Chris Cornell R.I.P. (1964-2017)

853guy

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Can't believe it.

Just can't.

For me, especially as someone whose teenage years were dominated by Louder Than Love and then decimated by Badmotorfinger, there was no other voice that rang in my ears and shaped my sensibilities like his.

Yes, Layne Staley had a spectral aura (both literally and figuratively), but it was Cornell who took what I loved about Zep and Sabbath and melodicized his and Thayil's angular, bruising and offtime riffs, whispering under them and soaring, sometimes screaming above them. I got to see Soundgarden live, only once, and meet with them before the gig. I remember the handshake I had with Chris in that it was much lighter than I expected, and a juxtaposition to a guy I had watched in music videos with ripped torso and flowing locks I assumed must be the heaviest guy in all of alt-metal.

I wish I had something else to write that could express the shock and quiet devastation I'm feeling right now, but all I can add is my genuine prayers for his wife and family, for Kim, Ben and Matt, and all those his voice, his music and his presence touched.

With very real sadness,

853guy
 
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bonzo75

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I saw them live in Hyde Park, they played before black Sabbath. I did listen a lot to Rusty Cage, Slaves and Bulldozers, and Outshined and rest of Badmotorfinger back in early 90s or so

RIP
 

XV-1

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Black Hole Sun

RIP man
 

bonzo75

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Diapason

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These rock star deaths are starting to get a little too close to my own era for comfort. What a fantastic vocalist Chris Cornell was, Soundgarden and the lesser-remembered Temple of the Dog were soundtracks to my teenage years. Damn.
 

853guy

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853guy

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Cause ? Very sad. He had one of the greatest modern rock voices.

Suspected suicide unfortunately, according to latest reports.

853guy
 

NorthStar

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NorthStar

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I'm reading around, in disbelief and with a choke inside my stomach.

"As this tragedy happened here in Detroit were getting pretty upto the minute news updates regarding this.
One of my coworkers who was at the show reported the show ended about 11:15-11:20pm EST
I am hearing at the concert last night he went off on one of the guitar techs and was offstage for a couple of minutes sometime during the show.
I am also hearing he forgot lyrics and while generally enthusiastic he did seem happy to be performing in Detroit.

The timeline from this point gets a bit sketchy.
Cornell was staying at the MGM Grand Casino in Detroit which is minutes from the Fox Theatre where they had just finished performing.
It is being reported that Cornell was found dead after his wife called bandmates to perform a welfare check sometime around midnight.
What is not being said is if it was Midnight EST or Midnight PST (3:00 am EST)

Cornell was found with something around his neck, and it is being investigated as a suicide with no foul play expected."

_____

? Chris Cornell: The Rolling Stone Interview
_____

? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/arts/music/chris-cornell-dead-soundgarden.html

"Mr. Cornell died Wednesday night in Detroit, his representative, Brian Bumbery, said in a statement that called the death “sudden and unexpected” and that said the singer’s family would be “working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause.”

Dontae Freeman, a spokesman for the Detroit Police Department, said in an interview that officers responded around midnight at the MGM Grand casino to an apparent suicide of a white man, born July 20, 1964, who was pronounced dead on the scene. He would not confirm the victim’s name; Mr. Cornell’s date of birth is July 20, 1964.

Mr. Freeman said that the victim’s wife had called a family friend to check on the man; the family friend forced his way into the man’s room at the casino and found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor.

The victim was found with a band around his neck, Mr. Freeman said. The police would not confirm that the victim died of a suicide, though the preliminary determination was an “apparent suicide,” Mr. Freeman said. He added that more details would be released in a statement later Thursday."
 
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853guy

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Reports saying medical examiner determines death by hanging. Toxicology report still to come, though may not be made public.

Sheesh.

853guy
 

XV-1

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Ironic that one of my fav songs is Pretty Noose.

 

853guy

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Ironic that one of my fav songs is Pretty Noose.

Y'know when you go back through an artist's catalogue after they've passed and start to "find clues" that seem to "foretell" the future...?

Man, they've everywhere in Cornell's lyrics.

853guy
 

NorthStar

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I'm going back in his songs and bands...and I feel completely numb. To hang himself is to not get the support needed from his close family and friends.
It's a terrible thing for children and adults to be abused and bullied by a society anchored in sets of broken values. Chris was a sensitive man, we can see it easily, and hear its voice too. ...Now more than ever, a haunting reality. I'm lifting up towards a better world, with Chris Cornell. I'm closer to him than ever.
_____

????
 
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853guy

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Aug 14, 2013
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I'm going back in his songs and bands...and I feel completely numb. To hang himself is to not get the support needed from his close family and friends.
It's a terrible thing for children and adults to be abused and bullied by a society anchored in sets of broken values. Chris was a sensitive man, we can see it easily, and hear its voice too. ...Now more than ever, a haunting reality. I'm lifting up towards a better world, with Chris Cornell. I'm closer to him than ever.

So far we only know that he died by hanging, and his death has been ruled a suicide. We don't yet have the toxicology report and full autopsy results, so we can't make any assumptions about his bio-chemical state at the time.

An unfortunate reality that affects many ex-addicts and their families is that it's often during a season of relative stability that a relapse is more possible, related to a change in behaviour that doesn't pass as unusual at the time until viewed in hindsight. Ben Weinman of Dillinger Escape Plan who've been opening for Soundgarden on this tour said today in an interview that while the rest of the band would hang out, Chris kept to himself and was the only one who flew in to each gig and then leave to go straight back to his hotel. While it would be completely foolish and inappropriate for me to make any assumptions based on those facts - so I won't - given the many similar patterns of behaviour that accompany ex-addicts prior to a relapse, I'd posit that until the toxicology report and full autopsy is released, ruling out a drug-related death would be extremely premature. Unfortunately.

853guy
 

NorthStar

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From the youtube videos above your post; look @ the last one before the last...it was his last show taped (10 minutes) from last night.
See if you can read his state-of-mind.

It's bizarre, his buddy is talking to him for the song to play; it looks like they are flowing without direction.

His voice @ times reminds me of Ozzy Osbourne.
______

? http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p...uicide-hanging-dead-latest-news-a7743691.html
 

853guy

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Aug 14, 2013
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From the youtube videos above your post; look @ the last one before the last...it was his last show taped (10 minutes) from last night.
See if you can read his state-of-mind.

It's bizarre, his buddy is talking to him for the song to play; it looks like they are flowing without direction.

Hi NorthStar,

Yeah, I've viewed a bunch of videos of last night's show.

Just as a preface to my comments from here and some context for my comments above, I worked in a youth and young offender's drug and alcohol residential rehab programme as a counsellor, and eventually became the 1IC for the young adult programme for a year. While I certainly claim neither to be able to read someone else's state of mind from a video, especially someone I don't know despite having met once and very superficially, and I certainly would never declare whether an ex-addict was using again, especially based on a bunch of low-res video, I'd offer that there are some patterns of behaviour present that will be familiar to many who have had a family member suffer from addiction, and/or those who have worked with addicts before.

Again, I don't claim to be a mind-reader - I have no idea of whether drugs and/or alcohol may have been involved in his death - so these comments are offered only as someone who's trying to make sense of the loss of an artist who has meant a lot to me personally, and share a tiny sliver of insight into what it is for individuals and their families to live post-addiction. And no, it's very rarely easy.

The only way to know whether drugs and/or alcohol were involved will be if or when the toxicology report and full autopsy reports are made available.

Best,

853guy
 

NorthStar

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I am looking @ a bunch of them as we speak ...

? https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3593848/chris-cornell-dead-drug-addiction-soundgarden-audioslave/
_____


There are many of them...and they all sound terrible...of course...from cell phones:


? https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chris+cornell++-+live+detroit+-+may+17,+2017
? https://www.thesun.co.uk/video/news...n-detroit-just-hours-before-his-tragic-death/

This (listen to the lyrics) ? http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/chris-cornells-poignant-last-song-10445932 ("Meet Me Jesus, Meet Me...")
_____

He sounds like Jim Morrison here ?


Last song (Led Zeppelin's cover: "In My Time Of Dying") ?

 
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