And Bob Dylan...
"Cornell didn’t just cover Dylan’s 'The Times They Are a-Changing' on recent solo dates... he updated the early-‘60s protest anthem with new lyrics, calling his version 'The Times They Are a-Changing Back.'..."
We carry the load for the 1%, who bought you your seat at the tableOh, my God, I'm just seeing after listening to that and writing this much that Chris Cornell hanged himself. It was a suicide.
Well the wine pours red and the hearts turn black
And the times they are a-changin' back
Come all you media, women and men
24 hours a day scare the shit out of them
If fear is your business, then business is grand
(Here's the earlier post today about Cornell's death.)
ADDED: WaPo has "Death of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, a founding father of grunge, ruled a suicide."
A mesmerizing frontman with a flowing mane and piercing blue eyes, Cornell played rhythm guitar, but was best known for his songwriting and that throaty, multi-octave voice, which he once called “unapologetically male.”...
“I’m pretty freaked out about what success means,” he said in 1994.... He recounted running into a high school friend, who told him: “Wow, I’m so glad you made it.”
Cornell said he was confused. “I shook his hand and said thanks. Then I started thinking, What the f— does that mean, ‘made it’? Does that mean I can just go home and pick my feet up and make as many long-distance phone calls as I want? Can I be rude to all my friends and they’ll still love me in the morning? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”...
“I never liked being recognized to begin with, and I was never much of a social person, so this gave me a chance to play the ‘I don’t want to go out’ card,” he said. “I would just stay in and drink. I could drink a lot, and I tended to have violent outbursts,” he added.
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44 comments:
Sad to hear it. The parody of Dylan was funny. Drugs, alcohol, suicide. Weird how many successful musicians/singers have mental problems.
Maybe, we should be skeptical when they start talking politics.
Everyone knows there is a problem with our ruling class.
As with Elvis, perhaps it was the ripe career move. Looked like he made unfortunate marital choices for a living.
Just like The Band's Richard Manuel.
Ailes, Cornell, ...? waiting for the third shoe to drop...
Man. Didn't think he's be THAT upset about Roger Ailes.
"Ailes, Cornell, ...? waiting for the third shoe to drop..."
Keith Mitchell, the drummer of Mazzy Star, died. :(
We carry the load for the 1%, who bought you your seat at the table
What do you mean we, asshole?
Net worth to be in the top 1%: 8.4 million
Chris Cornell's net worth: 60 million
Robin Williams syndrome?
Still can't believe it. This guys probably in my personal top 5 vocalists in rock & roll. Unbelievable voice, imaginative lyrics. Say Hello 2 Heaven
Him singing Ave Maria,
never heard a man sing it before
https://youtu.be/MJG288kJvSo?list=RDMJG288kJvSo
"We carry the load for the 1%, who bought you your seat at the table"
Hmmm, let's see. the top 1% pays almost 40% of all income taxes in the U.S., pays more than the bottom 90% and of that, the bottom 45% pay no income taxes at all.
Come again, Who's carrying the load?
Let's have a real conversation about who's paying "their fair share"
"Reports from the show had him in strong voice and looking upbeat as his band stormed through a 14-song set that included such rock-radio classics as “Spoonman,” “Black Hole Sun” and “Rusty Cage.”
Detroit police spokesman Michael Woody told the Associated Press that Cornell’s wife had called a family friend and asked him to check on Cornell; the friend forced open a hotel room door the MGM Grand Detroit hotel and found the singer on the bathroom
floor."
Was there a note? Any known problems?
When a guy is found hanged on the floor, auto erotic asphyxiation has to be considered. Robin Williams found the same way. How would you hang yourself? Rope and a chair seems a guarantee of success. And, rock star, seems od on something would be easier way out.
Sorry for the friends and family. The guy has no more worries.
Never heard of him, but hated grunge. Just another musician with too much money and not enough brains.
"On Sunday, he tweeted Mother’s Day well-wishes to both his mom and his wife, Vicky. He leaves behind three children, ages 11 to 16."
For that alone - not his music or politics or anything else - I am so sorry to see this.
Aaron Neville sang Ave Marie as well
thanks for the link
Robin Williams
not by auto-erotic asphyxiation, no, AFAIK; that was David Carradine, alas, and presumed an accident.
Robin Williams, whatever his modus, also had a fateful diagnosis which provides at least some justification or rational motivation for his regrettable act. Any news what was eating Cornell?
Band was just in Omaha area last weekend.
Just my opinion. Williams left no suicide note.
Think most hanging suicides leave a note either blaming someone, or telling someone it was not their fault.
Oh I see. But he had hesitation wounds on his wrist, and was fully clothed.
When it comes to great music: Ave Maria by Joan Sutherland
Bad Lieutenant said...
Just my opinion. Williams left no suicide note.
Think most hanging suicides leave a note either blaming someone, or telling someone it was not their fault.
Oh I see. But he had hesitation wounds on his wrist, and was fully clothed.
5/18/17, 3:59 PM
Can find no mention of hesitation marks. His illness and personal situation at time would be enough reason for suicide. Just that intentionally hanging yourself from a short distance seems a hard and tentative way to do it. Maybe more common than I think. Suicide by hanging is less embarrassing for survivors than accidental death during masturbation.One generates sympathy, the other, not so much
Thanks so much for the "Nothing compares 2 U" video. Didn't really know him, and other vids I've seen today don't come anywhere close to revealing his amazing talent as this one does. What a loss.
Redoing other people's lyrics to be more topical is generally not a good idea. Even redoing your own has its pitfalls ("Goodbye England's Rose").
Some of the comments here are not very charitable to the recently deceased Mr. Cornell. But compared to multiple columns at Slate discussing Mr. Ailes's death, they are hagiographies.
Do folks not understand that everything they write on the interweb will be around forever -- or are they too sure that time will never prove them wrong to pay much heed?
That's too bad, Soundgarden was my favorite band from that era, I think. Or one of them. Badmotorfinger should be in the hard rock hall of fame.
I would opine that perhaps Eddie Vedder would be next of the Big Three but he thinks far too much of himself for that.
Maybe Dylan will record a Soungarden song to return the favor ;)
The man had talent, success, popularity, a wife and children, and millions of dollars. He garnered the the admiration of critics, fellow musicians, and fans alike.. what more could he have wanted? He had what millions of people sought, yearned for, and envied, but he was too stupid to enjoy it.
It's sad whenever anyone hangs himself, but it seems incongruous when it's a rich, famous rock star.
Yes, I know we're all flawed humans trying to make our way, trying to suppress the demons, trying to find purpose. But, I doubt Cornell was deprived of any material good on the planet (money, house, girls, cars, planes, etc., etc.)
So, what exactly was the problem?
Whenever the subject is suicide, I think of the famous New Yorker article on Golden Gate Bridge suicide jumpers -- how many of the few survivors almost always said, the minute they jumped, they believed it was a grave mistake.
how many of the few survivors almost always said, the minute they jumped, they believed it was a grave mistake.
To paraphrase. I believe one said....that when he jumped, he realized "I can fix everything in my life.....except this"
"Come again, Who's carrying the load?"
The 1% pay a lot of taxes because they make most of the money dummy. Maybe we should redistribute their income and reduce their taxes.
I hope your one of the one percent, otherwise your dick sucking of the wealthy would be pathetic.
Blogger Bay Area Guy said...
So, what exactly was the problem?
--
Wait for tox screen results.
what a sad way to die
How do you ever again enjoy the work of someone so talented and entertaining after learning that this is what it all led to?
Was it a suicide-suicide or more like a David Carradine?
The Toothless Revolutionary said...How do you ever again enjoy the work of someone so talented and entertaining after learning that this is what it all led to?
You compartmentalize the artist's life. For example, one can reason that Kurt Cobain and Vincent van Gogh were in different metal states when they killed themselves vs. when they did their work.
Seemed he was a nice guy with problems common to men. But I suspect he never tried Bob Dylan's detour into Christianity to find hope.
"Drugs, alcohol, suicide. Weird how many successful musicians/singers have mental problems."
Successful musicians have a lot of time and money on their hands. My sad suspicion is that the vast majority of us are better people than we would choose to be, if we got to choose. Certainly, in my own case ....
"How do you ever again enjoy the work of someone so talented and entertaining after learning that this is what it all led to?"
A good question. I hardly ever could listen to Hendrix, Joplin or The Doors after 1970-71, mostly for this reason. Sadly, the general culture goes the opposite way, a spike in sales after death (especially suicide) as if that confers some street cred to their music.
One thing: If you're wondering why someone who seemingly Had It All would kill himself, please keep in mind that depression doesn't care about all that stuff. Not even a little bit.
"but he was too stupid to enjoy it."
Stupidity has nothing to do with it.
I can't stand his lyrics for the times they are a changing since. Of course, HE is in the top 1%. And ai can't stand when rich people think they speak for poor peopl and use the word We. If there was ever a collapse and the rabble actually stormed the mansions, the fact that he sang the times they are a changing wouldn't stop them from taking his resources.
That beign said, he was the best singer in grunge scen , and probably in top 3 of best rock singers in last 25 years. He could belt out a song with power like few others. Didn't love soundgarden, but I always appreciated that he had great voice.
And I'm genuinely shocked he hung himself. when I heard news my first thought was - drug overdose. And then, maybe he had a heart attack. It never occurred to me that it might be a suicide. I always took him to be professional and even keeled, unlike, say, Kurt Cobain.
Terrible news.
"When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him," she continued. "What happened is inexplicable and I am hopeful that further medical reports will provide additional details. I know that he loved our children and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life."
An attorney for the Cornell family, Kirk Pasich, reiterated Vicky's belief that an extra dosage of Ativan, an anxiety medication often employed by recovering addicts, altered Chris Cornell's mental faculties after the Detroit show. Pasich added that the Cornell family is "disturbed at inferences that Chris knowingly and intentionally took his life."
"Without the results of toxicology tests, we do not know what was going on with Chris — or if any substances contributed to his demise," Pasich said. "Chris, a recovering addict, had a prescription for Ativan and may have taken more Ativan than recommended dosages. The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions."
Pasich added that side effects of Ativan include "paranoid or suicidal thoughts, slurred speech and impaired judgment"; Vicky Cornell noted her husband's slurred speech following the Detroit concert in her statement.
When a guy is found hanged on the floor, auto erotic asphyxiation has to be considered.
Agreed. Though people have been known to hang themselves from doorknobs.
Anyway, a penchant for asphyxiation is probably the sort of thing most people keep from their partners.
I don't know from Ativan but if somebody had, say, dropped two Prozac into his drink, or he had taken them instead of aspirin, I have no problem with imagining him pharmacologically driven to suicide. Not at all. I once took 2x50 milligram Prozac by mistake and I spent hours curled up on the bathroom floor waiting to die. People who have not tried it don't know. You can't resist it anymore than you can resist propofol knocking you out.
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