Chris Cornell and Timbaland Scream Out of Tune

By Veronica Murtagh in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 16, 2009 5:00PM

Every decade has been musically defined by a sound, movement or genre. The 1950's brought doo-wop to the publics' ears, paving the way for the widespread embrace of rock & roll that would lay the foundation for the soul, classic rock, funk and punk genres that ruled the following decades. Disco in the 1970's and Synthpop in the 1980's convinced the public to dance and undeniably influenced the development of modern electronic music, allowing bands like Daft Punk to sell out arenas. As Gen X and Gen Y'ers, grunge in the 1990's was the music that served as the soundtrack to our formative listening years. We went to our first concerts in plaid shirts and Converse chucks with dirty hair and downward gazes. As we come to the close of the first decade of the 2000's, we face a crossroads in musical history, where defining the sound of the decade elicits silence.

We recently attended an intimate private performance of ex-Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and hip-hop producer Timbaland. The event gathered hip-hop fans and ex-grunge groupies under the same roof to celebrate last week's release of Cornell's genre-defying solo album Scream, produced by Timbaland and to debut Stop Me, an exclusive track from the duo. Held in Ravenswood's Architectural Artifacts, a sprawling wonderland of salvaged history, Cornell took the small, candlelight stage for an acoustic performance and brief interview by radio station Q101.

We spoke with many of the fans in attendance that night, curious of their reaction to the hip-hop rock collaboration Scream which many critics, ourselves included, would not award the most favorable of reviews. At its core Scream is an interesting concept, but falls sorely short of combining the two genres with any measure of success. Timbaland rigidly adheres to his signature hip-hop production values and Cornell never deviates from his rock roots. The two voices are musically joined but refuse to experiment in one another's territories. Fans confirmed what critics cited, they were there to see Cornell or they were there to see Timbaland and most knew very little about the artist they were not there to see. With the majority of the purchasing audience for Scream falling under Cornell's fanbase, we were not at all surprised when Cornell's set was performed acoustic, sans Timbaland's production.

We arrived at the event eager to see Cornell and Timbaland share a stage, having a suspicion a live performance of eclectic hip-hop beats paired with rock passion might tie the genres together where the album fell short. But often what you hear is what you get and the event confirmed that mainstream music and its associated fanbase are not ready to blend genres in the same way that experimental and indie acts have long embraced. With corporate culture increasingly ingrained in music culture, the rapper is the salesman and the rocker, the messiah. Cornell closed an intimate, crowd-rousing set and Timbaland took the stage for several minutes of banter but left without a musical contribution to the night.

It was clear as we wandered the venue post-performance, viewing the screens of questions texted to the artists, the remix kiosk, and the Verizon Wireless Mobile Recording Studio bus that the musical voice of the decade is all around us. As Cornell touched on in his pre-performance interview, for the first time in history we can't define the decade by a sound. From mp3s to smartphones to blogs and ringtones, technology is the way we make, listen to and share music. The musical landscape of the first decade of the 2000's will be defined not by what we listen to, but by how we communicate what we listen to.

Curious to catch Cornell for yourself? Chris Cornell swings back through Chicago Sunday, April 19, at the Riviera Theatre, 4746 N Racine, 7:30 p.m., $37, all ages