I try to keep up on current sensual trends so I can add some “vintage” commentary to the mix.
I am in my 60s after all.
So, I found it a bit disconcerting — as I often do — when the trend “slutting out” over Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” began to surface.
On it’s face, it can feel like ‘Black Hole Sun’ has a somewhat sensual and lighthearted vibe.
However, when you watch the music video of this song – it’s clear there is a strong, dark and ugly commentary behind it.
Clear to me anyway. What do you think?
Have a look below….
“Black Hole Sun” was released as a single on May 13, 1994 (in the US) by the band Soundgarden fronted by Chris Cornell.
Apparently, it was written by Cornell when he was driving one night in his hometown of Seattle.
It was the third single from Soundgarden’s album Superunknown, which itself was released earlier on March 8, 1994.
The song quickly became one of the band’s biggest hits.
The success of ‘Black Hole Sun’ was helped along by its music video.
With it’s intense and slightly creepy visuals and accompanying acoustics — it created an enticing tension.
**Which could explain why so many people (especially today) are ‘slutting out’ during the song.**
In fact, much of what the video and lyrics conjure up rings true for what is happening today. ←— My take. What do you think?
Perhaps Soundgarden was 30 years ahead of the rest of us.
Chris Cornell described “Black Hole Sun” as a sad, surreal dreamscape.
He explained its origins as a stream-of-consciousness piece sparked by mishearing a TV news phrase while driving.
On the Key Line “Times are gone for honest men”Cornell directly addressed this lyric in interviews.
He said;
“It’s really difficult for a person to create their own life and their own freedom. It’s going to become more and more difficult, and it’s going to create more and more disillusioned people who become dishonest and angry and are willing to fuck the next guy to get what they want. There’s so much stepping on the backs of other people in our profession. We’ve been so lucky that we’ve never had to do that. Part of it was because of our own tenacity, and part of it was because we were lucky.”
Chris Cornell — americansongwriter.com
Although Cornell says he’s talking about the music industry – it can easily be carried over into commentary about American society.
He said this about Black Hole Sun in 1994.
It’s absolutely filled with foresight. Perhaps even prophetic.
Cornell saw a cynical, competitive world—especially in music—where authenticity and independence were under attack. In turn, it pushed people toward dishonesty, skirting integrity and exploitation.
He was outspoken about industry pressures.
He and Soundgarden emphasized their creative independence over commercial formulas stating;
- There was pressure after the success post-Superunknown, where their record label wanted them to focus on sales/numbers over their art.
- The challenge of evolving without compromising.
- He criticized the pretentious rock-star culture and idolization in the business
- Later, he noted the old industry “deserved to be crushed” by the inevitable digital changes. While at the same time, arguing music shouldn’t be entirely free.
- Cornell had an urge to “corrupt” some of Soundgarden’s songs that were more mainstream
Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” and its accompanying video, amplifies the unease, which many viewers/listeners pick up on as much more sinister than the melody suggests.
Perhaps most interestingly (or most telling) is when and how Chris Cornell passed.
Chris Cornell died on May 18, 2017, at the age of 52.
This is how it is described;
He was found unresponsive in his hotel room (Room 1136 at the MGM Grand Detroit) in the early morning hours after performing with Soundgarden at the Fox Theatre the previous evening. His bodyguard discovered him around 12:15 a.m. with an exercise resistance band around his neck. Cornell was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m.
The part that really gets me is this — “His bodyguard discovered him around 12:15 a.m. with an exercise resistance band around his neck.”
The Official Wayne County Ruling From The Medical Examiner’s Office
They ruled Cornell’s death a suicide by hanging.
The autopsy confirmed injuries consistent with hanging (partially suspended), and toxicology reports showed several prescription drugs in his system (including lorazepam/Ativan, barbiturates, and naloxone).
However, these were not determined to be a contributing factor in the cause of death.
Police reviewed hotel surveillance and ruled out foul play.
Cornell had a long history of struggles with depression and substance abuse, which his family and widow Vicky Cornell have spoken about publicly.
Some family statements questioned aspects of the circumstances or medical care leading up to his death — (including a settled lawsuit with a doctor over prescriptions) — but the official determination remains suicide.
Cornell is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
R.I.P Chris
Cornell’s interviews over the years, tended to portray him as someone who navigated fame’s pressures with a mix of gratitude for the band’s luck and appreciation for all the members tenacity.
He was also clearly suspicious and wary of the system’s cynicism—to put it mildly. This theme comes through strongly in many of his song’s including “Black Hole Sun’.
So, the next time you get the urge to get into slutting out or see someone else slutting out — It might be worthwhile to consider that slutting out is not necessarily hot or edgy. It’s kind of feeding the machine that is keeping humanity in a cesspool of dark energy. Just saying.
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