You know an STP song came on the radio the other day and I wondered who was would be the next singer from the grunge era to pass away and I thought about Chris Cornell and wondered how much the big news organizations would cover it.
At one point in time I had Soundgarden’s discography and I loved Euphoria Morning and a lot of the Audioslave and Temple of the Dog stuff as well. The guy had a truly phenomenal voice, it was distinctive and powerful but he also had the virtuosity to back it up and he could sing any genre really well. I hate that I never will get to see him now.
Would it be appropriate to turn this thread 90 degrees into a celebration of his life and his amazing voice and less on the speculation of the how/why of his death?
There are/were so many successful vocalists (especially from the rock/grunge genre/era who do not/did not have half the range that Chris did and that is why - to me - it is so sad to lose him.
Many people enjoy the music of guys like Vedder, Staley, Corgan, Weiland, Cantrell, Burnley, Morgan, Grohl, Cobain, etc… all GREAT musicians in their own right but none of them have/had the vocal talent of Cornell and i suspect most would admit it if able.
A good friend of mine hung himself about 9 months ago: while there is no doubt that he suffered from mental illness and was struggling with some demons, one plausible explanation his widow has mentioned is that he assumed she would find him while there was still time, and did not intend to actually kill himself. I have absolutely zero insight into Cornell’s situation (he may well have been completely alone with no chance of being discovered in time), and we’ll never know what was going on in my friend’s head, but I’m just saying it’s possible for someone to intentionally hang themself but unintentionally kill themself.
It’s possible she wants to ensure that the cause of death is NOT listed as suicide in order to protect any life insurance payout to the children or herself, maybe even on the advice of lawyers or money people. I don’t say this with any cynicism, rather just considering a practical possibility.
It’s reported that she asked someone to check on him because when they spoke by phone he was slurring his words and then hung up on her. No doubt she is greatly suffering and you’re probably right about denial, whether or not there may be other reasons for strong push back against a possible suicide finding.
Drs will not say this, but I have had personal/family experiences with this: Ativan is a benzodiazepine. It is harder to get off these drugs than any others including heroin and cocaine. It down regulates your CNS, so it’s not a question of detoxing from it. You have a brain injury basically, that tells you to feel anxious and dysphoric all the time.
You may take years to taper off them and go for years after that basically being disabled. Many people give up. If you have been taking them long enough to “need more” then you can start having anxiety between doses, and symptoms from that. Since you are compromised by your situation, the one for which you needed treatment in the first place, it can seem like an impossible task just to continue.
I can understand his wife looking at the makers of these drugs as responsible in some way, even though a short news item probably couldn’t articulate what she has actually experienced with her husband.
He could’ve simply been using it to help him get to sleep, but one of the more severe side effects of Ativan is suicidal ideation. And from my understanding, it doesn’t react well with other substances. If he had anything else in his system he could’ve been in really bad shape. Unintended suicide is possible, meaning that he wouldn’t have committed suicide if he hadn’t been on Ativan.
To be honest, I was never a big fan of Soundgarden. I recognized and respected what they did, but it never blew my hair back. However, I loved his solo work and grabbed up anything I heard he’d done–I love his track on Slash’s solo album.
And I do like Scream. I get why most people don’t, but reading his thinking behind the record, I get it. It sounds like they were trying to copy the “album as a whole,” extended-track thing that a lot of rock bands did in the 70s, except not-rock. I grew up listening to a lot of stuff like that and really enjoyed the concept.
His death is truly tragic and he will be missed. I think about his family–a wife lost her husband, his children lost their father, friends lost a brother, etc. This is no different than anyone else in the world, but with a celebrity, you feel like you know them. They’re a part of your own history even if you never actually meet them and when they’re gone, you feel a personal loss.
Is it just me, or was there a surprising lack of coverage in the media and TV on Chris Cornell’s passing!?
Watching the “Entertainment Tonight” and “Inside Edition”-type shows, in the days after his death was announced, I figured they would be all over a supposed hanging/suicide/drug overdose/celebrity situation.
But there was just a brief notice of his passing and on to the latest Dancing with the Stars" and “Celebrity Housewives” news.
I found several notations online that he was “not that big a name”.
I mean, this guy was in one of the seminal groups of the 90s grunge movement- right up there with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Maybe not the household name like “Prince”- but Prince had been out of the spotlight for some time and coverage of his death was nightly for a few weeks.
Just wondering??? Time will tell, but something seemed off to me about the lack of coverage.
He didn’t seem to have a big mainstream crossover name. My now-80 mom knew who Kurt Cobain was but wouldn’t know Cornell. Other folks know The Voice from Soundgarden but not much more.
This affects me more than Cobain and Layne Staley. Cornell seemed like a survivor. I thought his songs processed what he had been going through.
While I sympathize with Mrs. Cornell and her tragic loss, she’s a fool if she really thinks her husband was perfectly clean & sober until the day before his suicide. Or even the month before his suicide.
Great lyricist, great voice.
I have no idea how he held that rock husky thing he had going on…
To attempt to sing in his style is painful lol.
I’ve been listening to nearly forgot my broken heart a lot lately… it’s just
U have to have it in your eyes loud, hearing each screech controlled in this beautiful bliss.
He will sadly be appreciated more now in his death.
