charts/CHR_Top40_Chart.asp

Current Music: Our Lady Peace - Made of Steel (DRMed...sorry guys)

==TJ==

Random bits of what I'm Seeing/Hearing

I've been knee-deep in finals for the last week or so, so music has taken a bit of a sidestep. But I'm back with some quick reviews and other things I've been going through:

-So I'm giving LCD Soundsystem a second listen, but from the looks of it, definitely not an album of the year contender in my book. It's decent enough for dancerock, if that's the kinda thing you're into, but 6 minute tracks with at best average lyrics gets old before the hour-long album is up.
Ruling on the Field: 5.5/10
Highlight Reel: Someone Great

Also playing OneRepublic's debut Dreaming Out Loud. Believe it or not, they have more than just "Apologize". They've got some good borderline folky stuff, and even at their most generic, there's no reason to skip a song. Unfortunately with Timbaland's offering of "Apologize" boning the radio right now, OneRepublic will probably have a hard time being taken seriously for their next single. I'm predicting these guys will become the Nickelback of 2008.

OneRepublic - Stop and Stare

-My friend Alex gave me Cobra Starship's new CD so I could check it out for my Best of 07 list. Personally I didn't think they were coming back from the overtly gimmicky novelty track "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It!)". But last month out came a ¡Viva La Cobra!, yet another entry into the growing whiteboy dancerock genre. There's nothing inherently bad about the album, its just a bit jumblefucky. Gabe Saporta likes to experiment with a lot of different sounds (punk, latin, rock, etc.), and that's great, until they all appear in one song. It's a fast-paced, fun listen, but don't expect anything memorable (unless you're Alex and make one of the songs your ringtone).

Cobra Starship - Guilty Pleasure

-Last weekend I went to see August Rush, one of the few music-based movies where all the music was completely original (not that the rest were bad because of it). It's no Across the Universe, and you can see the ending coming a mile away, but dammit if the music isn't absolutely amazing. Johnathan Rhys-Myers' songs are on par with anything that's on the radio right now, and the instrumental songs by Kaki King are equally fun to listen to. Even if you don't see the movie, pick up the soundtrack and enjoy it.
Ruling on the Field:Movie: 6.5/10; Soundtrack: 8/10
Highlight Reel: This Time

As a result of my love for August Rush, I've been making a playlist of instrumental stuff. I've got a good mix of stuff ranging from Foo Fighters to the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack. If anyone has any stuff they recommend, feel free to post it. I'm especially interested in anything from the 300 Soundtrack as well as the themes from Stargate and Independence Day. Thanks.

Back later this week.

==TJ==

Boys Like Girls are good...WHAT!!??

Some quick reviews that got overshadowed by the awesomeness of the Foo Fighters leak last week:

-Going against the advice of Luis from Pretty Much Amazing, I went ahead and picked up the leak of James Blunt's All The Lost Souls. Luis, if you happen to be reading this, you were right. With a few marginal exceptions, its a snooze. If I want to hear a song like "1973", I'll stick with music that came out in 1973.
Ruling on the Field: 3/10
Highlight Reel:...Sad to say there really isn't one. If you really want a taste, I'll give you 1973.

-I've only barely gotten through all of Graduation, but it's definitely something that's gonna get a few more rounds on my iPod before it wears out. This is the only Kanye album I've heard in its entirety, so I don't really have a point of reference, but suffice it to say I'm impressed. Kanye's brand of rap is way more accessible than most of the rest of what the genre is offering up (with the exception of maybe Timbaland).
Ruling on the Field: 7/10
Highlight Reel: Stronger, Can't Tell Me Nothing

-I ruckused the self-titled debut from Boys Like Girls, primarily on the strength of this live version of "The Great Escape" I picked up from iTunes (the link is to the video of the AOL Session. The audio of the same performance is also on iTunes). "The Great Escape" is definitely one of the highlights of the album, but its matched by tracks like "Thunder" and "Five Minutes to Midnight". I don't know if there is a truly good way to do pop-punk, but Boys Like Girls put up something really fun.
Ruling on the Field: 8/10
No Highlight Reel for this because I ruckused it, but I'll try to get an mp3 of that live track up later in the week.

I think that's it for now. Back later with some other goodies.

==TJ==