The rock song Chris Cornell felt no one could relate to: “I was offended by it”
The 1990s was an unusual era for many rock bands. In the wake of the grunge explosion, guitar-driven music surged in popularity, propelling many acts to the same staggering heights their idols had reached two decades earlier. One band that stayed true to their course amid this newfound success was Soundgarden, fronted by Chris Cornell. Unlike many, they remained aware of the shifting musical landscape and recognised when it was time to embrace change.
Soundgarden, not Nirvana, were the pioneers who led the commercial breakthrough for Seattle’s grunge scene. They were the first of the group to secure a major label deal, signing with A&M Records for their 1989 second album, Louder Than Love, following the success of their debut, Ultramega OK, released the previous year on the cult punk label SST.
Despite releasing one of the definitive grunge albums with 1991’s Badmotorfinger and refining their sound with the more mature Superunknown in 1994—earning them greater fame and acclaim—Soundgarden decided to call it a day after 1996’s Down on the Upside. While their success was undeniable, internal tensions over the band’s artistic direction during changing times ultimately led to their breakup.
Cornell would then form Audioslave and pursue a successful career that would see him continue to push on and move with the times, culminating in his divisive 2009 effort, Scream. Heavily drawing upon hip-hop and electronica, it was produced by the hit-making force Timbaland, with longtime Cornell fans aghast that he should link up with someone so artistically distinct from him. He later revealed that this disparity reared its head in the studio as they worked industrially without any tangible personal connection.
Regardless, Cornell’s musical arc is brimming with the self-awareness of a man who was up to date with listener tastes and the nature of the world he was operating in. While not wanting to ruin their legacy by moving too far away from their original sound was a key factor in Soundgarden going their opposite ways, his subsequent efforts with Audioslave and as a solo entity clearly demonstrated that the grunge icon wasn’t just a one-trick pony, and was in it for the love of the art.
Like all big four grunge bands, Soundgarden were punks at heart and absolutely despised the ostentatious nature of the world’s most prominent rock groups. Although most of their ire was directed at the famous glam metal acts like Mötley Crüe, another act that came out of the sleazy Los Angeles scene also angered them, Guns N’ Roses.
While late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain made no bones about his loathing of the ‘Paradise City’ outfit and even had a feud with their frontman Axl Rose, after the group had become truly ridiculous on their pair of 1991 Use Your Illusion albums, Cornell would also have his say. With the group’s music taking a more outlandish and extensive turn, with piano-led ballads such as ‘November Rain’ and their cover of Wings ‘Live and Let Die’, many in the rock community were in no doubt that they sucked.
For Cornell, though, ‘Estranged’, with its severe lack of musical awareness and absurd video, really offended him. He just could not understand who it was meant to relate to, saying it “goes beyond decadence” and was an insult to Guns N’ Roses fans.
“Who the f–k does he think he is going to honestly connect with besides Donald Trump?” He told Request in 1994. “Who else is going to give a s–t about the fact that he can afford that kind of attention? It goes beyond decadence, it’s spitting in the face of the people that have put you there. I was offended by it, and I don’t get offended by much.”
That kind of self-awareness made Cornell a hero for like-minded rock lovers and provides another tragic reminder of how worse the world is without him. He was a real one, and his refreshing self-awareness never got old.
