#5 - Chris Cornell - The Promise
It's hard to believe that there are 5 songs bigger from 2017 than #6, but you better believe that it's nothing but serious whammies from here on down. However, this is going to be a difficult one to write.
When musicians and actors die, we often tend to romanticize the last thing that they contributed to society. Would "The Dark Night" be as big of a hit as it was without Heath Ledger dying before it was released? Would the new Linkin Park album be on anyone's year end charts if not for Chester Bennington's passing? I don't think so on either case, and the passing of Chris Cornell doesn't make his last album any better or worse than it already is. (it's pretty damn good, btw). But you simply cannot avoid the impact that these celebrities have on our lives.
Cornell is no different for me. His work with Soundgarden is legendary, but I honestly didn't love him until I really listened to Audioslave. His solo work truly digs into the tortured genius, and that genius is no bigger on display than on The Promise. The song was written for the ill-fated movie which shares its name, and is really the only bright spot from that bomb. It is lyrically brilliant, and its music is constantly digging into you as Cornell screams "no matter the price, a promise to survive, persevere and fly". Did he know he was writing his final song? Was it his final cry for help? Even the soft orchestral parts of the song cause the soaring chorus to be even more powerful.
I remember the day he died. I ended up having to call off of work because I was so overwhelmed with shock and grief; something I told myself would never happen with the death of a celebrity I had never met. But like Tom Shear, Cornell was someone who I could always relate to through his music, and someone who helped carry me through the darkest times of my life. His constant use of metaphorical language often stirred new thoughts within me, and I know I'm not the only one who still mourns his passing. Dead or alive, The Promise is still a phenomenal song and well worth cracking the top 5. Its video features Cornell playing his acoustic while heart-breaking Syrian refugee videos play in the fore and background. Cornell announced that all proceeds from the song would go to support the refugees and their children.
Title: The Promise
Artist: Chris Cornell
Album: The Promise
Previous #5s
2016: blink-182 - Built This Pool
2015: August Burns Red - Identity
2014: Chvrches - The Mother We Share
2013: Born of Osiris - M∆chine
2012: The Shins - Simple Song
2011: Cold - The Break
2010: Matt and Kim - Cameras
2009: Michael Bublé - Just Haven't Met You Yet
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