Soundgarden's Chris Cornell: "Contemporary Pop Music Couldn't Be Any Worse Than It Is Now"

With all the usual talk of "the death of rock and roll" going around, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell thinks the abysmal state of pop music just might be what the doctor ordered to restore the rock scene to vitality.

"A big reason grunge became so big so fast is because people were so sick of what was out there," he recently told The Sun. "It's the same thing now. You have a better chance of a very healthy and vital rock scene coming out today because there's something to react against. Contemporary pop music couldn't be any worse than it is now."

The singer did admit he saw multi-platinum singer Adele as one of "bright spots" in today's pop music landscape, adding, "They’re actually songs and she can really sing. So obviously the biggest market still responds to a human being creating music.”

You can read more here.

Soundgarden are currently working on their first album of all-new material since 1996's Down on the Upside (buy on iTunes).

Josh Hart

Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.