1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: Disgraceland as a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: Chris Cornell are insane. He was a latchkey kid who 3 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: was doing weed, pills and LSD by the age of fourteen. 4 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: A traumatic experience with PCP turned him into a recluse 5 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: for years. Music pulled him out of the darkness when 6 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 1: he discovered his four octave voice by accident, he was 7 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: robbed by crooked dea agents, developed an addiction to oxy 8 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: conton while trying to jumpstart a creative comeback, and was 9 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: part of the only rock band in history to send 10 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: a song that featured a guy playing the spoons up 11 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: the charts. That song, like the best of Chris Cornell's songs, 12 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: was great music. Unlike that Lupe I played for you 13 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,039 Speaker 1: at the top of the show. That wasn't great music. 14 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: That was a preset loop from my melotron called Montage 15 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: Mystique MK one. I played you that loop because I 16 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: can't afford the rights to cold Hearted by Paula Abdul 17 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 18 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: Laker's Girl Cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was 19 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: the number one song in America On September fifth, nineteen 20 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: eighty nine, and that was the day that Chris Cornell's 21 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: band Soundgarden released Louder than Love, an album that got 22 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: them on tour with Guns N' Roses, inspired Metallica to 23 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: write one of their biggest hits of all time, and 24 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: pushed Chris Cornell to the forefront of a new musical 25 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: movement in America. On this episode PCP before Octave, Range, 26 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: Crooked Dea, Agents, the Spoonman, and Chris Cornell. I'm Jake 27 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: Brennan and this is Disgraceland. Chris Cornell killed himself. That sucks. 28 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: Suicide sucks. It's happened too many times to too many 29 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: great artists. Kurt Cobain, Michael Hutchins, Chester Bennington, Anthony Bourdin, 30 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: and Chris Cornell dead in twenty seventeen at just fifty 31 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 1: two years old. If you've ever heard Soundgarden Audio Slave 32 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: or a Temple of the Dog, then you know that 33 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: Chris Cornell had a monster voice, four octaves of sheer power, 34 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: power that Chris now once had no idea that he possessed. 35 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: Imagine standing in front of a microphone inside a recording 36 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: studio and laying down a track with your band the 37 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 1: guys in your band are so loud that you have 38 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: to push your voice to the limit in order to 39 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: be heard, only to find that you're now pushing beyond 40 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: that limit. Everyone's like, dude, what are you doing? How'd 41 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: you do that? And you don't know. You just did 42 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: it and now you can access that power anytime you want. 43 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: That's how it was with Chris Cornell, stumbling into that 44 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: God given talent with ease. But if you've heard Chris 45 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: Cornell's acoustic cover of Nothing Compares to You, the ballad 46 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: written by Prince and made famous by Sinead O'Connor, you 47 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: know the real reason he was one of the greatest 48 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: to ever do it. Because he was capable not only 49 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: of great power, but of tremendous restraint. And that restraint, 50 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: that nuance, is why on his best day, nothing compared 51 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: to Chris Cornell. Chris never met Prince, but he did 52 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: run into him. At the Beverly Hills Hotel. Chris was 53 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: walking down a hallway when a guest room door of 54 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: ahead swung open. His royal badness appeared, no shirt, rocking 55 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: a purple headband, struggling to wheel a room service cart 56 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: out into the hallway. Prince locked eyes with Chris Cornell, 57 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: and Chris could see the shock. The panic. Prince wrestled 58 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: with the room service card some more, the silverware and 59 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: plates now clanking around and making a hell of a racket. 60 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: With great effort, he finally managed to move the cart 61 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,359 Speaker 1: fully into the hallway and then slammed the door behind 62 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 1: him without saying a word. Prince such a rock star 63 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: that he couldn't even say hello to a fellow rock star. 64 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: I'm not judging, and neither was Chris Cornell. He didn't 65 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: take offense. He could relate. Chris was shy, private. He 66 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: was allergic to the fame side of this business, all 67 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: that being recognized everywhere business, especially the being expected to 68 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: engage with the person who recognized you business. Chris Cornell's 69 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: definition of a working musician was simpler than that, but 70 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: as soon as Soundgarden got famous, he discovered that the 71 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: world of rock and roll was anything but simple. Nineteen 72 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 1: ninety two, Soundgarden's third studio album, Bad Motorfinger, the one 73 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: that was supposed to make them huge, was doing just that. 74 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: Not never Mind huge, not Nirvana huge, but it was 75 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: all good. Kurt Grunge, Seattle that Rise, and Tide was 76 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:48,040 Speaker 1: lifting all boats. It lifted Soundgarden and that's Chris Cornell, 77 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: of course, and guitarist Kim Thale, bassist Ben Sheppard, and 78 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 1: drummer Matt Cameron to an opening slot on Guns n' 79 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: roses Us Your Illusion Tour, and as openers, there were 80 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: strict rules to follow. One no upstaging Axel Rose. Two 81 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: no walking out onto Axel's metal catwalk, which extended from 82 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: the main stage, and three don't leave yourself out in 83 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,720 Speaker 1: the open backstage where God forbid Axel could run into you, 84 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: which is where Chris Cornell found himself now standing backstage 85 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: after Soundgarden's opening set, when suddenly here comes Axel fucking Rose, 86 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: baseball cap, tight red shorts, fur coat, sunglasses, doing that 87 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 1: street walking cheetah s throat with his jack bodyguard by 88 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: his side. Shit Christop. Maybe Axel won't notice, Maybe his 89 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: bodyguard will take pity and won't beat the piss out 90 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 1: of me. Axel was close now, passing right in front 91 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 1: of him. The moment of truth. Chris braced himself for 92 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: a lecture, a kick to the nuts, some hardcore welcome 93 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: to the ververbial jungle shit. He tends to Axel made 94 00:06:53,400 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: eye contact and then Axel said, hey, bro Axel Rose, 95 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,119 Speaker 1: in his bodyguard, kept walking. There was no dressing down, 96 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: no penalty, the so called rules, there were a joke. 97 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: It all was. I mean, look at these guys guns n' Roses, 98 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: once a lean five piece that required nothing but themselves 99 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: to absolutely kill in some tiny club on the strip, 100 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: and now playing hockey arenas with two keyboard players, two 101 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: keyboard players, three backup singers, giant inflatables flying around. It 102 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: was crazy. Axel was pricing out blimps for the next 103 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: leg of the tour. Chris Cornell watched the sunfold before 104 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: his eyes, not with awe or even respect, but with fear. 105 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: Fear that this was where a Sound Garden was headed, 106 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: that in order to reach this level you had to change, 107 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: compromise who you really were. He didn't want to do that, 108 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: not for a record label, not for an audience, and 109 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: certainly not for Axel Rose. Which isn't to say that 110 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: Chris Cornell and Soundgarden didn't want to write hit songs. 111 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: Their new single Outshined was holding up pretty well on 112 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: the rock charts, but Chris was proud that they made 113 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: it happen. Their own way, by remaining true to themselves 114 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 1: and by being authentic. There's this fallacy that American indie 115 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: bands in the nineteen eighties and nineteen nineties were allergic 116 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: to having hits, and that's simply not true. Soundgarden, for example, 117 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: would gladly have a hit. Just look at sub Pop Records, 118 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: one of the most important American indie labels during this 119 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: period and also the label that released Soundgarden's first single 120 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: and EP. When Bruce Pavett and Jonathan Poeman co founded 121 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: sub Pop in Seattle in nineteen eighty six, they had 122 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: Motown on the brain. They went after a certain kind 123 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: of band and a certain kind of sound. They hired 124 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: an in house producer, an in house photographer, and they 125 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: even flew in a journalist from England to write about 126 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 1: the thing that they had created, thus drumming up interest 127 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,839 Speaker 1: for what for the cool factor, fuck no interest, so 128 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:57,680 Speaker 1: that they could sell more records. And that's not to 129 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 1: say that indie music can later grunge. He didn't enjoy 130 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: being imperfect, imperfections like flannel shirts and lace up Doc Martins, 131 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: for all the rage it made the music human. But 132 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: Chris Cornell had, as Bruce Pavitt put it a seemingly 133 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 1: flawless nature. He was polished in looks and in sound, 134 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: a long haired Pacific northwest of Donnis, with a voice 135 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: as smooth as the bare chest that he routinely took 136 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: to exposing on stage. And because of this, Chris Cornell 137 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: stood out from everyone else in Seattle. But this didn't 138 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 1: happen overnight. For a while, all Chris wanted to do 139 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: was not stand out. In fact, all he wanted to 140 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: do was hide. Nineteen seventy eight, fourteen year old Chris 141 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: Cornell was freaking out, a latch key kid for years now, 142 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: left to his own devices, smoking, drinking, getting high. One 143 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: thing led to another weed pills, LSD, booze. But the 144 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: PCP was clearly a mistake. It turned his good day 145 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 1: into a bad day, the worst kind of day, a 146 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: black day, a day that envelops you, suffocates you, shuts 147 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: out the lights, everything in your own head twisted and 148 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 1: haunted and blanketed in a drop tuned doom. Chris just 149 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: wanted it to go away, whatever was now invading his 150 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: own mind, that is, just to leave him alone. But 151 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: it wouldn't leave. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months. 152 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: For about two years in his teens, Chris Cornell was 153 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: a shut ind all because of a bad trip on 154 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: angel Dust, a trip that turned him into an agoraphobe, 155 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: one who fears public places. He dropped out of school, 156 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: he isolated, Then his mom bought him a snare drum. 157 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 1: Soon he picked up the remaining pieces of a whole kit, 158 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,959 Speaker 1: and he rescued a stack of Beatles records from a 159 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: neighbor's basement. He met hero Yamamoto, a bass player, heroes 160 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 1: Bug kim Thale, a guitarist, both Seattle transplants from Chicago. 161 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 1: The first day of the trio jam, they wrote three songs. 162 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: The next day they wrote five more. But within two 163 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: months they had fifteen songs and they just needed a singer. 164 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,439 Speaker 1: None of them, least of all Chris knew that one 165 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: of Seattle's greatest voices was currently sitting on his ass 166 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: behind the drum kit. But like all young and hungry 167 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: indie bands, if you need something, you'd do it yourself. 168 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 1: Chris didn't expect his voice, though, to do that, And 169 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: when it did, Chris Cornell sealed his fate in an instant, 170 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 1: and that fate was not to be stuck inside his 171 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: own head, some pathetic PCP casualty, but to be compelled 172 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: by the act of making music, knowing without any reservation 173 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: that he was going to make music for the rest 174 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,199 Speaker 1: of his life, even if that meant washing dishes or 175 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 1: cleaning fish guts on the side until he was eighty 176 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: years old, play sing tour. This was Chris Cornell's life now, 177 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 1: and it was simple. Nineteen eighty eight, twenty four year 178 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 1: old Chris Cornell was doing what he loved, hitting the 179 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 1: road with his band and their Chevy America, a blur 180 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: outside the window as they tore ass through Louisiana. Chris 181 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: no longer playing drums but singing lead his band Soundgarden, 182 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: touring in support of Ultramega Okay, their full length debut 183 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: on SST Records. SST Come on, Man, are you kidding me? 184 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: Black Flag, the Minutemen, Hohosker, due the Meat Puppets. They 185 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: were all on SST. It was the coolest to d 186 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: label going subpop was cool too, no doubt, and those 187 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:04,679 Speaker 1: guys were Soundgarden's friends. But SST was SST, and they 188 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: wanted Soundgarden, they wanted Chris Cornell, but SST wasn't alone. 189 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: Every record label wanted to sign Soundgarden. Every major label. 190 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: And remember this is the late nineteen eighties, this is 191 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: before the word grunge entered the lexicon, before Seattle became 192 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: the new Athens or Minneapolis. Chris Cornell and Soundgarden were 193 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 1: that good and they were that compelling, But unlike most 194 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: bands eager to make that jump to the big time, 195 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: Soundgarden knew they weren't quite ready yet. Chris Cornell had 196 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: the wisdom and the foresight at just twenty four years 197 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: old to know that he needed more time, and not 198 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 1: a defined amount of time. It could be weeks or months, 199 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: or even years. But the point was to wait until 200 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: the industry needed them, not the other way around. Because 201 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: if Chris Cornell signed with major label A and M 202 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 1: Records at this moment, he knew he would be forced 203 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 1: to change, forced to sacrifice his authenticity, which at this 204 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: point was a polished hybrid of metal, hardcore and psychedelic rock, 205 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: wholly unique to the split camps of punk and hair 206 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: metal dominating Seattle at the time. And again, I'm not 207 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: saying that by turning down A and M, Chris Cornell 208 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: and the guys in Soundgarden were turning down the opportunity 209 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: to make a hit record, being authentic and being a 210 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 1: huge star not mutually exclusive. Chris was turning down the 211 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: notion of selling out. As Soundgarden went to the big 212 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: time before they were ready, before the industry was ready, 213 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: they would fail and they'd never have a hit. The 214 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: hits would come and due time the way that they 215 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: wanted it. This particular strategy wasn't just Chris's idea. It 216 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: was recommended by Chris's girlfriend at the time, Susan Silver, 217 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: who also happened to be Soundgarden's manager. The strategy worked. 218 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: It allowed Soundgarden to retain their indie credibility. Then it 219 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 1: got them in with the SST crowd far beyond the 220 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: borders of Seattle, and it only made the majors want 221 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: the band more like everyone else did. But you can't 222 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 1: please them all, particularly members of law enforcement here in Louisiana, 223 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 1: who assumed that your long hair, Washington state plates, and 224 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 1: buttholes surfers bumper sticker on the back of your van 225 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: equaled probable cause. Sound Gardens drummer Matt Cameron was behind 226 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: the wheel when he saw the blue lights in the 227 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: rear view mirror. He didn't panic. He knew the band 228 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: was clean, cleaner than your average rock band. Only their 229 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: sound guy Hallerman was holding and that tiny bit of 230 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: weed was stashed safely inside his toolkit. Matt pulled over. 231 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,960 Speaker 1: The cops walked up. Chris got a good look. Dark sunglasses, 232 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 1: big guns, and their badges. Not local police, not troopers, DEA, 233 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:53,240 Speaker 1: the fuck everybody out. The narks had them surrounded. The 234 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: band did as they were told, lined up along the 235 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: side of the highway, where Louisiana Dea were now looking 236 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 1: them up and down. Don't even think about making a 237 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: run for it. One of the officers said, look behind 238 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: you that there's Louisiana swamp. You were not there. You're 239 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: done for. We'll chase you like we're trained to do, 240 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: and chances are will catch you. But if we don't 241 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: catch you, the swamp will. Can't even begin to count 242 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: how many burnouts like you've gone missing out there. Thinking 243 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: they could run away. Thinking they're different, Soundgarden was different. 244 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: You were more likely to find philosophical discussion in their 245 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: dressing room than chicks in dope, not that the DEA 246 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: would believe it. Belief was relative. Seeing was believing, and 247 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: right now the Narks wanted to see what they believed 248 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: was there. So Chris Cornell and the Soundgarden, stuck between 249 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:46,560 Speaker 1: armed DEA officers and a swamp crawling with gaiters and snakes, 250 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: consented to having their van searched. The officers found Hallerman's weed, 251 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 1: which by their logic was communal property. And even though 252 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 1: it was a tiny amount, half a gram at most, 253 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: and remember this was nineteen eighty eight, so half a 254 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: gram was enough to put them all under arrest, which 255 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: was the DEAs and ten that is, until they found 256 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 1: the cash twelve hundred dollars Sound Gardens meager earnings from 257 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: ticket and merch sales on the tour so far the Narks, 258 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: though they defined it differently. Of course, in their eyes 259 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,679 Speaker 1: it was drug money subject to seizure, and that was 260 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: the bad news. The good news was that it made 261 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 1: things even. The money settled their tabs, so to speak. Well, 262 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: that and the weed. The DEA kept it all and 263 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: just sent the band on their way, humiliated, stripped of 264 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,399 Speaker 1: all their cash, honest cash that was now lining the 265 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 1: dirty pockets of dirty cops all the way to their 266 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: next stop, New Orleans, where that night they played a 267 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 1: show for four people, three if you didn't count the bartender. 268 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: If you've ever toured the country as an indie rock 269 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: band label or no label super Unknown and as it were, 270 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 1: sorry couldn't resist. You don't have to share this exact 271 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: experience to sympathize with what I'm describing here. Life on 272 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: the road is a struggling band on the come up 273 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:14,159 Speaker 1: is equal parts exhaustion and disappointment. Defeat lurks around every corner. 274 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: It breaks more bands than it makes. But Chris Cornell 275 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: was determined this is what he was going to do 276 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 1: for the rest of his life, even if it meant 277 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: he'd be penniless playing for three people at a French 278 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:30,120 Speaker 1: quarter or adjacent shithole. It beats sitting inside an empty room, 279 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,440 Speaker 1: stuck inside his own head, navigating whatever dark spaces still 280 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 1: remained Following that ill conceived drug trip all those years ago. 281 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:40,919 Speaker 1: He'd found his place here in Soundgarden, cranking out their 282 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,680 Speaker 1: brand of Sabbath and Zeppelin sludge, Kim Thale's heavy riffage 283 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: threading itself around Chris's four octave voice. But they didn't 284 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: take themselves or the lineage of their music too seriously. 285 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: Songs like Jesus Christ Pose and Big Dumb Sex took 286 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: the piss out of rock and roll martyrs and Macho 287 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:03,440 Speaker 1: Lethario Fucos alike. Their music was smart, just like their strategy, 288 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 1: a strategy that was beginning to pay dividends as planned, 289 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 1: Just as Chris and his girlfriend and manager Susan Silver hoped. 290 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: The industry continued to lend a near to what Soundgarden 291 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:19,439 Speaker 1: was doing and continued to up the ante. Before long, 292 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: A and M Records had tripled their original offer. When 293 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 1: Soundgarden finally made that jump to the majors, they made 294 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,960 Speaker 1: it while maintaining the very essence of who they were, 295 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:35,639 Speaker 1: and they didn't forget who got them there. In the 296 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: liner notes for Louder than Love, their nineteen eighty nine 297 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 1: A and M Records debut, Soundgarden thanked subpop, SST and 298 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:47,200 Speaker 1: the Louisiana Dea, the irony being that within about five 299 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,880 Speaker 1: years time, every one of those narks that pulled them 300 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: over outside New Orleans would have a Soundgarden CD on 301 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:56,560 Speaker 1: permanent rotation in their shitty camaros, and Soundgarden would have 302 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: a lot more than twelve hundred dollars in an envelope 303 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 1: to show for right now. However, in the fall of 304 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine, Chris Cornell and Soundgarden just had to 305 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 1: kill a rep and a killer record, so killer that 306 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,359 Speaker 1: it directly inspired Kirk Hammett to write the rift to 307 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: Metallica's mega hit enter Samman after he binged Louder than 308 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,640 Speaker 1: Love at three o'clock in the morning, which is, as 309 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: Kirk knows, the best time to listen to Soundgarden loud, 310 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,879 Speaker 1: But I digress Kirk Hammett. He was an early Soundgarden confert, 311 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,639 Speaker 1: as was Axel Rose, who took Soundgarden out on Tourhithm 312 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: just a few years later, and it was on this 313 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 1: tour that Chris Cornell once again confronted the fears selling out, 314 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:38,879 Speaker 1: a fear that, in order to proceed in the natural 315 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: order of things to go from big tour opener to 316 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: big tour headliner, he and Soundgarden would be required to 317 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,919 Speaker 1: compromise who they were and what they did. It seemed inevitable. 318 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: How one day you just wake up and everything is changed, 319 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,959 Speaker 1: and not for the better either. There was no explaining it, 320 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: It just happened. You found yourself in that place. Cornell 321 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 1: knew that place better than most. He put pen to 322 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,119 Speaker 1: paper and began to immortalize that place in a song, 323 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,639 Speaker 1: a song that would soon reveal him at his most vulnerable. 324 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:18,639 Speaker 1: At the very moment, he seemed totally invincible. We'll be 325 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 1: right back after this. 326 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 2: We're we're where the intersection of the five and the 327 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 2: ninety one freeways. A very slow pursuit followed by numerous 328 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,440 Speaker 2: highway patrol vehicles. But because of the intensity, it seems 329 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 2: like people have heard about what's going on. The presuming 330 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:41,879 Speaker 2: vehicle of OJ Simpson is still traveling very slowly northbound 331 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 2: along the five Freeway. 332 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: Nineteen ninety five. America was glued to the television set, 333 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:50,640 Speaker 1: just as they had been for the past year, ever 334 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 1: since OJ Simpson drove his white Broncos south on the 335 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,119 Speaker 1: ninety one Freeway, California Highway Patrol all over his ass. 336 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 1: Now the juice was on trial for the murder of 337 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: his ex wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, 338 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 1: a trial that completely saturated the culture, from the morning 339 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: news to the late night talk shows. It was the 340 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: biggest reality show. At the dawn of reality TV. OJ 341 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 1: was all anyone talked about. Did he do it? Was 342 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 1: he guilty if the glove did not fit? Should they? Okay, 343 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 1: you get it. But the judge presiding over the case, 344 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: Judge Lance Edo, wanted to talk about things besides OOJ Simpson. 345 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 1: He wanted to talk about himself because Judge Edo, like 346 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 1: Johnny Cochrane and Kato Kalin and so many others taking 347 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: part in this real life TV drama, saw an opportunity 348 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:43,200 Speaker 1: to parlay his unexpected notoriety into something bigger. So there 349 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: was Judge Edo basking in his own spotlight in newspapers 350 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: and on TV, this time not as a supporting player, 351 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,640 Speaker 1: but as the lead your honor du jour, being asked 352 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:59,800 Speaker 1: questions about his life, his childhood, his hobbies, Questions like Judge, 353 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:03,199 Speaker 1: what music do you listen to? Judge Lanciedo had his 354 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:07,399 Speaker 1: answer ready for that one. I really like Soundgarden. Chris 355 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: Cornell could not believe that shit when he read it. 356 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: The OJ Judge a fan a Soundgarden as far out 357 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: so was the size of this arena. Soundgarden was headlining tight. 358 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:22,480 Speaker 1: Chris walked through it and off. But Chris didn't have 359 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: an Axel Rose clause. Other bands, other stars weren't banned 360 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: from backstage like these two guys just up ahead, waiting 361 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 1: to pay their respects. They wore matching black suits, black hats, 362 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 1: black sunglasses. Chris knew who they were before we even 363 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 1: got close, just like the whole Judge Edo thing. He 364 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: couldn't believe this either. Jimmy jam and Terry Lewis the 365 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: Grammy Award winning writing and production team behind some of 366 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:51,639 Speaker 1: Janet Jackson's biggest hits, Bending the Knee Here for Him 367 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: Chris Cornell. Soundgarden's fourth studio album and their third for 368 00:23:58,359 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: A and M, super Unknown, changed everything, not just the 369 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,959 Speaker 1: band's lineup, with Ben Sheppard replacing original member hero Yamamoto 370 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: on bass, and not just the band's sound, which was 371 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,640 Speaker 1: both more beatlesque and more prog rock than ever before. 372 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 1: It was Soundgarden's first album to be released in the 373 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 1: wake of the grunge phenomenon, and their first to debut 374 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: at number one on the Billboard chart in the first 375 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: week alone in March of nineteen ninety four, it sold 376 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 1: over three hundred thousand copies. By years end, that number 377 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: had increased two and a half million, not only their 378 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:38,399 Speaker 1: biggest selling record to date, but their best justice. Soundgarden 379 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: Chris Cornell and Chris's now wife Susan Silver designed it 380 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:47,639 Speaker 1: to be authentic and a hit, like spoon Man, the 381 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,680 Speaker 1: album's first single, a song that couldn't have been written 382 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,000 Speaker 1: or performed by anyone else, originally the name of the 383 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,680 Speaker 1: fictitious band in Cameron Crowe's nineteen ninety two movie Singles, 384 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,119 Speaker 1: a movie that capitalized on the run scene and featured 385 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,080 Speaker 1: appearances in the film and on the soundtrack by Soundgarden 386 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: and other Seattle bands. Spoonman was inspired by a guy 387 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 1: everyone in Seattle knew. Soundgarden invited artists the spoon Man, 388 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,000 Speaker 1: the local street performer, to do his thing on the 389 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,199 Speaker 1: actual track, which he did, playing the spoons like a 390 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: man possessed the stainless steel, slapping between his fingers and 391 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: his arms and legs so hard and so intense that 392 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: his hands began to bleed, his harp began to pound, 393 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: and then artists the spoon Man passed out in the 394 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: recording studio during the take. How's that for authentic? Super 395 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 1: Unknown was a vibe all around dark psychedelia on black 396 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,359 Speaker 1: Hole sun thick gnarly guitars on Fourth of July fell 397 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,199 Speaker 1: on Black Days was both dark and groovy, and it 398 00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: was all about, to paraphrase Chris Cornell, that universal experience 399 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: we've all had in some way where one day you 400 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,920 Speaker 1: wake up and realize that your good life was actually 401 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: headed in a negative direction. You didn't see it coming, 402 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: It just happened. It was happening in Chris's hometown. Corporations 403 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,640 Speaker 1: and conglomerates doing what they wanted with Seattle. Total exploitation 404 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 1: in the name of discovery, every bespoke subset of every 405 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,440 Speaker 1: sub scene in town, picked over by Ian Hman, looking 406 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 1: for the next Nirvana, the next Pearl Jam, the next 407 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,920 Speaker 1: Chris Cornell, every rock band clutching what they thought was 408 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,920 Speaker 1: a golden ticket, when in reality it was just fool's goal. 409 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,920 Speaker 1: Chewed up, spit out now the most myopic definition of 410 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: quote unquote grunge and quote unquote Seattle being sold for 411 00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 1: thousands of dollars in the New York Times, this glossy 412 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 1: fashion supplement. And when the circus packed up its tents 413 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: and skipped town and they left it all to rot, 414 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: a once vibrant, authentic thing drained of its color. And 415 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,919 Speaker 1: there were real casualties too. One month after super Unknown 416 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: was released in April of nineteen ninety four, Kurt Cobain 417 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:57,240 Speaker 1: put the barrel of a shotgun in his mouth and 418 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,639 Speaker 1: pulled the trigger. Losing kerk heard as much as losing 419 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 1: Andrew Wood did three years prior. Andy wasn't just a 420 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:09,160 Speaker 1: friend at one time, he was Chris's roommate. Chris processed 421 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: his grief partly by writing songs and then recording and 422 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:15,160 Speaker 1: releasing those songs as Temple of the Dog, a Seattle 423 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:19,440 Speaker 1: supergroup he formed with members of Andy's band, Mother Lovebone. 424 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,640 Speaker 1: But the physical and emotional release provided by Chris's four 425 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: octave voice wasn't going to cut it forever. Not this time. 426 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:32,879 Speaker 1: Chris lost it. He self medicated with a bottle. He 427 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:37,199 Speaker 1: became the cliche he'd avoided for so long, exactly what 428 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 1: the Dea thought he was, and out of control rock 429 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 1: star fuck philosophy discussions backstage that shit was in the past. 430 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 1: That was before Kurt and Andy. Chris and the guys 431 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:52,359 Speaker 1: in Soundgarden were now channeling Keith Moon and Joe Walsh, 432 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:57,959 Speaker 1: ripping steel doors from their hinges, turning tables into kindling violence, destruction. 433 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:02,080 Speaker 1: Zero Fox, their r manager, got scared. He called up 434 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,680 Speaker 1: Susan Silver from Europe. Out on the road and asked 435 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,119 Speaker 1: for her guidance and what the hell was he supposed 436 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: to do. Susan's answer was simple, leave them alone. But 437 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:15,680 Speaker 1: struggling with great loss wasn't the only issue. Chris began 438 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,280 Speaker 1: to experience problems with his voice. The band was forced 439 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:24,679 Speaker 1: to cancel shows. He drank more pills oxy value cocaine. 440 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:29,480 Speaker 1: Those would come soon enough, too. Tensions rose, tensions within 441 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 1: the band, and tensions threatening to split up Chris and 442 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:38,160 Speaker 1: Susan's marriage. So Soundgarden doubled down, producing their fifth studio album, 443 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 1: Down on the up Side, by Themselves one hundred percent them, 444 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:47,160 Speaker 1: one hundred percent Uncompromised, one hundred percent killer. Chris wanted 445 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: that to be enough. He wanted the answer to be 446 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: that simple. That music, the thing he had given his 447 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: life to, saved it all in the end. But music 448 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: wasn't saving anything. Grunge, alternative, whatever you wanted to call it. 449 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: The thing Soundgarden was at the center of had successfully 450 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 1: killed all that hair metal that previously dominated the charts, 451 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 1: and now it mutilated the dead body and was wearing 452 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:15,000 Speaker 1: the celebrity skin suit. Axel rose with a flannel shirt 453 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,479 Speaker 1: tied around his waist, Kurt's widow, Courtney, ready for her 454 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 1: close up, and all that other nonsense. In a roundabout way, 455 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 1: it was Chris's greatest fear coming to life. He and 456 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: Soundgarden had sold out, just not of their own accord. 457 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:32,360 Speaker 1: It was enough to drive you back into your own 458 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 1: head to those black days, the ones you first encountered 459 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: almost two decades prior, back when you were just fourteen, 460 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: high on PCP, scared, confused, the whole world rewinding now 461 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,160 Speaker 1: back through A and M and then sst all the 462 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: way to subpop and beyond the spoon man, spoons rattling 463 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: the shell, making its way back inside Kurt Shotgun, all 464 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 1: the way back to when there was only one snare drum, 465 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: before any thing made any sense at all, any real sense, 466 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 1: until the tape rewound all the way off the reel 467 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: and unspooled itself and collapsed to the floor in a pile. 468 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: Chris Cornell was, by most accounts, a really solid dude, kind, caring, thoughtful, 469 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,720 Speaker 1: that rare breed of rockstar who is refreshingly down to earth. 470 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 1: He's the guy who made a Chicago kid by way 471 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: of San Diego feel at home in Seattle, welcoming a 472 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 1: young Eddie Vedder into the fold with open arms while 473 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 1: recording the Temple of the Dog album. Because of Chris's generosity, 474 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 1: Eddie Vedder was able to hear himself on record for 475 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: the first time. That in part imbued Eddie with a 476 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,600 Speaker 1: confidence to make even greater records with his new band, 477 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:05,280 Speaker 1: Pearl Jam, and, as Eddie later said, I'm indebted to 478 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 1: Chris Time Eternal. Chris Cornell was also the guy who 479 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:12,480 Speaker 1: opened his own wallet to make sure Uhlan Johanna's band 480 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 1: eleven could open for Soundgarden on tour that never happens. 481 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:20,160 Speaker 1: And Chris Cornell was the guy who convinced Richard Patrick 482 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:22,400 Speaker 1: of the band Filter to stick it out and rehab 483 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,000 Speaker 1: all that Jesus talk rubbed an atheist like Richard the 484 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:29,160 Speaker 1: wrong way. He felt like checking out after a few days, 485 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: and Chris told him to stay. Chris also told him, 486 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 1: you don't have to think of God as the helper. Instead, 487 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:39,680 Speaker 1: think of God as a group of drunks. And these 488 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 1: other people here, Chris included, they were your helper, your 489 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:46,920 Speaker 1: higher power. You needed that. You needed them because you 490 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,640 Speaker 1: can't do it alone. Of course, Chris knew what he 491 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 1: was talking about. He was here in rehab because the 492 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,920 Speaker 1: people around him saw that he needed help. His drinking 493 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,960 Speaker 1: was out of control. He developed an addiction to oxycon 494 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: He was using value coke, even crystal math, not eating 495 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: for days, losing weight. He and Susan had a daughter, 496 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,040 Speaker 1: but their marriage was now going through the same strains 497 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:13,840 Speaker 1: that had resulted in Sound Gardens break up five years prior. 498 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,080 Speaker 1: It was two thousand and two, the year of the 499 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:20,240 Speaker 1: debut of Audio Slave, the rock and roll juggernaut that 500 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: partnered Chris with Tom Morello and the rhythm section of 501 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 1: Rage Against the Machine. They were the ones who stepped up, 502 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 1: along with Susan and told Chris he needed to do 503 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:31,480 Speaker 1: something or he'd be dirt in the ground with Kurt 504 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 1: and Andy. So he did. He put in the work 505 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,600 Speaker 1: and came out on the other side. Just like he 506 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 1: once pushed past his own perceived limitations to reveal a 507 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: four octave voice, he was now pushing into a new 508 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:50,280 Speaker 1: stage in life, a stage that included divorce, then another marriage, 509 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:54,840 Speaker 1: more kids, more music, a bond theme song, solo albums 510 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,600 Speaker 1: that found him outside his comfort zone, or more like it, 511 00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 1: his comfort zone had shifted a bit, and this was 512 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,280 Speaker 1: who he was now Like Scream, his third solo record, 513 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,880 Speaker 1: produced by R and B mainstay Timberland, probably the last 514 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,280 Speaker 1: person anyone expected to work with Chris Cornell. The critics 515 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:13,040 Speaker 1: hated it even worse than they hated Audioly, which the 516 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:15,600 Speaker 1: time was not as well received as it is now 517 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:19,479 Speaker 1: in hindsight. Even worse than the critics were his own peers, 518 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 1: Trent Reznor of nine inch Nails logging on to Twitter 519 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:25,320 Speaker 1: to write, you know that feeling you get when somebody 520 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 1: embarrasses themselves so badly you feel uncomfortable? Heard Chris Cornell's 521 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:35,280 Speaker 1: record Jesus. Chris shot back a quick response, what do 522 00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:39,440 Speaker 1: you think Jesus would Twitter? Would he come back? Aside? 523 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,800 Speaker 1: That shit stung to have someone you respected and admired 524 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,800 Speaker 1: shit all over your music for doing the same thing 525 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:49,200 Speaker 1: Trent Resnor was doing, making art the way he wanted 526 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,400 Speaker 1: to make it at that moment, humiliated for being what 527 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:56,040 Speaker 1: Chris thought was authentic, and once again asking himself if 528 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:59,120 Speaker 1: he had finally become the thing he feared if next 529 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:01,720 Speaker 1: up he'd be buying blimp for a spectacle of a tour, 530 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 1: Frantically shoving a room service card into a hotel hallway 531 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:08,560 Speaker 1: to avoid interaction with the common people. It's impossible to 532 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:10,759 Speaker 1: know if any of these things were going through Chris 533 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,600 Speaker 1: Cornell's mind in the early hours of May eighteenth, twenty seventeen, 534 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: when he stepped into the bathroom of his MGM Grand 535 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:21,480 Speaker 1: Hotel room in Detroit and took his own life. But 536 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 1: whatever he was thinking was undoubtedly clouded and complicated and 537 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:32,080 Speaker 1: far from simple, and that is a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan, 538 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:49,720 Speaker 1: and this is Disgraceland, all right, disco's thanks for stepping 539 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:52,480 Speaker 1: into the black hole sun with me here. Apple podcast listeners, 540 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,000 Speaker 1: make sure you have auto downloads turned on. That way 541 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,440 Speaker 1: you won't miss any episodes. This week's question of the 542 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:01,560 Speaker 1: week is which artists follow a band was better or 543 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:05,879 Speaker 1: more impactful than their breakthrough band. I'm obviously asking because 544 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:07,960 Speaker 1: of Chris Cornell six one seven nine oh six six 545 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,200 Speaker 1: six three eight. With your answers, can you might just 546 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:13,040 Speaker 1: hear yourself my responses in the afterparty bonus episode coming 547 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:15,759 Speaker 1: up in your podcast feed right after this. 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