Chris Cornell interview by Christopher Toh at Today

Different. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear singer Chris Cornell’s latest album, Scream.

It would appear that Cornell, best known as the lead singer of rock outfits Soundgarden and Audioslave, has traded in his rock guitar for some of the niftiest urban beats you can think of – thanks to hip-hop producer Timbaland.

And despite its title, the album doesn’t have that much screaming in it. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that Cornell’s name is on the cover, you’d probably think this was some new pop artiste.

While a lot of that might be attributed to him working with Timbaland, Cornell, speaking from London where he was on a promotional tour, pooh-poohed the idea that he had a “sound”.

“The death of most bands is because of constant repetition,” Cornell told TODAY.

“Here’s what normally happens with a band that’s well known that tries to come out with something different from what everyone expects: Usually there’s some celebration based on that but very quickly after that you’ll find the band and fans clamouring back to exactly what they sounded like before.

“I’m not going to name names but I’ve seen that happen a lot,” he said.

But he insisted: “Other than the use of less guitar, I’d like to point out that there really isn’t a common sound that I have had in the past.”

And no, despite both Cornell and Timbaland being strong music personalities and having strong opinions about their music, working on Scream wasn’t as difficult as some might assume.

“It was easy because I wasn’t going in with a good idea of what I wanted. I think we stayed out of each other’s way a lot,” said Cornell. “We were both working to create an album, but we were both trying to beat the last thing that we did.”

Then again, Cornell hasn’t been one for sticking to the same old routine. Even in his days with Soundgarden, Cornell has always tried to push the boundaries of the musical envelope. In terms of musical exploration, Scream is no different.

“A song like Time reminds of a period of time, the late ’60s and early ’70s. It was an exciting period in music, the music was soulful and lyrically it was juxtaposed with unrest, an outward and inward look at what was going on at the time,” he said.

“I feel like a couple of songs from Scream really strike that chord for me. Time is one of them, Ground Zero is another.”

And in the spirit of change, Cornell says he doesn’t miss being in a band, even though both his band outings saw him achieve his greatest success.

“Truthfully, I wouldn’t be able to tour as much as I do, or make records as often or experiment as much in a band. Because I’ve found that bands, particularly after some success, don’t want to work as hard as I do. Everyone seems to want to stay home, do their hobbies and things other than write songs, make records and tour.”

Will his love of touring bring him to our fair shores? “There’s a very good chance I’ll be there. I’d love to come to Singapore. I’ve been asking about it for the past year and a half now, so I’ll definitely be able to do it!”



	the evolution of chris cornell by christopher toh, today, march 2009
	Different. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear singer Chris Cornell’s latest album, Scream. It would appear that Cornell, best known as the lead singer of rock outfits Soundgarden and Audioslave, has traded in his rock guitar for some of the niftiest urban beats you can think of – thanks to hip-hop producer Timbaland. And despite its title, the album doesn’t have that much screaming in it. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that Cornell’s name is on the cover, you’d probably think this was some new pop artiste. While a lot of that might be attributed to him working with Timbaland, Cornell, speaking from London where he was on a promotional tour, pooh-poohed the idea that he had a “sound”. “The death of most bands is because of constant repetition,” Cornell told TODAY. “Here’s what normally happens with a band that’s well known that tries to come out with something different from what everyone expects: Usually there’s some celebration based on that but very quickly after that you’ll find the band and fans clamouring back to exactly what they sounded like before. “I’m not going to name names but I’ve seen that happen a lot,” he said. But he insisted: “Other than the use of less guitar, I’d like to point out that there really isn’t a common sound that I have had in the past.” And no, despite both Cornell and Timbaland being strong music personalities and having strong opinions about their music, working on Scream wasn’t as difficult as some might assume. “It was easy because I wasn’t going in with a good idea of what I wanted. I think we stayed out of each other’s way a lot,” said Cornell. “We were both working to create an album, but we were both trying to beat the last thing that we did.” Then again, Cornell hasn’t been one for sticking to the same old routine. Even in his days with Soundgarden, Cornell has always tried to push the boundaries of the musical envelope. In terms of musical exploration, Scream is no different. “A song like Time reminds of a period of time, the late ’60s and early ’70s. It was an exciting period in music, the music was soulful and lyrically it was juxtaposed with unrest, an outward and inward look at what was going on at the time,” he said. “I feel like a couple of songs from Scream really strike that chord for me. Time is one of them, Ground Zero is another.” And in the spirit of change, Cornell says he doesn’t miss being in a band, even though both his band outings saw him achieve his greatest success. “Truthfully, I wouldn’t be able to tour as much as I do, or make records as often or experiment as much in a band. Because I’ve found that bands, particularly after some success, don’t want to work as hard as I do. Everyone seems to want to stay home, do their hobbies and things other than write songs, make records and tour.” Will his love of touring bring him to our fair shores? “There’s a very good chance I’ll be there. I’d love to come to Singapore. I’ve been asking about it for the past year and a half now, so I’ll definitely be able to do it!” Reprinted from today - originally available as an online feature here
	Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2009