Soundgarden's Chris Cornell Says Rock Music Has 'Lost It's Place' | Guitar Interactive Magazine

Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has opened up about his experiences with drug abuse and spoke about the decline of rock music in a new interview with Details. Cornell was part of an era of music dominated by guitar bands and admits he's watched the genre fall from mainstream consciousness.

Speaking with Details, Chris Cornell says that rock music has "definitely lost its place at the center of the musical universe.". When asked about the state of rock music in todays climate, Cornell added, "When I was growing up in the late Seventies, everyone could identify the five or 10 bands that formed the center. Even if you preferred the fringe - The Clash, over, say, Van Halen - you still knew what the center was. Now kids turn on the radio and hear Eminem or Kanye, so that's what they gravitate towards."

Cornell also says that he thinks modern technology has played a major role, adding, "They're making music on iPhones. Everything's fractured. The reason there's no modern-day Shakespeare is because he didn't have anything to do except sit in a room with a candle and think."

Cornell also went on to speak about his past drug use, saying, "When you pick up the pipe for the first time, you don't know that that's your fate. The moment isn't that dramatic. And then that was it - I didn't want to care anymore."

The singer admits he doesn't know why his generation of musicians was hit so much harder by drugs than previous ones, explaining, "Those bands somehow had the ability to be completely fucked up all the time and still function. They could play an amazing guitar solo even though they could barely walk. The Eighties killed that - everyone was doing coke."

Chris Cornell is set for a return with Soundgarden later this fall, as they continue work on their first new album in 16 years. No release date has been set yet, although sources close to the band suggest it will be some point in 2012.

This week saw the band offer a preview of a new song called 'Live To Rise', taken from "The Avengers" soundtrack, also featuring new tracks from Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch amongst others. The album arrives on May 1, three days before the movie opens on May 4.

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