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SUPPORT ME ON PATREON\n\nWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE\n\nFEATURED SONG: NICK \u2013 \u201cXylophone Ways\u201d (from the album Your EP)\n\nThe voice is it for me. When it comes to any popular music, it\u2019s the lead singer who makes or breaks it. The absolute best band or music powered by a vocalist I don\u2019t click with may as well be telephone hold music.\n\nTwo perfect examples: Some people can\u2019t stand the Cure because Robert Smith\u2019s voice grates on them. I happen to love them in large part BECAUSE of his voice. Some people find Billie Eilish\u2019s music haunting, intimate & enchanting. Her songs are so well done & her voice is wonderful, but it doesn\u2019t move me at all.\n\nWhich brings us to Soundgarden. They were many things - grunge metal punk progressive psychedelic classic rock pop. They were incredible for many reasons - songwriting, the above mix of styles, live performance, and Kim Thayil\u2019s genius. But to me they were legendary because of Chris Cornell. No voice in the last 40 years has come close to being as epically powerful, yet nuanced & beautiful, as his.\n\nI call Soundgarden\u2019s music modern opera because it\u2019s what opera should be. What it\u2019s meant to be. Wrung with emotion, running the full dynamic spectrum, technically sound yet not confined by rules. Cornell was able to convey complete abandon and total control all at once - over a vocal range and intricacy of melody that would confound, or worse constrict, even the best opera singers.\n\nYou could feel the angst and the vulnerability equally. The struggle and the triumph. The weakness and the strength to endure. Which is what we all thought was happening until 2017. You could say Kurt Cobain\u2019s death was a shock. Or Layne Staley. Jim Morrison or Janis Joplin. But what they all had in common was that A. They were relatively young; and B. They were still in the heat of their worst addictions, recoveries notwithstanding. Cornell\u2019s death was much more of a shock because we all thought he was out of the woods. Like Philip Seymour Hoffman, we all thought he\u2019d exorcised his demons and found a stable path forward. We thought we\u2019d see him age into one of the great modern elder statesmen.\n\nNope. He\u2019s dead. And it sucks. Mostly for him & his family & friends. Also for his band. His fans. And all of music. I can\u2019t say there will never be a voice of his caliber again, but we will never get to hear HIS voice again. Whether in Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave or his solo work, he left us with a tortured beauty both rawer and more polished than Led Zeppelin. And deeper than any metal predecessors who influenced him.\n\nAs for Soundgarden\u2019s influence on me, it may not be readily evident. But it\u2019s there. All the vocal expression. All the power & complexity of the music. The bluntly poetic lyrics. This is kind of a left field pick, but if you focus in on the lyrics, the emotion & especially the chorus & solo sections, you\u2019ll hear the connection:\n\nNICK \u2013 \u201cXylophone Ways\u201d (from the album Your EP)\n\nAlso, as part of my acoustic tribute to grunge, I covered their song \u201cFell on Black Days\u201d. I\u2019m including it here as a bonus:\n\nNick DeMatteo \u2013 \u201cFell on Black Days\u201d (live acoustic performance)\n\nDo you know Soundgarden\u2019s music? We\u2019re you a fan? Did Chris Cornell\u2019s voice captivate you the way it did me? What other bands do you love because of the lead vocalist? Discuss dammit!\n\n\n--- \n\nThis episode is sponsored by \n\xb7 Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app\n\nSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices