R.I.P. Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan Gone at 46

A screencap of Dolores O'Riordan in the movie Click

A new year begins and the list of entertainers that pass away begins again. Last year seemed like a bad year for those who really made an impact on the world. This year is starting out rough as well. 

With a new year at foot, the entertainer that passed away today that once touched the world in a big way was a complete shock. Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of the Cranberries, passed away at the age of 46.

The Irish songstress was one of the prominent voices of those who grew up in the '90s. Songs such as "Zombie", "Dreams", "When You're Gone", and perhaps the Cranberries' biggest hit, "Linger", were all songs that O'Riordan's voice took to a whole new level.

Although not as great as the first concert of the same name, Woodstock '94 featured some special performances. One that could be argued as the make or break performance and perhaps the most notable of the whole event was when the Cranberries performed "Dreams". For the '90s generation, the song seemed to captured the spirit of the youth for the entire decade. Not only was their performance spot on, but the fans began to sing along so loud that O'Riordan stopped singing and let them take the lead.

Not only was she prominently known for her fronting a plantinum-selling band, but she also had a budding solo career and had even was asked to sing for the Pope.

And for the movie junkies, "Linger" not only was the featured song of the Adam Sandler movie Click, but also gave O'Riordan a chance to make a cameo in the film.

It has yet to be determine what the cause of O'Riordan's death is, but it's shame to have occurred at such a young age. She was in middle of recording a new album and had a long life still ahead of her. She suffered from back problems and was one of the few celebrities that was open about their bi-polarism. 

R.I.P. Chris Cornell

Screencap of Chris Cornell seen in the music video of "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden

I was a fan since "Jesus Christ Pose" was released, but it wasn't until I first watched the video for "Black Hole Sun" that I considered Soundgarden one of my favorite bands. One of the four horsemen of the grunge music scene out of Seattle, Washington, Chris Cornell along with Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and Eddie Vedder introduced the world to a flannel-wearing music revolution that would fade out after Cobain's suicide.

Unlike Staley and Cobain, Cornell evolved from the grunge music scene. Going solo, Cornell released alternative rock hits on his own, proving that he could be a star on his own without the A-list talent that made up the rest of Soundgarden. He'd won a Grammy for "Can't Change Me", but it was his solo release, "Sunshower", that made it onto the Great Expectations soundtrack that I played over and over again. For a movie that did fairly well but not great, it was accompanied by an excellent soundtrack led by Chris Cornell and included other hit artists such as Poe, Tori Amos, Scott Weiland, Iggy Pop, Verve Pipe, and Duncan Sheik. It also included the hit "Life in Mono" by Mono, yet "Sunshower" was my favorite song on that CD.

A fan of Rage Against the Machine and saddened by their breakup, I was both nervous and excited when it was announced that Chris Cornell had joined up with them to replace Zach de la Rocha and form super group, Audioslave.

Audioslave released three albums right at the time I began working in radio. I remember getting my hands on a copy of "I am the Highway" and playing it before I ever heard another radio station play it. Though there were five singles from Audioslave's self-titled album release, it was a non-hit, "Shadow of the Sun" that I would play over and over again. I always felt like this was a hit song that missed being a hit. I did feel a sense of satisfaction when the song would make it to the soundtrack of Collateral which starred Tom Cruise and Jaime Foxx. The song was used in a pivotal scene and I couldn't think of a better moment to use in that movie.

I was glad that after two more Audioslave albums, Cornell eventually found his way back with Soundgarden. No, they wouldn't cobble up hits as famous as "Black Hole Sun" or "Blow Up the Outside World", but it was still nice to hear new music.

Cobain would always remain young in our memories as he passed away at 27. Staley also remains young for about the same reason, though a little older than Cobain when he passed. Cornell was the one that aged, yet didn't appear to physically grown old. Maybe he was part-vampire, but whatever the reason, he looked almost the same as the day he appeared in the music video for "Black Hole Sun".

Cornell may have died last night at the age of 52, but he will always remain the same rock icon that I enjoyed listening while he jammed out to Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, Soundgarden, and in his solo work.

The Radio Experience is Dying

Photo by Daniel Millhouse

With technology advancing leaps and bounds on what seems like a yearly basis, one form of media that used to be considered the coolest of all, radio, is now dying and is unrecognizable compared to what it once was.

It took several decades for radio to hit it's peak, but once rock'n'roll gained popularity it seemed like it would never bottom out. Radio represented youthful rebellion to teenagers and college-aged kids.

Elvis.

Jerry Lee Lewis.

Little Richard.

It was the medium that reached out to the kids. They looked forward to listening to the radio to catch the newest hits. This was where radio DJ's gained celebrity status. They were the gatekeepers of "cool" for the youth. Their personalities were big and some DJ's such as Wolfman Jack became just as famous as many of the music artists they were playing.

In the last decade and a half, radio has seen rough times. A combination of new technology, streaming, and the deregulation of media have nearly killed off radio entirely.

With devices such as iPods and smart phones being produced, many people are turning to these devices for their entertainment needs. The rise of the computer hasn't helped either. Computers are now in nearly every household, and can store and play music easier than ever before.

What has hurt radio is the act of streaming. Not necessarily on the small scale it was a decade ago, but the way it is now with Pandora, Spotify, and iHeart radio. With services like this you can simply type in the name of an artist and listen to their music or the music of similar artists. You can do this for free as long as you listen to the occasional advertisement or pay a small amount of money to listen to your music commercial free.

The problem with this is that there are no DJ's. It's robot/computer controlled. The kids are missing out on the personalities that once hosted their favorite music and everything is becoming more generic. The fun is gone.

Also with streaming, you are now just a target to these large companies. A local DJ used to be able to play a local artist who might be performing somewhere nearby and talk about how you could see them if you liked the music. With streaming, you discover the music the corporations tell you to listen to. If you're lucky, you may get to listen to new music from a local artist to you, but most people aren't that lucky. Plus unless the artist advertises with the company, then you won't know where to find them unless you search for them yourself online which most kids don't do while listening to streaming music.

Streaming on the internet didn't initially start off as a bad thing either. Radio stations such as KRock-Echo gained the attention of a million plus listeners a month, remaining commercial free in the process, and having world famous DJ, Scott Free, host the music. He played new artists, independent labels, and songs by artists that were great, but not necessarily their hit songs that the labels picked out for you to listen on mainstream radio. This had the feeling of early rock'n'roll radio in the fifties mixed with new technology. Unfortunately this didn't last long.

Radio lost it's soul. AOL Music, Pandora, and other streaming services ditched DJ's shortly after the United States deregulated media, forcing thousands of DJ's out of work.

When radio deregulated, it was the death knell for DJ's. Many stations would lose their flair, robotizing their on-air play and eventually homogenizing music as a whole. For kids today to discover new music, a major corporation would either have to tell you what to listen to or the kid would have to do some work and find the new artist they don't know exists yet. Most kids won't do the legwork though. They rely on entities such as American Idol and The Voice to tell them who the good, new artists are.

Technology is a good thing. When it advances, it usually improves the quality of humanity's life. Unfortunately radio is one of the casualties and kids will never know again what it's like for radio to become an experience, not just background music while they do their chores or homework.