Special Edition of The Naked Vibes Show in tribute to Chris Cornell - musician, singer, songwriter - who passed on May 18, 2017, leaving the music community stunned & with a feeling of deep loss. His music - recording & performing with Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog, & several solo albums - has been a soulful part of many a life soundtrack.

Chris Cornell 2011 Photo Credit: Wikipedia

SHOW NOTES:
1:12 - I had a different podcast scheduled for today - an archived conversation with my friend Reggie Rueffer, a brilliant musician/singer/songwriter, who with his band, Spot, was on the same record label as Chris Cornell at one time. Interscope. You’ll hear some related music from Reggie in this episode.
1:40 - Chris Cornell’s death took the whole music community by surprise & his songs have been running through my mind ever since I heard the news. I’ve awakened in the middle of the night to “Fell on Black Days” several times. So, I felt it was important for me to change the podcast schedule & talk about him & how impactful his music has been on me. “Fell on Black Days” - Soundgarden from Superunknown

2:05 - Most of it can't be put into words - as is usually the case with any person who passes from our lives - whether in our families, friendships - or in the landscape of our artistic lives. Music is an intimate relationship. It connects all of us. Artists channel our personal, as well as our collective emotions & our deepest levels of expression - levels that many people could never reach without the music. It’s a wave that allows all of us to ride.
2:43 - Chris Cornell died just after Soundgarden’s show in Detroit - apparently by suicide - though reports say his wife is disputing that & many close friends are shocked because his previous behavior didn’t indicate anything like that. She says he may have taken an extra dose of his anxiety medication, of which suicidal thoughts are a potential side effect. So, we don’t really know - this is only what’s in the news at the moment.
3:10 - Last podcast, I talked about the Divine or Sacred Feminine - & Chris certainly embodied that energy. He was such a masculine man, but his lyrics & music bring forth the mystery of human nature - the deeper secrets, longings & desires - & it taps into those places where all of us house things we don’t know & don’t understand - the secret places.
3:39 - Death is one of those secret places. One of those places we don’t like to talk about much, but we need to - for many reasons & on many levels. For one, to remove the stigma. And also, to bring into the light, the things that cause people to feel alone & eventually find themselves in a place where they believe there is no other choice, but to exit the physical body.
4:05 - When I was writing my novel, Heaven, Chris Cornell’s music was a clear & present muse for me as that masculine presence, but one who also embodied the presence of the Sacred Feminine. The passage where Chris’ music comes into play is really the darkest & most explicit chapter of the book. It contains lyrics from “Pretty Noose” - Soundgarden from Down on the Upside. Should you read it, that particular chapter will take you on a journey into the deep mystery of the feminine energy - the place where our sexual & our spiritual nature connects. It illustrates the darker side of the feminine energy & how, when out of balance, it can lead us down a darker path than we ever intended to go. Music illuminates that path like nothing else can.
6:10 - In another chapter, the lead character in the book, Eve, is dancing to a song by a fictitious band, XXX. I wrote the lyrics for this song within the chapter, & later completed the music. Because Cornell’s music (Soundgarden & Audioslave), along with Alice in Chains, had been such a constant companion during the writing process, I was really feeling that kind of vibe & energy. I could hear Chris performing it. So, when I finished the novel,