Shine on

Chris Cornell was burdened with brilliance.
But like so many rock gods before him - and after, because the Reaper of talent never seems to stop needing souls- he unloaded that weight eight years ago.
We mortals were left with a 30-year catalogue of musical genius and a question that can never be answered: why?
It doesn’t need to be answered, and in fact, should not continually be asked. And yet.
What you saw on stage, what you can still, blessedly, hear through your earbuds or watch on YouTube, should be enough. Because that’s what the Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman gave you. No more. And certainly, no less.
And there’s always Total F*king Godhead by Corbin Reiff. (Look up the meaning, old people like me)
Extensively researched, it tells Cornell’s story through the hundreds of interviews he and others close to him granted over the course of his life. It’s quite readable and engaging.
If memory serves, Cornell’s family has not been supportive of any attempt to immortalize him in a book, which would explain Reiff’s approach. It works, though. For a self-described loner, Cornell certainly did not shy away from conversation and the hints you seek shall be found on these pages, sadly. There’s a difference between person and persona and he embodied that contrast.
As did many of his contemporaries, gone too soon. The tragedy of Grunge is difficult to process, even still. It’s natural, as a commoner, to ask how someone with such a gift for songwriting and singing, someone so easy on the eyes, someone so successful, couldn’t see all those things. My guess is that he did, and they did, and it just didn’t matter.
There won’t ever be another like him. And we will always wonder.
Leave that behind. Take a break from the unknown and treasure the treasure. Give a listen to some lesser known Cornell jewels:  Nothing Compares 2 U and a Wild World duet with Cat Stevens.
Remember the beautiful being who was gifted to us and can never be outshined.