Chris Cornell shows Linkin Park how to live

I was about to write a post about the new Linkin Park album and how it stretches fan loyalty, product development and customer satisfaction to breaking point when I heard that one of the influential singer songwriters of the last couple of decades and one who has had a profound influence on me personally, Chris Cornell, has killed himself at only 52.

Chris Cornell demonstrated during his incredible career with Soundgarden, one of my favourite bands of all time Audioslave, in his solo career and as a guest singer on countless songs how to actually re-invent your sound, your brand and retain that essential fan loyalty throughout. Cornell had one of the amazing voices ever in rock.

I defy anyone to listen to any number of Audioslave songs and not feel their spine tingle and go wow, what a voice. He was the wall of sound that drove that grunge era and propelled bands like Nirvana into the stratosphere. Nirvana’s frontman Kurt Cobain of course also killed himself. Something about their passionate personalities, lifestyles and highs and lows of being on stage that make them decide it is better not to live.

Linkin Park by contrast seem to be hell bent on destroying all of their fan base and fan loyalty who put up with albums like 1000 Suns and those strange dance mixes of otherwise pretty cool songs with their new album “One More Light’. It’s actually tempting to say that it should be called “Will the last one who listens to this appalling piece of rubbish please switch the lights off”.

The reaction by fans, who after all are the people buying their albums, live tickets and merchandise, has been universally derisory. It is indeed one of the worst albums anyone has ever produced anywhere, ever. Clearly life is far too comfortable for Chester and the boys. They were so much better writing songs during divorces, heart break with drug fueled anger raging against the machine.

The pure essence of brand values of Linkin Park have always been anger, energy, betrayal, raw emotion, defiance, heartbreak and ultimately amazing, spine tingling hard rock. By contrast this album could have been sung by any middle of the road pop group from the life music of Coldplay to background music of any mainstream American rap artist.

It literally defies belief that they could put out this crap and still call it a Linkin Park album. The ultimately low point is halfway through the atrocious song “Halfway Right” they decide to break into a hands in the air with your lighters/mobile phones and sing NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNa…...i laughed before I cried and deleted it from my Spotify. This was as far away from the sound and brand of Linkin Park as it’s possible to get.

I am instead listening to the inspiring This is Chris Cornell playlist on Spotify. Listen to this and remember what raw emotive rock actually sounds like.

Chris Cornell RIP.