Go on and save yourself. Take it out on me.
There have been so many other things requiring my attention the last few months that I have just let anything not essential slip out of my grasp. But, I miss this little blog and my five little readers. I miss writing. I miss being inspired, being pushed, feeling capable. And most of all, I miss the music. So, here I am, with a renewed commitment to do better, but not making any promises I can't keep. I have at least 10 drafts of entries that I started and didn't finish. And maybe that's where I should start. But I have something else that's been in my head the past few days and I just can't get it out.
I realized during my drive that through some tragic oversight on my part, I didn't have any Audioslave on my iPod. Nor had I ever talked about it on my blog. It's no secret that I worship Chris Cornell- and I have a lot of respect for Rage Against the Machine as well- but I remember when their first album came out my freshman year of college... I sort of laughed. I'm not a believer in super groups, for the most part, and I had no intention on listening to Audioslave at all. But then my boyfriend got the album and all my intentions got pushed aside because it was just. that. good. If I had a quarter for every time we listened to them into the wee hours of the morning that year...
Their first album, Audioslave, is an album in the way fewer and fewer are these days. It really has a distinctive voice and you can hear elements of Soundgarden or Rage in there, but the whole is something completely different altogether. Its a record that just gels. Its cohesive. And it makes you feel good. I could go on and on about Cornell's vocals, but honestly, a lot of the credit for the music goes to Tom Morello, who without a doubt is one of the best guitarists of our time. So, what does it sound like? It's definitely hard rock, but it's not abrasive or in your face about it. The sound is coaxing. Addictive.
The first half of the album is alot harder than the second half, but the album as a whole moves. It takes you on a definite road. And while all the songs apart are great, all together, it feels complete. And you couldn't ask for a better song than "Cochise" to open the album with. The opening bars create all this tension and then the drums build it up so that when the guitars finally kick in, it's like this sudden release. But, the energy doesn't fall. I think that's something that's true of the entire first album.
Unfortunately for me, the only thing I don't really like about Audioslave (besides their stupid name) is their other albums. It's not that they were bad, it's just that they didn't draw me and hold me the way the first one did. I think that danger exists for every band that you fall in love with from the start. Your expectations for who they are and what they sound like are very specific and very high... letting them change, loving the change... that's harder than you might think.
Want to guess what my favorite song on the whole album is?
So tired of walking and you loathe the ground
The sidewalk will barely touch your feet
Life moves too slowly to hold you down
