Steven Seagal

When my friend first tried to make the case to me that Steven Seagal was awesome, I'm not gonna lie, I kind of laughed. I knew he started a reality television show called Steven Seagal's Lawman, but I had no desire to tune in and haven't watched any new movies of his in years. I thought there was a reason for it; he was washed up, and probably not that good in the first place. She demanded I watch it, and told me if I did, I would see the awesomeness Seagal possessed. Again, I didn't take her seriously. Then I thought about it....wasn't Steven Seagal your third favorite action hero back in the day? (Side Note: No one will ever top Schwarzenegger and Stallone in first and second place respectively.) Didn't you love his movies? Remember when you and your brother used to watch Hard To Kill and Under Siege religiously? So, I decided to tune in to find out if my mind was playing tricks on me, and needless to say it wasn't. As soon as I saw him in action again, it all came back to me and hit me like a ton of bricks; Steven Seagal is mad awesome, he knows it, and you should know better to ever doubt him again.

I think the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Steven Seagal is his ponytail. Coincidentally, the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions a ponytail is Steven Seagal. Seriously, have you ever in your life seen anyone who rocks the ponytail better than Seagal does? I'll give you Johnny Depp, but besides that no one comes remotely close. What makes this accomplishment mad awesome is that besides a mullet, a ponytail is probably one of the worst haircuts any guy could sport. However, I think we can all agree that Seagal's ponytail is the equivalent of Bret Hart's pink sunglasses. Both are iconic, legendary trademarks of these heroes, and both of them pull their individual distinction off perfectly, especially when 99.9% of the world could not. It's almost like Seagal feeds off his ponytail to provide awesomeness to the rest of his body. You can even make the argument that the ponytail is the reason why Seagal is so underappreciated. People see the ponytail and probably think someone with a ponytail can't be that awesome. It's the same way in his movies. Bad guys think that they can beat up a guy who has a ponytail, however, inevitably they are the ones who get beat up. Clearly, it's safe to say that Seagal's ponytail has done as much for him as his hit movies have.

When Steven Seagal first entered the film industry, it wasn't as an actor, it was as a martial arts coordinator. The second film he worked under as a coordinator was Never Say Never Again. Sound familiar? It should, this was Sean Connery's last ever film playing James Bond. That's right, Steven Seagal is so awesome that it was necessary for him to teach James Bond, the most awesome spy of all time, how to fight. Obviously, Hollywood recognizes a star when it sees one and it wasn't that long after that Seagal was tapped to star in a movie of his own. Steven Seagal's film debut was in Above the Law, where he played a cop that took down drug dealers, corrupt politicians, and anyone else who tried to mess with him. He beat people up and killed bad guys in brutally awesome ways. It was a recipe for success, since it led to Warner Brothers signing Seagal to star in several action movies for them. The next four movies were huge box office hits and cult classics. In Hard to Kill, Seagal plays a cop investigating the mob. The mob kills his family and puts him into a coma for seven years. When he wakes up, he demands vengeance on the non-awesome criminals who tried to take his life. It is quite evident that bullets and a seven year layoff do not effect his awesomeness, as he manages to get the revenge he was seeking. Hard to Kill really displayed Seagal coming into his own not only as an actor, but his intense, intimidating one liners as well. I loved it when he told the head crime boss, "I'm gonna take you to the bank. To the blood bank!" That line is so awesome, I just got chills typing it out. My second favorite Seagal kill was in also in this movie. In the end of the movie he sticks a billiard cue into some bad guy's jugular. If you think a Seagal kill doesn't get any better than that, please rent Marked for Death. It's too gruesome to type out here, but I will tell you it includes Seagal, a bad guy, a deli, a butcher's knife, and it will make every man wince. If cool deaths don't interest you, then you should check Marked for Death out solely based on the fact its thought of as Seagal's best movie, or as I like to call it, his version of Thriller. The plot involves Seagal taking on a gang of Jamaican drug dealers by himself, displaying his prototypical awesomeness. Out for Justice was a huge hit, and the title of the movie pretty much sums up the plot. You think by now, people would learn not to mess with Seagal, but these people just don't learn theit lesson; don't give Seagal a reason to seek revenge. It's like playing with fire. As great as these movies were, they were all a preface for his biggest action hit.


Someone must have done something non-awesome to deserve this!

Without question, Under Siege was Seagal's biggest hit, even if it may not have been as good as Marked for Death. It grossed over $156.4 million worldwide and made Seagal a bona-fide star. Pretty much everyone and their mama who did see it, experienced his awesomeness for 102 minutes. When a group of mercenaries take over a Navy Battleship, only one man can take back control of the ship, and we know that one man is Seagal. Did I mention that Seagal plays a cook in the movie? A cook! How many cooks can take out an entire team of mercenaries? Sure he played a former Navy SEAL, but the entire fleet on board couldn't stop these mercenaries, yet Seagal, by himself, took them out, one-by-one. That speaks volumes about Seagal's awesomeness. This movie cemented Seagal among Hollywood's elite action stars of the 1990's. What's amazing when you watch this movie is that you know every single bad guy does not stand a chance against Seagal. The success of this movie lead to Seagal's only sequel, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. The plot of the sequel is more or less than the same as the first, except instead of a boat, this takes place on a train. I know what you're thinking, the title Under Siege 2 doesn't make any sense when the movie takes place above water. It doesn't matter though. Seagal still saves the day at the end and displays heroic awesomeness, yet again. Clearly, Seagal is so awesome, that he not only makes a successful movie, but still defeats the bad guys even when the title of the movie doesn't make sense.

In December of 2009, Steven Seagal premiered his own reality tv show, Steven Seagal's Lawman on A+E. It focuses on his work as a Reserve Deputy Chief of the Sheriff's Office in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. When asked why he started the show, Seagal stated "I’ve decided to work with A&E on this series now because I believe it’s important to show the nation all the positive work being accomplished here in Louisiana—to see the passion and commitment that comes from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in this post-Katrina environment." 3.6 million viewers were intrigued by this show and decided to check out the premiere, which was the best season opener for any original A+E series ever. Who could blame these 3.6 million people? Chances are they wanted to find out if Seagal is as awesome in real life as he is in his films. Needless to say, of course he is! In one drug bust, none of the cops can find the drugs in the house that they are looking for. Then Seagal starts searching the house, and he finds them easily. He offers up-to-the-second narration to viewers with his smart analysis when he says thinks like, "Once we make a turn on this street, it's going to be immediately in two seconds," or "Drug dealers work in the shadows, for as long as I have been doing this, I try to see in the shadows." Seagal even likes to show his sense of humor with his fellow officers, which allows the viewers to see he can relate to anyone. This was evident when they were talking about Jean Claude Van Damme, and Seagal says, "If he sees me, he runs." All of the officers in the car laughed, and so did I Steven, so did I. It's great to view Steven Seagal in a different light other than what we see in movies. It's even better to identify with what we observe in movies when it happens to be true to life.

There is a reason why Seagal its so believable that he never loses a fight in his movies. He is a seven degree in black belt in Akido, a Japanese form of Martial Arts. He was actually the first foreigner to ever operate an Aikido dojo in Japan. In fact, in the first episode of Lawman that I watched, someone tells Seagal "When I think of martial artis, I think of you." That has to be the biggest compliment ever. Think about other famous martial artists that this guy doesn't think of when he thinks of martial arts: Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee, Georges St-Pierre, Jackie Chan, Hélio and Carlos Gracie, Daniel-San etc. Seagal trumps them all. Thankfully, if you want more Steven Seagal in your life, he does a lot more than beat people up in movies and television. He helps produce and write many of his movies, has recorded his own album, and is an energy drink entrepreneur. Yes, it's true. Anyone can into a supermarket, buy Steven Seagal's energy drink called Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt, feel the power of Seagal and immediately become more awesome. Seagal has said "I have traveled the world creating this drink; there is none better that I know." If Seagal says so, what choice do we have, but to believe him? Seagal also has his own herbal oil product line, and his own aftershave called Scent of Action. The awesomeness doesn't just stop on drinks, so if you smell like garbage, you can instantly smell awesome by investing in Seagal's products. Isn't that why he made them in the first place? To make people more awesome?


Even the most hardened criminal fear this real life deputy.

My uncle once told me that every time any Steven Seagal movie is on television, no matter what point it is during the movie, no matter if he has seen it a million times already, and no matter how much my aunt mocks him, he will watch it until the end. Now, that is a dedicated Steven Seagal fan. However, that's what Seagal does to you. He hooks you in and takes you for the ride of your life. It's almost like he's a real life Jack Bauer. Think about it, both are intense, ruthless, tough, and they both barely break a sweat killing bad guys. That's quite the comparison since everyone loves Jack Bauer. I never would have thought of that two weeks ago, however once I took the time to reintroduce myself to Steven Seagal I came to that realization. There's nothing wrong with spending some time watching a Seagal film or his reality show to reach the same epiphany on how awesome he truly is.

Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette is a classic textbook example of a celebrity everyone loves, but no one like to admit it. It's not like people think she isn't talented or hasn't made good songs, but it's the fact they keep this to themselves that's disturbingly odd. Think about it, have you ever met someone who has told you they were an Alanis Morissette fan? Has someone ever told you before that they were going to see Alanis Morissette in concert? Have you ever seen anyone walk around in an Alanis Morissette t-shirt? The answer to these questions are obviously no. Yet everyone and their grandma knows the words to her biggest hit song, "Ironic." If you own an mp3 player, you and I both know you have at least five Alanis Morissette songs on there, and that's an underestimate as far as I am concerned. It's almost like everyone just accepts Alanis, but no one really praises her for how awesome she really is. Alanis Morissette does not deserve to be so underappreciated because she's much more than a guilty pleasure. She happens to be an awesome singer and song writer, a hunk magnet, a role model for women, an inspiration to the world, and the best musician to come from Canada since Bryan Adams.

Everyone knows that Alanis' big break came from her album Jagged Little Pill. When I think of 1996 albums, it's usually that album, Sublime's self-titled CD, and Antichrist Superstar by Marilyn Manson. Those three albums we listened to over and over again on the last day of sixth grade. Even though it's remembered as her most successful and popular album, I don't think people know how big of a hit this album was in terms of its staying power. To this day, Jagged Little Pill is not only the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the U.S., but the highest selling debut album worldwide. This album has been sold over 30 million times. This fact is almost unfathomable. Think about it....Madonna, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Shakira, Whitney Houston....none of them hold a candle Alanis Morissette. That's not just surprising, it's impressive and extremely mad awesome as well. Clearly there was a reason she wound up becoming the youngest person to win a Grammy for Album of the Year, with Jagged Little Pill. This album also won Grammys for Best Rock Album, Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Female, and Best Rock Song. It wound up winning Billboard Magazine's "Album Of The Decade. Morissette's popularity grew significantly in Canada, where Jagged Little Pill was certified twelve times platinum. The album was also a best-seller in Australia and the United Kingdom. Interestingly enough, Jagged Little Pill was not made with the intention of being a hit record. According to this interview with Alanis' publisher, "Prior to the album’s release, our thought was that Jagged Little Pill would hopefully sell 250,000 units, which would give the label and everyone incentive to have Alanis make the next record. But when (L.A. radio station) KROQ started playing ‘You Oughta Know,’ it was a breakthrough that no one had anticipated." Wow, when you make an album with the intention of it being basically a start-up album and it becomes one of the most successful records of all time, that is unreal. This is why when you look up awesome in a thesaurus, Alanis Morissette comes up as a synonym.

None of Alanis' records ever came close to matching the success of Jagged Little Pill. After all, how could they? Her next album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, had such high expectations, that the record label hoped to sell a million copies of the album during its initial release. Success like that is almost unheard of the music industry. The album did not reach a million copies right away, and had to settle for debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 469,000 copies. Keep in mind that those 469,000 albums sold was a record at the time, for the highest first-week sales of an album by a female artist. Therefore, for those keeping track at home, the record company expected Alanis to more than double the sales of a record in its opening week. It doesn't get much higher expectations than that. Even though the album was considered a disappointment, partly because it didn't match the success of her previous album, it was still certified four times platinum. In Canada, it won the Juno Award for Best Album and "Thank U", the album's only major international hit single, was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Therefore, it wasn't really as bad as it is remembered to be either. Needless to say, even though the rest of her albums weren't as successful as Jagged Little Pill, it doesn't matter much. Has Springsteen made an album that is as good or successful since he released Born In The U.S.A.? Have The Who came out with a good album in the past twenty five years? This is what artists do. They come out with a hit record and fail to live up to it. It's not to say that there other stuff isn't as good, it's just that one mega successful and awesome album is hard to match, and at the same time it gives you a lifetime of fame in the music world.


Don't be afraid to admit it, Alanis is awesome!

While Alanis Morissette is pretty, she's not that hot compared to other female celebrities. Almost every pretty female celebrity is a 8, 9 or a 10, so the scale that is used to rate everyday women can't be used on celebrity women; there has to be a different scale for celebrities. On the celebrity hottie scale, where Sarah Jessica Parker is around a 1 and Shakira is a 10, Alanis Morissette is probably around a 6.5, maybe a 7. Which is obviously good, but not great. However, you know she has a great sense of humor because in 1993 she dated Dave Coulier aka Joey Gladstone from Full House. Say what you want about how you hate his famous "Cut it out" line or how annoying his Popeye impersonation is, but the man is a professional stand-up comic, so he has to be funny sometimes. Also keep in mind that in 1993, Full House was one of the most popular shows on television. While Coulier was probably not getting any girl he wanted, he probably had a lot of options. However, it's telling that he decided to settle down with Alanis when he was at the peak of his fame. It truly takes an awesome individual to make a guy settle down at the point in his life, and that's what Alanis did. Eventually, though they broke up and Coulier's career has gone nowhere since. Alanis on the other hand, not only became a mega hit singer, but she also clearly upgraded her choice of boyfriends as well.

From 2002 to 2007, Alanis dated Ryan Reynolds who is consistently listed by several media outlets as one of the best looking male celebrities. (Side Note: Obviously she had other boyfriends in between Coulier and Reynolds, but none worth mentioning, unless you count actor Dash Mihok....Yeah, I didn't think so either.) I remember during this five year period whenever a girl told me how hot they found Reynolds, I always mentioned he was dating Alanis. Her reaction? "Really? Hmmm...interesting." Never "Really? He can do a lot better," or "Really? Her?" or even "Really? What does he see in her?" Even when they were engaged at one point, not a lot of people seemed to know it. I think this speaks volumes about how awesome Alanis is. On looks alone, you would assume Reynolds was way out of her league. Therefore, you have to assume that Alanis has something about her, that is just captivating for a man; kind of like what Mandy Moore has. It could be her charm, her personality, sense of humor, or just general awesomeness. It might not be as strong as Mandy's, but it is definitely there in order to hold Ryan down for five years. Despite that logic, even if you think he is still out of her league, what does that say about Alanis, that he would be with her even when he could do a lot better? Again, it speaks volumes. Five months after they ended their engagement, she started dating an environmental lawyer named Tom Ballanco. The girl rebounds better than Dwight Howard. Wait, you don't think this is an upgrade? Maybe not in the looks or money department, but isn't every girl's dream to date a doctor or a lawyer? And a lawyer who cares about the environment? Now I don't know anything about Tom Ballanco, but I would assume that just based on those two things, he can definitely get more girls than Dave Coulier could. However, he chooses to settle down and be with Alanis and we all know why. He appreciates her awesomeness, so why can't we?


Is Alanis the lucky one in this picture? Or is Ryan?

I think one of Alanis' most underappreciated qualities is the effect she has on others. Alanis is credited with influencing such female singers like Shakira, Tracy Bonham, Meredith Brooks, Patti Rothberg, Pink, and fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne. In 2009, Alanis sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 5 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Little did she know that when she was singing, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley was so inspired by her awesomeness that in this game he hit two home runs to reach a total of five home runs in the series. By accomplishing this feat, Utley tied a record held by Reggie Jackson. Alanis also performed at the 11th Annual Power to the Peaceful Festival in San Francisco on September 12, 2009 headlined and produced by activist and artist, Michael Franti of Spearhead. Over 60,000 people attended this concert, and over 60,000 people were also reported to have been emotionally, physically, and spiritually moved that day. Alanis inspires not only as an activist, but as world class athlete as well. In the fall of 2009, Morissette ran the Bizz Johnson Trail Marathon in a blazing speed of 4:17:03. By running this race, she helped raise over $3,000 for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). Three weeks later, she ran the New York City Marathon (November 1, 2009) in 4:28:45. Her time was reported as being slower because so many racers stopped to take pictures with her. Coincidentally enough, most of the people who took pictures with Alanis were wearing an "I'm With Awesome" t-shirt, which had an arrow pointing towards Alanis. I can't make this stuff up, it happens, but it's nowhere close to giving her the appreciation she rightfully deserves.

Maybe, Alanis gets the props she deserves in her native Canada. (Side Note: I'm not sure, since I haven't been to Canada in almost ten years.) As an American, I can't appreciate Alanis the way fellow Canadians do, even if Alanis is a naturalized citizen of the United States and she maintains her Canadian citizenship. After all, there is a reason why in 2005, Morissette was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, and not just because almost all of her albums sold better there than they did in any other country. How highly do they think of Alanis in Canada you ask? Well let me put it this way to you.....in Canada we all know hockey is more important than breathing. Therefore, when the Ottawa Senators were in the Stanely Cup Finals, for their first home game they asked Alanis to perform the American and Canadian national anthems in "The Star Spangled Banner" and "O Canada." This had to have been the honor of a lifetime for Alanis. For those of you who don't watch hockey and don't understand how highly Canada thinks of hockey, let me put it to you another way. This is the equivalent of Mike "The Situation" winning a hot body contest at the Jersey Shore, taking the hottest guidette home to his jacuzzi, and having her spend the night, except only 10 billion times bigger. It truly doesn't get any better or bigger than this if you're Canadian. If there was ever a moment in her life were Alanis Morissette felt appreciated for her awesomeness, this was that moment.

Ironically, I haven't mentioned the one thing about Alanis Morissete that displays her awesomeness to perfection. In case you forgot, or never saw the movie, Alanis portrayed God in Dogma, which when you think about it, may be blasphemous, but is incredibly awesome. I mean, how do you cast God? How do you choose someone who whether you're religious or not, or believe in God or not, represents the creator of life? How do you even decide if it should be a man or a woman? Despite all this, Kevin Smith confidently casted Alanis to play God. If that's not a testament to Alanis' awesomeness, I don't know what is. So the next time you hear an Alanis Morissette song being played off your mp3 player, don't skip the song or claim you don't know how that song got on there; sing it loud, sing it proud, and recognize her for her awesomeness whether you are in Canada or not. She certainly deserves it.

Chris Cornell

With all due respect to religious fanatics, Chris Cornell is a God among men in the music industry. Seriously, the man performs miracles every time he performs in concert or makes a new album. When he came out with "Cochise" with Audioslave, that was his equivalent of parting the Red Sea. When he recorded "Call Me a Dog" with Temple of the Dog it could be compared to God's "Let There Be Light" moment. I'd like to think that "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgardgen, is one of God's most played song's on his iPod. On the seventh day, God didn't rest, he created Chris Cornell's voice. I'm not trying to commit blasphemy here, but I'm just trying to make the point about how awesomely talented Cornell is. Yes, Chris Cornell is a music icon, very popular, and well-known, but is he appreciated for his talent, success, and awesomeness in a way that he deserves? I think not because for some reason the only people who really appreciate him that much are either his die-hard fans or those in the music industry. It's about time we change that and make Chris Cornell appreciated world wide, and not just by his hardcore fans, for what he truly is; the greatest male singer and the man responsible for some of the best bands and music in rock of our generation.


I will repeat for emphasis, Chris Cornell is the greatest male singer of our generation. You can have your Michael Bubles or John Legends, and every American Idol winner, I will take Cornell. Every time I hear Chris Cornell sing I always say to myself, "Damn, I wish I had his voice." Whenever I'm listening to "Shadow of the Sun" alone and I try to scream like he does, I know I sound like a nasally dork, because I, and frankly no one, has the awesome raw vocal power that Cornell has. His voice is everything you can want and need in a Hard Rock singer. It's original, intense, loud, and in your face. His voice is what you should hear when you think of a rock vocalist. He belts out screams and yells that are so perfect, they are they equivalent to Shakira's belly dancing moves. Both blow your mind on how insanely awesome they are. It is a scientifically proven fact that every song that Cornell has sang is automatically better just because he was singing on it, and you can't argue with science. It's pretty much impossible to sing a Chris Cornell song for karaoke because you are only going to severely embarrass yourself and butcher the song in the process. The rage in his voice can't be matched with the way it fits in with the power chords of the song. Also, I bet you didn't know his voice is so awesome that he and Mariah Carey are the only two people in the history of life to ever reach the fifth octave. I'm sorry, but when you accomplish something that only one other person in the history of the world has, that's extremely impressive and you deserve mad props for it. Again though, unless you count his die-hard fans or those within the music industry, this recognition escapes Cornell for some unknown reason. Maybe it's cause society can't accept someone so awesome or because he isn't a pop artist. Either way it's a travesty because Cornell's voice is literally one of a kind. However, Cornell is not just all vocal ability. Did you know that Cornell is also a male model? Sure, he's no Jesse Palmer (Side Note: No one is), but he has great hair, surprisingly ripped abs, and apparently a mysterious side to him that the camera just loves. This is why John Varvatos tapped Cornell to be the face of his 2006 ad campaign. It was nice to see Cornell be recognized on something outside of his musical talent, even if it was his musical talent that got him the gig in the first place.


How many singers, or artists in general can say that they were in three highly successful bands, two of which were the top bands of their respective genre in the era in which they played? Not many I'm sure, but Chris Cornell can. Keep in mind, this doesn't include the success Cornell had during his solo career either. Soundgarden, Cornell's first band, is considered one of the four founding fathers of grunge along with Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Pearl Jam. In fact, Soundgarden was actually the first grunge band to ever sign with a major label, when they signed with A&M Records in 1990. This was right after they were nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Soundgarden's first big album Badmotorfinger was among the top 100 selling albums of 1992 and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. After this album came out, they were personally selected by Guns N' Roses themselves to open for them on their Use Your Illusion Tour. For the biggest band in the world to ask you open for them on the tour of their second best album has to be one of the best feelings ever. They had to know that this was going to help them blow up, and blow up they did. Their next album, Superunknown debuted as the number one album on the Billboard 200 and went on to go quintuple platinum in the US, triple platinum in Canada, and gold status in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands. It was nominated for the Best Rock Album Grammy and two singles off Superunknown, "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" went on to win Grammys. Rolling Stone also ranked Superunknown as the 336th greatest album of all time. .Soundgarden released one more album before they broke up, Down On The Upside. It was nominated for Grammys, but didn't win any. It wasn't as successful as Superunknown, but still produced the hits "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand", and "Blow Up the Outside World." Either way, their impact on music in the 1990s was tremendous. They were not only ground breaking, but helped influence almost every rock band you hear on the radio today. While none of the other members of the band found the same success they found in Soundgarden in their other bands, their frontman and most talented member, managed to stay in the limelight with other bands. I don't think this is a knock on the other members of Soundgarden, as much as it is due to the awesomeness of Cornell.






I don't know what song he is singing, but I'm sure he sounds awesome.


Temple of the Dog was a side band Cornell was in while he was also in Soundgarden. Besides Cornell, the other members of the band were Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Matt Cameron, and Eddie Vedder. If these names seem familiar to you they should, because they are the five members of Pearl Jam. Yes, Chris Cornell and Pearl Jam were in a band together, and unfortunately they only released one album together. As you can probably guess, this album was awesome. While you would think Temple of the Dog's songs would be the blueprint of grunge and rock, it actually wasn't. If you listen to their songs, you notice they are actually slower and softer because they are singing about Cornell's former roommate who died of a heroin overdose. You can tell that this clearly had a profound effect on Cornell, because besides starting a band to honor him, his voice sounds better on this album than it does at any point of his career. His vocals sound powerful, yet soft and fit the melody perfectly. I like to think it shows Cornell's awesomeness that he can use his voice in a dynamic way, yet in a softer tone, and not just in a hard rock setting. David Fricke of Rolling Stone praised Temple of the Dog's only album when he wrote the album "deserves immortality." It was among the 100 top selling albums of 1992 and wound up going platinum by selling more than a million copies. Even more impressive was the fact that when Temple of the Dog was released it was critically acclaimed, but didn't sell too well. It wasn't until after Soundgarden and Pearl Jam got popular that A&M Records really started to market the album. Working with Pearl Jam helped Cornell's career after Soundgarden was over too. According to Cornell, Temple of the Dog's success was the reason why he joined Audioslave. Cornell stated in an interview that the experience made him "keep an open mind" about collaborations with musicians from other bands.


I will never forget the day I found out about Audioslave. I probably said awesome more that day than I have in this entire blog so far. Just the idea of the Cornell forming a band with the guitarist, bassist, and drummer of Rage Against The Machine almost made me pass out. With one of the best guitarists of our era, Tom Morello, teaming up with the best vocalist of our era, Cornell, I knew they were going to make hard rock magic together because they were a perfect match. The power chords Morello plays would go perfectly with Cornell's famous raw wailing. I think a lot of people myself included, figured they would be a mix of Soundgarden and RATM, however it turns out they kind of created a sound of their own. If you listen to their songs, you can hear a combination of 1970s hard rock with 1990s alternative rock. Audioslave's first album, Audioslave debuted number seven on the Billboard 200 and sold 162,000 copies in its first week. Within a month, it was certified gold and wound up becoming triple platinum. Their second album, Out of Exile, debuted at number one on the U.S. charts and has achieved platinum status. The crazy thing about this album, was how awesome and fresh Cornell's voice sounded, due to the fact he became sober and quit smoking, which is kind of crazy. Could you imagine how much better Cornell's voice would sound if he wasn't smoking, drinking, and partying for a good part of his life? I can't even comprehend how awesome it would be. Audioslave was also so awesome that they became the first American rock group to perform a concert in Cuba, playing in front of an audience of 70,000. They wound up producing a DVD on this concert and it was certified platinum in less than two months. Their third album Revelations was its least successful, and only reached gold status. While Audioslave was a great band, they were clearly not as good as Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine. Part of it was due to the fact they just had a lot to live up to and had very high expectations. However, you can make the argument that Audioslave's songs put Cornell's voice to better use. That's not to say that Audioslave's songs were better than Soundgarden's, (Side Note: They weren't) but Cornell's voice fits Audioslave's songs better than they do Soundgarden's. If you don't think so, I implore you to please listen to my favorite Audioslave song, "Shadow on the Sun." I defy you to find a Soundgarden song that utilizes Cornell's vocal ability better than it does here. I wish you luck. Cornell wound up leaving the band in 2007 to work on his solo album and when RATM got back together.






Chris Cornell doesn't have to drive to be awesome - but he drives anyway. (Copyright: Ross Halfin)


Cornell has also released three solo albums. The first Euphoria Morning had its single, "Can't Change Me" nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Cornell received the honor of producing the song in the James Bond film Casino Royale. James Bond films are famous for having an original song played during its opening credits by one of the best artists in music, and its obvious why they would choose Cornell. "You Know My Name" won a Satellite Award for Best Original Song, and a 2007 World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film. The song was also nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Even my dad loved it. "You Know My Name" was the first single off his second album Carry On. What makes this album awesome, is that a bunch of songs on the album are played acoustically, giving Cornell a different medium to make his voice stand out. Cornell worked with all-world mega producer Timbaland on his most recent album, Scream, which was released in 2009. This is Cornell's most interesting album because it gets away from the hard rock sound Cornell is known for and focuses on the electronic hip-hop sound Timbaland is famous for. Everyone I know either loves this album, or hates it. Regardless of what you think of the album, you have to give Cornell credit for trying something new, whether it worked or didn't. It truly takes someone awesome to try something that is exactly the opposite of what they are known for and attempt to be successful at it.


The thing that I find most awesome about Cornell is the talent who wanted to work with him because I believe this shows not only how talented other musicians find him, but how much they respect him as well. As previously mentioned, he was in bands with members of Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. Guns N' Roses and Metallica, the two biggest rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s demanded that his bands tour with them. He contributed vocals on the Alice in Chains song "Right Turn" and Alice Cooper's "Stolen Prayer" and "Unholy War," which he also wrote. He also has performed in concert with Linkin Park and Aerosmith. Timbaland referred to his recording sessions with Cornell as "The best work I've done in my career." I also think it says a lot about an artist when an artist decides to release a cover song about an other artist. That's why it is awfully impressive that such big name singers like Johnny Cash, Peter Frampton, and Paul Anka have all covered songs that Cornell made. Even though he isn't as big as a name as those artists, when David Cook decided to cover Cornell's version of "Billie Jean," and not Michael Jackson's to help him score some votes on American Idol, it put Cornell's awesomeness on display. However it's possible that we haven't even seen the best of Cornell yet. On January 1, 2010 Chris Cornell's official Facebook and Twitter page confirmed a Soundgarden reunion after a 12 year hiatus. Lord only knows what their new sound will be like, but I know that the expectations will be high and I will be listening to whatever they come out with. Hopefully, more people can appreciate the awesomeness of Chris Cornell, and not just those in the music business and his die-hard fans. The best way to do that would be to do what he does best; sing, wail, and belt out words with raw power and emotion. Once Soundgarden steps into the studio, that's exactly what's going to happen.