This page collects some of the best interviews and features on Chris Cornell's life and career post-Audioslave. For material from other times in his career, see these links.
July 2010
Not an interview as such - but here's a retrospective look from Classic Rock at the choicest moments from Chris Cornell's recording career with Soundgarden, Audioslave and as a solo artist. Oddly enough, writer Phil Wilding labels Scream as "one to avoid" despite his own earlier rave review of the album in the same magazine....perhaps a case of selective amnesia.
May 2010
"Time isn't as much of a factor in remembering a song as is how much we played it live." Along with guitarist Kim Thayil, Chris contributes to this very brief interview with Spin about Soundgarden's forthcoming appearance as Lollapalooza headliners.
April 2010
"It's a waste of time trying to focus on where you want to be 10 years from now, it's better to just live your life." Chris explains the ideas behind the lyrics of "Promise" in Classic Rock's special edition "Slash fan pack".
"I mean this as a compliment...Slash is the most drunk guitarist I have ever seen play well". Chris (and many others!) spoke to Classic Rock magazine for the special 10-page cover feature dedicated to Slash's solo album, on which Chris appears. Slash had plenty to say, too - some of it hilarious. Some great pictures by Ross Halfin.
October 2009
"Niente è più emozioniante della moto". Here's a piece on Chris from Italian biker mag Riders (thanks Cristina).
September 2009
"One of the things I didn't like about being in a band was that it had to be a loud rock experience for the music to work. It made me feel frustrated and inadequate that I'd need all this stuff to entertain people." Chris gave this unusual 3-page interview on acoustic songwriting to muso magazine Total Guitar when he was in the UK to play Donington this summer. You can read the text of Chris's interview here, but it's part of a 17-page spread of illustrated advice from the famous: well worth buying, especially if you play guitar or write songs.
August 2009
"If you don’t feel that as an artist, then I don’t know what you’re doing. Just being a homogenized sellout, I guess." Chris explains to the readers of Guitar World why he continues to court danger in everything he does as a musician.
July 2009
" I love beating my limits..." Here's an unusual interview from Milan's La Gazzetta dello Sport and concentrating on Chris's interest in motorbikes and sport. In Italian and English - thanks to Cristina Marinoni for kindly providing an English summary of her article.
Here are a couple of features in Rolling Stone which feature interview material from Chris. This one scotches the Soundgarden tour rumours and substitutes the hope of a box set - this one talks about the legacy and influence of the late Michael Jackson.
"Non voglio finire a suonare sempre le stesse cose, io amo personaggi come David Bowie, un artista che in trent'anni di carriera e passato del rock sperimentiale fino alla dance." For those with some Italian, here's Chris talking about why he doesn't want to repeat himself in an interview with venerable Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
Not exactly an interview - just Chris fielding a cheeky Norwegian question with aplomb.
Video interview at Norway's Quart Festival on Friday. Chris reminisces about his very first live performance and diving unwisely into freezing water back in the days when he used to drink.
June 2009
For those who speak Danish, here's a great feature piece from Århus Stiftstidende in Denmark.
"C’è un bel numero di cose che potrei fare. Dobbiamo solo aspettare e vedere…" For those who speak Italian, here's an interview with music site Outune.net, ahead of Chris's shows in Milan and Rome.
Here are some filmed highlights of Chris's press conference prior to last night's show in Tel Aviv, Israel.
In which Chris is too shy to speak any French to the interviewer at Switzerland's Caribana Festival:
During his last visit to Seattle in the spring, Chris gave an in-depth interview to Seattle Sound magazine. You can read the whole illustrated article via the RealRead Viewer in its original print format, or you can enjoy outtakes from the interview here.
"Jeff...was very much full of life and had a lot to say. He was somebody in love with experiencing everything." In this cover feature for the Irish Independent's "Day & Night" section, Chris talks about everything from Scream, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake to the Audioslave breakup, his relationship with Kurt Cobain and the genius of his late friend Jeff Buckley.
Watch Chris Cornell's hair gradually dry out as he talks about his live set and latest album Scream in this post-show interview with NME, filmed at Download Festival in the UK.
"That wasn't a response to him. I don't know why people thought it was." Chris explains to Dublin's Evening Herald that the so-called "Twitter War" with Trent Reznor was a total press fabrication - and why he doesn't give a damn about people's expectations.
"Music is music to me..." Chris tells Dublin radio station Phantom 105.2 why genre isn't as important to him as it is to others and why the freshness of his latest approach reminds him of his earliest days with Soundgarden. Unedited interview to download or stream online.
"It's seriously disturbing..." In part 2 of his Young Hollywood interview, Chris tells us why bringing your kids to rock shows is better than letting them watch Barney the Dinosaur.
May 2009
Chris talks to the troops via Sgt Ted MacDonald of The Pentagon Channel: watch it here.
I've never heard of her, but I'm buying the album." Chris reviews new summer songs in Esquire.
"It just happened naturally and I’m glad it did." San Francisco's The Tripwire reviews the show and talks to Chris about the past, about "Scream" and learns there's not much chance of a Chris Cornell movie career or a new duet with Eddie Vedder. With some great pictures.
"I don't concern myself so much with the big picture..." Rick Emerson, a very nice man from Portland, Oregon's 101 KUFO radio station, talks to Chris about all sorts of aspects of his life and art.
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Check out this two-hour Alternative Press podcast at this site or on iTunes - first guest in their new "Icons" series is Chris Cornell. Terrific in-depth interview and some of the most intelligent commentary on the "fan fight club" yet!!!
"Initially it was a letting go of a relationship song..." Here's an interview with Young Hollywood about the inspiration behind Long Gone.
"My heart needs to feel good while I'm playing a song..." Chris talks to Gibson Lifestyle about playing old and new songs live, being free to create, and talking to fans on Twitter.
"It’s just a different suit of clothes......it’s very much the same song" Chris tells Rolling Stone the story behind the Howard Benson remix of Long Gone.
April 2009
"You have to find that flattering..it's positive attention and anybody that doesn't like it is lying." In Seattle Gay News, Chris talks about getting attention from gay men, Obama's regime, Parisian politics, and reminisces about Soundgarden's early days.
"I just want to do anything I want whenever I want...and then go and deconstruct it immediately and derail it." Chris explains his modus operandi to the Seattle Times.
"The real fans aren’t the ones who are upset or complaining; they’re the biggest supporters." Chris talks about fan demographics and laughs at the so-called Trent Reznor "twitter war" in conversation with gay magazine Between The Lines.
"Can you sing ANYTHING?" In a four part video interview in his Seattle dressing room, Chris tells John Fisher of 103.7 The Mountain all about the genesis of Scream, with diversions into the way the Beatles and Sinatra shaped his musicianship and his various experience of life in restaurants. See below!
"I was terrified of a future where someday I would be in some sort of a novelty-act situation..." Chris explains to the San Francisco Chronicle why he isn't happy to live in the past.
"I'm getting a lot of super-hip DJ culture saying, "What you're doing is what we believe is where music is going." Chris talks to The Oregonian about risk-taking and musical frontiers.
"It's actually created an environment where I can answer simple questions that someone's probably had forever," Chris talks to Shanon Cook of CNN about the beauty of Twitter, Scream's critics and his ability to multitask. In video or a longer print version.
"I'm not much of a materialist". Here's a four-part audio interview with Sherman & Tingle of Q101 in Chicago. Chris talks about money, Soundgarden, being right-brained, why opposites attract within a marriage and reminisces about being on the road with Axl Rose. Oh, and takes questions from locals. Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four
"All alcohol and drugs ever did was get in the way of what I wanted to do." Chris talks about making fans happy, being free of constraints and about time wasted (in both senses of the word) in this instructive interview with NME.
"The feeling of comfort is not exciting to me, creatively." Here's a great in-depth piece from the UK's The Big Issue.
"The second you start writing to please people, you may as well be a short-order cook." Chris talks to MusicRadar about Scream, Soundgarden and the so-called "Twitter War". Download from here: Part One Part Two
"It's not like bungee jumping off a bridge..." Chris tells Cleveland's The Plain Dealer why sticking with one genre would be boring.
"I think you can create a monster, which is an audience" In an interview with the Washington Post, Chris answers his critics and talks about why some people respond to art as though they're reading from a script.
"Maybe, I’m afraid that if I stop for ten seconds that I won’t ever get started again." Chris discusses forward momentum, lucky escapes and the different worlds that can coexist within the same song in a fascinating interview with Kate Heath of MyYearbook.com.
"I actually don't know what he said, and I've never made a response to it". In Uturf's Daily Grind interview, Chris put the record straight on Trent Reznor's twitterings at Scream.
March 2009
Here's an interview with DJ Skee who went with Chris and the band for their recent headline festival appearance in Santiago, Chile. Chris talks about disappearing planes and whweree he finds the energy to do a thre-hour show.
"Do something out of left-field....otherwise it’s like going to the office." Chris explains to top-selling British paper The Sun why his "big ask" was the right thing to do.
"The business representatives of Soundgarden...let Soundgarden down as far as keeping our legacy out there and active." Chris talks to Bullzeye.com about that elusive Soundgarden box set, reminisces about his past and looks to his future.
Here's video of Chris on Carson Daly - also available on news page.
"The Beatles did whatever they wanted...that's what they taught me about rock music. Anything goes." Chris and Timbaland talk to USA Today about thinking outside the box.
“I feel like my albums are snapshots of what I'm going through at the moment.” Rick Florino of Artist Direct asks Chris what "alternative" really means, gets him talking about the "particularly literary" lyrics, and discusses how Scream compares with great concept albums of the past.
"As a song writer and creative person, I have to do what makes me happy". Chris talks to Alternative Addiction about fan expectations and why they're not always realistic.
"The most polarization is definitely in the U.S. " In an interview for Ultimate-Guitar.com, Chris explains the difference in reaction to Scream over various part of the world.
"It's affected how I sing other songs live, believe it or not". Chris talks about Scream to Classic Rock's Phil Wilding.
"He'll make a beat out of anything – banging on a wall, hitting a box." Chris explains to NME how many of the sounds on Scream were more organic in origin than one might suppose.
"If you're not going to get behind electronic music, this album's definitely not for you." Chris Cornell talks to Austin Scaggs of Rolling Stone about taking risks, getting his favourite guitar back, and the inspiration behind new song "Sweet Revenge".
"Timbaland never gives instructions on how a melody should go ... he usually brings a beat and a mood to the table." Chris talks to the cheerful chaps at the Malaysia Star.
"Scream has guitars on every single song..." Chris explodes one or two misconceptions about his new album on Skee.TV, unveils a new competition to win tickets for his US tour and answers a slew of questions from his followers on Twitter. See below.
"I’m not some gender scientist, into assigning roles." In a fascinating and unusual interview with the wonderful Tom Lanham, Chris talks about parenting, his ideas for greener touring, and the Enemy.
"To me R&B means Aretha Franklin, who is otherworldly." In a great piece in British newspaper The Guardian, Chris recalls his soul influences, talks about his personal recovery and explains why a Soundgarden reunion would "risk tarnishing" the band's legacy.
"I'm used to making music that doesn't fit easily with what is expected." Published to coincide with the show at London's Shepherds Bush Empire earlier this month, here's an interview with London Lite.
"The most rock elements often came from Tim": Chris talks about the process of making Scream to London's Metro.
Head over to IGN.com and you can see a new webisode with Chris talking about Scream. Or so I gather - it's not available in the UK yet!
"It's a bit more tongue in cheek than that..." Chris discourages the writer from Associated Press from running away with the idea that the picture on the cover of his new album is A Cultural Statement.
"I get to share the stage nightly with one of the best voices in rock history, and the level of playing is fierce..." Chris's drummer Jason Sutter talks about life on the road and his career as a musician.
"This guy works really fast and is an incredible singer": Chris applauds Justin Timberlake's turn on 'Take Me Alive' during an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Grunge Pioneer Chris Cornell Tries Neo Soul: Here's an audio interview with Jacki Lyden of NPR music.
"I never thought of myself as being the guy singing the song, or the narrator..." Chris tells DJ Skee of Skee TV about the different characters that show up in lyrics, the performance process and storytelling in song. See below.
"The death of most bands is because of constant repetition" Chris talks to Today about pushing the envelope - and the chance of his playing in Singapore.
"I really think the fans will come around to the concept" Chris actually talks to old adversary Rolling Stone, which is a turn-up for the books in itself.
"Would you like to go now?" Talking to Aktuelle News in Berlin, Chris picks an interview question he's never been asked before. He also talks about Scream live shows, explains the appeal Europe holds for him and talks at length about his friends Vladimir Klitschko - who's in his latest video - and Rory de la Rosa, with whom he's written a song.
February 2009
"I smash stuff up onstage, at home I'm pretty quiet". Screened last night on Canadian television, this interview with CBC's The Hour was recorded in front of a live studio audience during Chris's last Canadian tour.
"A large part of my whole career": Chris talks to Project 9-6-1 in Atlanta about why his show at Center Stage on April 1 is no joke - and about what kind of set he'll be playing.
"I could move forward with ideas that were unorthodox": Chris talks to MTV UK about Scream and his forthcoming London shows.
"It's likely some fans of mine won't like this..." UK rock mag Kerrang talks to Chris about Scream and his forthcoming show at London's Scala.
January 2009
"Some people aren't going to like it,": Chris talks to the BBC about Scream and why he wants to "shake people up".
"It was so easy for me to get inside those worlds": Chris tells Classic Rock magazine why he shares Timbaland's far eastern influences and tells audiences to expect a mix of Scream and other music at his forthcoming live shows.
Here's a hilarious interview with Chris and Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, who appears in the Part Of Me video. It's part of an EPK which also shows behind-the-scenes footage from the video shoot.
Hhere's some of the press in advance of the forthcoming European dates, including quotes from Chris and introducing the new album to an international audience. MTV.co.uk - NME - The Daily Star - Glasswerk - Blabbermouth
"...I also want to keep on surprising people. Including myself." Chris is one of a string of celebs (including Homer Simpson...!) who've divulged their New Year resolutions to ivillage.
For older interviews:
2008 go here
2007 and 2006 go here
© Clare O'Brien 2009
