RIP Chris Cornell

He was Louder Than Love.

When we were younger and knew nothing, people like Chris Cornell were our mentors, leading us down some interesting paths. They didn't have answers and they made that clear; they just made incredible, invigorating, heartbreaking, and memorable music that helped us get through most anything. "My Wave" was like a mantra:

Don't come over here
Piss on my gate
Save it just keep it off my wave

I used to scour liner notes back then and when I discovered Cornell's music publishing name was "You Make Me Sick I Make Music" I thought, that's perfect. Take your defiance, your anger, your disgust with how cruel the world can be and channel it into something. Music, art, your friends and family, anything productive.

His death is devastating. To me, my friends, the world. Every time someone of his stature dies, people ask "You didn't know him personally, why do you care?" And I feel anger and a fury inside well up because those people must live the saddest, most pathetic existence to not understand why. For the last time: it's because we grow up with people like Cornell. They were there for us when no one else was, they spoke to us in a language we could connect with, and they helped us see things in ourselves we never knew existed before.

Thank you, Chris. You were there for us when we needed you, and we'll always carry you in our hearts.

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